In the Forbidden Ground on the lowest level, ten thousand meters beneath the palace in the Edolas Kingdom's Royal Capital!
"S-such powerful magic..." Resisting the pressure and fluctuations from the blood-red pillar of magic before her, Erza Knightwalker gritted her teeth and raised her head to stare at the enormous red Magic Crystal, which still blazed with light. Deep apprehension and horror covered her face as she forced out each word. "This... this magic should... be enough to fight that man, right?!" Achill's irreverent face flashed through her mind, and her eyes filled with confusion and uncertainty about the future!
Although her purpose in releasing this terrifying monster was to deal with Achill, the invader from Earth-land, a voice deep inside her kept telling her, No! You can't do this! This is wrong!! He only came here to seek justice for his own world. To deal with him, we're releasing someone who once nearly destroyed all of Edolas! Someone whose infamy is unrivaled in this world—is that really right?!! And can we truly do this without something going wrong?
At that thought, Erza's eyes filled with bewilderment and doubt.
But while those thoughts ran through her mind, the blood-red pillar that had suddenly flared before her gradually dimmed and vanished. The enormous scarlet Magic Crystal disappeared along with the red light. In the place where it had stood was a bare-chested figure, his entire body wrapped in thick, sturdy steel chains. He slumped on one knee on the floor, both arms raised high to either side, firmly secured by enormous chains extending from the walls. His body looked so frail that a gust of wind might have knocked him over!
His upper body sagged forward limply, and a tangled mass of long black hair obscured his entire face, leaving those