The top floor hall of the Tower of Paradise.
"Trash! Both of them are trash!"
Seeing Owl and Udadus defeated one after another through the surveillance, Jellal furiously flipped the chessboard he usually used to pass the time.
The chess pieces scattered and rolled across the floor.
It perfectly reflected Jellal's mood at that moment.
The black robe's hood obscured half of his face, and although his features were unclear, the resentment radiating from him allowed Erza and the others who had arrived at the top of the tower to easily imagine Jellal's current gloomy expression.
Wally spoke first, his reconfigured arm cannon aimed at him, "Jellal! You bastard, you deceived us for all these years!"
"Eight years... eight years!"
"Do you know how we spent these eight years?!"
"We worked overtime every single day to build this wretched tower, all because we believed what you said—that dark freedom would surely come..."
"But it was all a lie!"
"We were actually free long ago!"
Hearing Wally's furious voice, Jellal slowly turned around. His once clear blue eyes were now filled only with bottomless darkness and obsession.
He sneered, "Stupid. Eight years ago, you were just a few brats who hadn't even grown up. If you left the Tower of Paradise, you wouldn't even know how to survive."
"Shut up!" Sho gritted his teeth and stepped forward. "Jellal, you never intended to bring us freedom. You just wanted to use us to help you complete this evil magic!"
"Evil? Hahahaha!"
Jellal burst into maniacal laughter. "Power itself has no good or evil. As long as the goal is achieved, no matter how dirty the process is, the result will surely be the most sacred!"
"As long as Lord Zeref is revived, every sacrifice is worth it!"
"Why are we wasting words on him! Let's beat some sense into him!"
The short-tempered Wally was the first to charge forward, his cannon unleashing a powerful shockwave. "Disintegration!"
However, Jellal simply waved his hand, and a torrent of dark purple magic surged out, easily crushing Wally's attack and sending him flying violently to smash heavily against the wall.
"Wally!"
Millianna shrieked, and the Cat Tail Whip in her hand lashed out at Jellal like a living thing, only to be repelled by invisible magic.
Sho also roared and activated his magic, throwing out several Magic Cards. Immediately, several gigantic International Chess pawn pieces appeared out of thin air, crushing down towards Jellal.
"A mere trick."
Jellal's eyes were cold. With a light tap of his finger, several meteor-like beams of magic instantly erupted, accurately piercing all the chess pieces and simultaneously shattering them.
The aftermath of the explosion knocked both Sho and Simon, who had stepped up to support him, to the ground.
"I taught you this magic. And yet you amateurs dare to use it against me? You are truly foolish."
Jellal commented indifferently.
He turned his gaze back to Erza, who had remained silent. "And you? Erza? Are you also going to try and stop me like these pieces of trash?"
"Oh~ I forgot, you tried to stop me eight years ago."
"It's a pity. If you had succeeded in stopping me back then, none of this would be happening today."
Listening to Jellal's mocking words, Erza took a deep breath and offered her first and final plea: "Jellal, stop this. It's not too late to turn back."
"Turn back? I have long since passed the point of no return!"
Jellal's magic power surged around him, creating such intense pressure that the air grew thick. "Since you insist on blocking my path, then along with this tower, become sacrifices for the revival of Lord Zeref!"
Erza slowly raised her sword, her eyes filled with unprecedented determination. "Jellal, I'm here to 'save' you."
"Hahahahaha!"
"Then come! Come and try to stop me, Erza!"
Jellal's face suddenly became distorted. He flipped his wrist, and the wicked dark magic immediately transformed into a massive horde of Dark Demons, rushing straight toward Erza.
Erza neither dodged nor retreated. A flash of light enveloped her, and the Heavens Wheel Armor was instantly equipped. Dozens of revolving longswords formed a sword array that clashed with the Dark Demons.
The fierce collision shattered several pillars on the top floor.
Erza cut her way out of the horde of demons and slashed her sword toward Jellal. "Don't you feel regret destroying the structure you worked so hard to build with your own hands?"
Jellal flashed away, dodging the longsword, and laughed contemptuously, "Just one or two pillars. They are nothing more than dispensable decorations for the Tower of Paradise."
However, these words enraged Erza. Her sword light, fueled by anger, cut through the incoming dark magic. "It was for these decorations that Simon, Sho, Millianna... and all the comrades you deceived wasted eight years of their lives!"
Jellal was completely unfazed by Erza's rage. "Stop talking about comrades. They were just tools I tricked into building the Tower of Paradise!"
"Such a massive project only took eight years. Where else could I find tools like that?"
Jellal watched Erza, whose reason was being eroded by rage. The magic in his hand instantly condensed, and a torrent of darkness immediately assailed Erza from all directions.
Watching the red-haired girl struggle continuously, only to be finally swallowed by the darkness, Jellal showed a look of triumph. "You are still as weak as you were eight years ago, Erza."
"Do you know why I let you go eight years ago?"
"Because resurrecting Lord Zeref requires the body of a Ten Wizard Saints-level mage as a sacrifice, and you, Erza, are undoubtedly the best sacrifice!"
Jellal laughed maniacally, covering his face.
However, the next second, a sharp purgatory broadsword sliced through the darkness, hitting him heavily and sending him flying.
The immense force made Jellal slide across the ground for a distance before stopping. Ignoring the blood at the corner of his mouth, he looked up in disbelief at Erza, clad in the pitch-black purgatory armor.
Her eyes were cold, and the anger was no longer burning.
Was this still the Erza he remembered...? Erza had originally held onto a sliver of hope for Jellal, believing that when he let her go eight years ago, it was because the goodness in his heart hadn't completely vanished.
However, the truth spoken by Jellal mercilessly extinguished Erza's expectations of him.
Therefore, there was no need to hold back anymore.
Erza wielded the broadsword, hacking down continuously, emphasizing brute force. Jellal, who had previously held the upper hand, was immediately suppressed and steadily forced to retreat.
Jellal felt extremely irritated. Maintaining the Thought Projection hidden within the Council consumed most of his magic power, making him completely unable to match Erza.
If this continued, he would lose.
If he released the Thought Projection, his full-powered self could certainly defeat Erza easily. But even if he defeated Erza, Makarov was still below. The Tower of Paradise still wouldn't be saved... Given the current situation, the only option was to abandon the Tower of Paradise, conserve his strength, and slowly start over... Damn it, eight years of careful planning just went down the drain. How frustrating.
Just as Jellal was preparing to deactivate the Thought Projection, a figure smashed through the dome of the top floor and descended from the sky, landing heavily between him and Erza.
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