The strength of Celestial Spirits summoned through celestial spirit magic is limited by the summoner's magic power.

The more magic power one possesses, the stronger the summoned spirits—some can even summon multiple spirits simultaneously.

This is primarily because Celestial Spirits cannot independently gather magic power in this world.

Their existence and combat abilities rely entirely on the magic power provided by the Celestial Spirit Mage, which greatly restricts their potential.

Leo, the leader of the Zodiac in the Celestial Spirit World, stands apart precisely because he can bring his own magic power from the spirit realm.

He can even roam freely without needing a Mage to open his gate, fighting without draining his summoner's magic power.

These extraordinary abilities cemented his position as the strongest among the Zodiac.

"BOOM!"

Yet, under the onslaught of Marco's overwhelming power, even Leo—who had arrived with his own reserves—could no longer hold on.

His magic power drained rapidly, unable to withstand Marco's "Phantom Flame Surge,".

The violet-blue hounds tore into the golden lion, devouring it swiftly before turning their crimson eyes toward Leo himself.

"Lion's Radiance!"

Facing the incoming hounds of violet-blue fire, Leo gritted his teeth and unleashed a burst of magic power.

A golden barrier expanded outward, shielding both himself and Karen.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

The violet-blue hounds relentlessly battered the golden magic circle, shaking it to its limits.

Leo's magic power supply was faltering, and Karen—protected behind him—was growing pale as her own magic power surged uncontrollably into him.

"No! I can't hold on any longer!"

Seeing Karen's condition, Leo immediately realized this couldn't continue—she would be in grave danger if it did.

Yet Karen's stubbornness was laid bare in this moment.

Clenching her jaw, she refused to dismiss Leo, pouring every last drop of her magic power to sustain him.

"That's enough, Karen!"

Leo grabbed Karen and hurled her away before charging headlong into the violet-blue hounds in a final, desperate assault.

"BOOM!"

The golden magic circle shattered, and Leo's form was swallowed by the flames.

As the inferno dissipated, Leo had already been forced back to the Celestial Spirit World—unsummonable for the foreseeable future.

"..."

Staring blankly at the scene, Karen lay sprawled on the ground, dazed.

"What... kind of Celestial Spirit Magic is this?!"

Watching Marco who's clad in an armor and draped in starlight, with a continuous shower of stars above his head, Karen let out a hysterical scream.

'Tap, tap, tap.'

Marco walked slowly, leisurely approaching Karen who was kneeling on the ground.

"Look up, Karen." Marco spoke, causing Karen to dazedly raise her head to look at him.

"The stars have spirits, and they all shine for me.

How is this not Celestial Spirit Magic?"

Behind Marco, the constellations of Pegasus, Equuleus and Orion flickered, their starlight flowing freely, leaving Karen utterly mesmerized.

"Get up, the ground is cold."

The Orion cloth dissolved into moths of light, fading from Marco's body as he extended a hand to Karen.

Karen numbly took Marco's hand and stood up, completely bewildered.

This was the most crushing defeat she had ever suffered, losing to Marco without even a chance to fight back.

At this moment, Karen was in a state of mental shock after being utterly overwhelmed by sheer power.

Karen, who had always held Leo the Lion as her trump card, was actually the one accustomed to overpowering others with sheer powers.

Leo, who appeared with his own magic power, combined with Karen's supply, allowed her to dominate her peers and even those older than her with overwhelming force.

As the saying goes, what goes around comes around.

It wasn't that justice hadn't been served, but that the time hadn't come yet.

Karen, who had always relied on brute force, had finally met her match—a true powerhouse.

In the face of Marco's overwhelming power, Karen and Leo's strength was insignificant.

Karen even severely dragged Leo down.

"Treat your Celestial Spirits better in the future. Without them, you're nothing."

Looking at Karen, Marco delivered a sharp critique to her.

The most important thing in life is to know oneself, but many fail to do so.

"The stars have spirits..."

Karen repeated Marco's words blankly, unsure if she even heard his advice.

"..."

Seeing Karen's dazed expression, Marco shook his head in silence.

He didn't expect a casual remark to change someone's mindset.

Truthfully, Marco had only spoken offhandedly.

He had no idea about the specifics of Karen's relationship with Leo.

Marco simply felt that Karen's attitude towards her Celestial Spirits was excessively harsh.

As a Celestial Spirit Mage, wasn't this biting the hand that fed her?

Such behavior would inevitably backfire.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Bacchus approached them, clapping with admiration as he looked at Marco.

The fighting spirit fiercely burned in Bacchus eyes.

Marco was nothing like he had imagined—this "Celestial Spirit Magic" was overwhelmingly domineering!

"Marco, since you're wearing armor, you must be a combat specialist, right?" Bacchus asked curiously.

Logically, with Marco's terrifying magic power and his armor, he must have formidable close-combat abilities.

Otherwise, what was the point of the armor?

"Of course. A real man fights with fists!." Marco nodded.

He was indeed a combat specialist, though he certainly had some skills that didn't involve direct physical confrontation.

"Let's spar sometime!" Bacchus enthusiastically extended an invitation to Marco.

Deep down, Bacchus felt he might have little chance of winning, but he was still itching for a fight.

He had trained in martial arts precisely to battle the strongest—how could he shy away from a challenge just because he might lose?

"Sure, anytime," Marco replied with a smile.

He quite liked this Bacchus fellow.

The heavy-drinking, straightforward muscleman gave Marco the illusion of being a chivalrous wandering hero—utterly free and unrestrained.

The two of them huddled around a table and started chatting.

Only then did Marco realize that Bacchus was actually a practitioner of drunken fist!

'No wonder he's always carrying that gourd and drinking. So it's specifically for getting the drunken buff?'

Marco glanced at Bacchus gourd, but he quickly dismissed his thought.

This guy just loved drinking.

Otherwise, such a buff item would only be used when needed, not casually sipped like Bacchus did.

Moreover, Marco now noticed that Bacchus also wore earrings shaped like tiny gourds.

The guy genuinely adored these things.

Marco and Bacchus chatted happily, discussing the intricacies of drunken fist.

The two hit it off so well that no one paid any attention to the thoroughly defeated Karen.

On the other side, seeing the battle end so quickly, the guild masters exchanged glances before all turning their eyes to Makarov.

At this moment, Makarov couldn't have been more pleased.

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly—it was harder to suppress than an AK.

"You win, Makarov." Goldmine hadn't expected this either.

He had bet on Karen, partly because she was older and partly due to the added advantage of Leo.

But to everyone's surprise, they had underestimated Marco's power.

As for how far Marco could go in the future, no one could say for sure.

After all, the magic he used was too unique.

It was something never seen before, not even in books.

If its upper limit was truly as Marco described—

"The stars have spirits, and they all shine for me." Goldmine's eyes were full of awe.

What kind of spectacle would that be?

"Hahaha! Then I'll gladly take it!"

Goldmine's thoughts were interrupted by Makarov's uncontrollable laughter.

Makarov grinned widely, stuffing all the money he'd won from the others into his pocket.

The amount wasn't much—it was just for fun, a friendly wager.

Makarov didn't care about the money itself but the symbolic victory.

Once again, it proved that Fairy Tail was the strongest guild, the No. 1 in Fiore!

"Small man, small gains."

Just as Makarov was reveling in his triumph, someone stepped forward to rain on his parade, delivering a blunt insult.

Makarov didn't even need to look to know who it was.

"Jose Porla!"

Makarov roared, glaring at the man with fury, itching to throw a punch.

Jose Porla was a middle-aged man in his late thirties with dark red hair, clad in a somber robe that exuded ominous magic power.

His features weren't exactly friendly and most notably, his robe bore a badge.

That badge represented one of the highest honors in the Ishgar continent—the emblem of the Ten Wizard Saints!

Jose Porla seemed already deep in his cups, already quite drunk.

Truth be told, everyone had drunk quite a bit by then, Makarov included.

Both men were loose-lipped, so it took only a few words for tensions to flare.

Of course, old grudges played a part too.

Jose Porla was the guild master of Phantom Lord, and ever since its establishment, Phantom Lord had been at odds with Fairy Tail.

The relationship between the two guilds had always been terrible.

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