"Ur."
"I'll leave our daughters in your care."
After agreeing to fight Gildarts on the mountain behind the Fairy Tail guild, Ide carefully handed the two babies he was holding over to Ur.
"Ide, just go and focus on your fight."
"I'll take care of our daughters."
Ur gently took Ultear and Erza from Ide's arms. She gave him a small nod, signaling him to fight without worry—she had everything under control here.
"Let's go, Gildarts."
Naturally, Ide trusted Ur completely. With his worries about the children settled, he strode out of the guild, calling for Gildarts to follow him.
"Coming."
Gildarts followed close behind, cracking his knuckles and stretching his neck, looking ready to teach Ide a lesson.
"Ultear, Erza."
"Your father is going to punish a 'piece of trash.' Cheer him on, okay?"
Watching Ide and Gildarts leave, Ur spoke gently to the two babies in her arms.
"Giggle, giggle."
Lying comfortably in Ur's embrace, Ultear and Erza waved their tiny hands and giggled happily, as if they were indeed cheering for Ide's righteous mission to fix Gildarts.
"Let's go."
"Let's catch up and see what happens."
As for the thrill-seeking members of Fairy Tail, seeing Ide and Gildarts head out, they immediately swarmed after them. They were eager to witness the battle between the guild's strongest mages up close.
---
Moments later.
Mountain behind the Fairy Tail Guild.
"..."
Ide and Gildarts stood silently facing each other in a desolate clearing within the forest.
Fifty meters away, the Fairy Tail spectators gathered, watching intently to ensure their bets would be settled fairly.
"Is it finally starting?"
"I don't know why, but I feel more nervous than Gildarts."
Among the crowd, some guild members wiped cold sweat from their foreheads, their eyes glued to the standoff.
A young man with short blue hair was so tense he barely dared to breathe.
"Nonsense."
"Macao, you idiot, you bet a total of 20,000 Jewels on Gildarts winning."
"I've never seen someone so greedy!"
"Careful, if Gildarts loses, you'll go bankrupt."
Next to him, a guild member named Wakaba, chomping on a thick cigar and puffing smoke everywhere, couldn't help but tease the nervous youth.
"Shut up, Wakaba."
"Gildarts is the strongest. He absolutely won't lose."
The blue-haired youth, Macao, gritted his teeth and insisted.
Macao: "Gildarts, will you win?!"
Gildarts: "I'll win! After all, I am the strongest."
BOOM!!
The very next second after Macao and Wakaba stopped bickering, Ide and Gildarts finally moved.
First, two pillars of magic power erupted from their bodies, shooting straight into the sky like beams of light!
"Ugh!"
In the distance, Macao, Wakaba, and the other spectators were dumbfounded by the sheer scale of the magic.
"This magic power... isn't this a bit too exaggerated?"
"Are they really human?"
"They're total monsters!"
Macao couldn't help but complain.
The "quality" and "quantity" of magic power Ide and Gildarts unleashed defied common sense.
"They have long since stepped into the 'Inhuman' realm."
Guild Master Makarov stood beside Macao and the others. First, he cast a protective barrier over the guild members, then shook his head. "As expected, that kid Ide, just like Gildarts, has broken through the 'Limit of Human Potential' and stepped into the domain occupied by old Warrod and Precht."
BOOM!
While everyone was shocked by the clash of violent magic auras, Ide made the first move.
"Ice-Make: World!"
Ide waved a single hand, and a massive Ice-Make magic circle instantly formed beneath Gildarts' feet.
Whoosh!
A violent freezing aura erupted from the ground. Endless currents of cold air instantly transformed Gildarts and the entire mountain into a frozen wasteland of ice and snow.
And it didn't stop there. Ide's magic was so potent that after freezing Gildarts, the shockwave of cold surged toward Makarov and the spectators.
"Maximum Defense Seal: Three Pillar Gods!"
Makarov seemed prepared. With a wave of his hand, he activated his strongest defensive magic, shielding the guild members from the aftershocks of the battle.
"Children, don't worry."
"I will protect everyone."
After blocking the freezing blast, Makarov wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and turned to smile reassuringly at the guild members behind him.
"..."
But when Makarov turned around, he found... no one.
Where were the guild members?
Realizing the situation was getting too dangerous, the thrill-seekers had turned tail and bolted back toward the guild hall as fast as their legs could carry them.
Their excuse echoed in the distance: "Master! We're leaving so we don't get in your way!"
"Heh."
Makarov couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.
It was the first time he had heard cowardice described so freshly and elegantly.
Truly worthy of being his "children"! With such shamelessly thick skin, he didn't have to worry about them getting taken advantage of in the outside world.
"Sigh."
Makarov sighed deeply, then turned his gaze back to the two combatants in the distance.
"Crush!"
Gildarts naturally wouldn't stay frozen so easily. Noticing that the spectators had mostly fled, he activated his Crash Magic, shattering the ice encasing him into dust.
"Hm?"
Watching Gildarts use this immensely destructive magic, Ide frowned slightly. "What magic is that?"
"High-Level Destruction Magic: Crash! And it's also my basic magic."
Gildarts grinned, reintroducing himself. "That's right. I'm a wizard who uses Super Magic as a basic attack."