— — — — — —
Inside the Tower of Heaven
Erza had broken free of her restraints and was preparing to accept her fate, ready to face Jellal in a final showdown. While dealing with the guards, she suddenly caught sight of a familiar shadow soldier.
"Kazuma?" she asked cautiously, glancing at the corpses on the ground and then at the figure before her.
The shadow soldier nodded, then took out a small board and wrote on it: "Do you need help?"
"No," Erza said quickly after reading it. "This is my problem. Please don't interfere. And don't kill them. They're innocent."
She knew Kazuma's style all too well. If he got involved, her former companions would die. Kazuma never showed mercy. To him, enemies only had one ending.
"You're not an immature mage like Natsu," new words appeared on the board. "You're a mage who can stand on your own now. I'll stay out of it for the moment. But the Magic Council is preparing to activate Etherion and target this place. You need to resolve everything before Etherion is fired. If you can't, then I'll step in."
"Oh, right. I already took care of the guards for you. You're welcome."
The words appeared and vanished one after another, until the board returned to blank. The shadow soldier gave Erza a nod and melted back into the shadows.
"…I understand," Erza said softly.
When she heard the word Etherion, shock flashed across her face, but it was quickly replaced by resolve.
There was no time to hesitate.
If Etherion came down, or if Kazuma intervened, no one in the Tower of Heaven would survive.
"I'll save you all," she said firmly. "Jellal, once I defeat you, everything will end!"
She rushed upward even faster. She had to stop Jellal and save everyone.
---
Back at the guild.
"You said Erza was 'wrecking the place.' What do you mean by that?" Lucy asked, staring at Kazuma. "You've really already found her?"
It sounded unbelievable, but Kazuma had done more than enough unbelievable things before. In the end, Lucy chose to believe him.
"Yes," Kazuma said. "My shadow soldiers found her. I just finished talking to her."
"She said she wants to handle it herself."
"I… see," Lucy said, finally relaxing a little when she heard Erza was safe. "Then… can she actually manage it?"
"No," Kazuma answered without hesitation. "She's guaranteed to lose."
Her opponent was her former companion. Erza might be stronger in terms of raw power, but her heart wouldn't be able to follow through.
"Erza's magic power already reached the level of the Ten Wizard Saints a long time ago," he continued. "But her resolve isn't firm enough."
"She looks tough on the outside, but she's incredibly soft inside. Magic is closely tied to one's will. The moment you waver, your magic weakens."
"Because she isn't resolute enough, Erza can't draw out the power she should have. The moment she hesitates, she loses. And right now, she's still trying to save everyone alone. That makes failure inevitable."
"Mira, pour me a drink," Kazuma said, handing her his glass. "Not the watered-down stuff on the counter. Give me the bottle you keep under the table for yourself."
"Hey, don't talk nonsense," Mira protested, looking offended. "I don't water down the alcohol. That's slander."
As the guild's poster girl, how could she do something like that?
She just made the drinks gentler so people wouldn't feel awful after drinking too much. That was all.
"And if you know Erza is going to lose," Mira asked, eyeing Kazuma's calm expression, "why let her handle it alone?"
"It's ok," Kazuma replied, "There's about thirty minutes left. If Erza can't settle things by then, I'll go deal with the one who caused all this trouble."
He checked the time in his head. About half an hour remained.
For now, though, he could afford to wait a little longer.
---
Inside the Tower of Heaven, Erza was climbing upward when someone suddenly blocked her path.
"Erza, big sister, why won't you just be a good sacrifice?"
"Why do you always try to abandon us and run away?"
"Erza-chan, there's no way you can escape this tower."
"Erza, w–waaah, save me!"
Her former companions closed in around her. Among them was Happy, who had been captured and dragged here as well.
"Everyone…" Erza clenched her teeth. "I'm sorry!"
She wanted to explain. She truly did. But there was no time. No time to talk, no time to hesitate.
The moment the apology left her lips, she switched armor. With the Sword of Heaven's Wheel in her hands, she struck. In an instant, all four of them were defeated.
"Erza is amazing!" Happy cheered, eyes sparkling. "Alright, let's run! I'll carry you out of here!"
"No, Happy," Erza said firmly. "I still have things I need to do. I can't leave yet."
"In about thirty minutes, Etherion will strike. It's a terrifying attack. Please take them and get out of here immediately. I'm begging you."
She explained everything as quickly as possible, her expression deadly serious. Then she turned and continued forward without looking back.
"Erza…"
Happy didn't fully understand, but since Erza said so, he chose to trust her. He gathered the defeated group and fled the Tower of Heaven.
Erza pressed on deeper into the tower, heading straight for Jellal.
At the same time, Jellal sensed her magic.
He sent out his assassins, the Trinity Raven, to intercept her. Their goal wasn't to kill her, but to capture her and bring her back.
...
Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
As expected, Erza ran straight into the Trinity Raven. Each of them was a powerful mage.
"Baby, let's go craaazy together!" Vidaldus, the one who used sound waves to hypnotize and control his enemies, started casting his magic the instant he saw Erza.
"Requip!"
Erza recognized them immediately. They were the elite strike team of the dark guild Oración Seis, the Trinity Raven.
She switched into armor that blocked hypnosis and launched her attack without hesitation.
"Hoho!" Fukuro, the owl-like mage with incredible mobility, moved in an instant, attacking to block her path.
"Get out of the way!"
Erza switched from a longsword to a greatsword and swung with all her strength, forcing him to dodge. Without slowing down, she charged straight at Vidaldus. His magic was the biggest threat.
"Mugetsu-Ryu: Yasha's Empty Flash!"
Standing beside Vidaldus, the kimono-clad Ikaruga struck. Her magic could cut through anything. Combined with her lightning-fast sword-drawing technique, it was often lethal before her opponent could even react.
Her slash shattered Erza's armor and forced her back.
"All three of you!" Erza shouted. "Etherion from the Magic Council is about to fall! If you don't leave now, you'll die!"
Facing the three of them, Erza felt the pressure. Each was strong, and together they completely blocked her advance. For a moment, she tried to reason with them.
"We know," Vidaldus replied with a grin. "But don't you think that light that destroys everything is beautiful?"
"Death is the wildest rock and roll!"
"Hohoho."
There wasn't the slightest hint of fear or hesitation in their eyes. They were smiling, almost eager.
"Bunch of suicidal lunatics!" Erza cursed under her breath.
She checked the time. About twenty minutes left.
"No time anymore," she thought. "If I want to break through them, I'll have to be crazier than they are. More reckless. More desperate."
"Requip!"
Determination burned in her eyes as she charged again, once more heading straight for Vidaldus.
Fukuro attacked from behind at long range. Ikaruga struck head-on. Vidaldus continued playing his cursed music.
In that split second, Ikaruga's blade shattered Erza's armor, carving countless wounds across her body. Fukuro's attack slammed into her back, hard and unforgiving.
Erza gritted her teeth, refusing to fall. "Requip! Demon Blade, Benizakura Flash!"
She endured the injuries and seized the brief opening created the instant Ikaruga finished her draw. Pouring all her magic into a single strike, Erza cut her down in one blow.
The sword energy didn't stop there. It continued on and struck Vidaldus, who was hiding behind her, knocking him out as well.
Twisting her entire body, Erza redirected all her remaining strength and hurled her blade with everything she had.
In a flash, the Demon Blade turned into a streak of red light, piercing straight through Fukuro and pinning him to the wall behind.
In a matter of moments, the Trinity Raven was completely defeated.
.
.
.