"Jellal was quite the handsome guy before, so why did he develop such terrible taste after being brainwashed? This tower is a fashion disaster."
Ankh muttered to himself as he stepped onto a floating magic circle.
Lifted by his Gravity Magic, he ascended rapidly through the hollow center of the massive tower, flying toward the spire of the Tower of Heaven.
Earlier, Jellal had used amplification magic to announce throughout the tower that he would engage everyone in a "Paradise Game"—a battle royale to determine who would reach him first.
Ankh couldn't be bothered with such convoluted games.
To him, mazes were just walls waiting to be broken.
Still, to let the other kids have some fun and resolve their own battles, they had split into groups to clear the lower levels.
According to Jellal's broadcast, he had recruited three key members from the legendary assassination guild as his personal guard.
These three would battle Ankh and the others inside the tower.
They were known among the underground elite as the "Trinity Raven."
They had operated as a specialized team during the Kabria War, assassinating all Western military officers in a single night.
They were dangerous, A-Class mages at minimum.
Flying mid-air, Ankh closed his eyes for a moment.
His sensory perception expanded, sensing everything happening within the tower's crystalline walls.
As Ankh had anticipated, the Trinity Raven had already encountered the members of the Strongest Team in separate battles.
The matchups were... chaotic.
Battle 1: The Owl vs. The Girls
The first member, Fukuro, was a bizarre man with an owl's head carrying a rocket propulsion device on his back. He claimed to be a "Warrior of Justice," but his Magic was terrifyingly practical
He could swallow people whole into his stomach, digest them, and absorb their Magic Power to use against their allies.
However, the enemies he faced weren't the powerhouse duo of Natsu and Gray, but rather the "Love Rivals" team: Lucy and Juvia.
Although... Lucy herself was blissfully unaware that she was Juvia's self-proclaimed rival for Gray's affection.
'The battle situation was disastrous,' Ankh noted with a wince.
With Juvia, an S-Class Mage from Phantom Lord, the fight should have ended quickly.
But Juvia was distracted.
Before she could even unleash her water slicer, she was swallowed by the enemy like a gulp of water.
This created an incredibly awkward scene where Fukuro absorbed Juvia's magic and... her personality.
He started posing and ranting about "Gray-sama" while attacking Lucy with water magic.
Left alone, Lucy immediately found herself in a tough battle, fighting both a powerful assassin and the stolen magic of her new friend.
...
Battle 2: The Rocker vs. The Boys
Elsewhere, the situation was similarly bizarre.
Vidaldus Taka, a man who looked like a heavy metal reject, wielded a magical guitar.
His "Rock of Succubus" magic could enchant enemies with his music, turning them into mindless, head-banging subordinates.
He faced Natsu and Gray.
The battle should have been even more one-sided in Fairy Tail's favor. Yet, upon encountering him, the simple-minded Natsu was immediately swayed by the beat.
"Yeah! Rock and Roll!"
Natsu was captivated by Vidaldus Taka's music.
The demonic magic took hold, turning Natsu into a black-clad, spirited youth with ghost flames flickering above his head.
He began attacking Gray with enthusiasm.
Gray, grim-faced and shirtless, could only curse under his breath while dodging fireballs from his own teammate.
"You tone-deaf idiot! Snap out of it!" Gray shouted, preparing his Ice-Make cannon.
...
Battle 3: The Swordswoman vs. The Queen
Erza's situation, however, proceeded without surprises. It was a clash of steel.
Fully armed in her Purgatory Armor, Erza battled the Trinity Raven's leader, Ikaruga.
Ikaruga was a pink-haired woman dressed in elegant Japanese-style attire. She was a master of the "Moonless Style" swordsmanship, a technique capable of cutting through seemingly any defense—even magical dimensions.
Essentially, her role was that of a full-damage assassin maximize in attack speed, critical damage, and armor penetration.
During this period, Erza preferred building "semi-tank" items—heavy armor with high defense.
But against Ikaruga, her diverse array of defensive armors proved utterly useless.
Her strongest shields were sliced like paper.
'It all came down to a pure contest of damage output,' Ankh analyzed.
'Defense is meaningless here.'
Ankh wasn't worried about the outcome of their battles.
The members of Trinity Raven were skilled, hovering around high A-class, with Ikaruga reaching quasi-S-class. But his team was stronger.
Lucy had Aquarius—a literal natural disaster in mermaid form.
Plus, she had the unspoken "protagonist halo" of luck.
Gray, even while handicapped, could absolutely achieve a 100% win rate against a berserk, uncoordinated Natsu.
Moreover, Gray possessed high-level Ice-Make combos. A 1v2 situation was just a warm-up for him.
As for Erza... no need to elaborate.
She just needs to realize that armor isn't protecting her.
Once she switches to the Clear Heart Clothing—discarding defense for pure speed and attack—and equips two critical strike blades, the fight is as good as over.
If Erza lost to Ikaruga, Ankh would never let her live it down.
...
High above the chaos, Ankh's senses suddenly detected a powerful, dark surge of Magic Power directly ahead.
"Found you."
Frowning, he gathered gravity around his fist and immediately smashed through a thick crystal wall, bypassing the stairs entirely.
CRASH!
He burst onto the summit of the Tower of Heaven.
It was a throne room open to the stars. The floor was checkered black and white, symbolizing a twisted game of chess.
Ankh immediately spotted Jellal Fernandes sitting boldly on a high-backed throne.
When Ankh saw Jellal's appearance, he couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
'How did he get those tattoos?' Ankh wondered, looking at the red mark over Jellal's eye.
Though they radiate pure villainy, they actually look pretty cool.
'Maybe I should get one.'
This version of Jellal had features as gloomy as stagnant water. His handsome face was completely obscured by a hood, casting a shadow over his eyes.
His gaze fixed intently on Ankh, giving off serious creep vibes.
Ankh recalled that in the original storyline from his previous life, Jellal's character had notoriously polarized reception.
Those who liked him genuinely adored him—the tragic villain turned hero.
But those who hated him... would genuinely wish they could cross dimensions just to strangle him themselves.
'Perhaps it was because Jellal himself was inherently contradictory?' Ankh mused.
His corruption felt unexplained, his redemption equally messy... everyone seemed to project something different onto him.
But these were all tangential matters.
Currently facing Jellal directly, Ankh felt neither adoration nor hatred.
Instead, he felt bored enough to sit down for some tea.
Jellal didn't attack.
He calmly waved Ankh over, smiling as he said, "Ankh Seram-san. Welcome to my paradise. Please, have a seat."
'How polite... for a damn lunatic.'
Ankh dragged over a loose chair from the side of the room. He sat facing Jellal, crossing his legs leisurely.
"I thought you'd run away at the sight of me," Ankh remarked flatly. "Or at least try to blast me."
Jellal propped his chin on his hand, chuckling in a low, resonant voice.
"Ankh-san, though you're one of the Wizard Saints, I don't consider you a threat to my grand design. You are merely a piece on the board."
He spoke with utter calmness, as if genuinely unafraid of Ankh's reputation as a Grim Reaper.
"Fair enough—your eyes probably can't contain someone of my caliber," Ankh replied, checking his nails.
He refused to concede even verbally!
Jellal paid no mind to the jab. He leaned forward, his eyes gleaming in the shadow of his hood.
"Aren't you curious, Ankh-san, why I lured you to the Tower of Heaven as well? Why I allowed you to walk right up here?"
Seeing Jellal's "everything-is-under-control" demeanor, Ankh shook his head.
"Coincidentally, I'm not curious. I assume it's because you're lonely."
Jellal: "..."
The conversation instantly turned awkward.
Fortunately, Jellal in this corrupted state was socially fearless.
He cleared his throat and resumed speaking with feigned mystery, determined to deliver his villain monologue.
"Originally, my target was actually Erza," Jellal confessed. "To resurrect the dead through the R-System requires sacrificing a living body with Magic Power equivalent to a Wizard Saint. Though Erza falls slightly short in raw power, her limitless potential already meets the criteria."
He stood up, spreading his arms wide.
"But when I set my sights on Erza and began planning, I suddenly discovered an even better candidate! Someone who exceeds all expectations!"
A fanatical fervor surged within Jellal's cold pupils. He stared intently at Ankh's face, unable to contain his excitement.
"I've consulted countless ancient texts and compared your mysterious Magic signatures. The results... that person! You actually possess power similar to that person—the Black Mage Zeref!"
Jellal pointed a finger at Ankh, trembling with joy.
"Ankh Seram! You are the key to Zeref's perfect resurrection! You are the life that must be sacrificed for the R-System! Your death will birth a god!"
Facing the madman-like Jellal, Ankh only felt a strange discomfort inside.
He had countless points of complaint he didn't know how to express it!
'He wants to sacrifice me to Zeref?' Ankh thought, trying not to laugh.
After holding back for a long time, Ankh looked at Jellal with frustration and couldn't help asking a genuine question.
"Since you've researched so many ancient texts and can recognize my power," Ankh asked, tilting his head, "do you know how Zeref originally obtained his power of death?"
Jellal's lips curled into a mad grin.
After being brainwashed by "Zeref's ghost" (Ultear), he felt a natural attraction to anything related to the Black Mage.
He looked at Ankh with burning eyes, as if he had found a confidant to share his forbidden knowledge with.
"The incomplete ancient records are already blurred by time," Jellal admitted, pacing the floor. "But based on my research piecing together countless fragmented clues from that era, I've formed a personal theory..."
He stopped and looked up at the sky.
"Zeref's most terrifying ability is his death power that hunts life. It is a Terror bestowed upon the Black Mage by the God of Life and Death!"
Jellal laughed. "Though this theory isn't reliable—what god truly exists in this world? We are alone. But these legends alone are enough to show how terrifying Zeref's power is!"
'No,' Ankh thought, keeping his face impassive.
'Fundamentally speaking, this theory doesn't seem entirely wrong. In fact, it's spot on.'
Watching the excited Jellal, Ankh remained calm inside, even feeling like giving him a round of applause for connecting the dots.
'But Jellal... you are missing the biggest joke.'
'Using a god as sacrifice to resurrect someone cursed by that god—what an irony...'