Chapter 77: Trinity Raven
"Taboo? Hah! He's just a destructive brute with a flashy ability. Sure, the guy's strong, but his physical defense isn't anything special."
"As long as there's a weakness, there's no need to fear him so much. I have my reasons for doing this. You don't need to question me further!"
"Yes, sir! Then I'll take my leave."
At the bottom entrance of the Tower of Heaven, everyone who had arrived with Dino was left speechless by the sheer destruction he'd caused.
"Ha~! Still making such an exaggerated entrance, I see," Gray said with a sweatdrop.
"Aye~!"
"Is that really just a 'hello'?!" Lucy grabbed Happy's paw and shouted in disbelief, her eyes wide.
Simon, Sho, Millianna, and Wally stood frozen, staring at Dino with expressions of pure terror. Fortunately, being at the bottom of the tower, they hadn't felt the full impact.
"Just now… did the entire island tilt?" Simon muttered, his face pale. "It feels like if he used even a little more force, this whole place would flip over…"
"He's a complete monster!" Wally gasped.
"Oh my God! We actually tried to attack something like that earlier?!" Millianna whimpered.
Dino's voice cut through their panic. "Alright, everyone spread out. I want to see exactly what this bastard is planning."
"Right!"
Dino and Erza proceeded up the main pathway. "Whoosh!" Suddenly, a volley of arrows shot toward them from the darkness. Dino waved his hand casually, and a shockwave rippled outward.
"BOOM!" All the arrows shattered into splinters before they could even get close. "What's the point of such boring tricks?"
Jellal's voice echoed through the corridor, dripping with amusement. "Just testing the waters. You don't lose anything from a little experiment, do you? Sometimes these 'boring tricks' can have miraculous results."
Suddenly, the ground beneath Erza's feet gave way. She fell through with a startled gasp as the floor sealed itself above her.
"Erza!" Dino instantly appeared at the spot where she'd fallen and drove his fist into the ground. The stone floor exploded outward with a thunderous crash.
"Relax, I'm merely separating you two," Jellal's voice continued smoothly. "No matter how arrogant I might be, I'm not foolish enough to think I can defeat two of Fairy Tail's S-Class mages at once."
Dino's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Oh? So you think you can beat me alone? Aren't you afraid I'll just destroy this entire place without hesitation?"
With Erza's strength, Dino wasn't worried about her life being in danger. Besides, the tower was only so large—if a real crisis occurred, he wouldn't hold back.
Jellal replied in a relaxed tone, "Whether I can win or not… well, no one knows until we've actually fought, right?"
"You're welcome to destroy the Tower of Heaven if you wish. But if you do, there's no reason for me to stay here anymore. I'll simply leave and build a new one elsewhere."
"But tell me, Dino Maxim… would you really let a man who's caused Erza pain for all these years just walk away freely?"
Dino's expression darkened, a vein pulsing in his temple. "Congratulations. You just convinced me. I'll kill you first, then I'll destroy this island."
Magic Council ERA Headquarters
Jellal's thought projection body, Siegrain, opened his eyes. "All the actors have arrived. It's time to begin."
Ultear glanced at him skeptically. "Aren't you afraid of being killed by Dino Maxim?" As someone who had witnessed Dino rampage through the Magic Council like a natural disaster, she had absolutely no desire to oppose him.
"Everything is for the great Zeref-sama!" Siegrain's eyes gleamed with fanatical madness. "Zeref personally designated the sacrifice for his resurrection. Only a monster's body—one as powerful as Dino Maxim's—can serve as the catalyst for Zeref-sama's complete rebirth and his true reign over this world."
After speaking, Siegrain left to summon the other Council members for an emergency meeting.
Once he was gone, an old man's deep voice emanated from the crystal ball in Ultear's hand. "You've done well, Ultear. That brat Jellal suspects nothing."
"Thank you for the praise, Master Hades. But are you certain it's wise to provoke that monster?"
"Any potential crisis must be eliminated before it grows beyond control. This is the most suitable opportunity we'll have."
Ultear smiled coldly. "You're truly ruthless, Master. After all, you were once Fairy Tail's Guild Master."
"Fairy Tail is no longer my guild. I have no connection to those brats anymore. Seeing them stray from the true path of magic… I can only hope that the current Fairy Tail will be destroyed!"
Tower of Heaven
"Choke~! Choke~! Choke~!" The sharp, discordant sound of a guitar suddenly echoed through the corridor. A man dressed in flamboyant, non-mainstream clothing swaggered toward Dino, dramatically tossing his ridiculously long hair.
"The Assassination Guild, Skull and Bones Society—one of the Three Feathered Crows, Vidaldus Taka, at your service!" He gave an exaggerated bow. "Ten Wizard Saints, Dino Maxim-sama, I've come under Jellal-sama's orders to take your life~!"
Dino stared blankly. "…Assassination Guild? So you're a Dark Guild member. Good, that means there's no problem with killing you."
"Wait just a—"
Before Vidaldus could finish, Dino clenched his fist. A white sphere of compressed air formed around it as he threw a devastating punch.
"BOOM!!" A massive hole exploded through the wall behind Vidaldus.
"Who's so barbaric that they'd attack without even letting someone finish speaking?!" Vidaldus's hair grew rapidly, extending like whips and lashing toward Dino.
Dino shifted his feet left and right, dodging each strike with minimal effort.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" Every stone the hair struck shattered violently, as if hit by a jackhammer.
"So even the Ten Wizard Saints dodge when attacked! It seems Jellal-sama was right—you can be defeated!"
Dino's footsteps stopped abruptly. In that instant, massive amounts of hair burst from cracks in the floor, binding his feet, then his hands.
"Ha~! What an idiot! You fell for such a simple provocation! Now you're trapped! You're my prisoner now!" Vidaldus began playing his guitar frantically, producing harsh, rhythmic sounds that seemed to vibrate through the air.
After a few moments, Vidaldus stopped playing with a satisfied expression. "Perfect performance~!"
Suddenly, Dino's voice cut through the silence. "…That's it?"
Vidaldus's eyes widened in shock. "What?! How are you unaffected?! Why aren't you being controlled?!"
"Buzz~!" Dino clenched both fists as white spheres of compressed air formed around them. Following the path of Vidaldus's own hair, Dino appeared before him in an instant.
"BOOM!!!"
"AHHHHHHHHH!!"