Suddenly, Laxus leaped away. All the afterimages of him vanished. At the same time, a golden lightning magic circle appeared beneath Noah's feet, the electricity on it crackling.

"Burst!" Laxus roared.

The lightning from the magic circle struck Noah, and a powerful explosion erupted.

Smoke instantly enveloped the area. When it cleared, the three spectators stared in shock at Noah, who stood in the center of the blast. He had his arms raised to shield his face. His body was completely unharmed, and even his clothes were not torn, merely dusted with dirt from the explosion.

"That was close. It wouldn't be good to get my face dirty." Noah lowered his arms. As he'd said, his face was completely clean.

"The gap in their strength is just too big," Erza said, her expression grim. From the very beginning, Laxus had been on the attack, but not a single blow had been effective. Noah had even seized an opportunity to hit him hard, and now, even the trap Laxus had set had failed to injure Noah at all. The result was despairing.

"Hey, hey, hey! When the hell did you become such a monster?!" Laxus was covered in sweat, looking at Noah with a conflicted expression. The series of fierce attacks had consumed a great deal of his stamina and magic power, yet all it had accomplished was getting a little dust on Noah's clothes.

"What can I say? While you're improving, I have to improve too. What would I do if you caught up to me?" Noah said with a smile and a shrug. This answer, however, made a vein throb on Laxus's forehead. Erza and Kagura were also speechless.

"Alright, Laxus. Can you use that magic now?" Noah's smile vanished, his tone becoming serious.

Laxus paused for a moment before he understood what Noah was talking about. "I can use it," he replied, "but I'm not skilled with it yet. It's hard to control."

"Then use it on me now. Let me see how powerful it is." Noah beckoned to him.

Laxus, however, hesitated. "I'm afraid it's too powerful and might hurt you."

Hearing this, a smile returned to Noah's face. "For now, you still can't hurt me. Use your full power!"

Laxus thought about it. He was right. The gap in their strength was so large that it would indeed be difficult to injure Noah. His expression turned serious, and he began to concentrate his magic.

Erza and Kagura were very curious about the magic Noah had mentioned and focused their attention on the two of them.

The pebbles around Laxus began to float, and arcs of electricity flashed around his body. After a few moments, the pebbles fell back to the ground, and the electricity vanished. Laxus tilted his head back and took a deep breath, his chest expanding. He then faced Noah, and a golden magic circle appeared in front of him, flashing for an instant.

He opened his mouth wide. "Roar of the Thunder Dragon!"

A golden cannon of light, wreathed in lightning, shot towards Noah. The closer it got, the larger it became, and an immense pressure expanded outwards.

Unflustered, Noah extended his index and middle fingers, tucking the other three, and golden magic power gathered on their tips. He drew a few lines in the air in front of him. A golden magic circle with the Fairy Tail emblem appeared and then rapidly expanded, shielding his entire body.

"Shield of Light."

The Thunder Dragon's Roar and the Shield of Light collided, creating a massive explosion. Smoke and dust obscured Erza and Kagura's vision, and they both watched the center of the field anxiously. Although they knew Noah wouldn't be easily injured, they were still worried after seeing such a powerful blast.

The lingering dust was blown away by a breeze, revealing the scene inside. Cracks had appeared on Noah's magic circle, and then, with a loud bang, it shattered. Erza and Kagura were both startled, but upon looking closer, they saw that Noah himself was still unharmed, his clothes not even torn.

Across from him, Laxus's face was a mask of fatigue. Sweat poured from his face, and his clothes were soaked through. He stood with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. His stamina and magic were clearly almost completely depleted. He had no strength left to attack again.

Seeing this, Noah walked towards Laxus. The protective formulas around the field began to dissolve. Erza and Kagura hurried inside, first running to Noah to check if he was injured. Erza, with a serious face, even reached out to touch him.

Noah was startled and quickly jumped away. Kagura was also taken aback and stared at Erza in shock. Erza, oblivious, just kept trying to grab Noah so she could check him over herself.

After dodging for a bit, Noah was finally caught by the persistent Erza. He grabbed both her hands with one of his and gently tapped her on the head with the other. "Erza, you need to be mindful of the boundaries between boys and girls. Besides, I'm not hurt. You can see for yourself."

He let go of her hands, held his own out to the sides, and did a slow turn, showing her that not only was he uninjured, but his clothes were also perfectly intact. Only then did Erza finally relent.

Kagura had been watching their antics with a strange, intense gaze. Erza looked at her, confused. "What's wrong? Is there something on me?" She even looked down at herself.

Kagura averted her eyes. "No, it's nothing."

Noah also felt that Kagura was acting a little strange, but he quickly led them over to Laxus. Laxus was also looking at Noah with an odd expression. "Did you finally remember me?"

Noah looked puzzled. "What are you talking about? Let me check on you."

He quickly examined Laxus and found that he was just suffering from excessive stamina and magic depletion and would be fine after a good rest. Noah took a potion from his pocket and handed it to Laxus. It would help him recover faster and even give him a small permanent boost.

Laxus didn't hesitate and took the potion. As Noah's childhood friend, he had taken similar potions many times before. He had absolute faith in Noah's abilities and knew he would never harm him.

The group then tidied up the damaged training ground, leveling the earth. Noah then supported Laxus, and together with Erza and Kagura, they returned to the guild.

Makarov saw them come back, and was particularly alarmed to see Laxus being held up by Noah. He was about to get angry, thinking something had happened, but Noah quickly reassured him. "It's alright, Gramps. Laxus and I just had an all-out fight. He's just like this because he's completely exhausted his stamina and magic."

~~~

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