"Just like Natsu, a Dragon Slayer?"
Erza was somewhat surprised. Jura had also been taken aback earlier. He hadn't arrived with Wendy, but they had met in the hotel lobby before encountering Nate and Erza. During their brief chat, he learned that this small girl was also a Dragon Slayer.
"Big brother, do you know Wendy?" Wendy asked curiously, looking up at Nate.
She was small, standing about 1.5 meters tall, her gaze filled with wonder as she looked up at him.
"I've seen the replies from 'Voldemort,'" Nate replied, referring to a post he'd seen on the Magic Net. "Fire Dragon Igneel, Iron Dragon Metalicana, and Sky Dragon Grandeeney. I can sense similar magic from you, like Natsu and Gajeel."
Nate casually provided this explanation, but he understood the real reason Wendy was here. From her reaction, it was clear she hadn't seen the 'Voldemort' post herself. Her presence here was likely due to the name "Jellal."
"That's right! Wendy knows Lost Magic, Sky Dragon Slayer Magic. She's a Dragon Slayer!" Carla, the white cat, confirmed Wendy's identity with a tone full of pride. "So, don't underestimate us."
Wendy looked down, a bit shy, nervously fidgeting with her feet. "Actually, I... I don't have much combat ability."
She didn't know how to use flashy attacks like Natsu. In fact, she had never used them before.
"But I know some healing magic. I should be able to support everyone," she added cautiously, with a hint of guilt.
'Such an adorable little girl,' Nate thought. If Wendy had come hoping to reunite with her savior Jellal, she was bound to be disappointed. The "Jellal" she hoped to see was actually Mystogan from Fairy Tail.
"We can chat more on the way. First, we need to head to the Tower of Heaven," Nate said, pulling out four cards and releasing Simon and the others from their sealed state.
Erza immediately explained the current situation to the group. The misunderstanding was cleared up, but a gloomy atmosphere remained as they discussed Jellal's misdeeds.
"We sailed here, so we'll take the ship back!" Simon suggested. "The ship is docked nearby. Follow me."
Under his lead, everyone left the resort and boarded the ship heading toward the Tower of Heaven.
…
The seas near the island of Caelum.
It took just over two hours to reach their destination from the Akane Resort. From the deck of the ship, they could see a small island ahead.
A towering structure loomed over the island, stretching up into the clouds. A spiral staircase on the outside of the tower led all the way to the top.
"The R-System…" Jura muttered, his expression grim. "I'd heard about this forbidden magic before arriving."
The Council had contacted various guild leaders beforehand, who had then chosen appropriate mages for the mission. Given that their target's Thought Projection alone was strong enough to be a member of the Ten Wizard Saints, ordinary mages wouldn't suffice. Jura, being one of the Saints himself, was the natural choice.
"Nate, with the two of us working together, we should be able to stop Jellal. Alone, neither of us could defeat him. Do you have any strategy in mind?" Jura asked, turning to Nate.
'A strategy?' Nate had been messaging Ultear to gather information, but he had no elaborate plans. If not for Erza asking for his help, he wouldn't have bothered with Jellal at all. After all, Zeref was still alive and well, so Jellal's dream of reviving him was bound to fail.
"The plan is… to fight our way to the top of the tower and capture Jellal as quickly as possible," Nate said with a shrug.
Jura laughed awkwardly. 'That's hardly a plan at all!' Still, he decided they'd just have to deal with things as they came. There was no telling what other enemies they might encounter besides Jellal.
Suddenly, Erza, standing at the bow of the ship, called out, "I see someone—there are people waiting for us on the island!"
Everyone turned to look and saw a large group of mages gathered on the shore, seemingly preparing for battle.
"An army of mages?" Jura frowned.
Simon quickly interjected, "It's not us!"
No one had really suspected them, but it was good to clear that up.
"Prepare for battle," Erza ordered, moving Wendy behind her. "Wendy, stay back when the fighting starts."
Wendy nodded quickly. "I'll use my support magic to help everyone."
Nate closed his Magic Net chat and joined Erza at the bow, gazing at the island.
"I'll handle it. You guys should save your magic for later."
With that, he clenched his right hand into a fist and punched the air to his right.
Boom!
In an instant, a massive tsunami rose from the sea, a hundred meters tall, crashing toward the small island.
Seeing the incoming wave, the mages gathered on the shore panicked and tried to flee, but there was nowhere to run. The tsunami engulfed the island, wiping out the lesser enemies in one blow.
Jura watched in shock. Even though he was a Saint, his destructive power couldn't compare to Nate's.
Carla, the white cat, stared in disbelief, her mouth hanging open.
"W-What incredible magic!" She turned to look at Nate, who simply smiled back.
…
At the top of the Tower of Heaven.
Jellal sat with his legs crossed, lounging on a high-backed chair. His left fist supported his chin while his right hand held a chess piece. He felt the faint tremors from the tsunami hitting the island and couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't be too reckless, Nate. If you destroy my Tower of Heaven, that'll be troublesome for me," he said, dropping the chess piece onto the board.
Sitting across from him was Siegrain, identical in appearance to Jellal. As a high-level Thought Projection, he had his own autonomy and was even capable of playing chess with Jellal.
"So, Erza filed a report against me? She exposed my Thought Projection? That must be Nate's doing," Siegrain mused.
"It doesn't matter. Just a small inconvenience," Jellal replied calmly. "To revive Zeref, we need a mage at the level of a Saint. At first, I chose Erza because she was close, but now we have an even better candidate."
"Jura Neekis," Siegrain said, picking up a chess piece and smiling.
"In addition, we need 2.7 billion units of conceptual magic power to activate the R-System."
"Ultear will take care of that," Jellal said as he captured a piece on the board. "Soon, Zeref will be reborn."
…
As Nate and the others landed on the island, the scene was being broadcast via satellite magic back to the Council headquarters.
Chairman Crawford Seam and the other eight Council members stood around a giant crystal ball, watching the events unfold.
"If Jura and the others fail…"
The second-ranking councilor, an old man with a scorpion decoration on his head and one eye closed, suggested, "Perhaps we should use 'Etherion' to completely erase this eighth tower from the map."
Ultear raised her hand, smiling softly. "I object!"