"Looking for death!!!"
Just as Aria completely lost control and was about to unleash his ultimate move to harvest lives in Magnolia, a furious shout rang out from the sky above.
Immediately afterward, a gigantic palm descended from the heavens, carrying terrifying magic power, as if a single strike could split the earth apart. The pressure brought by the magic power on that palm made the fully unleashed Aria look like a clown dressed in borrowed finery.
Staring at the palm falling from the sky, Aria stood dumbfounded. The overwhelming magic pressure made it nearly impossible for him to even remain standing.
"Crack!"
Aria's legs buckled, and he dropped straight to his knees.
"Wait!"
However, just as Aria was about to be flattened by that palm, someone was even more anxious than him and that was Moen, who had already begun gathering magic power.
Moen was frantic. The fight had been going just fine, who was stealing his kill now?!
He had a task to complete! Not a single target could be missing!
In Moen's hands, an unstable, large-scale magic power mass burning fiercely and shining like a supernova was rapidly condensing.
At this moment, he could no longer afford to continue charging. Holding that unstable "giant orb" like a Rasengan, he rushed straight toward Aria. This kill was his, no matter what!
"Buzz!"
The palm stopped in midair. Makarov withdrew his strength, narrowly avoiding pressing Moen down along with Aria.
"Supernova Explosion Maximum!"
"BOOM!!!"
A deafening explosion rang out as Moen unleashed the Equuleus constellation technique "Supernova Explosion Maximum," producing an absolutely terrifying effect.
If Makarov had not enlarged his hand to completely cover it, the shockwaves from the explosion alone would have caused significant damage to the surrounding buildings. This move was all about raw magical explosion power.
"Moen! Can't you pay attention when you attack?! The guild hall is right next to us! Are you trying to blow up your own home?!"
Makarov angrily questioned Moen, who had jumped aside. If he hadn't reacted quickly and covered the blast site, the guild hall might have been torn apart by Moen!
"I already held back."
Moen retorted. His Supernova Explosion truly hadn't been unleashed at full power. Because he was afraid Grandpa Makarov would steal the kill, he had forcibly interrupted the charging process, leaving his body still feeling uncomfortable even now.
"Buzz!"
Makarov withdrew his arm, his palm rapidly shrinking back to normal. He rubbed his palm—being blasted at such close range actually hurt quite a bit. There was no helping it; blocking it directly with his hand was something only he could pull off.
At this moment, at the center of the explosion, Aria lay sprawled on the ground, completely motionless, clearly having lost consciousness entirely.
The power of Supernova Explosion Maximum needed no explanation. The problem was that it was hard to land. High-powered moves usually had this flaw. But with attacks of such magnitude, precision wasn't necessary—anyone within the area of effect would suffer severely.
Because Aria had been completely suppressed by Makarov's palm and was kneeling on the ground, unable to move, Moen's emergency step-back throw of Supernova Explosion Maximum landed with pinpoint accuracy, smashing directly into Aria's chest for a point-blank detonation.
Taking this attack head-on, no matter how gifted Aria was, no matter how abundant his magic power, he lost at least eighty percent of his life force in the blast. He was now barely clinging to life.
However, no one paid much attention to Aria's miserable state. Moen and Makarov, who had jumped down from the guild hall balcony, were busy arguing.
What they were arguing about was whose attack would have caused more damage to the guild hall.
Moen insisted that Grandpa Makarov's enraged palm strike would have caused far more destruction than his own attack.
And once that palm came down, no one would have been able to stop that level of destruction—so it had to be him who finished off Aria.
And the result proved everything. Not only was he not at fault, he had merit!
"So you're saying you even saved the guild hall?"
Makarov looked at Moen with a face full of disbelief. Good grief, now the blame was on him, and the credit all belonged to Moen?!
"No need to thank me."
Moen waved his hand, wearing an expression of having accomplished a great deed in anonymity, prompting Makarov to laugh and stretch out his arm to flick him on the forehead.
"."
After the battle ended, the first person to rush over was Totomaru. He came to Aria's side and looked at the barely conscious Aria, momentarily at a loss for words.
Although their "Three Elements" couldn't be called overwhelmingly powerful, they had risen as promising new mages over the past few years. Given time, making a name for themselves in the Kingdom of Fiore or across the continent of Ishgar was entirely possible. None of them were weak.
Yet they had been defeated so cleanly by Moen, this ten-something-year-old latecomer with talent far beyond their reach.
"That fire user—your name is Totomaru, right? Join our Fairy Tail. If Jose dares to come looking for trouble, I'll beat him until he's crawling on the ground."
Makarov rolled his eyes, no longer interested in arguing with Moen. His gaze shifted to Totomaru and the Gajeel he was holding.
The old man valued talent and was kind-hearted. He thought Totomaru was decent and felt Gajeel was still salvageable, so he directly tried to poach them.
"Sorry, Master Makarov. I can't do that."
However, even when personally recruited by Makarov, Totomaru still shook his head and refused. His bottom line would not allow him to do such a thing.
"Then what do you plan to do next? To be honest, your Master Jose doesn't look like a very magnanimous person. Aren't you really afraid he'll come looking for trouble with you?"
Moen asked curiously. He had a very poor impression of Jose Porla and naturally felt that guy was capable of doing anything.
"If you try to join another mage guild in the future, you'll only be treated as trouble. Who would offend Phantom Lord for your sake? Offend one of the Ten Wizard Saints?"
Makarov continued persuading him, speaking very directly, but that was reality. Once Jose Porla showed even a hint of hostility toward Totomaru, Totomaru's future career would definitely be affected but Fairy Tail was not afraid of that.
"No, I won't join any other mage guild in the future."
Totomaru still shook his head. He looked somewhat disheartened. For a mage not to join a guild was basically no different from retiring and quitting the profession altogether.
Totomaru's words stunned both Moen and Makarov. But seeing how firm his resolve was, neither of them tried to persuade him further. To continue would have been impolite, as if forcing him.
"Then what do you plan to do in the future?"
Moen asked with some curiosity. A mage not joining a guild—was he going to work alone, wandering the world by himself and relying on luck?
"Maybe I'll become a magic instructor. In the field of fire magic, I think I still have quite a bit of experience. I should be able to make a good teacher. I've also saved up a fair amount of money over the years, just enough to set up a shop and use it as a classroom."
Totomaru said. It didn't sound like a spur-of-the-moment idea. He spoke clearly and logically, as if he had already thought through this plan long ago.
"How about opening it in Magnolia? This is a city with a very strong magical atmosphere. I guarantee you'll never lack customers. I can even introduce a few clients to you right away."
Moen smiled once more as he extended an invitation to Totomaru. The "clients" he was talking about were naturally Uncle Macao and Natsu.
If Totomaru stayed in Magnolia to run a magic training class, those two could definitely go and properly train for a while.
"That wouldn't be impossible."
This time, Totomaru finally did not refuse. What Moen said made a lot of sense. Magnolia really was suitable for opening a shop. With such a rich magical environment, there would definitely be plenty of customers.
He wouldn't be taking commissions or doing jobs anymore, but he still needed to make a living. Naturally, Totomaru's shop couldn't be opened in some remote backwater. He was running a business, not completely going into seclusion.
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