Chapter 147: Susanoo
BOOM!
A cloud of dust and smoke rolled out, completely obscuring Noah's position and making it impossible to see what had happened inside.
"Did we hit him?" Sorano asked Erza.
Erza shook her head grimly. "No. The feeling was wrong."
The other three also had serious expressions. They didn't believe for a second that their attacks could have hit him so easily.
"Very good. Your coordination is excellent. Now, I'm going to step it up a notch," Noah's voice came from within the smoke. A gust of wind blew past, scattering the dust and revealing the scene inside. Several thick trees stood where Noah was, having blocked the attacks from Erza and the others. Aside from a few blast marks, the trees were undamaged. As the smoke cleared, the trees retracted back into the ground.
Noah clapped his hands together, and his magic power shot into the sky, forming a pillar of light. The surrounding atmosphere, ground, and sea all began to tremble, and rings of air blasted outwards. The immense pressure forced everyone back several steps.
"Has Noah's magic power gotten stronger again?" Sorano couldn't help but ask.
"Mhm. He's much stronger than the last time I sparred with him," Erza said, her eyes fixed on the pillar of light, feeling that the gap between them had not shrunk, but had in fact grown even wider.
The phenomenon around Noah lasted for only a short time before it vanished. A giant, golden, upper-body-only figure now enveloped him.
"Susanoo!"
It held a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. The body, which was three or four stories tall, completely surrounded Noah.
"Take this!" Noah shouted. The golden figure swept its sword horizontally as Noah himself turned, the arc of the blade covering a full 360 degrees.
Seeing such an astonishingly powerful attack, Erza and the others had no desire to test the strength of the light sword and all leaped backward. They dodged the slash, but the powerful gust of wind created by the swing blew them back several more steps.
"So strong!" Mirajane said after dodging, staring at the materialized magic surrounding Noah. She had fought him before, but he had never used a move like this. Looking at the giant, upper-body figure formed from pure magic, her heart wavered. How much magic power did it take to do something like this? At the very least, she couldn't do it even if she exhausted all of her own.
"Requip: Black Wing Armor!" Erza's voice came from the side.
Mirajane immediately snapped out of it, annoyed at herself for being shaken. Erza recovered so quickly. In truth, Erza had just seen Noah's power so many times that she had developed an immunity to it. She was no longer surprised by any move he made, which was why she was able to attack immediately.
"Black Wing: Moon Flash!"
Erza's hair was now in a ponytail. She wore black armor with a white cross, and bat-like wings were on her back. She held a black, single-handed sword. The Black Wing Armor increased the destructive power of a single hit. With a flash, she shot towards Noah.
Seeing her approach, the golden figure simply held out its left shield and blocked her attack. The longsword struck the shield, but it didn't even vibrate.
Erza frowned. Is its defense that incredible?
Just then, the others also recovered from the shock of Noah creating the golden giant and launched their own attacks.
"Hyper-Abuse Flash!"
"Ice-Make: White Tiger!"
"Power Angel!"
"Darkness Storm!"
The giant raised its shield to block the attacks from the front, while the attacks from the rear slammed into its back, creating a massive explosion. The smoke was blown away by the resulting wind, revealing the golden figure inside. Its shield was completely undamaged. Erza and the others all frowned. How were they supposed to fight if all their attacks were just blocked?
Just then, the sharp-eyed Sorano noticed that where her angel's magic had hit the giant's back, a small crack had appeared. She shouted to the others, "Increase your attacks! They're working! We can break it if we hit its body!"
Hearing this, their spirits were lifted. Noah, however, just smiled. "Do you really think I'll let you break it so easily?"
"We won't know until we try!" Sorano retorted, increasing her magic output and commanding her Power Angel to attack again.
Noah turned, and the golden giant raised its sword, directly striking the incoming fist. The two attacks collided, sending a shockwave outwards. The Power Angel was knocked back several steps, almost dissipating.
"Ice-Make: Great Ape!" Lyon's ice ape also threw a punch at Noah. The golden giant raised its shield to block.
"Black Wing: Flash!"
"Dark Stream!"
"Dark Capriccio!"
While Noah was turned to deal with Sorano and Lyon, Erza and Mirajane quickly attacked the golden giant from the left and right, while Simon attacked from behind.
"Heh!"
The golden giant forcefully pushed the ice ape away and tried to turn to deal with them. But the Power Angel and the ice ape both leaped forward, tightly hugging the giant's arms and hindering its movement. Under the giant's massive frame, the two summons were only the size of its arms. The giant swung its arms and threw them off, but they had already delayed it long enough.
Erza's slash, Mirajane's condensed darkness claws, and Simon's darkness arrows all struck the golden giant's back.
BOOM!
A huge explosion shot into the sky, filling the air with smoke. Erza and Mirajane quickly retreated. They were both panting; that last attack had consumed a great deal of their magic.
"Did we succeed?" Mirajane asked, a little unconfidently.
Erza shook her head. "I don't know. But be ready."
Mirajane's expression turned serious, and she began to gather her magic. The other four did the same.
"Mhm. Good coordination. Your timing was perfect," Noah's voice rang out as the smoke cleared, revealing the scene inside. The golden giant was facing Sorano and her group, with its back to Erza's. The spot on its back where they had attacked was now covered in a large number of cracks, and golden fragments were constantly flaking off and dissipating into the air.
"A very strong attack. You've indeed broken through the defense of my Susanoo's first stage," Noah said with an admiring tone.
Erza keenly picked up on the key phrase. "'First stage'? You mean there's a second?"
Her expression turned grim. The other four, hearing this, also looked extremely serious. The first stage was already this much trouble. What would the second stage be like?
~~~
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