"Diamond... Dust Fist!"
Marco swung his fist, magic power surging wildly as it poured out along his arm.
The magic power condensed together, beautiful as snowflakes and stars alike.
Pristine white snowflakes scattered like pearls, the terrifying freezing air seeming capable of freezing everything in the world solid.
Wherever the freezing fist wind swept past, frost instantly formed.
Even the ground froze over with a layer of hard rime.
"Hiss!"
Gray, bare-chested and wearing only shorts, widened his eyes and sucked in a cold breath—literally a cold breath this time.
Even someone like him, who'd practiced ice magic bare-assed in snowy wastelands since childhood, nearly choked, coughing several times in succession.
"Th-this is a magic you just learned, Marco?! This isn't Ice-Make magic, is it some kind of ice elemental magic?!" Gray asked Marco in shock.
He could tell at a glance this definitely wasn't Ice-Make magic like his own.
"No, this is also Celestial Spirit Magic."
Marco retracted his fist and stood straight, answering seriously.
"..."
Gray was first rendered speechless, then complained.
"Marco, don't treat me like that idiot Natsu!"
After all, Gray wasn't like Natsu—that half-baked, so called son of dragon.
Gray had proper training and systematic learning.
Gray knew that apart from both being related to stars, Marco's magic had nothing to do with Celestial Spirit Magic.
"Idiot stripper! Who are you calling an idiot?!"
Nearby, Natsu—who'd also been gaping in shock at Marco's "Diamond Dust Fist"—immediately retorted upon hearing this.
"You, of course!"
With just this exchange, Gray and Natsu were soon butting heads, glaring angrily at each other.
"Thwack! Thwack!"
Marco knocked them both down with a punch each, stopping their conflict, then picked Gray up separately.
"Gray, what do you think of this move?" Marco asked.
He still trusted Gray's expertise in Ice magic—the kid was a genius when it came to ice.
Makarov had told him that Gray's teacher was also a powerful mage at the level of the Ten Wizard Saints.
While the "Ten Wizard Saints" were indeed recognized as powerful mages, those not among them weren't necessarily below that level.
The most convincing example is Gildarts.
Due to his constant travels and rarely working for the Magic Council, his official reputation has never been particularly good.
As a result, he was directly excluded when selecting the Ten Wizard Saints.
In Marco's eyes, Gildarts undoubtedly possessed the strength of a Ten Wizard Saint or maybe even stronger.
"Really strong!" Gray, rubbing the bump on his head, gave a serious evaluation.
"Stronger than me."
After saying that, he added another sentence—he genuinely believed it.
Marco's punch just now had nearly shattered his confidence.
Fortunately, the magic he used was Ice-Make Magic, which was different from Marco's straightforward release of extreme freezing air.
"Go on." Marco released Gray, feeling quite satisfied with the result.
Diamond Dust Fist was a skill he had just acquired, and his proficiency was still very low.
To achieve this level already was indeed quite astonishing.
'Frozen Combat Arts—this skill is really worth practicing thoroughly.'
The profundity of Diamond Dust Fist wasn't just about freezing air.
This Frozen Combat Arts had an incredibly high ceiling.
All matter is composed of atoms, and each atom undergoes its own complex motion.
The key factor determining the intensity of these atomic movements—the scale of their motion—is temperature.
The higher the temperature, the more intense the movement of the atoms composing an object.
The lower the temperature, the slower the atomic movement.
The essence of destruction is to shatter the bonds between atoms.
But "Frozen Combat Arts" doesn't merely destroy atomic connections—it halts atomic motion, freezing everything with frigid air!
'Mastered to its peak, it might even reach absolute zero, truly freezing everything—including time, space, and the motion of all things!'
Marco's heart burned with excitement.
Perhaps through this "Frozen Combat Arts," he could draw parallels and indirectly awaken his Cosmo.
This was different from Gildarts Crush magic—this Diamond Dust Fist was something he could truly wield!
'Keep practicing for now. Later, I'll directly use skill experience books on this skill.'
Marco made his decision—the priority of Diamond Dust Fist was raised significantly.
After practicing for a while, Marco returned to the guild hall for lunch.
The guild was as lively as ever.
Marco ordered food from Airo and found a seat.
The moment he sat down, a pop-up suddenly appeared.
[Ding! Mission Triggered!]
[Mission Name: "Visitors from the future!"
Mission Description:
Companions from the future have traveled through time to the present. They are now in crisis—if they fail to return to the future within the allotted time, they will be trapped in the present forever, eventually consumed by the magic of time. Help them return to the future!
Hint: Avoid excessive interaction with them, as this may trigger unknown dangers. It's best to pretend you don't recognize them.
Mission Progress:
Assist all future companions in returning.
Erza: 0/1 (Incomplete)
Natsu: 0/1 (Incomplete)
Gray: 0/1 (Incomplete)
Lucy: 0/1 (Incomplete)
Happy: 0/1 (Incomplete)
[Mission Reward: Random Silver Saint Skill.]
Staring at the sudden mission prompt from the [Saint System], Marco froze for a moment before carefully reading it again.
'Who is Lucy? And who is Happy?'
Putting aside the absurd notion of 'time travel' for a moment, among the five companions who had traveled through time, two of them had names that Marco found unfamiliar.
'These two companions must be very close to Erza, Natsu and Gray to have traveled through time with them. I'm really curious—what kind of people could they be?'
Marco's gaze swept across the guild hall, searching for clues, focusing especially on unfamiliar faces.
He put himself in their shoes—if he had traveled back in time to the present, he would definitely return to the guild to take a look.
It was a natural instinct—if you went back to the past, wouldn't you want to see your younger self and the places you once lived in?
After scanning the room, Marco noticed there were still quite a few strangers in the guild.
The guild hall often received clients and given Fairy Tail's reputation, the people coming and going weren't just from Magnolia—many were clients from other cities as well.
Among the diverse crowd, one person stood out—a blonde girl dressed as a "bunny girl."
Her demeanor in the guild was noticeably different.
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