Chapter 685 - 685: Jellal’s Past

Jellal had already told Meredy, Sorano, Richard, and the others about his past, so there was no real reason to hide it from Raizel's group.

He had moved on from those memories long ago.

Even so, he had no intention of changing his name back.

When Jellal was still very young, his father passed away.

Standing before his father's grave with his mother beside him, he made a promise.

It had been raining heavily that day, so hard that young Jellal could no longer tell whether the water running down his face came from the sky or from his own tears.

His mother gently stroked his head.

"Siegrain, say a prayer for your father."

Jellal's eyes were red as he struggled through his sobs.

"Mom... From now on, I'll protect you. I'll learn Magic and become a member of the Magic Council."

A gentle smile appeared on his mother's face.

"Then you'll have to attend the Magic school at the edge of the village."

"I will!"

"With what money?"

"I'll work! I'll earn it myself!"

At his answer, his mother suddenly let go of her umbrella.

She dropped to her knees in the rain and pulled him tightly into her arms, fighting to keep her grief under control.

"All I want... is for you to grow up safe and happy."

Even at that age, Jellal could hear the sadness in her voice.

His eyes brightened with determination as he made another promise.

"I want to become a man strong enough to protect you, Mom! I'll become someone you can rely on, and I'll never let you cry again!"

But reality had no intention of honoring a child's promise.

The Black Magic cult came and destroyed everything.

Spell after spell of magical fire shot from their staffs, setting the village ablaze until the entire settlement was consumed in flames.

Even now, Jellal could still remember one command more clearly than almost anything else.

"Take all the children alive! Kill the adults!"

The villagers were ordinary people.

Against Mages, they had no chance.

One after another, they were slaughtered.

Jellal ran through the burning village in panic.

"Mom! Mom! Where are you?!"

Then he finally saw her.

His mother waved desperately toward him through the flames.

"Siegrain! Mommy's here! Come this way!"

"Mom!"

Jellal's face lit up, and he ran toward her.

A blade struck her across the back.

His mother collapsed.

Blood spread beneath her body, rapidly forming a pool across the ground.

Another Mage seized Jellal and pinned him down.

All he could do was scream and cry helplessly while watching the life slowly fade from his mother only a short distance away.

Soon afterward, Jellal and children abducted from several other villages were thrown together inside a temporary prison.

Jellal remained trapped inside his grief, unable to speak to anyone around him.

He seemed completely detached from the other children.

Eventually, a boy around his age looked toward him.

"What's your name?"

"..."

Jellal answered only with silence.

The boy continued anyway.

"I'm Wally."

Jellal sat with his knees drawn against his chest and his head lowered between his arms.

After a long time, he finally murmured,

"My name is Sieg—"

He stopped himself.

"No. Siegrain should be at Magic school right now... studying so he can become strong enough to protect his mother."

His voice became distant, as though he were describing the future of someone else entirely.

"He'll be noticed at the village school and earn a place at an academy in a big city. He'll graduate at the top of his class, enter the Magic Council, accomplish something important... and eventually become a Council member."

He slowly lifted his head.

"The person here isn't me."

"It isn't Siegrain."

"This is someone else."

"Jellal."

That was how the young boy survived.

He divided himself into two identities—the Siegrain who would continue living the life he had once dreamed of, and the Jellal who existed in the reality before him.

Years later, when Guild Master Precht sent him to infiltrate the Magic Council, he chose to use his real name.

Siegrain.

Fortunately, this time he had never fallen completely under another person's influence.

Someone had entered his life before Precht ever had the chance to reshape him.

Raizel.

Back then, Raizel had stormed in with overwhelming strength, defeated Zoldeo, who had been controlling the situation at the time, and freed the captured children.

Of course, Jellal's luck had remained questionable.

Not long afterward, Brain—the future master of the Oración Seis, who had already taken an interest in him—captured him yet again.

It was only when Jellal later encountered Raizel at the Tower of Heaven and finally told him everything that the fractured pieces of his identity gradually began falling back into place.

That was part of the reason he wanted to establish a Magic Academy now.

For the child he had once been.

For the boy who had stood beside his father's grave and sworn that he would learn Magic.

And for the countless children just like him who wanted the strength to protect their families.

'...I wasn't expecting to show up in this story at the end.'

Raizel had not anticipated suddenly becoming part of Jellal's childhood recollection.

A subdued silence settled across the headmaster's office.

Jellal's life had never been easy.

He truly had been someone who lived within darkness while still yearning for the light.

Then again, after Brain handed him over to Precht, Precht had actually treated him fairly well.

Whatever else could be said about the man, he had taught Jellal seriously, answered his questions, and guided his growth as a Mage.

Noticing that everyone had become rather somber, Jellal gave them a faint smile.

"There's no need to look so upset. Meredy, Sorano, Richard, and the others went through plenty themselves. I'm hardly the only one with a difficult past."

"It's already over."

"And I did fulfill the promise I made back then."

"I became a member of the Magic Council."

Natsu blinked curiously.

"So are we supposed to call you Jellal or Siegrain from now on?"

"Either is fine. They're both me."

Jellal smiled slightly.

"But I'll continue using Jellal."

Natsu nodded.

"Oh. Then I'll stick with Jellal. I'm already used to it."

Jellal glanced at the time and rose from his seat.

"It's almost time. Meredy, Sorano, and I should head down first."

Jura and Richard were also at the academy that day and were currently helping maintain order around the athletic field.

Ultear used a magical crystal screen to watch what was happening outside.

They only needed to wait until Jellal mentioned his "mysterious guests," and then it would be their turn to appear.

Jellal's opening speech was not especially long.

Before long, he reached its conclusion.

Dressed in a black suit, Jellal faced the assembled students with a serious expression.

"I hope you learn Magic so that you can survive, so that you can protect your families, and so that one day you can help make this world a better place!"

He had delivered a full serving of inspirational encouragement right from the start.

"OOOOOH!!!"

The children cheered and applauded wildly.

At their age, there was nothing wrong with a little idealism.

Perhaps because he was speaking to children, Jellal's tone became slightly more playful.

"All right, settle down. To help everyone understand Magic a little better, I've invited some special guests today."

A young boy immediately raised his hand.

"More guests besides Mr. Jura and Mr. Richard?!"

Jura smiled and shook his head.

"Yes. People even stronger and more famous than I am."

The students immediately erupted into speculation.

"Could it be...?"

"One of the Four Gods of Ishgar?!"

"Fairy Tail!"

Jellal did not answer.

He simply walked toward the edge of the stage.

A red magic circle appeared roughly three meters above the center of the platform, rotating continuously as crimson light spilled across the stage.

"A magic circle! Look!"

The children stared excitedly at the intricate runes covering it, even though most of them had no idea what kind of Magic they were looking at.

Within the red light, silhouettes gradually began to appear.

Raizel.

Laxus.

Ultear.

Mira.

Erza.

Kagura.

Lucy.

And many others whose names were known throughout the Kingdom of Fiore, and even across much of Ishgar, materialized together at the center of the stage.

Crocus Magic Academy accepted students as young as eight.

These children were already old enough to recognize the Mages they had grown up hearing about.

"IT'S RAIZEL!!!"

"AND THE SALAMANDER!"

"IT REALLY IS FAIRY TAIL!!!"

"I SAW THEM AT THE GRAND MAGIC GAMES!"