Ignoring Macao and Wakaba's brawl, Marco greeted his other companions and headed to the back of the guild building.
There, a large open space had been set aside specifically for mages to practice magic.
BOOM!
Lightning crackled across the training ground as wild surges of magic power erupted.
A tall, muscular figure stood amidst the raging storm of electricity.
"It's Laxus..."
Marco was naturally familiar with the figure wreathed in lightning—his older brother, Laxus, with whom he had just parted on bad terms at home.
Laxus also wielded Dragon Slayer Magic—specifically, Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic.
However, his power didn't come from training under a dragon.
Instead, it originated from the Dragon Slayer Lacrima implanted within his body.
Dragon Slayer Lacrima were incredibly rare treasures, almost impossible to obtain by chance.
Implanting one was also an extremely dangerous procedure.
The reason Laxus had taken such a risk was due to his frail body being unable to handle the immense magic power inherited from Makarov, leaving him weak.
Implanting the lacrima had been a desperate gamble—but one he had no choice but to take.
Fortunately, it succeeded.
Otherwise, Makarov would have lived with regret for the rest of his life.
What happened to Laxus proved that having too much magical talent wasn't always a good thing—because one's body might not be able to endure it.
The consequences could be dire, especially since not everyone could enhance their physical condition like Laxus by implanting a Dragon Slayer Lacrima.
In fact, the roots of Laxus' current abrasive personality were deeply intertwined with this very incident.
The Dragon Slayer Lacrima that altered Laxus' fate had been procured at great cost by his father, Ivan Dreyar—who was later expelled from Fairy Tail.
This left Laxus both baffled and deeply dissatisfied, as Makarov hadn't provided a convincing enough reason.
In truth, Marco wasn't entirely sure either.
While Ivan Dreyar didn't strike him as a good person, outright expelling him on the grounds of "endangering the guild's safety" felt somewhat forced.
There were likely things happening behind the scenes that they weren't aware of.
"Zzzzt!"
The crackling lightning subsided as Laxus turned to Marco.
"Marco, I heard you defeated someone who uses Dragon Slayer Magic?"
Surprisingly, Laxus had actually initiated a conversation with Marco.
His rebellious older brother, who was deep in his angsty teenage phase, had always kept to himself, lost in his own world and practically at war with everyone—a fitting stereotype for a moody, rebellious teen.
"No… How does everyone know about this? It shouldn't be that big of a deal, right?"
Marco was a little surprised.
Beating up Natsu wasn't exactly front-page news.
Did Natsu have some kind of protagonist aura or something?
"Where did he get his Dragon Slayer Magic?"
Ignoring Marco's question, Laxus pressed on.
This was what he cared about—this Natsu guy was the first "Dragon Slayer" he'd ever encountered.
When Natsu joined Fairy Tail, Laxus had been away on a job request, so he still hadn't met him yet.
"He said his dad taught him."
Marco answered calmly.
"Huh?"
Laxus looked stunned, clearly struggling to process that.
He was thinking—Could Dragon Slayer Magic be passed down in families?
"He said his dad was a fire dragon."
Marco continued, and his words completely froze Laxus in place.
"A… fire dragon?"
Laxus was torn between belief and skepticism, his usually fierce face now wearing a dumbfounded expression, as if he was genuinely considering the possibility.
"There are two possibility. One, he's actually delusional. Two, he really was raised by a fire dragon and that dragon taught him Dragon Slayer Magic. Which one sounds more plausible to you?"
Marco rubbed his temples as he posed the question to Laxus, but upon closer thought, the second option wasn't entirely impossible.
The main issue was that Marco found it hard to believe Natsu—an orphan who'd appeared out of nowhere and couldn't even properly explain his own origins—had a 'Dragon Slayer Lacrima' inside him.
Not only were 'Dragon Slayer Lacrimas' incredibly rare and difficult to obtain, but anyone who got their hands on one would surely treasure it.
If someone had gone so far as to implant one in Natsu, why would they let him run around like a wild animal?
"Do dragons… really still exist?"
Laxus seemed lost in thought.
Even though he had learned 'Dragon Slayer Magic' he still had doubts about whether dragons truly existed in this era—no one had actually seen one after all.
"Wouldn't it be more fun if they did? I've heard dragons love hoarding treasure. If we could slay an evil dragon, we'd be set for life! No more job requests!"
Marco chuckled playfully.
Having never watched the anime, he naturally had no idea if any true dragons still existed in this world.
Right now, he was just joking around.
But if evil dragons did exist, Marco wouldn't mind playing the role of a dragon-slaying hero.
With cheats already in hand, was he really lacking the courage to slay a dragon?
"Hmph."
Hearing Marco's words, Laxus let out a cold snort, his expression turn cold before he silently walked away, as if suddenly realizing he had let his tough-guy facade slip.
"???"
Watching this scene, Marco was utterly baffled.
One moment they had been chatting and laughing and the next, Laxus was acting like a stranger.
Had he said something wrong?
These problem children and delinquent youths—none of them were easy to deal with.
Thud!
Crash!
The moment Laxus turned to leave, a reckless figure came barreling in and slammed straight into him.
This time, Laxus had braced himself in advance.
His body didn't budge an inch, while the kid who had crashed into him tumbled to the ground.
Laxus' towering frame completely overshadowed the boy.
Looking down, the first thing he noticed was a head of bright pink hair.
"Natsu?! You woke up already?!"
Marco craned his neck to get a better look and immediately recognized him—this was the 'Fire Dragon' Natsu, the same guy he had knocked out earlier.
The physical resilience granted by Dragon Slayer Magic was truly something else.
Natsu was already back to his usual lively self in short time.
"Oh? So you're the Dragon Slayer who got beaten by Marco?"
Hearing Natsu's name, Laxus narrowed his eyes.
He bent down, glaring menacingly at the dazed Natsu.
"To think you're such a weakling. You're an embarrassment to Dragon Slayers."
Laxus' expression darkened with disappointment.
This guy in front of him looked like an idiot—nothing like the makings of a true powerhouse.