Before leaving, Jellal Fernandes grabbed the snapped, half-length longsword from the room. Calvin Unknown didn't stop him; since they had decided to fight to the end, having a weapon would undoubtedly increase their chances of victory.
And so, Jellal, holding the broken sword, led the way, with Calvin, carrying Erza Scarlet on his back, following closely behind. They quickly exited the dark room, planning to return the way they came. The most important thing now was to get the injured Erza back to the dwelling; they could decide on other matters once they got there!
However, just as they hadn't gone far, the ground around them suddenly flashed with rows of red magic circles! Then, mechanical heads slowly emerged from these magic circles.
"Damn it! They're Magic Soldiers!!!" Jellal's face turned incredibly grim, as their current position was right in the center of the Magic Soldiers' formation!
"…" Calvin's face was so dark it looked like it was about to drip water. His frosty gaze swept over the Magic Soldiers surrounding them, a chilling, heart-stopping light flickering in his eyes.
He decisively lowered Erza from his back, and to Jellal's surprised look, carefully shifted her onto Jellal's back instead. Ignoring their shock, Calvin commanded grimly: "Jellal, carefully secure Erza! The moment I give the signal, ignore everything else and run like hell straight ahead! Also, give me your sword…" Without waiting for an answer, he snatched the half-length longsword from Jellal's hand.
"What about you?! What are you planning to do?!" Jellal asked urgently. Calvin's sudden, strange actions made him instinctively uneasy. The feeling was as if something vital was about to be lost, and the clarity of the premonition caused a wave of irritation and anxiety to surge through him.
Hearing this, Erza also stared intently at Calvin. She felt the same inexplicable unease that Jellal did, and the sensation made her heart pound.
"It's nothing…" Calvin hoisted the half-length longsword onto his back, waving his left hand dismissively with a smile. "I'm just going to clear a path for you and cover your retreat. It's no big deal…" And also to attract the enemy's attention and buy you enough time to successfully escape…
He wouldn't say those words out loud. There was no need. Since he had already made up his mind, why needlessly increase their worry?
"Big Brother Calvin—" Jellal opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn't speak. Although Calvin hadn't explicitly said it, they had both guessed his intention. In this extremely critical situation, what was "covering the retreat" but a sacrifice? They knew clearly that Big Brother Calvin was intending to sacrifice his life to secure their safety.
"Enough! We don't have much time. On the count of three, you run for your lives!" Saying this, and not bothering to see if they were listening, Calvin immediately charged forward with the longsword on his shoulder, utterly resolute!
"One!" With a single sweep, Calvin dominated, savagely slicing through the three Magic Soldiers blocking his path, cutting them cleanly at the waist!
"Two!!" Ignoring the fallen Magic Soldiers, Calvin didn't pause for a moment, arriving instantly before another group of them. Gripping the sword with both hands, he let out a low growl, channeling strength into his arms until the veins bulged. Calvin used all his might to bring the sword down again! A series of muffled "thud, thud, thud" sounds of a blade slicing solid objects rang out, and the entire row of four Magic Soldiers blocking his way was diagonally cleaved into two!
"Three!!!" Shouldering the sword, Calvin violently kicked off the ground, launching himself into the air. With a fierce expression, he poured the last of his remaining strength into the final strike, bringing the sword down from top to bottom! Immediately, the final Magic Soldier in front of him was mercilessly split in half from head to toe by the ferocious blow!
"Run!!!" With no joy over defeating the enemy, Calvin screamed hoarsely at the two of them, who were staring at him dumbfounded. "Keep running forward!!! DON'T LOOK BACK!!!!!!"
"Take care, Big Brother Calvin—" Jellal gritted his teeth, forcing back the tears welling up in his eyes. After leaving those words behind, he turned his back and ran as fast as he could, with Erza on his back, following the path Big Brother Calvin had cleared.
"Heh-heh, heh-heh-heh—" Seeing that Jellal and Erza had disappeared, Calvin's legs finally gave out, and he sank to his knees, panting heavily. That series of attacks, simple as it looked, had depleted most of his vitality, spirit, and physical strength. No one could understand how incredibly nervous he had been. Having never been in a physical confrontation on Earth, this was his first all-out fight! Fortunately, the merged memories in his mind contained plenty of combat experience; otherwise, he would have been killed earlier when fighting the guards during Erza's rescue! But thankfully, the memories suggested that the former owner of this body, the boy named Archille, was quite proficient in close combat! Perhaps it was because his magic aptitude was so poor that he desperately worked hard on other skills? Calvin thought to himself…
He violently shook his head, throwing all irrelevant thoughts out of his mind! Looking at the Magic Soldiers slowly approaching him, Calvin's mind was absolutely clear.
This is far from the time to relax! Gripping the large sword, Calvin endured the exhaustion throughout his body, biting his lip as he leveraged the sword hilt, forcing himself to stand up again!
"In my past life, as a quintessential otaku, I always dreamed of transmigrating to another world…" Holding the large sword, swaying slightly, Calvin suddenly grinned and muttered softly to himself, "Now that I've finally gotten my wish, I won't accept dying in some pathetic way like this…"
"Since I refuse to die, the ones who die can only be you—" As he spoke, Calvin extended his free left hand, his face contorted in a ferocious expression as he roared toward the sky, "You two better succeed!!! Requip!!!!!!!!" Roaring, all the magic power in his body surged into his left hand.
"Ching—" A pleasing sound of a sword being drawn suddenly rang out next to him. A spatial ripple appeared beside him, and a slender, completely silver magic rapier materialized in his left hand!
"Phew—" Seeing this, Calvin sighed in relief and felt profoundly fortunate! It looks like my initial guess was correct! Despite having the same body, the magical aptitude manifested differently due to the difference in souls! At the very least, my current proficiency with Requip Magic is far superior to that of Archille, the previous owner of this body!!
"Now—" With the rapier in his left hand and the longsword in his right, Calvin arrogantly confronted the Magic Soldiers, shouting excitedly, "It's time for the true boss to turn the tables!!" Roaring, Calvin gripped both weapons and charged fearlessly towards the group of Magic Soldiers.
Meanwhile, in another part of the Tower, after Jellal ran for a while with Erza on his back, trouble arrived. A large group of supervisor-guards, armed with magic staffs and leading a massive number of Magic Soldiers, firmly surrounded the two of them!
Jellal fought desperately, but he was ultimately not a Mage, and the enemy's numbers vastly exceeded his own. After consecutively knocking down over a dozen Magic Soldiers, Jellal's strength began to fail. He was hit by one of the Mages' spells and lost the ability to fight.
The outcome was inevitable: Jellal was captured and taken by the fat and thin Mages to the dark room where Erza had been held. As for Erza, she was escorted back to the dilapidated dwelling by two guards.
"Sister Erza! Wh-what happened to you?" Shou rushed forward with a worried look, holding Erza's shoulders anxiously. "Where is Big Brother Calvin? Where is Jellal? Weren't they the ones who went to save you?" Hearing this, the others also looked at the dispirited Erza, who seemed completely lost. The moment they realized the two boys were missing, they had already guessed their purpose! Without a doubt, they went to rescue Erza!
But now, seeing only Erza return, and being escorted back by guards, everyone's heart sank sharply, plummeting into despair…
Did something happen to them?
This thought suddenly arose in everyone's mind, and their expressions immediately darkened. This was the outcome they desperately hoped to avoid…
"Big Brother Calvin… Jellal…" Erza murmured the names, her eyes growing clearer and clearer. Finally, two streams of scalding tears could no longer be held back and spilled from her eyes. "Aah—"
"Boom—" A loud crash echoed as a human figure was violently sent flying. Everyone, shocked by the sight, stared blankly at the source of the commotion—Erza Scarlet stood her ground, two trails of clear tears streaming down her face, her gaze filled with incredible courage and determination!
"Erza?! Are you saying that you…" Everyone stared at Erza in shock, eyes wide with disbelief and confusion.
"We have a rebellion!!!" The guard who was sent flying clutched his chest in pain, but quickly started roaring at the top of his lungs.
"What?! A rebellion?! They've got a death wish!!" Instantly, the supervisors who had recovered from their shock all became furious. They grabbed their weapons and rushed towards the commotion, yelling loudly!
The only thing we can do is fight!
The words of Calvin and Jellal echoed clearly and repeatedly in her mind. Erza, having finally understood, ignored the stunned looks of everyone. She raised the shovel in her hand and declared in an unbelievably resolute voice: "Pick up your weapons, everyone! Whether we obey or try to escape, we will never achieve freedom! If that is the case—"
"Then we must fight! Stand up for freedom! Let us fight for freedom!!!"
"Aooowww—"
"Fight for freedom!!!"
They had awakened! The oppressed crowd, finally galvanized by Erza's powerfully resonating words, had reawakened! The blood that had run cold for too long boiled once again, inspired by Erza's courageous, young figure!!!