Chapter 396: 15 Minutes
Chapter 396: 15 Minutes
"Open, Bull Gate, Talos!"
"Ice Sculpture · Snow Cannon!"
"Water Slash!"
When it came to causing a ruckus, their companions never failed to deliver.
As soon as they landed, each of them unleashed a dazzling array of large-scale spells, instantly raising the security alert to its highest level.
Many guards were rudely awakened from their slumber by the alarms, hastily throwing on their clothes and grabbing their weapons before rushing to the main gate.
Even Varis and Milanna were roused by Gerald, tasked with stopping the troublemakers.
Xiu did not join the fight as he had been knocked unconscious earlier for being too arrogant while guarding Elusa.
Seeing the once innocent child who had followed her around calling her 'sister' now in such a state, Elusa could no longer contain her fury.
She broke free from the ropes binding her and, with a stern face, charged towards the top of the tower.
Today, no matter what, she was determined to settle things with Gerald and free her deceived companions!
With Three Ravens, Varis, and Milanna absent, the enraged Elusa was unstoppable, cutting down every guard in her path with her Celestial Wheel Armor.
"Gerald!"
Elusa, clad in her Flight Armor, effortlessly dispatched the magical soldiers guarding the upper levels.
Just as her momentum reached its peak, mouths began to appear on the surrounding walls.
This was Gerald's magic; he could make mouths grow out of any part of the tower and project his voice from them.
It served the same purpose as a broadcast, but the method was utterly disgusting.
"Welcome to Paradise Tower, members of Fairy Tail!"
"Gerald!" After all these years, Elusa could still recognize a hint of familiarity in his voice.
But Gerald's words startled Elusa. Had their companions come looking for them?
While she didn't want them involved in such danger, knowing their personalities, it was only natural they would do so.
According to Xiu, Three Ravens would handle Rod and Mila, and now it seemed they were safe, which was only to be expected.
The mouths on the walls continued speaking: "I am Gerald, the ruler of this tower, and I hereby invite you to a 'Paradise Game'."
"The rules are simple: climb this tower and defeat me, and you win. Otherwise, I will use Elusa as a sacrificial victim for Jelf's resurrection ritual."
"However, besides us, there is another participant in this game—the Council. In no more than 15 minutes, their satellite magic array will strike this place."
"It is the ultimate magic—Archmage Spirit Energy, capable of destroying everything. Once it falls, everyone present, you and us, will perish. No one will survive."
"But if that happens, the game will be too dull. So, in the remaining time, by all means, try to stop me and let me enjoy the fun!"
The mouths on the walls vanished.
Elusa trembled with rage and quickly donned her Flight Armor, climbing upwards at full speed: "Why would you treat life so lightly, Gerald?!"
Not only Elusa but everyone below could hear his broadcast.
The guards didn't care; as long as Jelf was resurrected, nothing could faze them!
The blue-purple worms were also unaffected, only interested in their feast. But these guards were annoying, preventing them from eating in peace.
—Bite them!
Varis and Milanna were somewhat taken aback, as they had not heard about Archmage Spirit Energy before, and today's Gerald seemed different from the past.
"Why would Gerald do this?"
This made Simon's persuasion easier: "He is no longer the Gerald we knew; he's been deceiving us since eight years ago!"
Lucy was terrified: "Why is the Council involved? Wouldn't it be terrible if Archmage Spirit Energy falls?"
"Gray punched a guard who tried to sneak an attack on Lucy, shouting, "Focus! We just need to finish this within 15 minutes!"
"I can't believe Lucy needs Gray's protection. Unacceptable," Juvia scowled at Lucy, then proudly declared, "But Juvia protected Gray, so this round is Juvia's victory."
"Why are we suddenly talking about winning and losing..." Lucy muttered, then added with concern, "Climbing such a tall tower would take more than fifteen minutes, right?"
"Who cares! Rod will figure it out," Natsu growled, kicking a magic soldier away, his eyes narrowing into triangles. "Get Elsa and Happy back here!"
"Mr. Rod and Miss Mira, they should be fine... Why do people always try to kidnap them?!"
Lucy also became angry, kicking towards her attacker, "Watch me! Lucy's Flying Kick!"
...
"Rod, did you hear that? He mentioned Archmage Spirit Energy," Mira said worriedly. "That's the Council of Judges' control over the timeless destruction magic, capable of wiping out an entire island in one strike."
"That Gerald even knows the exact activation time, proving there's a traitor within the Council," Rod said, recalling his last visit to the Council. "Wendy mentioned being cared for by someone named 'Gerald,' and mistaking Zikrein for Gerald.
Zikrein claimed Gerald was his twin brother, and Elsa knew Gerald, but Elsa also said Wendy knew a different Gerald, not the one here today."
So, if it comes to a fight, just go all out without worrying about Wendy's feelings."
"Also, we've always suspected a traitor in the Council, and now I think it might be Zikrein.
Unfortunately, we left the Cat's Inn in a hurry and forgot to ask about this. Stop!"
Rod's sharp command made Mira halt immediately. She flapped her wings, suspending him in mid-air. "Did you sense something?"
"I smelled Happy's scent, it's coming from there!" Rod pointed, and absorbed the Azure Engraved Golem's power, signaling Mira.
Mira understood, twisting Rod's posture, grabbing his ankles, and spinning him in mid-air like a thrown object, releasing him.
Rod crashed into a wall with a bang, falling into a room.
The room had a cat-claw patterned floor, cat dolls, and cat-themed lamps.
Even the sofa, cabinets, and bed incorporated cat elements, and a corner had a little cat scratching the wall.
"The owner of this room must really love cats..." Rod now understood why Simon said Milanna would never harm Happy.
The scratching cat turned its head stiffly, and upon seeing the familiar figure, its eyes welled up, "Rod! Mira!"
It flapped its wings and flew towards Mira, landing on her. Rod's current appearance was notably rigid.
Due to Rod's presence, Zikrein had called this emergency meeting early, and the Archmage Spirit Energy activation was also earlier than planned.
This chapter introduced the mana unit 'Idea'.
In the original plot, after the Archmage Spirit Energy activation, Paradise Tower collected 2.7 billion Idea of mana power, enough to destroy a small island.
The destructive power was comparable to the ancient weapons in the neighboring One Piece world.
However, this unit only appeared briefly, so we don't know how much mana power S-class Archmages possess or the standard for the Ten Great Archmages.
Fairy Tail fans writing fanfiction might explore this further.
(End of Chapter)
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