Chapter 167: Light-Make: True Several Thousand Hands - Top Transformed Buddha
The fist tore through the air, bringing with it a whistling gale. Before it even arrived, Gildarts could already feel the pressure.
"Your strength really has grown a lot, Noah. The difference between now and before is like heaven and earth." Gildarts sighed with emotion. He focused his mind, and magic power gathered in his right hand. "Hah!"
He threw his fist forward, and his tiny punch collided with the giant ice fist.
BOOM!
The ice beneath Gildarts' feet was instantly shattered by his own magic, which he used as a buffer. A large crater formed, and Gildarts landed in the middle of it. The ice fist was stopped in mid-air. The powerful shockwave from the impact sent the shattered ice flying in all directions.
Using that moment of contact, Gildarts had already released his magic. "Crash!"
A series of white cracks of light appeared on the ice giant's fist. In an instant, its entire right arm was completely pulverized.
Noah was not surprised by this result. He directed the giant to swing its left fist at Gildarts. This time, Gildarts didn't meet it head-on. Before the ice fist could even reach him, his magic was already released. "Crash!"
White cracks of light now covered the giant's entire left arm, and in an instant, it too was shattered.
Noah felt no surprise. He leaped from the giant's head into the air and began to draw upon the vast magic power within his body. A golden aura erupted from him, and a heaven-and-earth-piercing pillar of light shot into the sky. The air trembled, compressed by the immense magic, and formed a gale that blasted outwards.
Under his command, the rest of the ice giant's body lunged towards Gildarts. Seeing Noah gather even more magic than before, Gildarts didn't dare to be complacent. He first unleashed a Crash to completely disintegrate the falling giant, and then began to gather his own magic. When he saw Noah grit his teeth, continuously gathering power, he also began to focus with all his might. He knew this was likely the final move.
The two of them gathered their magic simultaneously. The gales created by their immense power crashed into each other and blasted outwards in all directions. The ice field began to tremble and shatter, and small chunks of ice were blown into the air, only to be pulverized.
Noah, gathering his immense magic, began to float in the air. BOOM! The ice beneath Gildarts, unable to withstand the pressure, shattered, and the crater he was in grew even deeper.
The sheer force of their power-up was felt by the guild members far away. The weaker members were finding it hard to breathe.
"Ugh, it's so hard to breathe!" Wendy, Yukino, and Meredy, the younger members, were all feeling extremely uncomfortable.
Ultear, Erza, and the others did not shield them this time. They wanted them to feel this higher realm, to see how vast the world of magic truly was. A battle of this level was a rare sight, and if they missed it, they might not get another chance. So even though the little ones were suffering, the older girls just stood by their side, silently encouraging them.
"I knew Gildarts was strong, but I never thought Noah's strength had reached this level," Makarov marveled, feeling the commotion from the two of them.
"Mhm. I've never seen anyone with their level of strength before," Ur said from the side. "Although I knew they were strong, I didn't know how strong. But now I know. The gap is very far." Her eyes shone with an intense fighting spirit. If this level of strength was attainable, then she could also try to reach it.
In the air, Noah had finally gathered enough magic. He shouted, "Light-Make: True Several Thousand Hands!"
He slammed his hands together. A giant head made of light slowly appeared beneath his feet, then a torso and limbs quickly formed. A giant made of light, sitting cross-legged with its hands clasped in prayer, now sat upon the ice field. Behind it were a seemingly infinite number of arms, neatly arranged. The giant, including its arms, was hundreds of meters tall, and each palm was several meters wide. Noah was standing on its head. It was clear that creating the giant had consumed a massive amount of his magic; sweat was pouring down his face, and he was panting heavily.
Gildarts looked up at the giant before him, his expression now incomparably grave. The pressure it gave off was too great; he felt a true threat to his life. If he didn't go all out, a direct hit from this move could seriously injure, or even kill him. All of his magic power gathered into his fists, and he bent his knees, preparing himself.
"Gildarts! This is the last move! Take this!" Noah gathered his spirits, raised his magic, and drove the giant to attack.
"Top Transformed Buddha!"
The countless arms behind the giant began to extend, the palms forming into fists as they rained down upon Gildarts. The fists tore through the air, carrying a powerful wind.
Gildarts didn't wait for them to hit. He threw a punch, instantly shattering the first fist that came at him. But it was immediately followed by another, then two, then three. An infinite number of fists, moving faster and faster, flew at him.
Gildarts swung his own fists, shattering one, then two, then three. His speed increased, and countless light-fists were pulverized by his attacks. The residual light magic from the shattered fists formed golden specks around him, which were then blown away by the force of his own punches. The clash of their attacks cracked and shattered the surrounding ice, widening the crater he stood in.
Soon, the speed of his punches could no longer keep up with the speed of the giant's. Fists began to land on his body before being shattered. The ice beneath his feet, taking a powerful blow, cracked even further, the fissure spreading out in all directions.
"Crushing Evil, Revealing Truth — All-Heaven!"
Gildarts unleashed his own attack. The countless incoming arms were instantly shattered by the cannon of light that shot from his fist. But in the next instant, they were replaced by countless more. He fired another blast to shatter them. One after another, white beams of light shot from his position, pulverizing the fists along their path. But the fists were endless and instantly replenished. The two of them were locked in a stalemate.
Powerful shockwaves blasted out from the point of conflict, expanding outwards in rings.
"WAAAH!!!"
Wendy and the other little ones were almost blown away by the shockwave. Erza and the others, reacting quickly, grabbed them just in time.
"Natsu!"
"Happy!"
Happy had already landed on the ice, but the latest shockwave had still sent him flying. Thankfully, he had quickly grabbed onto Natsu's clothes, and Natsu had immediately reacted, crouching down and holding onto him.
"That was close!" Wendy, seeing their plight, looked down at Carla in her arms and thought that holding onto her had been a very wise decision.
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