Etherion

The smoke and dust began to settle.

The Mountain Dragon's massive frame hadn't moved an inch.

Not even its claw had shifted.

In fact, it had extended its wings like a protective dome, shielding everyone behind it from the brunt of the blast. Rhodes, Mira, and Erza hadn't even felt the pressure of Jellal's last desperate attack.

Jellal, of course, hadn't expected to kill a dragon in one blow. But the dragon's sheer indifference, its complete dismissal of his full-force magic, made something inside him snap.

With a flash of golden light, Jellal launched into the air like a meteor, a fiery trail streaking behind him.

In an instant, he had retreated dozens of meters. His hands came together, one pointed toward the heavens, the other toward the earth, as he began to chant a final incantation.

If this spell destroyed the Tower of Heaven, so be it.

"True Celestial Magic: Grand Star Collapse!"

Above, the night sky shifted ominously.

Clouds twisted and churned, spiraling into a vast vortex. The starlight vanished, consumed by the dense magical gloom.

And from the center of that storm... a meteor poked its head through the swirling clouds.

It started small.

Then it began to fall, and it kept getting bigger. Its bottom edge turned molten red as it plummeted toward the tower like judgment from the sky.

Mira held Erza tightly in her left arm, still immobilized by the sealing spell—and Rhodes with her right. With a burst of winged speed, she flew them out of the crumbling Tower of Heaven.

As they crossed the outer wall, a thunderous roar echoed from the sky above.

They turned instinctively.

The meteorite had broken free of the clouds. It was enormous now—its underside glowing like a furnace.

Mira's jaw dropped. "What in the world...?"

Erza's voice trembled. "That's... that's the true power of Heavenly Body Magic. Jellal is going all out."

Rhodes flinched as a pulse of pressure slammed through the air. "So this is the real boss form... good thing we're not fighting it head-on."

Whatever this spell was, it wasn't meant for mortals to deal with alone.

The explosion of power was visible across the sea.

Far below, the rest of the team, who had just made it a safe distance were frozen in awe.

Juvia had been pushing two boats forward with her water magic, but now her eyes were fixed on the sky.

"T-That's really... magic?" she whispered.

Happy's wings drooped slightly. "Will Erza and the others be okay...?"

Lucy clasped her hands over her mouth. "Rhodes said they'd escape soon, but... that thing is falling right where they were!"

Simon clenched his fists, worried. He turned to Happy. "Hey, cat—can you fly me up there?"

"I'll do it if I have to!" Natsu leapt from the back of a giant crab, fire flaring from his mouth. "If that's a giant rock, I'll punch it in the face!"

"Don't be reckless, flame brain," Gray snapped, though even he couldn't hide the tension in his voice. "There's something up there. Something huge."

The tower was too tall, and the night too dark, for any of them to see clearly.

But as the meteor descended, its burning light cast long shadows across the land.

Then they saw it, barely outlined against the blaze.

A pair of massive wings. A hulking silhouette.

"Is that... a dragon?"

Natsu's eyes lit up. "I almost forgot—Rhodes still has that dragon!"

The others turned in stunned anticipation.

Far above, the colossal figure atop the ruined tower took to the skies.

The Mountain Dragon launched itself upward in a blur of earthen light, rising to meet the falling meteorite.

A deafening boom echoed across the ocean.

The meteorite shattered on impact, bursting into countless fiery fragments. But as they lost momentum, the flames fizzled out, leaving behind harmless chunks of stone drifting in the air.

A small scorch mark singed the top of the Mountain Dragon's head—but it didn't even flinch.

Instead, it spun midair with astonishing agility. As it turned, the fragments of the meteor began to orbit around it—like an asteroid belt circling a massive planet.

Everyone watching from below could only stare in awe.

"How... how is that even possible?" Jellal gasped.

His strongest spell had been destroyed, not unraveled, not sealed—but crushed by raw force.

Sure, the meteor hadn't reached terminal speed... but still.

That was Heavenly Body Magic. And this beast treated it like a toy.

So this... this was a dragon?

The Mountain Dragon shifted its gaze toward Rhodes, watching him like a sentry awaiting orders.

When it saw Rhodes give a small nod, the dragon angled its wings, adjusting its stance. Then it released the debris that had been circling it.

With a thunderous flap, the stones dropped all at once like a meteor shower.

Dozens of blazing shards rained down in a wide arc, all aimed at Jellal.

And that wasn't all.

As Jellal dodged and deflected the incoming barrage, the Mountain Dragon inhaled.

The air distorted.

The wind stopped.

Then came the roar.

"RROOAARR!!!"

A blast of raw, yellow-gold energy burst from the dragon's mouth. The roar echoed through the heavens, and the beam of compressed draconic energy shot downward like the wrath of nature itself.

The ground trembled.

The tower groaned.

The earth-yellow breath tore from the sky straight down to the sea, swallowing Jellal whole.

Where Rhodes's breath might've flattened a mountaintop, the Mountain Dragon's breath would erase the entire mountain range—transforming it into a cratered basin.

A towering wave erupted where the breath struck the sea.

It was as though the gods themselves had hurled a mountain into the ocean.

The impact sent massive tsunamis rolling across the horizon.

A wall of seawater swept over the shores of the island, crashing into the base of the Tower of Heaven. Thousands of the magical worms gnawing at the tower were instantly obliterated.

The once-proud tower—nearly a thousand meters tall—shuddered.

It leaned.

It cracked.

It groaned like a dying giant.

On the sea, the fleeing boats bobbed wildly as the tsunami reached them. Mira's earlier warning had proven true, the aftershock reached farther than any of them had imagined.

But thanks to Juvia's quick thinking and her command over water, the boats stabilized just in time.

Had it been a moment later, they might have capsized and been lost to the sea.

Hovering high in the sky, Erza stared downward with a conflicted expression.

That kind of attack... even with her Adamantine Armor, she might only barely survive. If the Mountain Dragon's breath had been directed at her, she wouldn't have stood a chance.

But at the same time, without that overwhelming force, they might have all perished.

The beast that Rhodes had summoned was too strong. And yet, that power had saved them.

Rhodes watched the dragon with admiration—and a hint of envy. 'One day,' he thought to himself, 'my breath will have that kind of power too.'

Then his eyes shifted to the sea.

Even if Rhodes didn't want to kill him, out of respect for Erza, Jellal would still need to be sealed in a prison with no fewer than ten magic-blocking stones. That kind of power couldn't be left unchecked.

The Mountain Dragon, seemingly still remembering Rhodes's earlier command, turned its massive body midair. It dove, leveled out near the midsection of the tower, then rammed it head-on.

Rhodes blinked. "It... it fights with its head?"

First the meteorite, and now the tower.

The dragon didn't seem to care for elegance—just brute, unrelenting force.

But it worked.

The Tower of Heaven, its base already hollowed by the swarm of Voidmites, cracked like a half-gnawed tree.

Then it fell.

The groan of stone and steel echoed across the sea.

The thousand-meter structure split in half mid-fall. Sections crumbled before they even hit the water, disintegrating under their own weight. By the time it struck the ocean, it was little more than debris.

A wave surged outward from the impact, but it was nothing compared to what the dragon's breath had done.

The Paradise Tower, monument of suffering, manipulation, and twisted ambition, was gone.

The Mountain Dragon, satisfied with its work, circled once more. It flapped its wings twice and soared after Mira, who carried Rhodes and the weakened Erza in her arms.

The beast flew overhead, twisting its long neck to peer down at Rhodes as if to say, Did I do well?

Rhodes looked up at the dragon's proud gaze and sighed, feeling his magic draining fast. "If you're not in a rush to go home, mind giving us a ride?"

As if it understood, the dragon maintained its flight pattern above them.

Then suddenly—

A massive magic circle lit up the sky.

It covered the entire island.

High above, a brilliant sphere of light formed at the center of the circle, radiating pressure so intense it made the air shudder.

A terrifying surge of magical energy pulsed downward.

The Magic Council's doomsday cannon—had reached full charge.

Rhodes stared at the light, dumbfounded.

"The tower's already gone," he muttered. "Why are they still firing?! Are those Council reviewers blind?!"