Noah leveled his gaze at Laxus, raised his right hand, and in midair, a beautifully intricate golden magic circle unfolded. From its core, a brilliant beam of light shot forward, crackling with power and intensity.
"Divine Severance!" Noah called.
The massive beam surged toward Laxus with the force of a cannon blast.
Laxus's eyes widened, and instinctively, he leapt aside dodging just in time.
The lingering energy from the beam ripped through the ground, cleaving through the ocean's surface before vanishing with a deafening roar.
Moments later, an explosive shockwave erupted at sea. A towering wall of water surged toward the island, surging like a tidal wave ready to crash ashore.
Laxus jumped upward to escape the deluge.
Ulu, acting swiftly, conjured a massive ice barrier that shielded Noah and herself from the brunt of the watery onslaught.
Noah remained composed. He enveloped himself in a shimmering golden barrier of magic that repelled the waves entirely.
"That's the difference precision makes," Noah observed with a calm smile. "You don't always have to charge in recklessly."
Laxus grinned back, dripping wet as seawater coated the sand around his feet.
"You kind of saved yourself with that wall," he said playfully.
Laxus's electricity flared again lightning crackled across his body and spread into the wet ground.
Arcs of electricity raced across the sandy floor, converging toward Noah from every angle.
Noah prepared to leap but before he could, multiple lightning bolts descended from the darkened sky, striking him and sending him sprawling backward.
The electricity underfoot exploded with a thunderous "BOOM!" rocks and debris launched in all directions. Water from the shoreline spurted outward. Smoke and dust filled the air, obscuring vision across the battlefield.
Then, a gust of wind erupted from the heart of the explosion, clearing the dust and smoke in a sudden burst.
Noah stood at the center unharmed. He had lifted his hand, dispersing the debris with a soft wave of magic.
Before he could speak, Laxus raised his right hand high and intoned:
"What echoes through the sky is the roar of summoned thunder, lightning descending in fury incinerating all in its path."
Lightning arced from his hand to crown his head, coalescing into a massive, crackling orb of pure energy.
Noah barely had time to react when he noticed a magic circle materialize beneath him.
Bright tendrils of energy leapt from the circle, pinning him in place.
Before he could regain his footing, Laxus swung his arm downward summoning the blazing lightning sphere from the sky in perfect tandem.
"Volt Fury!"
The explosive collision was tremendous lightning struck Noah from above, while the electric field from below surged upward. The ground beneath them detonated, sending a pillar of smoke and dust ascending like a mushroom cloud.
The blast's wind gusted outward in a powerful wall.
Laxus braced himself against it, squinting into the dissipating haze. As the smoke cleared, he saw Noah's silhouette emerge unscathed.
A faint golden glow shimmered across Noah's body dust flakes fell away before even landing, repelled by an unseen force.
Through the dust, Laxus finally recognized the truth: Noah wasn't harmed his clothes untouched, his posture calm as though nothing had happened.
Laxus took a steadying breath before blurting out:
"If someone else had taken that whole thing directly, they'd be dead. Even top-tier mages wouldn't walk away clean. You barely got a speck of dust on you!"
Noah scratched the back of his head, smiling awkwardly.
"I've heard Gildarts could've shrugged that off without a scratch too."
Laxus's eyes flashed in mock outrage.
"Don't even compare me to Gildarts!"
Noah laughed, shrugging.
"Guess maybe I'm just naturally a bit… better than average."
As Noah spoke, he raised his right thumb and index finger and suddenly, a projection of the starry sky shimmered into existence between them. Countless tiny planets orbited inside, each moving with silent grace.
Then, as he slowly brought his fingers closer together, the galaxy within shrank until it became a single, brilliant point of light held perfectly between his fingertips.
Noah pointed the pinpoint of starlight at Laxus. The sight took Laxus's breath away…and ignited his anger.
"You jerk! That tiny speck? That's the entire galaxy you're holding! You're mocking me, aren't you? Totally!"
Noah's expression shifted gently into seriousness.
"Your energy's practically bursting from you," he said quietly. "Good. That means you're right where you need to be."
Without waiting another moment, Noah blurred forward, his form flickering with gold. He struck with a powerful right fist honed with bright magic.
Laxus met the blow head-on, summoning a massive surge of lightning in his right hand to counter.
BOOM!
Their fists collided with thunderous impact, a windstorm blowing outward in all directions.
The force propelled both fighters back, but neither faltered. In a seamless sync of motion, each retracted his right fist and launched a left hook, infused with their own elemental energies.
BOOM!
They collided mid-air again, sending another explosion's shockwave through the island's sands.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
They traded punches again and again light and lightning slamming against gold and gold answering in turn. Shockwaves battered the ground, shaking the very island with their unmatched power.
To avoid being caught in the whirlwind, Makarov and Ulu stepped back. Dust and debris flew as the gale pushed outward branches snapped, stones lifted, and the air roared with the sound of their duel.
Ulu turned to Makarov and sighed softly, awe in her voice.
"Laxus has grown so much. But Noah… Noah is still on another level. He wasn't hurt at all by that attack."
"He's gotten stronger so fast," Makarov replied, voice heavy with pride. "I used to be able to gauge his progress, but now… it's impossible to tell how powerful he's become."
He paused, staring at Noah, still fighting.
"I worried the sudden surge in his strength might cloud his heart. But look at him now he's as steady and cheerful as ever. He still jokes and relaxes. His growth hasn't changed him mentally if anything, it's made him even more balanced."
Ulu nodded slowly, the image of Noah and Laxus locked in combat painting itself vividly in her mind.
"He remains true to himself, even as he grows stronger. That's… incredibly reassuring."
Ulu nodded in agreement with Makarov. She had watched Noah grow at an astonishing pace during the two years they had been together. At first, she thought he was already incredibly powerful but as time went on, she gradually stopped being able to feel the limits of his strength.
It wasn't because Noah had gotten weaker. Quite the opposite he had grown so powerful that he now effortlessly concealed his aura and magical pressure.
If someone didn't already know how strong he truly was, they'd look at Noah and think he was harmless. Just an ordinary boy with a calm presence.
That was what made it terrifying. Most enemies wouldn't even realize the danger. They might find themselves obliterated in a single blow by someone they had completely underestimated.
"Not just Noah," Makarov sighed, his voice carrying a blend of pride and helplessness. "Gildarts has also made incredible strides over the years. I can't keep up with him anymore."
He leaned back slightly, the weight of time visible in his eyes.
"Watching the way both of them have progressed... for the first time, I really started to feel my age."
Ulu smiled wryly.
"Gildarts has definitely gotten stronger quickly, but those two… Noah and Gildarts… their growth doesn't feel normal. It's like they're on a completely different level."
She couldn't help but grumble inwardly. She was working as hard as anyone training, studying magic, constantly pushing herself and yet, it felt like she could never catch up.
They weren't just powerful.
They were monsters.
....
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