The Cygnus Bronze Cloth had a simple yet distinctive overall design.

First was the helmet, featuring swan wings on either side and a central swan head with crimson eyes.

This was followed by the upper body armor protecting the chest and shoulders, forearm guards that left the fingers half-exposed, a battle skirt shielding the hips, and leg armor covering everything below the knees.

At first glance, the coverage appeared to be nearly fifty percent, though some critical areas remained unprotected.

"Hum—"

An icy aura radiated around the Cygnus Bronze Cloth, frost continuously forming on the ground.

This wasn't Marco channeling his magic—it was an innate effect of the Cloth itself.

"Truly a special Cloth," Marco marveled.

Though classified as Bronze Saint Cloth, the Cygnus Bronze Cloth had extraordinary origins.

Its history dated back to the Quaternary Glacial Period millions of years ago, born from eternal ice walls that had never melted—a true Ice Cloth with undeniable prestige.

Hyoga, one of the "Five Bronze Saints," became its first and only wearer.

This marked the Cloth's debut—arguably making it rarer than even Gold Cloths, as no one before Hyoga had ever worn it.

Other Saints inherited secondhand Cloths, some even passed down countless times.

But Hyoga's Cygnus Cloth was one hundred percent brand new.

Though forged in ancient times, its perfect preservation in ice meant it remained pristine when Hyoga claimed it, indistinguishable from newly crafted armor.

As Marco experienced the Cygnus Bronze Cloth's effects, his body began moving instinctively.

The image of a swan dance surfaced in his mind.

Extending his arms, Marco followed the movements in his thoughts.

The dance mirrored Cygnus' celestial journey—rising from the northeast, reaching its zenith with its head pointing southwest, then descending northwest like a swan taking flight before vanishing below the horizon.

"Diamond Dust Fist!"

After completing the dance, Marco thrust his clasped fists forward.

Snowflakes as pure as crystal like scattered stars.

A terrifying wave of freezing energy erupted, instantly freezing the entire lake—its power dwarfing previous attempts.

"As expected, only with matching skills and Cloth can one unleash full potential," Marco observed, examining his fist.

"This punch felt completely different despite having the same proficiency."

[Diamond Dust Fist proficiency +1]

The system's timely notification confirmed Marco's intuition wasn't mistaken.

That single strike had granted new insights.

Compatible skills and Cloths enhanced each other—the Cloth amplified skill effects while accelerating mastery, and the skills fully activated the Cloth's latent power, transforming it from mere armor into something greater.

"Even connecting with the constellation feels easier now."

Closing his eyes, Marco sensed the Cygnus constellation's star map shimmering faintly in the night sky above.

Of course, this point remains debatable, as the Lyra Silver Cloth had already influenced the Cygnus and Draco constellations with their respective techniques.

Now that Cygnus also possesses a Cloth, it's only natural for the constellation to resonate easily.

There are too many variables at play, making it uncertain whether this effect stems from the synergy between techniques and the Cloth.

"Shine forth, Cygnus!"

Marco suddenly opened his eyes, and the Cygnus constellation in the sky blazed brilliantly, with the star Deneb at its tail shining even more radiantly, akin to the North Star.

Deneb is already extremely close to the celestial north pole, and in nearly ten thousand years, it will take over the position of the "North Star."

"Hum!!!"

A bone-chilling magical power descended from the sky, merging into Marco's body.

This magic amplified the freezing power emitted by the Cygnus Cloth to such an extent that ordinary people risked frostbite just by being near it.

"Aurora Thunder Attack!"

After successfully connecting with the constellation, the Cygnus Cloth's innate ability was also activated—not 'Aurora Execution' (Mercy of the Goddess of Dawn), but an original technique created by Hyoga.

This makes perfect sense, as Hyoga was the first master of the Cygnus Bronze Cloth. It's only natural for the Cloth to carry his self-created techniques.

"Crackle, crackle!"

Marco clasped his fists together, gathering a massive frozen tornado infused with lightning in his hands.

If the Diamond Dust Fist is a "static fist," freezing the target upon impact, then this Aurora Thunder Attack is a "dynamic fist."

The electrified frozen tornado would hurl enemies into the air, relentlessly pummeling them.

"BOOM!"

Marco threw a punch, and the terrifying frozen tornado instantly surged toward the sky, crackling with thunder and lightning—a sight both awe-inspiring and intimidating.

The power of this technique surpassed even that of the Diamond Dust Fist.

"Hum!!!"

As the tornado raged, even the residual freezing energy radiating outward from the attack's epicenter turned the surrounding ground rock-hard.

"Marco! What the hell are you doing, you brat?! It was you, wasn't it?! Why did you freeze the entire lake?!"

Just as Marco was marveling at his newfound ability, a chorus of angry shouts erupted.

Marco turned towards the source of the voices, which came from the other sides of the lake.

The lake wasn't entirely within the Fairy Tail guild's territory, so.. many citizens had been enjoying its waters—some boating, others fishing.

Before acting, Marco had checked that no boats were out today, so accidental harm wasn't a concern.

Unfortunately, the anglers on the shore weren't so lucky.

They had just settled in to bait their hooks and cast their lines, only to be hit by an intense freeze.

The cold was bad enough, but freezing the entire lake?

That was just too much!

A few who had been on the verge of reeling in their catches found both their rods and fish frozen solid—a fate worse than death for any angler.

Furious, they began searching for the culprit.

At first, they suspected Gray, given his reputation for ice magic—until they witnessed Marco's dramatic "Aurora Thunder Attack" and promptly redirected their rage towards him.

Marco laughed sheepishly, dispelling the ice from the lake before darting away, leaving no opportunity for further complaints from the citizens.

He had been a bit impatient earlier.

Logically, he should have tested his abilities outside the city, but Magnolia was an inland town after all.

The best place to truly test this ability was this very lake—nowhere else could demonstrate the effects so clearly.

"This set of abilities is indeed remarkably powerful. I hope more matching skills and Cloths will come."

After experiencing the changes brought by the Cygnus Cloth, Marco felt refreshed and invigorated.

By now, he had activated quite a few star maps.

Equuleus, Pegasus, Orion, Lyra, Cygnus—and beyond these, Draco was nearly complete due to the influence of neighboring constellations.

Marco's reserve energy storage was growing steadily.

In battle, the star maps in the sky continuously supplied him with magic power.

Anyone trying to outlast him in a prolonged fight would be in for a treat.

Of course, it wasn't just endurance battles that benefited.

Marco's burst power was also formidable.

The energy of the stars pouring into his body allowed him to unleash terrifying attacks far exceeding his normal magical capacity. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt

.....

After spending some lively time back at the guild, Marco returned home with Laxus and Makarov.

The three of them going home together was something that hadn't happened in quite a while.

This mission to subdue Jose Porla had, if nothing else, eased the tensions between the grandfather and grandsons—mainly between Makarov and Laxus.

In the past, Laxus would have left on his own long ago.

However, Marco had reason to suspect that Laxus hadn't left first this time because he wanted to stay and hear the guild's praise and recognition for his performance, which had indeed been impressive.

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Aurora Thunder Attack (オーロラサンダーアタック, Õrora Sandā Atakku): A horizontal variation of the Kholodnyi Smerch. It is performed by clasping his hands together as he expels snow and ice at the opponent.

Aurora Execution (オーロラエクスキューション, Õrora Ekusukyūshon): Learned directly from battling his master Aquarius Camus, the Aurora Execution is a Gold Saint level technique that enables the user to have control over absolute zero, the temperature at which all atomic movement stops and everything becomes frozen.

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