BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions thundered through the Tower of Paradise in rapid succession, shaking the air like rolling drumbeats of war.
From the outside, sparks, arcs of lightning, and blinding energy beams tore through the structure's rusted exterior, each blast racing upward in a cascade of destruction.
Under the relentless assault of Chase's summoned card monsters, the tower's defenses crumbled like wet paper. The battle wasn't just one-sided it was a slaughter.
Mira, eager for action, was merciless. Charging forward without pause, she left a trail of crushed opposition in her wake. Few could withstand even two exchanges before collapsing at her feet.
At the very top of the tower, in the dim, claustrophobic command room…
"What a useless bunch of fools!" Jellal's voice echoed like a whip crack. His dark cloak hung around him like a shadow, eyes fixed on the glowing projection of Chase strolling casually through the chaos. "Not only did they fail to assassinate him… they've exposed our location to the outside world!"
But then his lips curved into a cold smirk.
"Hmph… though I suppose this result isn't bad at all. Knowing about the Tower of Paradise, and still choosing not to alert the Council… instead, they walk right into their own graves."
He leaned closer to the crystal image, his tone dripping with scorn.
"Tell me, Chase… are you truly that confident? Or just that foolish?"
Just moments ago, his clone Siegrain had reported that Makarov had brought the Three Crows before the Magic Council. Their statement had been brief, detailing the incident but omitting any mention of the Tower of Paradise.
Jellal had been quietly relieved until Chase himself appeared.
"Well… if you wish to settle this your own way…" His smile twisted into something darker. "I'll gladly entertain you."
Jellal turned from the projection to the four figures standing silently before him, summoned here on his orders.
There was Shou, his face carved with resentment and eyes burning scarlet with hate.
Simon, with his eyepatch and iron jaw, standing silent and stoic.
Millianna, dressed in her familiar cat costume, her tail swaying with tension.
And Wally Buchanan, square-faced and grim.
These were Erza's childhood companions the ones who had once shared her dreams.
"You all understand the situation," Jellal said, his voice weighted with false sorrow. "The intruders are from Fairy Tail… the same guild Erza chose to join."
His expression twisted into pained betrayal. "Even now… she refuses to let us go."
Shou's rage exploded. His scarlet eyes gleamed with madness as his voice rose. "We can never forgive that traitor who abandoned us so cruelly!"
Wally's voice was colder, calmer. "You talk of betrayal, yet you won't face us yourself?"
Millianna's ears drooped, her eyes shadowed. Memories of laughing with Erza in their childhood flashed before her eyes, each one cutting like a blade. She couldn't accept this harsh "truth."
Simon stood in silence, his jaw tightening.
"I'll kill her," Shou spat, fists trembling. "And those two damned invaders with her!"
Without waiting for another word, he stormed out, rage propelling him forward. Wally and Millianna followed quickly after.
Simon lingered only a moment before striding out, his expression grim.
When they were gone, Jellal's feigned grief melted away, replaced by a chilling sneer.
"Heh… let those fools buy me some time before I recall my clone."
He clenched a fist, his mind narrowing to one goal.
Once Chase is eliminated, Urrutia will return to me faithful, devoted, willing to sacrifice everything for my cause.
That was the key.
The key to his resurrection… and the birth of the free magical kingdom he envisioned.
There was no way Jellal would allow Chase to walk out of the Tower of Paradise alive.
If it meant sacrificing pieces like Shou ahead of schedule, so be it. The end goal was worth any cost.
Inside the tower, the chain of explosions climbed steadily upward, rocking the structure from within.
By the time Chase's group reached the higher floors, resistance had all but vanished. Most of the guards and hundreds of laborers had already been sealed away in his cards.
"It's hard to believe Erza grew up in a place like this…" Mira murmured, her expression dark as she scanned the tower's oppressive, filthy corridors.
"Magic whether common spells or feared black arts always leads toward the same peak," the Dark Magician Girl said, shaking her head. "The R-System… it's a terrible creation for the Zeref cult to have built."
After the earlier battles, Chase had recalled all his card monsters save for her, conserving strength for the inevitable clash with Jellal.
"That's magic for you," Chase replied. "It can inspire hope… or drag you into the depths of darkness."
A wry smile tugged at his lips. I'd love to see Jellal's face when he finds out the Zeref he's trying to 'resurrect' is already the emperor of Alvarez.
They advanced through the upper levels, chatting idly between effortlessly swatting aside the few guards foolish enough to appear.
Near the top floor, a broad corridor opened before them only to be blocked by four figures.
"Fairy Tail… DIE!!"
The moment Shou's bloodshot eyes locked on them, he lunged, rage boiling over.
The poor fool… still carrying the wound Jellal gave him. Chase sighed softly before his magic flared. In a blink, his body melted into shadow and vanished.
BANG!
A muffled impact shook the floor as dust swirled.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're Shou Erza's little brother in spirit, right?" Chase's voice rumbled from behind the haze. He stood with one hand clamped around Shou's head, pressing him firmly into the cracked floor. "Why don't you calm down for a second?"
"Don't you dare say that disgusting name to me!"
Shou thrashed wildly, blind to the fact that Chase wasn't even using his full strength. With a sudden twist of his fingers, he cast his own card magic at point-blank range.
The magic circle flared.
In an instant, Chase vanished transformed into a card that fluttered neatly into Shou's grasp.
"Ahahaha! So much for Fairy Tail's S-Class mages! Pathetic!" Shou laughed wildly, holding the card aloft.
He was so caught up in his gloating that he missed the flat, unimpressed stares from Mira and the Dark Magician Girl.
"Wow… Chase and you both use card magic~," Mira said casually, a faint smile curling her lips.
"Pfft seriously? You try that on the master of card magic?" the Dark Magician Girl chuckled, unable to hold back.
Oblivious, Shou gripped the card tighter, preparing to rip it in half along with Chase inside.
But before he could move, Chase sitting comfortably in the card's void snapped his fingers.
A dark-gold magic circle bloomed in midair.
In the blink of an eye, Shou disappeared.
A card marked with a black-and-gold vortex drifted gently to the floor.
Chase stepped forward, picking it up between two fingers. "Kid… did you come here just to embarrass yourself?"
Chase returned to reality with the card in hand, giving it a casual shake as he glanced down at Shou still sealed inside and thrashing in vain.
"Stop!"
The sudden reversal left Wally, Millianna, and Simon frozen in shock. That card magic… it's leagues beyond Shou's?!
"Simon! Do it!"
Wally was the first to react, his right arm morphing into a cannon as he leveled it at Chase.
Simon stepped forward without hesitation. "Dark Magic Setsuna!"
As the only one who knew the truth of the past and the only one who had never doubted Erza Simon also placed his trust in the companions she traveled with now.
The Tower of Paradise had eyes everywhere. They couldn't drop their façade until the time was right. For Shou's safety… and for Erza's.
Darkness spilled from the magic circle like a curtain of ink, swallowing the corridor in a void so absolute that not even a hand in front of the face could be seen. Chase, Mira, and the Dark Magician Girl vanished within it.
"Dark magic, huh? You've got awful luck," the Dark Magician Girl said, floating on her staff with a delighted grin.
She mimicked Chase's earlier motion, snapping her fingers lightly.
BZZZT!
The darkness around them shattered under a sudden surge of power, replaced instantly by an even deeper, vaster shadow that surged out to engulf Simon, Wally, and Millianna.
The storm of black magic raged for only seconds before fading away its purpose not to crush, but to prove a point.
"How… how could my dark magic crumble so easily ?!" Simon's eyes widened, the memory of that suffocating pressure already burning into him. That single burst of power had been overwhelming… and it came from a summon.
"Cool, right?" the Dark Magician Girl said, puffing her chest proudly. "If you want, I could teach you~."
"Magic Heavy Artillery!"
Wally's voice cut through the air, followed by a fully charged cannon blast. The projectile roared down the corridor
Only for a pair of devil's wings to unfurl, a graceful, voluptuous figure stepping into its path.
Mira caught the shell in her palm, her expression calm.
BOOM!
The detonation painted the corridor in firelight, but as the smoke cleared, Mira's arm remained unscathed. She shook away the blackened haze with a flick, then smiled gently.
"Since you're Erza's childhood friends, that makes you guildmates too. I don't want to hurt you. So why not stop this meaningless resistance and let us pass?"
"Don't act all high and mighty!" Millianna spat, her voice thick with hatred. "Isn't it true Erza sent you here to kill her?!"
Wally's tone was colder, more mocking. "Hah. She betrayed and abandoned us once for her own freedom. She could do the same to you in a heartbeat."
Mira's smile vanished, her eyes narrowing as her magic surged cold, sharp, and lethal.
No one in Fairy Tail knew better than Mira how much Erza treasured her friends. Betray them? Backstab them? The very idea was absurd.
"Enough, Mira."
Chase's hand landed on her shoulder, steadying her before she could act. Playing the card with Shou's trapped figure between his fingers, he stepped forward, closing the distance with slow, deliberate steps.
"Want to hear Erza's side of the story?"
....
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