Because Laxus had absorbed too many magic barrier particles, even Porlyusica's vaccine couldn't completely cure him.
But in his relentless training—driven by his desire to surpass Su Yan—Laxus had already touched the threshold of Dragon Force.
For humans, magic barrier particles are poison. For dragons, they are far less dangerous. Using his Dragon Slayer constitution, Laxus forced the particles down, suppressing their effects.
He went even further—infusing their properties into his lightning. One day, whether it took ten years or a lifetime, he would burn every last trace of the poison out of his body.
"You bastard! You fused barrier particles into your lightning?!" Wall's face twisted. "It won't matter! Magic Barrier Particle Purifier—activate!!"
The purification system roared to life, drawing the poison from Laxus' body.
"Now you're finished—"
CRACK-BOOOOM!!
Dazzling golden thunder erupted from Laxus, brighter and wilder than before.
He stretched lazily, grinning.
"Haven't felt this light in years… I've been searching for someone who could purge these things, and you just did it for me. Thanks."
Wall's mechanical eyes widened. He realized he'd just undone the very restraint keeping Laxus in check.
"You… you used me…!"
Laxus' gaze sharpened.
"Don't get cocky. Without the particles, my lightning's useless against you, right?"
CRACK—CRACK!
A different thunder began to coil around him. Red streaks, veined with black, split the air.
Wall froze. "This… this lightning—my scanners can't analyze it!! What is this?!"
Laxus raised his fist, wrapped in the red-black storm.
"I've got more than one kind of lightning. And this one? This wasn't meant for small fry like you. Now disappear!"
"Thunder of Destruction!!"
BOOOOOM!!
Laxus' punch shattered Wall's mechanical body into scraps.
"…What kind of thunder… is this…" Wall whispered, dying in disbelief.
That lightning wasn't born of ordinary magic.
It was the same red-and-black current created when Su Yan's Conqueror's Haki clashed with magic—power beyond magic itself.
Laxus had refused to remain powerless. On Sirius Island, in the Grand Magic Games, and especially when facing Acnologia, he'd been forced to face the truth: his lightning, even as a Dragon Slayer, couldn't touch that monster. His pride wouldn't allow him to accept that.
So he sought a new path. Watching Su Yan fight, he saw the strange, destructive thunder born from Haki's collision with magic. He resolved to master it.
He trained with Su Yan, with Wendy and Polyusica standing by as safeguards. The process nearly tore his body apart. The red-black current burned differently than magic—it was raw, destructive power. But Laxus endured. Pain was nothing new; between barrier particles and endless battles, agony was his constant companion. One more torment was just another burden to carry.
And in time, he absorbed it. Stored a fragment of that power within himself. Enough to unleash when it truly mattered.
Today, against Wall, that moment came.
Fairy Tail Guild
"Another one down!!"
"Laxus defeated another of the Twelve Shields!!"
"OHOOHH!! As expected of Laxus!!"
Cheers erupted through the guild.
Mavis allowed herself a soft smile. Even she, who rarely showed relief, exhaled.
Makarov sat frozen, his jaw slack. "…This brat…" His grandson—his reckless, headstrong grandson—had just felled two of Zeref's elite in quick succession. Each of the Twelve Shields wielded near-unfathomable magic. And yet Laxus…
The first master, however, was not surprised. She knew of his training with Su Yan.
"In order to protect the guild, each child has been walking their own lonely road of effort. What looks like a miracle today… is just the sum of their years of struggle."
With Dimaria and Wall defeated, the southern battlefield was nearly won. Only one Shield remained. Victory here was within reach—then Ishgar's forces could turn to aid the other fronts.