Chapter 227

She had lived in dire straits since she was a child.

She was once identified as the mastermind of a collective escape attempt, which resulted in the loss of her right eye.

Later, she awakened magic during her resistance and successfully gained freedom.

But she was tragically betrayed by Jellal, and in the end, she was the only one who escaped.

And she joined Fairy Tail and had a prosthetic eye installed.

Up until today.

Looking at the series of documents placed before her.

Irene already understood everything.

Erza...

Is her own child!

Yes, this was a past that made even Irene feel incomparably sorrowful.

More than four hundred years ago, the Irene of this world was forced into an arranged marriage.

Eventually, after the war was won, she became pregnant with a child.

But, because of her own Dragon Slayer mage dragonification.

She was loathed by the general of the neighboring country, who identified her as a monster like Acnologia.

She was imprisoned for three years.

And tortured for three years.

During these three years, Irene attached magic to the child in her womb, forcibly preventing it from being born in the prison.

And it was this very act that made the general of the neighboring country believe.

That it wasn't a child at all, but a monster.

He wanted to forcibly cut open Irene's abdomen to put this monster to death.

Irene could no longer endure such despair.

Thus, she stopped suppressing her dragonification, completely turned into a giant dragon, and destroyed that general.

She destroyed the palace and flew to a remote forest.

This flight lasted four hundred years.

For four hundred years, the dragonified Irene could no longer return to a normal human body.

Until four hundred years later, she met Zeref.

Zeref, a magic genius, easily restored Irene to her human form.

But, this was only a restoration in form and appearance; in essence, Irene was still a giant dragon.

This result was unacceptable to Irene.

She wanted to become human again; on the verge of madness, she pinned her hopes on the child in her womb.

She wanted to use Additional Magic to completely attach her personality to the newborn child; wouldn't Irene then successfully become human?

Thus, the child was born.

But, perhaps due to maternal instinct, in the end, Irene could not bring herself to harm the newborn child.

To prevent herself from constantly having such thoughts.

Irene finally decided to abandon the child.

And the place of abandonment... was the village of Rosemary.

And the child's name was Erza.

Clearly, Erza Scarlet was her own child.

Upon learning all of this, Irene fell into silence on the spot.

Her own child?

Irene didn't know how to face Erza.

Looking at the various hardships on the resume, Irene felt it was her own fault.

If she hadn't abandoned her... would Erza have had a wonderful childhood?

If it weren't for her, could Erza have been like a normal child?

There are no "ifs" in the world.

Without a doubt, Irene felt guilty toward Erza.

Now, she had truly become human, and all her worries had been completely resolved.

But, because of this, her guilt toward Erza grew even more intense.

Irene didn't even know how to face Erza at this moment.

Therefore, until now, Irene hadn't had the courage to take the initiative to say all of this.

"Sigh... what is this all about?" Irene sat alone in her room.

Her gaze fixed on the screen, lost in thought.

Of course, Erza would not appear on the screen.

Because, in the Black World, Erza hadn't even been born.

If it were like the Black World, perhaps she wouldn't be so conflicted now.

However, sometimes, the development of events is always so dramatic.

The moment Irene inadvertently glanced at the screen!

Her pupils suddenly contracted!

Her mouth opened involuntarily.

She saw... in the screen, a crimson figure flashing by.

"That is..."

【Inside the screen.】

【Black Natsu was walking alone on the bustling street.】

【The surrounding noise seemed to have no effect on him at all.】

【He just kept looking at the map in his hand, constantly moving through the crowd.】

【Suddenly, a girl wearing armor with crimson hair brushed past Black Natsu.】

Lucy: "Wait! Look! That back!"

Mirajane: "Crimson long hair, and that armor that never leaves her body? That is... Erza??"

Erza: "Eh? Have I finally appeared?"

Gray: "Doesn't that prove that Erza has already escaped from the Tower of Heaven? Then why didn't she join Fairy Tail?"

Gajeel: "Who knows, maybe the Erza over there joined the Kingdom Army, just like in Edolas."

Edolas.

Yes, in another parallel world, Erza's counterpart, Erza Knightwalker, did not join Fairy Tail.

Instead, she joined the Kingdom Army and became an enemy of Fairy Tail.

Hunting fairies all over the world.

Gajeel's conjecture made everyone present nod involuntarily.

But, on the other side, Irene couldn't sit still.

"Erza??!!"

Irene, who had just been thinking about Erza, couldn't help but exclaim.

She had already stood up from her seat.

Her gaze was fixed on the screen.

An expression of disbelief filled her eyes.

"This... how is this possible?!!"

Inside the screen.

【Black Natsu clearly didn't notice the figure that had just brushed past him.】

【Looking at the map, he soon left the small town.】

【He boarded a carriage and began to head toward his destination, a dark guild hidden in the desert not far from the town.】

【Mission target: Dark Guild, Black Shark Vortex】 ===== CHAPTER 228 =====