Chapter 25: The Tower of Heaven Falls!
Dante flew at a high speed in the sky, aiming towards the top of the Tower of Heaven. He knew that time was running out, in just ten minutes the Etherion would fire and destroy the tower along with everyone inside. In just a few more moments, Dante arrived at his destination. Charging power in his fist, Dante flew straight at a wall at the top floor and smashed his way through. Once the smoke cleared Dante was able to see clearly into the room. He saw a figure standing against Erza, he assumed that person was Jellal.
"Dante! You're here?! I told you to flee with the others" yelled Erza, distraught that Dante was still in the tower when it was minutes away from being destroyed.
"You really have to ask? Like hell I'm going to leave you behind" responded Dante flashing Erza a confident smile.
"You don't understand! Jellal is too powerful and the Etherion is going to fire any minute" yelled Erza wanting Dante to just go so he would be safe. Jellal was her responsibility, no one else should be hurt trying to solve her mess.
"Erza I already told you I'm not leaving you behind. If the Etherion is going to fire in a couple of minutes, then we better take down this prick quick" responded Dante with a confident smile. Erza seemed like she wanted to argue further but she knew time was running out. With a sigh Erza nodded her head in agreement as they both faced Jellal.
"Hahaha you really think you two can defeat me before the Etherion fires? What a joke" stated Jellal as he took a combat stance.
"I'm going to enjoy wiping that smirk off your face" responded Dante as he took flight and flew straight at Jellal at high speeds. Erza was right behind him as Dante charged his fist for his first attack.
"Heavens Fist" yelled Dante as he aimed a punch at Jellal which was easily dodged. Jellal used his magic to leap into the air, and then fired a dark beam of energy at Dante and Erza. Dante knew Jellal had the high ground advantage for now, so he summoned his magic to protect Erza and himself.
"Heavens Shield" yelled Dante as he placed his hands in above his head. A circular shield of holy energy formed in front of his hands, protecting both Erza and him form the arial attack. The dark beam of energy struck into the shield, but the shield held. Dante grunted as he felt the drain to his magical power as his shield blocked the attack.
"Impressive, let's see if you can keep it up" mocked Jellal as he used his magic to fly underneath the shield. Dante wasn't able to react in time since he was still focused on keeping the shield up. Just as he was about to be stuck by a strong punch infused with dark energy, Erza slashed at Jellal forcing him to dodge and cancel his attack. Jellal then landed some distance away from Dante and Erza with a look of frustration. Clearly defeating the two of them at the same time was going to be harder than he originally thought.
"Wow thanks for the backup there. He would have nailed me if you didn't jump in" stated Dante to Erza. She smiled back at him as she responded.
"Don't mention it, I was just repaying the favor from earlier with the shield you used" responded Erza.
"Your teamwork is impressive, but it doesn't matter, the Etherion will soon fire and destroy everything" responded Jellal with a sinister smile. Both Dante and Erza were confused at what Jellal was planning. The Etherion was going to fire soon and that meant Jellal would be killed also, so why did he not seem bothered by that possibility?
"Come on Erza we need to finish this guy quickly. I'll leave the charge to you this time and I'll back you up and try to pin Jellal down so you can nail him" stated Dante in a low enough tone that only Erza heard him. Erza nodded her head in agreement before she responded.
"Sounds good" stated Erza before she leaped into action. Erza charged at Jellal with her sword at the ready. Jellal simply laughed as he leaped into the air to dodge Erza's attack. As Jellal leapt into the air Dante smiled, he had moved exactly how he thought he would. Dante pointed his fist straight at Jellal as he charged up his magical power.
"Heavens ray" yelled Dante as he shot a beam of holy energy at Jellal. Jellal grunted in surprise as he was forced to narrowly dodge Dante's attack. As Jellal dodged Dante's attack he was back in range for Erza to strike.
"Your wide open" yelled Erza as she swung her sword at Jellal. Jellal again dodged but Erza was much closer this time. As Jellal dodge Erza's attack, he found that another attack from Dante was fired at him. With dread Jellal realized that the two of them were trapping him in a never-ending cycle of attacks until he was hit. This pattern continued for some time until finally as Jellal dodged another attack from Dante, Erza leaped at him.
"This is the end" yelled Erza as she swung her sword at a surprised Jellal, this time the attack connected. Jellal screamed in pain as Erza landed a direct hit, sending him flying backwards. Jellal went crashing into the ground, clutching his arm that had taken the brunt of the attack. Luckily for Jellal he was able to use his magical power to prevent Erza's sword from tearing his flesh, but he had still taken a good amount of damage from the attack.
"Hah, I admit your better than I originally thought but It's all over now" yelled Jellal laughing manically as both Dante and Erza looked up into the sky. With dread filling them both, Dante and Erza realized that they were too late. The sky was filled with unbelievable magical energy as the power from the Etherion blast fired down. Dante reacted quickly hoping that it would be enough to save Erza. He quickly raised the heavens shield above him and Erza before the blast connected.
"What are you doing?! You can't hope to block something that powerful with your heavens shield! It will drain all your magical power at once, you'll die" yelled Erza in a panic. Dante smirked at Erza as he responded.
"As long as I can block enough of the energy so you live Erza, I would gladly give my life for that" yelled Dante in response as the Etherion connected. Dante and Erza closed their eyes as the blinding energy enveloped the area. Dante prepared himself to feel the immediate and fatal drain on his magical power, but it never came. After a few moments Dante opened his eyes, wondering why he was still alive and didn't feel drained at all.
"What the hell? Why I'm I still alive, didn't the attack land" asked Dante out loud as he opened his eyes. As both he and Erza opened their eyes, they quickly received their answer. Shockingly the Tower of Heaven was a giant lacrima that absorbed the power of the Etherion blast. Jellal was laughing manically, clearly this was all part of his plan.
"So, this is how you planned to gather enough magical power to start the R system" yelled Erza.
"Hahaha yes and it was so easy to infiltrate the magical council to do this" responded Jellal to the shock of both Dante and Erza. He then went on to explain that his twin brother on the magical council was really Jellal this entire time. Thinking about it, Dante felt really dumb that he or anyone ever believed the evil twin story.
"Damn it, Erza we have to defeat Jellal now" stated Dante knowing that if they failed then the most powerful dark wizard to live would be resurrected.
"Dante, please. This is my mess; I don't want you getting hurt because of me" pleaded Erza. It was clear she was still shaken up with the fact that Dante had just tried to sacrifice himself for something she considered her fault.
"Are you really still on about that Erza?! I told you there is no way in hell I'm leaving you behind" yelled Dante in response.
"You don't get it; my friends shouldn't suffer because of me! Please just go" yelled Erza with tears in her eyes. Dante yelled even louder in response.
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DOESN'T GET IT! IN FIARY TAIL WE NEVER LEAVE A FELLOW GUILDMATE BEHIND" yelled Dante hoping that this got through to Erza. Erza seemed taken aback at these words as the tears were falling from her face. After a moment she turned her head down in shame and smiled.
"What a fool I've been. I forgot that no one in Fairy Tail would be capable to leaving anyone behind. Please forgive me" stated Erza as she looked at Dante with a smile. Dante smiled back before he responded.
"It's about time you realized that, now come on let's end this guy" responded Dante as Erza nodded her head in agreement. Once again both of them charged forward towards Jellal.
"It's useless! There is no way you can stop me now" yelled Jellal as he also leapt into action. The three of them exchanged blows with one another. Despite his bravado, Jellal found that for every couple blows he landed on Dante or Erza, they were able to land a blow of their own. Soon Jellal was breathing heavily, having taken enough damage to piss him off.
"Enough of this! This ends now" yelled Jellal as he readied a large amount of his magical power for one final strike. Both Dante and Erza were breathing heavily, each having taken significant damage.
"GRAND CHAIRIOT" yelled Jellal as he fired a powerful magical attack that rained down at Dante and Erza. Both Dante and Erza could not react in time and were blasted away. As the smoke cleared from the attack, Jellal laughed as he saw both Dante and Erza on the ground.
"Hahaha, what was that about taking me down?! It seems like you fell short" mocked Jellal as he continued to laugh.
Dante's entire body was throbbing in pain, and he was sure Erza was in a similar state. His magical power was almost used up, he could barely hold on to his agnel form. Despite his body screaming at him to quit, Dante knew that it was not an option. With great effort Dante started to rise to his feet and smiled as he saw Erza doing to same thing. Jellal stopped his laughing as he saw the two of them rise shakily to their feet, he could not believe that they could still stand.
"How is that possible?! You two should be dead" yelled Jellal mad that Dante and Erza dared to stand up after his strongest attack. Both Dante and Erza now on their feet looked at Jellal with determination as they breathed heavily.
"You'll never be able to beat us Jellal" stated Erza between deep breaths.
"You can barely stand! What in the hell makes you think that" asked Jellal anger seeping through his voice.
"It's because you're fighting alone, while Erza and I fight together along with everyone else in Fairy Tail" responded Dante. Jellal became angrier at this response, as if the absurd suggestion hat the power of friendship could defeat him.
"SHUT UP, I'll KILL YOU BOTH WHERE YOU STAND" yelled Jellal before he leapt into the air to fire a magical blast at Dante and Erza. Knowing that he and Erza were too injured to avoid the hit, Dante turned to Erza.
"Erza quick! Use your heavens wheel attack and take my hand! I have a plan" yelled Dante. Erza looked at Dante and quickly understood his plan. She transformed and prepared the rest of her magical power for her heavens wheel attack. As her swords appeared in the sky around her and pointed at Jellal, Erza took Dante's hand in her own.
"Let's do it Erza! I'm leaving all of my magical power to you so make it count" stated Dante as he channeled his magical power into Erza's hand. Erza felt a surge of holy energy as Dante's magical power fused with her own. Their magical power fused as they used their strong connection to meld the bound between their powers.
"Wait that attack, it can't be" yelled Jellal in shock as he realized what was happening as Erza's swords were cloaked in holy energy.
"UNSION RAID! HOLY HEAVENS WHEEL" yelled both Dante and Erza as they performed put all their magical power into their final attack. In a flash Erza's swords radiating with Dante's holy energy flew towards Jellal. The combined attack easily ripped through Jellal's own attack and flew at such a speed that Jellal was unable to dodge. With a scream of pain Jellal took the brunt of the attack.
"NO! HOW COUD THIS BE POSSIABLE" yelled Jellal as his body was ripped apart. He was blasted far away and fell into the ocean, dead. Both Dante and Erza having exhausted all of their magical power fell to the ground.
"We did it master" stated Erza finally able to relax now that the Tower of Heaven was finally behind her. Erza collapsed into unconsciousness after she said these words. Dante wasn't far behind Erza, only able to voice his own response before he too was knocked out.
"Hell, yah we did" responded Dante as he collapsed to the ground with a smile on his face. Erza was safe and Jellal was defeated, mission accomplished. He knew that Natsu and the others would find them and take them home.
End of Chapter 25