The Etherion, was one of the most formidable trump cards held by the Magic Council.
As the leading authority managing the magical world of Ishgar continent, they reserved this weapon for only the most apocalyptic of threats.
Etherion was a strategic weapon of mass destruction that combined the raw magical power of Mages of various attributes, concentrated through high-frequency magic circles.
Enhanced by satellite arrays in orbit, it launched a Destruction Magic from the sky, vaporizing its target instantly.
The Archieve described this power with terrified reverence—according to those old council mbers, the Etherion at full strength possessed enough energy to destroy an entire country.
Of course, destroying the entire Fiore Kingdom was a bit of an exaggeration, but it could certainly annihilate a small nation without magical reserves or turn an island into dust in a single blink of an eye.
Ankh knew this power well.
His current strength was growing increasingly stronger and now destructive magic constantly erged from his hands.
However, Ankh's greatest asset wasn't his attack power; it was his defense.
This benefited from his Living God Physique.
Even though he currently couldn't actively use the full extent of the Divine Power of Life residing within him, it still provided many special passive abilities that defied logic.
He possessed rapid physical regeneration that healed wounds in seconds, quick Magic Power replenishnt that made him a perpetual motion machine in battle, senses sharpened far beyond ordinary people, and enhanced magic comprehension.
But!
This characteristic had once given both Ankh and Seram a massive headaches.
Because for Ankh to control this Divine Power and unlock the next stage of his evolution, he needed a catalyst.
He needed to push himself to death's door.
rely stepping to the edge of the abyss could activate the next level of power, balancing the Life and Death forces within his soul.
But...
Over the years, no matter how Ankh and Seram tried, he just couldn't die!
They tried everything and his body simply refused to perish!
Even though Ankh was far from being a complete god, his base stats were too high.
No one in the guild could bring themselves to kill him, few outsiders had the capability to even scratch him, and straight-up suicide was out of the question for a man who loved life.
That's why Ankh had set his sights on the Etherion.
As the Council's ultimate destructive strategic weapon, surely that could fully draw out the survival instincts of the Divine Power within Ankh's body?
According to Ankh and Seram's calculations, the energy density of the Etherion should be more than sufficient to break his limits.
The Tower of Heaven incident presented the perfect opportunity for Ankh.
Not only would the Etherion likely be deployed by the Council to destroy the forbidden R-System, but the crystalline structure of the tower itself would absorb and contain the energy, preventing collateral damage to the outside world.
It was an ideal, isolated breakthrough site.
Whether he could unlock new Divine Power or be vaporized into nothingness depended entirely on this mont!
Just as Ankh finished dealing with the sudden attackers and was contemplating his suicidal power-up plan, a furious roar echoed from outside the casino hall.
"DAMN IT!"
The heavy double doors were kicked open with a bang.
"You bastard! How dare you shoot with a sneak attack!"
Then Gray's voice followed, sounding exasperated.
"Natsu, calm down! Stop running! Where are you going? They're after Erza..."
"I don't care! That cube guy's scent is here! I'm gonna roast him!"
Amid the chaotic shouting, Natsu stord into the hall where Ankh and the others were.
Smoke was literally rising from his mouth, and he was breathing fire as soon as he entered.
"You damn bastard!" Natsu scread, looking around for the shooter. "Don't you know it hurts when soone shoots bullets into your mouth?! It tastes terrible! You could get seriously injured doing that!"
Behind Natsu, Gray and Juvia broke into a synchronized cold sweat.
They looked at the Fire Dragon Slayer, then at each other, unusually in sync as they muttered.
"No... a normal person would already be dead from eating a bullet..."
"Natsu-san's digestive system is scary..."
After complaining about the wild beast, the three new arrivals finally took a mont to notice the atmosphere in the hall.
The scene was not what they expected.
The expected fierce enemies—Sho, Simon, Millianna, and Wally—were now lying half-dead on the ground, groaning in pain or bound by ropes.
Erza stood nearby, her expression unusual.
It was tinged with deep sorrow and nostalgia, her eyes nearly burst into tears.
And then there's Lucy.
"Huh?" Natsu blinked. "Why is Lucy tied up too? Is she part of the enemy team?"
Lucy looked at him with dead eyes. "It's a long story... Ankh, a little help here?"
Only then did Ankh rember Lucy was still bound by Millianna's magic.
"Ah, right."
He walked over and quickly tore the Binding Tubes apart with his bare hands as if they were made of paper.
He offered a hand and helped her up.
"Thanks," Lucy sighed, rubbing her wrists.
Millianna, seeing her strongest restraint tubes torn apart by hand without any magic, imdiately withdrew into a defensive ball like a frightened kitten.
"ow! Monster!" she squeaked.
Natsu stomped over to the group.
He grabbed the unconscious Wally by the collar and began shaking him violently.
"You! Square-head!" Natsu yelled. "Why did you attack us? And where did you take Happy?! Give back my cat!"
Unlike Natsu's childish shouting, Gray approached Ankh.
He looked at the devastation and the unconscious Simon.
"Ankh," Gray said quietly, his face serious. "These people said they're after Erza. What's going on? Who are they?"
Ankh dusted off his hands. "Sothing from before Erza joined the guild."
He briefly explained the situation without going into the gory details of the slavery. Then, he glanced at the woman standing beside Gray.
He feigned confusion, tilting his head.
"Aren't you Juvia from Phantom Lord?" Ankh asked. "Why are you here?"
Suddenly addressed by the "Reaper," Juvia panicked.
She felt like a girlfriend eting her strict in-laws for the first ti!
"J-ju... Juvia wants to join Fairy Tail!" she stamred, hiding slightly behind Gray. "I-I... an no harm! Juvia is good now! Please don't kill !"
Having witnessed Ankh's terrifying prowess during the Phantom Lord incident, Juvia stuttered nervously.
After all, Ankh's reputation in the magic world among non fairy tail mbers was that of a violent brute who crushed enemies into paste.
Fortunately, unlike Juvia's fears, Ankh didn't show rejection or disgust.
He simply nodded.
"I see. Master has ntioned you. Welco aboard."
He said nothing more.
A bit of acting was enough—it wasn't like Ankh actually didn't know Juvia was trailing Gray, but he had to keep up appearances.
Instead of being relieved, Juvia grew even more uneasy seeing Ankh so composed.
'He's plotting sothing!' she thought.
However, Ankh didn't pay much attention to her internal panic.
He turned away and crouched down to look at Sho.
"Hey, kid," Ankh said with a dark chuckle, poking Sho's bruise. "Wake up."
Sho flinched. "W-what?"
"I know why you're here," Ankh said. "You want Erza to go back to the Tower, right? Fine. Lead the way."
"Huh?" Sho blinked, confused.
"Take to the Tower of Heaven," Ankh commanded.
Sho was taken aback.
Soone actually volunteering to walk into Jellal's fortress?
Although this was exactly their mission objective—to bring Erza and lure Ankh if necessary—Sho still stubbornly muttered under his breath, looking away.
"But... Jellal told us to bring nee-san back... not you..."
Well, after being frightened by Ankh's gravity punch earlier, this troubleso child had been successfully disciplined and didn't dare speak loudly anymore.
Hearing Sho's words, Ankh actually hesitated internally. He turned his gaze to the scarlet-haired woman standing silently nearby.
"Erza," Ankh asked with genuine concern, his voice softening. "Are you okay with this? Going back to that place and... confronting Jellal?"
In Erza's eyes, struggles and pain continuously flickered.
She looked at Simon, at Millianna, at Wally. It was as if she was recalling that dark period from her past—a life worse than death, completely devoid of any sense of security, filled with whips and chains.
The Tower of Heaven was her nightmare.
Erza took a deep breath.
Finally, she responded in a trembling voice, "I'm fine. I have to face him eventually. And at least this ti... you're with ."
Ankh's face seed to lt like winter snow, blooming with a smile as warm as the spring sun.
"Yeah. I'm with you."
"Hey—!"
A loud shout broke the tender mont.
"Where are you both going? Is there a fight? I'll help!"
Natsu, acting like a child who couldn't read the mood, imdiately shouted excitedly when he heard they were going out.
"Aye! Let's go!"
Ankh lightly punched Natsu's head in exasperation.
Bonk.
"Not this ti, fla-brain," Ankh said firmly. "Erza and I can handle it alone. It's personal."
Gray froze for a mont before quickly stepping forward, frowning. "But Ankh... there's strength in numbers! If it's Erza's past, we all should help!"
Their naturally unruly personalities, combined with the special purpose revealed by these attackers, made both Natsu and Gray quite enthusiastic about this matter.
They sensed a big battle coming!
However, this ti not only did Ankh refuse, but even Erza turned around.
She firmly shook her head.
"No," Erza said. "You stay here. This is my fight."
She didn't allow either of them to help. It wasn't that they didn't trust them—it was that this matter shouldn't burden their comrades.
This was the responsibility that Erza had grown accustod to bearing alone.
"Let's go, Sho," Ankh said, lifting the boy up by his collar. "The boat is waiting."
Ankh and Erza led the captives away toward the docks, leaving the others behind.
...
What they didn't notice was that while they were discussing their departure, Gray and Natsu were whispering with their arms around each other's shoulders.
"We're going, right?" Natsu whispered.
"Obviously," Gray replied. "We can't let them have all the fun."
"Happy, track them!"
"Aye, sir!"
They were clearly secretly plotting sothing again.
Nearby, Lucy watched this conspiracy unfold.
She clutched her keys and suddenly had a very bad feeling...
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