{NO ONE'S POV}
No one noticed the small lacrima flashing in one of the trees, until it began to project a video feed on the blood-stained wall of Kardia Cathedral.

Luka's face was projected next to the decreased body of Priest Weigner. The background was dark, except for several glowing balls of light.

"Luka!" Lucy's face lit up. "Oh, thank Mavis! Are you okay? Are you hurt?!"

His head was in his hands, covering his entire face. He peeked through his fingers. "I'm not hurt, but I'm not okay either. I'm—I'm sorry Mom."

"Sorry for what, Cremator?" Captain Ordo pointed at the projection. "Admit your guilt already!"

"It was me." Luka agreed. "I killed all those people. But it isn't what you think!"

Everyone inside the barrier gasped. They had all gathered to hear what Luka had to say, which turned out to be a confession to murder.

Captain Ordo suddenly began to laugh. "Isn't what I think? Isn't what I think?! I think you're a goddamn murderer! A filthy assassin! And you just admitted that I was right all along!"

"What happened, Luka?" Natsu asked calmly, silencing Captain Ordo with a sharp glare.

Luka sighed. "I've been... seeing ghosts of people who I killed in the past. I must've started projecting their faces onto real people. I just... I wanted to make them go away! So I dissociated, entering a trance-like state. I avoided getting caught even while dissociating because my training kicked in automatically after years of experience. Then I woke up... and couldn't remember doing anything wrong."

Luka's raked his hands across his face, leaving scratch marks across where his nails drew blood.

"I found a dead body after chasing a ghost. That was how this all began. But the ghost only disappeared after I killed someone for real. When I woke up, I saw the scene and assumed I had just found the body. When I was searching for someone who I thought might be the killer, I saw another ghost. I followed it to see where it would lead me and I ended up killing Priest Weigner while in a trance. The ghost faded again, I stopped dissociating, and woke up to find myself covered in blood. Only after it was too late did I realize what was happening. It's laughable. I was trying to catch myself all along."

"So all those lucid dreams you've been having, when you were reliving your days as an assassin... you were actually sleep-walking and killing innocent people in reality?!" Ai asked, horrified.

Luka blinked in surprise.

Then he nodded slowly. "That's—that's right. What I thought were lucid dreams... was actually me going on killing sprees while sleep-walking."

"How do you know that?" Lucy protested, tears welling up in her eyes. "You just said you don't remember anything because of the dissociation!"

"I don't." Luka shook his head morosely. "But you need only look at the way they were killed. Beside a dumpster, impaled on a spike. I killed them all the same way that I killed people in the past. I... dreamt about it when I fell asleep. A copycat couldn't possibly be so precise, right?"

Lucy was heartbroken. "But—"

"Yes, yes, it's all very sad." Captain Ordo crossed his arms. "But I have no sympathy for a cold-blooded assassin. Luka's going to get charged with multiple counts of manslaughter, and the court won't let him free a second time. He's too dangerous. Even if he pleads insanity as a defense, the best he can hope for is life in a criminal mental institution."

"I understand." Luka seemed very depressed, but also a little bit happy.

"You're lying." Sylvie said suddenly, stepping forward and facing off against the projected video.

"What are you yapping about?" Captain Ordo huffed. "You're delusional if you still think Cremator is innocent. He just confessed to being the murderer!"

Luka shook his head, smiling sadly. "The jig is up, Sylvie. Thank you for standing by me, but I have to atone for my sins now."

"Allow me to clarify. I fully believe that the one who just confessed is guilty." Sylvie pointed at the projection, her gaze sharp. "However, that person is not Luka Dragneel!"

The one in the video tensed.

Captain Ordo snorted. "You're playing this card again? Who else could it possibly be? Even Lucy Heartfilia has identified him as her son!"

"It's suspicious that he's confessing over video rather than in person. Luka never uses such roundabout methods. He says whatever he wants straight to your face, even if it's cruel. But the serial killer needs to use such a high-tech device. Why? To project Luka's face over their own while they admit to everything, like a digital mask. Your disguise is looking a little glitchy on the chin." Sylvie tapped her chin.

The one in the video instinctively reached up to cover his chin. Then he realized his mistake. He composed himself quickly and laughed, waving it off as a joke. "Geez! You're overthinking, Sylvie. I'm really me!"

"Second of all, you may have gotten the settings right for your copycat killings, but you missed Luka's MO."

"What?!" He looked shocked. Then he forced a smile. "I mean, I burned them all to death. How much more fire do you want?"

"Each one of the Scythes had an MO. A signature, so to speak, that marked a kill as theirs. Executioner had her bullets, Hangman had his rope, and Cremator's fire burned so hot that it left nothing but ash behind." Sylvie's eyes flashed deviously. "You told me that yourself... remember?"

The one in the video gritted his teeth. "I—"

"There are different tiers of fire magic and Luka's family stands at the top. The fire magic you used is much too weak. The crime scenes you left behind were too messy, a pale imitation of the real thing."

He chuckled. "You're acting strange, Sylvie. If I'm not really Luka, then how did I know exactly how I left all of my old crimes scenes?"

"By talking to the only other people besides Luka who were always there: the victims themselves." Sylvie revealed. "That's your magic, isn't it?"

He gnashed his teeth anxiously, biting his nails.

"You can summon the spirits of the dead, control their voices, and convince them to wield their magic for you. It's quite potent. You're skilled enough to summon all of the ghosts that Ai and I saw. Correct me if I'm wrong: you tried to use Frostburn's icy fire magic to frame Luka. Despite not knowing the sheer difference in strength, I applaud your ingenuity." Sylvie clapped slowly. "After all, who would accuse a dead person of murder?"

The one in the video laughed lightly. "You've spun quite the tall tale, Sylvie. Thanks for trying to make me feel better. I've really gotta pay for my sins."

"I'm not done. Your story has one more fatal flaw."

"What did I miss?!" He slammed his hands down on his desk, the act finally falling apart at the seams. As if in response, Luka's face glitched—revealing dark hair and light eyes—before returning to normal. "Ahem! I mean, what other tales can you weave?"

"You supposedly killed everyone just like you did in the past, correct? Each one of the crime scenes mimics one of your past victims?"

"Of course!" The one in the video growled.

Sylvie pointed at the dead priest's body, pinned to the wall by five metal spikes. "Then you must remember telling me about this mission. The one where Frostburn died. Luka wasn't the one who killed the target that day. He was just on clean up duty."

"Luka... didn't... kill... no. No way. No way! You're lying! You're trying to trick me! He—I was the only one there! I have to be the killer!"

"I told you Luka's MO. I admit that he took a lot of lives, but Impaler was the assassin who killed that target and Frostburn. Luka went back to the scene because he didn't believe that Frostburn was dead. He went to rescue her... and found a child hiding. Someone Impaler missed. That was you, wasn't it?" Sylvie's expression softened with sympathy.

"You're wrong! They were both burned! Why would he—I burn them if not to kill them?!"

"Luka cremated Frostburn after she passed, out of respect. As for the target, his burns were caused by Frostburn herself." Sylvie explained. "You mimicked the burns that you saw that day for all of your copycat killings, not realizing that it was actually Frostburn's MO you were mimicking."

Privately, Sylvie thought that any postmortem damage caused by Luka was unintentional; his magic was wild but poorly controlled at the time. He was angry and upset and scared. She felt a small twinge and grabbed her bandaged wrist.

"So what! So what?! He's evil! He deserved to die with all the rest of them! Why was he spared?!"

"Luka did bad things in the past, but he's not a bad person. He's trying so hard to blend in, even when it makes him uncomfortable. He saved Ai and helps me every day." Sylvie pointed at the serial killer in the video firmly. "I won't let you selfishly tear down his carefully built reputation! For these crimes, Luka is innocent! I won't accept any other verdict!"

The digital mask finally fell to reveal his true face. It was indeed the child that Luka had described to Sylvie. Her hypothesis was correct. However, being right didn't make her happy in this case.

"If I'm not Luka, then where is he?! Why isn't he here?!" The serial killer whined.

"Who says I'm not here?" Someone else spoke in the background of the video feed.

"Luka!" Sylvie shouted and grinned, recognizing his voice once again.

There were mixed reactions to this knowledge. The Fairy Tail mages were glad, while the Rune Knights were anywhere between curious and anxious.

But then the real Luka walked into view. His onyx eyes were pitch black. They were soulless, emotionless; there was no light in them. His whole body was wreathed in fire, dancing and flickering menacingly. It burned just to look at him.

Luka tilted his head, studying the boy in front of him. His expression was calm, pleasant... which made it all the more unsettling in this context.

The serial killer was sweating buckets. Luka took a leisurely step forward, and the serial killer backed out of frame rapidly.

Luka eyed the boy. "So you're my biggest mistake."