A grey magic circle spread from Marcus's palm, and the ground, like a boiling golden ocean, erupted with countless sharp sand spikes, aiming directly at Laxus's lower body.
The two offensives, one from above and one from below, formed a perfect pincer attack.
Laxus's eyes narrowed, and the lightning around him instantly surged, condensing into a shimmering layer of lightning armor on his body.
Facing Natsu's flaming fist, he violently swung his arm, wreathed in golden lightning. The moment their fists collided, sparks and electric arcs shot out, and the air shrieked piercingly.
And those sand spikes aimed at his lower body were shattered by electric snakes and scattered the instant they touched the lightning armor.
"Don't you have any new moves?" Laxus said expressionlessly, stomping his right foot heavily. A circular golden lightning shockwave exploded outwards, centered on him.
Natsu was sent flying backward by the powerful impact, tumbling several times in the air before crashing heavily into a distant stone pillar, which then collapsed with a roar.
Marcus quickly manipulated gold sand to form a shield in front of him, but the shield, under the bombardment of the lightning shockwave, shattered instantly like paper. The powerful force sent him staggering backward, but with his Sand Armor protecting him, he was largely unharmed.
But Natsu and Marcus did not stop there. Natsu leaped from the ruins, his flames burning even more intensely, and a Red Dragon magic circle rapidly spun beneath his feet.
"Fire Dragons Roar!"
Natsu cupped his hands to his mouth, his chest puffed out, and a massive cone-shaped flame breath shot out from his mouth.
Laxus raised his hand, pointing it at the Dragon's Roar. Lightning flared from his palm, and a golden lightning bolt nearly a meter in diameter instantly shot out.
The lightning and the Dragon's Roar collided, creating a violent explosion and shockwave.
Using the smoke and dust in the arena as cover, almost simultaneously, Marcus's figure merged into the sandy ground, and the next second, he strangely reappeared from the sand and stones behind Laxus.
Marcus, in his gold helmet and armor, looked serious. He held a large bludgeon made entirely of gold sand in both hands and struck Laxus heavily on the back.
gold sand itself is a magical material with extremely high weight and hardness, and with Marcus's full-force swing, this blow was incredibly powerful.
"Bang!"
Laxus was sent flying directly by the blow, crashing heavily into the stone wall at the edge of the arena. Spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread from the impact point.
"We got him!" Natsu excitedly punched the air, but his smile quickly froze—in the dust, Laxus's figure slowly stood up, appearing completely unharmed except for his torn clothes on his back.
"Good teamwork," Laxus said, brushing off his sleeve, golden lightning dancing at his fingertips. "But it's still far from enough."
He suddenly vanished from his spot, leaving only a golden afterimage.
"Watch out!" Marcus shouted a warning.
Natsu's pupils constricted, and he instinctively dodged sideways—
"Swish!"
Five golden lightning bolts grazed Natsu's cheek, leaving five grooves half a meter deep in the stone pillar behind him.
Laxus's figure solidified behind Natsu, his left leg sweeping across with the force of a thousand thunders.
"Bang!"
Natsu hastily raised his arms to block, but was still swept dozens of meters away by the kick, crashing through three stone pillars before finally stopping.
"Natsu!" Marcus quickly controlled the gold sand to form a sand cushion to absorb the impact. At the same time, he clapped his hands together, "Sand Clone Jutsu!"
Six Marcus clones, made entirely of gold sand, appeared simultaneously, pouncing on Laxus from different angles.
Each clone moved differently, some wielding sand blades, others swinging sand hammers, making it difficult to distinguish the real one.
Laxus's eyes surged with lightning, golden lightning flowing in his pupils, instantly seeing through the magic flow of all the clones.
He formed his right hand into a claw, and five golden lightning snakes precisely struck the real Marcus.
"Ugh!" Marcus's main body was hit in the chest by the lightning snakes, sent flying backward, and rolled several times on the ground before stopping.
The gold Sand Clones disintegrated, turning back into ordinary sand particles.
The pile of rubble suddenly exploded, and Natsu, wreathed in flames, burst out: "Don't underestimate me!"
He continuously threw punches, and countless fireballs, like a meteor shower, smashed towards Laxus.
Each punch produced a fireball the size of a human head, and in an instant, dozens of fireballs formed a dense barrage.
Laxus, unhurried, crossed his hands in front of his chest, forming a net-like shield of golden lightning:
"Lightning Net!"
The fireballs struck the Lightning Net, erupting in continuous explosions.
Taking advantage of the explosion's cover, Marcus had already reorganized his offensive.
"Attacks of that level won't work."
"Let's use our ultimate moves!"
He spread his hands apart, forming sword fingers, and slightly bent his legs to gather power.
"Natsu!" Marcus shouted, then slammed his hands to the ground, and three large grey magic circles rapidly spun open.
"gold sand Secret Art: Billions of gold sands Burying Bones!"
Centered on Laxus, the ground within a hundred-meter radius suddenly collapsed. Countless gold sand formed twenty-meter-high sand waves, crashing towards the center from all directions.
Sharp rock fragments were mixed in the sand waves, like countless spinning blades.
Natsu understood, took a deep breath, and leaped into the air, crossing his hands in front of his chest:
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art—"
Flames formed a swirling storm around him, engulfing his entire body.
"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!"
Natsu transformed into a whirlwind of flames, rushing downwards towards Laxus, forming a pincer movement with the rising sand waves.
Facing this deadly situation of upper and lower pincer attacks, Laxus finally showed a serious expression.
He clapped his hands together, and the golden lightning suddenly became violent:
"Raging Volt!"
Countless lightning bolts erupted from his body, shooting out in all directions.
It was as if a lightning-emitting sun had appeared on the ground.
"Boom—!!!"
The moment the three forces collided, the entire arena trembled.
The shockwave pulverized all the stone pillars within a hundred-meter radius, and dust rose over a hundred meters high.
As the dust slowly cleared, the scene in the center of the battlefield gradually became clear—a giant crater, over fifty meters in diameter, appeared in the area previously dense with stone forests. The bottom of the crater was scorched black, with sporadic electric arcs and flames still flickering.
Natsu and Marcus stood panting at the edge of the pit, covered in wounds.
Natsu's vest was mostly burnt, revealing the reddened skin underneath from the electricity; Marcus's Sand Armor was only half-remaining.
In the center of the pit, Laxus knelt on one knee, his black coat severely damaged, and a trace of blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.
He slowly stood up, his golden short hair standing on end, clearly having expended a considerable amount of energy.
"Not bad," Laxus wiped the blood from his mouth, his fighting spirit burning even brighter in his eyes. "Now this is more like it."
Natsu gasped for breath, his flames now weak, but still unwilling to admit defeat: "Again!"
Marcus, however, reached out to stop him: "Enough, Natsu. We've already..."
"It's not over!" Natsu broke free from Marcus's hand, wanting to charge forward again, but Laxus, who suddenly appeared in front of him, lightly chopped him on the side of the neck with a hand strike.
"That's enough," Laxus's voice rarely carried a hint of gentleness. "The assessment is over."
Natsu's vision went black, and he fell forward, caught in time by Marcus.
Marcus shook Natsu, and after confirming he was alright, his expression relaxed.
"He just passed out." Marcus sighed in relief, laying Natsu down on the sandy ground. "This guy... always pushes himself so hard."
Laxus turned and walked towards the edge of the arena, waving his hand at them with his back turned: "Train harder normally. I'm leaving."
Marcus watched Laxus's retreating back, then looked down at the unconscious Natsu, shaking his head with a wry smile: "S-class... it's really not that easy."
The morning light of Tenrou Island shone upon the three, bringing an end to this pure and intense magic duel.
In the distance, the branches and leaves of the Tenrou Tree swayed gently in the breeze, as if witnessing this dance of thunder and flames.
A few minutes later, Natsu's eyelids fluttered slightly, and he finally regained consciousness.
He struggled to prop up his upper body, looking around: "The battle... is over?"
Marcus leaned against a large rock, lazily basking in the sun: "You woke up earlier than expected. Laxus went easy on you."
Natsu touched his still numb neck, then suddenly widened his eyes: "Wait, we lost?"
"Obviously," Marcus shrugged. "But he acknowledged our strength. He said—"
"A loss is a loss," Natsu suddenly interrupted, his eyes once again alight with excitement. "Let's go to the old man's place to watch the surveillance crystal!"
... [This section with Laxus was inspired by Gaara from Naruto and the original Natsu and Gajeel fighting Laxus. If you enjoyed it, please give me a good rating. Thank you, and I wish you happiness every day.]
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"