"Impossible!!"
"That was Etherion! It should've annihilated everything!!"
"What the hell did you do?!"
Jellal's face contorted into rage as he roared at Kaien.
Eight long years—he'd spent eight entire years constructing the Tower of Heaven. Years clawing his way up the ladder of power until he was seated among the Magic Council's elite.
All that sacrifice, all that preparation…
All meant for this one moment.
But now?
Etherion—his trump card—was gone.
Just gone.
All his grand designs, reduced to nothing in the final hour.
No wonder Jellal was losing it.
Kaien simply smiled at him and replied, coolly:
"I already told you—I teleported it."
"TELEPORTED?! You—bastard!!"
Jellal's face twisted even more.
He'd done his research—pored through every scrap of intel on Kaien.
He knew the forms: Blackwing Demon, Sword God, Flame Emperor, Whitebeard, Tyrant King.
He'd studied each one.
He'd even made allowances for the recent emergence of that white-haired man.
But this one—this blond-haired form…
He had never seen it before.
And teleportation?
That hadn't been in the dossier.
He'd miscalculated. Badly.
But… not all was lost.
The Tower still stood. As long as he could kill Kaien here and now—he could recover.
He could manipulate those foolish Council members again, convince them to fire another shot.
He just needed to win this battle.
With that thought, Jellal forced himself to calm down.
"…I underestimated you, Kaien. You defeated one of the Ten Wizard Saints—Jose—and now you even redirected Etherion. But… that couldn't have come cheap, could it?"
"All that energy… between fighting the guards, the Trinity Raven, and now teleporting Etherion—how much magic power do you even have left?"
"Kaien?" Erza turned to him, worry in her eyes.
Kaien shrugged and smiled.
"I've used a lot, sure… but I've got more than enough left to take you down."
"Hah?! You think you can beat me in your state?" Jellal sneered.
"Your magic's nearly drained. If anyone's getting taken down here—it's you!"
"Hmph. Don't flatter yourself!" Erza snapped. "You couldn't even beat me, and you think you're a match for Kaien? Don't make me laugh!"
Suddenly—
A voice rang out beside her:
"'Don't make me laugh,' huh?"
Erza's head snapped around.
A man in white robes—identical to Jellal—stepped into view.
"Siegrain?!"
Her eyes went wide.
This was Siegrain—one of the Nine Magic Council members.
"Why… why are you here?!"
Siegrain smiled casually.
"You know, Erza, seeing you reminds me of our first meeting. You'd come to the Council with Makarov to submit a report, right? Mistook me for Jellal and tried to punch me on sight."
"Well, that's not my fault!" Erza snapped. "You look exactly the same—and now I know why. You're his twin, right?"
"Of course you'd still hold a grudge," Siegrain chuckled. "But maybe that's my own mistake. I should've told you then—I was planning to kill Jellal. Would've saved us all a lot of trouble."
Erza's expression darkened.
"So it's true… you two were in cahoots all along. That's how Jellal knew the Council would fire Etherion—you told him, didn't you?! This whole thing—this was your plan!"
Kaien sighed.
"Erza, where'd your usual sharp instincts go? You're acting like an idiot."
"Huh?! What are you talking about?"
Kaien pointed lazily at the two men.
"'Cahoots'? No. They're not working together. They're the same person."
"WHAT?!"
Erza looked from Siegrain to Jellal—and watched as the two of them walked toward each other… and merged into one.
"A projection…?! A thought-form?!" she gasped.
"Correct," Jellal said with a smirk. "Siegrain was just my avatar. I had to siphon off most of my magic to maintain him from here, but it was worth it. You were so easy to fool, Erza. So earnest. So… adorably stupid. I almost felt bad lying to you."
"You… you bastard!!" Erza screamed.
Jellal flexed his fingers—magic flaring around him once more.
"Good. My power's fully restored. That means it's time to prepare the sacrifice for Zeref's resurrection."
His gaze shifted—to Kaien.
Erza's eyes widened.
"Wait… you said 'sacrifice'? Don't tell me…"
"You thought it was you?" Jellal chuckled.
"No. You were just the bait to lure him here."
He looked straight at Kaien.
"You should be honored, Kaien. You were personally selected by Lord Zeref himself. A fitting sacrifice."
"JELLAL!!!"
Erza's fists clenched. Tears streamed down her face.
She couldn't believe this man standing before her now was the same Jellal she had once admired—once loved.
The boy who'd been her friend had become a monster. A manipulator. A liar.
A stranger.
Then—
A finger brushed her cheek. Wiped her tears away.
"Don't cry," Kaien said gently. "You're already gorgeous—if you cry, you'll get even cuter, and then how am I supposed to focus? I'm not exactly a saint, you know."
"Kaien…" Erza's face flushed.
He was… joking? Now?
And yet… somehow, that single joke was enough.
Her panic, her guilt, her fear—it all melted away.
Because if Kaien could still laugh, even now—
Then maybe things were going to be okay.
Kaien's tone shifted.
"Well then… fair warning—what happens next might get a little bloody. If you're squeamish, maybe head back to the others."