Allen's change didn't go unnoticed. It went far beyond his hair simply returning to its natural color, but most chose not to comment. Of course, while many women who knew Allen focused entirely on his safety and this sudden shift, others directed their attention to the strange visitor.
Beerus, Champa, Whis, and his sister Vados remained silent, trying to understand who had intervened to aid Allen. This entity… one capable of interfering even in the presence of Lucifer Morningstar, the man who unilaterally beat Allen even while he was at full power and receiving Void's help. But this mysterious guy showed up.
This mysterious guy showed up and had almost wiped Void out with nothing more than his presence ...
"Whis… do you think it's dangerous for the boy?"
"I don't know," Whis admitted, his expression unreadable. "But I wouldn't like it if someone were trying to manipulate his destiny…"
…
The Emperor slammed his fist onto his desk, lost in his own thoughts.
"I have an idea of who it might be… but what worries me is what they're planning."
The Chaos Gods, who had witnessed everything, had their own varied reactions—excitement, disgust, amusement, interest, and even hatred.
…
Kratos shook his head and went back to chopping wood. "I hate it when some so-called higher being tries to control the fate of others. It's always the same… looking down on mortals like toys or entertainment."
Atreus, his son, paused from cleaning his clawed bow and looked at him. "But Dad… if it hadn't intervened, Allen would've been consumed by his rage."
Kratos stopped mid-swing and closed his eyes for a moment. "That wouldn't have been good either…"
…
Rias bit her lip, hiding her face against her desk. Akeno sat on the couch, wiping her tears with a handkerchief as her eyes stayed glued to the screen.
"Akeno…"
"Y-Yes?"
"I'm a demon…"
"That's true..."
Rias lifted her face, her body surrounded by a destructive crimson aura. "Is it okay if I hate Lucifer?!"
Akeno stopped crying and her eyes became empty as the abyss while her smile became creepy. "Of course… On the contrary, it's practically a duty. I'll never forgive him… for bullying my cute little brother like that~"
Seeing Akeno's shift calmed Rias slightly. Of course, "that" Lucifer and the Lucifer of their own world were nothing alike. And even if it was humiliating to admit, the difference in their existence was so abysmal that the one in their world didn't even deserve to carry the same name as Lucifer Morningstar. Even so, they couldn't help but feel conflicted… after all, they too were demons. And right now, Lucifer was Allen's greatest nemesis.
"He won't hate us…" Rias murmured, almost depressed.
Akeno smiled faintly. "Do you really think he would?"
Rias looked back at the screen. Allen might very well be the least compatible man for them right now, but not for a single instant had they felt fear, discomfort, or even disgust when looking at him. This Allen—the arrogant one, the broken one, the blood-soaked one, the kind one—every Allen was the same charming man they couldn't wait to welcome into their world.
…
…
…
(Jellal's POV)
I knew it. From the moment I first met this man, I could tell he was strong. But… I underestimated him.
What is this? What is this monster standing before me? Just standing there, he exerts a crushing pressure on me. No! I can't think like that! And yet… there's something about those eyes. I'd rather see his hatred, his resentment, his rage—emotions I can accept because I gave him reasons to feel them. But those eyes… looking at me like I'm some foolish boy who knows nothing… they infuriate me!
"I don't need your pity, Walker!"
"Hm?... It's not pity. It's... disappointment. For all your Genius, you're not even using that power properly…"
"…?!"
Before I could even process his words, his fist smashed into my face, shattering my jaw. At the same time, that wretched sword pierced through my body. That sword disgusts me, but not because of its design, but at the pain of being cut by it. Worse than that… I can feel it. If I let this blade cut me too many times… it will end my life.
Monster!... no.
Even as I called Allen a monster, I could feel my body twisting into something monstrous itself. Stronger… and capable of rebuilding itself in mere seconds.
"Don't get distracted…"
"…!"
My senses were sharpened beyond mortal limits, yet even then I barely reacted in time to dodge that cursed sword—ugh! What?! I looked down and my shoulder was gone, severed cleanly from my body. Impossible! I had dodged it!
But his assault didn't stop. His fist slammed into my gut, the energy inside it rupturing several organs and sending me skidding across the ocean's surface.
No. I can't end here! I still have things to do. This world needs to change. There can't be a world where children are taken as slaves while no one stops it! I will change this world!
I managed to stop the impulse and rebuild my body.
"Walker!"
I fixed my gaze on Allen Walker. I don't care what power he has now. I can feel it—I still haven't hit my limit!
"You'll never understand tha—!"
Allen appeared before me, his hand gripping my face.
Too fast!I grabbed his arm trying to break it, but I couldn't, he is too strong and tough!
"Jellal… this isn't about ideals. It's not good versus evil, hero versus villain. You want to know what pissed me off so much?"
"…" I couldn't answer. His grip wouldn't let me speak.
His eyes were calm, his smile softening into something less cold. "Before you all so rudely interrupted… Erza had confessed to me. Her feelings caught me off guard, but they made me happy. How could I not be? A girl that beautiful actually loves me. But you interrupted us… just to hurt her. This is truly unforgivable... not destroying some evil little toy of yours."
My magic flared violently as I struck him in the face, but a small magical barrier deflected the blow. I hate him. Erza was mine. Even if it was only as a sacrifice, even if it was just to amuse me before Zeref's resurrection… Erza was mine. She was mine, and you stole her from me!
"You're wrong."
Wait—can he read my mind? Impossible! I made sure my mind was sealed in case the Magic Council ever tried to probe it!
Walker ignored my doubts, his gaze piercing into me, his grin turning sharper. "You lost her a long time ago. You only forced her to stay near you. But you know what, Jellal Fernandez? The Erza you knew and the Erza she is now are two different women. And this Erza… loves me."
You're wrong…
"I'm not." Allen hurled me into the sea with such overwhelming force that I only stopped when my body slammed into the ocean floor.
The cold, dark water cleared my head. I couldn't deny it. He was right. I could blame Ultear's manipulation for losing myself all those years, but when I was freed, I had the chance to atone for my sins. I could've apologized to everyone… to Erza. But I didn't. I kept going with the plan. And now… looking at my hands, holding this terrifying power, practically immortal… why don't I feel happy?
No… I can't give up now! It's far too late for regret! I'm the villain! I'm the antagonist! He's the hero. He came to save the princess. In that case, I have no choice but to be the villain until the bitter end…
Walker… destroy my dreams. Shatter my ideals. Tear down my world and take whatever you want… but don't lower your guard. Or this story might end in tragedy for you!
And one more thing… take care of Erza.
(POV end)
....
Allen frowned, tightening his grip on his sword. The sea turned black and crimson, and soon a massive dark pillar erupted like a geyser toward the sky.
"So that's the path you chose, Jellal?"
"Grand Chariot!"
Magic seals materialized around Allen in an instant. In response, he only gave a faintly condescending smile as the Clown Crown shifted into a sleek white semi-automatic revolver adorned with golden engravings.
"Judgment!"
Allen spun the gun around his hand and fired so fast it nearly sounded like a single simultaneous shot, striking every magic circle at once.
"Try again Jellal"
Jellal's magic was destroyed before it was activated.
"Leixing!"
Jellal summoned nine blades of lightning and sent them hurtling toward Allen, each moving with the speed and force of a storm.
Allen's eyes were hidden beneath his hair, but a calm smile spread across his lips. Without wasting a second, he fired at each lightning blade, shattering them effortlessly. Yet the bullets didn't stop; they kept accelerating, faster and faster, creating friction with the air and breaking the sound barrier a dozen times as they tore toward Jellal. He tried to shield himself with a barrier, but the bullets pierced through, slamming into his body.
And then… something strange happened.
"Huh?! Ahhh!" Jellal shouted, feeling pain worse than having his arm ripped off. "Damn it!"
"Oh? Your first time feeling damage to your soul?" Allen's calm eyes finally revealed themselves as his lips curled into a proud smile. "Don't worry. I don't intend to torture you…"
As his words ended, Jellal stopped feeling pain—but humiliation quickly took its place. That infuriating sense that his opponent wasn't taking him seriously boiled inside him. Fueled by that frustration, Jellal drew even more power of Lucifer's particles, knowing full well he was stepping closer to his own death.
"Abyss Break!"
Jellal brought his hands together again, this time weaving multiple magics into one. Originally, this spell was already devastating, using four different elemental magics—fire, earth, water, and wind. But now he had added the power of Lucifer itself into the mix.
He was unleashing a force capable of erasing entire regions… and yet his opponent remained calm, as if generously allowing him to use his best technique.
"Take this, Walker!"
Jellal hurled the spell toward him. The sky itself seemed to move with the overwhelming energy. But what was Allen? His hair, his eyes, even his cloak now carried a pure white hue radiating a soft glow. His aura… it wasn't magic. Not exactly. It was translucent, an iridescent sheen where white dominated all other colors, constantly shifting, emanating a suffocating pressure—even for a vessel carrying Lucifer's will.
Allen raised the revolver, aiming it straight at Jellal. "Arrow of the Final Judgment…"
"Huh?"
Jellal blinked in shock as his magic was pierced through as if it were nothing more than paper. But it wasn't just the spell—his chest now bore a massive hole. And yet… that wasn't what stole his breath away. It was Allen's eyes. Still clear. Still full of power, confidence, and a strange, serene calm.
In that moment, Jellal felt something terrifying: he wasn't Allen's opponent. Allen's battle had already ended. And it hadn't been against him.
Time was running out. Jellal could feel "Zeref's" power slipping from his grasp. At this rate, he would die from his own strength.
"NOT YET!"
"Meteor!"
His body surged with cosmic speed as he lunged, a frontal strike aimed at Allen—blocked instantly. Fueled by desperation, he unleashed a storm of blows, some blocked, others dodged effortlessly.
"Are you reaching your limit?" Allen smiled and fired three shots. The bullets pierced through Jellal's body, tearing into his soul. The pain was unbearable, but he didn't stop.
Allen stepped back, calm and unhurried, avoiding every strike. Occasionally, he'd fire a shot at a spot Jellal couldn't defend, the bullets tearing flesh and soul alike. Any other man would've fallen long ago. But Jellal endured, refusing to lose. The particles sensing his will gave him even more power.
"Come on…" Allen kicked Jellal hard, following up with a crushing punch to his face that split the sea behind him. "Show me a little resistance…"
Allen grabbed Jellal by the neck and hurled him into the sky before launching after him, accelerating faster and faster.
Allen's flight magic was at Expert rank. System-granted magic had unique levels not defined by numbers but by titles: Low, Intermediate, High, Expert, Master… While he could still train and refine it, having acquired such advanced magic from the start had saved him time of effort.
High above the clouds, a massive concentrated Ether light appeared, descending like a colossal beam from space.
"Etherion…" Jellal muttered as the bones in his face knit themselves back together.
Allen exhaled calmly, transforming his massive sword into a long double-edged blade. Gripping it with both hands, he swung once, cutting the Etherion beam clean in half.
"You're in the way…"
"Wha—?!"
Jellal conjured two orbs and hurled them, but Allen swatted them aside and answered with a brutal kick that sent Jellal soaring out of the atmosphere.
Regenerating mid-flight, Jellal launched back into the fight. Now in space, he allowed himself a twisted smile. This was his domain—Heavenly Body Magic at its peak. Without gravity, without atmosphere, without oxygen, the constant radiation would crush any normal body. But Allen… wasn't normal.
Jellal realized it immediately. This man was used to fighting in outer space. The first hit shattered Jellal's smile for the second one he regretted his mistake.
Allen beat him mercilessly before kicking him back down to Earth, slamming him into the ocean. His body was falling apart.
'Is it time…?' Jellal emerged from the water with determined eyes. "True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema!"
Gathering every ounce of power left, Jellal pointed his hands downward, all fingers closed except his index and middle. Slowly, he raised his right hand until it pointed upward. The skies above churned violently, a massive cyclone forming as a colossal meteor emerged from the storm's heart. Once, this spell's meteorite might have been the size of a building. Now, fueled by Lucifer's power, it was large enough to wipe out Fiore's entire coastline.
Jellal laughed at the sheer magnitude—until he met Allen's eyes. Allen didn't rush. Instead, he let the darkened sea breeze surround him. He closed his eyes. When they opened, his power surged. His sword grew to several miles in length as he raised it toward the heavens with a calm smile.
"There are other ways I could deal with you… But right now, I won't let anything ruin our reunion. Crown…"
Allen's eyes hardened as the blade plunged into the sea, then rose, cutting upward toward the sky. In an instant, the monstrous meteor was cleaved and dissolved before everyone's eyes.
"I guess that's it…" Allen landed softly, his mantle flowing around him as Jellal floated over the water, his body had cracks like a broken vase, no longer regenerating.
This was the limit.
Allen stepped forward until he stood before him, his gaze unchanged.
"Was this outcome inevitable?" Jellal asked weakly.
"Maybe not. If you had not taken my Erza I would not have found you so easily."
"…Yeah. I guess that was my mistake. Haha
.." Jellal chuckled bitterly as his body began to crack like shattered porcelain. He looked at the man who had defeated him. There was no mockery, no hatred, no disgust in Allen's eyes. Not out of kindness, but because there was no point in holding a grudge against a dead man.
"Allen Walker… you're strong. That's why… I'm at peace."
"You don't need to say it. It's my will to protect her." Allen smiled faintly.
"I see…" Jellal closed his eyes as his body sank into the water. Lucifer's particles left him, immediately absorbed by the system.
"You were a worthy opponent…" Allen gave him one last respectful glance before turning away and flying back.
[You're not going to confirm his death?]
'Is it necessary?'
[Maybe not… but this world is full of miracles.]
'If he survives, I'll just kick his ass again…' Allen smiled.
[I see~]