For the first time, Freed and the others witnessed Noah use teleportation and panic immediately spread across their faces.
"Laxus! Where's Laxus?!"
"They… they should be at the main training ground now," a guild member explained. "Noah just teleported the two of them away." He pointed at the crowd rushing toward the gate. "Look, everyone's heading there already. They hardly ever fight these days. This is something you don't want to miss."
Another guild member added with a grin, "If you three call yourselves Laxus's royal guard, then shouldn't you be front and center to watch?"
Freed and his companions snapped out of their daze and hurried after the others.
By the time they reached the largest training ground, thunder was rumbling overhead, and bolts of lightning split the sky.
A huge crowd had already gathered outside the shimmering barrier. Natsu, Gray, Erza, Mirajane, and the others who often trained here were pressed against the edge, eyes wide with excitement.
Freed and his team squeezed in just in time to hear Laxus unleash a deep breath, a magic circle glowing before him.
"Roar of the Thunder Dragon!"
The thunderous blast tore across the arena like a cannon of pure lightning.
Noah didn't even flinch. Raising his right hand, a magic circle spun to life in his palm, and the lightning beam curved unnaturally, redirecting straight toward the spectators.
The crowd froze. Laxus had fired with his full strength the very ground had cracked, leaving a deep trench in the reinforced earth. The redirected torrent carried the same destructive might, bearing down on them like judgment.
There was no time to question Noah's intentions. Instinct took over. Spells erupted in rapid succession:
"Requip Thunder Emperor's Spear!"
"Take Over: Satan Soul Dark Spark!"
"Ice-Make: Rose Garden!"
"Radiant Angel Samosir!"
"Ice-Make: Lancer!"
"Ice-Make: Great Eagle!"
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
"Fairy Machine Gun: Fairy!"
"Light Cannon of the Marionettes!"
Magic of every color and element surged forth, clashing with the redirected lightning. The explosion lit up the sky, booming like a storm.
Only after their combined spells dissipated the attack did the crowd exhale, drenched in sweat.
"Damn it, is Laxus really that strong?!" Natsu shouted, his eyes blazing. "I swear I'll defeat him someday!"
"That's Laxus's power?" Erza murmured, her expression grave. Her gaze lingered on Laxus for a moment before shifting toward Noah, who stood calm and unshaken on the other side of the arena.
"But Noah is still more powerful. He redirected such devastating magic like it was nothing."
"True. Laxus is incredible, but Noah is on another level. He's even younger than Laxus, yet his strength surpasses him."
Ultear nodded in agreement. Gray, however, rolled his eyes.
"Did you all forget? He defeated Deliora when he was just a kid. He's a monster. You can't measure him by normal standards."
Beside him, Lyon gave a quiet nod. That battle had been his first glimpse of just how vast the world truly was and how terrifying someone his own age could be.
"But isn't it a good thing Noah's this strong?" Sorano chimed in brightly. Standing behind her, Wendy and Yukino peeked out shyly from either side, like little sisters hiding in her shadow. "With him around, we can all feel safer."
"Laxus is really strong," someone else whispered, "but Noah's even stronger. Does that make him the strongest in Fairy Tail?"
Freed couldn't hide his shock. He had always believed Laxus to be the strongest mage in Fairy Tail after the master. Yet reality was nothing like he'd imagined.
Evergreen and Bickslow exchanged glances and nodded. Clearly, they too had underestimated this guild and had much to learn.
"So this is the power of an active S-Class wizard…" Mirajane murmured, awestruck. Yet when she turned and saw Lisanna and Elfman trembling from the earlier blast, her tone shifted to scolding as she shouted toward the battlefield:
"Watch what you're doing in there! You nearly hit us!"
From across the arena, Noah rolled his eyes.
"Seriously? Do you even know where you're standing? You're outside the protective barrier. Laxus's magic can't break through it."
Only then did the crowd remember: they were well beyond the safety of the shield. Any attack would have to shatter the barrier first before reaching them. But Laxus's earlier strike had been so overwhelming that instinct drove them to fight back without thinking.
Once Noah was sure they understood, he turned to Laxus with a faint smile.
"Your strength has grown a lot. The power behind your magic is far greater than before."
"You bastard," Laxus growled, sparks crackling around him. "Then why does it feel like you're holding back against me? Where's your real strength gone?"
Noah shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I've just been steadily improving I haven't really tested the limits. Fighting people like you doesn't push me. I can't spar with the old man, and Gildarts is off-limits because of the collateral damage. Ur flat-out says she's weaker than me and refuses to fight anymore."
He spread his hands helplessly. The guild's strongest either couldn't or wouldn't fight him.
Ultear rolled her eyes, unable to stay quiet. "That's not how my mother told it."
She remembered Ur's stories well. Yes, she and Noah had fought a few times, but those battles ended with both of them battered and bandaged, relying on potions and Wendy's healing magic.
Eventually they had given up fighting altogether. Ur once told her that Noah fought calmly at first, but grew more reckless as the battle dragged on. By the end, the two of them were summoning massive constructs to clash.
Noah's favorite trick had been forming towering ice giants, dozens of meters tall. With his deeper mastery over extreme cold, his ice was harder and more durable than Ur's. No matter what creation she shaped, it would shatter on impact against his frozen colossus.
"Exciting, he called it," Ultear muttered with exasperation.
....
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