Chapter 210: The Mastermind Behind It All—Ultear

The blinding lightning and devouring darkness clashed, releasing a powerful explosion that spread in all directions, shattering the magical crystal tower into several pieces.

The entire island began to dissolve under the collision of darkness and lightning.

Thankfully, George had foreseen this and used telepathy to inform Erza and the others of a strategy to counter the situation.

Before the magical forces collided, Sho activated his card magic to store the injured members into his cards.

Then, Juvia, who was in the best condition, took Sho and submerged them into the ocean to avoid the aftermath of the collision.

"Good thing I'm tough; otherwise, I wouldn't have made it!"

As the lightning and darkness receded, George held his wand and cast healing magic on himself. If he hadn't reinforced his body with giant magic at the last moment, his injuries would have been far worse.

"Not so arrogant now, are you?"

George glanced down. The island, once larger than a town, had been reduced to the size of a soccer field in the wake of the magical clash.

On the island lay Jellal, his body charred and unconscious from severe injuries.

The power of Jellal's forbidden spell, Purgatory Shatter, was on par with George's ultimate electromagnetic cannon. However, George's resilience, combined with timely healing, left him relatively unscathed.

"My magical crystals!"

Looking at the shattered remains of the crystals—barely 1% of the original amount—George couldn't help but feel a deep pang of regret.

There had been no time to protect the crystals during the clash, resulting in most of them being destroyed by the shockwaves.

"Better than none."

Consoling himself, George packed the remaining crystals into his storage box and stashed them in his equipped space. They should last him two years, and he would figure out a solution when they ran out.

"George! George!"

As George finished collecting the crystals, Erza and the others emerged from the sea.

Seeing George standing unharmed on the now-small island, with Jellal unconscious nearby, they collectively heaved a sigh of relief.

Swimming ashore, Erza drew a new magical sword, her teeth clenched as she pointed it at Jellal.

"Today, I will end this and fulfill the fate of the past eight years."

Initially, Erza had hoped to save Jellal and lead him back to the right path.

After all, Jellal had once been kind and compassionate, even risking his life to protect them before being captured by dark wizards and transformed into what he was now.

But hearing his words earlier, Erza realized Jellal was beyond saving. To prevent future destruction, she had to end this, no matter how much it pained her.

"Wait. Not so fast," George interjected, stopping Erza.

Based on Erza's recounting and Jellal's statements, George felt something was amiss.

According to Erza, Jellal had been kind-hearted and righteous, only to undergo a drastic personality shift after being captured by dark wizards. He had driven her away and inherited their goal of resurrecting Zeref.

Jellal claimed Zeref's whispers had revealed to him the truth of freedom.

But from a psychological perspective, such a drastic and sudden transformation was impossible without external interference.

For a person as strong-willed as Jellal, such a change would take years. Unless…

"Unless he was influenced by a mental magic spell, like my Imperius Curse," George muttered.

He suspected Jellal had been subjected to long-term mind control by the dark wizards, explaining his drastic and rapid transformation.

"Legilimency!"

George placed his paw on Jellal's forehead, activating telepathy and Legilimency simultaneously.

Normally, Legilimency required the target to be conscious and maintain eye contact, but George bypassed these conditions with his telepathic abilities.

"Got you."

As he invaded Jellal's mind, George detected a faint but distinct mental energy entrenched in his brain.

"Time to pull you out."

Using his psychic power, George forcibly extracted the mental energy from Jellal's mind, revealing its true form within Jellal's consciousness.

"It's you!"

George's eyes widened in surprise as he recognized the figure materializing within Jellal's mindscape.

It was someone he had met before—Ultear from the Magic Council.

"I didn't expect my plans to fall apart in the hands of a cat," Ultear sneered, gazing at the beast-like George towering over her within Jellal's mindscape.

Knowing she was no match for him, Ultear left a final remark before dissipating.

"He was being controlled," George explained after withdrawing his paw, revealing the truth to everyone. "The one behind it all is Ultear, a female wizard from the Magic Council."

The revelation left everyone in shock. Erza and Simon, who had looked at Jellal with hatred and disappointment, now saw him in a new light—one of pity.

The kind and gentle Jellal they once knew had never truly disappeared. Learning he was manipulated into his actions extinguished their resentment.

Natsu and Lucy, too kind-hearted to hold grudges in the absence of casualties, quickly let it go.

"Healing Hands!"

George cast a basic healing spell on Jellal, stabilizing his injuries to prevent him from succumbing to them.

With the truth unveiled, George began forming new ideas.

As an aspiring future master of Fairy Tail, strengthening the guild was imperative.

The stronger the guild, the greater the benefits George could reap. If Fairy Tail became the world's most powerful guild, its members' missions would indirectly bring him valuable resources and magic.

Bringing Jellal and Simon into Fairy Tail, once they recovered, seemed like an excellent opportunity to bolster the guild's ranks.