FTRJ: Chapter 87

"Yeah, if only Laxus wasn't going through his rebellious phase!"

"So true…"

These thoughts reached Finn's mind. He smiled, looking at Laxus. "See? This is the 'weak' power you despise."

"Individually weak, but together, they stopped Tenrō Jima. That's a guild, Laxus!"

Laxus glared at the inscription on the magical barrier, his face twisting in anger.

"Don't preach to me!" he roared, his eyes wide, his long-held beliefs shattered. He was unwilling, or unable, to accept this.

Golden light erupted from Laxus; massive lightning bolts struck the ground, causing repeated explosions.

"Aaaaaah!!!" He roared, a mix of frustration and desperate avoidance of reality.

He was a fanatic on a path of no return, blindly pushing forward.

"There's nothing to say," Laxus said, looking at Finn.

Golden lightning filled Laxus's eyes. "Take what you want with force. Overwhelming strength is my symbol!" He spoke slowly, lightning flickering in his mouth.

"Obstinate fool!" Finn's smile vanished. "I have to knock some sense into you."

"Bring it on, Finn!"

"Wake up, Laxus!"

They clashed instantly, like their S-class trial. After that fight, they'd respected each other. Now, they fought again, their clash of ideals mirroring their past battle.

A massive explosion echoed across Magnolia.

"That's Finn and Laxus fighting," Gray said, leaning against a wall, still bearing lightning marks.

"Yeah, it has to be them. I can feel the intense heat from here!" Natsu lay on the street, having just destroyed over fifty magic crystals; he was incapacitated from the electrical backlash.

"They won't tear down the cathedral, will they?"

"I bet they will. The surrounding area too."

"You're probably right. They're both monsters!" Despite lying injured in the street, everyone was chatting animatedly thanks to Warren's telepathy.

"Ryūjin Jakka: Taimatsu!" Finn's blade descended, a massive fiery tornado engulfing Laxus, flames roaring as if to pierce the very heavens.

Boom————

A deafening roar. The flames utterly consumed the already dilapidated Kardia Cathedral, reducing stones and rubble to ash.

"Yaaaaaaaah!" Laxus's screams echoed.

The lightning within the flames gradually died out.

Finally, a battered and bruised Laxus fell to the ground, a plume of smoke rising from his scorched body. The Fairy Tail mark etched on his chest was stained with blood, looking as if the fairy itself were weeping.

Laxus slowly got to his feet. "Your flames…are far stronger than before…cough…but I'm not completely unprepared."

He held out his hand, revealing a damaged ring. "Ice Crystal. It resists flames." He tossed it aside.

"I thought this would be enough to defeat you, but your flames…they've surpassed my expectations." Laxus shook his head.

"…Ha…ha…" His injuries and depleted magic left him gasping for breath.

"I don't know when it started, but you've always been stopping me," he whispered. "You protect those pathetic weaklings. You even oppose me for someone who damaged our guild?"

Laxus's voice rose in volume.

"You were my first friend! Why are you constantly hindering me?!" he bellowed at Finn.

"So, you, the old man, Erza, the guild members, everyone in Magnolia…everyone I hate…disappear!"

Laxus's magic erupted again, but unlike the previous violent storm of lightning, this magical energy possessed a strange gentleness. Brilliant golden light gathered in his hands.

Golden pillars of light shot up from the ground.

"That's…Fairy Law!!" Finn recognized the magic.

Fairy Law, a magic that obliterates those deemed enemies by the caster with holy light, was one of the rarest and most powerful magics in existence.

However, Finn didn't intervene. Laxus was blinding himself. Finn had noticed that even when Laxus learned his guildmates were going to destroy Tenrō Jima, he hadn't preemptively activated his own attack.

And as Laxus himself had just stated, Finn was his first friend. In Finn's heart, Laxus was also a friend, a comrade. Finn had spent more time with Laxus than almost anyone else in Fairy Tail.

Laxus couldn't see his own heart, but Finn could. This was his chance to confront his inner self.

"Everyone who opposes me will die!" Laxus roared maniacally. "I'll start over, creating the strongest guild that will make everyone tremble in fear!"

"Fairy Law—Activate!"

A blinding golden light obscured Finn's vision. Above them, the sky was filled with irregularly swirling dark clouds, and a massive golden magic circle materialized in the heavens. At its center, the Fairy Tail emblem pulsed with an ethereal glow.

"That's…Fairy Law!" Erza exclaimed, her voice filled with shock and disbelief as she witnessed the celestial display.

"Isn't that a magic only the Master can use? But the Master's still at the guild! Who's using it?" Lucy's eyes widened in astonishment.

"If it's not the Master, then it can only be Laxus…" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Finn, please be alright!" Mirajane clasped her hands together, her eyes closed in silent prayer.

The radiant golden light descended upon Magnolia, enveloping everyone within its celestial embrace.

Soon, the light subsided.

Laxus, gasping for breath, surveyed the smoke-filled surroundings. Finn stood unharmed before him.

"How…how is that possible…? Why…?" Laxus stared at Finn in utter disbelief, his voice laced with a mixture of shock and confusion.

He looked down at his hands, his expression one of profound bewilderment. "I was clearly struck by that immensely powerful magic…why…?"

"No one in the guild or the city was harmed," Fried, his body battered and bruised, managed to say, his voice strained as he leaned heavily against the wall of the ruined cathedral.

During his recent battle with Mirajane, Fried had also come to terms with his own inner conflict, realizing that his unwavering loyalty to Laxus didn't negate the deep affection he held for his Fairy Tail comrades.

Witnessing the true nature of Laxus's heart through the Fairy Law's judgment, he felt a profound sense of relief.

"No one was killed at all," Fried whispered, revealing a truth that Laxus found utterly impossible to accept.

"That's impossible," Laxus retorted, his voice laced with defiance as he swung his arm dismissively. "Fairy Law is flawless."

"Because that's what your heart truly desires, Laxus!" Fried countered firmly.

"What you inherited from the Master wasn't just power and magic, but also his unwavering care for his comrades," Fried said, his gaze fixed intently on Laxus.

"Fairy Law only affects those the caster deems as enemies. Do you understand what I'm saying, Laxus?"

Finn spoke, his voice calm and measured. "In other words, your heart has been laid bare by the magic itself. You can't deceive magic, Laxus. Those were your true feelings."

Laxus shook his head violently, his eyes wild with denial. "No, everyone who stands in my way is my enemy! All of them are my enemies!!" His body began to swell once more, his form crackling with renewed electrical energy.

"You still can't see your own heart?!" Finn's voice boomed across the ruined cathedral, his anger finally erupting.

At Finn's impassioned cry, Laxus turned, his face contorted in a mask of furious denial.

"Everyone who stands in my way is my enemy…my enemy…those who defy me are not my comrades!" Laxus roared back, his voice filled with a desperate need to justify his actions.

"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!" Laxus raised his hands, a complex magic circle forming above them as he unleashed a devastating attack, launching a halberd forged from pure lightning energy towards Finn.

"Laxus, stop!" Fried cried out, his voice filled with anguish and despair.

"You…" Finn gripped Ryūjin Jakka tightly, the flames surrounding him instantly contracting and focusing on the blade, igniting into a small, intensely bright flame. With a single, swift stroke, he brought his sword down.

The lightning halberd disintegrated into nothingness.

"What?! He completely annihilated the lightning with his flames?!" Fried stared in disbelief at the impossible feat.

In the blink of an eye, Finn closed the distance between himself and Laxus, his fiery fist connecting with Laxus's jaw with devastating force.

The impact sent Laxus reeling, momentarily shattering the fanaticism that had consumed him, restoring a glimmer of clarity to his previously crazed eyes.

"What right do you have?!" Finn's fists continued to rain down on Laxus, his voice echoing with righteous fury.

"Just because you're the Master's grandson, you think Fairy Tail's future belongs to you?!" Finn unleashed another powerful blow.

"Shut up, I never thought that!" Laxus mumbled, his voice barely a whisper.

"You claim you don't want to live in your grandfather's shadow, but ask yourself, haven't you succeeded because of him?" Finn's voice rang out, his words cutting through Laxus's defenses.

With a powerful kick, Finn sent Laxus flying several meters across the ruined cathedral.

"Tell me, why do you expel others from the guild?!" Finn roared, his anger reaching its peak.

"Fairy Tail doesn't belong to you alone! Just because you have a grandfather, does that give you the right to treat it as your personal possession?!"

Finn approached Laxus, seizing him by the throat. "Yes, you have a grandfather who has always forgiven you, always protected you."

"But do you know that most people in Fairy Tail are orphans without families?! Do you understand?!" Finn's fist connected with Laxus's face, sending him crashing to the ground.

The flames surrounding Finn subsided, leaving him standing over the defeated Laxus, who lay powerless on the ground.

The crazed look in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a stunned confusion. He reached out, his hand trembling slightly as he touched the Fairy Tail mark etched upon his chest, the bloodstains a stark reminder of the battle's intensity.

He seemed to be searching for answers within himself, trying to understand the true meaning of Fairy Tail.

"Fairy Tail…is crying…why?"

Images flooded his mind—images he had once found utterly repulsive: scenes of the guild members laughing, joking, celebrating together; scenes of camaraderie and shared joy; scenes of a family he had so vehemently rejected.

He tried to push these memories away, to erase them from his mind, but they were deeply ingrained, impossible to remove.

"What…is this feeling?" he whispered, his voice barely audible, as a profound sense of confusion and self-discovery washed over him.

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