In his plan, the Water Element was an important addition to his combat strength.
He hoped her silence represented acquiescence, or at least a timid reluctance to object.
Amidst the patter of rain, the dark blue Gothic umbrella slowly lifted a little.
The shadow beneath the umbrella receded, revealing Juvia's complete face.
It was an excessively pale face, lacking color, so delicate it seemed to have never seen sunlight.
But what was truly unsettling were her eyes.
They were not deep, but calm and still, as dead as a lake frozen for ten thousand years, devoid of Sol's fanaticism, Tutu Maru's theatrics, or Aria's quiet obedience; only a vast, almost nihilistic indifference.
She did not look at Jose, nor did she respond to his inquiry; her lifeless eyes merely gazed over the back of the throne, through the tall stone window, towards the distant horizon where sea and sky met.
Time seemed to freeze for a few seconds, with only the 'drip-drop' of water falling on the floor clearly audible.
Then, Juvia retracted her gaze from the window, and for the first time, her gray-blue eyes truly, unreservedly, fell straight back onto Jose's face, which was slightly contorted by madness.
Her lips parted, and her voice was unexpectedly clear, like the rain around her—light and cold, yet remarkably distinct as it reached everyone's ears:
"I… don't want to join any Ten Demon Generals."
A thunderclap from a clear sky!
Sol's fervent smile froze.
A very faint gasp seemed to come from under Aria's mask.
Tutu Maru's left hand suddenly clenched the hilt of his blade, making his knuckles emit a soft 'click'!
The madness on Jose's face instantly froze, replaced by an incredulous fury born of provocation, and black magic power involuntarily surged around him: "You… what did you say?"
Juvia seemed oblivious to the terrifying pressure that could tear the air apart; her tone remained calm, as if stating an unimportant fact:
"I also don't want to become some great lord or noble."
She paused, and the small rain cloud above her head seemed to respond to her emotions, the rain intensifying slightly, making a more frequent patter on the umbrella.
"Master Jose, do you know? Since I can remember, this rain cloud above my head has followed me. They said it was a curse, an oddity, causing all the children to avoid me and throw stones at me."
"That wasn't just simple rainwater; it was my innate Water Element affinity, the manifestation of my immense magic power in my childhood, too great to fully control, overflowing."
There was no complaint in her voice, only a weariness that transcended time, "When I first joined Phantom Lord… my only thought was to find a place where I wouldn't be troubled by rain, a place that would accept me, perhaps… to find some true companions."
In the dead silent hall, her voice flowed on like a cold stream:
"But, under your command, Phantom Lord… has never been a place one could call 'home.'"
"What was practiced there was the iron law you established—the naked law of the jungle, unmasked survival of the fittest, ruthless elimination of the weak."
"There were only ambitious individuals who tried to step on me to contend for a position among the Four Elements, always close, but never truly… companions."
"Only you," Juvia's gaze fixed on Jose, and a faint ripple seemed to stir in her dead eyes, a mix of gratitude and deeper weariness, "it was you who taught me to truly control this power."
"I can finally… make this rain fall, or stop."
"I can finally… choose the weather above my head."
She lifted her head slightly, and the rain cloud above her visibly began to shrink, its edges blurring, the continuous raindrops gradually thinning, and finally, completely dissipating into the air, leaving only an invisible trace of water vapor.
Jose's face grew increasingly gloomy, black magic power swirling and boiling around him like thick ink, the hall's light abruptly dimmed, and a decaying, ominous aura permeated the air, as if countless vengeful spirits were silently screaming!
Sol recoiled in fear, Aria tensed her entire body, and Tutu Maru's hand slowly moved towards the end of the blade hilt at his waist; the slight trembling in his fingertips ceased, replaced by a nearly frozen concentration.
Juvia ignored this terrifying change; on her slightly stiff and expressionless face, the corners of her mouth pulled upwards with extreme difficulty, awkwardly, as if rusted gears were being forcibly twisted.
A clumsy smile, devoid of any warmth, yet carrying a desperate resolve, slowly bloomed on her pale face.
"If possible, Master Jose," she said softly, and then performed an action that made everyone's pupils contract—she released her fingers.
That dark blue Gothic umbrella, that emblem which was like an extension of her body and never left her hand, spun lightly and dropped onto the cold, hard floor of the hall, emitting a crisp and solitary 'clatter.'
"…I want to see what bright sunshine looks like. I also want to meet… companions who will truly care for me and can stand beside me in the sunlight."
Juvia's voice finally carried a very slight, yet incredibly clear, yearning, like a faint ray of light piercing through ten thousand years of ice, "I… no longer want to live in days where I cannot see a clear sky."
The moment the last echo faded, the temperature of the entire hall seemed to plummet to freezing point.
"You… you damned traitor!!!"
Jose Porla's roar, like a bellow from the deepest abyss of hell, instantly tore through the dead silence!
An unprecedented rage completely overwhelmed his reason!
The terrifying magic power of a Ten Wizard Saints-level Mage erupted without reservation!
No longer mere pressure, but the purest killing intent!
"Death Magic · Abyss Corroding Bone!"
His withered hand shot forward!
The light sources in the hall seemed to be instantly devoured!
From his palm as the core, a pure beam of refined dark magic power, mixed with countless visible, screaming, grotesque semi-transparent vengeful spirit phantoms, condensed into a death ray the thickness of a bowl, solid as substance!
The target was Juvia at the foot of the steps!
With this strike, Jose held nothing back, channeling his anger at being rejected, the humiliation of betrayal, and his panic over the possible leak of his plan!
The very space hummed under the strain of this purely destructive energy!
"Oh my God!" Sol shrieked in terror.
Aria instinctively pulled back instantly.
Tutu Maru's pupils contracted violently, his hand on his blade already poised!
And Juvia, at the moment the dark ray burst forth, her dead eyes suddenly lit up!
Not with fear, but with a sense of relief and resolve, as if she had been waiting for this for a long time!
Just a split second before the deadly dark ray was about to engulf her!
"Water Lock!"
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