The Top Floor of the Tower of Heaven
"This is bad, Lord Jellal! We're under attack! It's Fairy Tail!"
Vidaldus, a man with long, wild hair, rushed into the chamber to report the situation, his voice tight with urgency.
Jellal, however, remained composed, as if he had seen this coming. "Calm down, Vidaldus. I expected this. With the strength of Sho and the others, how could they possibly have snatched Erza away from right under that man's nose?"
Vidaldus's expression shifted instantly. "You mean... Sho and the rest have betrayed us?!"
"Precisely."
"How dare they! To turn their backs on Lord Jellal... they deserve a slow, painful death!"
Jellal offered a thin, cold smile. "It matters little. They have already served their purpose by bringing her here..."
RUMBLE—!!
Suddenly, the world lurched. The entire Tower of Heaven began to tilt at a violent angle. Jellal instinctively gripped the arms of his throne to keep from being thrown across the room.
Vidaldus lunged for a nearby pillar, clinging to it for dear life.
"Wh... What is happening?! Is the tower collapsing?!"
Panicked, Vidaldus looked toward the balcony and froze, his breath catching in his throat. "Th... What on earth is that?!"
Even Jellal was momentarily stunned. He stood up and peered outside, witnessing a sight he would never forget for as long as he lived.
The sea itself was fracturing. Massive faults appeared in the water, and towering surges erupted as the entire island groaned and tilted. It was as if the world was being turned upside down by an invisible hand.
"How is this even possible?!"
On the Shore
Down at the base of the tower, the survivors and guards alike were screaming in terror. There were no words left to describe the sheer scale of the destruction.
"Is it an earthquake?! A tsunami?! What's happening?!"
Dozens of guards who had failed to find a handhold tumbled off the tilting island and into the churning sea like falling stones.
After what felt like an eternity, the tremors subsided. The island leveled out, and the sea began to settle, though the air remained heavy with the scent of salt and ozone.
Sho and his companions stared at Kael, too paralyzed by fear to speak.
Natsu, Gray, and Lucy looked at their comrade as if they were looking at a force of nature. They knew Kael was strong—monstrously so—but this? This was on another level entirely.
An entire island. He had almost flipped an entire island.
No, it wasn't that he almost did it; it was that he had chosen not to. They could feel it—if Kael had wanted to, he could have sent this entire structure and the land beneath it to the bottom of the ocean with a single thought.
Juvia stood silently, her mind racing back to Onibus. She had watched Kael defeat Master Jose of Phantom Lord in this same form. At the time, she thought she had seen the peak of his power. Now, she realized Kael had been holding back even then.
"Just now... what was that?" Simon managed to choke out.
"Nothing special," Kael replied, his voice flat and unimpressed. "Just a simple application of vibration power."
Millianna and the others were shaken to their core. To think they had tried to provoke a man who could command the very tectonic plates of the earth.
Back at the Top Floor
Vidaldus was sprawled on the floor, panting. That tremor had nearly shattered his spirit; he had truly believed the end was here. But it wasn't just the tower—it was the ocean, the land, the very horizon. What kind of man possessed the strength to command the world like that?
"Kael... you bastard..."
Jellal clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. He had to admit it—he was rattled. It wasn't just Kael's raw power; it was the realization that his eight-year project, the fruit of all his labor, could have been erased in an instant.
Kael was sending a message. He was telling Jellal that he could turn this place into dust whenever he felt like it.
Jellal knew that despite how sturdy the Tower of Heaven was, it wouldn't stand a chance against those vibrations. That power was the natural enemy of any structure.
He couldn't let Kael act as he pleased anymore.
"Vidaldus," Jellal said, his voice regaining its steel. "Get ready."
"Oh? You're letting me go?"
"The man has declared war. It's time we responded in kind. Otherwise, he'll start thinking we're nothing but cowards."
"Then I won't hold back! Haaaah—!!"
Magic power erupted from Vidaldus. Light enveloped him, and when it faded, his appearance had shifted. His face was covered in heavy, dark makeup, and his attire had changed into a wild, gothic-rock style.
"The Dark Guild... Death's Head Caucus... Special Attack Squad... Trinity Raven has arrived!!"
Two others stepped in beside him. One was a massive creature with the body of a man and the head of an owl. The other was a stunning, pink-haired woman in a refined kimono, a long katana resting at her hip.
"Hell!! I'm going to show them a tragic, horrifying hell—!!" Vidaldus thrashed his head back and forth, his fingers locked in a 'rock' sign as he raved.
Ikaruga, the captain of Trinity Raven, smiled softly. "What was that commotion just now? It gave this lady quite a shock."
The memory of the sea faulting and the island tilting was still fresh. Anyone would be shaken by a man-made disaster of that scale.
Fukuro, the owl-headed warrior, tilted his head curiously. "Hoot... hoot hoot hoot."
"It was Kael," Jellal explained. "He utilized a Take Over of the old man with the white mustache. He triggered a localized quake through his vibration magic."
Ikaruga's expression shifted, her eyes narrowing with interest. "Kael? You mean the man who defeated Master Jose of the Ten Wizard Saints in Onibus?"
The battle in Onibus had been legendary. Every high-level assassin and mage had studied the records of that fight.
Jellal nodded. "The very same."
"A truly terrifying monster. So, he is our target?"
"What? Are you afraid?" Jellal challenged.
Ikaruga's lips curled into a graceful smirk. "Afraid? Of course I am. Even a Wizard Saint couldn't stand against him. But even so... I feel a certain excitement. After all, he is a living legend."
She traced the hilt of her sword gently. "To be able to cross blades with such a man... even if it leads to my death, it would be the honor of a lifetime."
"To scatter with the wind is the destiny of love and life," she whispered poetically. "Tonight shall be a grand festival indeed."
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There are 50 advanced chapters on Patreon, which I'm currently rewriting and polishing for a better reading experience. Thank you for your support and patience.
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