Fairy Tail: Perfect Projection, Part 44

But what happened next was astonishing. The Tower of Heaven, originally built of stone, turned into an enormous tower of Magic Crystal.

"Hahahaha!" Just as he had hoped, Jellal burst into laughter. He looked at Xi Feng and said, his expression crazed, "Finally... this moment has finally come! Xi Feng, are you surprised? This is the Tower of Heaven's true form-a gigantic Magic Crystal. And thanks to the Magic Council's Etherion, it successfully absorbed 2.7 billion Ethelia of magic power! Now it's the real R-System!"

"But at last, I can regain my strength!" Just then, another Jellal-"Siegrain"-also suddenly appeared before Xi Feng.

"Back then, I really was worried you would kill me. But now I have nothing left to fear."

As he spoke, "Siegrain" walked over to Jellal and slowly merged with him, becoming a single person.

"My power! It's back!" Jellal moved his body a little, then looked at Xi Feng with a wicked smile. "You don't seem surprised at all."

"I'm not." Xi Feng shook his head, then said calmly, "After I left the Tower of Heaven, I investigated it. And once I learned about you at the Magic Council, I more or less figured it out."

"Hm? If you understand, then do you know what I'm going to do next?"

"Let's see if you have what it takes!"

"Meteor!"

Jellal charged at Xi Feng with lightning speed, but the cherry blossoms instantly gathered into a sphere behind Xi Feng.

"Damn it! I refuse to believe these flowers can move faster than light!"

Jellal accelerated again, appearing before Xi Feng in an instant. He swung a fist brimming with magic power straight at Xi Feng's face.

Whoosh, whoosh...

Xi Feng moved his right hand, and countless cherry blossoms swiftly gathered around the hilt again, forming a blade. With a gentle swing, he slashed straight across Jellal's body.

"Urgh!"

Jellal gave a muffled groan of pain and stopped dead, clutching the wound on his abdomen.

Chapter 62: Final Scene-White Emperor Sword

"What is this?!"

Lucy stared in disbelief at the transformed Tower of Heaven.

"Magic Crystal." Gray was just as shocked. "Maybe this is the Tower of Heaven's true form. Maybe all of this was planned!"

"Jellal..."

Erza's gaze sharpened as she looked at the Tower of Heaven.

"I won't kill you, but I certainly won't let you move!"

Xi Feng stared at Jellal and spoke coldly. He had been conflicted from the start, but remembering that they had been close friends left him unable to bring himself to kill Jellal.

"You'll pay for being so naive!"

Clutching his wound, Jellal spat the words viciously.

"Is that so...?"

Xi Feng answered indifferently, then said coldly, "Lataib..."

As his cool, indifferent voice echoed, the entire sky slowly darkened.

"What's going on?!" While Jellal was still clutching his wound, his surroundings underwent a tremendous change. Broad, chilling blades slowly emerged from the floor of the Tower of Heaven, finally forming two rows that enclosed him.

The cold, murderous aura made Jellal shudder involuntarily! An instinctive unease rose within him, as though he were prey caught in a beast's sights. Even with strength on par with the Ten Wizard Saints, he felt chills running through him! A sinister cold spread from deep within his heart, filling him with fear.

"What are these things?!" Gritting his teeth, Jellal stared uncertainly at the two rows of blades surrounding him. Magic power slowly seeped from his body, as though instinctively protecting its master.

"Scatter..." Xi Feng did not answer. He merely watched Jellal with an unruffled gaze. As his words fell, the chilling blades that had silently formed two rows around Jellal all began to radiate a dazzling pink glow!

"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"

Boom! As Xi Feng uttered the final word, pink light blazed, and the two rows of blades abruptly burst into hundreds of millions of cherry blossoms, dancing freely through the air! In an instant, pink radiance covered the entire top of the Tower of Heaven, creating a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

Countless cherry blossoms swirled around Jellal, finally turning into countless slashes that closed in to shred him.

"Aaaah!"

Countless slashes sliced across Jellal's body, leaving him in agony. Blood stained his entire body red, making him a horrific sight.

"Meteor!"

Dazzling golden magic power erupted. Jellal's eyes burned with rage, and he disregarded the cherry blossoms around him, recklessly charging out.

"I'll kill you!" Jellal moved several times faster than before, like a meteor hurtling downward. In the blink of an eye, he reached Xi Feng and raised his right fist, which held an enormous amount of terrifying golden magic power. He looked ready to punch straight through Xi Feng!

"Gokei-Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

Ignoring Jellal, Xi Feng spoke calmly. The cherry blossoms dancing through the air formed a sphere around Xi Feng, then abruptly burst outward. The pink blossoms surged at tremendous speed like rapidly spinning razor blades, wildly slicing and shredding Jellal, who was trapped inside!

"Damn it! You bastard! Dark Paradise!" Seeing the countless blossoms turn into sharp blades filled Jellal with terror. He abruptly crossed his hands, and a deep, eerie sphere of rippling darkness appeared before his chest. His right eye flashed, the strange crimson markings flickering wildly as he roared in a near-hysterical voice, "I will succeed! I will create a land of freedom!"

Boom! Amid his frenzied roars, the eerie black sphere began swallowing the hundreds of millions of cherry blossoms closing in on him like a black hole. Then it suddenly exploded outward!

Boom! A deafening crash shook the heavens! An enormous black force tore a gaping hole through the previously seamless enclosure of cherry blossoms! The very next instant, a thoroughly battered Jellal flew swiftly out from among the blossoms filling the sky.

Yet barely had he escaped the enclosure and landed, before he could even catch his breath, Xi Feng's cool voice-noble and elegant, yet like a summons to death-rang in his ears again...

"Devastation Scene-Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

As Xi Feng's words fell, the countless cherry blossoms gathered again, trapping Jellal once more. They slowly condensed into rows of long, bare blades standing on the ground. Ring after ring formed an enormous blade formation, sealing Jellal completely inside.

"That illusory freedom isn't what you imagine it to be."

Xi Feng waved one hand, and the blade formation slowly closed in on Jellal.

"You don't understand anything! I'm the chosen one! Zeref chose me! Only I can establish the true Kingdom of Freedom!" Jellal's expression darkened before he finally shouted in fury. Magic power erupted continuously from his body.

"Seven-Star Sword!"

As his words fell, seven enormous golden magic circles appeared in the sky, arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper.

Boom, boom, boom... Amid a series of explosions, seven streams of golden magic power fell like meteorites. The violent magic power filled the entire sky with thunder and lightning. It seemed Jellal was staking everything on one final attack.

"..."

Watching the frenzied meteor shower, Xi Feng slowly shifted his feet, then extended his right hand. Countless cherry blossoms gathered into Senbonzakura in his grasp once again. Then he spoke calmly.

"Final Scene-White Emperor Sword!"

With a resounding boom, a pair of broad, dazzling white wings slowly unfurled behind Xi Feng! They emitted a blinding white light. Taking a slow step forward, Xi Feng became a streak of white light and instantly appeared before Jellal.

"No, no!"

Seeing Xi Feng right in front of him, Jellal cried out in despair.

Boom! An enormous explosion rang out.

Chapter 63: The End of the Tower of Heaven

Boom!

Another tremendous explosion resounded from the Tower of Heaven, drawing the attention of Erza and the others out at sea once again.

"What happened?!"

Seeing the Tower of Heaven suddenly explode, Lucy hurriedly asked.

"Could Etherion have gone out of control?!"

Gray's pupils contracted as he watched the Tower of Heaven shine and crumble.

"Out of control?!"

Gray's words immediately made Erza anxious.

"Gathering that much magic power in one place was unstable to begin with. If Xi Feng and Jellal's battle was too intense, the Tower of Heaven wouldn't be able to withstand it..." Gray paused, then continued gravely, "If that magic power explodes, no one in these waters may survive."

"Brother!"

Hearing Gray's words, everyone from the guild fell silent. Erza knew she was powerless now, too. All she could do was pray in her heart.

Boom, boom, boom...

The sudden collapse inside the tower stunned Xi Feng. But he immediately regained his senses, realizing that after their battle, the tower could no longer contain Etherion's magic power.

"What should I do...?"

Watching the Magic Crystal crumble and explode, Xi Feng frowned. He truly had no idea how to stop this enormous mass of magic power.

Boom! Just then, another thunderous explosion erupted from the Tower of Heaven.

"Damn it!" Cursing, Xi Feng hurriedly ran outside. His priority now was to escape these waters immediately so he could save himself.

"!"

But just then, he spotted Jellal, who had disappeared in the earlier explosion. Now Jellal was entirely trapped within the Magic Crystal.

Jellal, inside the Magic Crystal, seemed to see Xi Feng too. His lips moved slightly, then he sank completely into the Magic Crystal.