Before long, everyone split up and began acting independently.
Millianna led Kaien Blaze to the floors he was assigned to clear.
As soon as they arrived, there was no need to search for enemies—they came to him.
"So many enemies!"
Even Millianna was shocked by how many there were. Her magic wasn't really suited for large-scale combat—it was more of a utility type. If she managed to trap someone, they couldn't use magic, which was useful for ambushes or one-on-ones.
But against this many people, her magic wouldn't make much of a difference.
"Full Take Over: Ace!"
Kaien transformed into Ace, a purple-ranked card—less costly than gold cards, but still incredibly powerful. The Logia ability of the Flame-Flame Fruit was perfect for wiping out small fry like these.
"Take him down!!"
"Lord Jellal said anyone who kills him gets 100 million J as a reward!"
"Kill him!!" …
A wave of guards charged forward. These were members of Jellal's secret forces, many of them from dark guilds he'd groomed over the years. To ensure Kaien's defeat, Jellal had thrown in everything he had, even offering outrageous bounties.
"Fire Fist!!"
Kaien's arm turned into a blazing inferno, sweeping across the battlefield.
"Uwaaahhh!!"
"Aaaaghhh!!" …
Screams filled the air as enemies were blasted backward, collapsing all around.
Within seconds, the entire floor was cleared.
"A-Amazing…!"
Even though Millianna had already seen Kaien's overwhelming power before, watching him incinerate dozens of enemies so effortlessly still left her stunned.
Kaien reached out and grabbed hold of an iron cage. Intense heat flowed from his palm, melting the bars instantly.
"…Millianna?!"
"What's going on?!"
"Why did Jellal lock us up?!" …
The prisoners inside panicked when they recognized her, bombarding her with questions.
Millianna stepped forward and explained with a grim face,
"Everyone, we were all tricked by Jellal. Eight years ago, it was Jellal who betrayed us—not Erza. Now that the Tower of Heaven is complete, Jellal wants to erase all the evidence. That means killing all of you."
"What?!"
"That can't be…!"
They were all stunned, but with the situation staring them in the face, there was no room for denial.
"That bastard! Everything we did all these years—for what?!"
"Please, everyone—get out of here. This place is dangerous!"
Knowing they couldn't contribute to the battle and would only become liabilities, they quickly thanked Kaien and Millianna and fled the tower.
Similar situations unfolded on other floors. Compared to unfamiliar mages like Kaien, the hostages placed their faith in familiar faces like Simon.
Before long, Kaien moved on to the next floor under his jurisdiction.
Another Fire Fist wiped out most of the guards. The remaining few were quickly cleaned up.
He continued clearing his assigned half of the tower with brutal efficiency. But Kaien began to notice something: the further he climbed, the stronger the guards became. Clearing each floor now took a bit more effort.
"Hey," Kaien suddenly said aloud, his voice sharp. "How long do you plan to keep watching?"
"You've followed me across several floors already. Still not going to make a move?"
"Huh?"
Millianna blinked, confused.
Then, from the shadows, a bizarre figure stepped out: an owl-headed creature with a human body.
"Oho! So this is the infamous Kaien Blaze! Your evil reputation has reached even our guild! But fear not—today, the noble warrior of justice, Fukuro, will vanquish evil once and for all!!"
"Prepare yourself!"
Sho crouched low, and the magic launcher strapped to his back began to roar.
"Jet Mode—Ohohohooo!!"
He rocketed toward Kaien with stunning speed.
Kaien raised his hand, murmuring,
"Mirror Fire Wall."
FWOOSH—!
A massive wall of fire burst forth from his palm.
Fukuro immediately jerked his trajectory, angling upward and avoiding impact with the flame wall. He dove from above, aiming a powerful kick at Kaien.
Kaien twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the strike—then spun midair and kicked Fukuro square in the face.
"Oof!"
Sho was sent flying but managed to recover quickly and land on his feet.
"Not bad!"
Ace's stats weren't top-tier, but they were respectable. And yet, Fukuro took that kick like it was nothing.
"Oho! Kaien Blaze, I know your weakness! Your transformations are powerful—you even defeated Jose, one of the Ten Wizard Saints! But the stronger your form, the more magic you consume! That's your fatal flaw!"
"Every moment you stay transformed, you burn magic. And after all those battles, you must be running low! I'll keep dodging and dragging this out until you're empty—and then I'll strike when you're weakest! Victory will be mine!"
He was practically glowing with confidence.
Kaien raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"Oh? You've done your homework. But… do you really think you'll last that long?"
Sho pounded his chest.
"The warrior of justice will never fall to evil!"
"Full Take Over: Satoru Gojo!"
Kaien's body changed again, now taking on the appearance of Gojo, his latest transformation.
"You seen this form before?"
"Oho, a new one? Just as I expected of a villain! The warrior of justice, Fukuro, will not allow you to do evil under a new identity!!"
"Missiles—ohohoho!!"
The twin rocket launchers on Fukuro's back fired straight toward Kaien.
But Kaien didn't move.
The missiles… stopped.
Mid-air. Right in front of him.
"Huh?!"
Sho panicked and tried to force them forward with all the magic he could muster—but the rockets refused to budge.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue."
Kaien tapped the suspended missiles.
In the blink of an eye, they twisted, warped, and collapsed—morphing into solid iron balls that fell to the ground with a thud.
"What the hell?!"
Fukuro stood frozen in shock.
BOOM!
Before he could react, Kaien was already in front of him.
'Not good—!!' Fukuro's eyes widened, trying to retreat—but too late.
Kaien's fist surged forward, wrapped in potent Cursed Energy.
"Black Flash!"
BAM!!
CRACK—CRACK—!!
Black and red lightning erupted on impact.
"Uwaaaahhhh!!"
The punch drove into Fukuro's gut like a hammer from the gods. His body folded inward like a shrimp as blood sprayed from his mouth.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—!!
Fukuro was sent flying, crashing through multiple walls before finally plummeting out of the Tower of Heaven entirely.
Kaien snorted.
"All that rambling… just to save myself some effort. Now every second-rate clown thinks they can get in my way."