"Haah..."

Jose Porla exhaled deeply, accepting reality.

He could no longer afford to hold back—if he didn't go all out now, he might truly be defeated by these two juniors today.

"Bzzzt!"

With his mind made up and no longer concerned about the guild hall or the town of Oak, Jose Porla raised his hands to his sides, gathering power.

Terrifying magical energy condensed in his palms, his stance resembling someone preparing to unleash a Kamehameha wave.

The sheer force of the dark magic alone was enough to intimidate—the ground around Jose Porla trembled and cracked, while the sky darkened as though it were pressing down upon the earth.

"This guy..."

Makarov, who had been observing the battle from the sidelines, narrowed his eyes.

Jose Porla's actions made him itch to step in and take control of the fight.

He wasn't sure Marco and Laxus could withstand this attack.

Jose Porla had clearly abandoned all restraint.

Makarov was immensely pleased with Marco and Laxus' performance.

Even if Jose Porla wasn't at his best, he was still a seasoned powerhouse—even at seventy or eighty percent of his strength, he ranked among the continent's elite.

For Marco and Laxus, at their young age, to push Jose Porla this far was already a remarkable feat, worthy of the title 'Fairy Tail Two Prides'! (Made up title by makarov)

"Marco! Get out of the way! Let me settle this with him!"

Though Makarov wanted to intervene, Laxus had no intention of backing down.

Shirtless, his body crackled with electricity, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.

Facing Jose Porla's impending ultimate attack, he too began gathering his magic.

Clutching his hands before his chest, Laxus concentrated all his power, a blinding radiance forming between his palms.

"Fairy Law! Activate!"

Without hesitation, the fiercely determined Laxus unleashed his strongest magic—"Fairy Law," a spell he had recently learned!

Fairy Law was one of Fairy Tail's three great Super Magics.

Of course, Laxus wasn't entirely confident it would defeat Jose Porla—after all, this was his first time using it.

That was why he urged Marco to retreat, not wanting him caught in the crossfire of Jose Porla's explosive assault.

"That damn brat!"

Seeing Laxus cast "Fairy Law," Makarov nearly blew his top in frustration.

He had explicitly warned Laxus that this spell was not to be used lightly.

At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a flicker of surprise—he hadn't expected Laxus to master the technique so quickly.

He had only given Laxus a summary of a simplified version, yet the boy had already grasped how to execute it!

Above them, a golden magic circle pierced through the darkness, illuminating the sky.

A blinding light descended, enveloping everything in its radiance.

"BOOM!!!"

With a twisted snarl, Jose Porla hurled forth his devastating energy wave.

An overwhelming surge of magical power erupted in all directions.

The terrifying impact directly upheaved the ground, with Phantom Lord's guild hall being the first to bear the brunt.

Under the assault of the magical shockwave, it was instantly reduced to scattered ruins.

"BOOM!!!"

Laxus's "Fairy Law" also descended, erupting in a blinding radiance that struck Jose Porla directly.

Super Magic was indeed Super Magic.

With a single flash of "Fairy Law's" light, enemies within its range had nowhere to hide.

Even if Jose Porla could teleport, he couldn't evade this attack.

"ARGHHH!!!"

Struck by "Fairy Law," Jose Porla concentrated his magic to resist, but he was still completely overwhelmed by the terrifying Super Magic.

"Twang!"

A sharp chord rang out as Marco plucked his strings, weaving a net of starlight and magic to intercept Jose Porla's shockwave.

Though the people of Oak Town didn't welcome them, Marco wouldn't stand idly by while Jose Porla destroyed the city.

If left unchecked, this terrifying dark shockwave would have no trouble obliterating all of Oak Town.

Laxus's "Fairy Law," however, was different.

Though it appeared equally imposing, its target was singular—Jose Porla.

This spell only attacked those the caster deemed 'enemy'.

"BOOM!!!"

Marco's plucked strings stretched into a vast magical net, colliding head-on with Jose Porla's dark magical shockwave.

This time, Marco stood in front of Laxus, shielding him from the shockwave that would have otherwise struck the nearly magic-depleted Laxus.

Under the onslaught of Jose Porla's immense magical force, Marco's string net teetered on the verge of collapse.

He connected to the star chart, frantically channeling magic to sustain the net while also struggling to expand its protective coverage.

'CRASH!!!'

Phantom Lord's guild hall had already collapsed and countless buildings across Oak Town were destroyed by the dark magical shockwave.

Only the area shielded by Marco's net remained intact—he had done his best.

The destructive power of a "Ten Wizard Saint" in full fury was truly staggering.

Leveling a city was child's play for them.

'Hum! Hum! Hum!'

The dark magical shockwave surged relentlessly against the net, wave after wave like a tidal force, until it finally subsided.

Marco felt as though his fingers were about to snap.

To prevent the dark magic from breaching the net, Marco continuously played the "String Requiem," burning through his magic reserves.

Only the constant replenishment from his Star Magic kept him going.

In the end, he successfully withstood Jose Porla's vengeful strike, protecting both Laxus and the town behind him.

The "String Requiem" was originally an offensive skill, yet Marco had repurposed it for defense—a truly unconventional approach.

However, this technique was far less efficient for defense than offense.

Offensive use only required concentrating magic into the strings to enhance lethality, whereas defense demanded filling the net flawlessly, multiplying the magic consumption exponentially.

The immense drain nearly exhausted even Marco's proud magical reserves, making him urgently desire a professional defensive skill—one capable of blocking large-scale attacks.

His Cloth could only protect himself.

When it came to shielding others or defending against an enemy's wide-range assaults, he truly had no effective means.

In truth, aside from mages specializing in defensive magic circles, most wizards weren't adept at large-scale defensive spells.

Makarov was no exception.

Though he was proficient in defensive magic and his barriers were strong enough to withstand city- or island-destroying attacks, the protective range of his spells might not even surpass Marco's string net.

Most defensive magic practiced by wizards was single-target or, at best, covered a small surrounding area.

Yet, faced with this situation, Makarov didn't stand idly by.

The old man spared no effort, continuously casting defensive spells to block the sinister magical onslaught.

One small defensive barrier after another was erected, working alongside Marco to protect the town behind them.

As the magic subsided, the music and explosions gradually faded.

The battle was over.

Marco and Laxus were nearly drained of all their magic, but at least they were still standing.

On the other side, Jose Porla, struck by "Fairy Law," had already collapsed.

The power of Laxus's "Fairy Law" naturally couldn't compare to Makarov's, but against already weakened Jose and unable to unleash his full strength—it was more than enough to defeat him.

Jose Porla knelt on the ground, smoke seemingly rising from his body.

Behind him, to his left and right, lay nothing but ruins.

Over half of the town of Oak had been destroyed, with only the side shielded by Marco's magic net and Makarov's defensive barriers remaining intact.

"Jose ... is finished."

Surveying the devastation, Makarov sighed.

The town of Oak must have housed tens of thousands of people.

There was no telling how many had been caught in the crossfire of Jose Porla's magic.

That last attack of his had been sheer madness.

If not for the combined efforts of Makarov and Marco in protecting half the town, the deranged Jose Porla might have harmed even more.

"How are you holding up, Laxus?"

Holding his lyre, Marco approached Laxus, who had collapsed to the ground from exhaustion and offered him a hand.

"Thanks, Marco."

Grasping Marco's hand, Laxus pulled himself up.

He owed Marco his gratitude—had Marco not blocked Jose Porla's attack, his fate might not have been any better than Jose Porla's.

Having poured all his magic into "Fairy Law," Laxus had no reserves left to defend himself.

To defeat Jose Porla, he had committed everything to the attack, leaving no thought for defense.

Though his competitive nature played a part in this decision, in a way, it was also an act of trust—trust in Marco and Makarov.

At the time, Laxus hadn't consciously realized this, nor had he dwelled on it.

But deep down, he had believed Marco and the old man would step in, that they would shield him from Jose Porla's assault.

Actually, Laxus had thought the old man would step in.

Before he made his move, he had asked Marco to retreat, never expecting Marco could block the attack on his own.

The old man's intervention was only to protect the town.

This wasn't much easier than when he used "Fairy Law" to defeat Jose Porla, after all, it was Jose Porla's furious strike.

"No need to thank me. We worked well together, didn't we? You attacked, I defended—even the Ten Wizard Saints couldn't stop the two of us."

Marco spoke with a smile, extending his right fist toward Laxus.

'Bump.'

Laxus grinned as well, raising his hand to meet Marco's fist.

"But what I wanted was to defeat him alone."

Laxus's eyes burned with intensity.

Though he was the one who ultimately took down Jose Porla, he wasn't entirely sure who had contributed more in this battle—himself or Marco.

In Laxus's view, Marco clearly had the ability to defeat Jose Porla too, since he'd already done it once before.

This time, Marco had mainly been supporting him in the fight, and the opportunity to defeat Jose Porla had essentially been handed to him by Marco.

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