Chapter 155: Jellal
Noah answered as he walked towards them.
Suddenly, a figure shot from the distance, landing steadily beside Zancrow and Kain. The relaxed mood that Ultear and Erza had just begun to feel instantly vanished. They could sense that this newcomer was much stronger than they were, and from his position, he was clearly an ally of their opponents, which made him their enemy.
They looked closely and saw that the person was completely covered by a cloak, with the hood pulled up and a mask over their face. All they could see were a few strands of sky-blue hair peeking out from the edge of the hood.
That hair color? Noah thought, a sense of familiarity washing over him.
"What are you doing here?" Zancrow asked the cloaked figure.
The person answered in a voice that was clearly disguised, making it impossible to tell if they were male or female. "The Master detected a change here and sent me to investigate. Seeing the state you're in, we are to retreat."
"What?! You want me to retreat?! I'm going to kill that pretty boy over there!" Zancrow's expression was terrifying. He felt that he had only been caught off guard and that if he were prepared, he could definitely kill Noah.
"This is not a discussion. It is the Master's order! We are retreating!" the cloaked figure's voice turned stern.
Zancrow clearly didn't respect the cloaked figure, but he had absolute faith in their Master. Hearing that it was an order, he relented. "If it's the Master's order, then we'll retreat. But the mission is almost complete." He glared at the pink-haired girl in Erza's arms. The girl trembled under his malicious gaze.
Erza quickly comforted her, and Ultear took a step forward, blocking Zancrow's line of sight.
"No problem. The Master said your mission is already complete," the cloaked figure replied.
Zancrow breathed a sigh of relief. "Then let's go."
Noah, who had been listening silently, saw that they were about to leave and that he wouldn't be able to get any more information. "Did I say you could leave?" he finally spoke.
By now, he had remembered where he had seen that sky-blue hair before. It was the same color as Mystogan's from the guild. But Mystogan was the Jellal from another world, constantly working to save his own people; he would never join a dark guild. That meant this person was most likely the Jellal of this world and that he had joined Grimoire Heart. Judging by his strength, he had clearly been trained extensively by their master. He could feel an immense darkness from him, but there was something discordant about it, as if the darkness didn't truly match his own nature.
Noah found his state strange. Thinking of the other Jellal, his guildmate Mystogan, he decided to try something.
With that thought, a massive amount of magic power erupted from Noah. Light magic spilled outwards, forming a powerful wind that blasted in all directions. The immense pressure bore down on the three opponents. The faces of Zancrow and Kain changed drastically. Even the cloaked figure's disguised voice was tinged with a clear sense of urgency.
"Grab my hand, now! We're retreating immediately!"
Zancrow and Kain, clearly sensing the immense danger, didn't argue and immediately grabbed the cloaked figure's arms. The moment they had a firm hold, the figure's magic activated, and they shot away at high speed.
"Trying to run?" Noah smiled. He stretched out his right hand, and a golden magic circle unfolded. In the distant sky, another magic circle appeared, and a pillar of light descended from it, striking the three fleeing figures directly.
"AAAAAHHH!!!"
A heart-wrenching scream came from the distance. Noah was about to strike again, but the sense of threat he had been feeling suddenly intensified. He thought for a moment and decided to lower his hand.
"Why did you stop?" Ultear asked, confused. Noah shouldn't have let them get away.
Noah shook his head. "Someone issued a warning. I felt a very strong threat. The opponent is extremely powerful. Besides, our most important task right now is to save people. I just did a scan, and there are still many survivors. If I fight that person, I can't be sure I'll win, and it could easily drag on into a long battle. If that happens, the people we could have saved might not make it. Not to mention, we could accidentally harm people still trapped in the rubble. Let's let them go, for now."
Noah looked into the distance where the pillar of light had struck. The three figures stumbled to their feet, huddled together, and then the cloaked figure led them away again at high speed. The hood of the cloak had been blown off by the blast, revealing a full head of sky-blue hair. Although he didn't turn around, from the hair and the back, it was highly likely that Noah's guess was correct: that was this world's Jellal. But he had no idea why he would have joined Grimoire Heart, or what his life story had been.
For Mystogan's sake, the pillar of light Noah had just fired had contained not only an attack but also the power of purification. When one thought of light magic, the first thing that came to mind was dispelling darkness. Noah, of course, hoped his own light magic could do more than that—to dispel the power of darkness, to dispel all sorts of abnormal statuses, poisons, and curses. So, after referencing a large amount of magical data and Wendy's own magic, he had finally developed "Light Magic: Purification." It could dispel the power of darkness, as well as all sorts of negative effects on a target. It could also be combined with an attack, the power of which was determined by the caster's intent and magic input. Noah had tested it and found that it was extremely effective against dark-based magic, like fire and water. Weaker dark creatures would be instantly vaporized, and even stronger ones would be severely injured. It was their natural enemy.
For Mystogan's sake, Noah had used this spell, trying to dispel the darkness on the person who was likely this world's Jellal. But he couldn't see what effect, if any, it had. Whether it worked or not would be up to his own luck.
Hearing Noah's explanation, Ultear and Erza finally understood that someone had been threatening him. They hadn't felt it at all, and a sense of both tension and frustration washed over them. They felt that they were still too weak, to not even be able to sense the presence of another enemy.
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