Display! The Results of Three Months!

(A big thank you to 'Ice Moon Shadow', 'Our Dream of Anime', 'Alone Under the Spotlight', 'Dark Dragon Shattering Strike', 'Wandering in a World Without You', 'Otaku of Gensokyo', 'No Maple Leaf Grass', 'Cloud Branch Green Valley', 'Sing Boy', 'I Am Only Me', 'Dragon Sky i', 'Autumn Water Autumn Clear', 'Konjac Q&A', 'Little H Otaku' for the donations!)

(I've been quite busy lately, and on top of that, my sleep schedule has been getting increasingly irregular in order to keep up with updates. I just hope you guys can show some support considering how hard I'm working... I'd be satisfied with that...)

"..."

Watching Natsu get cleanly and efficiently taken down by Noah in a single blow, the members of Fairy Tail were briefly silent before erupting into a rapid uproar.

"Seriously?"

"Is that Dragon Slayer Mage really that weak?"

"No, no, no, Natsu's got some skills. His Magic is outstanding for his age. Aside from Erza, Gray's probably the only one in the Guild who can compare to Natsu!"

"So, it's not that Natsu's weak, it's that Noah's just too strong?"

"I knew it! The Guild Master's grandson couldn't just have strong Magic as his only advantage!"

The Mages of Fairy Tail clamored on. As members of the same Guild, adults, and fellow Mages, they could tell how capable Natsu was, and naturally, they could also understand Noah's genuine skill.

However, that's precisely why the fact that the Dragon Slayer Mage they were so eagerly anticipating was defeated in one move was such a sudden and shocking turn of events that left everyone present a bit speechless.

Down below, Gray's face was also filled with disbelief as he watched the downed Natsu, his mouth agape in an 'o' shape.

"How did this guy get so strong?"

Standing a little closer to the front in the crowd, Makarov's old eyes widened as he watched Noah in the arena, one hand resting casually on the Knight Sword's sheath at his waist, barely having moved from his position. He glanced at Erza beside him, who looked completely unsurprised and took it all for granted, and couldn't help but smile.

"He's grown..."

The surrounding commotion seemed to have awakened the stunned Natsu, who flipped over, stood up, and glared fiercely at Noah.

"You dared to trick me?!"

"Huh?" Noah said, somewhat bewildered.

"When did I trick you?"

"You..." Natsu shouted, exasperated.

"You tricked me by saying you couldn't use Magic!"

"First of all, I never said that. Secondly, even if I did, I didn't trick you!" Noah said, raising his hands in a helpless gesture.

"I just used a very ordinary strike just now, without even a hint of Magic. You wouldn't call that Magic, would you?"

Natsu choked, then a surge of anger welled up in his heart.

"Are you trying to say you can beat me even without Magic?!"

With Natsu's angry shout, a burst of scorching flames suddenly erupted from Natsu's body, covering his entire form. The air around Natsu was visibly distorted, indicating that the temperature was definitely not low, far surpassing the Fire Fist Natsu had used earlier.

This change caused the surrounding people to exclaim in surprise, and even Noah was taken aback.

He could clearly feel that as anger appeared on Natsu's face, the Magic within Natsu's body had increased somewhat, and even the flames on his body had become more intense, as if all the emotions in his heart had been directly converted into flames.

Natsu's Dragon Slayer Magic actually changes with Natsu's emotions?

Is this the lost Magic of ancient times?

"Watch me beat you!"

Natsu, like a crouching leopard, suddenly sprang up, stomping hard on the ground, his figure bursting out.

The flames on his body trailed behind him like a long fiery tail, making Natsu look like a meteor of flames as he charged forward. Wherever he passed, stone chips and dust flew, and the temperature in the air rose sharply, making even Noah feel his face grow warm.

Amidst the still lingering exclamations of surprise, Natsu, transformed into a meteor of flames, quickly lunged in front of Noah, gathering all the flames on his body and slamming into Noah with a furious collision.

"Take this! Fire Dragon's Sword Horn————!"

The sudden surge in strength made Natsu's attack carry a strong, oppressive force this time, causing Noah's expression to slowly turn serious.

However, Noah had no intention of retreating.

His right hand gently resting on the Knight Sword's hilt at his waist, Noah bent his body, like a Mighty Lion ready to pounce. After a moment of silence, he shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring, advancing instead of retreating, to meet the oncoming meteor of flames.

"Haa————!"

In the cold shout, a dazzling sword light suddenly appeared in the arena amidst the astonished, surprised, and admiring expressions and gazes of everyone around. Like a waning moon in the night, it seemed capable of slicing through space, accompanying the clear sound of a sword, and collided fiercely with the meteor of flames.

"Chi————!"

The intense collision that everyone had imagined did not occur.

The crescent-like sword light seemed to be just a phantom image, directly passing through the meteor of flames, as if cutting through water, flashing past, and finally, emerging from the end of the meteor of flames' fiery tail.

After the crescent-like sword light emerged from the end of the meteor of flames, the sword light and the meteor of flames strangely disappeared at the same time, vanishing without a trace, as if they had never existed in the first place.

In the center of the arena, Noah still maintained the posture of one hand resting on the Knight Sword's hilt at his waist, and Natsu also maintained the appearance of a crouching leopard about to pounce, both lowering their heads, making it impossible to see their expressions, as if nothing had happened.

However, no one would believe that the scene just now was an illusion.

Because the temperature that had not yet dropped still lingered in the air, and the broken stones and dust in the arena had not yet settled.

Noah and Natsu had even switched positions, standing back to back, completely opposite to their initial positions.

Around them, everyone in Fairy Tail subconsciously held their breath, not making a sound.

Makarov, Erza, and Gray also stared intently at the two in the arena, their expressions focused, quietly watching.

Before long, the silence in the arena was broken.

"Ugh…" Natsu, with his back to Noah, groaned, his eyes swirling in circles as if he were drunk. He swayed for a moment before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.

Only then did Noah raise his head, release his hand from the hilt of the Knight Sword at his waist, and turn to face the fallen Natsu. He flashed a 'V' sign towards Makarov, Erza, and Gray.

"Clap clap clap clap————!"

Everyone present finally snapped out of it, laughing and applauding vigorously.

"Good job, little Noah!"

"He's gotten stronger! What an amazing sword strike!"

"No surprise from the Guild Master's grandson, he's something else!"

Everyone here was a Mage of Fairy Tail, and even the weakest among them was considerably stronger than Gray. Although not everyone knew exactly what had just happened, most of them had a good idea.

As Natsu unleashed a desperate, all-out attack that exceeded his limits, Noah, with a speed that most present could only perceive as a flash of light, quickly drew his sword. Instead of retreating, he advanced, and as he brushed past Natsu's fiery meteor form, he struck Natsu in the abdomen with his sword, knocking him unconscious.

And seeing Noah maintain his drawing stance even after the strike, it was clear that after hitting Natsu, Noah had sheathed his sword again with the same imperceptible speed.

All these factors combined resulted in the two of them exchanging positions, standing back-to-back.

Of course, judging by the fact that Natsu was only unconscious, Noah had clearly held back, not actually cutting him with the blade, otherwise Natsu would at least have drawn blood.

"That guy…" Gray didn't hide his shock.

"To think he was secretly getting so strong on his own, that's so unfair!"

Hearing Gray's mutterings, Makarov chuckled and turned to Erza.

"Sorry, Noah caused you trouble."

"His outstanding swordsmanship is all thanks to Noah's own hard work!" Erza shook her head, smiling as she watched Noah being surrounded by the crowd.

"Besides, I've also been taken care of quite a bit…"

Makarov nodded with a smile, his gaze shifting to Noah, his expression gradually becoming serene.

"Keep it up… my grandson…"