Chapter 82: Release of Etherion
Almost everyone's expression changed when they saw the massive magic circle materialize in the sky. The Magic Council's Etherion was equivalent to a nuclear weapon—a satellite magic cannon capable of obliterating everything in its path.
With precise, point-to-point targeting, there was virtually no possibility of interception or escape.
Imagine someone dropping a nuke right on your doorstep. That's exactly how it felt.
"Why would you do this?! What could you possibly gain?!" Erza demanded, her voice shaking with fury as she glared at Jellal.
"Gain?" Jellal's lips curved into a manic smile. "It will fulfill my dream! And as for why—I suppose I can tell you now. The R-System may be complete, but it lacks sufficient magical power to activate fully."
Dino's eyes narrowed. "So you're planning to use the Council's Etherion to charge it up, aren't you?" The plot was coming back to him now—and if he remembered correctly, Jellal's insane gambit actually succeeded in the original timeline.
"That's impossible!"
"This is insanity!"
"You'll die here if this fails!" Several voices cried out in disbelief.
Jellal laughed, wild and unhinged. "The sole purpose of my existence is to complete the R-System and revive the great Dark Mage Zeref! If I can stand before Zeref himself, then even death would be acceptable! If I fail here, I might as well perish!"
His laughter echoed through the chamber. "Hahaha! Pray! Pray that my R-System completes successfully—then you might have a chance to survive! Of course, this tower has suffered considerable damage thanks to all of you, hasn't it? The probability of success has dropped significantly!"
"Just imagining you dying here because of your own interference—it's almost tragic, don't you think? Hahaha!"
"I'll kill you before we die, you bastard!" Sho roared, lunging forward and delivering a furious barrage of punches and kicks. Despite being beaten down, Jellal continued laughing maniacally.
Dino shook his head, watching the pathetic display. "So that's how it is. He's completely delusional—willfully ignoring the fact that Zeref isn't even dead, all because he's being manipulated." He crossed his arms. "Tragic."
Lucy grabbed his arm, her face pale with terror. "Dino! How can you be so calm right now?! Etherion is about to fire!"
The magic circles in the sky multiplied, layer upon layer, as terrifying magical energy condensed above them. The sheer pressure of the gathering magic made it difficult to breathe, crushing down on everyone like a physical weight. While Jellal continued his crazed laughter, despair crept across the faces of everyone else.
Dino gently patted Lucy's head. "Relax. It's not as bad as you think."
Natsu's eyes went wide, sparkling with excitement. "Dino! Are you gonna take on Etherion head-on?!"
Gray's face twitched. "Impossible! Even Dino can't stop destructive magic of that magnitude!"
"What do you take me for, an idiot?" Dino shot back with a grimace. Etherion was humanity's ultimate weapon in this world, possessing immeasurable destructive power.
If something like that existed in his old world—the world of pirates—and hit Mariejois directly, nobody could stop it. Maybe Kaido could try tanking it with his dragon body, but even Dino's current physique wouldn't come out unscathed.
When destructive force meets destructive force, one of two things happens: either the stronger force overwhelms the weaker one—like when he'd countered and obliterated Jose's magic during the Phantom Lord incident—or both forces combine, producing even greater devastation. If he tried to counter Etherion with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power, the resulting explosion could vaporize not just the Tower of Heaven, but possibly the entire island, sinking it into the ocean.
No matter how confident Dino was in his Quake powers, he wasn't arrogant enough to think he'd walk away unharmed from a head-on clash with a magical nuke.
He also wasn't going to gamble everything on the R-System successfully absorbing Etherion's energy. Thanks to his interference, while the tower looked intact from the outside, the internal structure had sustained severe damage.
The timeline had already shifted because of his presence here. If he—a dimension-hopper—ended up getting the protagonist killed, well… that would be one hell of a plot twist, he thought darkly.
"Everyone, grab onto something solid or use your magic to anchor yourselves!"
As Dino spoke, he bent his knees, planting his feet firmly and assuming a charging stance. "Buzz… Buzz…" White, translucent spherical shields of vibrating air pressure formed around both his fists, growing larger and larger as he gathered power.
Seeing this, everyone's eyes widened in shock. Was he actually planning to resist Etherion?! It was madness!
"He's…" Juvia couldn't finish her sentence, staring at Dino's broad back. He looked so… heroic.
Gray quickly placed a finger over Juvia's lips. "Shh! Don't distract him!"
Even Jellal stopped laughing, watching Dino's movements with stunned disbelief. Looking at the man's face, he realized—this guy was dead serious.
For Dino's companions, there was nothing left to do but believe in him. If Dino couldn't stop this, they were all going to die here anyway.
But Dino had always been the one to create miracles. Things that seemed impossible, things that would make gods and monsters falter—Dino somehow pulled them off.
"Almost ready…" Dino muttered to himself. Then he opened his hands wide and slowly brought them together, merging the two white spherical pressure shields into one massive orb of condensed vibration energy.
He raised the white sphere overhead with both hands and pushed upward.
"GURA GURA NO—!"
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! The space directly in front of Dino's palms fractured like a shattered mirror, spiderweb cracks radiating outward from his hands and spreading rapidly through the air itself.
Three meters… five meters… ten meters… twenty meters… fifty meters… one hundred meters… one hundred and fifty meters…
The space before Dino's outstretched hands was now covered in countless cracks, the very fabric of reality breaking under his power. Everyone stared in speechless awe. What kind of magic could shatter space itself on such a massive scale? Was this guy even human?!
Magic Council—ERA Headquarters
"Ten seconds until Etherion release! Ten… nine… eight…"
"Pray for salvation!"
"Seven… six… five… four… three… two… one…"
"Convergent light of the holy judgment—FIRE ETHERION!"