Chapter 120
After studying Fairy Sphere and steadily accumulating experience, Marshall successfully advanced his Time Magic to Level Three.
It proved that his talent wasn’t limited to Spatial Magic.
He was equally gifted in Time Magic.
The only reason it had developed more slowly was that temporal spells involved far more obscure theories, consumed an absurd amount of magic power, and generally provided less immediate value.
Time Magic LV3 finally allowed Marshall to cast Fairy Sphere properly.
His magic was no longer limited to influencing the flow of time around inanimate objects either.
He had begun touching the deeper principles governing living beings and temporal movement.
True travel through time remained far beyond him, but it was no longer an entirely impossible fantasy.
That alone was enough to seize Ultear’s attention.
Her eyes burned with unsettling intensity.
Ultear had never been truly loyal to anyone. Her only desire was to reclaim the happiness she believed had been stolen from her.
This version of the world was nothing more than a failed first attempt.
She intended to return to the past and create a second life that belonged to her.
"A friendly warning."
Marshall easily heard the thoughts raging through her mind.
"Even if you travel into the past, it would be your current body going back."
"You wouldn’t magically turn into a child again."
"And I’ve always believed that the past cannot truly be changed. Don’t fill your head with unrealistic expectations."
"Reincarnating into your younger self probably isn’t possible."
"..."
Ultear’s expression stiffened.
She already knew Marshall could hear her thoughts, but having absolutely no privacy in front of him was still deeply uncomfortable.
"That doesn’t matter."
Her voice grew quieter.
"Even if I can’t reclaim my happiness... I still have to return to the past."
Marshall studied her for a moment.
The two of them were more alike than Ultear would ever admit.
"Very well."
His smile widened.
"Since you’ve already made your decision, I won’t hold back~"
Marshall began drawing a complex magical seal.
His artistic ability was nothing remarkable, but the design didn’t need to look beautiful. It only needed to function.
After completing the final line, he produced a golden Summoning Card and pressed it against Ultear’s forehead.
"Stop resisting."
The card released a brief flash.
"There. The contract is complete."
"From this moment onward, you belong to me."
Marshall snapped his fingers, releasing Ultear from the wooden frame.
Her legs nearly gave out when she landed.
She steadied herself against the wall, then looked down at the pink magical seal slowly fading beneath her clothes.
"What does that mark do?"
Her voice sounded distinctly aggrieved.
"And what was that card?"
"What kind of contract did we just sign?"
"The seal is primarily a spatial marker."
Marshall answered casually.
"I can track your location at any time."
"If necessary, I can also listen to your thoughts remotely."
"And that card allows me to forcibly summon you to my side whenever I want."
"So don’t imagine you can escape from me in the future~"
The modified seal had another function.
It strengthened Marshall’s Information Magic, sometimes allowing him to catch fragments of Ultear’s memories.
In front of him, she now possessed almost no genuine privacy.
Naturally, Marshall chose not to mention that part.
For some reason, Ultear wasn’t as angry as she should have been.
Instead, a strange sense of reassurance surfaced in her heart—as though the existence of the contract had removed the burden of making certain decisions herself.
Marshall immediately heard that too.
"Don’t blame me for whatever strange ideas your mind produces."
"You’re the one who knows Mental Magic. Perhaps you accidentally conditioned yourself!"
Ultear flushed and stamped her foot.
"Could you stop listening to every thought I have?!"
"We’re allies now, aren’t we?"
"Allies?"
Marshall laughed.
"No, Ultear."
"You’re mine now."
"I can do whatever I please with you."
"Do you object?"
"Ugh... I’m sorry."
Ultear lowered her head in mortification.
"N-No, I don’t."
The moment the words left her mouth, she wanted the floor to swallow her.
’Have some dignity Ultear!’
’How could I say something that humiliating?’
’What did this bastard do to me?’
’I’m not normally this shameless!’
Marshall regarded her with an infuriatingly knowing expression.
"What you truly want isn’t simply Time Magic."
"You want somewhere you can stop thinking."
"A place where someone else will make the decisions and bear the consequences for you."
"Even if all I offered you were a miserable little shelter, you’d still crawl inside because it would mean you no longer had to face everything alone."
"You pretend to be strong, but you’ve never even understood yourself."
"NO!"
Ultear shook her head desperately.
"That isn’t true!"
She admired Marshall’s talent and believed he could help her accomplish her lifelong goal.
He was also fundamentally kinder than the people she normally worked beside, and remaining near him felt unexpectedly safe.
The fact that she found his appearance pleasing had absolutely nothing to do with it!
Marshall’s words continued echoing through her mind.
She felt even more powerless than when she had been restrained.
It was as though he had stripped away every layer of protection and exposed the secrets she most desperately wished to conceal.
"You’ve been exhausted for years, haven’t you?"
Marshall’s voice softened.
"You surrounded yourself with a dark guild, yet never truly belonged in that life."
"You constantly question the path you chose."
"You regret the mistakes you’ve made."
"You want to escape all of it."
"That’s why you’re so desperate to return to the past."
"No..."
Ultear clutched her head.
"Stop!"
"Don’t look anymore!"
"Please, stop talking!"
Ultear finally broke down.
She hadn’t expected their "cooperation" to become something this overwhelming.
She felt completely exposed before Marshall, with nowhere left to hide. Every sentence seemed to pierce the parts of herself she least wanted anyone to see.
Under that pressure, she could barely think clearly.
In reality, Marshall hadn’t seen many of her memories at all.
He had mostly combined educated guesses with a few deliberately vague statements.
He hadn’t expected Ultear’s emotional defenses to collapse so easily.
That worked in his favor.
He might as well secure her loyalty while he had the opportunity.
Marshall approached Ultear, who was crouched on the floor with her arms over her head.
He rested a hand on her hair and gently stroked it, soothing her as though she were a frightened animal.
"Don’t be afraid, Ultear."
"We’re on the same side now, aren’t we?"
"I’m your friend."
"I’m your companion."
"If there’s something you can’t accomplish, leave it to me."
"Your crimes, your foolishness, your weakness—give all of them to me."
"I’ll help you."
"I’ll accept the past you regret."
"As long as you remain with me, you won’t have to carry everything alone anymore."
"R-Really?"
"Of course."
Marshall’s voice carried absolute confidence.
"As long as you follow my instructions, I promise I’ll give you the strength to keep moving forward."
"I can help you become one of the strongest Mages of this era."
"Perhaps you could even reach the realm of the strongest Mage in legend."
With the System behind him, Marshall felt no embarrassment making such an outrageous promise.
He had every intention of becoming that powerful himself.
Perhaps Ultear was affected by his confidence.
Perhaps years of knowing him at the Magic Academy had already left a deeper impression than either of them realized.
Whatever the reason, she believed him.
Ultear had met plenty of powerful Mages. Hades was among the strongest she had ever encountered.
Yet even the man who had spent decades staring into the deepest abyss of magic had never given her the same overwhelming impression as Marshall.
She had already reached that conclusion during their academy days.
She had always believed that he would surpass Hades eventually.
As for reaching the level of Zeref himself...
"All right."
Ultear slowly raised her head, and light returned to her eyes.
"I-I believe you."
Compared with the distant miracle she had pursued for years, she preferred the hope standing directly in front of her.
Marshall smiled.
"You’re far too tense right now. Clean yourself up and get some rest."
"I’m still young, so certain promises will have to wait until I’ve grown older."
"But when the time comes, I’ll help you properly."
Successfully dragging Ultear away from the darkness would be quite an achievement.
Marshall stood and glanced toward the red-haired Guga squatting nearby.
"Take her to bathe and find her some clean clothes."
Then he vanished from the room, leaving Ultear and the little Guga staring awkwardly at one another.
"Gugu-gaga!"
After cleaning herself up, Ultear followed the Guga on a brief tour of Marshall’s castle.
One glance through the windows confirmed that she was in Magnolia, deep within Fairy Tail’s territory.
That meant Marshall’s true identity was exactly what she suspected.
He was Fairy Tail’s youngest S-Class Mage.
And he was only fourteen years old.
Ultear felt even more confident about his future.
Still...
How could someone this young already possessed so many wicked ideas!
What would he become after growing up?
Her face warmed again. Alongside her anticipation for the future, a faint trace of unease appeared.
The Guga eventually led her into an elegantly decorated sitting room.
Marshall was seated comfortably on a sofa, sipping tea with a pleased expression.
"You’re here."
He gestured toward the opposite seat.
"Sit."
Ultear carefully lowered herself onto the sofa and tried to maintain her composure.
"Han—Marshall..."
She hesitated.
"Do we truly have to treat each other like this?"
"Call me whatever you like. I don’t particularly care."
Marshall took another sip.
"If it makes you happy, you can even call me daddy~."
Ultear’s expression went rigid.
"...I’ll stick with Marshall."
"Good. Then let’s discuss serious business."
Marshall set down his cup.
"Ultear, here is your first order."
"Stop controlling Jellal."
"I want you to release him."
"What?"
Ultear blinked.
"I’m not controlling him."
"Everything he’s doing now is driven by his own obsession."
"It passed beyond my ability to control years ago."
"He has made reviving Zeref his life’s purpose. Even if I destroy the false ghost I created, he’ll continue pursuing that ideal."
"I could tell him the truth, but..."
She considered it.
"Given how obsessive he is, he probably wouldn’t believe me even if I admitted that the Ghost of Zeref was fake."
Instead of becoming displeased, Marshall’s eyes lit up.
"Oh?"
"He added the rest of the performance himself?"
"That makes this much easier."
"The trauma left by his childhood abuse has carved itself too deeply into him."
Ultear leaned back.
"If you want to push him in a particular direction now, you only need the right trigger."
Marshall fell into thought.
So Jellal’s current behavior wasn’t the direct result of ongoing mind control.
He had merely been manipulated once, then willingly committed every crime that followed.
That meant there was no excuse capable of absolving him.
He deserved to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Marshall only needed to ensure that Erza abandoned every remaining idealized memory of him.
"Ultear."
Marshall pointed at her.
"I order you to devise a plan that will utterly humiliate Jellal!"
Ultear stared at him.
"...What?"
"I need him to disgrace himself in front of Erza."
"You know Erza, don’t you?"
"When she was young, Jellal once helped her, and she still remembers the good person he used to be."
"She even believes there may be some hidden reason behind all the terrible things he’s done."
"I want you to destroy that image completely!"
"The only person Erza should be thinking about is me!"
"..."
Ultear’s mouth twitched.
She checked his expression several times, hoping she had misunderstood.
Then her intelligence finally reasserted itself.
All the scattered details connected, revealing a truth she found almost impossible to accept.
"You..."
She pointed at him with a trembling hand.
"You kidnapped and interrogated me because you were jealous?!"
"So what?"
Marshall crossed his arms without the slightest shame.
"Yes, I’m jealous!"
"Is there a problem with that?"
"You—!"
Ultear’s face flushed with rage.
"I’m done!"
"I refuse to work for you!"
"I’m leaving!"
She didn’t even understand why she was so furious.
She simply couldn’t tolerate it.
This shameless little brat was only fourteen!
Why was his head already filled with women?
She had wanted to follow a brilliant, ambitious future king of magic—not an infuriating child whose schemes revolved around romantic jealousy!
Marshall’s eyes narrowed.
"Oh?"
"You’re insulting me inside your head again?"
"What do you think this place is?"
"You can’t simply arrive and leave whenever you please."
"It seems you’ve already forgotten who is in charge."
Marshall silently activated the sensitivity runes embedded in Ultear’s contract seal.
Their effect multiplied sharply.
Ultear jolted.
"Ah! Stop!"
"Turn it off!"
Marshall calmly picked up his tea again.
"Do you not understand how to apologize?"
"I’m sorry!"
Ultear’s eyes watered.
"I won’t do it again!"
She was beginning to regret everything.
She had boarded a pirate ship, and now she couldn’t even jump overboard.
How had she misjudged someone this badly?
Her entire life was ruined!
’You rotten little pervert!’
’Give me back the respect I felt for you earlier!’
Marshall raised an eyebrow.
"You’re still insulting me?"
"I’m not! I’m not!"
Ultear surrendered immediately.
"I’ll help!"
"I’ve already thought of a plan!"
"I really have!"