"You bastard!!!"
Erza could no longer contain her anger.
She requipped into a suit of silver battle armor.
With a longsword in her hand, she pointed the tip straight at Laxus.
Her scarlet hair whipped around her due to the fluctuating magic power.
"Laxus! I don't care what you're trying to do, turn them back! Right now!!!"
"Ordering me?" Laxus laughed, his smile dripping with disdain. "Erza, who do you think you are? The Queen? It's a pity, but you're not qualified to give me orders."
"You'll regret this," Gray said, struggling to his feet.
Blood was still trickling from his mouth, but his eyes were as cold as blades.
"I swear, you will regret everything you've done today."
"Regret?" Laxus asked, as if he'd just heard a hilarious joke. "You? Did that kick not teach you your place?"
Gray didn't speak.
He simply clasped his hands in front of his chest as a terrifying chill began to gather around him.
Frost formed on the ground, and the moisture in the air condensed into tiny ice crystals.
He was preparing some kind of powerful magic.
But Laxus didn't even look at him. He just raised a hand in Gray's direction and made a grasping motion with his fingers.
Golden lightning appeared out of thin air around Gray, forming a giant hand of electricity that clenched violently!
"Pfft—!"
Gray coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, and the chill around him instantly vanished.
The lightning hand lifted him into the air and then slammed him brutally into the ground.
The earth cracked, and Gray collapsed again.
This time, he didn't even have the strength to stand.
"Boring." Laxus lowered his hand, his gaze sweeping across the crowd. "Anyone else want to try?"
"I do!!!"
Natsu's roar erupted from the crowd.
His entire body ignited in scorching flames. His pink hair stood on end, and his eyes seemed to narrow into draconic slits.
"Laxus! I'm gonna send you flying!!!"
"Natsu, don't be reckless!" Happy tried to hold him back, but Natsu had already shot out like a cannonball.
His fists blazed with fire as he charged straight for Laxus!
"Fire Dragon's—Iron Fist!!!"
The flaming fist tore through the air, carrying all of Natsu's anger and power straight toward Laxus's face.
But Laxus didn't even try to dodge.
He simply raised his right hand, opened his palm, and caught Natsu's fist with ease.
"BOOM—!!!"
Flames and lightning collided, erupting in a blinding light and a scorching shockwave.
But no matter how much Natsu pushed his magic, his fist couldn't advance another inch.
"Natsu," Laxus said, looking at him with a complicated expression. "I don't actually hate your fired-up personality. But—"
His fingers suddenly tightened.
"CRACK—!"
The sickening sound of bone breaking was clearly audible.
Natsu's face turned deathly pale, but he gritted his teeth and refused to cry out.
"—I really dislike your tendency to just talk big." Laxus's voice was calm, but it carried a bone-chilling coldness.
"You should cool your head for a bit."
Golden lightning erupted from his palm, instantly engulfing Natsu.
"Aaaahhhh—!!!"
Natsu's screams echoed from within the lightning.
His body convulsed violently, his flames forcibly suppressed and extinguished by the immense electricity.
Three seconds later, the lightning dissipated. Natsu, charred black and smoking, fell stiffly to the ground.
His eyes rolled back, completely unconscious.
"Natsu!!!" Happy cried, flying over to him.
"What a man..." Elfman murmured.
There was a look of admiration in his eyes for Natsu's bravery, but it was quickly overshadowed by the gravity of the situation.
Laxus was one of the Fairy Tail's strongest S-Class Mage and the Master's grandson.
Everyone knew he was strong.
But no one had imagined he was this strong.
Gray had been defeated in a single blow, and Natsu was taken out in an instant.
This couldn't just be described as "strong" anymore; this was a complete one-sided crushing.
It showed an absolute difference in power.
"Well then," Laxus clapped his hands as if dusting them off. "Anyone else want to try? If not, the game officially—"
"Laxus."
A calm voice interrupted him.
The voice wasn't loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly, cutting right through the lingering sound of thunder.
Ace walked out slowly, leaving Mirajane and Lisanna safely behind him. He didn't look at Laxus right away.
First, he walked over to Natsu and Gray, crouched down, and placed a hand on each of their chests.
Dark gold Digital Soul flowed into their bodies.
The charred marks on Natsu quickly faded, and Gray's broken ribs began to heal.
A few seconds later, the two slowly opened their eyes.
Though they were still very weak, their lives were no longer in danger.
"Th-thanks..." Gray said with difficulty.
Ace shook his head and stood up. Only then did he look up at Laxus in the sky.
"Did you forget," Ace's voice was calm—terrifyingly calm—"that I'm still here?"
Laxus's smile slowly faded.
He looked at Ace, golden lightning dancing in his eyes. It was excitement, a lust for battle, and a long-suppressed desire.
"Of course I didn't forget, Ace," his voice was low. "You're the exact person I've been waiting for."
Before those words even faded, Ace moved.
His figure just flickered, leaving a blurry afterimage in everyone's vision.
The next second, he appeared like a phantom just three meters in front of Laxus.
He was so fast that even Erza's sharp eyes only caught a streak of dark gold light.
Laxus's pupils constricted, but his battle instincts as a top-tier mage reacted before his mind even could.
The golden lightning around him automatically whipped into a frenzy, forming dozens of savage electric serpents that lunged at Ace from all directions!
Each serpent contained enough terrifying energy to instantly melt steel, and the air itself shrieked as they passed.
But Ace didn't flinch.
He just raised his right hand, opened his palm, and gently clenched his fist toward the incoming attack.
"VMMM—!!!"
Dark gold Digital Soul surged out like living water.
It formed a glowing barrier in his palm.
It was as thin as a cicada's wing, yet it flowed with complex, shifting data patterns.
"BOOM—!!!"
A deafening explosion rocked the plaza.
Lightning and dark gold light clashed madly, destroying each other and clashing all over again.
The shockwave spread out in a massive sphere, ripping up the surrounding ground and sending rubble flying everywhere like a heavy downpour.
But Ace's barrier didn't move an inch.
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