Inside the control room, only Jose remained. As for the others, they had all been dispatched, scattered throughout the various sections of the Magic Giant.
"So, you actually made it this far. You've got some skill, kid. Too bad Juvia didn't finish you off back then."
Jose sneered, then continued complaining:
"As expected, alchemists are the most troublesome. You've figured it out, haven't you? The structure of this Magic Giant."
Noel gave no reply, remaining silent. Truthfully, he had only taken a rough look, but he did know where some of the weak points lay.
"You don't need to answer. Care to chat with me for a while? Not that it matters—you've made it here, and I'm not letting you leave alive," Jose threatened.
"Alchemy: Wind—Purifying Blades!" Noel intoned.
"Wraith Soldiers."
Dark shadows spread across the floor, and from within them emerged one phantom soldier after another.
As soon as the purifying blades touched the wraiths, they exploded with dazzling light, instantly reducing them to ash.
"What!? That's purifying power!" Jose's eyes widened in disbelief.
Impossible. Alchemists weren't Light mages—so why could this boy wield purification magic?
"Seems I'll have to take you a little more seriously." Jose grew wary, though he still hadn't put Noll in his heart. To him, the boy was just a child.
After all, between him and Noel lay an insurmountable gulf—the sheer difference in total magical power.
But Noel wasn't overly concerned. Magic reserves didn't always decide the outcome of a battle—technique often played the greater role.
Suddenly, Jose's body erupted with terrifying magic power. The energy was black, dense enough to take visible form to the naked eye.
Such overwhelming magic—Noel sucked in a sharp breath. But retreat was not an option.
It was precisely this enormous magic that let Jose act so brazenly—committing atrocities without remorse, convinced it was only natural.
"So this is what you rely on?" Noel asked coolly.
"Of course! With great power comes the right to rule the world!" Jose's expression twisted with madness.
"To commit such atrocities just to flaunt your strength…?" Noel's fury ignited.
"Alchemy: Wind—Exchange—Sacred Flame!"
A furious blaze surged up around him, spreading outward until even the floor began to melt.
The ground-fire shot upward in towering pillars, spraying molten lava, until one blast even punched a hole straight through the ceiling of the Magic Giant.
The flames spiraled like dragons ascending to the heavens, swirling into a blazing vortex that tore through the floor and roared toward Jose.
Noel expected him to dodge. But Jose didn't move. His body was engulfed by the flames—then vanished entirely within the inferno.
"Specter Arrows."
The voice came from the darkness.
Black arrows tore through the air, slashing across Noel's body and leaving bloody gashes. He clutched the wounds, stunned.
"What? You… didn't you just burn to ash?"
"Who told you that was me? That was only a magical clone. The real me was hidden in the shadows all along—and you never noticed." Jose laughed coldly.
"Seems I overestimated you. But I can't allow you to grow any further. If Fairy Tail keeps getting stronger, I'll never let it stand." His grin turned sinister.
From the wounds, black smoke began to rise—the flesh around them rotting away. It wasn't just ordinary dark magic—it carried a curse.
Noel quickly pressed purifying flame against the injury. The sizzling pain made him grit his teeth, but the corruption halted.
"You actually used that method? Bold of you!" Jose sneered in faint praise.
"I don't need praise from the likes of you." Noel glared at him.
"What an unpleasant brat. Since you despise me so much, I'll show you true darkness."
A surge of vile black magic erupted from Jose, scattering before coalescing into two colossal wraiths.
"Feel the torment!" Jose reveled in the moment. To him, weakness itself was the original sin. No matter how strong this boy seemed, in Jose's eyes he was nothing but a rat.
"Dark Erosion!"
Dark element energy, steeped in malevolence, spread from Jose's hand, filling the air and pressing closer around Noel as though to swallow him whole.
"Purifying Blades!"
Noel unleashed one strike after another. Each blade cut into the massive wraiths, dispersing darkness—but each time, the shadows instantly regenerated, reforming as though nothing had happened.
Their recovery was too fast. At this rate, it was impossible to purify them completely.
The dark miasma engulfed Noel, but his body erupted with radiant golden light, driving back the encroaching corruption.
"Dark Barrage!"
From Jose's fingertips, five streams of condensed darkness emerged—each brimming with a terrifying, destructive aura that only grew stronger as they gathered.
Noel's instincts screamed danger. If even one struck him, the result would be catastrophic. He had to evade.
But the two massive wraiths closed in, sealing off his movements. He was pinned down, as helpless as a target dummy.
"Damn it—!"
One of the wraiths seized his arm.
Jose's black energies flared into five devastating beams, piercing straight through Noel's arm and leg bones.
"What a troublesome brat. Finally brought down, have you?" Jose scoffed.
But Noel staggered back to his feet, forcing his battered body to rise again. Perhaps it was his final act of defiance—
He couldn't fall here. Not in front of someone like this. Even if it cost him his life, he had to leave Jose with a wound.
"Combination Magic—Alchemy Tempest!"
The wind element in the air churned violently, forming a colossal storm that tore through the interior of the Magic Giant.
Stones ripped free and were transmuted into blades of iron, joining the storm as it raged toward Jose and his wraiths.
"Damn brat—you still had this much magic hidden?" Jose glared coldly, regret flashing in his eyes. He should have killed the boy outright earlier.
He knew well the truth: even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit. He had underestimated him.
"Barrier!"
The great black shadows gathered around Jose, forming a shroud of deathly dark energy that encased and protected him.
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