The magic circle beneath Noah exploded the moment he leapt away, releasing a torrent of lightning upward.
Still airborne, Noah brought his hands together. A blue circle flared before him, and an enormous wall of ice materialized.
"Ice-Make: Shield!"
The ice barrier absorbed the storm of lightning, holding firm without cracking.
Maintaining his stance, Noah thrust his palms forward. The shield instantly warped, reshaping itself into a massive spear of gleaming frost that hurtled toward Laxus with a sharp whistle.
"Ice-Make: Lancer!"
Sensing its destructive power, Laxus didn't dare to block. He shifted aside, and the spear plunged into the earth with such force that it vanished deep underground, leaving only a gaping fissure.
Countering immediately, Laxus swung his hand. A bolt of blinding lightning streaked toward Noah.
Noah dropped low, dodging under the strike. He slapped both hands to the ground.
"Ice-Make: Ice Spring!"
A vast circle lit up beneath Laxus. He reacted instantly, cloaking himself in lightning to amplify his speed, vaulting just clear as the magic erupted.
An immense fountain of ice burst upward, solidifying into jagged bergs that stretched high into the air.
The barrier couldn't block the sudden temperature drop. Within moments, the entire arena plummeted to subzero conditions.
Shivers ran through the crowd outside, their breath misting in the air everyone except Natsu and Ultear's group, who endured the cold with ease.
But Noah didn't pause. Rising, he swept his right hand upward, summoning a crimson circle beneath Laxus.
"Breath of Lava!"
Scalding heat exploded from the sigil, magma surging upward like a volcanic exhalation.
The air that had chilled to arctic levels now swung violently the other way. Sweat rolled down Laxus's brow, the sudden shift hammering at his body. Icebergs cracked and collapsed in the molten gusts, the earth split, and burning winds rushed outward.
Those watching outside the shield stumbled back, forced away by the blast of heat.
"Tch. Looks like I'll need to reinforce the barrier's temperature protections later," Noah muttered, glancing at the damage.
Seizing the instant of distraction, Laxus blurred forward in a flash of lightning. In the blink of an eye, he was directly before Noah.
Noah snapped back to awareness. Instead of panic, a calm circle shimmered into existence as he leapt back.
"Augment Impact!"
The air thickened, exploding into a shockwave that surged toward Laxus.
Caught at point-blank range, he had no room to evade. Gritting his teeth, he braced, spreading his magic across his body as armor.
The wave smashed into him.
BOOM!
The force plowed Laxus backward more than ten meters, carving a trench across the ground. He staggered upright, chest heaving his defenses had held, but the attack had clearly taken its toll.
Noah was already moving, his hand scrawling glowing characters into the air.
"Letter Magic FIRE!"
The word blazed to life, erupting forward as a torrent of flames streaking toward Laxus.
"Bring it on!" Laxus roared, thrusting out his hand. A thunderbolt shot forth, colliding with the burning glyph.
BOOOOM!
Flame and lightning detonated together, the clash throwing sparks and embers across the battlefield.
Thunder and fire clashed, erupting in a deafening explosion. Smoke and dust rolled outward, swallowing the field and blinding both fighters from view.
When the haze finally began to thin, both had already prepared their next strike.
"Radiant Angel Samosir!"
"Thunder Dragon's Roar!"
A beam of holy light surged forth, colliding midair with Laxus's torrent of lightning. For several seconds, the two forces battled, shockwaves blasting outward in rings that scattered debris across the field.
The clash ended with another thunderous detonation.
BOOM!
A crater split open at the epicenter, smoke billowing once again to obscure the battlefield.
Laxus barely had time to catch his breath before an immense magical pressure pressed against his senses.
Noah's attacking again…!
Unable to pinpoint the exact direction, Laxus cloaked himself in lightning and dashed sideways.
Zzzt!
A hole tore open in the smoke, and a blazing crimson beam lanced through the ray striking the ground where he had stood a heartbeat earlier.
BOOOOM!
The impact unleashed a colossal explosion, energy flooding outward in a perfect sphere. Shockwaves hammered every direction, rattling the barrier with layer after layer of force. Magic formulas etched across the shield flared to life, glowing brightly as they absorbed the impact.
The earth split and shattered, dirt and stone ripped into the storm. The temperature soared violently the cold that had lingered from Noah's ice vanished in an instant. Icebergs melted into water, then boiled away in the scorching heat.
Outside the shield, the spectators staggered backward, shielding their faces from the oppressive wind.
When the smoke at last cleared, a massive crater lay in the field, tens of meters across and plunging deep into the ground.
Only the protective barrier and Noah's clever spellwork dampening ground impact had prevented catastrophic destruction.
"You… you bastard. Were you trying to kill me just now?!"
Laxus leaned against a cracked boulder, chest heaving, body still sparking faintly with residual lightning. Dodging, countering, and resisting Noah's relentless attacks had drained both his strength and his magic.
Noah spread his arms in mock exasperation.
"How could that possibly kill you? I made the attack movements obvious on purpose, pouring out enough magic for you to sense from miles away. It was practically an invitation to dodge.
If you feel that much pressure and don't move… well, then the problem isn't me. It's whether your brain's working right."
The crowd blinked. Silence fell then a ripple of chuckles and nervous sweat followed.
Laxus, for once, had no retort. He simply kept panting, steadily pulling his power back together.
Then Noah turned toward the onlookers at the barrier and beckoned. "You all come in too."
With a snap, he teleported them inside.
The sudden wave of lingering heat slammed into the guild members, drawing groans and shouts as sweat beaded instantly on their skin.
"Oi, Noah!" Ultear snapped, glaring.
"Oops." Noah smacked his forehead and flicked his hand. Frost bloomed in the air, petals of ice drifting down. In moments, the temperature returned to comfortable levels.
He turned back with a grin.
"So," Noah said, spreading his arms to the stunned crowd, "how was that magic just now? Wouldn't you say I… danced with magic?"
....
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