612 Fairy Tail: The Lost Eye of Erza, The Wrath of Chat, Erza and Lucy on the Verge of Collapse and The End of Galuna.

(Flashback)

Allen finished his hearing/interrogation with the Magic Council rather quickly, so he waited for Erza. She also went in and came out without much trouble.

"Did they scold you?" Allen asked with a half-smile.

Erza gave him a silent glance with her dark eyes before blinking. "No, they just asked me a few things… about you."

"About me?" Allen shrugged. "That's weird. If they wanted to know something, they should've just asked me directly..."

Allen's attitude made it hard to tell whether he was hiding something or genuinely unaware. So Erza kept her doubts to herself. She wanted to ask him many things—where he came from, where he learned magic—but that thought quickly died, as she too had her own secrets. It would be hypocritical to pry into someone else's past when she couldn't even face her own.

Two knights approached them and removed their shackles before letting them go freely.

Erza walked beside Allen in silence—a complicated silence, especially after the incident with Siegrain.

Outside, the sun was high in the sky. The Rune Knights offered to escort them back to Fiore. A strange courtesy, considering how they had treated them—especially Allen—as nothing more than criminals.

Allen firmly refused. He intended to use "Apparition" instead of enduring hours of travel. Once the knights left, they both fell into silence again. Erza didn't know how to return to her previous mood. On the way here, she had opened up a little, but now they felt even more distant than when they first met.

"The breeze at this height is pretty nice..." Erza said, holding her hair as it blew in the wind.

"Well, they might be a bunch of grumpy old men, but they have good taste in choosing a base... if only it weren't for those dangerous things buried underground..." Allen pulled a small bottle from his pocket and offered it to Erza. "I'd like to give you something."

"This?" Erza took it curiously, thinking it was some drink.

"It's an elixir capable of regenerating lost body parts..."

"...!" Erza's eyes widened before she frowned with concern. "So you noticed, huh?"

"It wasn't my intention, but my eyes see many things..."

"Don't worry," Erza placed her hand over her right eye. "I've decided not to fix it."

"Why? Don't you want your eye back?"

"This eye isn't just an injury—it's a reminder. A reminder of my own weakness, my sins, my shortcomings..."

Allen smiled. "I see. Still, keep it for when you no longer carry that burden."

Erza was stunned. Was he not going to ask what past she was referring to? Not going to try to convince her to heal it? Not going to scold her for hiding it from the rest of the guild?

"What, you don't believe me?" Allen smiled cheekily.

"Allen" She smiled weakly. "How do you know I'll overcome it someday?"

Allen shrugged. "Because I believe in you. I believe anyone, even the strongest, can make mistakes. I also believe that someone like you can be vulnerable—but that doesn't make you weak. So I'm sure you'll get past it... and if you can't, don't worry, I'll do it for you."

"...!" Erza's eyes widened to the point she couldn't believe it. Then she quickly looked away, not wanting to show her face at that moment.

(End of Flashback)

...

The sensation of sinking into water is quite peculiar. Some say it's like slowly falling into a dream; others compare it to leaving your body behind.

Allen stared at the faint rays of light filtering through the cold, salty water. Despite his situation, his calm expression reflected a feeling far from victory—because this wasn't one.

Allen remembered clearly the moment he used his composite magic—his most powerful weapon at the moment. He had managed to almost completely disintegrate Deliora. However, just before the beast vanished, the process stopped, and Deliora began regenerating. In that moment, Allen felt the pressure. He realized his strength might not be enough, but even so, he was willing to fight to the bitter end.

But that didn't happen...

Before the battle could continue, Deliora's half-regenerated body cracked and crumbled, then disappeared. Time had run out. The Lucifer particle floated out of Deliora's body and was absorbed by the system.

At that moment, Allen let himself fall into the sea… and that's how he ended up like this.

...

Eve – You idiot! What are you doing?! You wanna drown?!

Felicia – Artoria, can't you do something? No—wait, why didn't you all help him fight?! Was protecting male pride that important?!

Artoria – We can't...

Makima – Unlike the spirits of this world, we can't appear in the human world unless Allen summons us... because of you-know-who.

Diana – You again, Lucifer?!

Lucifer – Hm? Of course, it was necessary. If he's got a dozen girls protecting him at all times, even without powers he could clear this world with his eyes closed...

Maeve – Damn it...

Rogue – I really can't stand this guy...

Rangiku – Don't you have anything better to do than bully someone younger than you?

'Don't worry… I'm fine, said Allen with an echo in his voice—it happens when communicating with the Chat through thoughts. 'Once I recover a bit, I'll use Apparition...'

Allen didn't even try to swim. He was tired, drained both physically and magically—but that wasn't the reason he stayed still. The real reason was the truth he couldn't ignore:

He had lost again...

Many would say surviving is a victory in itself. But for Allen, it didn't feel that way. He opened his inventory interface and looked at the cause of all this. It was a small red spark with a white aura—the fragment, the tiny, very tiny portion of Lucifer's power.

[Lucifer Particle – Quantity: 1. A minuscule fragment of the power of one of the most powerful beings to ever exist...]

Allen didn't read the rest of the description. He thought he knew Lucifer. He thought he had seen what he was capable of. But now that it wasn't through comic book pages—but face to face—he understood how terrifying his enemy truly was. Allen had promised himself he wouldn't lose again... and not even a month had passed since it happened again.

'No... I can't give up…'

Allen's gaze sharpened. He didn't have time to pity himself. He had to keep moving forward. He had to defeat Lucifer!

With renewed determination, Allen tried to get out of there—but a wave of fatigue overwhelmed him. It seemed his stamina had hit its limit. Allen had taken a lot of indirect damage from Deliora by not defending himself properly.

'Damn, I'm so sleepy... System?'

[Don't worry, someone's already on the way...]

Allen looked up to see an angel descending from the sky—except it wasn't an angel. It was Erza, with her Heaven's Wheel Armor, that gave her a pair of wings. Allen smiled just before she embraced him. Then, slowly, he fell asleep, entrusting his body to Erza.

...

(Galuna Island)

Gray had defeated Lyon and was reunited with Lucy and they both went to the coast after seeing the trail of destruction left by Deliora.

Lucy and Gray ran toward Natsu and Erza, who were flying back.

Erza laid Allen down gently and pulled bandages and gauze from her belt pockets.

When Lucy reached him, she turned pale and dropped to her knees in terror. Allen was breathing calmly and didn't seem to be in pain, but his body was clearly in bad shape. He had wounds all over, a broken left arm, a massive hole in his stomach, several burn marks on his body and face from his own magic, and worst of all—his right arm was missing.

Lucy held her head, unable to hold back her tears.

"Lucy!" Erza called her in a serious tone, "I need your help!"

"Huh?" Lucy, who was on the verge of breaking down, looked up and was shaken by Erza's stern gaze. Immediately, she rushed to help stop the bleeding.

Natsu clenched his teeth while Gray punched a tree. Deliora was dead, but if the price was a comrade's life, it wasn't worth it. Happy, with tears in his eyes, watched as Lucy tried to stay strong, cutting Allen's shirt to apply emergency medicine. As for Erza, she looked more composed, but Happy noticed that despite her serious face, her hands were trembling.

No one wanted to say it out loud, but the wounds were far too severe. If it had been anyone else, they would've been dead long ago. And yet, Allen kept breathing steadily, giving everyone a sliver of hope.

"You can't die yet…" Lucy whispered, not knowing what else to do. The gauze soaked in blood instantly.

"Should we cauterize it?!" Natsu suggested.

"…" Erza shook her head. Maybe for the arm it would work, but they couldn't cauterize such a huge stomach wound—they'd end up cooking his already damaged organs.

Timcampy flew in circles above Allen. He knew his master wouldn't die, but he couldn't speak to tell them that. So he had an idea—he flew to Erza and bit her belt. Erza looked at Timcampy confused at first, then her eyes lit up. She pulled out the elixir Allen had given her.

She glanced at the vial, then smiled at Tim. "Thank you, little friend…"

Erza opened the bottle and drank it before placing her lips on Allen's and transferring the potion directly. Everyone stared in shock—especially Lucy—but instead of reacting with jealousy, she stayed calm, praying it would work.

'Don't you dare die,' Erza thought, her heart weak but forcing herself to stay strong for everyone else.

Allen's body began to glow faintly. True to the reputation of high-grade potions—elixirs—Allen's right arm began to regenerate. His wounds, burns, broken bones, and even the hole in his stomach healed. Soon, his body was back to normal, muscles sculpted, skin flawless… but more importantly, the spell he always had on himself had deactivated as a side effect.

"Gray, what is that?" Natsu asked, incredulous.

"I don't know. I think this is his real appearance…" Gray rubbed his eyes.

"…" Lucy was in a daze. Allen had once told her his appearance was slightly different from what she saw, but that it wasn't a big deal—he didn't change faces, just blurred his features a little. "This is way more than a little!"

Erza said nothing, then picked up Allen and carried him toward the village to let him rest. Lucy snapped out of her trance and followed. Natsu and Gray exchanged glances before continuing behind them.

"Never thought someone could make Loke look ugly…" Natsu murmured as Gray clicked his tongue.

"I'm worried about what'll happen to the guild's women if they ever see his real face…"

"The world is unfair," said Happy, flying beside them. "Allen's not only super strong, he's also stupidly handsome. Just give up, the fight was over before it started!"

"Shut up, cat!" Gray yelled.

"I haven't lost yet! I'll beat him someday!" Natsu shouted.

"Silence!" Erza turned toward them, furious. "Can't you see Allen is sleeping?!"

Natsu and Gray clung to each other in fear. "Sorry!!"

....

A few hours passed before Allen opened his eyes. He was lying in a bed, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling—but after thinking for a moment, he remembered that Erza had helped him.

"Hm?" Allen was surprised to see his arm had regenerated. He had used the system's life support, so he wouldn't die regardless of how terrible his wounds looked. Once he awakened, he'd have magic to heal himself. But now he realized he hadn't considered how much he would scare Erza and Lucy by appearing like that.

"I have to apologize…" Allen murmured as he looked out the window, lacking motivation. Being defeated once again wounded his pride. It might sound silly, but Allen had built that pride after overcoming countless obstacles and enemies. Losing to Lucifer had hurt, but that was a nearly omnipotent being—it wasn't shameful. But losing to a fake demon really got to him.

Meanwhile, Lucy was on her way to where Allen was sleeping.

Lucy sighed. Earlier, Erza and Natsu had destroyed the crystallized magical energy in the sky caused by Moon Drip. However, something incredible had happened—the villagers hadn't turned into demons. They had always been demons. Moon Drip had merely erased part of their memories and made them believe they weren't.

Lucy couldn't believe it. To make things weirder, the man they supposedly killed for going insane—named Bobo—appeared. He was the one who had brought Gray and Natsu by boat. It turns out that he was also the son of the village leader. But the warm reunion ended with Sherry and Yuka showing up to settle the score.

Erza instantly beat them up, but they didn't fight back. They realized how much wrong they had done, blinded by their hatred for Deliora.

Lucy could only sigh while Natsu had already forgiven his former enemies. Now, they were laughing and eating together with demons. The girl couldn't take any more of this and went to check on Allen.

When she opened the door, Lucy was relieved to see Allen awake. She wanted to speak—but stopped when she saw him gazing out the window. His white hair reflected the sunlight, his eyes were mesmerizing, and his face was so handsome it stole her breath away. Allen's magic didn't make him ugly—it simply layered a spell over his appearance that altered others' perception to make them believe he was average. But without that filter, Lucy was stunned. Even the prince of her dreams wouldn't compare to this version of Allen.

"Lucy?" Allen turned toward her. She clutched her chest, face flushed. Then he smiled at her—which was a bad idea because Lucy's nose began bleeding before she collapsed comically. That's when Allen realized his spell had deactivated.

...

The group said goodbye to the villagers and began walking back toward the port.

Lucy couldn't stop staring at Allen's face. He gave her a wry smile, "If you're gonna ask something, just ask."

Lucy puffed her cheeks. "It's cruel that even though we live together, you never showed me your real face until now…"

"What?!" Erza gasped and grabbed Allen by the shirt. "Hey, what does that mean?! You live with Lucy?!"

"Calm down, Erza. She's not lying… but we live in the same building, not in the same place."

Erza let go of his collar and, noticing everyone staring, coughed with a faint blush. Still, she frowned at Allen.

"So it's true. Just roommates? Then why hide your face?" Erza pouted as she scolded him, causing Natsu, Happy, and Gray to gape in disbelief. Seeing Erza act so girly was unacceptable.

Allen sighed. "Well, before joining Fairy Tail, my goal was to stay under the radar for a while and… well… this'll sound weird, but my appearance isn't exactly low profile…"

Erza and Lucy nodded. If Loke already had a dozen girlfriends, Allen—who made him look like Frankenstein—would probably drive all the city's women insane.

Erza grabbed Allen's shoulder. "You're forbidden from showing that face in public! That includes other guild girls!"

"…" Allen blinked, unable to believe how strict she was being.

Lucy grabbed his other shoulder. "Now that I know the truth, it feels weird talking to you like this, so… in private, I'd prefer you didn't use the spell." Lucy blushed at the end of her sentence.

[Well, they're not even official girlfriends yet and already act like jealous wives~]

'Shut up…' Allen shook his head, gazing at the horizon, wondering what else this world had in store for him.

---

Ultear silently watched Allen and his group walk away. She had received orders to report everything to Siegrain, but for some reason, she didn't. Especially not the part about Deliora being free… or the true power Allen had shown.

"We'll meet again… Liar-kun"

===

A/N: I think it's better to skip the filler in the anime and focus on important arcs. 🤔

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