The battlefield was filled with a massive amount of residual magic particles from his and Gildarts's fight. Before they could dissipate, Noah had gathered them all.
He floated in the air, weakened from the massive expenditure of magic, his forehead covered in sweat as he panted heavily. While struggling to maintain the enhanced spell in his hands, he asked the equally breathless Gildarts, "So? Are you going to take this hit?"
Gildarts stared at the sphere of light, which radiated a feeling of life and death, and seriously considered his options. He had wanted to challenge the 100-Year Quest precisely because he no longer felt any pressure on 10-Year quests. He needed that pressure to break through. And now, facing the magic in Noah's hands, he could feel a powerful sense of crisis he had never experienced before.
So why not try? Besides, even if he failed, he had Noah and Wendy's healing. He wouldn't have that luxury on a real mission. No, I will succeed. I have to become stronger, to better protect my daughter and live happily with her.
Noah, seeing the resolve in Gildarts's eyes, knew he had made his decision, but he asked one last time, "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Bring it on!"
Gildarts focused all of his remaining magic power into his right fist, continuously channeling every drop his body produced into it. A white light began to glow on his fist, growing stronger and stronger.
Seeing that he was ready, Noah slowly straightened his clasped hands, his ring and pinky fingers overlapping, and his thumb, index, and middle fingers pointing forward. The sphere of light in front of his magic circle compressed even further.
"Hey, hey! Noah's spell looks really bad! Is the old man really going to take that head-on in his current state?" Gray exclaimed in shock. Everyone could see that both of them were in bad shape, showing symptoms of extreme magic depletion. And the spell in Noah's hands radiated an unparalleled sense of danger even from this distance.
"Dad!!!" Cana screamed, about to rush forward to stop them, but Makarov held her back.
"Look at his expression," he said grimly. "He's thought this through."
Cana looked and saw the serious, determined look on her father's face. He had made up his mind. "Dad..." She couldn't say anything to stop him. They had already discussed this. She knew he wanted to break through his limits, and that was why he wanted to take on the 100-Year Quest. She had been persuaded back then to support him. Looking at him now, she couldn't stop him. She could only pray.
"Wendy, we might need your healing magic in a bit," Makarov said to the girl standing behind Erza.
Wendy was startled. "M-me?"
"Yes. From the looks of it, they might both be seriously injured. We'll need your healing." Seeing her nervous expression, he comforted her. "But it's just as a precaution. Before the fight, Noah gave me a special, precious recovery potion he made. As long as they don't die on the spot, drinking it will keep them alive. You'll just need to help treat them afterward. Don't be too nervous."
"I... I'll do my best," Wendy said, finally breathing a sigh of relief. Cana, hearing this, also relaxed a little. Noah had already made preparations. All that was left was to see the final result.
The other guild members were also watching with tense expressions. This was the very end. The victor would be decided in a moment.
The two of them had reached the final stage of their charge-up. Noah was the first to attack.
"Magic Convergent Cannon... Starlight Breaker!"
The sphere of light in front of his magic circle compressed further, then suddenly erupted. A powerful cannon of light shot out, rushing towards Gildarts. The air in its path was torn open, and the ice far from the beam shattered on its own.
"Crushing Evil, Revealing Truth — All-Heaven!"
Before the beam could reach him, Gildarts also threw his punch. The massive magic power from his fist formed its own cannon of light, meeting the one from the sky.
BOOM!
The two torrents of magic collided in mid-air. An intense roar erupted from the point of impact. The air was instantly compressed and blasted outwards, and the ice directly below them was instantly blasted into a large crater. The two stalemated torrents of magic released an unparalleled power, the shockwaves growing stronger and stronger, and more and more of the ice field began to shatter.
"Get back! Ur, get ready to make a new ice field! I don't think this one can take much more!" Makarov shouted to Ur over the roaring wind.
"I know! Everyone, get back!" Ur shouted, beginning to gather her magic.
The stalemated beams slowly began to push towards Gildarts. Noah's attack, empowered by the ambient magic, was stronger than the one Gildarts had created on his own. It was now pressing down on him. Gildarts fought with all his might, forcing himself to gather more magic to resist.
The surrounding ice field was now breaking apart on a massive scale. The shattered ice was instantly pulverized by the immense magic in the air. The atmosphere and the ice trembled. Even the guild members on the edge of the field could clearly feel it. Ur used her Ice-Make to create a large ice raft for everyone to get on, then broke the connection to Noah's ice field and let it float away. Not long after they had left, a series of cracks reached the edge of the ice. The entire, several-kilometer-wide ice field could no longer withstand their magic and was about to break apart.
Gildarts, pushed to his limit, watched the approaching beam of light. A flurry of emotions flashed through his mind: happiness, excitement, relief, desire... Finally, all these emotions unified into one: he did not want to lose! He wanted to win! He wanted to have more power to protect his daughter! He wanted more!
"AAAAAHHH!!!"
With a great roar, his emotions gave his magic even greater power. In an instant, Gildarts pushed the beam of light that was almost upon him back to the center.
Then, neither of them could control their magic any longer. A massive explosion occurred at the point of impact. A giant sphere of explosive light rapidly expanded, enveloping Noah in the sky and Gildarts on the ice.
The ice field, which had already suffered countless injuries, finally reached its breaking point. The entire surface shattered into pieces. The surrounding seawater rushed into the cracks, the roar of the churning water deafening.
~~~
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