Dragon Slayer Magic belongs to Ancient Magic, and it is also Lost Magic, a rare magic that ordinary people may never see in their lifetime.
Having Natsu and Gajeel, these two Dragon Slayer Mages, is already remarkable for their guild, but now another, Laxus, has appeared, making three Dragon Slayer Mages!
No, if we count Wendy, they are acquainted with four!
Perhaps Rhode, this impostor, could also count as half.
When did Lost Magic become so common?
A golden thunderstorm spewed from Laxus' mouth, accompanied by lightning and thunder, crashing into the lava flames Rhode breathed out.
Though Rhode was shocked, he did not relax and tried hard to maintain his attack to rival Laxus.
The tremendous heat melted the stone slabs on the ground, and the fierce breath blew away the melted parts, leaving a deep, dark trench.
The rolling thunder shattered the floor tiles, turning the neatly laid stone slabs into a ravine.
Though Laxus struck last, his power was not to be underestimated; the breath of lightning withstood the lava and flames, even countering, devouring, and pushing back Rhode's breath!
This guy's breath is far stronger than Natsu's!
The junction of the golden and red breaths gradually shifted towards Rhode, who felt strained and simply detonated his breath in advance.
Dazzling lightning and fire burst forth, making it seem like a bomb had been thrown into the church.
The deafening explosion shook the entire cathedral, leaving not a single intact window in the building.
The nearby pillars, large enough for two people to wrap around, were affected by the explosion, breaking and crashing to the ground with two thuds, landing between the two sides.
Rhode stumbled back a few steps, supported by Mystogan.
"Thanks, it'd be nice if you could chip in some output too."
Rhode glanced back at Mystogan, through the gap between his hood and mask, he could see his eyes, and a hint of the red markings around them.
Mystogan turned his face silently away, thinking it wouldn't be right to leave immediately, so he decided to help a bit to finish the conflict sooner.
Rhode felt Mystogan seemed familiar.
But there was no time to think about it now; his focus was more on Laxus.
This guy's shirt had already burst open, bare-chested, with a black pattern from left shoulder to left ribs, the guild emblem encircled at the center of the pattern.
His physique has changed drastically from before.
Laxus was initially tall and well-proportioned, but now his arm and chest muscles were bulging, making his entire upper body look significantly larger.
The most crucial change was that his eyes revealed an exaggerated amount of whites, four canine teeth became unusually sharp, and scales-like net patterns appeared on his arms!
Though the positions of the dragon scales were slightly different, this clearly was the state Natsu appeared in after swallowing Crimson Fire!
Rhode did not know much about Dragon Slayer Magic.
If Natsu usually is in state one, and after swallowing Crimson Fire is in state two, then Laxus evidently started in state two!
Erza exclaimed in shock: "You're a Dragon Slayer Mage too! Why didn't even we know?"
Laxus rolled his neck, smirking with contempt: "The old man would just nag, so I kept it hidden... Besides, before now, none of you deserved me using my full strength."
"But now," Laxus pointed at Rhode, "though not at S-Class, I'll barely acknowledge you as worthy of being defeated by me.
Come on, let me show you the true magic for confronting dragons! Make you know what the guild's strongest really is!"
"Only you care about that useless title; we're just here to bring you back, don't expect a one-on-one duel."
Rhode and Mira exchanged a glance and charged out together, crossing over the two collapsed pillars, a Dragon Claw with lava, and a Magic Claw with flames, attacking Laxus' chest from left and right.
Laxus actually managed to grab both of their wrists simultaneously, pushed back by the immense force.
But he soon steadied himself, then exerted force with his arms, swinging both of them up and smashing them onto the left side of the ground.
The ground was smashed into a large pit, enveloped the two in golden lightning.
"Ah!"
The smash wasn't a big deal, but being struck by Laxus' lightning at close range was truly unpleasant.
Erza switched to Thunder Emperor's Armor, leapt high, wielding the same Serrated Saber, chopping downward at Laxus' head.
"Lightning Dragon's Shattering Fist!"
Laxus abandoned Rhode and Mira, twisted his waist, swung his arms, and punched upward.
A golden magic array lit up, lightning turning into a massive golden fist colliding with Erza's sword blade.
After a brief standoff, Erza's body got enveloped in lightning, flying backward, one could mistake her for discharging in mid-air, arcs of electricity like a golden snake flickering around her.
"Ahhh..." Erza cried in pain, as the Serrated Saber flew from her grip, embedding into the ground, the arm armor, chest plate, and skirt hem of her Thunder Emperor's Armor were damaged.
Laxus' Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic, even Thunder Emperor's Armor couldn't defend against it.
As Erza was struck, flying back, before landing, Mystogan rushed forward with a Magic Staff in his right hand.
The tip of the staff was shaped like webbed duck's feet, surrounded by magical light, as if coated with a water film.
Laxus twisted his body, lifting his right foot to kick the staff away, accumulating lightning in his left hand, condensing it into a Heaven-piercing Halberd.