"Open the gate of the Taurus, Taurus!"
"Ice-Make: Ice Cannon!"
"Water Flow Slash!"
When it comes to causing chaos, our companions never disappoint.
Upon landing, each person unleashed a grand magic, directly raising the security level of the Tower of Paradise to the highest alert.
Many guards were woken from their dreams by the alarm, hastily dressed and grabbing their weapons, they rushed to the main gate.
Even Wally and Mirena were awakened by Jellal, telling them to stop the troublemakers.
Xiu didn't join the battle because he was too arrogant when guarding Erza and got knocked out.
Seeing the honest child who used to call her sister corrupted like this, Erza couldn't suppress her anger any longer.
She broke the ropes binding her, tensed her face, and charged up the tower.
Today, she would end things with Jellal no matter what, liberating these deceived companions!
With the Three-Plumed Crow, Wally, and Mirena absent, no one could stop the furious Erza; she cut down all the guards blocking her with a single slash.
"Jellal!"
Erza, clad in her Celestial Wheel Armor, took down as many magic soldiers as came to guard the upper levels.
Just as her momentum soared, mouths appeared on the surrounding walls.
This was Jellal's magic; he could make mouths appear on any part of the tower, and his voice would come through them.
This acted like a broadcast, but looked extremely disgusting.
"Welcome to the Tower of Paradise, members of Fairy Tail!"
"Jellal!" Even after many years, Erza could still hear some familiar echoes in that voice.
But Jellal's words shocked Erza. Had her companions come looking for her?
Although she didn't want them involved in such dangerous matters, considering their personalities, it was only natural for them to do so.
According to Xiu, the Three-Plumed Crow would deal with Rhode and Mira. Now, it seemed they must be safe; it was only natural.
The mouths on the walls continued speaking: "I am Jellal, the ruler of this tower. I am now challenging you to a 'Paradise Game'.
The rules are simple: just climb this tower and defeat me to win. Otherwise, I will use Erza as a living sacrifice to perform the revival ceremony for Zeref."
"However, aside from us, there are others who will participate in this game, namely the Advisory Council—within 15 minutes their satellite magic array will attack here."
"It is the ultimate magic capable of destroying everything—Magical Elf Power. Once it falls, everyone present will die; you, us, no one will survive."
"But that would make the game too boring, so in the remaining time, feel free to try to stop me and let me enjoy the fun to the fullest!"
The mouths on the walls all disappeared.
Erza was trembling with rage. She switched to her Flying Armor and climbed upwards at maximum speed: "Game? How can you belittle human life like this, Jellal!"
Not only Erza but also the people below the tower could hear his broadcast.
The guards didn't care at all; they weren't afraid of Magical Elf Power, as long as Master Zeref was revived!
The blue-purple worms didn't care either; they just wanted to devour their feast. But these guards were annoying, not letting them eat in peace.
—Bite them!
Wally and Mirena were somewhat affected; they hadn't heard about the Magical Elf Power before, and Jellal seemed different from before today.
"Why is Jellal doing this?"
This made it easier for Simon to persuade: "He's no longer the Jellal we first knew; he's been deceiving us for eight years!"
Lucy was terrified: "Why is the Advisory Council involved in this too? Isn't it terrible if the Magical Elf Power falls?"
Gray knocked down a guard who tried to sneak up on Lucy with a punch, shouting: "Focus a bit; it just needs to be solved within 15 minutes!"
"To think Gray-sama needs to protect someone, that's not acceptable." Jubia gave Lucy a cold look, then spoke to her proudly, "But Jubia protected Gray-sama. This round, Jubia wins."
"Why suddenly make this a win or lose game..." Lucy muttered, then worriedly said, "Such a tall tower; won't climbing it take more than fifteen minutes?"
"Who cares! Rhode will think of something." Natsu kicked a magic soldier fiercely, his eyes shaped like triangles, "Hurry up and give Erza and Hapi back!"
"Mr. Rhode and Miss Mira, they should be fine, right… Why is there always someone trying to sneak attack me?"
Lucy got angry too, and kicked towards her attacker, "Look at me! Lucy—Flying Kick!"
...
"Rhode, did you hear that? He mentioned Magical Elf Power." Mira was a bit worried, "That's a time-space destructive magic controlled by the Council, a terrifying weapon that can destroy an island in one blow."
"For Jellal to know the exact activation time, there must be a mole in the council." Rhode pondered a bit and said,
"I remember last time at the Council, Wendy said she was cared for by someone named 'Jellal,' and mistook someone named Zikrein for Jellal.
At that time, Zikrein said Jellal was his twin brother, and Erza also knows Jellal, but she said the Jellal Wendy knows is not the one she knows, meaning it's not this one today."
So if it comes to a fight, we can go all out, not worrying about Wendy's feelings.
"Moreover, we've always suspected there's a mole in the Council, and thinking now, it might be Zikrein.
Too bad last time at the Cat Transformation Inn, we left in a hurry and didn't think to ask about this... Stop!"
Rhode called out softly and Mira immediately halted, flapping her wings to keep them aloft: "Did you find something?"
"I smell Hapi's scent, right on that floor!"
Rhode pointed to a location, then relayed to the Cyan Engraved Golem, signaling to Mira.
Mira understood, adjusted Rhode's stance, grabbed his ankles with both hands, and spun around in midair like a discus throw, launching Rhode out.
With a thud, Rhode smashed through the wall, landing inside a room.
Looking up, the room was filled with cat paw patterned floors, cat plush toys, and cat lamps hanging...
Even the sofa, cabinets, bed, and other furnishings had cat elements, with a small cat scratching the wall in the corner.
"How much does the owner of this room love cats..." Now Rhode understood why Simon said Mirena would never harm Hapi.
The little cat scratching the wall stiffly turned its head. Seeing the familiar figure, its eyes soon filled with tears: "Rhode! Mira!"
He spread his wings and flew up, pouncing straight into Mira's arms—Rhode, in his current state, looked very rigid.