Getting Erza distracted enough to slip away unnoticed turned out to be far harder than it had any right to be.
She’d gotten sharper about noticing when I disappeared somewhere, ever since the boat — a kind of quiet, watchful habit that made sense given everything, but made sneaking off considerably more difficult than I would’ve liked.
It took genuine effort, roping Gray and Cana into a conversation about guild history detailed enough to actually hold her attention, before I managed to slip out of the hall while she was mid-argument with Gray about something entirely unrelated to me.
Sorry, Erza.
This one’s not yours to carry alone.
I found a quiet corner outside first, just to sit with the decision a little longer before actually committing to it.
She wanted this kept secret.
Just the two of us, for now, until we’re strong enough to go back properly.
I told her I’d respect that — mostly.
But “mostly” was always going to come with a condition, and here it is.
You’ve been chewing on this since the boat, big brother said, apparently done letting me stew in silence.
Going to actually do it, or keep circling the block?
Doing it.
Just — wanted to be sure first.
If Makarov’s not who I think he is, this backfires badly.
Puts Millianna, Simon, Sho all at even more risk than they’re already in.
And if he is who you think he is?
Then this is the fastest way to actually get them out.
Only one way to find out, then.
I found Makarov in his office, going over some paperwork with the particular weariness of a man who’d rather be doing literally anything else.
He looked up when I knocked, waving me in without much ceremony.
“Something on your mind?” he asked, setting the papers aside.
“I need to tell you something,” I said.
“And I need you to promise, before I say any of it, that it doesn’t leave this room.
Not to the guild.
Not to anyone.
Not yet.” Something in his expression shifted — the easy warmth from yesterday sharpening into something more serious, more attentive.
So I told him.
All of it — the tower, the labor, the guards, the years of it.
Rob’s death, the failed first rebellion, Erza’s eye, Jellal’s disappearance and what he’d become by the time we found him again, the masked girl and her crystal orb, the threat he’d made before letting us go.
I left out the god, obviously — no version of that conversation was going to help anyone — but everything else, every detail I actually had, I laid out for him without flinching.
I told him where we docked , the name of the town in which we asked the priest for money and the general location of tower of paradise .
Makarov listened without interrupting once, his expression growing darker with every piece of it, hands slowly curling into fists on the desk in front of him.
“There are still children there,” he said, once I’d finished.
Not a question.
“Millianna.
Simon.
Sho.
and a lot more ” I hesitated.
“Erza doesn’t know I’m telling you this.
She wanted it kept quiet until we were stronger — strong enough to go back and finish it properly ourselves.
I understand why.
I just don’t think we have the luxury of waiting that long, not with them still down there.” “Jellal, this masked woman — you’re certain of what you saw?” “Certain,” I said.
“I fought both of them myself.
I’m certain.” Makarov was quiet for a long moment, staring at nothing in particular, and when he finally spoke again, his voice had none of the warmth from yesterday’s speech left in it at all — just a low, controlled fury that made the temperature of the room feel like it had dropped several degrees.
“A dark guild.
Enslaving children.
Torturing them.
Turning one of their own into a weapon against everyone he once cared for.” He said each piece slowly, like he was carving the details into memory.
“And they’ve been doing this for years, right under everyone’s notice.” “Yes.” “I will find them,” he said, standing, something in his bearing shifting into a version of him I hadn’t seen yet — the Wizard Saint underneath the grandfatherly bluster, finally showing through.
“I will find every child still in that place, and I will bring them home.
And whoever built that tower, whoever ran it, whoever hurt that boy badly enough to turn him into what you’re describing — they will answer for it.” “Thank you,” I said, quiet, relief and guilt tangled together in a way I hadn’t quite braced for.
“Don’t thank me yet,” Makarov said.
“Thank me once it’s done.
For now — you did the right thing, coming to me with this.
Even knowing it meant breaking your friend’s trust to do it.
That couldn’t have been an easy thing to carry alone.” “It wasn’t,” I admitted.
“You won’t have to carry it alone anymore,” he said.
“Go on.
I have work to do — and you have a guild full of people waiting to actually get to know you, once this weight’s a little lighter on your shoulders.” I left his office feeling lighter than I had in longer than I wanted to admit, even with the guilt of Erza’s broken trust still sitting somewhere underneath it.
One step closer, Millianna.
Simon.
Sho.
Hold on a little longer.