The two carried Fried and Biguslo back to the tent and also brought Li Li back.
Reby was already unconscious inside, fortunately, not affected by the blast.
Rhode summoned two Crimson Marked Tree Monsters and absorbed the Tree Monsters' power, giving everyone a Crown of Embers.
Then he returned to his normal state and began bandaging his companions with Mira.
Azuma just returned their Magic Power but didn't have the strength to restore the Celestial Wolf Tree. If they ignored everyone, they might really die.
Just right, Mira could take this opportunity to tell Rhode about the Celestial Wolf Tree.
The two estimated that after finishing these tasks, their Magic Power should recover a lot, and then they could go to support others.
The two were anxious because Azuma just said that Jellal was on this island.
If it were just the Demon's Heart invasion, they wouldn't be too worried because the President and Kildas were both here.
But the legendary Black Mage Jellal, a figure from 400 years ago, the mere fact that he was still alive was enough to make the two of them deeply worried.
...
Erza quickly caught up with Ultear.
She didn't understand why Magic Power disappeared and then returned, but she had to stop Ultear from approaching Kana.
The power of this woman combined with that pink-haired girl was definitely not something Kana could handle alone.
Ultear felt quite annoyed by Erza's persistence.
If she had known it would be like this, she shouldn't have left in a hurry and should have killed her.
The two engaged in several rounds of fighting. Erza's fighting style remained the same; even though her weapons and armor kept getting damaged, and she herself was injured, she insisted on wounding her enemy.
So much so that their current state could only be described as disheveled.
Their hair was messy, and they were covered in dirt, with their clothes torn, and both were breathing heavily.
Even though Ultear had the upper hand at first, she now felt that if they continued fighting, she might actually lose.
With Jellal not far away, she couldn't afford such a risk.
Taking advantage of a brief moment of separation, Ultear feigned confusion and questioned, "Why? Why stop me? You… should be on my side, shouldn't you, Erza Scarlet?"
"Hah…" Erza also needed a breather, responding, "Stopping someone who invades the Guild's Holy Land without permission is only natural, isn't it?"
"That's true for others, but you should be on my side!" Ultear coaxed, "Have you forgotten about Jellal?"
Recalling the image of the blue-haired youth, Erza's gaze sharpened as a long sword appeared in her hand: "Jellal, Jellal… so you were part of the Tower of Paradise incident too!"
She charged forward with anger, her long sword slashing towards Ultear.
But Ultear was not angry at all, casually causing Erza's sword to rust and shatter.
Good, she had taken control of the conversation.
Ultear confidently smiled and said, "Don't you want Jellal to return to his original self? Don't you wish the tragedy of the Tower of Paradise never happened?"
Hearing such alluring words, Erza instead calmed down, inquiring, "What do you mean to say?"
"Invite you to join us in pursuing the Great Magic Realm," Ultear explained the meaning of the Great Magic Realm while carefully observing Erza's expression.
Unfortunately, she didn't see any signs of interest on Erza's face.
It seemed persuasion wouldn't work, then…
Ultear wasn't disappointed; she smiled before Erza could refuse and said, "Of course, that's Demon's Heart's plan, not mine."
The previously uninterested Erza suddenly felt something was wrong upon hearing this. Could this person be forced into cooperation with Demon's Heart…? No, it's not that simple.
"You've already witnessed my magic, haven't you? The Lost Magic known as the Arc of Time."
"What do you intend to say?"
"Currently, this magic can only manipulate the time of a small number of objects, but its ultimate power can shake the entire world… Meaning, it can even reverse time and bring the whole world back to the past!"
"What?" Erza's eyes widened. If they could go back to the past…
"That's right, all the past sufferings and misfortunes can be changed!" Ultear quickly seized the opportunity when she saw Erza's reaction and added fire, "My Arc of Time is magic that can retrieve lost happiness!"
When she said this, her eyes held longing, and her previously slightly beguiling tone became truly sincere.
Because 'retrieving lost happiness' was her initial reason for learning the Arc of Time.
Erza felt slightly shaken; the sufferings of her childhood, the torments her companions endured in the Tower of Paradise, Jellal's transformation, even Grandpa Rob's death… could all be changed?
But she quickly became cautious: "What's this got to do with Jellal?"
"Of course it matters. In this world now, using such magic requires paying the price of life. 'The one who reverses time will lose all time'…"
Ultear grew more excited as she spoke, "But as long as we awaken Jellal and return to the Great Magic Realm, all magic will become free, and Lost Magic will no longer have side effects!
"Then you, me, Melty… all those who have suffered misfortunes can have a second life and regain the happiness that should belong to us!"
"Second… life…"
"Exactly! This terrible life we're living now is only the first cycle! All the cruelty, all the sins, all the misfortunes are but illusions, destined to be redone!
Just by starting a second life, all this can change, and everyone can find happiness!"
Ultear firmly believed this, so to achieve this goal, she was willing to do anything—even if she committed countless evils, even if she killed countless people, as everything would ultimately reset and never have happened!
"Join us, then. I'll compensate you for all the unhappiness and regrets of this life!"
Ultear's words were highly compelling.
Deception, something she practiced since childhood, apart from magic, was her strongest skill.
She had deceived the Council, deceived Jellal, and even continued deceiving President Hades.
Erza lowered her head, her wet bangs hanging down, dripping water mixed with countless raindrops falling to the ground.
She had to admit she was tempted because her life had too much unhappiness. Not just her, many of the Guild's companions had experienced unhappiness too.
If they could change all this, of course, it would be wonderful.
But…
"That won't do," Erza said.
"What?"
"Reversing time, denying one's life, that won't do. Everything in the past truly existed; they're experiences we must face!"
Erza raised her head and directly stared into Ultear's eyes, "Unhappiness is unhappiness, evil is evil, denying all this is absolutely unacceptable!"
Ultear questioned, "What's unacceptable? Such an unhappy, terrible life, shouldn't it be redone?!"
"Precisely because it's terrible, precisely because we've experienced unhappiness, we've continued living up to now with effort, and we should bravely face the future, not deny everything we've done!"
Ultear's body trembled slightly, thinking about how she was abandoned by her mother.
Her voice sounded somewhat hysterical, "Spouting such irresponsible words, pretending to know… what do you understand of the unhappiness others have experienced?!"