The correct answer is: Cl; it takes much more energy to pull an electron away from a valence shell that is nearly full.
Chlorine has a higher ionization energy than magnesium because it is closer to achieving a full outer electron shell, which reflects a strong attraction between the nucleus and the electrons. As a result, removing an electron from chlorine requires significantly more energy compared to magnesium, which has a lower ionization energy due to having fewer valence electrons and being further from a full outer shell.