— — — — — —
Everyone sprang into action.
Jellal stood on the tower's top floor, smiling faintly. "I've spent years building my forces, and I gathered them all here just for you. In the end, will it be you who wins, or me?"
"Lord Jellal!"
Three figures appeared before him.
"It's your turn now."
These three were Jellal's most trusted subordinates—his elite assassins. They were infamous among dark guilds for their deadly skills.
"Oh? You're sending us in this early? The game has barely started."
"Games don't last long. They start and end in the blink of an eye."
"Is it because of that guy?"
Jellal had summoned them back, along with every dark guild under his command.
"Yeah. We're dealing with someone who managed to defeat a Wizard Saint. There's no room for carelessness."
"A monster strong enough to take down a Wizard Saint? We've never assassinated a Wizard Saint before... How exciting."
---
"Whoa... that's a lot of people."
"Aye!"
As soon as Natsu reached the second floor, he was met with the sight of dozens of dark guild members glaring menacingly at him. He froze for a moment.
"Natsu! Wait up—"
Gray and the others caught up with him, only to be equally stunned by the sheer number of enemies ahead.
"This is insane! There's too many of them!"
Lucy's jaw dropped in shock. These weren't just ordinary guards—these were all powerful mages.
Wally muttered in disbelief, "Jellal had thirteen dark guilds like this under his control?"
They had always suspected Jellal was hiding something, but they never imagined it would be to this extent.
"Damn, this mission's way harder than I thought... But now I'm fired up!!"
Natsu roared, flames wrapping around his fists as he charged forward. Gray and the others immediately followed.
"Damn it! Where the hell did Sho run off to?!"
Simon had chased after Sho, but somewhere along the way, he lost him. The Tower of Heaven was full of hidden passages, and Sho could be anywhere.
"Jellal... Damn it... Damn it all!!"
"He lied to me for years... and hurt my sister..."
"Sho! Calm down! Let me out of here!"
"It's fine. I'll protect you, Erza."
"Sho!!"
At that moment, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the hall.
"Shulalala... shulalala... shulalala... shulalala..."
A woman appeared, smiling. "My name is Ikaruga. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Get out of my way. Who the hell are you?"
"Oh dear, how rude. Lord Jellal set the rules for this game. If you break them, your dear comrades may be in danger. Or do you not care about the people you worked alongside all these years?"
Sho's expression darkened. Comrades? She wasn't talking about allies—she was mocking him for being Jellal's fool for so long.
"I don't have time for this!"
He threw a barrage of magic cards at her.
Ikaruga unsheathed her sword and slashed effortlessly. Every single card was split cleanly in half—not horizontally, but vertically, cut along their razor-thin edges.
"W-What...?!"
Sho's eyes widened in disbelief.
"My blade severs all in its path."
Before Sho could react, blood burst from a fresh wound on his body.
"Arghhh!!"
It was only then that he realized—he had already been cut.
"W-When did she strike...?!"
"Sho!! Let me out! You're no match for her!!"
"Oh my, Erza, you were in there all along?"
Sho smirked confidently. "Don't worry, sis. I reinforced that card. No outside force can break it."
But Erza felt a deep unease. "Sho!! Let me out now!! That sword isn't normal!!"
"It's fine... trust me..."
"Oh?"
Ikaruga swung her sword in a horizontal slash.
CLANG!!
The attack cut straight through the card, striking Erza's sword inside.
"Her blade... cut through the card?! It passed through space itself?!"
Ikaruga continued attacking relentlessly, forcing Erza to parry from within the card.
RIP!!
The card couldn't withstand their battle and tore apart.
"Thanks to your defense, the space distorted, creating an opening for me."
"I'm not here for you. Move aside."
"Heh..."
CRACK! CRACK!
Erza's sword and armor suddenly shattered.
Ikaruga smiled. "Oh my, you didn't even notice?"
Sho, hiding in the corner, was stunned. "Her speed... it's unreal... Even Erza didn't see it?!"
Erza, though briefly surprised, quickly regained her composure.
"Yes, that's the look I was hoping for. I am no mere bystander."
"I see... You're my enemy."
With that, Erza activated her Requip magic, summoning her Heaven's Wheel Armor.
"Then let's begin."
The two warriors clashed in a fierce swordfight.
"Heaven's Wheel: Circle Sword!!"
Multiple swords spun in a circular motion, charging toward Ikaruga.
"Yasha's Empty Flash!"
SLASH! SLASH!
Ikaruga's blade cut through all of Erza's swords like they were paper.
"She cut through them all?!" Sho gasped.
"Damn it!"
Ikaruga swung again, sending a powerful slash at Erza.
Her armor shattered completely.
"Garuda Flame!!"
A fiery slash surged toward Erza.
"Requip! Flame Empress Armor!!"
Erza instantly swapped into her most fire-resistant armor.
BOOM!!!
The attack sent her flying, crashing through a wall.
"Fire-resistant armor? Impressive how quickly you switched."
"Ugh!!"
CRACK! CRACK!
Her Flame Empress Armor shattered as well.
Sho trembled at the sight. "She's... she's a monster..."
.
.
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