Fairy Tail: Perfect Projection, Part 42

"You came to the Tower of Heaven alone? How confident." Inside the Tower of Heaven, Jellal watched his crystal ball with amusement. Then he addressed the long-haired man before him. "Simon and the other three have betrayed us. Vidaldus, do you want to go?"

"Fairy Tail's God of War? Of course I want to test him." The man named Vidaldus sneered for a moment, then unleashed his magic power. A hurricane immediately enveloped him.

"I'll leave it to you, then..." Once the hurricane dissipated, Jellal calmly looked at the two additional figures who had appeared. "The Skull Society's Three Crow Feathers."

Chapter 59: Three Crow Feathers (Please favorite and send flowers)

A tavern on Akane Beach.

"Big brother!!"

Erza abruptly sat up in bed and shouted!

"Erza, you're awake!"

The moment Erza woke, she heard Lucy's voice. Turning her head, she saw Lucy, Wendy, Juvia, Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Carla standing beside the bed, looking at her with concern.

Remembering what had happened to Xi Feng, Erza grabbed Lucy's hand and asked urgently, "Lucy, where's my brother? Where did he go?!"

"Xi Feng..." Lucy hesitated for a moment, then told her outright, "Xi Feng left with those four."

"No! He can't... I have to find my brother!" When she heard that Xi Feng had left with those four, Erza panicked. She climbed out of bed as she spoke, her armor appearing on her body.

"Erza, what's going on?! Who are those people? Explain it to us!" Seeing Erza hurry toward the door in a panic, Gray stepped in front of her.

"Yes, Erza. They mentioned betrayal and some Tower of Heaven. What's that all about?" Lucy chimed in from beside her.

"..." After a silence, Erza said quietly, "Those four were my companions long ago. The place my brother went with them is the Tower of Heaven, also known as the [R] System. It was built over ten years ago by the True Magic Cult, which worshipped Black Magic, to resurrect the dead. Since the kingdom and the Magic Council forbade the construction of this tower, they plundered manpower and wealth from all over. My brother and I were among the slaves there when we were children..."

Erza then slowly told them about the time she had spent living in the Tower of Heaven.

"What?!" Everyone was stunned by Erza's story. They had never imagined that she and Xi Feng had endured such a dark past.

"This is between my brother and me. You don't need to come," Erza told them, wiping away her tears.

"Erza, how can you say that?!"

Natsu was unhappy and shouted straight at Erza, "We're friends! How could we leave you to handle this alone?! Besides, I'm definitely not letting that square-faced guy get away!"

"Natsu..." Erza stared at him for a moment.

"That's right, Erza. You're our friend. We can't stay out of it," Gray said, placing his right hand on her shoulder.

"I want to help you and big brother Xi Feng too, Erza!" Wendy said adorably, waving her little fists.

"Everyone..." Looking at them, Erza smiled.

While Erza and the others were heading toward the Tower of Heaven, Xi Feng had already arrived on the island alone.

"An intruder!!!"

But the moment Xi Feng set foot on the island, soldiers rushed out of the tower, surrounding him in an endless stream.

"..."

After giving them a glance, Xi Feng walked straight ahead, ignoring the soldiers around him. Yet whenever they charged and drew close, flames erupted around him and blasted them away. Their bodies caught fire, reducing them to ashes in an instant.

"What is this?!"

"We can't even get close!"

As time passed, the soldiers gradually grew afraid. No matter what they tried, terrifying flames ignited on their bodies as soon as they approached Xi Feng. Within just a few short minutes, flames had engulfed them.

"!!!!"

Just then, a piercing guitar riff rang out, making Xi Feng frown.

"Hey!! Yeah!! FUNKYGLR-L!"

At the same time, a long-haired man appeared before Xi Feng. Sticking out his tongue, he shouted, "Hell Concert, DEATHROL-L!!!"

"Whooo..."

After the long-haired man finished speaking, a strange cry and the sound of something cutting through the air came from behind Xi Feng. He turned to see an owl-like man wearing a jetpack hurtling toward him.

"Hm?" Although the owl-like man was fast, Xi Feng completely evaded him with a slight shift of his feet.

"Whoo-hoo!! Owl, the warrior of justice, reporting for duty!"

The man named Owl flew to the long-haired man's side and folded his arms, looking at Xi Feng.

"Hey, yeah!!!"

The long-haired man strummed his guitar again and said, "And I'm Vidaldus Hawk, one of the Three Feathered Crows!!! ROCK YOU!"

As the guitar rang out, Vidaldus whipped his head, sending his long hair lashing fiercely toward Xi Feng.

"Ah!! Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's rock!!"

"I don't have time to play with you... Ryūjin Jakka-Pine Torch!"

As his words fell, a flaming longsword appeared in Xi Feng's hand. With a casual swing, he sent a spiraling wall of flame around everyone.

"Ah!! No! No! My hair! My hair!!"

"Whooo! It burns! It burns!!"

"Ah!!"

"Help!!"

For a time, cries and screams filled the area. A minute later, the flames vanished, leaving nothing but piles of black ash on the ground.

Tap, tap, tap...

Just then, another sound rang out. Xi Feng looked over and saw a woman walking toward him. Her long pink hair hung down, with the hair atop her head styled like a bow. Her features were bright and beautiful, her lovely eyes closed and her crimson lips slightly parted, as though she wanted to say something. She wore a white kimono with black trim and red flame patterns embroidered along the hem. To Xi Feng, she seemed the very image of a traditional Japanese beauty.

"My name is Ikaruga. A pleasure to meet you."

Ikaruga raised her right hand and covered her mouth with her sleeve, saying softly, "Although I wasn't particularly fond of those two, they were still my colleagues. I do have some obligation to avenge them."

"Since you're so beautiful, I can let you go. Provided you don't stand in my way, of course."

As Xi Feng spoke, a pale red Zanpakuto appeared in his hand.

"My, my, you're an interesting man. You even show mercy to a beautiful woman. Still, I'd like to see whether I have what it takes to defeat you."

Ikaruga narrowed her eyes at Xi Feng, her right hand unconsciously moving toward the longsword at her waist. Clearly, she was not as calm about his words as she appeared. The strength Xi Feng had just displayed had utterly shocked her. What tremendous magic power did it take to produce those towering flames?

Although deeply shaken, Ikaruga still wanted to test her strength. Even if it cost her life, it would be a way to affirm her own abilities.

"Here I come."

As soon as she spoke, Ikaruga drew and swung her blade in one fluid motion. Before Xi Feng could even see it clearly, a cut appeared on his face.

"Oh? Did you not see that?"

Seeing the wound on Xi Feng's face, Ikaruga gave a slightly teasing smile.

"Hm?" Touching the cut on his face, Xi Feng murmured, "What strange swordsmanship."

"I'm not done yet!"

Ikaruga drew her blade and charged straight at Xi Feng. Not to be outdone, he charged at her as well.

Chapter 60: Beating Jellal (Please subscribe)

The battle continued, the two trading blows as streaks of silver flashed through the air. Every clash of their blades produced a powerful blast of air.

Shock wave after shock wave severed stone pillars, sliced through murals, and destroyed the floor. The area around the two became a field of ruins.

After a long while, Ikaruga and Xi Feng clashed once more before landing and facing each other. In their contest of swordsmanship, Xi Feng had consistently fallen behind Ikaruga. By now, he had accumulated a fair number of wounds and looked battered. Ikaruga, on the other hand, remained composed and looked almost no different from when she had first appeared, though the battle had left her a little tired.

"Fairy Tail's God of War? That title is nothing but empty hype. You've been such a disappointment today."

Ikaruga looked at Xi Feng and shook her head, speaking with some disappointment.

"You'd better be careful now! Multiple Sword Flashes!"

Gripping the hilt of her long red blade, Ikaruga swung it rapidly, sending several invisible slashes toward Xi Feng.

"!!!"

Although Xi Feng could not see the sword flashes, he sensed danger and hurriedly held his Zanpakuto in front of him.

"That won't work!"

As Ikaruga's words fell, the invisible sword flashes destroyed Xi Feng's blade before his shocked eyes and struck his body.

"Ugh..." Xi Feng cried out in pain as his shirt was shredded.

"It's rude to go shirtless in front of a lady."

Looking at Xi Feng lying on the ground with his clothes slashed apart, Ikaruga teased him. Then her gaze sharpened as she said, "I thought you were very powerful, but apparently... Hm? What are you smiling about? Urgh..."

Just as Ikaruga was about to finish Xi Feng off, she saw him smile. The moment she spoke, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"What's going on?!" Looking at the blood on the ground, Ikaruga could hardly believe it. Then, slowly, tiny wounds appeared all over her body. The mild pain grew increasingly intense until she could no longer endure it and screamed.

At the same time, their surroundings slowly changed. There were no severed pillars or shattered floors. Everything was completely intact.

"Ugh..." Looking at the utterly uninjured Xi Feng before her, Ikaruga let out a pained groan and said weakly, "An Illusion Technique?"