Tower of Heaven, Part Seven

Just as everyone was preparing to continue climbing, the tower's loudspeaker suddenly announced something.

After the piercing crackle of electricity, a deep, magnetic voice echoed throughout every corner of the Tower of Heaven.

"Welcome to the Tower of Heaven. I am Jellal, the ruler of this tower."

Everyone stopped in their tracks.

Jellal's voice was unhurried, as if he were hosting a grand banquet rather than a life-or-death game.

"Both sides have all their pieces ready. I think it's about time to begin, Paradise Game."

Erza clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white, and her lips pressed into a thin line.

"The rules of the game are very simple: I will use Erza as a sacrifice to resurrect Zeref. You can try to stop me."

Lucy gasped, Erza's body trembled slightly, but she didn't say anything.

Jellal paused, his tone becoming even lighter, as if he were talking about something trivial.

"Oh, by the way, just a heads-up, the Etherion of the Magic Council will soon be depleted."

A crackling sound came from the radio, then silence.

Lucy spoke first, looking completely bewildered. "What is Etherion?"

Riyao's voice suddenly turned sinister, like a demon's whisper, each word sounding as if it had been pulled from an ice cellar.

"The Etherion, simply put, is equivalent to more than ten times the power of the Phantom Lord Cannon from last time, enough to easily destroy a city."

Lucy's eyes widened in horror, her mouth formed an "O" shape, and her voice trembled.

"So, if we don't have time to retreat, we're doomed?!"

(꒪⌓꒪)

Riyao gave a thumbs-up and flashed a bright smile, a smile that seemed particularly eerie.

❛˓◞˂̵✧

Lucy clutched her head and wailed, crouching on the ground, feeling as if her life had come to an end.

Gray tossed his shirt, revealing his muscular upper body, his expression serious.

"Then let's just quickly defeat the enemy and get out of here. What's the point of wailing here?"

Just then, the dark-skinned, yellow-haired Hugh started causing trouble again.

He held a deck of cards between his fingers and, when no one was looking, tried to seal Erza inside the cards.

The card spun in the air, carrying the magic of its seal, and was about to touch Erza.

Mirajane grabbed Erza by the waist, then with a graceful turn, flung Erza away like a hammer, her foot striking Erza with pinpoint accuracy.

Bang!

Hugh was thrown away, crashing into the wall, scattering playing cards all over the floor.

Mirajane stood there, clapped her hands, looked down at Hugh in the corner, and asked coldly, "What do you want?"

Riyao looked at Hugh lying on the ground, shook his head, and said speechlessly.

This crazy, yandere, dark-skinned, blond-haired idiot has an underdeveloped brain and an incomplete cerebellum. He was fooled by Jellal for eight years, and now he's still acting like a fool.

"It's not the bad guys who do bad things that are scary, it's the combination of stupidity and hard work."

Hugh slumped against the wall, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but he still stubbornly shouted, "I won't allow anyone to touch my sister! I'll take down Jellal!"

Everyone was speechless as they looked at Hugh, whose mental state was clearly off.

The shock of the truth, coupled with Jellal's own admission of the lie, was too much for a boy who had been deceived since childhood.

His worldview collapsed in just a few minutes, and he is now in a semi-mad state.

After thinking for a moment, Riyao found a plausible excuse and pointed at Simon.

"That Simon, right? You take this dark-skinned, blond guy to find that blocky guy and that cat girl. First, go to the shore and find a boat to pick us up."

Simon hesitated for a moment, glancing at Erza and then at Riyao.

Erza spoke up as well, her voice calm but firm.

"Just do as Riyao says. If we can't solve it, then your presence is useless."

Simon was silent for a moment, then nodded, picked up Hugh from the ground, and turned to leave.

Riyao set off to find Natsu, sensing that Natsu had encountered enemies.

Riyao thought for a moment, and realized it was that muscular Owl! It possessed a magic that allowed it to absorb others and gain their abilities; the final material had arrived.

He turned to look at Mirajane, a smile playing on his lips.

"Mira, I'm going to have some fun too. You take good care of Erza."

Mirajane nodded and reached out to straighten Riyao's collar.

Be careful.

Riyao took a deep breath, and the magic power within him began to surge.

[Life Link - Low-End Version]

Golden light flowed among them, linking everyone's life force together—a kind of invincibility cheat, albeit a superficial one.

[Life Mimicry - Demon]

Black magic erupted from Riyao's body, demonic wings unfurled behind him, and sharp horns sprouted from both sides of his forehead.

[Hundred Battles Spell Formula]

Golden patterns appeared on the Riyao.

After applying the buff, Riyao transformed into a black streak of light and hurtled towards Natsu.

He sped all the way to the outside of the tower, flapped his demon wings, and flew directly up from the outside, diving into the floor where Natsu was.

Upon entering, I saw Natsu being swallowed whole by a muscular Owl.

That muscular guy was at least two meters tall, covered in bulging muscles, had Owl's head, and carried a rocket backpack on his back. His appearance was so bizarre that it was hard to describe.

"Oh no, Natsu got eaten!"

Riyao tilted his head, his tone as relaxed as if he were saying the weather was nice today.

When Happy saw Riyao arrive, she flapped her little wings, pounced on Riyao's lap, and started crying.

"Riyao! Natsu got eaten! That muscular Owl swallowed Natsu whole!"

Riyao patted Happy's head, signaling him not to rush.

A small tuft of pink hair has grown on the forehead of the muscular Owl; it's Natsu's hair, indicating that Natsu is being digested.

The owl opened its mouth and breathed out a burst of fire, the color of which was exactly the same as Natsu's Dragon Slayer Magic.

"It's already starting to digest. It'll be finished in ten minutes, and then this kid's Dragon Slayer Magic will be mine."

Riyao grinned, revealing two rows of gleaming white teeth, his devil horns gleaming coldly under the light.

"Your magic is quite interesting, gaining abilities by devouring others? I admire you."

Buzz!

Riyao's figure vanished instantly, reappearing in front of Xiao the next second, so fast that even his afterimage was not visible.

He turned and kicked to the side, landing a powerful blow to Xiao's side. The force of the kick sent Xiao flying, crashing through half a wall.

Using the rocket pack on its back, the owl spewed flames in mid-air, barely managing to adjust its position before landing steadily on the iron cage opposite.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, puffed out his cheeks, and suddenly opened his mouth wide in the direction of the Riyao.

[Fire Dragon's Roar]

Scorching flames erupted from the owl's mouth, carrying destructive power, the temperature so high that even the air itself seemed to distort.

This is Natsu's flame, which is now being used by Owl.

"Let me show you the fire of the Fire Dragon Boy. As his partner, you should know how powerful these flames are."

Riyao stood still, watching the roaring flames approach, tilted his head, and grinned.

The flames were getting closer.

Ten minutes?

Riyao patted the dust off his shoulder, speaking casually.

"If you tell me the principles behind your magic, I might consider giving you a quick death. It's all the same whether you tell me or not."

Buzz! Buzz!

Riyao's figure vanished again, this time appearing directly behind Owl, giving him no time to react.

With a flap of his demonic wings, he spun around, raised his right leg high, and delivered a powerful tomahawk-style downward kick that slammed into Owl's shoulder.

Boom!

The owl was thrown off the iron cage, smashing through several cages in succession. The iron bars were deformed and twisted, and the debris inside the cages flew everywhere. The owl finally landed on an iron cage, creating a large crater.

Before he could even get up...

Buzz!

"Take this Knight's Kick!"

(´◊ω◊`)

Riyao swooped down from the sky, his right foot wreathed in jet-black flames, and kicked Owl in the stomach. The flames erupted upon contact, burning a charred mark on Owl's abdomen.

The owl screamed, its body convulsing violently, its mouth opening uncontrollably.

Natsu was spat out of the owl's mouth, his body soaking wet and covered in slime.

Hmm.

Riyao grabbed Natsu by the back of his collar and tossed him next to Happy like a chick.

I have high hopes for him.

Then Riyao turned around, walked to Owl, squatted down, grabbed Owl's big mouth with both hands, and forcefully pulled it open to both sides.

The owl struggled desperately, but the power of the Riyao was astonishing; the grip of the Demon Form was no joke.

The owl's mouth was stretched wider and wider, Riyao peered inside to carefully observe the structure within.

"Hmm, interesting."

Riyao's voice came from the owl's mouth, muffled.

He reached in and touched it, as if examining an interesting toy.

The owl was terrified, frantically pounding on Riyao's arm, letting out incoherent screams.

"You, let go! What are you doing!"

Riyao pulled his head out, patted the slime off his hands, and nodded with a satisfied expression.

"Understood, thank you for your cooperation."

Then he stood up, looked at the owl lying on the ground, and tilted his head.

"You said it'll take ten minutes to digest? Well, I'll give you ten seconds to run away, ten."

The owl scrambled to its feet, flames erupting from its rocket backpack, and desperately flew into the distance.

"Nine."

A dangerous smile curled at the corner of Riyao's mouth as he raised his hand and condensed a jet-black flame, which then coalesced into a single black dot.

[Ink Flame Heaven-Burning Kill]

The owl was pierced through the heart, and its body fell into the sea.

They're not very strong; it's probably Jellal hired specifically to counter Natsu.