It was a man with an abundance of hair.
He looked to be in his thirties, draped in a white coat, his long black hair braided and hanging down his back. He gave Erza an indifferent glance.
"Woman, can you fly?"
Taken aback by the bizarre question, Erza froze. Before she could answer, the man raised his hand.
An invisible force crashed down on her. The purgatory armor shrieked under the strain; the ground beneath her feet cracked, and she was driven several inches into the stone.
Erza clenched her teeth, forcing herself to stay upright as the armor's magic flared in frantic pulses, fighting the crushing weight.
"Oh? Still standing?"
The man sounded mildly surprised. He increased his output. "Then how about three times the gravity?"
Boom!
It felt like a mountain had fallen on her. Erza's knees smashed into the ground; every bone groaned, her organs felt ready to burst, and breathing became a struggle.
"Erza!"
Simon and the others tried to help, but the edge of the gravity field slammed them flat and pinned them helpless.
Jellal stared at the sudden turn of events, first in shock, then with a sharp gleam in his eyes. "Who are you? Why help me?"
The man glanced sideways, not even bothering to look Jellal in the eye. "Bluenote. As for why I'm intervening, a screw-up like you doesn't deserve an answer."
Bluenote's arrogance grated on Jellal.
Yet he dared show no offense; this was Bluenote.
A dark power who had risen meteorically in recent years, someone the Magic Council couldn't touch. Both lawful and outlaw circles called him the Master Mage who left "scorched earth wherever he tread."
Jellal didn't know why Bluenote was here, but it gave him the perfect chance to push the Tower of Paradise plan forward.
Bluenote ignored him, turning back to Erza, who was still struggling to hold herself up. "Answer me, woman: can you fly?"
"Boring."
Disappointment colored Bluenote's tone. "Creatures that can't soar are nothing before my Gravity magic. You're no better than an ant."
He raised his hand again, aiming at Erza.
A sphere of ultra-compressed gravity formed in his palm; the air around it warped.
The orb drifted toward her. Where it passed, the floor was gouged open, stones lifted into the air, then ground to dust.
The shadow of death fell over Erza.
She could feel the annihilating force inside that sphere—if it struck, even the purgatory armor would be shredded along with her body.
At that critical instant—
Erza felt her body grow light. Someone lifted her in strong arms while another muscle-bound giant punched the gravity sphere clear off the Tower of Paradise.
An explosion thundered in the distant Sky. Erza looked at Hope carrying her, then at the friends rushing up behind them, and squirmed slightly.
"Put me down, everyone's watching…."
Seeing Erza act like a bashful girl, Hope obliged without protest.
They landed softly behind the diminutive Makarov. "Thank you, Master. Without you, Simon and I—"
Makarov waved it off. "No need to thank me for protecting my kids."
His expression then turned grave, eyes fixed on Bluenote. As a veteran of the magic world, he knew all about the man's "scorched earth" reputation.
The other's Gravity magic was troublesome.
It wasn't that Makarov feared defeat; Gravity was a wide-area offensive magic, and with Bluenote's power he could easily obliterate the Tower of Paradise.
Yet the tower stood in the middle of the sea—if the children were knocked into the water and then caught by Gravity, the old man might not reach them in time.
Seeing Makarov appear, Bluenote finally showed serious interest. "Makarov, I've long wanted to test myself against you. Unfortunately, my master forbade it."
A glint flashed in Makarov's eyes. Over the years, the Council's dossiers painted Bluenote as a cruel lone wolf.
Now the man had let slip that a Dark Guild stood behind him.
Someone strong enough to make Bluenote obey—how powerful must that master be?
Makarov drew a deep breath. For the children's sake, and for the magic world's safety, he had to keep Bluenote here today.
"Cana, take Natsu and the others off the tower. In the fight ahead I may not be able to watch over you."
The gravity in Makarov's tone told Cana exactly how serious things were. She, Gray, Juvia, and Lucy immediately dragged the unwilling Natsu and Gajeel away.
At Erza's signal, Simon's group followed them out of the Tower of Paradise.
The top of the tower fell silent.
Both sides blazed with fighting spirit; battle was about to erupt—
Meanwhile, at the Magic Council headquarters.
The councillors had just relaxed when Ultear's single sentence set them on edge again.
"What did you say? Bluenote is at the Tower of Paradise?!"
One councillor, stunned, relayed the intelligence: "Our undercover agent inside the Dark Guilds sent urgent news."
"Bluenote isn't a lone wolf—he's the vice-guild-master of Grimoire Heart."
Gasps swept the chamber.
Grimoire Heart was known as the strongest Dark Guild. If they could eliminate Bluenote, wouldn't they be cutting down one of its pillars?
Before the thought finished, Siegrain rose. "I propose we deploy Anima to wipe out Bluenote and the Tower of Paradise."
Councillor Org objected at once. "Anima will reduce everything to nothing! Everyone in the tower will die!"
Siegrain remained calm. "A necessary sacrifice to preserve peace in the magic world."
Ultear added, "Master Makarov is old; if Bluenote chooses to flee, he won't be able to stop him. We may never again have a chance to destroy both the R System and Bluenote at one stroke."
Some councillors agreed with Ultear, but sacrificing Makarov was too high a price.
Whatever the case, Makarov's strength, reputation, and achievements—and the younger Mages of Fairy Tail—were not people to be abandoned.
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