As they moved through the corridor, a voice suddenly echoed from all directions.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Tower of Heaven. I am Jellal, the master of this tower. It seems the pieces for both sides have finally gathered."
"What's going on?"
"It's Jellal," Simon explained. "This is a broadcast to the entire tower."
"It is about time we begin," Jellal's voice continued. "The rules of this Paradise Game are simple. I shall use Erza as a living sacrifice for the ritual to resurrect Zeref. If the Gates of Paradise are opened, I win. If you can stop me, you win. However, that would be far too boring on its own. Therefore, I have prepared three warriors."
"Three warriors? Who are they?"
"You cannot reach me without breaking through them. Oh, I almost forgot every game needs a reward for defeating an opponent. I have three cards here as prizes. I hope they are to your liking."
As soon as Jellal finished speaking, several desperate cries for help rang out.
"Erza-sis, save me!"
"Run away, big sister!"
"Erza..."
Erza cried out in agitation, "Millianna! Sho! Wally!" She broke into a sprint.
"Calm down, Erza," Chen Fan said, reaching out to stop her. "Hearing their voices means they are safe for now. We just need to win those cards back." Hearing his voice, Erza managed to settle herself and nodded.
Jellal's mocking voice continued. "How is it? Are you satisfied with the prizes I've prepared? Oh... right. One tends to forget things as they age. One last point: the Magic Council may use the Satellite Magic Seal to attack this place. Etherion the ultimate destruction magic capable of annihilating everything."
Beside Jellal, Vidaldus turned to him. "You didn't mention this, Jellal! You bastard, if that thing hits us, isn't everyone going to hell?"
"Vidaldus, are you scared?" Ikaruga teased, hiding her smile behind her sleeve.
Vidaldus flashed a manic grin, his fingers forming a 'V' sign. "Quite the opposite! It's the opposite! I'm at my peak right now! To think such a dangerous mission was waiting for us... hehehe..." He threw his head back and laughed.
Jellal continued, "The time remaining is unknown, but when Etherion falls, it means total destruction. I hope you can clear the game before then. Now... let the game begin!"
Crack!
Natsu smashed his fists together, his face contorted with rage. "Those bastards! What do they think human lives are? I'm going to go blow him away! Happy!"
"Aye!" Happy shouted, and the two of them turned and bolted back the way they came.
"Natsu!" Erza, Gray, and Lucy shouted, but Natsu had already vanished from sight.
"I'll go bring the Fire Dragon back," Simon said before running after them.
"Gray, you follow them too," Chen Fan instructed. "Natsu might run into trouble. Once you find him, take them away from here. Leave this place to me."
Gray looked at Chen Fan with a serious expression. "Can I trust Erza's safety to you?"
"Have I ever let you down?" Chen Fan smiled. Gray gave a firm nod and ran off.
"Gray-sama, wait for Juvia! Juvia is coming too!"
Gray stopped and turned to Juvia. "It's better if you stay here. I'm leaving Lucy's safety in your hands." He gave her a thumbs-up and disappeared.
Juvia, dazed and blushing, followed Chen Fan and the others.
They soon reached a fork in the road. Erza turned to them and said, "I'll go this way. Chen Fan, take the other two down that path."
"How can we split up? It's safer if we stay together" Lucy started to argue, but Chen Fan held up a hand to stop her. He looked Erza in the eye, and her gaze was unwavering.
Suddenly, Chen Fan broke into a bright smile, his eyes curving into crescents. "If you get scared, make sure to call for me," he told Erza. Then, he led the way down the other path.
Erza didn't see it, but as soon as he turned away, Chen Fan's expression became terrifyingly cold.
Lucy and Juvia followed him, but they kept a distance of several paces. They didn't dare speak to him; the aura radiating from Chen Fan was so oppressive it screamed at them not to approach.
Suddenly, the harsh noise of a guitar filled the air. Vidaldus Taka dropped from a passage above, his face twisted in a manic grin. "Welcome to the Live from Hell! DESTROY! Pretty cool, right? Hahaha!" He began to shred on his guitar. Lucy covered her ears in pain, but Chen Fan, who was already at his limit, had no patience for the noise.
"SHUT UP!!"
"...!"
The noise vanished instantly. Lucy looked up, startled. "The sound... it's all gone."
"Ah... ahh... my ears!" Vidaldus collapsed to the ground, clutching his head and screaming in agony.
Lucy nudged Juvia, pointing at the writhing man. "What happened to him?"
"Juvia doesn't know either."
Vidaldus struggled to look up at Chen Fan, his legs trembling. "Who... who are you?"
Chen Fan didn't bother with words. He lunged forward like a cannonball. He reached out and grabbed Vidaldus by the head.
BOOM!
Vidaldus was slammed into the wall with such force that a massive crater formed, and the entire room shuddered.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Chen Fan rained punch after punch onto Vidaldus's body. Blood splattered in all directions. It was a brutal display of catharsis. After a while, Chen Fan seemed to have vented enough and finally stopped.
Lucy and Juvia were huddled in the corner, watching him with terror. In their memory, they had never seen Chen Fan act so cruelly. He had always been elegant, a bit of a cheapskate, and even a little perverted but they had never seen this side of him.
After retrieving a card from Vidaldus's body, Chen Fan turned back to the girls and smiled. With blood streaked across his face, the smile was haunting. Lucy and Juvia recoiled.
Chen Fan blinked, his smile vanishing instantly. He turned away and said in a flat tone, "You two should go back. Wait for us on the ship we came in. I'll bring Natsu and Gray there. Once you have them, run as far as you can."
"No! We're comrades, aren't we? I can help!" Lucy cried out.
"No. I don't know how much power I'll have to unleash. If there are too many people, I won't be able to protect everyone. As for Erza, I will bring her back safely." Without another word, Chen Fan flew up through a hole in the ceiling.
"Chen" Lucy tried to call out, but Juvia stopped her.
"I don't know how you see Chen Fan," Juvia said quietly, "but as a former enemy, I know exactly how powerful he is. I wouldn't be surprised if he destroyed this entire place in an instant. He once obliterated the magical giant of our Phantom Lord in a heartbeat. Right now, the best thing we can do is stay out of his way." Juvia turned and walked back toward the exit, ignoring Lucy's stunned look.
Lucy took one last look in the direction Chen Fan had gone before following Juvia.
Elsewhere, Gray was locked in a fierce battle with Fukuro. Suddenly, Fukuro cupped his hands to his beak and shouted in a bizarre voice, "Fire Dragon's Roar!" A flaming magic circle appeared, and a jet of fire surged toward Gray.
Gray didn't have time to cast his Maker Magic and could only brace his arms.
Suddenly, a blur appeared in front of him.
"...!"
The pillar of fire was reflected straight back. "Ah... hot, hot, hot!" Fukuro hopped around, screaming. It seemed that even though he could copy Dragon Slayer Magic, he didn't have Natsu's resistance to heat.
"Chen Fan!" Gray and Happy shouted in surprise.
Thwack!
Chen Fan lunged and kicked Fukuro in the stomach. The force of the blow expelled Natsu from Fukuro's gut. Gray leaped forward to catch him.
Crash!
Fukuro was sent flying, smashing a massive hole through the tower wall and hurtling into the sky.
Chen Fan casually kicked a pebble off the ground. The small stone shot out like a missile, wreathed in flames as it tracked Fukuro. BOOM! A brilliant explosion lit up the sky like fireworks.
Gray finally found his voice. He looked around frantically. "Erza? Where is Erza?"
"She went to find Jellal to settle things once and for all," Chen Fan said tonelessly.
"What? I trusted you to watch her! How could you let her go alone?" Gray grabbed Chen Fan by the collar.
Pang!
Chen Fan's hand chopped down on the side of Gray's neck, and the ice mage slumped into unconsciousness.
Chen Fan picked up the card Fukuro had dropped and pulled the one from Vidaldus out of his pocket. With a simple rub of his fingers, the cards shattered. Two beams of light flashed, and two people fell to the floor, looking around in confusion.
Chen Fan beckoned Happy over. "Take Natsu and Gray back to the ship. Meet up with Lucy and Juvia and get out of here. I was going to treat this as a game, but I've changed my mind.
Things are about to get dangerous, and I can't guarantee everyone's safety. When these two wake up, they'll probably kick up a fuss. Just tell them I promise to bring Erza back. They'll believe you."
With that, Chen Fan vanished from Happy's sight.
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