BOOM—!!
"Uwaaaahhh!!"
The main gate of the Tower of Heaven exploded under Natsu's punch.
"Jellal! Get your ass out here—!!"
Natsu stormed through the broken doorway, roaring with fury.
Suddenly, grotesque mouths began to emerge from the walls—twisting, smirking, muttering.
Lucy recoiled in horror.
"What are those?! They're disgusting!!"
"Mouths?!"
"Why are there mouths coming out of the walls?!"
Erza spoke grimly, "It's a magic Jellal created. These mouths let him broadcast his voice to every corner of the tower."
Soon, the mouths began to speak.
"Welcome to the Tower of Heaven, everyone. I am Jellal, the master of this paradise. Now that both sides of the board are set, let the game begin—The Paradise Game."
Natsu blinked in confusion.
"Game? What game?!"
"The rules are simple," Jellal's voice echoed.
"A floor-by-floor gauntlet. Each level of the tower has its own guards—your task is to defeat them and advance. These guards are in charge of hostages: the very people who helped construct this Tower of Heaven, and the same ones who once resisted the Black Magic Order alongside Erza."
"What?!"
Hugh and the others turned pale.
"You bastard, Jellal!" Erza clenched her fists in rage. "First you manipulated those innocent people… and now you're using them as pawns for your twisted amusement?!"
Her voice trembled with fury. Jellal wasn't just evil—he was worse than he was eight years ago.
"Honestly, I was planning to kill them all," Jellal replied coldly. "The tower is already complete. They've outlived their usefulness. If they leave, they might reveal what's here. But lucky for them—and for you—I've decided to give you a chance to save them. Think of it as… my final act of mercy."
"Mercy?!" Lucy shouted. "You call that mercy?!"
"In addition to those guards," Jellal continued, "I've stationed three elite warriors throughout the tower. Defeat them, and you may reach the top floor for a final showdown with me."
"But break the rules—just once—and I'll have every last hostage executed. Whether you choose to save them or rush straight to me… that choice is yours."
Simon narrowed his eyes.
"So… he knew we were going to betray him?"
He had hoped to use Hugh's magic to teleport directly to the top floor and launch a surprise attack. But seeing how well-prepared Jellal was, that plan was now in shambles.
"There's one last thing I must emphasize: this tower is my eight-year masterpiece. I will not tolerate excessive damage. If any major destruction occurs—every hostage dies."
"And finally," his voice dropped ominously,
"The Magic Council may already be preparing to fire the Etherion, the Satellite Blast Array. That ultimate magic—capable of turning all to dust."
"!!!"
Everyone froze.
Etherion. The Council's last-resort weapon—their strongest deterrent across the continent.
Vidaldus shouted, "Hey! That wasn't part of the deal, Jellal!! If that thing hits, we're all dead!!"
Ikaruga glanced at him and smirked.
"What's this, Vidaldus? Are you scared?"
Vidaldus grinned like a maniac.
"Quite the opposite!! This is peak ecstasy!! I live for danger like this—!!"
Jellal's voice rang out one final time:
"We don't know when Etherion will strike. If it does, none of us will survive. That would mean no victor… and the end of the game."
"Now then—enjoy yourselves."
The mouths vanished.
"Wha… what the hell… What's wrong with this guy…? Even when his life is on the line, he still wants to play games?"
Lucy was visibly shaking. Jellal's madness had deeply unsettled her.
"Etherion? The Council? No… they wouldn't…" Erza whispered.
"That's… unthinkable."
"Maybe he's bluffing," Gray muttered. "No way the Council would fire Etherion here… right?"
Clap. Clap.
Kaien Blaze stepped forward, clapping his hands.
"Enough. Bluff or not—we still have to save those people. Let's split into teams."
"Simon," he continued, "you six know the structure of this place. Divide up and join different teams."
Juvia immediately declared,
"I'll go with Gray-sama. My magic pairs perfectly with his."
Simon nodded.
"Alright. I'll join you two. We've met before—though I admit, not under the best circumstances."
Wally stepped forward.
"Then I'll go with the fire dragon boy."
"Fine by me," Natsu shrugged.
"As long as I've got Happy, I'm good."
"I'll go with Big Sis," said Hugh softly.
He still felt immense guilt toward Erza. He'd made up his mind to protect her at all costs.
"And me…" Millianna looked nervously at Kaien.
She was still traumatized. Not long ago, Kaien had nearly crushed her like a bug. The memory left a lasting shadow.
Kaien took charge:
"Each team will be responsible for a set of floors. How many levels are there in this tower?"
Simon replied,
"From here to the top—where Jellal is—it's eighteen floors total."
Happy did the math.
"Then each group has to clear twelve floors!"
"This guy…" Gray's eyes narrowed.
"He's trying to wear us down. No rest. No time to recover. By the time we reach him, we'll be spent."
Lucy clenched her fists.
"That's low… so damn low!"
Erza turned toward Kaien, concern in her eyes.
"Your magic… this kind of battle of attrition—won't it be a problem for you?"
Kaien's magic was overwhelmingly powerful, but it came at a high cost. He wasn't built for drawn-out battles.
Jellal's rules almost felt custom-made to counter him.
Kaien, however, just smiled.
"No problem. This level of difficulty? It's nothing."
In truth, his magic reserves now were leagues above what they had been a year ago. And he wasn't out of cards—he still had multiple purple and gold cards ready to be used. If worst came to worst, he'd just sacrifice one.
Not that he expected to need them.
'It's just Jellal, he thought.'
'If I can't beat this version of Jellal, all those card pulls were a waste.'
With teams finalized, they prepared to split up.
"Everyone!" Erza called out.
"Watch each other's backs—and stay safe! Move out!!"
"YEAHHHHH!!!"