Chapter 94: Dino VS Laxus
Originally, Dino was a little irritated by Freed's use of magical barriers to force Fairy Tail members to fight each other, but he wasn't truly angry.
After all, Laxus was the one who instigated all of this, and the infighting had been brewing for a while anyway.
But when he saw that Freed was willing to throw his life away for something so pointless, Dino's anger flared for real.
It reminded him of reckless kids back in his old world—the ones who'd do something stupid over the smallest setback, never thinking about the people who cared about them. That kind of selfishness disgusted him.
When Freed saw Dino walking away, he let go of his last shred of resistance. He finally understood why Laxus considered Dino his greatest rival.
Even with all of Laxus's pride, he had never once challenged Dino in the years since becoming Fairy Tail's S-Class mage.
Why was Dino still called Fairy Tail's strongest wizard, even though several powerful S-Class mages had risen through the ranks?
Moreover, Dino was barely active anymore—he'd practically vanished, only occasionally appearing at the guild. Yet the title of "strongest" still belonged to him.
Maybe this is for the best, Freed thought bitterly.
The Thunder God Tribe's goal this time was to push Laxus—the man they admired most—into the position of Fairy Tail's guild master, even if it meant becoming enemies of the guild.
But after witnessing Dino's overwhelming strength, Freed already knew they were going to fail completely.
"DING! Dino Maxim VS Freed—Freed has lost consciousness! Seven participants remaining!"
The latest battle update displayed across the magical barrier screens throughout Magnolia. Evergreen and Bickslow's expressions darkened when they saw it.
As captain of the Thunder God Tribe, Freed was obviously the strongest of the three. While it made sense that Dino would defeat him, the news still hit hard.
"What're you staring at, Bickslow?!" Gray said coldly, forming hand seals as snowflakes suddenly began falling from the sky.
"Snow?" Bickslow blinked in confusion—then watched in horror as the snow landing on his dolls began rapidly expanding, freezing them solid in seconds.
"Crap!" Bickslow's eyes widened as snowflakes touched his body and spread like ice crystals, freezing half his body in an instant.
"How is this possible?! You weren't this strong before…"
Gray smirked. "How long ago was that? You're stuck in the past while the rest of us kept getting stronger. Now tell me—where's Laxus?"
"DING! Latest battle report—Dino Maxim VS Laxus!"
Gray's eye twitched. "Damn it! He beat me to him again!"
Gray had rushed out early specifically to teach Laxus a lesson himself—his recent training had made him way stronger—but apparently he was still a step too slow.
Many other Fairy Tail members saw the notification on the barrier screens. Most of them were already exhausted from fighting each other.
Even if they wanted to confront Laxus themselves, they simply didn't have the energy.
The two names on the screen represented the strongest wizards of Fairy Tail's younger generation.
In terms of reputation and fame, the two were roughly equal now. Maybe Dino had a slight edge, but Laxus had another advantage—he was the grandson of Fairy Tail's master, Makarov.
Tap… tap… tap…
Footsteps echoed through the empty hall of Kardia Cathedral. As they drew closer, Dino's figure gradually emerged from the shadows.
"You're finally here." Laxus's voice rang out. Dino looked up to see Laxus sitting on the steps at the front of the cathedral, staring at him with burning intensity.
"I've been waiting for this day for five years!"
"Five years ago, you crushed me completely and trampled my pride into the dirt. I swore that someday, I'd pay back every bit of humiliation you gave me."
Dino met his gaze evenly. "If you wanted a rematch, I'd have given you one anytime. Why drag the rest of the guild into this?"
Laxus spread his arms wide, his voice rising. "It's simple! I'm sick of it! Fairy Tail's become nothing but a daycare center! All that happy family crap makes me wanna puke!"
"When I'm guild master, I'll kick out every worthless weakling—and you're the biggest obstacle standing in my way!"
"Since you and the old man love this pathetic guild so much, naturally I want to destroy it! The angrier you get, the happier I am! Hahahaha!"
Dino's expression didn't change. "You're jealous."
Laxus's laughter cut off abruptly. His face twisted. "What did you just say?! Take that back!"
CRACK!
A golden lightning bolt suddenly crashed down from above, aimed directly at Dino. He shifted his weight and dodged smoothly as the attack blasted a crater into the cathedral floor.
"Struck a nerve, didn't I?" Dino said calmly.
"SHUT UP!" Laxus roared.
CRACK!
Another golden bolt descended toward Dino.
Dino casually raised his fist, activating his Tremor-Tremor power. "Buzz~!" The vibrations shattered the lightning before it could even reach him.
BOOM!
Dino kicked off the ground and launched himself toward Laxus. Honestly, he wasn't great at speeches and lectures.
And judging by Laxus's attitude, the guy wasn't going to listen to reason anyway.
Guess it was time for the old-fashioned approach: beat some sense into him first, talk later.
"Zzt!"
Laxus's body transformed into lightning and reappeared behind Dino.
Dino's instincts kicked in immediately. He stopped mid-charge, spun around, and launched a reverse kick.
"BOOM!"
Laxus blocked the strike with his forearm, lightning crackling around him.
"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!" Laxus shouted, condensing massive amounts of golden electricity around his fist as he threw a devastating punch.
"Buzz!"
Dino clenched his own fist, instantly forming a white sphere of compressed vibration energy around it, and met Laxus's attack head-on.
"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!"
The collision unleashed a massive shockwave that shook the entire cathedral.