His trembling voice rose steadily, finally turning into a furious roar:
"Jellal's words were the only reason I survived all this time!"
"We spent eight whole years working day and night to finish this tower! It was all for Jellal..."
"Are you telling me now that all of this... was a lie?! That my sister was right, and Jellal was wrong?!"
Erza lowered her eyes and finally began to speak:
"Eight years ago, we made terrible sacrifices in that revolt... Simon was badly injured, and Grandpa Rob, to protect me..."
"But we won. For a while, I thought we were all going to be free."
"But when I found Jellal and rescued him, I realized he'd suddenly become a different person."
"He'd learned magic and mercilessly slaughtered the remnants of the Cult."
"He told me he wasn't leaving. He said Zeref's spirit had chosen him, and that he would stay here, resurrect Zeref, and create what he called 'true freedom.'"
The painful memories brought tears to Erza's eyes:
"No matter what I said, I couldn't persuade him. In the end, Jellal drove me off the island and threatened me. I was never to tell anyone about the Tower of Heaven, or even come near it again."
"Otherwise, he would kill you all!"
A deathly silence fell over the cell.
Simon looked at Erza and spoke firmly:
"So that's what happened... I knew it. I never doubted you, not for a moment, Erza."
"Thank you, Simon..." Erza gave him a grateful look, then turned toward Hughes, who had gone completely numb.
"But... Hughes, you're right. Whatever my reasons, I abandoned you and didn't come back for eight years. That's... no different from betrayal."
"I'm sorry..."
That apology was the final straw that shattered Hughes's defenses.
As though all his strength had