The sound of slow clapping echoed through the room. Everyone turned toward the source to see Simon applauding.
"As expected of the God's Hand of the Fairy Tail guild. Your reputation is well deserved," Simon said.
Before Chen Fan could respond, more voices rang out. "Chen Fan! Erza! Lucy! Are you guys okay?"
Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Happy, and Juvia Lockser came running over. Gray kept his eyes locked on Simon's group, his body tensing for a fight. "Careful. These guys are dangerous. It looks like they're here for Erza."
"Now, now, don't worry. With me here, there's nothing to fear," Chen Fan said with a grin. He pulled a chair out of nowhere and sat down, crossing one leg over the other. He casually flicked the card back to Simon, who caught it and handed it to Sho. Sho released the magic, and Millianna tumbled out, unharmed.
Seeing that everyone had gathered, Simon turned to Sho. "Sho, Jellal Fernandes has been lying to us all these years. Erza never betrayed us." He then looked at Erza. "You can tell them everything now, Erza. You don't have to carry this burden alone anymore."
Erza looked at Simon with shock. "Simon... you..."
Chen Fan simply watched with a faint smile, making no move to interrupt.
Sho looked utterly lost. "What are you talking about? Erza didn't betray us? Jellal is the traitor? How is that possible? Speak! Answer me!" His expression bordered on manic. Wally and Millianna also watched Simon, desperate for an explanation.
Simon turned his gaze back to Erza, his eyes filled with encouragement. Erza looked at Chen Fan, who was currently yawning, and took a deep breath.
"Over ten years ago," she began, "a Magic Cult that worshipped black magic sought to build a tower on an island. It was called the Tower of Heaven, also known as the R-System. It was designed to cast a forbidden magic capable of bringing the dead back to life. Building it required a massive amount of magic, and they used human sacrifices as the labor to generate it. As a child, I was one of those sacrifices."
"Later, Jellal let me go. But his goal was to use the tower to resurrect Zeref Dragneel. He threatened the lives of everyone we knew to force me to leave. I had no choice but to go alone."
"Zeref Dragneel? You mean..."
"Yes. I'm sure the name is familiar to you all."
"I remember," Lucy said, thinking back. "The monster that emerged from the Lullaby flute... that was one of Zeref's demons, right? Even if someone killed it instantly in the end."
Natsu, Gray, and Happy all glanced at Chen Fan. He chose to ignore them entirely, looking away with an air of feigned indifference.
"Not just that," Erza continued. "I suspect that Deliora was also one of the demons from Zeref's books." Gray's body stiffened at the mention of Deliora, his fists clenching and then slowly relaxing.
"But if what you say is true," Lucy said to Erza, "then the traitor wasn't you it was Jellal."
"No!" Sho screamed. "That's not it! You're lying! You're just making up stories to get sympathy from your friends! Stop joking! Jellal told us you betrayed us! He said you planted a bomb on our ship and fled alone!
If Jellal hadn't discovered it, we would have all died at sea! He said that was the end for those who didn't learn magic the right way. He said you were obsessed with your own power and wanted to discard your past!"
Sho grew more agitated with every word.
"Ah... if things were really as you described," Chen Fan chimed in from the side, "you'd be so pitiful I'd almost want to give you a hug!"
"What do you know?" Sho yelled at Chen Fan, snapping like a cornered dog. "What do you know about our lives? What right do you have to butt in?"
Chen Fan's expression went cold. He stood up from his chair and looked at Sho with a flat, icy gaze. "How long has it been? How long has it been since someone dared to shout at me like that?"
He brought his foot down in a single, heavy stomp.
BOOM!
The floorboards beneath him erupted like a landmine had gone off. Nearby wine glasses shattered into dust. the entire building began to shudder and quake, vibrating with the force of Chen Fan's silent fury. Sho collapsed to the floor, his face pale with terror.
"Chen Fan! Stop!" Erza cried out, reaching a hand toward him.
Chen Fan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing his temper down. The quaking stopped instantly. When he opened his eyes, he offered Erza a small smile. "I was just giving them a little scare. Don't worry about it." He sat back down as if nothing had happened.
Erza gave him a grateful look. Having known him for so long, she understood his temperament well. He had been genuinely angry, and he had only suppressed it for her sake.
She turned back to Sho. "I don't care if you believe me or not, Sho. But every word I said is the truth."
Sho crawled to Simon, clutching at his pant leg. "Simon, tell me she's lying. It's not true, is it? Tell me!"
"No," Simon said softly. "I have always believed in Erza. Everything she said is true. My original plan was to lure several powerful mages to the Tower of Heaven before revealing the truth..." He glanced at Natsu, Gray, and the others, his gaze lingering on Chen Fan. "...but it seems that plan is no longer viable."
"Thank you for believing in me, Simon," Erza said, her voice thick with emotion.
"No... I won't believe it!" Sho shouted. He turned and ran out of the room.
"Sho!" Millianna and Wally called out. Simon gave them a short nod, and the two of them hurried after him.
Gray looked at Simon. "Are you just going to let him go? He might do something stupid." Gray clearly still harbored a grudge over Simon's earlier sneak attack.
"Don't worry. Millianna and Wally will bring him back," Simon replied.
"Alright then," Natsu said, slamming his fists together. As usual, his instincts were sharp when it came to a fight. "Tell us the plan. Your goal is to blow that Jellal guy away, right?"
Simon looked at Erza. Erza looked at Chen Fan, who gave her a slight nod. Seeing his approval, Erza turned back and nodded to Simon.
"Alright," Simon said. "The plan is this..."
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