Chapter 138: Dance of the Fire Butterflies
The icy branches continued to surge, piling on top of the original layer of protection, making the entire ice sphere thicker and thicker. Ultear could feel the power of the magic circle beneath her and didn't dare to relax, continuously adding to her defenses while cursing Noah in her heart. It's just an S-Class exam! Does he really need to use such a ridiculous spell?
In just a second, Ultear had encased herself in an ice ball that was already two or three meters thick and was still growing.
"Dance of the Fire Butterflies!"
At the same time, dozens of translucent, fiery-red butterflies suddenly appeared around the ice sphere. They were made of pure flame, and you could even see the fire flickering on their bodies. They danced in the air, leaving a trail of sparks, a beautiful and deadly sight.
However, the spectators outside the barrier all felt an immense sense of danger. Some of the stronger, more perceptive ones even subconsciously took a few steps back and assumed a defensive stance.
When Ur first saw the magic circle appear on the ground and sensed the immense magic power it contained, she had panicked and was about to rush in to save Ultear, but she was stopped by Gildarts.
"Calm down. Feel it again, carefully. Noah won't harm Ultear."
Hearing Gildarts' words, Ur calmed down a little and once again focused on the magic inside the arena. Only then did she realize that after the fire butterflies appeared, the magic power contained within the circle had decreased. A portion of it was in the butterflies, but a large part of it was now being used to exert pressure on the spectators.
When Noah had first cast the spell, the massive amount of magic had been completely contained within the circle, and only a very few people could sense it. Most people just saw the huge magic circle and knew the spell was powerful, but they didn't know how powerful. If all of that magic had been used for the attack, Ultear would have been killed without a doubt, which was why Ur had been so panicked. But now that the butterflies had appeared, they only carried a portion of the magic. The rest was being used to intimidate the crowd. The threat to Ultear had been greatly reduced, and Ur was no longer so nervous.
After the fire butterflies appeared, the ice sphere began to grow even faster. Ultear, inside, could clearly feel the immense threat from the release of magic and was working even harder to thicken her defense. But by now, the butterflies had begun to crash into the ice. Each impact created an explosion, blasting away a chunk of ice, but the next moment, it would be replaced by Ultear.
After dozens of butterflies had crashed into the sphere at high speed, the ice ball was barely maintaining its size; it was no longer getting thicker. The speed at which Ultear was reinforcing it was just enough to keep up with the damage from the explosions.
And just then, the magic circle, now empty of butterflies, began to set off a series of massive explosions directly above the ice sphere. The surrounding temperature shot up, and the surface of the ice ball was continuously blasted away, visibly shrinking.
Inside, Ultear unleashed her full power, no longer trying to add to the thickness, but focusing everything on maintaining the current sphere. The powerful explosions sent a wave of fear through the crowd, their hearts pounding along with the blasts. Erza even tried to run forward against the pressure, but she stopped after just a few steps, because the explosions had ended.
The resulting smoke and dust obscured everyone's view. They were all anxious to know the result. Ur first scanned the situation inside and found that Ultear was stable, though her magic was very weak, clearly from the massive expenditure. But she was alright, and Ur breathed a sigh of relief.
When a breeze blew the smoke away, everyone could finally see inside. Ultear's ice sphere was still there, but there was very little of it left. They could vaguely see the figure inside. Just then, cracks appeared on the surface of the ice, and finally, the entire sphere shattered, revealing Ultear.
She was leaning over, her hands on her knees. Large beads of sweat were pouring from her face and arms, soaking her clothes and making her look as if she had just been pulled from the water. She was panting heavily, her breaths audible even from a distance. She had no strength left to speak; just standing was a struggle. She desperately wanted to lie down and sleep.
Noah nodded to Ur and the others, signaling that the exam was over. Ur was the first to walk in, and the others quickly followed. Ur and Erza supported Ultear. Noah raised a hand, and the ground shifted, filling in all the craters from the battle and leaving the field smooth and clean again.
They helped Ultear sit down. Only then did she have a chance to look at Noah. She still had no strength to speak, but the question in her eyes was clear.
Noah knew what she wanted to ask. He first took out a potion and handed it to her, then used a spell to dry her sweat-soaked clothes. "You're asking why I used such a powerful spell? Actually, I adjusted the power of the spell based on your defense. The stronger your defense, the stronger the attack. It was to test your maximum self-preservation ability in a dangerous situation. The casting speed wasn't originally that fast. I deliberately used more magic to speed it up to force you to face it head-on, so you couldn't escape. Because when you're on an S-Class request, unexpected situations often happen. At that time, your ability to protect yourself is crucial. It will determine whether you can survive."
Noah paused, then continued, "A poor self-preservation ability means you'll easily get hurt on S-Class missions. I can't let someone like that become an S-Class wizard. That would feel like I'm sending them to their death."
Everyone now understood his intentions. Ultear's own questions were also answered. Although her first reaction to the spell had been to curse him in her heart, from beginning to end, she had never suspected that he was trying to harm her. She had just been completely bewildered as to why he was using such a powerful spell for this exam. Now, she understood. She nodded, and Ur, standing beside her, also breathed a sigh of relief. She had also been frantic with worry and had almost charged into the arena. It was a good thing Gildarts had stopped her.
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