Chapter 22: Laxus: Erza, You Fight Dirty! I Never Want to Battle You Again in My Life!

"Laxus, go for it! I've got my money on you!" 

"Laxus, don't let us down!"

The crowd of Fairy Tail members who had bet on the fight were loudly cheering Laxus on.

"Hmph..." 

"You don't need to tell me." 

"I'm definitely not going to lose..."

Laxus turned slightly to glance at the crowd, who were rooting for him, and let out a disdainful snort. Though his expression seemed indifferent, the slight curve of his lips betrayed his good mood.

How to explain it? This feeling of trust from his guildmates—yeah, it felt pretty good! 

"If you're a lightning mage..." 

"Then I guess I'll switch to my lightning-resistant armor."

"Requip: Lightning Empress Armor!"

A brilliant blue magic circle formed beneath Erza's feet. Her armor shifted again, transforming into a sleek, azure blue suit adorned with golden patterns representing thunder, crackling with electricity as it clung to her small frame.

"Oh! This is interesting..." 

"Not only can you wield fire-based armor..." 

"You can use other elemental armors too?" 

"I'm curious to see how many magical elements you can command."

Laxus smiled as he watched Erza don the Lightning Empress Armor, admiring her mastery over lightning as well.

"Earth, water, fire, and wind—those are the basic elements!" 

"Then there's their advanced forms—quake, ice, flame, and sky!" 

"Plus, there are rarer attributes..." 

"Lightning, light, darkness, spirit! Even divine and demonic..." 

"For every element that exists in this world, I've found armor to counter it." 

"You're free to try them all out!" 

"Though I doubt you'll push me hard enough to use them all."

Erza's voice was calm and confident as she gazed at Laxus.

"Don't get too cocky!" 

"You'll be crying when you lose!"

Laxus' forehead throbbed with anger as he yelled back at Erza.

"Heh..." 

"We'll see who's crying soon enough."

Erza smirked, her eyes filled with disdain as she raised her weapon.

"Lance of Thunder!"

Laxus wasn't one for banter. He raised his hands and pulled them apart, summoning a golden lance of lightning crackling with destructive energy.

Boom!

The crowd gasped in amazement as Laxus conjured the lightning lance. "Such powerful magic! Laxus truly has the strength of an S-Class wizard!"

Before anyone could react further, Laxus hurled the lance straight at Erza, intent on giving her no chance to respond.

Zing!

But Erza remained unfazed, her expression calm as she swiftly raised her matching lightning spear in defense. A shimmering blue magic circle appeared around her, and arcs of electricity crackled into a shield-like formation around her.

Boom!

When Laxus' thunderous attack hit, it was completely absorbed by Erza's protective shield, dissolving without causing any harm.

"What?!"

Laxus' eyes widened in disbelief.

"It's said that in ancient times..." 

"All the lightning in the world was controlled by a powerful entity known as the Thunder Emperor!" 

"People don't know his true identity, whether he was a man, a demon from the depths of hell, or one of the gods from the heavens..." 

"But one thing everyone knew was that the Thunder Emperor ruled over all lightning in existence!" 

"My Lightning Empress Armor carries his name. As long as I wear it, all lightning shall bow before me..."

Erza spoke with a cold confidence as she prepared her next move.

"Master of lightning? Ruler of thunder? What nonsense!!" 

Laxus gritted his teeth, letting his magic power surge outward like a raging river.

Boom!

The sheer force of Laxus' magic made the onlookers' heads buzz, their bodies tingling with the static in the air.

"No, maybe Erza isn't exaggerating..." 

"That armor of hers is no ordinary gear." 

"It seems to be enchanted with high-level magic, probably by Irene herself!"

Ian's sharp eyes studied Erza's armor, noting the living-like golden veins of electricity coursing across its surface. Anything from Irene is always top-tier...

"Thunder Surge! Lightning Bolt! Volt Frenzy! Thunderstorm Smash!"

Laxus unleashed a rapid barrage of spells, from roaring lightning storms to bullets of pure electricity. Each spell he cast was intended to overpower and crush his opponent.

But...

"Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless!"

Each of Laxus' attacks fizzled out as they collided with the shield formed by Erza's armor. She didn't even flinch, only focusing her magic to maintain the Lightning Empress Armor's protective barrier.

Huff... Huff...

After expending a significant amount of energy, Laxus was left panting, clearly winded from the onslaught.

"Do you want to keep going?" 

Erza taunted, twirling her spear as she looked at Laxus with a cold expression.

"Damn it... I promised gramps I wouldn't use this so easily."

Laxus sighed, feeling the shift in his own magic.

"Finally ready to use it? Your hidden Dragon Slayer magic..."

Erza's eyes gleamed with excitement as she sensed Laxus preparing something far more powerful.

"Next, I'll end this in an instant—don't blink."

As Laxus spoke, his muscles swelled with power. His entire frame grew larger, and his arms bulged as dragon-scale-like marks began to appear across his skin.

"Lightning Dragon Magic..." 

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

Laxus unleashed a massive surge of electricity from his mouth, a golden magic circle forming in front of him as a thunderous blast of lightning, infused with the rage of a dragon, rushed toward Erza.

"Hmph..." 

"Interesting."

This time, Erza didn't stand her ground. Moving with the speed and grace of a lightning bolt, she dodged Laxus' attack, dancing effortlessly around the roaring surge of electricity.

"Don't run!" 

Laxus bellowed as he continued to spew lightning, directing it wherever Erza moved.

"Hey, wait a minute!" 

"Isn't that attack coming toward us?!"

The crowd, initially excited by the battle, suddenly realized they were standing in the path of Laxus' raging lightning and began to panic.

"Ahhh!!"

With a series of screams, many of the spectators were caught in the aftershocks of Laxus' magic, paralyzed by the surging electricity.

"Impressive."

Having dodged the brunt of the attack, Erza gave Laxus a rare compliment.

"Hmph..." 

Laxus scoffed, but there was pride in his voice.

"It's too bad. If you weren't a Dragon Slayer wizard, this fight could've gone either way. But since you are, you don't stand a chance."

Erza declared as she began to undo her Requip.

"Oh? Giving up on your armor?" 

"Finally admitting you can't beat me?"

Laxus grinned arrogantly, thinking Erza was throwing in the towel.

"High-Level Enchantment Magic: Conduit!"

Ignoring his taunt, Erza enchanted the air around Laxus with the essence of a high-speed train.

"Hah, a simple conduit spell?" Laxus sneered at the magic... until suddenly, his face turned green as his body jerked involuntarily. He hunched over, dry heaving.

"Ugh... You fight so dirty!" 

"I swear, I never want to fight you again!"

Laxus, still convulsing from the spell, glared at Erza, his voice filled with frustration as his body refused to obey him.

"Victory goes to Erza!"

Ian announced, officially declaring the outcome of the fight.

"Sorry, everyone. Looks like you all lost again." 

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your jewels."

Ian flashed a mischievous grin as he collected the bets from the now defeated gamblers.

"Time to head to the rooftop?" 

Wakaba's hands trembled as he fumbled for his pipe, muttering to himself as he gazed at the clear sky.

"Yeah, rooftop it is." 

Macao stood beside him, silently shedding tears of regret as the sunlight stretched their shadows long and far across the ground...

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