— — — — — — —
"W-What... what is that?!"
Jellal stared at Uchiha Kitaro's colossal Susanoo, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
"This is Susanoo! The ultimate dojutsu granted by my Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"It's called the power of the gods. Once you've seen it with your own eyes, death is inevitable."
"Honestly, your attacks aren't even worth making me use this technique, but I thought I'd let you experience true despair."
"Reviving Zeref? And that's supposed to bring true freedom?"
"Zeref himself must be annoyed—he's alive and well, yet people keep trying to revive him."
"..."
"W-What... did you just say?!"
Jellal's entire body shuddered at Kitaro's words, his face twisting in shock and disbelief.
"I said Zeref is alive and well. He doesn't need you to revive him."
"No... that's impossible! I heard it... I'm the only one who can hear it..."
"Oh? Heard what? That Zeref was whispering in your ear? Zeref is a person, not a god. He's just a magical genius—nothing more. He isn't inherently evil, just someone with a messed-up head and a complete lack of responsibility."
"No! That's impossible! IMPOSSIBLE! How could a human live for so long?!"
Kitaro, as a kind-hearted man, explained. "He seems to have been cursed by the god Ankhseram, granting him immortality. And yet, despite that power, all he does is desperately seek death."
"He even created countless monsters in his search for a way to die, only to discard them like trash when they failed him. Those abandoned creatures then wreaked havoc across the world, and he never cared. Calling him the most notorious Dark Mage in history wouldn't be an exaggeration."
"You're lying! That can't be true! I... I..."
Kitaro smirked. "You? No, not you. The truth is, he is still alive. So the real question is—who was whispering to you all this time?"
Jellal's mind shattered at those words.
"No! It's a lie! You're trying to deceive me!!!"
Desperately, Jellal hurled a massive magic blast at Kitaro.
Boom!
The attack struck Susanoo, but it didn't even cause a ripple. The magic that Jellal poured his despair into couldn't even scratch the surface.
"Lying? Why would I need to lie to you? Deceiving a weakling like you is beneath me. I already told you—I want you to experience true despair."
"Think carefully. Doesn't everything suddenly make more sense now? Oh, and if you're still in doubt, I can even tell you where Zeref really is."
"Zeref has established an empire on the Western Continent. He unified the entire continent under one rule—the Alvarez Empire. And its emperor? None other than Zeref himself, under the name Spriggan."
"I don't believe you!!! I have to see it with my own eyes!!!"
Jellal's expression crumbled as he prepared to fly toward the Western Continent.
Having spent years in the Magic Council, he had naturally heard of the Alvarez Empire—a militarized superpower.
The Magic Council had even developed Etherion as a weapon to counter its overwhelming strength. But he had never imagined that Alvarez's emperor was actually Zeref himself.
"Did I ever say you could leave?"
Susanoo surged forward in an instant, closing in on Jellal. A massive hand reached out to grab him.
"No—!!!"
For the first time, Jellal felt true despair. At first, he had been thrilled to hear that Zeref was alive—finally, he could meet his god. But Kitaro was about to take that hope away from him.
No matter how fast he tried to flee, he couldn't escape the massive hand coming toward him.
Kitaro clenched his fist, crushing Jellal within his grasp.
Crack! Crack!
"AAARRRGHHH!!!"
Jellal screamed in agony as his bones shattered under the pressure.
Then, Kitaro's left eye focused on him.
Black flames ignited.
Amaterasu's inextinguishable fire engulfed Jellal's body.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
The unbearable heat of Amaterasu's flames made Jellal shriek in agony.
Moments later, his screams faded into silence. Jellal was reduced to nothing but ashes, scattered into the sea.
A pitiful person will always have hateful qualities.
Both Jellal and Zeref had committed countless atrocities. Even if they died a thousand times, it wouldn't be enough to atone.
But Kitaro wasn't some champion of justice. He had his own goals to fulfill.
Glancing at the Tower of Heaven, he noted that most of the people inside had died during their battle. He was never one to hesitate—those who stood against him deserved their fate.
Vwooom—!
A massive Rasenshuriken formed in Susanoo's hand.
Without hesitation, Kitaro hurled it toward the Tower of Heaven.
BOOOOM—!!!
Like a nuclear detonation, countless wind blades shredded through the entire island, obliterating everything in its path.
When the explosion finally subsided, the Tower of Heaven—and the island it stood on—had been completely erased from the map.
Kitaro deactivated Susanoo and disappeared without a trace.
— — —
Magic Council Headquarters
"W-What in the world... was that?"
"..."
No one had an answer. But that didn't stop them from feeling absolute terror.
"Was that... a god?!"
"..."
Silence filled the room once again.
Org spoke gravely, "I don't know who that was, but it's clear that he wasn't on Zeref's side. He was Jellal's enemy."
Michelo frowned. "But... with such overwhelming power..."
If such a force were to be used for evil, the entire world could be destroyed.
Org warned, "Do not make the mistake of thinking we can control all power. Some forces are simply beyond us. The only reason the magic world remains stable is not because of our influence."
"It's because we know when to stay out of the way."
"Because there are some beings... that we simply can't afford to provoke."
.
.
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