"Impossible! This is impossible! You're not human—you're a monster!!"
Jellal looked at Su Yan in horror. He was one of the Holy Ten Wizards; he knew the full power of Etherion. Yet here was Su Yan, breathing heavily but still standing after nullifying it.
Observing Su Yan's clear exhaustion, Jellal realized it was the perfect moment to kill him. Zeref needed the body of a Holy Ten Wizard to resurrect—Jellal had chosen Su Yan this time because his body was the strongest. But now, Jellal could only abandon that plan. If he didn't kill Su Yan now, he'd undoubtedly be slain by him in the future.
"Meteor!!"
Jellal rushed into the sky.
"What's he doing? Is he trying to run away?" Lucy asked, seeing him fly upward. But almost immediately, Jellal hovered in the air, fingers tracing an ominous magic circle.
Erza's expression shifted drastically. "Not good! That's the forbidden circle, Abyss Break! He plans to blow up this entire tower!!"
Abyss Break used four elements—earth, fire, wind, and water—melded into a devastating fusion magic. Even the Tower of Heaven would be obliterated. Because of its massive destructive power, it was classified as forbidden. By law, it was never to be used in heavily populated areas.
Wearing a murderous grin, Jellal said, "It doesn't matter. This tower's useless now; it'll take another eight years to rebuild—no, I'll make sure it only takes five next time. But this monster will die here!!
"This is my best chance. Otherwise, he'll be my biggest obstacle!"
Su Yan, who had just used the bulk of his Haki to counter Etherion, looked grim. He'd spent too much energy; the feeling resembled how Erza or Lucy felt when their magic power was nearly depleted.
Suddenly, Su Yan heard the system's familiar voice ring in his mind.
[! Automatic sign-in successful!]
[Sign-in location: Tower of Heaven]
[Reward: 100 free attribute points]
Su Yan had nearly forgotten about his stockpiled attribute points. Now, getting 100 more at once—aside from early on—he'd never gained this many in one go.
"The system: add all 100 points to my Conqueror's Haki."
[Ding! Attribute addition successful!]
Su Yan glanced at his stats. His Conqueror's Haki stat rose from 4100 to 4200. At the same time, his special physique progress inched from 48% to 49%. He felt his body grow even stronger.
"I won't let you succeed!" Erza readied to attack, unsure whether she could stop Jellal in time, but unwilling to stand idle.
"Om----!"
Once again, Su Yan's Conqueror's Haki surged from his body, drawing everyone's eyes.
He raised his palm, aiming at the airborne Jellal.
Conqueror's Haki swiftly formed a spear shape. Jellal, taken aback, was reminded of how Su Yan had scattered Etherion. But seeing this spear was much smaller than that previous gargantuan sword, he guessed Su Yan hadn't recovered. Likely, this was just a final struggle.
"Vanish!!!"
"Abyss Break!!!"
A torrent of dark, destructive magic fell from the sky.
"Go!" Su Yan shouted, and the spear formed of Conqueror's Haki shot upward to meet it.
"Boom----!!"
"Crack-crack--!"
The dark turbulence and Su Yan's Haki spear clashed overhead, black-red lightning flickering as the Tower trembled anew. Spotting that his attack couldn't immediately crush Su Yan, Jellal's face tightened. He poured more power into the spell.
Su Yan likewise poured more Haki into the spear, which inched closer to Jellal.
Growing desperate, Jellal's eyes flared with madness.
"I can't lose!! I want to build a free nation!!"
"In my agony and fear, Zeref whispered—he offered me true freedom!!"
"I'm the only one worthy to perceive Zeref! I'm chosen!! I'll create a world of true freedom with Zeref!!"
Su Yan said coldly, "I don't care about your so-called free nation. You made Erza suffer, weighed her down with pain these eight years. Anyone who hurts Erza deserves to die. That's all.
"Besides, who are you even resurrecting? Zeref isn't dead."
"What nonsense are you spouting?!!" Jellal was shaken. If Zeref wasn't dead, then what—
His mind wavered. Seizing the moment, Su Yan unleashed another burst of Conqueror's Haki.
"Lin----!"
The Haki spear punched forward.
"Pfft--!" Jellal's body was pierced right through, and blood spewed from his mouth.
"No, impossible! I can't lose—I'm chosen by Zeref! I'm supposed to bring him back…!"
Still speaking deliriously, Jellal's body plummeted toward the distant sea.
Su Yan exhaled, recalling Jellal's actual circumstances—he'd been tricked by Ultear. Even after his mind was eventually freed, he'd still inflicted pain on Erza.
As for Ultear, Su Yan knew her aims: learning the Arc of Time, unsealing Deliora, helping Jellal build the Tower of Heaven, even sacrificing countless lives. Ultimately, it was all under Hades's orders, but her motive was to resurrect her mother, Ur. A pitiful soul—and yet an object of hatred.
Suddenly:
"Boom--!"
The Tower of Heaven shook violently.
Lucy's face went pale. "No! The tower's starting to collapse!"