Chapter 13: Aftermath
The ground where they had fought was shattered into pieces. The surrounding trees and rocks had been completely blown away, leaving a scene of utter devastation.
A sea breeze blew past, and the thick dust slowly began to settle, vaguely revealing two standing figures.
When the dust had completely cleared, Noah and Gildarts were seen standing opposite each other, though their conditions were entirely different. Noah was bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. He was covered in dirt, and large beads of sweat dripped down his face, carving clean streaks through the grime. Gildarts, on the other hand, stood with his hands down, and while he was also dusty, he showed no signs of fatigue, looking perfectly calm and composed.
"I still couldn't do it," Noah panted. "I really thought I could at least injure you, Gildarts. I can't believe even my most powerful spell couldn't hurt you."
"You were already incredible," Gildarts said, walking over. "If I were any weaker, that last move of yours would have seriously wounded me."
"So, how did I do?" After a few moments, Noah's breathing had returned to normal, and a fair amount of his stamina and magic had already recovered. He asked Gildarts as he approached.
"Your recovery rate is truly amazing," Gildarts noted. "You use a spell with that much energy consumption, and in the blink of an eye, you're already back to normal. The power of your magic is more than sufficient, and your timing and technique are both excellent. Your close-combat skills are adequate, but they still need work. As for your magic power, both the quantity and quality are outstanding."
"I love magic, so I use it often, which has helped me practice my technique," Noah explained. "As for my close-combat skills, I probably haven't had enough opponents of a similar strength to fight, so my progress has been slow. But I train my magic power every day, without exception. If you have the chance to wield magic, of course you'd want to create your own spells!" Noah's words were filled with a passionate love for magic.
"That's the spirit. From now on, you should focus more on training your body and your close-combat skills. When you go out on S-Class missions, you'll encounter all sorts of unexpected situations. Often, a strong body and good fighting technique will be what saves your life. Of course, you can't neglect your other aspects either. Only with all-around development can you better deal with any difficulties you face," Gildarts advised.
"Mhm, that's what I was thinking too... wait, what you just said was..." Noah nodded, then paused as he realized the implication of Gildarts' words.
"You heard me right. You passed this exam. Your current strength is sufficient to be an S-Class wizard. But you still need to be extra careful on missions. Many jobs involve strange and unpredictable things. You have to be vigilant enough to not get yourself into trouble. From now on, you can be the examiner for the S-Class Trials. That means I don't have to come back for them anymore. So much easier! Hahaha!"
Gildarts laughed with genuine delight.
Noah had a helpless look on his face. The advice Gildarts gave at the beginning was excellent, but what came after was likely what was truly on his mind. Being called back to be the S-Class examiner probably interfered with his desire to wander the world. If he didn't have to come back, he could probably wander for a very long time.
However, Noah thought about what would happen after Gildarts and Cana were properly introduced. Gildarts wouldn't be able to wander for very long. Cana was still so young; unlike in the anime where she was already eighteen when they reconnected, she was only six now. She would need a father's companionship for a long time.
At that thought, an involuntary smile spread across Noah's face. Gildarts, who had been laughing happily, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine when he saw Noah's smile, as if something terrible was waiting for him. "What are you laughing at?" he asked Noah.
"I'm laughing at something funny."
"I have a feeling your laugh has something to do with me."
"That's just your imagination."
The rest of the guild, who had retreated even further during the final clash, saw that the battle seemed to be over and started walking over. Laxus and Cana were the fastest. Laxus was anxious to know the result, while Cana was worried that either Gildarts or Noah had been hurt.
Laxus ran up and asked impatiently, "What's the result? What's the result of the exam?"
Noah just smiled at him. "Guess."
Laxus's face contorted with anger, and he threw a punch at Noah. "Damn you! You must be in bad shape after fighting Gildarts! Now's my chance! Take this!"
Noah sidestepped him easily. "Look at you, you're so worked up you've become an idiot. Just because I'm in bad shape doesn't mean you've gotten any stronger. Besides," Noah's grin widened, "I've already recovered. Aren't you just serving yourself up on a platter? Gravity Magic!"
A circle of ground around Laxus was instantly crushed downwards, and an invisible force slammed him to the ground.
"Damn it!" Laxus struggled to stand up, but after several attempts, he failed.
Noah hopped behind Cana and released the gravity pressure. Laxus shot back to his feet and wanted to attack Noah, but seeing Cana standing in his way, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He could only stand there and fume.
Cana, meanwhile, was looking back and forth between Noah and Gildarts with worry. Seeing this, Noah reassured her. "Don't worry, neither of us is hurt. Did you forget I know healing arts?"
Cana finally relaxed.
Gildarts, however, was looking at Cana. "Isn't this the little girl I saw at the guild the last time I was back? Did she join the guild?"
Noah answered from the side. "That's right. She joined not long after you left. Her name is Cana." He said this to Gildarts with a huge, knowing smile.
Pausing for a moment, Noah turned to the rest of the guild members who were just arriving. "I have a pretty interesting secret about Cana. Does everyone want to hear it?"
"YES!" the guild members shouted in unison.
"A secret about Cana? Is it okay to just say it out loud?" Gildarts asked, looking confused.
"Of course, it is. Look, Cana isn't even objecting," Noah said, pointing at Cana.
Then, Noah began to tell her secret. "When Cana first came to Magnolia, she was looking for her father."
"Looking for her father? She used to come to the guild all the time before she joined. Does that mean her father is in the guild?" a member who remembered Cana's early visits guessed.
"That's right. Cana's father is indeed in the guild. That's why she came to Fairy Tail, a little six-year-old girl, all by herself," Noah said with a sigh.
"Who is that scumbag? To abandon such a cute daughter!"
"Tell us, Noah! We'll definitely teach him a lesson!"
"We can't let him get away with it!"
The guild members began to clamor, vowing to give the unknown man a piece of their minds.