The shockwave from their initial clash finally dissipated, leaving a crater the size of a city block in the barren wasteland. Dust hung in the air like a thick, choking fog, but neither combatant moved to clear it. They didn't need to. They could feel each other—two apex predators sharing a cage that was far too small.
Gildarts retracted his fist, his expression shifting from blind rage to a terrifying, focused exhilaration. "Not bad, kid. You stopped the Crush. But blocking is one thing. Surviving is another."
Blake shook out his hand, the black sheen of Armament Haki glinting in the twilight. He didn't draw his sword. He didn't assume a stance. He just stood there, his presence heavy and undeniable. "I'm not here to survive, old man. I'm here to earn my keep."
Gildarts moved first. For a man of his size, his speed was deceptive, a sliding, tectonic shift of momentum. He threw a straight right, coated in the shimmering white aura of Crush. It was a simple punch, but it carried the weight of a collapsing mountain.
Blake didn't block. His Observation Haki flared, seeing the vector of the attack a second before it happened. He slipped to the inside, the white aura grazing his ear and disintegrating a lock of his hair. Blake pivoted on his heel, driving a Haki-coated elbow toward Gildarts's ribs.
Gildarts caught the elbow in his open palm. CRACK. The sound was like a cannon shot. The Crush magic tried to shatter Blake's arm, grinding against the invisible armor of his Haki. Blake didn't flinch. He pushed off the blocked strike, spinning into a high kick aimed at Gildarts's temple.
Gildarts ducked, the wind from Blake's kick carving a furrow in the rock face behind him. He swept Blake's standing leg, but Blake was already airborne, using the momentum to flip backward. As he landed, he launched himself forward again, entering the pocket..
Blake unleashed a flurry of jabs, his fists blurring into black streaks. Each punch was coated in Advanced Armament Haki, designed not just to hit the surface, but to inject a shockwave of destruction inside the target.
Gildarts parried them, his forearms moving like pistons. Bam. Bam. Bam. Every collision sent sparks of black and white energy flying. Gildarts realized quickly that he couldn't just shatter Blake's attacks; the Haki was too dense, too willful. He had to fight for real.
Gildarts roared, breaking the rhythm with a massive, overhead hammer blow. Blake crossed his arms overhead, hardening his Haki to its absolute limit. The blow connected. The ground beneath Blake exploded, his boots sinking a foot into the bedrock, but his guard held.
Leveraging his lower center of gravity, Blake exploded upward. He drove a knee into Gildarts's solar plexus. The Ace grunted, the air leaving his lungs, but he didn't retreat. instead, he headbutted Blake.
It was a clash of iron skulls. Blake stumbled back, seeing stars. Gildarts capitalized, grabbing Blake by the lapel of his coat. "Gotcha!"
"Wrong," Blake rasped.
Using Future Sight, Blake had seen the grab. He grabbed Gildarts's wrist in return. He didn't try to overpower the Crush; he flowed with it. He twisted his body, using Gildarts's own immense strength to throw the older mage over his hip.
Gildarts flew, but he twisted in mid-air like a cat. He slammed his hand onto the ground before he hit, shouting, "CRUSH!" The ground disintegrated into a field of floating cubes, destabilizing Blake's footing.
Blake didn't fall. He jumped, bounding off the floating debris with superhuman agility. He came down on Gildarts like a meteor, his fist cocked back, black lightning crackling around it.
Gildarts met him in the air. They exchanged a cross-counter. Blake's fist slammed into Gildarts's cheek; Gildarts's fist slammed into Blake's jaw.
They both spun away, crashing into opposite sides of the crater walls. Dust plumed.
Seconds later, both men walked out of the dust, wiping blood from their lips. They were grinning.
"You hit hard for a thief," Gildarts laughed, spitting out a tooth.
"You hit soft for a father," Blake retorted, his jaw aching but his spirit soaring.
They collided again in the center. No run-up this time. Just a brutal exchange of haymakers. Neither man dodged. They stood toe-to-toe, trading blow for blow, relying on sheer durability.
Gildarts landed a body shot that would have pulverized a mountain. Blake absorbed it with Haki, his internal organs protected by an invisible suit of armor, though the force still rattled his teeth.
Blake countered with a precision strike to Gildarts's throat. Gildarts tucked his chin, taking the blow on his jaw, his neck muscles straining like steel cables.
Gildarts grabbed Blake's shoulders, trying to crush his collarbones. Blake flared his Conqueror's Haki, a blast of red spiritual pressure that forced Gildarts's grip to loosen just enough for Blake to break free.
Blake transitioned into a grapple. He underhooked Gildarts's arms, trying to suplex the giant. Gildarts planted his feet, becoming immovable. He expanded his magic aura, creating a repulsive sphere of destruction.
Blake was blasted backward, skidding fifty feet. He dug his fingers into the ground to stop, tearing furrows in the stone. He looked up. Gildarts was charging.
Blake didn't retreat. He met the charge with a spinning back-fist. Gildarts ducked under it and delivered an uppercut that launched Blake into the air.
While Blake was airborne, Gildarts jumped, clasping his hands together for a double-axe handle smash. Blake, in mid-air, twisted his body, coating his legs in Haki. He caught Gildarts's smash with a double kick.
The impact suspended them in the air for a second, gravity seemingly forgetting to work. Then they separated, landing and immediately springing back into action.
Blake feinted a high kick, then swept low. Gildarts hopped over it, stomping down. Blake rolled, the stomp missing his head by an inch and creating a crater the size of a bathtub.
Blake kipped up, delivering a palm strike to Gildarts's chest. Internal Destruction bypassed Gildarts's muscular defense, hitting his lungs directly.
Gildarts coughed, eyes widening. He staggered back. "That... feels weird."
"It's called pain," Blake said, pressing the advantage. He unleashed a barrage of rapid-fire punches, forcing Gildarts on the defensive.
Gildarts blocked, blocked, blocked, then roared, "ENOUGH!" He released an Omni-directional wave of Crush magic.
Blake crossed his arms, shielding his face. The wave washed over him, shredding his coat, tearing his shirt, but leaving his skin—coated in obsidian Haki—intact.
They were panting now. Sweat mixed with blood and dust. The sun had dipped below the horizon, the battlefield lit only by the ambient glow of their power.
"You're stubborn," Gildarts growled.
"I learned from the best," Blake replied.
Gildarts smirked. "Fine. Kid gloves are off."
Gildarts assumed a stance, his magic condensing into a terrifyingly small point on his right fist. The white light became blinding. The air began to scream.
Blake saw it. He felt the shift. This wasn't a spar anymore. This was a finisher.
He widened his stance. He pulled every ounce of Haki from his reserves. His arm turned black, then began to glow with a deep, menacing red. The black lightning of his Conqueror's Haki became a raging storm around him.
Gildarts pulled his fist back. "EMPYREAN..."
Blake pulled his fist back. "GALAXY..."
The two titans tensed. The ground beneath them vaporized simply from the pressure of their preparation. They were about to unleash attacks that would not just split the sky, but likely erase the surrounding landscape entirely.
They launched themselves. The world seemed to slow down. The two fists, glowing with the power of gods, raced toward each other.
"STOP IT!!!"
A scream cut through the roaring wind. A figure burst from the sidelines, moving with desperate speed.
As they both get ready to unleash their powerful move, Cana comes in the middle of the attack.
She didn't use magic. She didn't use cards. She just threw herself between the two unstoppable forces, her arms outstretched, tears streaming down her face.
Blake's Observation Haki screamed a warning. Cana!
Gildarts's fatherly instinct overrode his battle rage in a microsecond. Cana!
Both men tried to abort.
Blake wrenched his body to the left and fired his Galaxy Impact into the sky. A massive beam of red-black energy shot into the stratosphere, parting the clouds for miles.
Gildarts twisted to the right, driving his Empyrean Smash into the ground beside him. The earth didn't just break; it liquefied, a canyon instantly forming to his right.
The shockwave of the diverted attacks blew Cana's hair back, but she stood firm in the center, unharmed.
The dust settled.
Blake was on one knee, panting heavily.
Gildarts was standing, his fist buried in the earth, staring wide-eyed at his daughter.
And stops them from destroying each other.
Silence descended on the barren lands. The guild members, who had been watching from the ridge, held their breath.
Cana stood there, trembling. She looked at Blake, battered. She looked at her father, whose face was a mask of shock.
She turned to Gildarts. Her eyes were fierce, burning with the same fire as his.
"Are you insane?!" she screamed, her voice cracking. "Are you both trying to kill yourselves!"
Gildarts pulled his hand from the rock. He looked small, suddenly. "Cana... I... he..." He pointed a shaking finger at Blake. "He stole you! He tricked you!"
"He didn't steal anything!" Cana yelled, stepping closer to her father, poking him hard in the chest. "I chose him! Do you hear me, you stupid old man? I chose him!"
Gildarts blinked. "But... he's... he's Blake. He is not good enough for you. He..."
"He's the man who stood by me," Cana said, her voice dropping, becoming thick with emotion.
"He is of good heart, Dad. He helps everyone in need. He listens to me. He challenges me. Dad... I love him."
The words hung in the air.
Gildarts looked at his daughter. He saw the sincerity in her eyes. He saw the way she stood between him and Blake, protecting the man she loved from the father she adored. He looked past her, at Blake.
Blake was standing now. He wasn't posturing. He wasn't glowing with Haki. He was just looking at Cana with a look of pure, unadulterated relief and affection.
"And if you still fight him," Cana continued, her voice trembling but firm, "I will never talk to you again. I mean it, Dad. If you hurt him... you lose me."
Hearing that, Gildarts's heart breaks.
The sound was almost audible. The terrifying aura of the Ace of Fairy Tail vanished instantly. He slumped. His shoulders dropped. The invincible mage looked like a kicked puppy.
"Never... never talk to me?" he whispered, horrified. "But... I brought you a souvenir..."
The battle lust was gone, replaced by the crushing reality of fatherhood. He had lost. Not the fight, but the war for his little girl's exclusivity. She wasn't his little girl anymore. She was a woman in love.
Gildarts sniffled. He wiped his nose with his forearm.
He walked past Cana. She tensed, but he didn't stop. He walked straight up to Blake.
Gildarts stopped inches from Blake's face. He was taller, broader, and radiated a pressure that had nothing to do with magic.
He grabbed Blake by the collar. He pulled him down so they were nose-to-nose.
The sadness in Gildarts's eyes vanished, replaced by a cold, demonic fire that was infinitely scarier than his Crash Magic.
"Listen to me, you brat," Gildarts whispered, his voice a low hiss that only Blake could hear. "She loves you. I don't know why. Maybe you brainwashed her. Maybe she has bad taste. But she loves you."
"So I will let you live. For today. But hear this... if you make Cana cry in the future... there will be hell waiting for you."
Gildarts's grip tightened. "I won't use magic. I won't use fists. I will take your soul, batter it, deep fry it, and feed it to a vulcan. I will hunt you to the ends of Earthland and the Celestial Spirit World. Do. You. Understand?"
Blake looked into the eyes of the strongest mage in the West. He didn't flinch. He didn't look away.
"I understand," Blake said calmly. "But you won't have to. Because if I make her cry, I'll kick my own ass before you even get there."
Gildarts stared at him for a long, agonizing second. Then, slowly, the demonic fire faded. He released Blake's collar. He smoothed the wrinkles he had made.
He stepped back, turning to Cana. He put on a giant, fake, watery smile.
"Well!" he boomed, his voice cracking slightly. "I approve! Sort of! Let's go get a drink! Daddy needs a drink! A lot of drinks!"
Cana let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She ran to Blake, checking his face for bruises. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Blake said, watching Gildarts trudge back toward the guild, a dark cloud of depression hanging over his head. "Your dad... he hits really hard."
"I know," Cana smiled, kissing his cheek. "But you hit back."
From the ridge, the rest of the guild watched as the three of them began to walk back.
"It's over?" Natsu asked, sounding disappointed. "Nobody exploded?"
"It's over," Erza said, smiling. "For now."
"Though," Gray muttered, "I wouldn't want to be Blake during the wedding speech."
The sun finally set, casting the battered landscape into darkness, but the bond between the three—the Father, the Daughter, and the Boyfriend—had been forged in the fires of a crater, and somehow, they had all survived.