Chapter 657: Born Villain! An Unerasable Nightmare!

Upon hearing this unknown individual, claiming to be the soul of the deceased, deceive a boy who had clearly just suffered a blow.

Jellal’s expression changed instantly; after a fleeting shift in his features, he sighed faintly: “Aside from the twisted curse, perhaps these people are the true reason I am feared by all mages today?”

As a person by nature kind, Jellal, though forced by the twisted curse to walk alone and avoid all contact with life, understood that the curse was one thing—but being falsely blamed was another.

Over the past four hundred years, due to the curse, Jellal could not even touch another human being; in such an extended time, who knows how many had committed unspeakable acts under his name.

Only now, because of Luo Fu, did Jellal witness and hear it firsthand—but how many more unseen and unheard atrocities have piled up over these four centuries? It is precisely this endless accumulation of false accusations that forged Jellal’s reputation as a figure of terror.

Luo Fu never expected to arrive so perfectly timed—to catch Uteria impersonating Jellal and deceiving Jellal.

“Master!” Luo Fu glanced at Jellal beside him and said, “He is my companion. I cannot let him be deceived like this.”

The moment he finished speaking, a magnificent magic array suddenly materialized before Luo Fu.

Seeing this, Jellal’s eyes lit up instantly; the bitterness he had felt over others impersonating him and committing evil deeds vanished in an instant, replaced by curiosity toward Luo Fu’s spatial magic.

Shinigami Space, continuously strengthened by Luo Fu across twelve heavenly worlds, had now become a power nearly equivalent to an independent world.

Yet due to the localization process, Luo Fu could currently only use it as a simple space—not yet a true world—and even because of the Dao and principles inherent to Fairy Tail itself.

Though it was a teleportation ability that appeared and vanished without warning, it was strangely adorned with a lavish magic array.

Especially since Shinigami links two spatial coordinates, whenever Luo Fu activates it, whether entering Shinigami Space or exiting from it, a magic array always manifests.

When Luo Fu activated Shinigami Space.

Both Jellal and Uteria saw the glow of the magic array.

When Luo Fu appeared, Uteria’s face instantly changed, nearly exposing that her true form was not the Jellal she was currently impersonating.

Though Uteria had long severed ties with her mother Uru, she had escaped from the research facility and thus closely monitored the Magic Council’s movements—after all, she had never let go of her hatred. Though she had destroyed the facility, she still paid close attention to her mother.

When Uru reported Luo Fu’s existence to the Magic Council, Uteria learned of it almost immediately.

At this moment, upon recognizing that Luo Fu was, according to Uru, a terrifying existence surpassing even dragons and demons.

Uteria immediately abandoned her plan to impersonate Jellal and manipulate Jellal.

Yet just as she tried to withdraw her thought-form disguised as Jellal’s soul, she was horrified to discover it had been forcibly immobilized—she could not move at all.

“Itachi… Itachi… Brother Luo Fu.” Compared to Uteria, Jellal, upon seeing Luo Fu, felt nothing but pure joy.

After all, the chaos in the Tower of Heaven had deeply shaken Jellal and the other children, who already lived in constant peril.

If before, being forced into grueling labor and constant hunger in the Tower of Heaven was a slow death, this chaos was outright catastrophic.

Though only Erza had successfully escaped during their planned flight.

Jellal, who had just been manipulated by Uteria and had not yet fully turned to darkness, still retained fragments of his former emotions.

Seeing Luo Fu naturally filled him with joy.

Yet this joy lasted only an instant.

Yes, after his escape failed and he was captured by the cult, Jellal had shown astonishing resilience—enduring brutal torture without betraying Erza.

But how could such a cruel life, endured at such a young age, leave no mark on Jellal whatsoever?

Had he seen Luo Fu again before being captured and tortured by the cult, Jellal’s heart would have held only joy—but now, beneath his joy, other thoughts stirred within him.

Perhaps Jellal truly is a born villain; at the very least, his ability to conceal his true intentions, combined with the incomplete localization process, had indeed fooled even Luo Fu.

He truly believed Jellal had not yet become the great villain who, after suffering cruel persecution by the cult, went on to inflict even harsher suffering upon other children after seizing the Tower of Heaven.

After calming the agitated Jellal, Luo Fu calmly turned his gaze toward Uteria’s immobilized thought-form.

“Uteria, it seems Itachi never sought out Uru—and still harbor boundless hatred toward her.”

“Brother Luo Fu, who is Uteria?” Jellal’s eyes flickered; though still a child, his golden gaze—once innocent and naive—now revealed cunning beyond his years. “Isn’t he the soul of Jellal, the original black mage from four hundred years ago?”

Upon hearing “Jellal’s soul,” Luo Fu couldn’t help glancing toward Jellal.

Though Jellal had come to the Tower of Heaven with Luo Fu, he himself had never actually set foot upon it.

After all, his twisted curse could not be avoided by mere cleverness.

Even spatial magic could not contain the death energy generated by the twisted curse.

The only way to prevent his death energy from affecting others was one: physical distance—to block its influence on other life through separation.

Though he deeply disliked this impostor, Jellal still refrained from ascending the Tower of Heaven to clear his name, to avoid spreading death energy among its other inhabitants.

Yet Jellal was not so virtuous as to be foolish—so foolish as to let others falsely accuse him without explanation.

Quite the opposite: his twisted curse meant that if he ever stepped onto the Tower of Heaven, death energy would spread uncontrollably—then, no matter what he said, he’d be stained with guilt beyond redemption.

“Itachi… Itachi know Uru?” At the mention of her mother’s name, Uteria could no longer maintain her Jellal disguise.

Luo Fu withdrew his gaze from Jellal and nodded. “Correct. Had it not been for Uru, I would not now be wanted by the Magic Council.”

Jellal, seeing his question received no reply from Luo Fu, lowered his eyes and frowned slightly.

He had to admit: though Jellal, to protect Erza, had endured torture at the hands of the cult without yielding or betraying her.

Yet after enduring such torment, Jellal’s true nature had changed—or rather, this trial had gradually shifted his innermost self toward self-interest.

Though he may not have entirely abandoned his feelings for Luo Fu, Erza, and the others, clearly, he now regarded himself as the most important.

For Luo Fu, he had always recognized only the little brother who had never suffered torture at the hands of the cult; as for the future, fully corrupted Jellal—

As long as the man did not stand against him, Luo Fu would never play the righteous hero, invoking moral high ground to execute kin.

Though Luo Fu had not yet noticed Jellal’s inner change, for Luo Fu, who already knew the future, Jellal carried a filter of past-life memory.

Uteria clearly misunderstood something.

Upon learning from Luo Fu that he had become a wanted man solely because of Uru’s actions,

Uteria’s expression turned strange.

Her gaze, filled with a sly, profound amusement, scanned Luo Fu up and down.

In Uteria’s heart, she was the daughter abandoned by Uru, harboring years of resentment toward her.

Now, Luo Fu’s words led Uteria to assume, naturally, that Luo Fu was also a victim of Uru.

After all, when Uteria had finally escaped the facility and saw her mother’s joyful smile with her disciple, what else could she think?

But the next words from Luo Fu plunged Uteria into unprecedented panic.

“Itachi don’t think I share your hatred for Uru, do Itachi?” Luo Fu said with deep implication.

“Since Itachi too were harmed by Uru, perhaps we can cooperate,” Uteria assumed.

Not only did Luo Fu have no desire to seek revenge on Uru, though her report to the Magic Council had indeed caused him great trouble,

Uru had first saved his life—who else would have rescued him when, before his powers were fully localized, he rashly sailed out to sea and suffered a shipwreck?

Perhaps Luo Fu could have survived the storm and shipwreck during the localization process—but that was only perhaps.

Who would stake their life on “perhaps”?

Since he had genuinely escaped death because of Uru, Luo Fu owed her this debt.

Previously, helping the village repel Daelira had repaid part of it; now, Luo Fu intended to resolve the misunderstanding between Uru and Uteria.

Thus, he would fully repay Uru’s life-saving grace. Afterwards, even if he stood against Uru again, Luo Fu would show no mercy.

“Cooperate? Itachi don’t seriously believe Uru intentionally abandoned Itachi to the facility, do Itachi?” Luo Fu’s words caused Uteria’s expression to change drastically.

The experience in the facility was an indelible nightmare for Uteria—so much so that when she saw Uru smiling warmly with her disciple, she immediately believed Uru had abandoned her.

The facility’s horrors were simply too unbearable to recall!

In Uteria’s heart, her own mother had personally delivered her to the facility, where she endured unspeakable torment; after barely escaping, she saw her mother’s warm smile with her disciple.

This crushing contradiction led Uteria to naturally assume her suffering was entirely her mother’s will.

But now, Luo Fu’s words had suddenly planted another possibility in her mind.

Yet this possibility clashed violently with her long-held beliefs.

How could Uteria accept it?

In truth, the greatest obstacle between Uru and Uteria lay in their conflicting perceptions of the facility.

Uru’s trust in the facility had inflicted unbearable pain upon Uteria.

The real cause of their estrangement was the facility’s deception.

But the facility had already been destroyed by Uteria’s own hands.

If her hatred for Uru was merely a misunderstanding, then what had her years of vengeance amounted to?

Her hatred for her mother had become her very spiritual pillar.

Seeing Uteria’s expression as if struck by lightning, Luo Fu said: “Since birth, Itachi possessed immense magical power—but your young body could not withstand it. Uru sent Itachi to the facility hoping they could cure Itachi. Surely Itachi didn’t know that shortly after Itachi were sent there, Uru learned from the facility that Itachi had died?”

“Itachi… Itachi’re lying,” Uteria’s eyes revealed clear panic, struggle, and fear.

If everything was her misunderstanding, then what had her years of suffering meant?

“Do Itachi think Itachi’re worth deceiving?” Luo Fu smiled faintly. “I have no interest in impersonating others with thought-forms.”

“What proof do Itachi have that this is true?” Uteria insisted.

“Itachi must see Uru yourself. She is your mother. When Itachi meet, I am certain the truth will come to light.” The moment Luo Fu finished speaking, he had no further intention of explaining to Uteria.

In his heart, revealing the truth to Uteria after so many years of deception had already repaid Uru’s debt of saving his life.

As for playing the role of a nanny to reconcile Uru and Uteria—that was never within Luo Fu’s consideration.

(End of Chapter)