'Scarlet Needle!'

The moment Marco saw the skill, relevant information flooded his mind.

This was the signature technique of the Scorpio Gold Saint (Scorpio Milo)—fifteen Scarlet Needles piercing the body, leaving even immortals with no chance of survival!

The fatal strike was the fifteenth needle, 'Antares' but before it landed, the target still had a choice.

Though the lethal blow was the fifteenth, the preceding fourteen needles were far from useless.

Victims would suffer unbearable pain, nerve paralysis and continuous bleeding from the puncture wounds—as if scorpion venom coursed through their veins.

The more needles struck, the worse the symptoms became, eventually leading to the gradual loss of the five senses and consciousness, culminating in an unnoticed death.

In truth, most opponents wouldn't even last until the fifteenth needle—only the toughest could endure that far.

It sounded incredibly powerful—and it was—but the question remained: how could he ensure landing all fifteen strikes?

The Scorpio Gold Saint rarely missed with this technique, relying on unparalleled speed and peak physical prowess.

One crucial point had to be emphasized: being able to throw a lightspeed punch didn't mean one could move at lightspeed while throwing it.

These were two entirely different concepts, yet the Scorpio Gold Saint could achieve both.

That was why he could maximize the technique's lethality—even fellow Gold Saints couldn't evade his Scarlet Needle.

'Can I do it?' Marco glanced at his right hand.

As endless knowledge about Scarlet Needle poured into his mind, he had already grasped the basics of the technique.

"Bzzzt!"

Magic power surged, and the nail of Marco's right index finger transformed, sharpening and turning a deep scarlet, just like a scorpion's stinger.

'Scarlet Needle!'

Activating the ability, a crimson sphere of magic power rapidly condensed at the tip of his scarlet needle finger.

With a forceful step forward, Marco thrust his right hand forward, aiming the venomous strike at a pillar ahead.

"BOOM!"

Marco's eyes widened in shock as the Scarlet Needle shot out with incredible speed, striking the thick support column and causing a deafening explosion.

Under Marco's stunned gaze, the support column snapped cleanly at the point where the Scarlet Needle had hit.

"BOOM!"

Before Marco could even react, the section of the ceiling supported by the column began to visibly collapse.

"Dude, something's not right with this power! Isn't this supposed to be an acupuncture strike? A lethal poison injected into the body?!" Marco was completely dumbfounded.

Forget about injecting poison—if this hit an ordinary person, a single Scarlet Needle would turn them into Gojo Satoru!

Fifteen strikes to kill? Fifteen strikes would probably reduce someone into atoms!

Though his mind was reeling with shock, Marco didn't just stand there as the column crumbled and the ceiling roared ominously.

"Haaah—"

He exhaled sharply, dispersing the Scarlet Needle at his fingertips.

Instead, he channeled his magic power and threw a punch towards the collapsing column.

"Diamond Dust Fist!"

Magic surged violently as a terrifying wave of freezing energy blasted into the column.

Layer after layer of frost rapidly encased the broken structure, transforming it into a thick pillar of ice.

Not stopping there, Marco immediately followed up with another punch aimed at the ceiling.

Ice spread swiftly across the roof as well.

With these two Diamond Dust Fists unleashed, the rumbling building fell eerily silent—as if frozen solid.

"Hiss!"

The icy wind from the Diamond Dust Fist swept through the banquet hall, making everyone shiver violently.

Young and old alike turned their gazes towards Marco, their eyes filled with shock and confusion.

"You brat! What the hell are you doing?!"

Makarov's veins bulged on his forehead as he took in the sight of the frozen banquet hall.

Sure, they'd already agreed to cover the damages, but wrecking the place after the fight was over?

What was the point of that?!

Makarov considered himself a man of principle.

Destruction caused during battle was unavoidable—he never complained about that and was even willing to pay full (or even extra) compensation.

Being a Mage wasn't child's play; it was a dangerous profession.

When fighting an enemy, you had to go all out.

But after the battle? That was a different story.

Deliberate destruction post-fight was absolutely unacceptable!

"Ahem… Sorry, Gramps. That wasn't on purpose."

In this situation, Marco couldn't exactly shift the blame.

He awkwardly admitted his mistake.

"What were you even trying to do?" Makarov sighed in exasperation.

He'd been enjoying the victory, only for his own kid to nearly bring the roof down!

It wasn't just Makarov who was curious—the other guild masters were also staring at Marco with intense interest.

Under their collective gaze, Marco thought to himself that this really wasn't some intentional flex.

After carefully choosing his words to avoid alarming everyone, he slowly began to explain.

"It's like this, Gramps. My Celestial Spirit Magic just awakened a new ability, and I was curious to try it out. Since it's a newly acquired power, I cant control it properly."

Marco's words instantly stunned everyone present—except for one person: Makarov.

Makarov raised an eyebrow, his smirk becoming harder to suppress than an AK's recoil.

"'Awakened' a 'new ability' again? How many is that now?" Makarov spoke slowly, his voice tinged with feigned confusion, but he deliberately emphasized words like 'awakened', 'new ability', and 'how many', as if blatantly showing off to the audience.

"I lost count. Maybe ten?" Marco replied calmly, as if it were no big deal.

"How does it compare to that Star Rose?" Makarov immediately followed up, playing the straight man to draw out the details.

"Each has its strengths." Marco pondered briefly before answering.

Though his "Royal Demon Rose" was a one-time use, it was still a Gold Saint's ability.

If the effect was lacking, it was his own fault—not the ability's—since he only had that single rose.

"..."

The crowd was speechless.

Listen to that!

Just listen!

Is that even human talk?!

Since when can magic abilities just awaken whenever they please?

And keep awakening endlessly? New powers popping up now and then?

Ten new abilities? All as strong as that "Star Rose"?

"You two..." Goldmine couldn't help but chuckle helplessly from the side.

Tonight's banquet had truly let this grandfather-grandson duo steal the spotlight.

Not only had they driven off Jose Porla—who had always been arrogant and subtly opposed to Fairy Tail—but they'd also let the younger generation make a name for themselves by trampling over a Ten Wizard Saint.

And as if that weren't enough, the "surprises" just kept coming.

Everyone present would likely remember this day for a long time.

"Is this guy even human?"

The older generation could only sigh about heroes emerging from the youth, but the younger ones were now looking at Marco with entirely different eyes.

They didn't even dare to consider him a rival anymore.

His talent was simply too dazzling!

He wasn't human—he was a pure cheat!

"Alright, alright! Everyone who's fine should pack up and go to bed! Let these two guard the place so the building doesn't collapse!"

Ooba babasama shook her head, shouting in annoyance before turning to leave with Jura Neekis in tow.

She'd had enough of Fairy Tail's rowdy bunch!

"Don't worry! We'll stay up all night!" Makarov readily agreed.

Since they were responsible for the banquet hall's current state, he'd never shirk accountability.

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Antares(アンタレス, antaresu): The final attack of Scarlet Needle which the star Antares literally means 'equal to Mars'.

If the enemy has not yet been defeated after 14 Scarlet Needles, The user uses Antares.

Whoever receives 14 Scarlet Needles and Antares will die.

However if Antares is not delivered, the victim might survive and gradually recover over a period of a few days given the massive blood loss.

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