Top floor of the Tower of Heaven.
"Fukuro's already down?" Jellal murmured with a smirk. "Well, at least he served his purpose. Kaien had to transform again—burning more magic. All I need to do is keep the pressure on. Eventually, the balance will tip in my favor."
Truthfully, Jellal had wanted to face Kaien Blaze head-on, to test himself against the infamous mage in a proper duel.
But Kaien was simply too dangerous.
Every one of his transformations had caused earth-shaking events. The claim about him slaying a dragon in the Kingdom of Sobea was still debated—after all, no one truly knew the extent of a dragon's power.
But defeating Jose, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, had been witnessed by many—including Jellal himself. He had been there, watching the battle in person, and he had been shocked by Kaien's power.
Still, he didn't believe he would lose.
Destructive power is meaningless if it can't land a hit.
—
Meanwhile, on the next floor, Kaien easily wiped out all the guards in a matter of seconds.
Suddenly—
BWAAAAAAMMM—!!
A distorted bass riff erupted through the corridor. From the end of the hall, a man shook his head like a windmill, shredding on a bass guitar as he strutted toward Kaien.
"Ugh! That sound is awful!" Millianna covered her ears in pain.
"HEYYAAAA—!!"
"I am Vidaldus Taka of the Trinity Raven—representing the Skull Guild under the Dark Guild umbrella! Rockin' Assassin Number Two reporting in!!"
Kaien's Six Eyes scanned him instantly. His magic level was a bit above Fukuro's—not overwhelming, but not weak either.
"Another mid-boss."
"ROCK YOU!!"
Vidaldus whipped his long hair like a set of flailing whips, lashing them toward Kaien.
But Kaien didn't move.
His Limitless Technique auto-triggered, slowing down everything approaching him. By the time the hair reached his proximity, it was crawling—practically frozen mid-air.
"Huh?! Physical attacks don't work on you?! Damn! That's what makes you a monster!"
"But good thing hair whip's not all I've got. Time to make you my nightmare slave! Rock Nightmare!! HEYYAAAA—!!"
He strummed his bass furiously, unleashing waves of hypnotic sound aimed at Kaien. His goal: to enslave him through sound magic. If he could tame the power that had defeated one of the Ten Wizard Saints, he'd be unstoppable in the Dark Guild underworld.
Seconds ticked by.
But Kaien just… stood there.
"...You done?" he asked.
Vidaldus stared, dumbfounded.
"Y-You… you heard my music! How are you still standing?!"
Kaien pointed at his ears.
"Simple. I didn't hear it."
"That's impossible! Even if you plug your ears, sound still reaches the brain! And your ears are wide open!"
"I filtered it out. The moment you started playing, I classified your bass as noise—then nullified it."
"...You're talking complete nonsense!! I don't understand a word of what you just said!"
Kaien sighed.
"Forget it. No point explaining technical formulas to someone on your level. Let's just end this."
He raised his right index finger. A small red energy sphere formed at its tip.
"Contraction. Expansion… What do you think happens when the void collapses into itself?"
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red."
This was Gojo's signature reversal ability—infusing positive energy into the cursed technique to generate repulsive force centered on the user.
"UWAAAAAARGHH!!"
A sudden, overwhelming force struck Vidaldus like a wrecking ball.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—!!
He was launched backward, crashing through wall after wall, until his body was sent soaring in a wide arc and plunged straight into the sea.
From the top floor, Jellal narrowed his eyes.
"Vidaldus is down, too? Hmph. I expected that… but not so quickly. As I thought, none of them are even remotely a threat to Kaien Blaze."
"Only one of you is left… Ikaruga. Don't let me down."
Back on his floor, Kaien threw one final punch, smashing the last straggler to the ground.
"Finally done here."
That's when a smooth, feminine voice echoed from ahead:
"Shalalala~ Shalalala~"
"Shalalala~ Shalalala~"
"I am called Ikaruga. It is a pleasure."
A woman in a white kimono embroidered with a flame-skull pattern stepped gracefully into view. She had long pink hair, carried a katana, and possessed a body that exuded both sensuality and danger.
Kaien raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"So Jellal sent all three of his elite fighters after me? What an honor."
He wasn't buying the "coincidence" excuse. Jellal had sent all three Trinity Raven members his way. If that wasn't deliberate targeting, nothing was.
Ikaruga giggled behind her hand.
"It couldn't be helped. You are, after all, a formidable threat. We must resort to underhanded tactics, or we wouldn't stand a chance."
Kaien's smile sharpened.
"So you're saying you're my opponent now? Alright, let's get this started."
"Please wait."
"Hmm? What now?"
"I have heard that you possess a transformation known as 'The Sword God'. As a fellow swordswoman, I would consider it an honor to duel that persona and test my blade against it."
"...Swordsmanship?"
Kaien frowned slightly.
Honestly, he rarely used Yoriichi Tsugikuni anymore.
Not because he disliked the form—but because its stats were too low.
Among all his Gold-tier characters, Yoriichi had the lowest combat parameters. In pure close combat, he might even lose to some Purple-tier forms.
That said, Yoriichi had one unique advantage: he could use magic while transformed.
Not through conversion or system workarounds—he could directly imbue magic into his blade, enabling devastating slashes. A year ago, that ability had been critical in cracking the defense of a Magic Dragon. He had followed that up with Ulquiorra's Second Resurrección, firing a Lance of Thunder to finish the kill.
Even so, the stat disadvantage made him a last resort.
He used Yoriichi mainly for training, rarely for actual combat.
Still…
"Very well," Kaien said calmly. "As you wish."