——————
"What terrifying flames… Just looking at them filled my heart with violence. I lost all control."
Shock flooded his mind. Jellal had always prided himself on staying calm no matter the situation. Yet one glance at those flames had driven him into a frenzy.
Those flames could corrode the human heart.
"Cough… Jellal," Erza said hoarsely. "When you said you were being controlled, I was actually happy. I thought there was still hope for you."
"But I was wrong. You weren't controlled. This was your choice. And that means you have to bear the consequences."
Feeling that overwhelmingly familiar pressure drawing closer, Erza smiled faintly. "My companion came for me."
"Companion…!" Jellal snarled. "Don't think you're leaving. I haven't lost yet! I still have a way. Once I defeat whoever's coming, I can make them fire Etherion again!"
He still had one chance. He could contact Ultear and order another launch. He still had hope.
"You've already lost," Erza said quietly. "And you can't defeat him. He's the strongest person I've ever met."
"And now…" She looked up at the sky. "He's even stronger than before."
The Magic Council's ultimate weapon had already failed against Kazuma.
Compared to last time, he had grown far more powerful. Strong enough to be called a monster.
---
Meanwhile, inside the Magic Council headquarters.
"The Etherion signal is gone. In its place… there's nothing?!"
The technician operating the detection instruments stared in disbelief, his voice shaking as he reported.
"Nothing? What do you mean nothing?" one of the councilors snapped. "Is the detector broken?"
The councilor frowned. These were magic detectors. Everything in this world contained magic. As long as magic existed, there couldn't be a blank reading.
So there was only one explanation. The detector had malfunctioned.
"No, sir! The detector isn't broken!" the technician shouted after repeated checks. "It's that the magic there has completely vanished! It's like it doesn't exist anymore!"
"We can't detect anything at all!"
After running test after test, the technicians reached a conclusion that left everyone stunned.
"Etherion is an enormous concentration of magic. When condensed, it can destroy a city. When dispersed, it can blanket an entire country!"
"And you're telling me it vanished without a trace?!"
"Has the visual feed recovered yet? I want to know exactly what happened!"
The councilors were frantic. It had taken endless debate before they finally agreed to fire Etherion. Now it had disappeared into thin air. They would rather believe the technicians had gone insane than accept this reality.
"The visuals are back! The visuals are restored!"
Someone shouted, and everyone rushed over.
On the magical screen, all they could see was fire. Endless flames filling the sky.
And within that sea of fire, Kazuma walked forward step by step, holding a blade engulfed in burning flames, entering what should have been the Tower of Heaven, the place they had intended to erase completely.
"It's Kazuma from Fairy Tail!"
"Look at his sword! It's the same as those flames in the sky!"
"That fire looks… it makes me feel awful. Like I want to destroy something…"
"Everyone, look down! Stop staring at it!"
A councilor suddenly shouted, casting magic at the same time to force everyone to lower their heads and avert their eyes from the flames.
"That fire is terrifying! Even through a screen, it amplifies rage and the urge to destroy!"
"Focus the image on the Tower of Heaven. Erase all footage related to those flames. Leave nothing behind!"
At the order, the council members snapped into action. It didn't take long to carry out the instructions.
"Councilor, what about the backup image lacrima?" someone asked hesitantly.
"Destroy it," came the immediate reply. "It cannot be kept."
A council member stepped forward, smashed the lacrima to pieces, and then obliterated it with magic.
Those flames were far too dangerous. Even watching them through a screen made people feel an uncontrollable urge to destroy everything. If such footage fell into the wrong hands, the consequences would be catastrophic.
So it had to be erased.
"Flames in the sky. Etherion gone. Kazuma holding the burning blade…"
"Don't tell me he destroyed Etherion completely with that weapon?"
When they connected the dots, a horrifying thought surfaced in the council's minds. The moment someone voiced it, the immediate reaction was disbelief.
"How could a human withstand that much magic? Even the Wizard Saints would be annihilated by it!"
"It's impossible! And why would Fairy Tail be involved with a dark guild?! What is really going on here?!"
Questions piled up, one after another. The situation was spiraling out of control.
Just then, Yajima rushed in. He had been tracking Siegrain the whole time, and just moments ago, Siegrain had vanished.
"We were all fooled! Siegrain is a traitor!" Yajima shouted. "He deliberately pushed us into firing Etherion! His real target was the magic contained within Etherion!"
At the Tower of Heaven, the image feed showed Kazuma advancing inside. His magic caused the tower's outer shell to tremble violently.
Soon, the Tower of Heaven collapsed, revealing the massive magic lacrima hidden within. This was the true core of the system.
The moment the council members saw it, their legs gave out and they slumped to the ground.
Activating Etherion had already been a grave decision. Now they realized they had been used from the very beginning.
They really fucked up this time.
— — —
Back inside the Tower of Heaven
Kazuma reached Erza and Jellal. "Erza, time to go home."
He walked toward Erza, who had completely exhausted her magic and could barely stand, not sparing Jellal a single glance.
"Damn it! You may have the power of a Wizard Saint, but I'm not weak either!" Jellal roared. "Heavenly Body Magic: Meteor!"
In an instant, his speed skyrocketed. Like a falling star, he shot straight toward Kazuma.
Shhhh—
In the blink of an eye, Jellal was split cleanly in two. The flames of finality incinerated both his body and his soul.
After the incident with the demon before, Kazuma had learned a lesson. Killing someone wasn't just about destroying the body. You had to erase the soul as well.
Otherwise, you never knew when they might come back.
"Aaaa—!"
Jellal screamed in agony, but the sound faded quickly.
He was gone. Completely. Permanently.
"So strong…" Erza murmured as she watched Kazuma walk over as if he were out for a casual stroll.
"Let's go. We're heading back."
Kazuma didn't spare Jellal another look. If this had been earlier, they might have fought seriously. But now, the gap between them was far too large.
Even without the Armor boost, without the Devil Fruit, and without fully unleashing the Fang of Damocles's power, it was still more than enough to instantly kill Jellal.
That battle against Damocles had nearly cost Kazuma his life. But surviving it had brought him tremendous growth.
.
.
.