"He's still standing even after that?" Raizel slowly descended from the air, stopping beside Laxus.
This move from Raizel already had a much higher Magic power output than when he killed Deliora last time.
"How is that possible?" Laxus's pupils suddenly froze; he was shocked.
He couldn't block this move if it came at him.
Gildarts had already jumped up the rock wall in several leaps and reached the top.
"Hahaha, that was pretty good. I used Crush at full power to crush that move. If I had held back, I might have really died." Gildarts narrowed his eyes and smiled, rubbing the hair on the back of his head with his right hand.
"Come on, it's not over yet." Gildarts' aura changed.
White Magic power surged around him as he stood firmly with one foot forward and one back, turning his body sideways, and raised his right hand to beckon them.
"Take Over, Gankoomon." Raizel switched from Jesmon to Gankoomon.
"Lightning Flame Dragon Mode."
The arcs of electricity around Laxus instantly erupted, converging into a pillar of light that sent his hair standing on end.
The punching speed of the three was not as fast as before, but the impact force from each clash of fists was greater than before.
With each exchanged punch, shockwaves rippled out in circles from around the three of them.
...
"ICE MAKE: ICE WALL." Ur, Ultear, and Gray joined forces, simultaneously using Ice Make to construct an ice wall above.
"Adamantine Armor." Erza changed into her Adamantine Armor and a green defensive magic circle appearing in front of her.
Makarov raised his right hand, constructing a barrier with his power.
Kagura gripped Archenemy tightly, her body tense and ready to draw her sword at any moment.
As for Natsu... he was still passed out...
...
During the exchange, Laxus was struck squarely on the side of his face by a full-power punch from Gildarts and was sent flying back, crashing near the edge of South Gate Park.
Even while flying backwards, Laxus didn't forget to throw out a Lightning Flame Dragon Halberd.
He had already taken quite a few punches and kicks from Gildarts before this, blood was flowing from his forehead, and he had earlier been hit by a powerful elbow strike.
Laxus struggled to stand up but ultimately couldn't succeed, slowly collapsing and losing consciousness.
And Natsu.... finally woke up from the vibrations of this impact...
Raizel couldn't go to catch him this time as Gildarts kept pressuring him with attacks.
If Raizel switched forms to try and catch Laxus, it might create an opening for Gildarts to exploit.
"Tekken Seisai!"
"Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Absolute Heaven!" Raizel and Gildarts collided with their right fists.
Their capes shot upwards in the clash of Magic power.
The two increased their Magic power output.
Gildarts was pushed back several meters, while Raizel dug his hands into the ground, stopping after sliding over ten meters.
"Still can't win, huh." Raizel punched the ground in frustration, watching as Gildarts had only been pushed back a few meters and remained steady on his feet.
"Again." Gildarts merely grinned while provoking Raizel.
The Hinukamuy behind Raizel roared, appearing above Gildarts and growing larger and it began throwing punches continuously from above.
Pummeling Gildarts relentlessly from overhead.
The ground where Gildarts stood gradually began to sink and collapse.
"This is fun." Gildarts' eyes flashed with a cross-shaped gleam as he raised his head, his fists continuously meeting the Hinukamuy.
His fists were coated with Crush Magic, shattering the fiery punches one after another.
Raizel seized the opportunity to strike from his side and his iron fist connected with Gildarts' cheek.
'Not good, he deliberately took that hit!' The thought flashed through Raizel's mind.
Gildarts seemed to have anticipated it, bending his right arm to elbow Raizel in the chin.
Pivoting on his left foot, he spun and raised his right leg, landing a solid kick to Raizel's abdomen.
"Raizel got hit in both the chin and abdomen simultaneously! COOL!"
Raizel was sent flying backward, crashing into the side.
"BOOM————"
This impact created much stronger tremors than when Laxus had crashed earlier, and it lasted longer too.
Gildarts hadn't held back at all.
Rocks completely shattered and piled up on top of Raizel.
Gildarts wasn't faring well either, slumping to the ground as he shook his head.
Taking that punch head-on had left him somewhat dizzy, and he spat out a mouthful of bloody foam.
"Contestant Raizel is unable to continue!!!" By now, the camera had flown over to Raizel's side.
The camera captured Raizel's hand and it was uncovered by armor!
Raizel had already released his Take Over and lost consciousness.
His magic power had been nearly depleted after using the Hinukamuy.
"COOL!!! Contestants Raizel and Laxus are unconscious. The winner is————Gildarts!!!"
Jason jumped down from the table and ran down the slope of South Gate Park, shouting continuously.
Jason was quite the tough guy too, managing to sprint down such a steep slope.
"Gildarts!!!"
"Gildarts!!!"
"GILDARTS!!!" The audience repeatedly chanted the winner's name.
"DAD!" Cana also crossed the barrier, running down and maneuvering around various craters to help Gildarts up.
Macao and Wakaba supported Laxus, while Gray and Natsu helped Raizel to his feet.
"We still lost in the end." By now, both Raizel and Laxus had regained consciousness and shared a wry smile.
"Ouch—that hurts." Raizel rubbed his abdomen while Laxus massaged his back, both complaining of pain.
"Oh~ Cana, your dad won." Gildarts wrapped his right arm around Cana, looking down at her with a smile.
The group navigated around various large craters and gathered in a relatively flat open area.
"We lost, but we won't give up, Gildarts." Raizel and Laxus spoke in unison.
One raised his left hand, the other his right.
"With you two in the guild, I can feel at ease taking on long term missions."
Gildarts removed his right arm from Cana, stood steady, and lightly bumped fists with both of them.
"That was quite the match. The guild's missions will keep increasing after this, right? But the destruction is way too severe!!!" Makarov had been quite pleased initially, but as he looked at South Gate Park, he pressed his hands to his cheeks, his jaw dropping in disbelief.
South Gate Park had already been reinforced with defensive spells.
Yet there remained an irregular pit about ten meters deep and three meters in diameter at the very center—and this was the result of Gildarts crushing the One for All beam.
Not to mention the toppled large tree, the mostly burned grass and the several large craters at the edges stomped and smashed by Raizel and Laxus.
"Quite fitting of Fairy Tail's style, Third Master." Mavis, sitting at the commentary table, swung her legs, tilted her head, and squinted at Makarov.
"Don't worry, Master. Give me two days and I can fix this." Ultear had long known Makarov would be in this state.
She specifically came over, patted his shoulder, and comforted him.
"That's wonderful, Ultear~~" Makarov shamelessly burst into tears.
"Mr. Mayor, what are your thoughts after watching this?" Jason, having recovered from his excitement, rushed to the commentator's platform.
Seeing Makarov crying nearby, he decided to ask the mayor for his impressions first.
"A spectacular duel! After watching this match, I felt my blood boiling with excitement. I have a proposal - I want to build an arena in Magnolia where Fairy Tail members can compete during each year's Harvest Festival. Let us meet again next year!!!"
The mayor pointed one finger to the sky as he announced this decision.
(Actually, this duel had attracted a huge number of tourists, boosting the tourism industry for the town of Magnolia...)
"COOL! COOL! COOL!" Jason deeply agreed with this decision, using three "COOL"s in a row to express his heartfelt appreciation for the mayor's wise decision.
"What does Makarov-sama have to say?" Jason passed the microphone to Makarov, who had already been comforted by Ultear.
"As the third Guild Master of Fairy Tail, I'm delighted to have witnessed the spectacular duels between our middle-generation and new-generation guild members. We support the mayor's decision! Afterwards, we will discuss the Harvest Festival competition details with the mayor!"
---------
Merry Christmas mfs!