Everyone who witnessed it—
Wasn't just stunned.
They were completely paralyzed.
What… just happened?
Wasn't that Etherion?!
They had all thought the end had come—the moment it fell.
And then, suddenly… it just vanished.
How?!
Magic Council – Era
The entire council chamber had been watching the descent of Etherion through the satellite vision spell, eyes fixed on the Tower of Heaven.
Moments ago, they were certain the tower—and everything around it—would be obliterated.
But now?
The tower was completely intact.
Councilor Org stood up, voice trembling.
"Where is it?! Where the hell is the Etherion?! That massive blast—where did it go?!"
"I-I don't know…" stammered one of the techs. "This… this has never happened before!"
Everyone in the council chamber was panicking—including the Nine themselves.
Etherion was their ultimate weapon. If it could be neutralized… if it could be deflected…
Their authority across Ishgar would collapse.
Tower of Heaven – Rooftop
"HAHAHAHAHA!! THAT WAS AMAZING!!"
Kaien threw his arms wide, laughing with unrestrained joy.
Every inch of his body felt alive. Every pore tingled with exhilaration.
This was Etherion—the Magic Council's god-slaying spell.
A single shot could wipe a nation off the map.
And he'd faced it head-on.
In terms of power level, it was comparable to a full-powered Tailed Beast Bomb from Kurama.
Seeing it bear down on him had made his heart race, his blood roar.
It was terrifying.
And thrilling.
Of course, he wasn't reckless. Even if he'd failed, the tower would've tanked the impact.
That's why he'd left it standing—why he'd gone along with Jellal's little "dungeon challenge" game.
This tower?
Just a level 50 dungeon.
Kaien?
Max-level raid boss.
And he had won.
"That's the Fourth Hokage for you."
Flying Thunder God no Jutsu… was nuts.
FWIP!
Kaien instantly reappeared beside Erza and wrapped his arms around her.
"Hold tight," he said with a grin. "It's about to blow."
"What…?"
She blinked, confused.
"I moved Etherion over the ocean."
Kaien pointed into the distance.
Erza followed his gaze—and saw a second sun plummeting from the sky.
BOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
A radiant explosion tore through the horizon. The entire sea erupted—waves like mountains rising skyward.
KRRRRRRRMMMMMMMM!!
The shockwave finally reached the tower, shaking it to its foundation.
Kaien shielded Erza with his body.
"Urgh…!" she winced.
Below, the others were equally dumbfounded.
"What the hell was that?!"
"What just happened?!"
"Didn't Etherion hit us?!"
They had all seen it descend.
They had all felt the dread.
And now… it exploded somewhere else?
Gray looked toward the tower's summit.
"No way… It can't be…"
But who else could it be?
Only Erza and Kaien weren't with the group.
Every time they thought they'd seen the limit of Kaien's power—
He unveiled a new persona.
A new form.
Each more incredible than the last.
And every one of them shared one thing in common:
Overwhelming strength.
Magic Council – Era
BOOOOOOOM—!!
The blast could be seen from orbit.
Through the vision screen, they watched Etherion detonate over the ocean.
Councilor Org roared:
"What is going on?! Why did Etherion explode there?!"
The techs scrambled.
"W-We found the anomaly! Right before impact, space around the Tower fluctuated—someone used teleportation magic… and redirected Etherion!"
"WHAT?!"
Redirected?!
Who the hell teleports Etherion?!
That wasn't a spell. It was a continent-breaking doomsday weapon.
Now someone had moved it?
The room spiraled into chaos.
If word of this got out… that someone had hijacked Etherion…
The Magic Council would become a laughingstock across the entire continent.
And if this unknown mage could send it over the sea—
What if they sent it… into a city?
Or worse—right above the Council's own HQ?
Org's hands trembled.
"Who is this man…? The one who built the R-System… Did he plan for all this in advance? Did he anticipate us firing Etherion…?"
The assumption spread like wildfire:
Jellal must've built some massive teleportation array into the tower.
No one dared believe this was the work of a single person.
To them, that was impossible.
Tower of Heaven – Rooftop
Back at the top, Jellal was spiraling into madness.
"NO!! No—no—NO!!! THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE!!"