Takeshi looked at them. "Three minutes. After that, I move. So, keep it coming."
"Damn it! Hit him! Bring him down!" Minerva barked.
White Dragon's Holy Breath!
Territory Explosion!
...
For two straight minutes, the five bombarded Takeshi without pause, not even checking if he still stood.
"Hah… Hah…"
They gasped, drained. The constant casting had burned through their magic power.
Orga wheezed, "This time he's finished…"
Rufus nodded. "No one in my memory has survived that much force."
Rogue muttered, ashamed, "Impressive but you were too reckless."
Ganging up wasn't his style.
"Sorry. I have to get Lector back." Sting's face was guilt-ridde.
Takeshi was his idol, yet he obeyed Minerva for Lector's sake.
"Bwahaha! Takeshi, you're finally dead! No matter how strong—beaten by me! Sabertooth is top guild! Aha—"
Suddenly—
"Stop cackling. Told you it sounds awful." Takeshi's voice cut in.
The lot froze.
"N-no way…"
Orga trembled, staring into the thinning smoke where a silhouette loomed.
"H-how is this possible?!"
Even Rufus lost his composure, eyes wide.
Takeshi stepped back into view.
"He…"
"Actually…"
"Survived?!"
[Still not a scratch! Absolutely none!]
Takeshi said, "Nice. Haven't felt this loose in ages. One minute left—then I act."
"Do it! Pool every drop of magic power—your strongest spells—hit together! Drop him and we outscore them by one even if we all fall!" Minerva shouted.
Auras flared.
BOOM——
Black, white, every hue surged sky-high.
"What power!"
The crowd felt the pressure.
Orga clapped his hands, positive and negative lightning compressing.
Memory Fusion!
Rufus had the skeleton fuse flame and lightning in its palm.
Minerva chanted in demontongue, "Niel Wielg Mion Terse Elcantaeus: Yagd Rigola!"
"Rogue!"
"On it!"
Sting and Rogue joined. White light burst from Sting's fist, darkness from Rogue's—merging at once.
Lightning God's Runic Particle Cannon!
A black lightning pillar shot from Orga.
Flame-Lightning Magatama!
Rufus copied Yasaka Magatama, layering it with fire and lightning for extra force.
Yakuma Eighteen Battle Gods Magic – Yagd Rigola!
Minerva unleashed the same move she'd used on Nagato—though last time Takeshi's Rinnegan had swallowed it.
Holy Shadow Dragon's Fang Flash!
Sting and Rogue's Fusion spell—used before against Natsu—doubled in might.
The four attacks converged on Takeshi from every side.
BOOM!!!
A blinding sphere of annihilation bloomed where he stood. The shockwave swallowed a tenth of the royal capital, shaking even the Grand Magic Games Arena outside the city walls.
Everyone stared at the giant screen in stunned silence. Even Fairy Tail felt dread.
Such force, and Takeshi had taken it head-on. Could anyone survive?
"This time... we definitely got him."
Orga was gasping for breath. That strike had cost him most of his magic power, and he was truly frightened.
If Takeshi had blocked his attack, it would have been one thing, but to emerge unscathed from the five Sabertooth Mages' relentless assault—he had just displayed power far beyond the norm.
"Probably..."
Rufus couldn't be sure.
Takeshi was simply too strong—so strong that he defied Rufus's entire understanding of what a Mage could be.
"After a hit like that, there's no way he's still standing! Sabertooth wins!" Minerva wiped the sweat from her brow.
Her magic power was almost exhausted, but defeating Takeshi would make it all worthwhile.
Clap! Clap! Clap...
Applause rang out.
"What?!"
The five turned toward the sound and realized it was coming from the heart of the explosion.
"N-no way..."
All five paled.
The smoke cleared quickly, and Takeshi reappeared before them, looking as though nothing had happened.
"Not bad. That last strike actually had some bite—it's been ages since I felt even a flicker of pain. Worthy of praise. Well done."
An arrogant smile appeared on Takeshi's lips, as though he were patting a child on the head.
[H-he's still alive! Takeshi is still alive!]
BOOM!
The Grand Magic Games Arena erupted.
"W-what kind of monster is he?!"
"Is he even human?"
"He's a monster—no, 'monster' isn't enough! Is he a god?!!"
Power like that could belong only to a deity.
"Bwahahaha!"
"See that! This is Fairy Tail's strongest Mage—Takeshi!"
The Fairy Tail crowd cheered at the top of their lungs.
"N-no way! After a blast that strong, how can you still be fine?! Impossible!"
Minerva wondered if she was hallucinating when Takeshi stepped forward unharmed.
"Hmm... is it really that hard to grasp? I thought it would be obvious. Since you're so curious, I'll be merciful and explain."
"On the third day's MPF reading, you all saw Jura's score of just over nine thousand five hundred."
Everyone turned to Takeshi. They remembered Jura's MPF—already a number no human should reach.
"And my current MPF is one hundred fourteen thousand."
"..."
The arena was stunned.
Had they heard him right?
For a moment, they thought their ears had betrayed them—such a ludicrous figure.
Even Makarov gaped.
[114,000!!!]
[Takeshi says his MPF is one hundred fourteen thousand!!!]
[That's more than ten times Jura's—one of the Ten Wizard Saints!!!]
[Can a number that high even exist?!!]
"Impossible!"
"Absolutely impossible!!!"
Minerva shouted, "One hundred thousand?! Don't joke! The MPF caps at nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine! Even a god might not top one hundred thousand! How could you?!"
Takeshi spread his hands in mock helplessness. "As I said, you're too weak to glimpse the level I am now at."
"Those who don't understand my might look at me like a frog in a well staring at the moon. Those who do understand look at me like a firefly gazing upon the sun."
"As for gods? Who told you I can't beat one?"
Every gesture, every word dripped with arrogance. To the onlookers, Takeshi seemed the very Incarnation of pride.
"Alright, time's up. This game ends now. Thanks to you, I had fun and I'm grateful."
"Allow me to bring this festival to a glorious close."
Takeshi crouched slightly, then sprang sky-high, appearing above Crocus in an instant. He raised his left hand, index and middle fingers upright.
Voom——
A blazing sphere, as hot as the sun, appeared above his fingers. The miniature sun radiated terrible heat as though the real star had descended.
Even those in the Grand Magic Games Arena felt its scorching weight from high above Crocus.
"Hey, brat! Don't do anything reckless! If that thing drops, all of Crocus will go sky-high!" Makarov roared.
He could sense the cataclysmic power of the fireball—no, the sun—balanced above Takeshi's hand.
But Takeshi couldn't hear him or wouldn't have listened even if Makarov stood right in front of him, so towering was his pride.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my method may be a tad rough—please forgive me."
"Cruel Sun."
Takeshi pushed his palm downward, and the small sun began to fall.
"RUN FOR IT!!!"
At the first sight of the descending sphere, the Sabertooth Mages' faces twisted in panic and they bolted in every direction.
Victory no longer mattered—survival was all that counted now.
The blazing orb struck the ground, instantly vaporizing a vast crater.
Takeshi clenched his fist and spoke, "Pride Flare."
BOOOOOM!!!
A titanic explosion tore through the subterranean heart of Fiore's capital like a nuclear warhead.
Crack... Crack...
The earth shattered and blinding heat speared skyward.
"Gyaaaahhh!"
"Uwaahhh!"
The five Sabertooth Mages ran with everything they had, but the blast radius was simply too vast. The ground under their feet exploded and swallowed them whole.
Rumble!
The Grand Magic Games Arena shook violently.
Crack!
Fissures spider-webbed across the coliseum.
"Uwaaaahhh!"
"Eeeekkk!"
Screams rippled through the stands until, at last, the quaking stopped.
The giant screens fizzed with static, then flickered back to life. But the image they showed left every spectator dumbstruck.
"T-the capital..."
"IT'S GONE!!!"