Chapter 170: Aftermath
The ice raft carrying the guild members was being pulled by the current towards the center of the explosion. Ur immediately froze a wide path of ice between her raft and the breaking ice field, stopping them from colliding.
The aftershock of the explosion finally dissipated into the air. At the center of where the blast had been, two figures were sent flying out in opposite directions, crashing into the sea.
"Noah!"
"Dad (Gildarts)!"
The guild members all cried out in alarm. A huge, hemispherical crater had been blown into the ice, and the surrounding chunks and seawater were now rushing in, creating a massive wave. At the same time, the rest of the ice field was breaking apart, sending even more waves across the sea's surface.
"Ultear, you go that way and search! Gray, Lyon, you go that way! Ur, we'll pull back a little more!" Makarov commanded calmly.
"Right!" they all replied and sprang into action.
Ultear, Gray, and Lyon began to freeze the sea in their respective directions, rushing to find Noah and Gildarts.
"I'll help too!" Erza stepped forward, instantly requipping, and then flew towards the spot where one of the figures had fallen.
"Me too!" Sorano summoned her flying angel and followed.
"I'll help!"
"Me too!"
"Thanks!"
Mirajane (in her Satan Soul form), Evergreen (with her wings), and Cana (using her cards) all took flight at the same time, heading in the other direction.
Erza and Sorano caught up with Ultear, and the three of them searched the area together.
"Found him!" Erza was the first to spot Noah floating in the sea and flew towards him, with the other two right behind. Ultear froze the nearby sea surface, and Erza and Sorano worked together to pull Noah onto the ice.
"How did you get so battered? This doesn't look like you at all," Sorano said with a smile, though her face was full of worry.
Noah, lying on the ice, laughed back. "Gildarts is the strongest in our guild. How could a duel with him be easy?"
"How are you feeling now?" Erza asked with concern.
"I'm alright. Just completely out of strength and magic. And I took some damage from the explosion. It's not serious. Right..." Noah used the little bit of magic he had just recovered to pull a potion from his storage space, which landed on the ice beside him. "Can you open the lid for me? I need to drink a potion to recover."
Hearing that he wasn't seriously injured, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief. Ultear picked up the potion, opened it, and held it directly to Noah's lips.
"Ah—" Noah rolled his eyes but obediently opened his mouth and drank the potion.
The potion accelerated his recovery. After a moment, he struggled to sit up, and Erza and Sorano quickly helped him.
"Let's head over there. It looks like they've found Gildarts, too," Ultear said, looking towards the main group. It seemed Cana and the others had found him and were bringing him back.
"Sorano and I will fly him over," Erza suggested. The other two agreed.
Erza and Sorano helped Noah to his feet and flew him back, with Ultear following below. They arrived back on the main ice raft just as Wendy was beginning to heal Gildarts, who was lying on the ice. The others were watching nervously.
Erza and the others landed. Noah had already recovered some of his strength and was able to stand steadily on the ice. He glanced at Gildarts and saw that his condition was similar to his own—not too serious. He took out another potion and handed it to a worried-looking Cana. "Give this to Gildarts. It will help him recover faster."
Cana took it and hurried to her father's side.
Noah saw that Wendy's forehead was already beaded with sweat and stopped her. "Don't push yourself. You should rest a bit." Wendy retracted her magic, wiped her forehead, and stood up.
"So, Gildarts? Did you gain anything from that fight?" Noah asked, looking at him as Cana helped him up and gave him the potion.
Gildarts laughed. "A huge gain. I haven't been completely drained of all my stamina and magic like this in years. And it's even rarer to face a true life-or-death crisis. I feel like I've had a new breakthrough." He had a huge smile on his face; it was clear he had, as he said, gained a lot.
Cana was full of worry, but seeing her father's smile, she couldn't bring herself to say anything harsh and just sighed.
"By the way," Gildarts said, having recovered some of his energy, "I had a really hard time smashing the fists of that golden giant of yours. What kind of magic was that?"
The surrounding guild members all pricked up their ears.
"Isn't my specialty Light Magic? The guild's Three Great Magics are all related to it. So, I referenced Fairy Sphere and other defensive spells and added defensive properties to my shaping magic. That was probably what gave you so much trouble when you tried to smash it," Noah explained.
"Aren't you better at cannon-type magic? Why didn't you use that?" Erza asked, confused.
"Cannon magic is just a straight line; it's easy to dodge. Shaping magic is much more flexible and easier to control," Noah explained. He glanced at Gildarts. "And didn't Gildarts say he needed pressure? I didn't know if I could provide it, but I did my best. The Thousand Hands Giant I made at the end was the culmination of all my magical knowledge. Its thousand hands are easy to control and can attack from all directions, and its added defense makes it harder to destroy. Its attacks are relentless. Even if the opponent can block one punch, they'll be worn down by the continuous assault and eventually defeated. And I just discovered that even if it can't be broken, the clash between offense and defense raises the ambient Ethernano concentration, which would have increased the power of a final Starlight Breaker."
"That's true," Gildarts confirmed. "To block all those punches from every direction, I used up a massive amount of my magic and stamina. And those fists were so heavy and hard to smash. A normal opponent probably couldn't have even taken a few of them."
Sorano asked, a little confused, "That magic of yours is fast, but if the opponent just runs away, you'd have a hard time hitting them, right?"
"This was a fight with Gildarts. If it were an enemy, whether it's Gravity Magic or other restraining spells, I'd have something suitable for them," Noah explained. Sorano nodded, understanding.
By now, Gildarts had recovered a bit and, with Cana's help, had gotten to his feet. Noah also felt that he had recovered a good deal and could now teleport everyone back. "Let's head back now," he said.
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