Erza had successfully soloed the Tower of Heaven.
Although it was a little early to draw that conclusion, Aibo could no longer see any hope of Jellal turning things around.
Erza had always wanted to settle things with Jellal herself. With the Apostles helping her, she had maintained the upper hand throughout the fight, so Aibo had resisted stepping in and watched from the shadows instead.
When he heard Erza say "my child's father," Aibo felt deeply gratified. All his efforts to win this lovely woman over hadn't been wasted.
Erza has me in her heart.
Jellal? Hahaha, just some roadside nobody.
Then Aibo received a message from Ultear. Etherion was being prepared for launch and would strike the Tower of Heaven in about fifteen minutes.
With a little time left, Aibo went to inspect the Tower of Heaven's magic circles.
Jellal had supposedly already set up the absorption circle, but Aibo had no intention of getting blown to death by Etherion because of some careless oversight on Jellal's part. That would be a real joke.
Aibo trusted his own skills more than Jellal's.
Then, to his surprise, he discovered that Simon, who should have already left, had secretly come back.
After hearing him out, Aibo learned that Simon was worried Erza wouldn't be able to bring herself to kill Jellal. He had returned hoping for a chance to do the dirty work himself.
Damn, is this what it means to be romantic rivals since childhood? Aibo had to acknowledge the man's dedication.
Aibo paid Simon no mind. He couldn't interfere with the fight anyway, so his presence made no difference.
Meanwhile, at the top of the Tower of Heaven, Jellal exchanged a dozen or so blows with Erza before proving utterly outmatched and suffering defeat.
His real body had