15 Minutes

Open the Gate of Taurus!"

"Ice-Make: Ice Cannon!"

"Water Slicer!"

When it came to making a scene, the Fairy Tail crew never held back.

The moment they landed, each member unleashed dazzling, large-scale magic attacks. In seconds, the Tower of Heaven's alert level shot to maximum.

All across the fortress, alarms wailed. Guards jolted awake, threw on their gear, grabbed weapons, and scrambled toward the front entrance.

Even Wally and Millianna were roused by Jellal's command and ordered to intercept the intruders.

Sho, however, never got that far. After arrogantly boasting while guarding Erza, he was taken out cold and left unconscious.

Watching the young boy who once followed her around calling her "Sis" now lying hurt because of Jellal's schemes... Erza's fury boiled over.

She snapped the ropes binding her, a deadly calm overtaking her expression, and stormed toward the upper levels of the tower.

No matter what happened today, she would end things with Jellal. For good. And she would save the friends who'd been deceived and used all these years.

With Wally, Millianna, and the Trinity missing from the field, the raging Erza was like a storm—unstoppable. No one could stand in her way. She carved down every guard who dared block her with relentless sword strikes.

"JELLAL!"

Clad in her iconic Heaven's Wheel Armor, Erza tore through the upper floors, her blades flashing with righteous fury.

Just as her momentum reached its peak, something grotesque interrupted her charge—mouths began to sprout from the surrounding walls.

This was Jellal's magic. He could grow mouths anywhere inside the tower and use them to project his voice. Functionally, it worked like a broadcast system... but visually, it was absolutely disgusting.

"Welcome to the Tower of Heaven, dear members of Fairy Tail."

"Jellal!" Erza hissed. Though it had been years since they'd last spoken, she could still recognize traces of the boy she once knew in his voice.

But what he said next struck her like a thunderbolt—her companions had come?

She hadn't wanted them involved in something so dangerous. But knowing them... of course they came.

Quin had mentioned that the Trinity were tasked with dealing with Rhodes and Mira. If Jellal was speaking so confidently now, it must mean her friends had broken through. As expected.

The mouths continued to speak with Jellal's cold, theatrical tone: "I am Jellal, master of this tower, and I invite you to play a game—'The Paradise Game.'"

"The rules are simple: climb the tower and defeat me, and you win. Fail... and I will offer Erza as a living sacrifice to complete the resurrection ritual for Zeref."

"But you're not the only ones playing this game. The Magic Council is watching too. In less than fifteen minutes, they will launch their satellite system's attack on this place."

"Etherion—the ultimate spell that obliterates everything. When it falls, every soul here will be wiped out. You, me, all of us."

"But that would be boring, wouldn't it? So come stop me. Let's make this game fun."

With that, every mouth vanished into the stone.

Erza stood trembling, fists clenched in fury. Without hesitation, she switched to her Flight Armor and rocketed upward at full speed.

"A game? You dare mock human life like this, Jellal!?"

The message hadn't just been for her. Down below, everyone outside the tower had heard it too.

The guards were undeterred. As far as they were concerned, the return of Zeref would make everything worth it.

The blue-purple worm creatures didn't care about any of that either—they just wanted to eat. But the guards were annoying, always getting in the way.

So the worms decided: Bite them.

Wally and Millianna looked shaken. They had never heard of something called "Etherion" before, and Jellal's behavior today felt completely off.

"Why would Jellal do something like this?" Millianna asked, clearly distressed.

Simon seized the chance. "Because he's not the Jellal we once knew! He's been lying to us ever since we were children—ever since eight years ago!"

Lucy's voice trembled. "Why is the Magic Council involved...? If Etherion is dropped, it'll be catastrophic, right?"

Before she could panic further, a guard lunged at her from behind.

Gray slammed the attacker aside with a solid punch. "Focus! We've got fifteen minutes—we can stop this!"

"You needed Lord Gray's protection? That's pathetic," Juvia sneered at Lucy, folding her arms with a smirk. "But don't worry, Juvia protected him. Which means... this round goes to me."

"Why is this suddenly a competition...?" Lucy grumbled, before glancing up at the towering structure. "Still, with how high the tower is, can we really get up there in time?"

"Who cares?" Natsu shouted, flaming fists swinging as he decked another magic soldier. His voice was fierce, eyes sharp with fury. "Rhodes will think of something!"

"Mr. Rhodes and Miss Mira should be fine..." Lucy muttered, ducking under another swing. "Why is it always me they try to pick on!?"

Her frustration finally boiled over. With a yell, she launched her foot into an oncoming enemy. "Take that—Lucy Flying Kick!"

High above, Mira was flying alongside Rhodes, her arms wrapped around his waist. Her wings beat steadily as the water film Juvia cast shimmered faintly around them.

"Rhodes, did you hear what Jellal said?" Mira asked, a hint of worry in her voice. "He said he's calling down Etherion, that's the Council's trans-dimensional magic. It can wipe out an entire island in a single blast."

Rhodes narrowed his eyes. "Yeah. And he even knows the exact time it'll be fired."

"That means someone in the Council must've leaked it..." Mira murmured.

Rhodes nodded grimly. "There's a traitor. And I think I know who."

He thought back. "When I visited the Council last time, Wendy told me she was being looked after by someone named 'Jellal.' But Erza insisted that Wendy's Jellal wasn't the same one she knew. Then, that guy Siegrain, claimed they were twin brothers."

"Which means that Siegrain might not just be lying, he might be Jellal, or working with him."

"Wendy mistook him for Jellal... That means if it comes down to a fight, we don't have to hold back for her sake."

"And as for the traitor in the Council... it's probably Siegrain after all."

Rhodes clicked his tongue. "Ugh... I should've asked more about him when I stopped by Cait Shelter last time. But I was in such a rush to see Wendy that it slipped my mind."

"Stop," Rhodes said quietly.

Mira halted midair at once, flapping her wings to hold them steady.

"Did you sense something?" she asked.

"I caught the scent of Happy," Rhodes replied, eyes narrowing. He pointed to a floor below. "That level. I'm sure that's where Happy is."

He swiftly take over the Blue Sentinel with a flick of his hand and gave Mira a look.

Mira nodded, immediately understanding the plan. With a grin, she adjusted her grip and flipped Rhodes upside down, grabbing his ankles with both hands. Then, with the strength of her Satan Soul form, she spun in midair like she was swinging a flail—and launched him toward the building.

Crash!

Rhodes smashed clean through the outer wall and landed hard inside a room.

He groaned and looked up from the floor... and blinked.

The room was drenched in feline decor.

Paw-print carpets. Cat-shaped chandeliers. Plush kittens dangling from the ceiling. Furniture themed with whiskers and tails. Even the walls were covered in murals of napping kittens and scratching posts. In the corner, a real kitten was pawing lazily at the wall.

"How obsessed with cats can one person be?" Rhodes muttered, stunned.

And then it clicked. This must be Milliana's room. No wonder Simon had said she'd never hurt Happy.

Happy turned toward him, then its eyes went wide and sparkled with tears.

"Rhodes! Mira!"

Happy flapped his wings and threw himself straight into Mira's arms, sobbing with relief.

Given Rhodes's current expression and the hole he'd just made in the wall, Happy wisely chose the safer, softer option.

....

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