Bonus Chapters every 200 Power Stones. Capped at 5 per week. Short chapter for today to show Gildarts PoV of the previous chapter.
"Normal Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
[Year X791]
~ With Gildarts ~
Gildarts Clive walked along the dirt path leading back to Magnolia with the unhurried pace of a man who had nowhere urgent to be.
The investigation Makarov had sent him on had been largely fruitless, but that wasn't particularly surprising. Tracking down information about a supposedly dead S-class mage was never going to be easy work.
He'd spent the better part of two weeks visiting the places Shisui had been seen in the past, talking to clients who'd worked with him, even checking with a few contacts in other guilds. What he'd learned painted a picture of someone remarkable, but it was all secondhand information. Stories and testimonials, impressive as they were, couldn't tell him who Shisui really was or what had made him so special to Fairy Tail.
Suddenly, he felt it. The buildup of magical energy coming from the direction of Magnolia, specifically from where he knew the guild's private training ground was located.
Gildarts frowned. The power he was sensing was significant, far beyond what most of the Fairy Tail mages could generate. His first thought was Laxus, the third strongest mage in Fairy Tail after himself and Master Makarov. But even the Lightning Dragon Slayer didn't usually produce energy signatures of this magnitude during routine training.
Then he saw it.
A red streak shot across the sky, climbing higher and higher with incredible speed. Even from this distance, Gildarts could see the crackling electricity that seemed to dance around flames.
But even so, such an attack would still not be out of his league. After all, he was Gildarts Clive, Fairy Tail's ace. Rather, it was the scale that troubled him. Gildarts knew every mage in Fairy Tail, understood their capabilities and limitations. Natsu's fire magic was impressive, certainly strong enough to cause serious damage, but this was beyond anything the Dragon Slayer had ever produced.
"What the hell is going on over there?" He muttered, changing direction to head more directly toward the guild's training ground.
But then the attack reached the cloud layer and exploded. The detonation was visible even from miles away, a burst of light and energy that lit up the entire sky. Lightning spread outward from the point of impact in branching patterns that reminded Gildarts of a spider's web.
Gildarts stopped walking entirely, his mind racing through multiple possibilities. 'This isn't a normal Fairy Tail training session.'
What followed was even more unsettling. The explosion cleared a perfect circle in the clouds, but the cleared space didn't remain empty for long. New clouds began forming with unnatural speed, darker and heavier than the ones that had been destroyed. Within moments, the sky above Magnolia had transformed from peaceful blue to an ominous grey as the thunders roared overhead.
He started walking again, faster now, his casual demeanour replaced by concern.
The first drops of rain began to fall as he walked, light at first but growing heavier with each passing minute. Within moments, the drizzle had become a steady downpour that soaked through his cloak and made the path treacherous underfoot. But Gildarts barely noticed the discomfort. His attention was focused entirely on the training ground that lay ahead, and the unknown situation that was unfolding there.
He'd covered perhaps half the remaining distance when he felt it again.
This time, the buildup of energy was even more intense than the first. It started as a low vibration in the air, a sense of pressure that made his teeth ache. But it grew rapidly, becoming a suffocating presence that seemed to press down on everything around him.
Gildarts came to a complete stop, his eyes widening as he processed what his senses were telling him. This wasn't just powerful magic. This was magic on a scale that belonged to the very elite, the kind of destructive potential that currently only two mages in Fairy Tail could possess. He was one of them, and he was also certain that Master Makarov was still at the guildhall.
The pressure continued to build, and with it came a sense of inevitability that made his stomach clench with fear. Not fear for himself, but fear for his guild, the people who might be caught in whatever was about to happen.
"Shit…" He breathed, and then he was running.
His casual pace exploded into desperate speed as Crash Magic enhanced his physical capabilities. Trees blurred past him as he tore through the forest, taking the most direct route toward the training ground regardless of obstacles.
The buildup of energy reached its peak just as he cleared the tree line. What he saw only served to confirm his suspicions. Laxus was currently fighting against a man, who had one hand raised in the sky as lightning crackled around his hand.
"May judgment guide the strike, and the Heavens decide your fate."
Gildarts heard the man say. His instincts flared when he saw the man swing his arm forward and he knew that he could not stand by any longer. The sound of thunder crashed across the landscape just as he arrived in front of Laxus.
Crush Magic: Crash Break!
~ End of Chapter 92 ~
You can read advanced chapter on p@treon.com/The_Editor982
A/N: I've read through some of the readers comments about Laxus being able to "eat" the lightning. For this fanfic, Dragon Slayers can only eat their elements up to a certain limit that correlates to their current power levels. For example, Natsu will be able to eat a Great Fireball no problem, but if Shisui were to use something like the Majestic Destroyer Flame? Yeah, no. He ain't eating that. Lightning Style: Thunder God is not JUST pure lightning. There's a reason why his Mangekyo is activated, and it's got to do with amp-boosting the attack (plus the weakness explained during the Khatros arc) to however high the limit Shisui can go. For this fight with Laxus, the lightning would be too strong for Laxus to safely eat. Is this non-canon? Maybe, I don't remember if there actually is any sort of hard ceiling to the element that each slayers can eat safely. But since it's a fanfic and I'm the author, this is how it's going to be. If you don't like it, I apologize and I hope you'd still continue to read. If not, hope you've enjoyed reading up to this point!