Recaps

Jellal decided to use Erza as bait to bring Blanc to the Tower of Heaven, hoping to exploit Blanc’s concern for his guildmates. Meanwhile, Erza left Fairy Tail’s construction site to buy a replacement table, unaware that Jellal had sent Hughes, Wally, Millianna, and Simon to capture her.

• Jellal realized Blanc’s immense magic could power the R-System and serve as a sacrifice for Zeref, but concluded he could not defeat Blanc in a direct fight.
• Jellal ordered Hughes, Wally, Millianna, and Simon to find Erza alone in Magnolia and bring her back.
• Jellal planned to lure Blanc to the Tower of Heaven by using Erza as leverage.
• At the construction site, Erza agreed to replace the table she had broken and left to buy a new one.
• Natsu and Gray pretended to be friends while Erza was present, then resumed arguing as Lucy wondered whether Erza understood their rivalry.

Erza reflected on Laxus’s changed behavior and her own painful past, then remembered how Blanc gave her a protective bracelet as a sign of her guildmates’ care. The memory left her considering whether she could one day feel safe without armor.

• Erza recalled how Laxus had changed from a cheerful older-brother figure into someone who treated his comrades as worthless.
• Erza remembered the boy who had once given her hope in the tower before changing and betraying everyone.
• Erza reached the river, looked at her reflection in her armor, and wondered why she still needed it to feel safe.
• Erza removed her armor and noticed the Fairy Tail bracelet Blanc had given her.
• Erza remembered Blanc explaining that the bracelet held defensive magic and urging her to trust the comrades who would protect her.

Erza reunited with Hughes, Millianna, Simon, and Wally, but Hughes accused her of abandoning them and demanded she return to the Tower of Heaven. After they captured her, Juvia witnessed the kidnapping from hiding.

• Erza remembered how Fairy Tail had helped her open her heart and set off to buy a table.
• Hughes, Millianna, Simon, and Wally appeared, and Erza recognized her former companions from the Tower of Heaven.
• Hughes accused Erza of betraying them, told her the Tower of Heaven was nearly finished, and demanded she return to Jellal.
• Wally shot Erza with a sleep round, Millianna bound her, and Hughes sealed her inside a card.
• Juvia hid nearby and watched the group kidnap Erza.

Juvia discovered that Erza had been captured and set off to alert Fairy Tail, while Blanc confronted Jellal in Oak Town. Jellal revealed that he had Erza, leaving Blanc to face the threat.

• Simon secretly dropped Erza's bracelet near Juvia, who found it after the group carrying Erza left.
• Juvia decided to bring the bracelet to Fairy Tail as evidence and hurried toward the guild's construction site to tell Gray-sama.
• Siegrain, revealed as Jellal, stopped Blanc on the woodland path after the cleanup in Oak Town.
• Blanc attacked Jellal with wooden hands and said that killing him mattered more than worrying about Ultear.
• Jellal announced that he had Erza, causing Blanc to stop the wooden hands.

Blanc agreed to trade himself for Erza, but destroyed Jellal's Thought Body with the Light Card and flew toward the Tower of Heaven. Jellal revived in the tower, shaken by Blanc's power but determined to continue his plan, while Blanc approached over the sea on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

• Jellal showed Blanc an image of the captured Erza and demanded that Blanc surrender in exchange for her.
• Blanc pretended to accept the trade, then used the Light Card to erase Jellal's Thought Body and warned that he would see him at the Tower of Heaven.
• Blanc produced three Clow Cards, summoned the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and flew toward the tower.
• Jellal awoke on his throne as his magic power, consciousness, and memories returned, and he realized how easily Blanc had destroyed his Thought Body.
• Jellal suppressed his fear and resolved to continue the plan, relying on Blanc's concern for Erza to preserve his leverage.

Blanc submitted to the Tower of Heaven guards’ restraints to protect Erza, while Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Juvia secretly reached the tower by sea. The group spotted the guards carrying Blanc inside and realized he had been captured.

• The guards showed Blanc an image of Erza and demanded that he accept restraints before approaching the tower.
• Blanc landed at the Tower of Heaven, allowed the guards to bind him with magic-sealing restraints, and was carried inside as Jellal watched.
• Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Juvia emerged from the sea in Juvia’s Water Domain and reached the tower’s base.
• Natsu recognized Erza’s scent inside the tower and urged the group to charge in, but Gray told him to stay quiet.
• Happy spotted guards carrying a tightly bound young man, and the group recognized him as Blanc.

Natsu and Gray's group encountered Simon, who offered to lead them to Erza and explain their shared past. Meanwhile, Hughes confronted Erza in the cell where she had once been imprisoned and asked whether she remembered what happened there.

• Natsu tried to rush after Blanc, but Gray restrained him and argued that the group needed to stay hidden until they found Erza.
• Gray suggested Blanc might have surrendered to protect Erza or been captured by a powerful enemy, and the group agreed to search for Erza first.
• Simon approached the group and explained that he had given Juvia Erza's bracelet so she could seek Fairy Tail's help.
• Simon revealed that he and the others had been Erza's companions, then led the group off to rescue her and explain their past.
• Hughes found Erza bound in the cell where she had been held years earlier and admitted he had been the ringleader of their failed escape attempt.
• Erza steadied herself and challenged Hughes about the forbidden R-System magic.

Hughes revealed that Jellal wanted to resurrect Zeref and rule the world before Natsu and the others rescued Erza. Simon freed Erza and reaffirmed his faith in her, while Hughes accused her of betraying them eight years earlier.

• Hughes told Erza that Jellal planned to resurrect Zeref and use the chaos to rule the world.
• Natsu punched Hughes through the cell door, and Gray, Lucy, and Happy joined him in rescuing Erza.
• Juvia returned Erza's bracelet and explained that she had followed her abductors to find help.
• Simon explained that he had drawn away the guards, freed Erza with dark magic, and never stopped believing in her.
• Hughes accused Erza of planting a bomb on their escape boat eight years earlier, and Gray and Lucy questioned whether Jellal had lied to him.

Erza told Hughes how Jellal had turned against their revolt and driven her away, and Hughes broke down after learning the truth. Erza tried to send her Fairy Tail comrades away, but they refused, and the news that Blanc had been captured led Erza to suspect Jellal planned to use him as the R-System's sacrifice.

• Erza explained that Jellal had embraced Zeref's spirit, slaughtered the Cult's remnants, and threatened to kill her former comrades if she revealed the Tower of Heaven.
• Simon said he had always trusted Erza, and she apologized to Hughes for leaving him behind for eight years; Hughes collapsed in despair and sobbed.
• Simon urged the group to join forces against Jellal, but Erza ordered Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy, Juvia, and the others to leave the tower.
• Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy, and Juvia refused to abandon Erza, saying they would stand by their comrade.
• Lucy told Erza that Blanc had been brought into the tower as a prisoner, and Erza wondered why Jellal would capture him.
• Hughes said the R-System needed a sacrifice, and Erza asked whether Jellal had abducted her for that purpose.

Hughes revealed that Jellal had used Erza as leverage to force Blanc to become the sacrifice for Zeref’s resurrection, prompting Erza and her friends to set out to rescue him. On the tower rooftop, Jellal began draining Blanc’s magic while Blanc questioned his plan and then fainted, as a faint puff of air passed Jellal’s ear.

• Hughes told Erza that Jellal had planned to use her as a hostage because Blanc was powerful enough to serve as Zeref’s sacrifice.
• Erza blamed herself for endangering Blanc, struck the wall in anger, and rallied Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy to rescue him.
• Gray heard a familiar voice in his mind asking about the situation.
• Jellal had his guards bind Blanc to a device on the tower rooftop and declared that Blanc would be used to resurrect Zeref.
• Blanc told Jellal that Zeref was not dead, but Jellal dismissed him and activated the device to drain his magic.
• Blanc fainted as the tower’s Magic Crystal antennas began to glow, and Jellal wondered whether something had just flown past his ear.

Makarov and Fairy Tail launched an assault on the Tower of Heaven while Jellal drained a duplicate of Blanc, unaware that the real Blanc was hidden on its head. Erza and the others reached the rooftop and found the captive Blanc, as Jellal prepared to use him for Zeref’s resurrection.

• Makarov grew into a giant and smashed the guards at the foot of the tower, then Fairy Tail charged the tower’s defenders.
• Jellal noticed that the Magic Crystals were collecting less magic than expected, while the real Blanc planned to fly into the tower and find Erza.
• Fairy Tail shouted that they had come to rescue Blanc, leaving the hidden Blanc confused because he thought they were there for Erza.
• Erza, Simon, Hughes, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy burst onto the rooftop and found Mirror Blanc restrained and drained by the machine.
• Jellal accused Hughes and Simon of betrayal and announced that Blanc would become a vessel for Zeref’s resurrection.
• Erza attacked Jellal and ordered Natsu and Gray to hold him off while the others saved Blanc.

Erza, Natsu, and Gray struggled to hold off Jellal while Lucy secretly sent Virgo to destroy the restraint device and rescue Blanc. With Jellal enraged and ready to attack everyone, Erza donned Pure Heart Clothing and prepared to settle the fight with one strike.

• Jellal overwhelmed Erza, Natsu, and Gray while preventing Simon and the others from reaching the restraint device.
• Erza admitted her weakness had led to Blanc being captured and vowed to bring him back unharmed.
• Lucy summoned Virgo, who tunneled beneath the device, destroyed it, freed Blanc, and carried him back to Lucy.
• Jellal noticed Blanc's rescue and unleashed a surge of magic power, threatening to kill everyone before taking Blanc back.
• Erza used Requip: Pure Heart Clothing, explaining that it sacrificed defense to focus her magic on offense, then challenged Jellal to settle the fight with one strike.

Erza faced Jellal’s Dark Paradise without armor and defeated him with a single sword strike after Blanc distracted him by shouting that he was Zeref. Erza emerged victorious but exhausted, while Jellal collapsed at the base of the damaged Magic Crystal.

• Jellal summoned Celestial Magic: Dark Paradise as Erza focused all her magic power into her Demon Sword.
• Gray stopped Hughes from intervening, while Gray, Natsu, and Simon urged Hughes to trust Erza.
• Blanc decided to help Erza without taking over the fight and flew into Jellal’s ear to shout that he was Zeref.
• Jellal lost control of his spell for an instant, and Erza cleaved the black sphere before striking him across the chest.
• Jellal crashed into the Magic Crystal and collapsed, while Erza knelt, wounded and exhausted, as Natsu and Happy celebrated her victory.

After Erza defeated Jellal, he exposed the unconscious Blanc as a fake, and a green-haired Mirror Girl revealed herself as a magical construct. She pointed out that the real Blanc was Jellal himself, leaving everyone stunned.

• Erza noticed suspicious details about Jellal’s defeat while Jellal accused the unconscious Blanc of tricking him.
• Natsu detected that the unconscious Blanc barely carried Blanc’s scent.
• The fake Blanc transformed into a green-haired girl who called herself Mirror Girl.
• Mirror Girl revealed that the real Blanc was Jellal, leaving him and the others stunned.

Blanc revealed that he had never been captured and helped defeat Jellal, while Fairy Tail’s reinforcements arrived to find the battle already over. After Blanc explained Jellal’s schemes, Makarov recognized the connection to Rob’s death and dreaded another trip to the Magic Council.

• Blanc reappeared unharmed beside Jellal as Fairy Tail’s reinforcements rushed onto the rooftop and discovered the fight was over.
• Blanc explained that Erza had been kidnapped and that he had entered the stronghold by letting its guards capture him; Lucy confronted him for worrying everyone.
• Mira covered Erza with her coat, and Erza quietly questioned Blanc about what he had done before choosing not to press him.
• Makarov recognized Jellal as Council Member Siegrain, and Blanc explained that Siegrain was a Thought Body and described Jellal’s plans involving Jose, Erza, and Zeref.
• Makarov connected Jellal’s actions to Rob’s death and lamented that he would have to return to the Magic Council.

Blanc revealed to Jellal that Zeref was alive, exposing the futility of Jellal’s plans, and Erza ended their bond while sparing his life. Jellal then disclosed that Trinity Raven had infiltrated the Magic Council and begun an attack to obtain Etherion, forcing the guild to flee the island.

• Blanc told Jellal that Zeref was alive and that his eight years of scheming had been pointless, then suggested Jellal had silenced Ultear before she could explain the truth.
• Erza told Jellal she would leave him to face imprisonment in the Magic Council’s prison and walked away, while Jellal broke down in despair.
• Simon asked Jellal where he had sent Trinity Raven, and Jellal revealed that he had ordered the assassins to attack the Magic Council and seize Etherion.
• Lucy, Happy, and Gray warned the guild about Etherion’s destructive power, and the Guild Master ordered everyone to retreat to the ship immediately.

Blanc rescued and gathered the people from the Tower of Heaven, then helped Erza destroy the tower herself. With her painful past behind her, Erza thanked Blanc as they prepared to return to Fairy Tail.

• Blanc bound Jellal and the other people scattered through the tower, then released Wally and Millianna to Hughes and Simon at Erza’s request.
• Blanc raised a large wooden ship and explained that he would take the prisoners to the Magic Council rather than abandon them before Etherion fell.
• Blanc summoned the Giant Soldier and connected Erza to it, offering her the chance to destroy the Tower of Heaven herself.
• Erza remembered her companions and brought the Giant Soldier’s fist down, demolishing the tower and leaving Hughes and Simon to watch its ruins in silence.
• Erza thanked Blanc, and he urged everyone to return to Fairy Tail.

The Magic Council learned that the eighth Tower of Heaven had been built near Calrum and that Fairy Tail had gone there, while Siegrain was absent. As Trinity Raven and mutinous new recruits stormed the Council headquarters, the council members began to suspect Siegrain had orchestrated the attack.

• Council members discussed the Tower of Heaven’s location and Fairy Tail’s involvement, while Yajima grew suspicious of Siegrain’s absence.
• An explosion rocked the Magic Council headquarters, and a wounded guard reported that members of the headquarters guard had turned against their comrades.
• Ikaruga, Owl, and Udal Das led the mutiny through the corridors as Lahar tried to stop Trinity Raven and fell back toward the meeting hall.
• Lahar told the council that the rebels were emergency recruits hired under Siegrain’s authority, and their attempts to contact him went unanswered.
• Yajima concluded that Siegrain had been suspect from the start, while Ikaruga called to the council from outside the doors.

Trinity Raven broke into the Magic Council’s underground prison to recruit its inmates after their assault stalled at a defensive barrier. The cells were opened, including those holding Erigor and a still-sleepy red-haired prisoner.

• Ikaruga ordered Trinity Raven to leave half its forces guarding the barrier while the rest went to free prisoners beneath the Magic Council.
• Udal Das defeated warden Gurogu Baji, took his keys, and ordered every cell opened.
• Trinity Raven released the prisoners, and Erigor vowed revenge on Fairy Tail before a rebel soldier shoved him along.
• Owl opened a cell in the deepest part of the prison and woke a sleeping red-haired man, who asked if it was time to eat.

The prisoners nearly escaped until the Warden blocked the exit, where Gildarts appeared and killed Udal Das with one blow. Meanwhile, Yajima persuaded the Council Chamber group to wait before breaking out, trusting that Gildarts might change the situation.

• The Warden stood wounded at the prison exit and refused to let the prisoners leave.
• Udal Das attacked the Warden, but Gildarts appeared and slammed Udal Das's head into the floor, killing him.
• The prisoners and Ikaruga recognized Gildarts, and the Warden realized the scruffy inmate had been hiding his identity.
• Ogre proposed that the Council forces break through the Barrier while Trinity Raven's main force was away, and the Council Members agreed.
• Yajima stopped the breakout and urged everyone to wait, believing Gildarts could affect the outcome.

Gildarts’s enormous spell destroyed the Magic Council headquarters and sent its members crashing into the prison below. There, they found the rebels defeated, and Gildarts awkwardly greeted Yajima amid the ruins.

• Yamaji began to explain why they should not worry, but a violent tremor shook the Council Chamber.
• Gildarts’s beam of light blasted through the headquarters, breaking the barrier and destabilizing the building.
• The Council Chamber collapsed, and the guards rescued the Council Members as they fell through the ruins.
• The Council Members landed in the Magic Prison, where the rebels and freed prisoners lay incapacitated.
• Gildarts lowered his fist, apologized awkwardly to Yajima, and greeted him as the Council Members sighed and muttered about Fairy Tail.

Blanc and Makarov rushed to the Magic Council after the Tower of Heaven crisis, only to find its headquarters reduced to ruins. Ogre revealed that Gildarts—not a Dark Guild—had destroyed the Council building, leaving Makarov stunned.

• Makarov ordered Erza to return the ships and bring the prisoners to the Magic Council while he and Blanc flew ahead on Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
• Blanc saw the Magic Council headquarters in ruins and feared Gildarts might be involved.
• Makarov and Blanc met Council Member Ogre among the wreckage, and Ogre assured them that the Council members had survived with injuries.
• Makarov angrily blamed the destruction on the Dark Guilds until Ogre told him Gildarts had torn apart the Magic Council.

Ogre told Makarov and Blanc how Gildarts had demolished the Magic Council while stopping Trinity Raven’s plot to force the Council to use Etherion. After learning that Siegrain was Jellal’s Thought Body, Ogre thanked Fairy Tail and told Makarov to collect Gildarts from Yajima.

• Makarov panicked when Ogre revealed that Gildarts had been found in a Magic Council cell, while Blanc admitted he had known and kept it secret.
• Ogre explained that Gildarts’s actions had stopped Trinity Raven from capturing Council members and forcing them to fire Etherion.
• Ogre dismissed the Council’s destruction as a minor matter compared with the danger Gildarts had prevented.
• Makarov recounted the events at the Tower of Heaven and revealed that Siegrain was Jellal’s Thought Body.
• Ogre told Makarov that Yajima and Gildarts were in town and urged him to take Gildarts away from the Council.
• Ogre thanked Makarov and Blanc for helping them through the crisis, and Makarov acknowledged the thanks with a smile.

Blanc, Makarov, Gildarts, and Yajima met at a noodle shop after the destruction of the Magic Council, where Gildarts tried to hide the truth about his imprisonment from Cana. On their way back to Magnolia, Blanc remembered Loke’s looming crisis and resolved to find Lucy as soon as they returned.

• Makarov confronted Gildarts at the noodle shop for being imprisoned without notice and demolishing the Magic Council headquarters.
• Gildarts asked Blanc to help conceal his imprisonment from Cana, claiming Yajima had invented a cover story about him protecting the Council from the shadows.
• Blanc recounted the Tower of Heaven events, and Yajima lamented that a promising young Council member had taken the wrong path.
• Yajima revealed that Gildarts had no money, so Makarov paid for the mountain of noodles.
• After contacting Mira, the group decided to stay overnight in the city, and Gildarts repeatedly asked Blanc to keep Cana from finding out.
• While walking beneath the stars, Blanc remembered Loke’s crisis and decided to find Lucy when he returned to Magnolia.

After news spread that Gildarts had defeated the attackers at the Magic Council but destroyed its headquarters, Fairy Tail’s members laughed over a newspaper’s sensational account. Lucy learned that Gildarts was the last of the guild’s S-Class Mages she had yet to meet and looked forward to meeting him.

• Macao brought an extra newspaper to Fairy Tail’s temporary base, but the tired guild members initially showed little interest in the Magic Council attack.
• Macao revealed a front-page photograph of Gildarts among the Council’s ruins and read an article claiming he had secretly gone undercover in prison to protect the Council.
• Fairy Tail’s members laughed at the article’s explanation and imagined their Guild Master despairing at the destroyed headquarters.
• Natsu eagerly anticipated Gildarts’s return so he could challenge him again, while Gray reminded him that Gildarts always beat him easily.
• Lucy complained that the headline made Gildarts look like an attacker, then realized he was the only one of Fairy Tail’s six S-Class Mages she had not met.