"Jellal, you—!!"
Erza stood frozen, her whole body trembling. Just moments ago, he had begged her to kill him. But now—when she actually tried—he was resisting?
Suddenly, Jellal clutched his head and screamed in agony.
"No! Not me… Erza… it's Zeref… Zeref's spirit is controlling me—"
Then his expression twisted into a smug grin.
"Just kidding. Hahahaha!"
Erza's face drained of color. She had been worried for him, even now—and he was laughing?
"You tricked me… again…!"
"That's right," Jellal said proudly. "I tricked you. And you fell for it—because you're soft, and cute. Just like all women blinded by love. You're so easy to manipulate."
"I'LL KILL YOU!!"
Erza summoned a massive greatsword from her dimensional arsenal and charged—
But before she could swing, dark script resembling coiling snakes surged across her body, locking her in place.
"Urgh—! My body… it won't move! What is this?!"
"Serpent of Binding," Jellal said smugly.
"I marked you with it when I touched you earlier."
"Why so mad? Being fooled is your own fault. The gullible deserve to be deceived."
"You bastard!!"
Erza struggled, but it was useless.
Watching this unfold, Kaien's eyes darkened.
"Tch… low. Even stooping to manipulate a woman's feelings."
Erza was his guildmate—his friend.
Jellal, on the other hand, was just a former anime character from his past life. But now? Now he was a manipulative enemy who had crushed Erza's heart beneath his heel.
Kaien felt his anger coalesce into killing intent.
Jellal, sensing it, turned to him.
"You'd better stand down, Kaien. Unless you want Erza to die too."
He looked at her and grinned.
"You've been wondering where all that magic power came from, haven't you? That 2.7 billion Edeas of magic required to complete the R-System?"
Erza's eyes widened.
Jellal lifted a single finger toward the sky.
VMMM—!!
The clouds above the tower twisted violently as an enormous magic circle began to take shape in the sky.
"Etherion?! The Council's really going to fire it?!"
Everyone in the tower felt it. The pressure. The terror.
"Wait… no… you don't mean—?"
Jellal chuckled darkly.
"That's right. Etherion."
"The Tower of Heaven isn't just for channeling magic—it's a converter. A giant receiver. Once it absorbs the blast, it'll convert the energy. That's the missing 2.7 billion Edeas. And with that—"
"The R-System will be complete!!"
"Less than a minute remains. Soon, we'll witness history—TOGETHER! HAHAHAHAHA!!"
"You're insane!!"
Erza stared in horror.
Etherion wasn't some ordinary spell. It was the Council's ultimate weapon—capable of wiping entire nations off the map. And Jellal was planning to catch it like it was nothing.
"To realize my dream—this is nothing!"
Up above, the circle glowed brighter.
The world was about to burn.
"KAIEN, RUN!!" Erza screamed.
She regretted everything. She should never have dragged her guild into this—never asked Kaien, Natsu, Lucy, any of them to come. If Kaien died… she'd never forgive herself.
Jellal just smiled.
"Don't bother. The blast radius alone will level this entire country. If the R-System succeeds, maybe you'll survive. If not… well, we'll all die together. Wouldn't that be romantic?"
Then—
Kaien's voice rang out.
"No. There's a third option."
"R-System fails… and we survive."
"Kaien?!"
Erza looked over in shock.
"Full Take Over – Minato Namikaze!!"
Kaien's body began to change.
His black hair faded into brilliant yellow.
Dark eyes became a serene blue.
A leaf village forehead protector formed on his brow, followed by a Konoha-style flak jacket, blue shinobi trousers, and finally…
The white cloak with red flames down its edge—emblazoned with:
『四代目火影』
"Is that…?"
Erza and Jellal stared.
Another new form—just like Satoru Gojo from before. And just like that one, this new identity carried power.
A different kind of power.
WHOOSH—!!
Kaien reappeared high above, standing atop the crystal spike that crowned the Tower of Heaven.
Jellal narrowed his eyes.
"No matter what tricks you pull, it's pointless! Etherion cannot be stopped by a human!"
Magic Council – Era
"Final phase complete."
"Begin satellite convergence."
"Commence launch!"
All across the Council chamber, officials bowed their heads in grim silence.
"May the Holy Light grant mercy upon us."
"FIRE ETHERION!!"
SHOOOOOOM—!!
A colossal ball of radiant magic appeared in the sky above the tower—blazing like a second sun.
Born from the fusion of countless elemental magics, its destructive force increased exponentially. Transmitted through the satellite network, it was capable of striking any point on the continent with perfect precision.
The Council's ultimate weapon.
Etherion.
WHOOOOSH—!!
The blazing orb shot down toward the tower like a god's wrath.
Kaien stood tall, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Come on, then. Show me what you've got."
He began weaving hand seals. Around him, the air shimmered—black sealing script spiraling out from his body into the sky.
"KAIEN, NO!!"
Erza screamed, tears stinging her eyes.
This was her fault. If she'd just killed Jellal from the start—Kaien wouldn't be in danger now.
She shut her eyes.
And then—
Something impossible happened.
Just as Etherion was about to touch him…
It stopped.
Right there—frozen midair—as if caught by some invisible hand.
Black characters filled the sky, and Etherion… began to dissolve.
One by one, streams of magic peeled away and vanished into the void.
Within moments…
The god-slaying blast was gone.
"Wh—WHAT?!!"