The thunder that illuminated the heavens and the darkness that devoured everything collided, and the powerful explosion instantly spread outward, shattering the Dark Crystal Tower from the middle into several sections.
The entire small island gradually dissolved in the collision of the darkness and thunder.
Fortunately, George had already pre-emptively communicated with Aisha and the others through telepathy regarding their strategy for the attack.
Before the magics of both sides had collided, Hugh activated the playing card magic prematurely, and first collected the injured everyone into the deck of cards.
Later, Zephyr, who was in the best condition, led Hugh directly to the sea to avoid the aftermath of the magical collision.
"I'm glad I have enough meat, or I really couldn't handle it!"
The thunder and darkness receded, and George, holding his staff, cast a healing spell upon himself.
If it weren't for the Giant spell he used to strengthen his body at a crucial moment, he might have been more than just injured.
"Now you know how it feels, huh? You're not being so wild now, are you?"
Looking downward, the small island, which was once larger than the town, had now shrunk to the size of a football field under the lingering effects of the collision between the two forces.
However, Gerard was lying motionless on the small island, with his entire body charred black and unconscious from his severe injuries.
The forbidden magic of inferno fracture that Gerard casted has almost the same power as his ultimate electromagnetic cannon, but he is much tougher than Gerard and received timely treatment, which is why he is not in a bad condition.
"My magic crystal!"
Looking at the shattered remains of those smaller than one percent of the original magic crystal on the ground, George felt an immense pain in his heart.
Unfortunately, under the circumstances just now, he didn't have time to split his body and protect the magic crystal, resulting in most of the magic crystals being destroyed by the afterwave.
"Better than having none."
Consoling himself, George put the remaining magic crystals into his box and collected them into his changing space.
These magic crystals should be enough for him to use for two years. He can think of other ways after they're gone.
"George! George!"
Just after George collected the remaining magic crystals, Aisha and the others emerged from the sea.
Only after seeing George standing unharmed on the small island, which was now as large as a football field, and Gerard lying unconscious and severely injured on the ground, did they all collectively let out a sigh of relief.
Swimming to the small island, Aisha pulled out a new magical sword and then gritted her teeth as she pointed it towards Gerard.
"Today, let me finish you once and for all, fulfilling the destiny that has been weighing on me for eight years."
Originally, when she came to the small island, she harbored a heartfelt wish to save Gerard and guide him back on the right path.
After all, Gerard used to be so kind and gentle. It was to protect them that he was captured by those black magisters and transformed into his current state.
However, after hearing Gerard's words just now, she realized that Gerard was beyond saving and that the only way to prevent him from causing further damage in the future was to completely eliminate him.
Therefore, even though she felt deep down in her heart, she couldn't hesitate for a moment.
"Hold on, wait a moment, don't be in a hurry."
George saw the situation and stopped Aisha.
Through Aisha's narrative and Gerard's words, he felt that something was off about this situation.
According to Aisha's words, Gerard was originally very gentle, kind, and justice-oriented. It was after he was captured by the black magisters that his personality suddenly changed, banishing her and starting to take up the legacy of those black magisters, dedicating himself to the cause of reviving Jarluff.
As Gerard said, it was because he heard Jarluff's whisper, telling him the true meaning of freedom.
According to the normal psychological development, this is an impossible event.
The transformation of a person's character and beliefs must have a process, at least several months, and according to Aisha's description, for someone as strong as Gerard, it would take several years, if not more.
If one must say that there is a possible explanation, it might be similar to the soul-stealing spell that Gerard cast, using mental magic to influence a person's spirit and cause such a rapid change in their character.
Therefore, he suspects that Gerard is very likely to have been subjected to mental magic by the black magisters after they captured him and had been under control for a long time.
Otherwise, given the strength that Gerard showed, if he had not been continuously influenced, he should have been able to regain normalcy on his own much sooner.
"Mental Apprehension!"
George pressed his cat-claw on Gerard's forehead, activating both telepathy and mental apprehension simultaneously.
The normal casting of the mental apprehension spell requires the target to be conscious and to look into the caster's eyes, peering into the soul through the eyes to read some fragments of memory.
Unlike the normal mental apprehension spell, George doesn't need to go through all that trouble. He can directly invade the target's brain with his mental ability and apply the mental apprehension spell to enhance its effects.
"It really is."
As soon as he invaded Gerard's brain, he immediately discovered a subtle spiritual energy lurking within Gerard's mind.
"Get down from there you."
His mental abilities erupted, forcibly pulling that spiritual energy out of Gerard's mind and allowing it to regain its original form within his consciousness.
"It's you!"
After seeing the appearance of that spiritual body, George's face immediately revealed an amazed expression.
Because he recognized this guy, or more accurately, they had met once before.
It was the chairperson of the council in Krobus City, Uritia, whom he had encountered before when he went to repair the town.
"I never expected that the plan would ultimately fail in the hands of a cat like you."
Uritia looked at the George, who appeared as a giant beast within Gerard's consciousness, knowing that the spiritual power she left in Gerard's brain was no match for George.
So she left a message and then dispersed on her own.
"He was indeed controlled, and the one controlling him was a female magician named Uritia from the council..."
Retracting his hand, George told everyone about Gerard's situation.
Everyone was shocked by this truth. Aisha and Simon's gaze towards Gerard shifted from disappointment and hatred to pity.
Knowing that Gerard was controlled to do these things, they naturally no longer blamed him. The gentle and kind Gerard they had known had never disappeared from their hearts.
As for Natsu and Lucy and the others, they were all kind-hearted people, and since none of their companions had been killed in the battle, they wouldn't have cared much.
"Revive as before!"
Although Gerard's injury was serious, George cast basic healing magic to prevent him from dying.
After learning the truth, some thoughts began to form in his mind.
Since his goal is to become the guild master of Fairy Tail in the future, it is necessary to strengthen the guild.
The stronger the guild, the more benefits he can get in this world in the future.
If one day Fairy Tail becomes the strongest guild in this world, he wouldn't even need to leave the guild. The mages from the guild could execute tasks worldwide, bringing him a lot of resources and magic that he wants.
So, he thought that if Gerard could return to normal and bring him and Simon and others into the guild, it might be a good choice.
