Jellal!!!
It turned out that Ikaruga's worries hadn't been unfounded.
Wizards—especially powerful ones—could not be measured by common sense. Some of them were like monsters; even if their bodies were fired like cannonballs through mountains, they would only suffer minor injuries.
Erza and Mirajane stood close to being such monsters—or rather, they were exactly that.
After resting for only an hour, Erza had regained consciousness under Mirajane's care. The two of them had returned from Edolas, only to find the situation here had completely changed. Perplexed, they stayed silent, hiding in the shadows to observe.
Only when Jellal turned against the Three Ravens, killing two of them and preparing to use Ikaruga as the sacrifice to resurrect Zeref, did they finally lose patience and leap out.
"Erza!"
Blocking with both arms, her body reinforced with magic so that her hands wouldn't be cleaved off, Jellal was sent flying by the sheer force of her strike, smashing into a wall of lacrima.
He spat out blood, eyes dark and twisted.
"Good… good… good! I was willing to let you walk away, but to dare return now… then I'll make sure you die here as well!"
"That's not something you'll be able to realize."
The icy voice came from behind him.
"When—?!"
Before Jellal could react, Demon Mirajane's Dark Beam struck him, sending him hurtling through the air, tumoring wildly.
"Meteor!!"
"Flight Armor!!"
Golden starlight streaked across the tower—but was cut off mid-flight by another flash of light. Erza's sword pierced through, carving a deep wound across his chest. Mirajane pressed forward without giving him even a heartbeat to respond.
"Soul Extinction!!"
A torrent of black energy erupted, surging forward like a flood, instantly swallowing Jellal's figure whole.
BOOM!
When the explosion cleared, Jellal's appearance was miserable beyond words. His limbs bent at unnatural angles, blood pouring from countless wounds—injuries that would have been fatal to an ordinary man.
"Hahaha! Fairy Tail… very good… very good indeed! To have forced me to this point!"
He staggered to his feet, laughing madly, completely ignoring the state of his body. From deep within him, bottomless magic erupted, rising higher and higher.
"Danger…"
Both Mirajane and Erza had been about to strike again, but a crushing sense of dread enveloped them. Their instincts screamed—danger, danger, mortal danger!
Stay here, and they would die.
That single instant of hesitation gave Jellal his chance.
"Zeref! Wait for me… just wait another eight years!!"
Scarlet runes erupted from the Tower of Heaven, twisting like serpents as they coiled around Jellal. In his eyes, another crimson spell circle glowed with ominous light.
The entire Tower of Heaven shuddered violently. The once-solid lacrima began to soften, flowing like liquid, its crashing waves erasing the structure's original form. Like falling spray from an overturned ocean, its entire shape and foundation were breaking apart.
"You're insane! If you detonate the Tower of Heaven, you'll die too!" Mirajane gasped. She couldn't understand what exactly was happening to the tower, but the colossal magic gathered within it was undeniable.
Such immense energy should have exploded long ago—only the unique design of the tower had prevented it.
But now, by using himself as the key, Jellal was unraveling the very structure, pushing the Tower straight to destruction. It was no different from detonating a bomb with himself still inside.
"Zeref watches over me! I am the one chosen by him! I will never die!!!"
Jellal was lost to madness, deaf to all words, his manic laughter rising as if nothing else existed.
"Stop him!"
Mirajane and Erza met each other's eyes, both instantly reaching the same decision. They surged forward at once. Mirajane's wings flared wide, her monstrous claws glowing with dark light as her speed broke the sound barrier. Erza, clad in Flight Armor, leapt with sword raised, matching her pace stride for stride.
"Useless! Useless! You are destined to die here! Erza—"
The distance that should have been closed in less than a second suddenly stretched into an uncrossable chasm. Midway, Jellal triggered his spell—the entire Tower of Heaven resonated with blinding radiance.
A surge of vast energy shook the skies, detonating the air itself. Bathed in the brilliance, Jellal proclaimed his final declaration, lofty as a god:
But then—dizziness struck. His body staggered, slipping out of his control.
"Impossible! That moment…!"
He instantly remembered Ikaruga's strange behavior earlier, and hatred twisted his face. But Erza and Mirajane didn't care. They seized the fleeting chance—
The chasm turned into a bridge.
"Jellal—fall into hell!!!"
Erza shouted, her sword overflowing with power. The air itself seemed to etch her glowing trail in the sky.
"No! I am the chosen master of this world's future! How can I lose?!" Jellal roared, denial consuming him as the sword's judgment drew near, unstoppable.
His emotions erupted as magic. The runes tore into his flesh, forging a new connection with the Tower. Against all odds, he snatched back control of its systems.
But in doing so, he broke something deeper.
A barrier shattered.
Fragmented memories flooded into his mind. He froze, struck dumb.
Erza's blade cut through, clashing with Jellal's magic. The explosion of power filled the world with blinding white.
Everything was consumed in light.
Figures reduced to mere outlines—then even those vanished.
"Jellal!!!"
At last, the sword triumphed over the runes. Scarlet glyphs cracked apart, disintegrating into nothing. Jellal was left exposed before the blade, his face still frozen in shock.
Even his outline disappeared into the radiance.
BOOM!!
The light dissipated. The battle was finally over.
With Jellal gone, the Tower of Heaven lost its master. From the edge of collapse, it was dragged back, the radiance slowly dimming.
Erza landed softly, her expression utterly calm—no joy of victory, no sorrow of betrayal. Just terrifying stillness.
But defeating Jellal didn't mean the end. Far from it. The tower once again erupted with light. The collapse that had halted began anew. Chaotic streams of magic spilled out, casting hazy brilliance everywhere.
Etherion's magic was unstable to begin with, and even after being absorbed by the tower, that nature could not be changed. Left alone, it would eventually collapse and detonate.
And Jellal's reckless meddling had already pushed it to the brink.
"Master… are you watching us?"
Mirajane and Erza looked at each other. Mirajane drew a deep breath and spoke softly into the air.
Silence. Then—
High above, pure magic gathered into a single glowing word.
Here.
In that moment, Erza and Mirajane finally relaxed. He was watching. That was enough.