Tower of Heaven, Part Nine

Jellal channeled his astral magic, transforming his body into a golden starlight and swiftly departing from his original position.

A pillar of pitch-black flame blasted through the shield, burning a huge crater in the ground.

Riyao clicked his tongue, looking regretful.

"You actually dodged it? That's boring. Don't you want to try and see if you can block it? That would be so cool."

Jellal stood a dozen meters away, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth and straightening his disheveled collar. Although he looked disheveled, he still tried his best to maintain an elegant demeanor.

"All you're good for now is talking."

Riyao tilted his head, preparing to continue the pursuit, when he heard familiar footsteps behind him.

Mirajane and Erza arrived.

Mirajane put away the Satan Soul and returned to her normal appearance, but she still bore the marks of battle.

Erza fully armed, her sword gleaming coldly, but her expression was complex.

Upon seeing Mirajane, Riyao immediately retracted his Demon Form, strode over, cupped Mirajane's face in his hands, examined her from left to right, and then pulled her arm to check her over and over again.

Are you alright? Is anything bothering you?

(((O(*°▽°*)o)))

Mirajane rolled her eyes at Riyao and slapped away his hand that was groping her face.

"With your Life Link to me, what harm could I possibly suffer? You don't seem worried about yourself at all."

Riyao chuckled, took Mirajane's hand, and they intertwined their fingers.

Erza's gaze passed over Riyao and Mirajane, landing on Jellal.

When she saw Jellal again, she was momentarily stunned, and her hand holding the sword trembled slightly.

"Jellal..."

Her voice was soft, carrying eight years of longing, guilt, and anger—a complex mix that even she herself couldn't discern.

Just as Jellal was about to speak, Riyao interrupted him, his tone calm but every word like a nail driven into Jellal's heart.

"Erza, someone implanted a fragmented demonic consciousness into him, altering his consciousness. Over the years, it has long since merged with his own consciousness, and there's no way to separate it."

Erza's body trembled slightly. She turned to look at Riyao, then at Jellal.

Jellal saw that Riyao had exposed his true colors, and his expression changed several times before he finally gave up pretending.

He covered his eyes and let out a sinister, maniacal laugh.

"Hehehe, all of this is for Zeref! Reviving Zeref is the sole reason for my existence!"

He lowered his hand, revealing a distorted face, his mouth stretched to his ears, completely devoid of his previous elegance.

"It's too late, the Etherion is already ready!"

High in the sky, a massive magic circle, several kilometers in diameter, had been fully deployed, covering the entire sky.

The magic circle was inscribed with complex runes, gathering an immense and suffocating magical power, and its light dyed the sky with an eerie color.

While the group was locked in a standoff, a far greater conspiracy was unfolding in the Magic Council on the other side of the continent.

Ultear stood on the ruins of the Magic Council headquarters, her staff radiating the magic of time.

She activated the Arc of Time, and ancient magic weathered and collapsed the Magic Council headquarters. The thousand-year-old building turned to dust under the erosion of time, crumbling like a sandcastle.

Ultear looked at the collapsed Magic Council with a complicated expression.

"Once this is over, I should go to Fairy Tail to see Ur. What's the truth?"

Although Ur's true identity has not been made public, Ultear is a woman who walks between the legitimate and criminal worlds and has a very strong intelligence-gathering ability.

While investigating the Riyao, she discovered the existence of Ur, a person who should have died but had now been resurrected.

Ultear secretly hoped that the truth was as she knew it now.

If Riyao knew what Ultear was thinking, he would definitely sue her for defamation. This is not resurrection!

But she was also afraid that the revelation of the truth would make all her years of hard work seem ridiculous.

The Etherion was launched before the Magic Council collapsed.

A massive beam of magical light descended from the sky, its diameter reaching tens of meters, illuminating the entire sea surface and even piercing through the distant clouds.

The beam of light fell upon the Tower of Heaven, and the immense magical power was frantically absorbed by the magic stones within the tower, causing the entire tower to begin to change.

The second wave of the Royal Army, witnessing this scene from afar, gaped, speechless with awe at the terrifying magical spectacle.

Makarov in the guild also received the message from Yajima, his aged face filled with anxiety.

He stood on the ruins, pacing back and forth, his hands clenched so tightly they turned white.

Thinking it best to visit Riyao's manor, I jogged all the way there and saw that the Parasol Trees were still lush and leafy, without any abnormalities, which put my mind at ease.

There is an inexplicable connection between the Parasol Tree and the Riyao; if the tree is alright, it means the Riyao is alright.

The entire tower became extremely magnificent under the infusion of Etherion. The originally pitch-black tower body was covered with Magic Crystals, refracting seven-colored light, like a crystal palace standing on the sea.

The Magic Crystal contains immense magical power, and its flowing light permeates the entire tower like blood vessels.

Riyao reached out and touched the Magic Crystal on the tower wall, feeling the surging magic power within, and clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Is this the R-System? It can absorb such a huge amount of magic power, but it doesn't seem very stable."

He tapped the Magic Crystal, and a buzzing echo came from within, like a beating heart.

Jellal spread his arms wide, looked up at the now magnificent Tower of Heaven, and laughed wildly, his laughter maniacal and triumphant.

"Haha! What a beautiful creation! This is the true form of the R-System!"

While Jellal was still reveling in his moment, Riyao, Erza, and Mirajane exchanged a glance.

Without a word, the three of them moved simultaneously.

[Enchantment Magic - Mana Amplification]

Riyao Claws were imbued with dark flames, black flames dancing at their fingertips as they clawed towards Jellal's face.

Mirajane received the Satan Soul, her entire body covered in purple demonic armor, her claws drawing sharp arcs as she slashed towards Jellal's waist.

Erza her sword with both hands, donned her Black Wing Armor, and unleashed a black blade imbued with armor-piercing power, aiming straight for Jellal's head.

The three coordinated their attacks, launching a simultaneous assault from three directions and unleashing a barrage of attacks on Jellal.

Riyao launched a frontal assault, Mirajane flanked from the flank, Erza seized the opportunity to finish off the enemy; their coordinated attack was as if they had rehearsed it countless times.

Jellal is, after all, Ten Wizard Saints recognized by the Magic Council, and his true strength is quite terrifying, far from being as weak as portrayed in the anime.

Despite being surrounded by three people, he remained at ease, his astral magic forming a rotating shield around him, and the seven starlights transforming into attack methods, precisely blocking every attack from the three.

They are certainly not Natsu can handle right now.

Natsu can manage to exchange a few blows in his Dragon Force state, but his magic power is ultimately a weakness, making a prolonged battle impossible.