In the passage leading to the top of the tower, Noel was sprinting at high speed.
(The Seventh Throne, Reign, was even more troublesome than I expected. There's not much time left before Etherion falls—I need to hurry.)
"Natsu... and you, your name is Simon, right?" While running, Noel suddenly spotted two figures ahead and came to a stop.
"Noel!" Seeing Noel, Natsu's face lit up with joy. "Noel, you're here!"
"What's the current situation?" Noel asked directly, wasting no time.
Simon, standing to the side, spoke up, "Noel, Gray defeated one of the Trinity Ravens, Owl, but he was severely injured in the process. We just received a transmission from Wally—they found Lucy and Juvia unconscious on the ground, along with one of the Trinity Ravens. Unsure of the situation, they hesitated, but I told them to take the two outside the tower. Then just now, we received another transmission from Sho—I learned that the Trinity Ravens have been completely wiped out. The only enemy left is Jellal. Erza is already heading there. She wants to settle everything on her own. There's an eight-year history between them—perhaps they were destined to have this battle. But Jellal is far too powerful. Please, Noel, go help Erza!"
After listening to Simon, Noel looked up toward the top of the Tower of Paradise. "Leave this to me. I'll make sure Erza doesn't get hurt. You and Natsu, get out of this tower."
"No way!" Natsu immediately objected without hesitation.
"I haven't done anything yet! If I go back like this, Gray will make fun of me for a whole month!"
Bang! Before Natsu could finish speaking, Noel suddenly punched him in the stomach.
A magic circle appeared.
"[Holy Light Magic—Luminous Slumber]"
A white light enveloped Natsu.
A few seconds later, as the glow faded, Natsu collapsed to the ground, his face peaceful, clearly fast asleep.
"Uh..." Simon was left speechless by what he just witnessed.
Noel glanced at Simon. "Don't worry, I just made him sleep. Knowing Natsu, there's no way he'd just listen to me and leave. Simon, please take him out of this tower. You're Erza's comrades—I don't want any of you to get hurt. Leave Erza to me."
Seeing the unwavering determination in Noel's eyes, Simon finally nodded.
"Understood." With that, he hoisted Natsu onto his shoulder and headed down toward the base of the tower.
"Noel..." Simon suddenly spoke as he walked toward the base of the tower.
"Hmm?"
"Please... protect Erza, no matter what." Simon didn't look back as he said those words.
"I will protect her—with my life, I swear it." Noel replied solemnly, then continued his sprint toward the top of the tower.
-----------------
At the same time, atop the Tower of Heaven.
"It's been a long time, Erza." Jellal, clad in a black robe, stood up from his seat and greeted Erza casually, as if nothing was amiss.
"Jellal... I'm here to free my former comrades." Erza ignored his greeting, her sharp gaze locked onto him.
"No problem. I don't need them anymore. The Tower of Heaven is already complete."
"Even though it'll be destroyed in less than ten minutes?"
"You're referring to Etherion?" Jellal said calmly.
"Seeing how composed you are, was that just a bluff?"
At Erza's question, a crazed expression appeared on Jellal's face. "No. Etherion will fall."
"Now I'm relieved. That tells me that all I need to do is stall you for ten minutes, and everything will be settled." Determination burned in Erza's eyes.
"No, you will be sacrificed to Zeref and perish. That is an unchangeable fact. This is your destiny." Jellal's voice was laced with finality.
"Seven minutes remain before Etherion strikes this place. Let's make the most of them, shall we? Entertain me, Erza." A sinister black magic swirled around his body.
"I have nothing left to fear. Even if Etherion falls, as long as I can take you down with me, it will be worth it." Erza raised her sword.
"Take me down with you? You can try." With those words, Jellal unleashed a surge of black magic, twisting into countless tendrils that shot toward Erza.
With a flash of her blade, Erza sliced through all the tendrils head-on, reducing them to fragments.
Without pausing, she charged straight at Jellal, sword in hand.
Jellal extended his right hand, gripping Erza's sword-wielding fist, while his left hand released a blast of black energy.
Boom!
The floor shattered instantly.
Blasted outside the Tower of Heaven, Erza stepped onto a falling piece of debris in midair and propelled herself back onto the tower's summit.
Her sword swung once more, its gleam slicing through the air.
Jellal tilted his body slightly, narrowly dodging the attack, and retaliated with another surge of black energy.
Erza leaped to evade the counterstrike.
"This tower took so much effort to build, and now you have to destroy it with your own hands. What a shame, Jellal." Using a central magic crystal as a foothold, Erza accelerated toward Jellal in an instant.
However, he simply flipped to the side, effortlessly dodging her blade.
Instead of responding to her words with anger, he chuckled lightly.
"A few pillars here and there are just decorations."
"People like Sho believed in you for eight whole years just to build these 'decorations'!" Erza's fury flared even stronger at his dismissive attitude.
"You don't have to be so aggressive. What truly matters is the R-System—these eight years were spent to complete it. And now, it is finally finished."
The moment Jellal spoke, several tendrils covered in mysterious patterns emerged from the floor beneath Erza's feet.
They coiled together, forming a sphere that tightly sealed her inside.
"You've improved, but this is where it ends," Jellal declared.
Inside the dark magic sphere, Erza closed her eyes.
Then, to Jellal's shock, she effortlessly cleaved through the sphere with two swift slashes, shattering it into pieces. "I already told you—I have nothing to fear anymore."
Without hesitation, Erza dashed toward Jellal, swinging her blade.
Caught off guard, Jellal failed to evade in time and took a direct hit, collapsing to the ground.
With a dark expression, Erza held her sword against Jellal's throat.
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