Night, Open Sea
The ocean stretched endlessly in every direction, black and silver beneath the moonlight as the largest boat the group could buy on a short notice cut through the waves. Its enchanted hull hummed softly, magic stabilizers glowing faintly along its sides as it powered forward toward whatever awaited them beyond the horizon.
Unfortunately for Issei and Natsu, magic stabilizers meant absolutely nothing.
The moment the boat left the dock and the gentle rocking began, both Dragon-aligned idiots were reduced to complete and utter misery.
Issei lay sprawled across a padded bench like a man struck down by divine punishment, face pale, eyes unfocused, soul clearly leaving his body in slow increments. Natsu wasn't doing any better as he curled on the floor nearby, arms wrapped around his stomach as if he could physically hold it together through sheer willpower.
"Why…" Natsu groaned weakly, face pressed to the deck. "Why is the ocean… still moving…"
Issei let out a broken sound that might have once been a word. "Partner… I think… that this is the end for me… tell my wives I loved them."
Tamamo glanced down at them, tails swaying gently, expression caught somewhere between sympathy and barely concealed amusement. "You two are truly pathetic."
"Please," Issei croaked, eyes unfocused. "Just… end me…"
Despite the dire state of the two men, the rest of the group did their best to make the trip tolerable—or at least survivable.
Uzume gently guided Issei's head into her oppai, cradling him with practiced ease. The moment his face sank into warm softness, his body visibly relaxed, shoulders sagging as a weak, blissed-out sigh escaped him.
"…Oppai saves lives…" He muttered.
Yuuka immediately frowned. "Hey, it's my turn."
"No," Uzume said flatly, pulling Issei further toward her chest. "He needs variety for maximum recovery."
"That makes no sense," Akitsu said calmly, yet still positioned herself close enough that Issei's head could easily accidentally fall into her chest next.
What followed was a quiet but intense standoff, broken only by Issei being tugged an inch this way… then an inch that way.
"Careful," Yashima muttered from nearby. "We might accidentally drop him in the ocean. And next is my turn."
Across the deck, Juvia watched the scene with intense focus, eyes sparkling as she scribbled notes into a small notebook.
"…So this is how Issei-sama's condition is treated," She murmured reverently. She turned eagerly toward Gray. "Gray-sama, would you like Juvia to—"
"No," Gray said instantly, not even looking at her.
"…Oh," Juvia replied softly, crestfallen, but still wrote something down anyway.
Lucy, meanwhile, tried her best to help Natsu, offering him water, patting his back, even letting him lean against her shoulder.
The results were… mixed.
Natsu gagged, lurched, then slumped again. "This isn't helping…"
Lucy sighed. "You're impossible."
"I'm dying," Natsu whined. "Tell Happy I loved him—"
"He's currently kidnapped," Lucy snapped. "And you're not dying."
"…Then why does it feel like it…" Natsu then tries to stop his barf.
The boat rocked again, just slightly and both Natsu and Issei let out identical, soul-deep groans.
"Please," Natsu begged weakly, staring at the distant horizon. "Hurry up…"
Issei raised one trembling hand toward the sky. "I swear… if we survive this… I'm never stepping on a boat again…"
Tamamo glanced toward the dark sea ahead, eyes narrowing as she sensed the talisman's pull growing stronger. "Endure it a little longer," she said. "We're getting closer."
That didn't comfort them in the slightest.
But despite the nausea, the bickering, and the humiliating dependency on strategic chest pillows, the boat continued forward, cutting through the waves toward their destination.
—--------------------------------------------------
Tower of Heaven, Prisoner's Cell
Cold stone pressed in on her from every side. The air was damp, full of salt and rust. Even with her eyes open, Erza Scarlet felt like she was dreaming… but the chains that held her in place and bit into her wrists, informed her that this was reality.
Her breathing came shallow as her gaze swept the cell, bare walls etched with old scratch marks, the floor stained darker in places she didn't want to acknowledge. The same oppressive silence that lived between distant echoes.
"…No," Erza whispered hoarsely, voice cracking on the word. "Not here…" Her stomach churned. Her heart thundered. Her mind tried to reject the truth, tried to shove the memory away like it always did, but her body remembered faster than her thoughts.
This was the place that stole her childhood. This was the place that forged her trauma. A slave pen. A torture chamber. A temple built on the backs of children and the laughter of slavers and dark mages.
'I'm back in the Tower of Heaven.'
Her jaw tightened until it hurt. Her hands flexed against the cuffs, metal scraping her skin. Rage sparked, then wavered as sorrow tried to smother it.
But she would not let it happen, not again.
Then the lock clicked and the prison door creaked open.
Erza's spine stiffened instantly, every instinct rising. Her eyes sharpened like blades as the figure stepped into the dim light.
'Sho.'
He looked almost… calm. Too calm. His face held a practiced softness, as if he had rehearsed this moment. He shut the door behind him, the sound echoing like a verdict.
"Erza," Sho said, voice gentle in a way that felt wrong coming from him. "I apologize for how roughly we handled you."
Erza stared at him, trembling, not from fear, but from the sheer pressure of memories forcing itself through her mind. "Why," she demanded, voice low and raw, "did you bring me here?"
But Sho didn't answer immediately.
Erza's eyes burned. "If you're free, if you're alive and no longer chained, then why are you still here? Why are all of you doing this?!"
Sho's expression finally shifted and the softness thinned. "What did you expect," he asked quietly, "after you betrayed us?"
Erza's brows snapped downward. "Betrayed—?"
"You escaped," Sho said, and the bitterness in his tone sharpened like a knife. "You left us. You ran, and you didn't come back."
Erza's chest tightened. "I—"
"And because of that," Sho continued, voice rising, "Jellal was angry."
The name struck like a hammer causing Erza's eyes to widen.
Sho's smile turned cold. "So now… you will be used as the sacrifice for the ceremony."
Erza's blood ran colder than the stone beneath her. "…The ceremony?" she whispered.
Sho nodded, almost reverent. "The ceremony. For the purpose of acquiring Heaven."
Erza's lips parted slowly, horror and fury mixing into something unbearable. "You're planning to restart the R-System…"
"Of course," Sho said. "This was after all the purpose of our pain, it'd be a shame if we never complete it."
Erza's voice sharpened, steel returning to her spine. "Listen to me. Reviving someone by sacrificing the life of someone else is taboo. It's forbidden. The price is wrong and will always lead to disaster—"
But Sho cut her off with a dismissive laugh. "Those are simply human laws," He said, eyes glittering. "They don't exist in the presence of magic."
Erza's face twisted. "Sho—"
"You think we're the same as the dark mages who whipped us?" Sho's voice rose, and something unhinged leaked through the calm. "You think we're as narrow-minded as the slavers?" His hands trembled slightly as he spoke, like his body couldn't hold the shape of sanity anymore. "Jellal is different," Sho said, almost pleading with the idea. "He will lead us."
Erza stared, trying to follow the logic and failing because it was built from pain instead of the truth. "Lead you… where?"
Sho's smile returned, wider and sharper. "To Heaven."
Erza's brow furrowed. "What does that even mean?"
Sho's eyes burned with conviction. "He plans to resurrect a man. A specific man." His voice dropped, reverent and terrifying. "And the moment he returns… the world will be born anew."
Erza's stomach twisted. "Born anew…?"
Sho nodded, growing more animated, more deranged with every word. "After its destruction, we will be the rulers of the new world. We will bring pain and terror to everyone who ignored us… who discarded us… who pretended we didn't exist." His breathing quickened, his face flushed full of obsession.
Erza's hands clenched so hard her knuckles whitened against the cuffs. As she listened, something inside her snapped cleanly into place. She had heard enough.
Sho stood too close, too confident. Too sure she would sit there and drown in despair. But this time, they had made a mistake. They had chained her arms… but not her legs.
Erza's eyes hardened. In one explosive motion, she drew her knee up and drove her foot forward—
CRACK.
Her heel smashed into Sho's chin with a devastating kick. His head snapped back, eyes rolling as he crumpled to the floor.
Silence rushed in and Erza didn't waste it. She surged forward, muscles straining as she yanked the chains with the iron groaning under her grip. Pain flashed in her wrists, but she didn't care. With a furious pull, she bent the metal, ripping free with raw strength born from years of battle and a lifetime of refusing to be broken.
As the shackles clattered to the floor. Erza stood over Sho, breathing hard, trembling—not with fear now, but with contained fury. "How could such a kind boy change so much?" she said, voice shaking with rage.
Her magic responded to her anger as a swirl of light burst around her. Her evening dress dissolved into shimmering particles as she Requipped and armor formed in a flash of sacred steel.
Heart Kreuz Armor.
The familiar weight settled onto her shoulders like a promise.
Erza clenched her fist. The sorrow was still there and the memory still hurt. But she would not let despair steer her anymore.
She aimed all of it like an arrow, straight at one name. "Jellal," She whispered. "This ends tonight." And then she moved, out of the cell, out of the shadow of the past, ready to fight her way through the Tower of Heaven all over again.
—-------------------------------------------
Morning, Magic Train
Morning light poured across Fiore in pale gold sheets, the sun still low enough that the countryside looked half-asleep. Fields rolled by in long green waves beyond the windows, broken occasionally by forests and distant hills. The rhythmic clack-clack of the train wheels against the rails filled the carriage.
In one of the quieter carts, Miya, Matsu, and Misuki sat together near the window. The seats were cushioned and warm, but none of them looked fully relaxed. Even with the resort far behind, the feeling of that blackout still clung to them.
Miya stared out at the passing scenery, but her eyes didn't really see it. Her hands were folded in her lap, fingers lightly knotted together. The usual poise she carried was there, but beneath it was a thin thread of worry she couldn't quite hide. "…Do you think they'll be okay?" She asked softly, voice almost lost beneath the train's rhythm.
Misuki didn't look up at first. She was busy with a neat stack of bills and coins, counting with crisp precision—thumb flicking, eyes tracking numbers like a seasoned accountant.
Matsu answered instead, calm and practical as always. "They'll be fine."
But Miya glanced at her. "That's easy for you to say."
But Matsu simply adjusted her glasses, expression steady. "It's not just optimism. Tamamo is with them. Tamamo is… considerably stronger than you." She paused, then added with a small, dry edge, "And if she decides someone is in her way, she becomes a natural disaster."
Miya wanted to laugh. She almost managed it, just a little exhale through her nose, but the worry didn't fully loosen.
Across from them, Misuki finally finished a stack and hugged it to her chest with visible satisfaction. Her eyes practically glittered. If it were an anime, there would've been giant yen symbols spinning in her pupils.
Miya and Matsu stared at her in deadpan unison.
"…Are you serious right now?" Miya asked flatly.
Matsu didn't even blink. "We nearly got caught in a magical hostage situation, and you look like you just discovered your life's purpose."
Misuki snapped out of her money trance with a dignified cough, as if she hadn't just been radiating greedy joy. "What?" she said, perfectly composed. "We won this cash fair and square."
Miya's eye twitched. "Misuki… Erza and Happy were kidnapped."
"And that is terrible," Misuki agreed immediately, tone sincere and then she slid another bundle into a neat pile. "Truly. But that doesn't mean we forget our hard-earned winnings."
Matsu's gaze sharpened. "I can't believe you cashed out after the blackout."
Misuki lifted her chin, unashamed. "Yes. While everyone was panicking, no one was watching the payout lines." She held up a finger like she was giving a lecture. "Besides, it's the least the resort could do after such an awful night."
Miya exhaled slowly, somewhere between disbelief and resignation. "I can't believe you."
Misuki shrugged with the confidence of someone who had never once felt guilt about being right. "Tamamo carried those slot machines like Atlas carried the world. If anyone deserves compensation for my suffering, it's her."
Matsu sighed and leaned back. "You're impossible."
Miya's shoulders slumped a little. "…I wish we could have spent more time with Issei."
For a moment, the greed and logic fell away, replaced by a shared, quiet disappointment. The resort trip was supposed to be fun and romantic. A small pocket of peace before the next storm.
Instead, it had become a rescue mission.
Misuki tapped her finger thoughtfully against the money stack, then glanced between them. "Should we inform anyone at the guild about what happened?"
Matsu considered it, then shook her head. "By the time anyone mobilizes, the incident will be over. Either they succeed… or it becomes something far worse. And Fairy Tail's response to panic is usually to run in loudly."
Miya grimaced. "That's true…" Her eyes drifted downward as the image of the boat surfaced again as Issei and Natsu doubled over in misery, the ocean rocking beneath them, the trip to the tower dragging on. Miya's worry deepened. "I really hope Issei isn't suffering."
Matsu nodded immediately, expression sympathetic. "If his recent motion sickness also works on boats then he probably is."
Miya blinked. "You said that too fast."
Matsu didn't deny it. "You saw the boat. The moment it left the dock, he and Natsu looked like they were being punished for past sins."
Miya's lips pressed into a thin line. "…Oh, my poor idiot."
For a few seconds, the three of them sat in silence, the train carrying them away from danger while their hearts remained with the ones running toward it.
Then Matsu straightened slightly. "When we get home we should send Kuromaru to pick them up," she said.
Miya looked at her. "Pick them up… from the sea?"
Matsu nodded, matter-of-fact. "He's fast enough. He can meet them and bring them home quicker than a boat can sail."
Miya hesitated. "But the group is pretty big. Will there even be enough room?"
Matsu's mouth curled faintly, the hint of a confident smile appearing. "Don't you worry. I have a plan."
Misuki glanced up. "You have a plan?"
Matsu adjusted her glasses again, eyes reflecting the morning light like polished lenses. "I have an answer that will give them at least a little comfort when Kuromaru reaches them."
Miya narrowed her eyes slightly. "Matsu… what did you build?"
Matsu only pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, calm as ever. "…A solution."
This only caused Miya to sigh and hope for the best.
—-------------------------------
As the boat cut through the morning waves, its enchanted hull hummed with a steady thrum as the sun climbed higher and poured pale gold over the ocean. The air smelled clean out here full of salt, wind, and the faint bite of magic from the stabilizers along the sides of the vessel.
At the bow stood Tamamo, her hair and sleeves fluttering. Her eyes were half-lidded, not from sleepiness, but from her focusing her senses as they stretched outward like invisible threads, following the pull of the talisman she'd planted during the chaos.
'There.' A tug. A faint, persistent direction.
"Still ahead," She murmured, more to herself than anyone else. Behind her, the deck was a very different scene.
Natsu was collapsed face-down near the railing, one arm hanging limply over the edge while Issei wasn't much better as he was propped against Akistu, pale and sweating, staring at the horizon with the haunted expression.
"Tell me…" Issei rasped, voice trembling with betrayal, "why the ocean won't… stop moving…"
Natsu groaned like an injured animal. "It's cursed… the whole boat's cursed…"
Lucy patted Natsu's back, torn between sympathy and irritation. "There, there. We're almost there."
Akitsu simply pushed Issei deeper into her chest, hoping to alleviate the pain. She kept a hand to his head showing her supportive side.
Gray leaned against the cabin wall, arms crossed, his eyes scanning the waterline with Juvia as close to him as possible. "Hey Tamamo, are we getting closer?," he said, his voice more serious than usual.
Tamamo didn't respond immediately.
Because in that moment a massive shape emerged from the horizon. At first it looked like a jagged spike of stone stabbing into the sky.
Then it grew and grew. Until the scale of it became undeniable. A colossal black tower appeared in front of everyone, making all present in the boat speechless.
Lucy's breath caught. "What… is that?"
Yashima's eyes narrowed, her calm expression turning grim. "It looks dangerous."
Uzume, who had been lounging with boredom, sat up slowly. "Okay," she muttered. "That is not a good sight."
Yuuka whistled under her breath. "It looks like an edgelord built a prison and made it as creepy as possible."
As the boat came ever closer, Tamamo's senses started to feel more of the land as her expression hardened. "That tower…" She said, voice low.
Gray looked at her. "What about it?"
Tamamo's eyes remained on the stone monolith ahead, but her gaze wasn't seeing stone anymore. She was sensing what clung to it. "It's steeped in death and suffering," She said, and the words carried weight.
The hairs on Lucy's arms rose. "What do you mean?"
Tamamo's tails seemed to flare in her aura. "Like it was built in the suffering and pain of others. Truly no matter what world, humans can be incredibly cruel."
Silence quickly fell over the boat.
"And the magic," Tamamo continued, voice tightening. "There's too much of it. It's concentrated and twisted, almost to the point of it about to overflow." Many swallowed as they didn't need to know the tower's history to understand what Tamamo was implying. This place was dangerous.
As the boat drew closer, the lower levels came into clearer view, stone platforms jutting out over the sea, metal walkways, watch posts… and the various guards that stood along the docks and others patrolling the outer platforms.
"We should approach carefully." Yuuka's eyes tracked the tower's lower structure. "There's too many guards at the entrance."
Gray nodded once. "There's no way, they'll let us enter without a fight."
They didn't have to speculate for long as a few were already pointing.
Then a horn blared, sharp and urgent.
"Guess we were spotted," Gray muttered.
"Should we find somewhere else to land?" Lucy asked, scanning the tower's sides.
Uzume leaned over the railing. "There's nowhere else. It's all walls and death vibes."
Natsu lifted his head an inch. "Please… just end this…"
Issei's voice cracked. "Just… get me… off… the boat…"
But the decision was quickly taken out of their hands as shouts echoed from the dock, then a dozen more voices answered.
Suddenly gunfire erupted as bullets whipped over the water and smacked into the boat's side, splintering wood and sparking against metal reinforcements. The air snapped with lethal intent.
Lucy screamed and ducked instinctively.
Yashima stepped forward, war hammer in hand, eyes sharp. "They're firing live rounds!"
"I guess they've noticed us," Akitsu said flatly as she moved her head a centimeter to dodge a bullet.
But Yuuka's grin turned vicious. "Good." She then drew her twin revolvers in one fluid motion, arms extending. "Let's return fire." She muttered.
BANG—BANG—BANG!
Yuuka's shots cracked back across the water, precise and fast. One guard stumbled back. Another ducked. A third dropped behind cover as splinters flew from the dock railing.
"We need reinforcements!" Someone shouted from the tower and brought more gunfire.
Gray quickly slammed a palm to the deck. "Ice-Make: Shield Wall!"
A large shield of ice surged upward along the side of the boat, thick and angled, allowing bullets to ping off it in sharp metallic taps.
Akitsu followed, hands lifting with calm precision as she formed a second wall and placed it where the first wall didn't cover. Between their defenses, the boat became a moving fortress.
But the guards kept firing and the dock was getting closer—fast.
Tamamo then glanced back at the group, voice commanding now. "Hold on. Once we hit the port, they'll try to surround us."
Uzume rolled her shoulders, eyes bright with battle readiness. "Then we better hit them first."
Lucy swallowed hard, clutching her key. "We're almost there, Erza… Happy…"
Natsu finally forced himself upright, wobbling, pale and furious with flames flickering despite the sickness. "I don't care if my stomach explodes," he snarled. "Nobody takes my partner." But he quickly fell down as his motion sickness got worse.
Issei pushed himself up too, shaking like a man fighting both the sea and his own body. The moment his boots steadied on the deck, his expression sharpened as pain was still there, but buried beneath burned something hotter. "Alright," he breathed, eyes locking onto the looming docks. "We're done being passengers."
Another bullet struck the ice shield and shattered into glittering fragments.
Yuuka fired again, shouting over the chaos. "We're going in hot! Everyone ready?!"
Gray's eyes narrowed as he prepared his magic. "Not like we have much of a choice!"
As the boat surged in fast, cutting through the last stretch of water. Splinters and salt spray whipped the air. Yuuka's revolvers barked in sharp rhythm while bullets screamed back from the docks, snapping against Gray's frozen barricades and ricocheting into the sea.
"Hold on!" Tamamo called, her sleeves fluttering as she braced herself.
The docks rushed up to meet them and the wood slammed into stone. The hull shuddered and everyone lurched as the boat scraped hard against the port, the impact rattling teeth and sending a spray of seawater and dust into the air.
And then Guards poured in from both sides—some with rifles, others with blades, others with magic already charging in their palms. A few wore gauntlets, their hands glowing as they formed crude spell-circles. The Tower of Heaven didn't welcome visitors.
"INTRUDERS!"
"KILL THEM!"
"DON'T LET THEM REACH THE GATE!"
The Fairy Tail mages exploded off the deck with no hesitation, no pause to breathe, because the first volley was already coming.
Gray's eyes sharpened. "Ice-Make!"
A lattice of ice snapped into existence across the dock in an instant as spikes jutting up where guards were sprinting, a slick frozen sheet spreading beneath their feet. Boots slipped. One man fell hard, skidding into another. Rifles jerked upward as their balance vanished and were pierced by the spikes.
Akitsu moved with quiet, deadly grace, her hands shaping ice like it was silk. She formed short spears and curved blades, sending them snapping forward to pin weapons to the dock and force enemies into awkward angles.
"Don't move." She said calmly, even as she stepped through chaos like it couldn't touch her.
"Juvia will not allow you to stop Gray-sama!" Juvia declared, as she surged forward and water whipped around her. She formed water blades, edges so tight and pressurized they hissed through the air. A guard's sword met one and the metal split cleanly, the severed half clattering to the dock.
Then another sword struck at her chest. But Juvia's body dissolved instantly into water. The attack passed through harmlessly, splashing out behind her. She reformed with a sharp inhale, eyes blazing. "Too slow." She then shot the man with a water canon.
Yashima stepped into the front line with her war hammer, gravity magic bending the air around the head of it. When she swung, she released a crushing invisible force that made the dock tremble.
BOOM.
One guard was launched backward like he'd been hit by a falling boulder.
BOOM.
Another was slammed flat, the shockwave rippling across the planks.
Uzume laughed and her veil snapped out like a living ribbon. It wrapped around an attacker's torso, yanking him off his feet, and she used him like a flail, smashing him into two others with an almost casual brutality.
"Oh, you guys picked the wrong day," She said cheerfully as her veil twisted, sharpened and then became a drill, spiraling forward with a shriek of tearing air. It punched through a defensive barrier spell, shredding it like paper.
And then Uzume's magic flared as flames crawled along the veil. A burning spiral carved through the guards' line, forcing them back with panicked shouts.
Yuuka never stopped moving. She danced between shots as her twin revolvers flashed with the muzzle firing shots of various magics again and again.
BANG! BANG!
Two guards dropped to the ground.
BANG!
Another's weapon was knocked from his hands.
She rolled behind a crate, popped up, fired again, and grinned as she was enjoying herself far too much.
Lucy's hands were already on a golden key, voice firm despite the fear in her eyes. "Taurus!"
Light flared, and Taurus appeared with a roar—axe raised high. "Lucy! I SHALL SMITE THEM WITH MANLY POWER!"
Lucy pointed, cheeks flushed. "Just—hit the bad guys!"
Taurus charged, swinging his axe in wide arcs that sent guards flying or scrambling for cover. The dock became a blur of magic and chaos—ice, water, gravity, fire, bullets, steel.
Tamamo stood near the center like the eye of a storm. A mirror shimmered into existence before turning into a gleaming barrier that caught incoming shots and spell blasts with bright flashes of reflected light. Each impact rang like a bell.
"Trying to harm my darling's people…" she murmured, eyes narrowing. "How rude."
She snapped her fingers causing Foxfire to be lanced outward in sharp precise strikes that hit distant mages mid-cast, disrupting their spells and sending them sprawling. She then flicked her wrist and a talisman spiraled out, detonating in a burst that knocked a cluster of guards off their feet.
Above it all, Ruby flew. In a small, fast, red blur as her wings beating hard as she circled and dove, chanting enchantments with surprising clarity for someone so tiny.
"Enchant—Strength!" A shimmer fell over Yashima's arms—her next hammer strike hit harder.
"Enchant—Speed!" Yuuka moved even faster, dodging a blade by a hair and firing point-blank.
"Enchant—Agility!" Akitsu's breathing steadied, and her movements became sharper.
Ruby panted as she flitted from ally to ally, refusing to stop. "I'm… not… letting… you guys… lose!"
And then the two sick boys finally became relevant again. Because the moment the boat stopped moving, both Issei and Natsu went still. Then both exhaled in the same breath, like men returning from the edge of death.
"Oh thank God…" Issei whispered, eyes watering.
Natsu dropped to his knees and pressed his hands to the dock like he was thanking the earth itself. "Solid ground… sweet, beautiful solid ground…"
They then looked up. Saw the battle. Saw their friends fighting. And the relief turned into something else entirely.
A grin spread across Natsu's face—feral, delighted and Issei's grin matched it.
"Okay," Natsu said, cracking his neck. "Now I can fight."
Issei rolled his shoulders, posture straightening as if the seasickness had been burned out of his system by pure rage and joy. "Same."
The guards turned toward them—too late.
Natsu surged forward, flames exploding from his fists. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
Issei didn't even bother summoning the Boosted Gear. He waded into the fray with bare-handed confidence, striking with controlled power. A punch to the gut. A palm strike to the jaw. A kick that sent one guard skidding across ice.
"Seriously," Issei huffed, almost cheerful, "after that boat ride, you guys are nothing."
In less than a minute, the remaining guards were down, groaning, unconscious, pinned by ice, burnt or face-first in splintered dock planks.
The group gathered instinctively with their eyes scanning for more threats.
Lucy looked toward the tower entrance, fear and determination twisting together in her chest. "Erza… Happy…"
Tamamo's gaze narrowed toward the looming doorway, the talisman's pull tugging her forward. "They're inside," she said quietly.
Issei wiped sweat from his brow, then looked at everyone, checking their faces for injuries. "All of you good?" he asked.
Uzume cracked her neck. "Never better."
Yuuka twirled her revolver and smirked. "That was a warm-up."
Gray flexed his fingers, frost still clinging to them. "Let's go."
Natsu's flames flickered brighter. "No more delays."
Issei nodded once—firm, final. "Then we move."
—---------------------------------------------------------
Steel rang against stone as magic crackled in the stale air.
Erza Scarlet moved through the corridors of the tower like a storm. The moment she'd broken free, the various guards had tried to reclaim her as they poured from stairwells with spell-circles flaring and blades drawn.
A spear of light flashed at her from a distance.
Erza's eyes narrowed. "Requip." And a shield snapped into place, the spell splashing harmlessly across the enchanted steel. She stepped through the fading glow, her boots pounding against the stone floor as she tried to reach her attackers in an instant.
A guard lunged.
But Erza's sword was already there, one clean strike to the hilt, disarming him; a second blow from the edge of the blade that sent him crashing into the wall. Her armor, Heart Kreuz, gleamed in the dim light as she sprinted up stair after stair with corridors narrowing and the air growing heavier with every level. Every time the guards tried to surround her, she switched weapons without slowing.
A halberd for reach. Twin blades for pressure. A heavy sword for overwhelming force.
Her Requip magic was a flicker as armor and steel bloomed and vanished in seamless sequence, as natural as breath.
"Stop her!"
"Don't let her reach the summit!"
Erza didn't stop, she simply moved And wherever she passed, guards were left behind, groaning, unconscious, and scattered like debris in her wake.
—--------------------------------------
Highest Floor, Tower of Heaven
Far above the chaos, where the tower's stone became pristine, the atmosphere was… almost serene.
A grand chamber opened wide beneath a high, arched ceiling and with pillars lined to the walls. At the center sat a throne and upon it lounged a blue haired man, Jellal, relaxed as if this were his private theater. His posture was casual, chin resting on one hand, eyes gleaming with a quiet cruelty.
Before him stood Vidaldus, imposing and theatrical in his own way, an attendant with a performer's flair, expression twisting between irritation and concern.
"Master Jellal," Vidaldus reported, voice strained. "We have intruders. A large group that have breached the docks and are pushing into the tower."
But Jellal's smile didn't waver, if anything, it deepened. "…Good."
Vidaldus blinked. "Good? You want me to send more guards to intercept them, yes? I can—"
"No," Jellal said smoothly, almost lazily. "Let them in."
Vidaldus stiffened. "Why would we allow them entrance?"
Jellal's eyes drifted toward the distant stairwell as if he could already imagine the scene unfolding, faces twisted with anger, determination and fear causing his lips to curl. "Because it's more fun."
Vidaldus hesitated. "Fun…?"
Jellal chuckled softly, as though Vidaldus had asked something naive. "Those intruders must be Erza's comrades from Fairy Tail." His tone carried casual certainty, like he'd already predicted their arrival before they even stepped on the boat. He leaned forward slightly, voice lowering into something intimate and poisonous. "This is a game now."
Vidaldus frowned. "A game…"
"Yes," Jellal purred. "Erza has escaped her cell and her 'friends' have come rushing in to save her." He spread his fingers as if presenting the concept like art. "So tell me—will they stop me… or will I win?"
Vidaldus swallowed. "But if they reach you—"
Jellal's smile sharpened, eyes gleaming with something predatory. "Just imagine it," he whispered, almost delighted. "Erza watching. Fighting. Believing she can fix everything." His gaze went distant, savoring the thought. "And then… the moment she realizes she can't—when she sees her precious comrades fall—" His voice softened into a velvet cruelty. "That despair…" he breathed. "It will be delicious."
Vidaldus shifted uneasily. "Master… the reports say it's not just the usual group from Fairy Tail. It involves that new group that has caused some commotion."
For the first time, Jellal's smile paused. Not fading—just… assessing. Then he leaned back again, unbothered, almost amused. "Then that makes it even better," he said lightly.
Vidaldus frowned. "You're certain?"
Jellal lifted his arm slowly. And there, wrapped around his wrist like a piece of shadow made solid, was a familiar object—a black bracelet, sleek and ominous, its surface marked with faint, pulsing sigils.
Vidaldus's eyes widened. "That is…?"
Jellal's smile returned in full. "Thanks to my friends from Titan Fall," he said, voice almost cheerful, "I was able to purchase a very good item."
The bracelet pulsed once—faintly—as if acknowledging his words.
"A tool," Jellal continued, "that grants total control of monsters… regardless of rank."
Vidaldus stared, understanding finally dawning, and something like excitement crept into his expression.
Jellal's gaze turned toward the tower below, where the sounds of fighting were slowly climbing upward. "Let them come," he said softly. His smile widened, dark and satisfied. "I want them to see the board before I flip it and win."