At the headquarters of the Magic Council, the atmosphere was frantic.
The entire system began operating at a fever pitch.
Everyone was working nonstop on emergency tasks. A giant, towering Magic Crystal was erected within the central chamber of the Council, humming with a terrifyingly low frequency.
Dozens of officials in white robes hurried around it, checking the Etherion's operational systems and stabilizing the mana flow.
Meanwhile, the Ten Council Members watched the magic device system containing this immense power, each with their own thoughts.
Some looked fearful, others grimly determined.
Siegrain stood on the balcony overlooking the control room. He looked down at the hundreds of Magic Crystals continuously outputting magic power below.
He couldn't suppress a sinister, triumphant smile.
"Ultear," Siegrain whispered, his voice trembling with excitement. "Do you see? Our plan is about to succeed!"
Ultear stood beside him.
Internally, she remained calm, even bored. But to maintain the act, she bowed slightly.
"Congratulations, sir," she replied respectfully. "Your long-cherished wish is finally coming true. Zeref will return."
Since being subdued by Ankh and learning the truth about her own past and potential, Ultear's mindset had become much less extreme.
She was no longer the blind fanatic chasing a ghost.
Rather than believing in a centuries-old legend of the "Great World of Magic," she preferred to trust Ankh—a living, breathing monster whose limits she had never seen.
Regarding Jellal, Ultear naturally felt deep guilt for her past actions.
However, at this point, she could do nothing about Jellal's situation.
Fortunately Ankh is handling him personally.
The most important task now was to complete the mission Ankh had assigned her.
Siegrain composed himself, buttoning his coat.
"The final step..." Siegrain announced. "My work here is done. I'll go to the Tower of Heaven to merge with my main body and deal with Ankh. I need my full power to crush him."
He turned to her, his eyes cold. "Ultear, you stay here to cover our retreat. Once the Etherion fires and the tower is destroyed, destroy this place immediately. Leave no evidence. Don't give them a chance to react or investigate."
Ultear nodded, bowing her head submissively. "You can count on me, sir."
"Good."
After giving these orders, Siegrain's body began to fade.
He flickered like a dying hologram, turning transparent. This Thought Projection, which had siphoned more than half of Jellal's magic power for years to maintain a physical presence across the continent, was finally returning to its source.
ZING.
With a flash of light, Siegrain vanished completely.
Only after Jellal's projection completely disappeared did Ultear let out a long sigh of relief. She straightened her posture, dropping the submissive act.
"Finally," she muttered. "He talks too much."
"He really does."
Nearby, a figure gradually materialized from the shadows of a pillar.
Anselion leaned against the wall, smiling calmly.
He adjusted his hood. "Finally sent him away... The stage is ours now."
Knowing this was her master's Thought Projection, Ultear stretched her arms comfortably.
"What about the old fools in the Council?" Ultear asked, gesturing to the frantic room below. "Any issues with the aftermath?"
Anselion chuckled dismissively. "All arranged. Politics is just another form of magic. We are sacrificing one person for everyone's political careers. These old guys couldn't be happier to have a scapegoat."
"After this incident," Anselion explained, "few will remain in the new Council. The public outcry over firing Etherion will be immense. Since the corruption and the decision to fire occurred during Chairman Crawford's term, the new Council will definitely not retain him. He will be imprisoned or exiled."
"Michelo, Org, and the others will desperately shift the blame onto the chairman to protect their positions and pensions. Crawford's fate is sealed."
This wasn't entirely unfair to the chairman either—Anselion had long investigated and found that Chairman Crawford was no saint.
He had been lax against Dark Guilds while actively engaging in bribery and corruption for decades.
Fortunately, Anselion was different within the Council.
He had served for the shortest time, barely a few months.
He hadn't echoed Siegrain in the voting process, often playing devil's advocate.
In the eyes of the higher-ups and the public, Anselion was the "cleanest" member—the voice of reason who was overruled.
"As long as we put on a good act during the Council's destruction," Anselion said, "along with the Cureniar family's influence pushing my name in the press, I should have no problem retaining my council seat."
As for Frey Cureniar... That clever woman had likely already figured out the relationship between Ankh and Anselion.
There was no need to hide this network from her; she was part of the plan.
Ultear watched the earth-shattering magic power of the Etherion gradually solidify in the central crystal.
It began to shoot a beam of pure light into the sky, connecting with the satellite array.
Ultear smiled faintly. "Let's go. Before I completely destroy the Council headquarters, make sure to 'kill' me to claim credit. I don't want to be a wanted criminal forever."
Anselion grinned, flexing his wrists. "Don't worry. I'll make it look spectacular. Remember to scream convincingly—how else can I demonstrate my loyalty to the new Council if I don't defeat the 'traitor' Ultear?"
Ultear rolled her eyes, ignoring his teasing. "Please. Honestly, after years of undercover work, my acting skills are award-winning level! Try not to actually hit me though."
....
While Anselion and Ultear were coordinating their Oscar-worthy performance at the Council, the battle at the Tower of Heaven was clearly escalating.
BOOM!
Jellal was being pushed back by Ankh's relentless scythe attacks. He crashed through a pillar, sliding across the floor.
"Damn it!" Jellal cursed, panting. "Why are you so strong?!"
Just as Ankh considered holding back slightly to prolong the fight until the Etherion fired, Jellal's "cheat code" finally arrived!
WOOSH.
A light appeared behind Jellal and Siegrain suddenly emerged from the air.
For a moment, there were two of them. The two identical individuals smiled eerily at Ankh, their voices overlapping.
"It's time."
Jellal straightened up while clutching his aching abdomen.
He began laughing maniacally with a twisted expression. "Did you think this was my full power? Ankh! You fool!"
"Merge!"
As Siegrain slowly walked into Jellal, their bodies overlapped.
Two powerful streams of magic power began to fuse, releasing astonishing energy that surged outward like a shockwave!
RUMBLE!
The entire tower shook. Black mist intertwined with golden light as sinister yet domineering magic power enveloped Jellal.
Waves of energy elevated his presence significantly, repairing his wounds and refilling his mana reserves instantly.
He was back to 100%.
No, he was even stronger than before.
Feeling this explosive power returning to him after so long, Jellal couldn't contain his joy.
The adrenaline and the dark magic went to his head.
He erupted into classic Uchiha-style three-stage laughter.
"Heh heh..." Jellal covered his face with one hand, shoulders shaking.
"Hahaha..." He threw his head back, looking at the ceiling.
"KEHAHAHAHA—!!" He spread his arms wide, screaming at the heavens.
Ankh stood there with his scythe, watching this display.
Ankh: ( ? ˙ー˙ ? )?
'Look,' Ankh thought, his face blank. 'If you have a mental illness, just say so. There are doctors for that.'
'Never mind, not worth commenting that.'
Ankh genuinely wondered what kind of social suicide scene this would be when Jellal eventually recovered his sanity and recalled these laughing episodes.
Imagine remembering this while trying to sleep at night. Just thinking about the secondhand embarrassment is quite exciting!
However, Jellal in his rebellious "edgelord" phase clearly didn't consider his behavior cringey.
Instead, he excitedly spread his arms, acting invincible. His cape billowed dramatically in the magic wind.
"Bet you didn't expect this, Ankh!" Jellal shouted, pointing a glowing finger. "I am Siegrain from the Council! I am Jellal of the Tower! With his returned, we are one! This is my true strength!"
Jellal's arrogant demeanor was downright punchable—anyone would think he'd already won the fight just by glowing a bit brighter.
Ankh was almost broken by Jellal's theatrics. He struggled to find words before finally managing a dry comment.
"You really... practiced that speech, didn't you?"
Jellal's eye twitched. "Silence!"
Jellal's body emitted blinding golden light. He charged at Ankh with a wild grin, moving like a flash of lightning.
"METEOR!"
Jellal's body accelerated to supersonic speeds. He became a blur of gold.
"Die!"
As Jellal roared, Ankh raised a hand calmly.
"Titan Gravity!"
Ankh summoned tons of pressure against the aurora-like approaching figure. The floor cracked under the weight.
However, Jellal didn't stop. He brute-forced through the spell!
"Useless!" Jellal screamed.
He tore through the gravity field, reaching Ankh's face in a millisecond. He unleashed a brilliant magical blast at point-blank range.
"Grand Chariot!"
Seven pillars of light descended.
Ankh's eyes narrowed.
He quickly raised his arms to block, crossing the handle of his scythe. Death Wave erupted beneath his feet to cushion the blow.
BANG!
Ankh was forced back, his boots skidding across the floor, carving deep grooves into the stone.
Jellal landed gracefully on a floating piece of debris, laughing confidently.
"Feel my true power now, Ankh! You cannot catch me!"
Ankh shook his hand, which was slightly numb from the impact.
He ignored Jellal's taunts as he assessed the other's strength with a critical eye.
'Not bad,' Ankh admitted internally.
Among his generation of Mages in this world, Ankh had always been undefeated.
Previously, only Laxus warranted his genuine attention as a rival.
But now, Jellal needed to be added to that list.
Jellal is actually younger than Laxus, yet he has reached this level of speed and destructive power.
Without Ankh around to skew the power scaling, Jellal would likely be the most talented mage of their generation.
His versatility with elemental magic, combined with Heavenly Body Magic, was formidable.
'Of course,' Ankh smirked behind his hand, 'this assumes he doesn't slack in future training or spend too much time in prison... Talent alone isn't enough.'