As Meliodas turned around to check on Jellal, he noticed the tall bright light of Nirvana that shot up endlessly into the sky had disappeared completely without a trace. On the ground in front of where the light was coming out, was Jellal's body, face up with his eyes closed in front of a massive hole where the beam originally rose.
Meliodas hastily ran up to him. As he got closer, he saw that Jellal was only unconscious as he saw the rising of his chest as he breathed. Meliodas leaned down and nudged on Jellal's shoulder. Jellal's eyes opened partially as he looked straight up at the sky, his body still dreary from the effects of his magic.
"So you changed your mind after all?" Meliodas asked.
"I'm starting...to remember a little bit more…all I've done...the atrocious sins I've committed...it hasn't come back to me entirely, but I know that I hurt both Erza and Natsu." Jellal murmured. He opened his eyes fully and looked up at Meliodas who was looking down at him.
"Jellal." Meliodas said with a friendly smile. "I don't know what your past is or how deep your sins run. But you still helped us out here by destroying Nirvana, and I'd say you're on your way towards redeeming yourself, don't ya think?"
Meliodas extended his hand out to Jellal. Jellal grabbed Meliodas' hand as he helped him back up. Jellal stood up on shaky legs, managing to regain his balance.
"Meliodas!" A familiar voice cried out from behind Meliodas. He turned around and saw Happy flying towards him from the treeline. Happy's eyes were filled with joy and there was a large smile on his face.
"Natsu and Erza are gonna be okay!" Happy exclaimed cheerfully. Meliodas sighed a breath of relief knowing that Wendy was able to heal the both of them on time. As Happy flew over to Meliodas, he noticed Zero's corpse and the massive hole in his body.
"WAH! What happened here?!" Happy shouted, startled as he glanced over at Meliodas. He knew how strong Meliodas was, but seeing Zero's body lying on the ground with a gaping hole was a whole different thing. Meliodas remained silent.
"Meliodas?" Happy asked as he slowly flew closer to Meliodas. Meliodas returned a friendly smile to Happy.
Right next to them, the bushes began to rustle. The three of them turned their heads wondering who it could be as Jura and Hoteye walked out from the bushes.
"It's Jura!" Happy exclaimed. "And that's-" Happy paused as he saw Hoteye, one of the Oracion Seis members, standing next to Jura. Happy immediately flew behind Meliodas, who looked at Hoteye indifferently.
"Do not worry. Hoteye is no longer an enemy." Jura replied, much to Happy's relief.
"The power of love has changed me." Hoteye added.
"Okay then…" Meliodas replied, not quite sure what had caused a change in Hoteye but he figured it was for the better.
Jura glanced over at Zero's limp body on the ground face down. There was a massive, gaping hole through his chest. Jura's eyes widened at the ruthlessness of which Zero was killed. He had initially rushed over upon feeling Zero's menacing magic after his encounter with Hoteye, but on his way, he felt an even darker, stronger magic. Jura glanced at Meliodas who was conversing with Happy.
'That magic I felt earlier. No doubt about it, it came from him. There's no other explanation for Zero to have been defeated like that. And that interaction Gemini had with Meliodas earlier…' Jura recalled Gemini telling Angel that Meliodas was dangerous and to immediately run. He continued to look at Meliodas. His youthful, innocent appearance gave no visual indication of him being a threat, yet Jura could not shake the uneasiness off his mind the more he thought about it. Meliodas noticed Jura staring at him awkwardly and turned to him.
"Something wrong?" Meliodas asked lightheartedly.
"No...it's nothing…well done Meliodas." Jura replied, trying to hide his uneasiness. Suddenly, Meliodas and Jura heard Hibiki's voice echo in their heads.
'Erza and Natsu are back at the base camp with me. Eve and Ren brought them after Wendy healed them. They're just now waking up. And what I've gathered, the Oracion Seis have all been defeated. When you get the chance, head back.' Hibiki's voice echoed.
'Will do.' Jura replied.
"Looks like we're heading back now." Jura said. He gestured for Meliodas and Hoteye to follow. Meliodas nodded and glanced back at Jellal, who was watching them silently. He averted his gaze as Meliodas looked at him.
"Come with us." Meliodas said amicably. Jellal nodded and followed behind Meliodas as the group began to walk towards the treeline.
"Oh wait Jura. Gotta pick someone up." Meliodas interjected. Jura nodded and waited patiently with Hoteye and looked curiously as Meliodas ran into the forest. Several seconds later, he came back, holding Midnight's unconscious body over his head.
---
The group arrived back at the base camp. The members of Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale were waiting patiently there as they talked to Natsu and Erza.
"Natsuuuu!!!" Happy cried as he flew over to Natsu. A large grin formed on Natsu's face as Happy flew over to hug him.
"You're not dead!" Happy exclaimed.
"Hah of course not! I'd never be able to meet Igneel if I died from something like that!" Natsu replied.
"Happy, where is everyone else?" Erza asked. She looked towards the direction that Happy flew in from, expecting there to be more people.
"Right there." Happy pointed back. Several seconds later, the bushes began to rustle and Meliodas, Jura, and Hoteye walked out from the thick brush.
"Yo!" Meliodas greeted with his free hand as he had Midnight slung over his right shoulder. He placed Midnight on the ground and walked over to rest of the mages. Jura picked up Midnight's body, going over to the rest of the Oracion Seis who were unconscious and tied up. He made a hand sign with his right index and middle finger, surrounding the Oracion Seis members in an extra layer of security made of earth.
"I heard you defeated Zero." Erza commented. Meliodas nodded in response but had a serious expression on his face.
"It wasn't the outcome I wanted, but someone like him… he didn't give me a choice." Meliodas replied. "Also…"
Meliodas turned around and faced the way he came from. He looked at the bushes he had just walked out of curiously and waited a few seconds.
"No need to be shy now! Come out!" Meliodas shouted. The brush began to rustle as Jellal slowly emerged.
"Jellal!" Both Natsu and Erza exclaimed. Natsu's face grew angry as he jumped up from his spot. Igniting his feet, he launched himself forward at Jellal like a rocket, only to stop in his tracks as Meliodas grabbed him by his jacket.
"Gahh!" Natsu grunted as he fell onto the ground next to Meliodas, the flames on his feet dying out. "What's the big deal bringing Jellal here?!"
"He's the one who destroyed Nirvana." Meliodas replied with a grin.
"Jellal you…" Erza said quietly.
"Meliodas gave me the choice to live, and I chose to do so..." Jellal replied. "Even so, I don't deserve to be here with you all."
"No Jellal. What you did was commendable. And...I'm glad you chose not to destroy yourself…" Erza said as she walked up slowly to Jellal. Meliodas smiled and watched as the two of them walked away to a more secluded area of the camp.
"So Jellal really helped out there…" Natsu commented with a stern look on his face as he got up from the ground.
"Oh yeah, where's Wendy?" Meliodas asked. Natsu pointed to the other side of the camp. Wendy was sleeping peacefully as Carla stood by her.
"She's tired from healing Natsu and Erza. Let her rest." Hibiki said as he approached them. He looked at Meliodas curiously as Meliodas returned his gaze.
"I didn't expect Fairy Tail to have such a powerful member as yourself. This is something I must add to my archive." Hibiki commented.
"Oh speaking of your magic, you think you could help me out with something?" Meliodas asked.
"Of course, what would that be?" Hibiki replied.
"What information do you have on spatial magic."