Deliora stood up and let out a deafening roar at Noah.

"ROOOOAR!!!"

A massive shockwave of sound and wind rushed towards him, but it was repelled by the magic power surging from Noah's body.

"I'm guessing you haven't brushed your teeth. Your breath stinks!"

Deliora clearly understood Noah's words. Its expression twisted with rage, and it clenched its fists, ready to charge.

"Since you're awake, let's start with a proper greeting."

Noah stopped walking. The magic power that had been radiating from him suddenly receded, and the pebbles that had been floating in the air fell back to the ground. Noah touched the tips of his thumbs and index fingers together, fanning out his other three fingers to make an "OK" gesture with both hands. A golden magic circle appeared in front of each hand.

"Yasakani no Magatama!"

A massive volley of light bullets shot out from the two magic circles, flying towards Deliora at high speed. The demon raised its left arm to block. The golden bullets continuously slammed into its arm and body, exploding on contact. The ceaseless chain of explosions forced Deliora back step by step. The immense power inflicted considerable damage, and it let out a pained roar.

Wherever the light bullets hit Deliora's body, they would leave behind a glowing golden mark. Under Noah's overwhelming assault, the marks gradually connected, covering most of the skin on the side of Deliora's body facing him.

Seeing this, Noah lowered his hands, stopping the attack. He then raised his right hand, pointing two fingers like a sword.

"Mark Detonation!"

A small golden magic circle appeared in front of his fingers. Simultaneously, a massive golden magic circle materialized in front of Deliora, and the marks on its body began to glow.

BOOM!

A gigantic explosion erupted across the surface of Deliora's skin. The entire demon was blown off its feet, flying some distance through the air before crashing back down to earth. The powerful blast formed a mushroom cloud, and the resulting shockwave blew Noah back several steps.

A thick cloud of smoke and dust obscured Deliora's form; only its pained cries could be heard.

Noah made a gun shape with his right hand, aiming at the spot where Deliora had fallen. The tip of his index finger glowed, and several golden beams shot into the dust cloud.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions erupted where the beams hit. The powerful winds they generated blew away the obscuring smoke, revealing Deliora lying on the ground, covered in wounds. Although it looked heavily injured, its wounds were already ceasing to bleed and beginning to heal at an extremely rapid pace.

"So this is why they call Deliora the immortal demon," Noah mused. "If your attacks aren't strong enough, you can't even break its skin. And even if you do, it just heals right back up."

Seeing Deliora's powerful regenerative ability, Noah decided to test its close-combat capabilities.

By the time Deliora had pushed itself up, its injuries had already recovered significantly. It looked up just in time to see Noah teleport directly in front of it.

"Speed is weight. Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"

A massive amount of light magic gathered in Noah's right foot. At the same time, jets of light magic erupted from his heel, accelerating him forward. The super-speed kick slammed into Deliora's face.

Its head caved in at the point of contact. First its head, then its body, was sent flying. It soared through the air for some distance before smashing into the ground, creating a huge crater. It then bounced back up into the air and crashed down again. After bouncing like this several times, creating several more craters, Deliora finally came to rest, lying prone on the ground.

Noah landed lightly on the ground. The demon let out a pained cry, pushed itself up with its arms, and got to its feet. Its head was covered in blood, but the bleeding had already stopped. It took a great stride and charged towards Noah, raising its right fist as it closed in. Seeing this, Noah bent his knees and raised his own right fist, golden magic power beginning to gather around it.

They were close. They both twisted their waists and threw a punch at the same time. The two fists collided in mid-air. The immense pressure created a shockwave that expanded outwards, literally scraping a layer off the surface of the ground.

Noah's body sank, both of his feet plunging deep into the earth as the ground beneath him began to crack. The immense force was too much for the ground to bear. Noah had to spend magic to reinforce it, and a golden light spread out from his feet, covering the nearby area.

Their fists were locked in a stalemate for a few seconds. Deliora retracted its right fist and simultaneously swung its left. Noah did the same. The two fists collided again with a deafening roar, sending a gale-force wind blasting outwards.

They retracted their left fists and threw their right. Deliora and Noah began to exchange blows continuously, one punch after another. Their fists constantly crashed together in the air, and the sound was thunderous.

"ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA!"

The more Noah fought, the more excited he became. Ever since he started learning magic and his body had strengthened to a certain point, he had never had a chance to have a true slugfest like this. This blood-pumping feeling was incredible!

Rings of air blasted outwards from the point of their clashes. Countless rocks were sent flying. Even with Noah constantly reinforcing the ground with his magic, it was still being scraped away, layer by layer, by the continuous impacts.

Far away, Ur and her family watched, completely dumbfounded. The powerful winds blew Gray's and Lyon's hair straight back, but neither of them noticed. Ultear was hiding behind her mother, one hand holding onto her waist, the other pressing her hair down as she peeked out at the fierce battle. Ur also had a hand on her own hair as she watched the exchange of blows between Noah and Deliora.

From the opening barrage of the Yasakani no Magatama to the massive explosion of the Mark Detonation, to the single kick that sent the colossal Deliora flying, and now to this incredible exchange of fists, Noah's unparalleled performance had left them all in a state of shock.

Gray opened his mouth to say something but was immediately hit with a mouthful of dust, sending him into a coughing fit. Ur created a low ice wall with her Ice-Make magic, blocking the wind and debris but not their view of the battle.

Once Gray had recovered, he said to Ur, "Deliora is terrifying... but Noah seems even more terrifying. Is he really that strong? He looks like he's about the same age as me."

When he had first seen Deliora, Gray had been filled with hatred, his blood boiling. After Noah had left to fight, he had also wanted to charge out, but Ur had forcefully held him back. Now, watching the battle unfold, he was completely stunned by the grand scale of it all. The intense explosions, the powerful winds, the immense pressure from the distant magic—all of it made him acutely aware of his own fragility.

Beside him, Lyon was also watching the distant battle with an expression of pure shock, the sound of the explosions seeming to echo in his heart.