After fully receiving the Soul of the Beast King, Elfman crushed one of the Four Elements—the Earth Elemental—with just a few punches.
Then Elfman charged straight toward Mirajane. Noel was about to intervene, but Elfman's speed was so fast that he couldn't react in time.
However, the rampage didn't happen. Instead, Elfman wrapped his arms around Mirajane.
"Nee-san… I'm sorry," Elfman lowered his head in remorse.
"Because I couldn't control myself… Lisanna ended up…"
"You wouldn't want to see me like this, right?" Elfman said while holding onto Mirajane.
The stone weighing on Noel's heart was finally lifted. It looked like things here would be fine.
"Leave the rest to me! Elfman, take Mirajane down. You've already done well enough," Noel said, without holding back his praise.
"Wait, Noel? Why are you here? Weren't you drained of magic power after blocking that shot from the Magic Cannon?" Elfman asked curiously.
"My magic power has already recovered. I can fight again," Noel replied while flexing his arm.
With that, Noel stepped inside the Magic Giant. The earlier battle had been intense—shattered walls, scars carved into the floor, and bloodstains everywhere told the story of a brutal clash.
The one Elfman just defeated was only one of the Four Elements. If he recalled correctly, they were Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind.
Strange though… weren't those straight out of alchemy? Could it be that Jose also studied alchemy?
As Noel was walking, the ceiling suddenly cracked, and falling rubble nearly smashed his head.
"What the hell? Ever heard of common decency!?" Noel shouted angrily upward.
But his shouting did nothing to stop what came next: a torrent of water poured down like a waterfall, drenching Noel completely.
"First rocks, now a water pillar? What's next, hailstones?" Noel shouted angrily again.
As if mocking him, several huge icicles came crashing down. Luckily, Noel dodged in time—if one of those had hit his head, it would have been disastrous.
"What rotten luck… I've got to get out of here fast. Who knows what else might fall next."
Noel sprinted forward, only to find Erza locked in a fierce battle with an enemy.
"How truly sorrowful…" Aria sighed.
Noll scratched his head. Another weird character? Who even was this guy? His presence was so low it was almost nonexistent.
"That's the one who attacked the old man," Erza said through gritted teeth.
She couldn't believe Master Makarov would lose to someone like this—he must have used some despicable trick.
"Heh-heh…" Aria chuckled. "Since the Queen of Fairies herself has arrived, I suppose I can no longer hold back."
Aria removed his blindfold. Though its function was unclear, the oppressive aura around him immediately intensified.
Could it be… the legendary Evil King's True Eye? The kind said to release its seal once the blindfold was removed?
"Are you… Aria?" NoAriall asked.
"For a mage of Fairy Tail to know my name—what an honor," Aria replied with a smile.
That was troubling. Rumor had it that Aria kept his eyes closed to suppress his magic.
But still, this fight should be fine left to Erza. After all, she was the Titania, the Fairy Queen—one of Fairy Tail's strongest.
"Erza, I'll leave this to you. Don't worry about me, I'll take care of things on my end."
"Void of Absolute Space!" Aria unleashed a powerful wave of magic energy.
But Noel simply walked past him, unaffected. What was going on? The spell had clearly been cast, yet it failed to repel him.
Aria tried to stop him, a magic circle glowing in his hand—
But Erza leveled her sword at him and declared, "Your opponent is me."
Meanwhile, Noel kept running, mind focused on Jose's whereabouts. To control the Magic Giant, he would surely need a place with wide visibility.
Most likely, the very top floor. Hiding away like this was infuriating.
Suddenly, a figure fell from above, bandages wrapped tightly around his abdomen.
"Uh… and who might you be?" Noel asked, dumbfounded.
"You don't recognize me?" Gajeel asked curiously.
Of course not—who could? The man before him was wrapped head to toe in bandages, only his eyes and nose visible.
If you didn't know better, you'd think some mummy had come back to life. Noel couldn't help but feel speechless.
"Iron Dragon's Roar!"
Gajeel unleashed a whirlwind of metallic shards, powerful enough to tear apart the Magic Giant.
"Alchemy: Wall!"
Noel instantly raised a towering wall. The silver storm slammed into it—yet not even a crack appeared.
"Impossible! My Iron Dragon's Roar can't even pierce a wall!?" Gajeel exclaimed in shock.
"That's because my alchemy has evolved. I can now imbue my creations with attributes. Pretty cool, right?" Noel boasted.
"Property Alteration: Radiance!"
Suddenly, the wall erupted with blinding light.
Gajeel was blinded instantly, unable to see anything around him.
Noll wasn't entirely sure why he himself wasn't affected. Maybe because he was the caster? Or perhaps because he had mentally prepared himself beforehand?
Either way, he quietly slipped behind Gajeel, his footsteps silent.
"Alchemy: Collapse!"
Gajeel's chest began to rapidly disintegrate. By the time Noel withdrew his hand, Gajeel's torso was a bloody mess.
Noll grimaced at the sight—such a severe injury was enough to incapacitate him. There was no need to go further.
Noll was a man of restraint. Once his opponent was disabled, he knew when to stop.
But unexpectedly, Gajeel's collapsing body fell directly onto Noel's foot, instantly swelling it up.
"Damn it, that hurts! What the hell is this guy made of, iron blocks!?" Noel cursed.
He quickly pulled out a vial of swelling salve—something he always carried just in case.
At least it came in handy now. As the potion seeped into his injury, the throbbing pain subsided.
Up ahead loomed a spiral staircase. But with each step upward, the oppressive aura grew heavier.
Even climbing those stairs took courage. So this was the pressure of one of the Ten Wizard Saints…
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