"If you're an enemy..."
Erza's eyes blazed like torches as she instantly Requipped into Heaven's Wheel Armor.
Her figure turned into a silver stream of light, her twin swords clashing violently with Ikaruga's long blade.
Using the montum to flip backward, she hung in mid-air.
Dozens of sharp swords instantly appeared behind Erza, fanning out like a peacock's tail!
"Heaven's Wheel: Blunblatt!!!"
Shing, shing, shing—!
A waterfall of swords blocked all of Ikaruga's paths of retreat.
However, facing this airtight assault, Ikaruga's expression remained as indifferent as water.
She took an elegant half-step back, her right hand resting on the hilt of her sword, assuming an Iaijutsu stance.
"Moonless Style: Yasha Senku!!!"
Clang—!
A crisp ring of the blade sounded, sharp enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Fast!
A slash so fast that the eyes couldn't even track it!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The rain of swords instantly turned into scrap tal, and even Heaven's Wheel Armor on Erza's body shattered.
"What?!" Erza was shocked.
"It's not over yet."
With a smile playing on her lips, Ikaruga unsheathed her long blade again, flas igniting on the edge.
"Moonless Style: Garuda Fla!!!"
Boom!
Erza was imdiately engulfed by the highly corrosive flas.
The smoke and dust cleared.
"Oh? The Fla Empress Armor, an armor with fire-resistant properties?"
Looking at Erza, who was a bit disheveled but not seriously injured, a hint of surprise flashed in Ikaruga's eyes.
"To be able to Requip in such a short ti, what impressive speed."
"However..."
Bang!
The Fla Empress Armor shattered in response!
The characteristic of the Moonless Style swordsmanship was speed—so fast that Ikaruga could strike her enemies before they even realized it.
It could even directly damage the opponent's nerves without harming the flesh.
Facing such an opponent, Erza was completely suppressed in the subsequent exchanges.
Black Wing Armor—Shattered!
Adamantine Armor—Shattered!
Purgatory Armor—Shattered!
No matter what armor Erza Requipped into, it was as fragile as paper before Ikaruga.
"How truly disappointing, fairy queen."
Ikaruga elegantly sheathed her blade, looking at the battered Erza with a hint of pity in her voice.
"No matter how hard the armor, before my Moonless Style, it is nothing more than a vain decoration."
"With one strike, I can crush it!"
"Vain... decoration?"
Erza's pupils constricted slightly as the surrounding sounds seed to fade away.
Only one thing remained... [Done. With this Great Strength Rune, the power of the Giant's Armor can at least be doubled.]
[It's just, Erza...]
Ron's heterochromatic eyes stared straight at Erza.
[Magic runes are just external things, and armor is just a tool. Before the truly strong, these will all break.]
[Your true armor...]
Ron reached out and lightly tapped Erza's chest.
[Is right here!!!]
[But right now, it's being weighed down by sothing heavy, holding you back!]
At the ti, she didn't understand those words, only nodding half-comprehendingly.
"So... that's how it is?"
Erza looked at her trembling hands and murmured to herself.
'Because of the deaths of my forr comrades, because I failed to protect those important to , and to make myself look strong... I locked my heart away in armor, hiding inside and weeping in secret.'
'It is because of my weakness that the armor in my heart grew heavier, and the armor on my body beca impossible to take off.'
'This armor, which I thought could protect , built a thick wall between my heart and others...'
Erza slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Hum—!
A ripple of magic power, pure to the extre, emanated from within her.
All the armor on her body vanished.
In its place was an outfit so simple it was almost crude—
Her upper body was wrapped only in white bandages, and her lower body wore loose red hakama pants.
No shield, no armor.
Only the long blade in her hand, emitting a chilling, demonic aura.
"Oh, what is the aning of this?"
Seeing this, a hint of surprise appeared in Ikaruga's eyes.
"I can't feel a shred of magic power from that outfit of yours; it's just a few pieces of cloth."
"However..."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, a sharp killing intent hidden within, as her right hand slowly moved to the hilt of her sword.
"Even if my opponent is naked, I will strike them down without rcy!"
Erza gripped her sword with both hands, the tip pointing diagonally toward the ground.
Natsu's smiling face, Gray's concern, Lucy's quips, Ron's encouragent... the rowdy laughter of everyone in the guild, everything flashed through her mind.
"I... no longer have any doubts!"
"Because of Fairy Tail, because of my comrades, I have the strongest armor!"
"Now..."
Erza's voice was powerful and resonant, echoing through the hallway.
"I will turn my everything into power to crush any enemy who stands before !!!"
"Arrogant words! Die!!!"
Both moved at the sa ti.
This ti, there was no testing of the waters.
The two figures crossed in an instant, so fast that ti seed to slow down.
The long blade in Ikaruga's hand cut through the air, bringing with it a mournful cherry-blossom-colored slash.
The demon blade benihi in Erza's hand, carrying her unwavering conviction, turned into crimson lightning.
Clang—!!!
The crisp sound of clashing blades rang out just once.
Then, all was silent.
The cherry blossom petals dancing in the air seed frozen in ti.
One second.
Two seconds.
"The battle is decided!"
Pfft—
A bright red line of blood suddenly appeared on Ikaruga's chest, from her right shoulder to her left abdon, tearing through her breast-high kimono and leaving a cruel wound on her snow-white skin.
The long blade in her hand also developed cracks and crumbled into pieces.
"How... how can this be..."
Ikaruga's body swayed, her eyes filled with deep resentnt and a hint of relief.
She looked at the hilt, all that remained in her hand.
"A... beautiful strike..."
...While Erza and Ikaruga were fighting, Ron had strolled his way to the top of the tower.
"The other places are all taken care of; this is the only one left."
Behind the door was a spacious hall, in the center of which stood a glowing, giant magic crystal.
Jellal, sitting on high, was slightly taken aback when he saw Ron walk in.
"I really didn't expect that the first person to arrive here would be you, Heterochromatic Ron!"
He looked confused.
"I'm curious, what have you been doing during the ti you disappeared after leaving the restaurant?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
Ron shrugged, clearly having no intention of enlightening Jellal.
"But I also didn't expect you to still be sitting there so calmly."
He looked around as if he were at ho.
"Your subordinates are betraying you or being taken out one by one, yet you haven't thought about running and even dare to stay here."
"Is this what they call... villainous confidence?"
Facing Ron's words, Jellal remained silent.
"The Council should have already voted to pass it and is preparing to fire the Anima."
Ron reached out to stroke the magic crystal beside him, a hint of greed and ambition showing in his eyes.
"I'm really looking forward to it."
"Hmm?"
Jellal's brow twitched violently; the more he heard, the more sothing felt off.
What was with that look, as if he were looking at his own private property?!
'This guy...'
'Could he be targeting the Tower of Heaven?'
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