After Gajeel joined the battle in his Iron Dragon King mode, Laxus—who had previously been overwhelming Natsu—finally began to lose the upper hand.
The dynamic of the fight shifted instantly.
"Back off, Gajeel! Laxus is my opponent!" Natsu roared, swinging a massive flaming fist that missed Laxus and nearly took off Gajeel's head.
"Sorry, but I've got a score to settle with this guy too!" Gajeel snarled back, kicking Laxus in the ribs with an iron leg.
"You're in my way, Salamander!"
"Tch... You said you wouldn't eat suspicious things, you idiot. You're a hypocrite!"
"Bastard! None of your business what I eat!"
Two domineering, dragon-like beings, appearing utterly frenzied and covered in scales, launched desperate attacks at Laxus.
Their shouted exchanges were rather unbecoming of "Dragon Kings," sounding more like bickering children.
Despite their verbal hostility toward each other, their relentless assault on Laxus never let up.
They moved with terrifying speed.
Furious, Laxus unleashed his tempestuous lightning to its fullest extent.
"Raging Bolt!"
Yet, under the opponents' continuously rising Magic Power and momentum, his lightning was shattered.
BAM!
He was sent flying once again by their combined strike—a flaming iron uppercut that launched him into the cathedral ceiling.
Laxus crashed down onto the altar, coughing blood.
"Dammit! I havent deafeat Ankh yet... am I really going to lose to these two?!"
Laxus seethed with rage, struggling to accept the situation.
As he wiped blood from his mouth, he recalled Ankh's words before the plan began.
...
"Laxus, at the end of the festival, I'll have Natsu and Gajeel fight you."
Back then, Laxus had scoffed disdainfully, retorting to Ankh.
"Only we are worthy of competing for the title of strongest. Those two trash? Hmph! They aren't worth my time."
Ankh explained with a smile, "I'll give them something to temporarily unlock their potential. It's a prototype though."
"If you can't defeat them by then..." Ankh handed over a gleaming yellow gem, saying, "use this."
Laxus didn't take it immediately, instead glaring fiercely at Ankh.
"I won't need handouts."
"Heh... Laxus," Ankh said softly, looking out the window. "Though you never say it, you've always protected your comrades and the guild in your own way. Everyone striving desperately to grow stronger is their way of responding to you, proving they can protect you too."
"In a family, the eldest brother might always bully his younger siblings, complain they're troublesome and weak, and they might even fight and clash. But if you ask the younger ones who they want to surpass and rely on, it'll always be their big brother."
"When you become the weaker one again, the protected little brother, you'll surely understand."
...
Laxus's gaze grew distant as he tightened his grip on the yellow Dragon Gem that had somehow appeared in his hand from his pocket.
Ankh's teasing voice seemed to echo in his ears.
But this time, beyond the inexplicable shame and anger at being pushed this far, Laxus felt a strange calm.
He looked up.
The two dragon-like man—Natsu and Gajeel—radiated astonishing presence before him, ready to strike again.
Laxus slowly curved his lips into a smile. He raised the dragon gem to his mouth.
"Nothing but deceptive nonsense from that Ankh."
"But... if you want to be the big brother... you've got a long way to go, brats!"
Crack!
He bit down.
...
Outside the church, Fairy Tail members gradually gathered in the square.
To put it bluntly... the conversation was awkward, and the atmosphere wasn't exactly harmonious.
Most were just sulking, since many had merely been beaten up by their comrades during the "Civil War"—something that would normally be a minor issue, though today's fights had been exceptionally fierce.
Everyone in the guild was broad-minded (and held no grudges), so trading jabs and returning a punch usually settled things.
The real social disaster was the "Goddess Bracket" winners.
Lucy and Levy, best friends, were blushing like steam engines.
Smoke was practically rising from their heads as they avoided eye contact with everyone, recalling the "Wedding Photos" in the sky.
Juvia had fainted with heart-shaped eyes after seeing her photo with Gray and had to be dragged back by a very annoyed Gray.
Cana was gloomily chugging alcohol in a corner, mumbling about "Daddy issues."
Alzack and Bisca seemed to have short-circuited.
They stood stiffly, mechanically answering their curious peers' questions with "Yes" or "No," their faces bright red from the kiss.
Oh right, there was also Elfman.
He carried back the fainted Evergreen over his shoulder after being threatened by Mirajane.
He, too, was covered in scratches all over—mostly from his sister.
"These three actually managed to fight to this extent," Erza noted, shielding her eyes from the dust.
She gazed at the devastated church before them.
Powerful pillars of fire would suddenly erupt from within the stained glass windows, while gloomy thunder occasionally struck down.
Steel blades pierced through the tower structures like toothpicks.
Mirajane nodded, her expression serious.
"Laxus is one thing, but what's with those two surges of Magic Power from Natsu and Gajeel? They feel terrifyingly different. Like... beasts."
Kagura, who had been merely a spectator throughout the entire Love Festival chaos, stared dumbfounded at the church periodically emitting destructive energy.
She felt somewhat bitter inside.
'No wonder Ankh said i couldn't even rank in the top twenty of their guild,' she thought.
'So besides Erza and Ankh's group, there were this many incredibly powerful Mages. I have a long way to go.'
"But I can't help feeling that even if Natsu used some method to suddenly become stronger, defeating Laxus wouldn't be that simple," Gray muttered.
Gray, who had somehow become naked again, crossed his arms and watched the church.
Kagura looked curiously at this naked man.
She asked, "But it's two against one. And they seem evenly matched. Do you really have that much faith in Laxus?"
Gray chuckled lightly. "Even though Laxus has a somewhat unpleasant personality, it's hard for me to say that guy is weak."
"Since childhood," Gray continued, "I've always felt that as long as Laxus doesn't want to lose, he'll definitely win. He's a monster among monsters."
Before his words fully faded, as if answering some summons, the dark clouds in the sky grew increasingly thick.
RUMBLE...
Intense golden lightning became more turbulent, swirling around the cathedral spire.
BOOM!
A golden thunderbolt suddenly blasted through the church roof from the inside out. It shot straight up into the cloudy sky like a golden slash tearing through the world.
"Wait... that's!!"
Everyone who had been casually chatting moments ago immediately felt their hair stand on end.
They stared dumbstruck at the massive figure slowly descending from the thunderclouds.
"H-hey... Is this a joke... or some kind of illusion magic?" Macao stammered.
From below, one could see the dragon wings made of lightning that blotted out the sky.
The ferocious dragon head with a mane of electricity.
The body as robust as steel, and the incredibly developed limbs.
This was unmistakably... a Dragon?!
"No, that's not right..."
Erza snapped out of her shock.
She gazed up at the enormous figure in the sky, and spoke with difficulty as she sensed the familiar magic power signature.
"That's Laxus!!"
The guild members immediately erupted into an uproar.
"LAXUS?!"
Everyone knew how terrifying Laxus's strength was, but this form... it even felt like a single roar could destroy a city without much effort.
He had transcended humanity!
Ankh, the unlucky guy sent flying by a stray thunderous blast earlier, hovered in the distance mid-air using gravity.
He stared in surprise at Laxus in his complete Dragon Form.
'Wait, this isn't right...' Ankh thought, frowning.
He had indeed created a gem that could temporarily turn Dragon Slayer Mages into dragons.
But just moments ago, he saw Natsu and Gajeel eat the gems without turning into full dragons—they only became dragon-human hybrids.
He thought the gem's effect was delayed or limited by their bodies.
But now, Laxus's example proved that the gem's transformation speed was lightning-fast—whoosh, and he became a dragon instantly.
Ankh had a sudden realization.
'Right... if there was any difference between Laxus and the others, it must be the distinction between First-Generation and Second-Generation Dragon Slayer Mages?'
Ankh recalled something Seram had once told him: Natsu's body contained a mysterious life form.
Later, Seram detected the same within Gajeel.
Was it because of them?
But even if the effect was slow, Ankh calculated, it should be almost successful by now...
As Ankh was lost in thought, destructive magic power erupted once again from the church below!
ROAR!
Two more dragon roars answered the one in the sky!
---------
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