Hapi is a cat, 6 years old, not interested in women, spared from death.
Rhode told him to leave here and go meet up with Natsu.
First, he needs to reassure Natsu, otherwise he might rashly charge into the tower alone, and then to demolish the tower, they'd have to go rescue him.
After Hapi left, Rhode casually extended the duration of the Crown of Insight for himself and Mira, then stared at the 'brick' that had just been knocked out.
Simon had mentioned that when building the Tower of Paradise, a large number of magic crystals were used to accumulate the vast amount of Magic Power required for the R System to operate.
But these magic crystals, falling with the destroyed walls, seem off.
There is clearly no Magic Power stored in them at all!
"Mira, let's demolish a few more walls and see!"
"Alright!"
Both of them started to work, and smashed large holes into the four walls of Mirena's room, as well as the floor and ceiling.
However, the magic crystals pried from between the bricks were the same, storing not a single bit of Magic Power.
If even the most basic Magic Power isn't ready, how is Jellal going to activate the R System? And what's the point of making such a fuss about capturing Erza as a living sacrifice?
"Could he be intending to use Erza as bait, to capture our guild all at once, and then extract Magic Power to pour into the R System?"
Rhode considered this possibility.
But it seemed a bit far-fetched.
Mira's palm formed a black magic bullet which she smashed heavily into the wall.
Cracks instantly exploded across the wall, brick and dust flying, revealing the magic crystal inside, but the magic crystal wasn't shattered by the explosion; instead, it absorbed all remaining Magic Power.
Mira pressed her fingertip on the magic crystal to feel it, then shook her head:
"Even if I extract all my Magic Power, I can't even fill the magic crystals buried in one room. I'm afraid even if we gather all the guild's Magic Power, it won't be enough for the whole tower to use."
"Special magic crystals that can absorb Magic Power, uh..." Rhode gasped, "Then that leaves only one possibility..."
Mira showed a shocked expression: "You mean Magical Elf Power?!"
"Based on your previous strike, I fear that person is truly planning this. Using the magic crystals of the entire tower to absorb a powerful Magic Power enough to instantly destroy an island, while simultaneously controlling Erza to activate the R System!"
This person is simply a lunatic!
He's even planning to stay inside the tower when the Magical Elf Power descends!
With such a powerful attack from the Magical Elf Power, if his calculations are off and he uses a bit too few magic crystals, he would die instantly.
Even if his calculations are correct and the magic crystals are sufficient, such a massive accumulation of Magic Power always holds the potential to explode at any time, which means death.
Only by successfully absorbing the Magical Elf Power and manipulating such a vast amount of Magic Power in an extremely short time, without error in initiating the R System, can there be a hint of success.
This is completely gambling with life!
Let him gamble on his own; Rhode doesn't want to accompany him. He has to quickly rescue Erza and then demolish the tower before the Magical Elf Power descends!
The two rushed through the breach in the outer wall and flew upwards at their fastest speed.
...
Upper levels of the Tower of Paradise, inside the spherical section beneath the tower's tip.
This is a vast hall, its walls filled with mysterious spells, and in the center, large blocks of magic crystals are placed, with an altar built on the inner side.
This is the place to hold the resurrection ritual.
If all goes well, Zeref will descend here, receiving the worship of followers at a kilometer above the ground, bringing them true freedom.
Jellal has been longing for this day.
The two necessary conditions to activate the R System, the first is at least 2.7 billion Idea's worth of Magic Power, the second is a living sacrifice with qualifications matching the Ten Wizard Saints.
For the past eight years, besides building the Tower of Paradise, Jellal had been working hard for these two things.
Now, the Magical Elf Power is about to descend, and the 2.7 billion Idea's worth of Magic Power is nearly at hand.
And the living sacrifice...
Jellal looked at the scarred Erza in front of him, a smile tugging at his lips:
"The taste of false freedom, is it not good? Why not run away, but instead charge in front of me?"
"I want to save my former comrades and… finish this with you!" Erza's condition was not good now.
The Celestial Wheel Armor was already shattered, the Black Feather Armor also damaged, and the Flying Armor couldn't withstand his attacks.
Ever since he started using dark attribute magic, then...
"Requip: Purgatory Armor!"
Erza switched to a heavy black armor and appeared with a serrated saber needing both hands to hold.
Dragging the saber behind her, Erza sprinted a few steps, the tip of the blade etching cracks in the ground, fragments of stone danced with the blade.
"Purgatory Armor? Doesn't exactly match the Tower of Paradise!" Jellal opened the five fingers of his left hand upward, five long serpent-like black spirit bodies darted out, "Dark Snake!"
"What paradise? Clearly, it's a true purgatory!" Erza fiercely swung her saber upward, severing the five dark snakes with the blade, then reversed the edge to strike down, aiming straight for Jellal's neck.
Jellal swiftly dodged back, retracting his left hand into a fist and pointing his right index finger forward.
Erza felt a heavy slam on her shoulder, a mass of dark energy exploded there, temporarily halting her advance.
Jellal seized the gap, his left hand stretching forward like a claw, five dark snakes emerged again.
They bypassed the serrated saber, coiling around Erza's wrist, climbing to her shoulder, locking her arm.
Erza struggled futilely, while Jellal's assault hadn't ended, his right hand released another five dark snakes, encircling Erza's waist, squeezing around her throat.
"Ugh..." Erza's face showed a pained expression, the serrated saber slipped from her grasp.
She struggled to resist the dark snakes' constriction, yet couldn't manage even to reach for the snakes encircling her throat.
"You can't win against me, Erza." Jellal took two steps forward, stopping before Erza, "I acknowledge your qualifications, but as you are now, you're too weak!".
Come, become Zeref's sacrifice, that's your fate, also your honor!
Everything has been predestined, let's create a new era together, even if you can't see that moment, you'll exist in another form!"
Jellal said quite a bit, but Erza only caught one sentence.
"That's right, I'm too weak..."
Because she is weak, she always wears armor. Because she is weak, she loves staying in the guild. Because she is weak, she is always worried about being unable to protect what's important...
The armor she normally wears all the time, although relieving the concern in her heart, also closed off her own heart.
But being in the guild, that warmth always seeps in through the gaps in the armor, letting her feel the closeness between people...
So...
The black armor on Erza's body disappeared, replaced only by a pair of red pants with flame patterns of gold, and the simplest chest wrap.
The absence of armor created space, allowing Erza to move her body enough.
Two samurai swords appeared in her hands, flashing blades cut into all the black snakes binding her, severing them into pieces.
The Fairy Queen, with a high ponytail, stood barefoot on the ground, her gaze more determined than ever:
"I am no longer confused! To save former comrades, to ensure all comrades leave safely, I will convert everything I have into power to defeat you!"