Chapter 94: Battle for Fairy Tail VI - The Lightning Dragon vs The Fire Dragon
Laxus saw the opening before Erza could react. His lightning gathered at his fingertips, yellow and bright, and he swung his arm toward her before she could raise her spear. The bolt struck her in the shoulder, sending her stumbling back, her armor crackling with residual electricity. She fell to one knee, her teeth clenched, her hand pressed against the scorched metal.
"Erza," Natsu said. He started toward her, but Laxus was already moving.
Lightning arced from Laxus's hand toward Natsu. Natsu raised his fist, flames meeting lightning in the space between them. The impact sent shockwaves across the cathedral steps, cracking the stone, shattering the remaining windows. Natsu held his ground, but his feet slid back, carving grooves in the rock.
Laxus laughed. "You think you can match me, Salamander? You are nothing. You have always been nothing."
He pressed forward, his lightning intensifying, and Natsu was forced back step by step. The flames around his fist flickered, dimmed, then flared again. He was holding, but barely.
Natsu's fist connected with Laxus's chest. The impact was solid, a clean hit that would have felled most men. Laxus did not move. He looked down at the point of impact, then back at Natsu, and smiled.
"Is that all you have?"
His knee drove into Natsu's stomach. Natsu doubled over, gasping, and Laxus followed with an elbow to the back that sent him crashing to the stone. He rolled, came up swinging, his flames wild and desperate. His fist caught Laxus's jaw. Laxus's head snapped to the side. A thin line of blood appeared on his lip.
He touched it with his fingers. He looked at the blood. He laughed.
"Good. You made me bleed. That is more than most can say."
He raised his hand and lightning shot from his palm, not a bolt but a wave, a cascade of yellow energy that washed over Natsu and sent him tumbling across the steps. Natsu hit the railing, cracked it, fell to the ground below. He pushed himself up, his body smoking, his scarf still perfect, his eyes still burning.
He climbed back up the steps. Laxus watched him come.
"You do not give up, do you?"
"I do not know how."
They clashed again. Fist against fist, flame against lightning, the air between them a storm of heat and light. Natsu landed a blow to Laxus's ribs. Laxus landed a blow to Natsu's face. Natsu staggered, recovered, landed another. Laxus staggered, recovered, landed another. They were trading hits, neither gaining ground, neither falling.
Erza pushed herself up from the stone. Her shoulder was burned, her armor scorched, but she was alive. She raised her hand and light bloomed around her. The Lightning Empress Armor formed on her body, golden and light blue, the spear materializing in her grip.
"Laxus," she said. Her voice was steady despite the pain. "Cease the Thunder Palace."
Laxus turned to face her. His smile was gone, replaced by something harder. "Not until the old man resigns. Not until this guild is strong again."
"Master Makarov is dying."
The words hung in the air between them. Laxus's face did not change, but something flickered in his eyes. Something that might have been surprise or might have been something else.
"He is terminally ill," Erza continued. "He has been hiding it for months. He did not want anyone to know. He did not want to worry you. He did not want to worry any of us."
Laxus was silent for a long moment. The lightning around his hands dimmed, then flared again, brighter than before.
"It does not matter," he said. "If he is dying, then someone must take his place. Someone strong enough to lead. Someone who will not let the guild fall into weakness and shame."
He raised his hand. Lightning gathered at his fingertips, yellow and bright, and he pointed it at Erza.
"You are in my way."
He fired. The bolt shot toward Erza, fast and fierce. She raised her spear and the lightning struck the blade, deflected, scattered across the ground. She was unharmed. The Lightning Empress Armor had done its work.
"Your lightning cannot hurt me in this armor," she said. "I have faced your power before. I am still standing."
She thrust her spear forward. A beam of blue lightning shot from the tip, aimed at Laxus's chest. He dodged, barely, the beam grazing his shoulder and leaving a burn on his coat.
"You are stronger than I remember," he said.
"I have had time to train."
She attacked again, her spear spinning, lightning arcing from the blade in wild, unpredictable bursts. Laxus dodged, weaved, countered with his own lightning. The two of them fought across the cathedral steps, their spells colliding in bursts of light and sound that shook the ground beneath them.
Natsu watched from the edge of the battle. His chest was heaving. His body was covered in burns and bruises. But his eyes were clear, and his mind was calm.
"Erza," he said. "Let me fight him."
She did not look away from Laxus. "Natsu..."
"Let me fight him. You need to destroy the lacrimas. You are the only one who can. I will hold him here."
Erza hesitated. Her spear was still raised. Her lightning was still crackling. She looked at Laxus, then at Natsu, then at the Thunder Palace orbs floating above the city.
"Can you beat him?"
Natsu smiled. It was not the smile of a man who was confident. It was the smile of a man who was going to try.
"I do not need to beat him. I just need to keep him here."
Erza lowered her spear. She looked at Natsu, and something passed between them. A understanding. A promise. A belief that did not need words.
"I trust you," she said.
She turned and ran, her armor flashing in the light, her spear raised toward the sky. The lacrimas were waiting. The Thunder Palace was waiting. And Erza Scarlet was going to tear it down.
Natsu turned back to Laxus. The lightning dragon slayer stood at the top of the steps, his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on the woman who was running toward his precious orbs.
"You are making a mistake," Laxus said. "She cannot destroy them. The Thunder Palace is protected by Body Link Magic. Anyone who attacks the lacrimas will suffer the same damage they inflict."
Natsu shrugged. "She knows."
"Then she is a fool."
"She is Erza. She does not care about the cost. She only cares about protecting her family."
Laxus's jaw tightened. He raised his hand, lightning gathering at his fingertips, aimed at Erza's back. Natsu moved before he could fire. His fist connected with Laxus's wrist, deflecting the bolt, sending it harmlessly into the sky.
"Your fight is with me," Natsu said.
Laxus turned to face him. His eyes were burning. His lightning was crackling. His patience was gone.
"Fine. If you want to die so badly, I will oblige."
They clashed again, faster and harder than before. Laxus's lightning filled the air, a web of yellow energy that crackled and snapped. Natsu's flames answered, orange and bright, pushing back against the storm. They were equals in this moment, neither gaining ground, neither falling.
But Laxus was not fighting to test himself. He was fighting to win. And Natsu was holding back.
Outside the cathedral, Erza stood in the center of the square. Her spear was raised. Her armor was gleaming. Above her, the Thunder Palace orbs floated in the sky, each one humming with deadly energy.
She closed her eyes. She summoned her blades. One by one, they appeared in the air around her, spectral swords that gleamed in the light of the setting sun. Ten. Twenty. Fifty. A hundred. They formed a circle around her, a ring of steel and light, aimed at the lacrimas above.
The strain was visible on her face. Her arms shook. Her breathing was ragged. Summoning this many blades at once was exhausting, even for her. But she did not stop. She could not stop.
She thought of her friends. Gray, running through the streets, searching for Warren. Lucy, fighting alongside Loke, her keys flashing in the dark. Mirajane, transformed and terrible, facing Fried in the sky. Elfman, wounded but alive, watching his sister fight. Levy, still working on the barrier, refusing to give up.
She thought of Natsu, standing alone against Laxus, trusting her to do her part.
She thought of the guild. The family she had found. The home she had built.
She raised her spear higher. The blades around her rose with it, aimed at the orbs, ready to strike.
"Help me," she whispered. "Please. Help me."
It was not a prayer. It was a plea. To her friends, to her family, to anyone who could hear.
Gray felt it.
He was running through the streets of Magnolia, his lungs burning, his legs aching, his shirt gone somewhere in the chaos. He did not know where he was going. He did not know where Warren was. But he felt something tugging at his chest, a pull that was not magic, not quite, but something close.
Erza. She needed him. She needed all of them.
He ran faster.
Lucy felt it too.
She was standing in the ruins of a fountain, her keys in her hand, Loke at her side. Bickslow was across the square, his dolls floating around his head, his eyes fixed on her. She had been fighting for what felt like hours, and she was exhausted. But something in her chest was pulling her toward the cathedral, toward Erza, toward the battle that was about to decide everything.
"Loke," she said. "We need to finish this. Now."
Loke nodded. His rings glowed. "I am ready."
Happy felt it.
He was flying above the city, his wings beating fast, his eyes scanning the streets below. He did not know where he was going. He did not know what he was looking for. But he felt Erza's call, and he answered.
He flew toward the cathedral.
Gray found Warren in an alley near the market district. The telepath was pinned against a wall, his hands raised, his face pale. He had been fighting one of Freed's runes and had lost.
"Warren," Gray said. "I need your help."
Warren looked up. His eyes were wide, his breath was shallow, but he was alive. "Gray. What is happening? I felt something. A call. A plea. It was Erza."
"I know. She needs us. She needs everyone. I need you to contact the guild. All of them. Tell them to help Erza destroy the Thunder Palace."
Warren's face went pale. "The Thunder Palace? That is suicide. The Body Link Magic will—"
"I know what it will do. But Erza is willing to pay the price. And so are we."
Warren stared at him for a long moment. Then he closed his eyes and raised his hands to his temples.
"Everyone," he said. His voice was not loud, but it carried across the city, across the guild, across the hearts of every Fairy Tail mage who was still standing. "This is Warren. Erza needs your help. She is going to destroy the Thunder Palace. She cannot do it alone. Find a lacrima. Attack it. Do not let her bear this burden by herself."
The response was immediate. Across Magnolia, Fairy Tail mages stopped fighting each other and started looking up. They saw the orbs floating above them, the lightning crackling within them, the threat that Laxus had placed over their city.
And they attacked.
Back at the cathedral, the battle raged on.
Natsu and Laxus had been fighting for minutes that felt like hours. The steps were cracked and scorched. The walls were pitted with craters. The air was thick with smoke and ozone and the smell of burning stone.
Laxus was stronger. Everyone knew it. He was faster, more powerful, more experienced. He had been training for this his entire life. But Natsu was still standing. Still fighting. Still refusing to fall.
"Why," Laxus said, his voice ragged, his breathing heavy. "Why do you not stay down?"
Natsu wiped blood from his lip. "Because I am not done yet."
He charged again, his flames roaring, his fist blazing. Laxus met him with lightning, yellow and bright, and the two spells collided in a explosion that sent them both flying.
Natsu hit the ground hard. His body screamed. His vision blurred. But he pushed himself up, and he kept fighting.
Laxus stood across from him, his chest heaving, his coat torn, his face carved from stone.
"You cannot beat me," Laxus said. "You know that. I am stronger than you. I have always been stronger than you."
Natsu smiled. It was a bloody, broken thing, but it was real.
"I am not trying to beat you."
Laxus's eyes narrowed. "What?"
"I am trying to test myself. To see how far I have come. To see what I am capable of." Natsu raised his fists, flames flickering around his knuckles. "This fight is not about winning. It is about learning."
Laxus stared at him. For a moment, something flickered across his face. Something that might have been respect or might have been confusion.
"You are holding back."
Natsu did not answer. He did not need to.
Laxus's face darkened. "You are holding back against me. Against the strongest mage in Fairy Tail. You are not even trying to win."
"I am trying to survive. There is a difference."
Laxus raised his hand. Lightning gathered at his fingertips, brighter than before, hotter than before, a sphere of pure energy that hummed with the promise of death.
"Then let us see if you can survive this."
He fired.
The lightning struck Natsu in the chest and sent him flying across the steps. He hit the ground, rolled, came to a stop at the edge of the square. He did not move. His body was smoking. His scarf was still perfect.
Laxus stood over him, breathing hard, his lightning fading.
"Stay down," he said.
Natsu did not move.
Laxus turned away. He looked up at the sky, at the Thunder Palace orbs floating above the city, at the lightning that was still crackling within them.
"Why has he not resigned," he said. His voice was low, almost to himself. "Why does he not see that I am right? That the guild needs to be strong. That the weak need to be purged. That I am the only one who can save it."
From the ground, Natsu's voice came, weak but clear.
"Do not worry about it."
Laxus turned. Natsu was pushing himself up, his arms shaking, his legs shaking, his whole body shaking. But he was standing.
"Erza will take care of it. She will take care of everything."
Laxus's jaw tightened. "She cannot destroy the Thunder Palace. The Body Link Magic will kill her."
"Erza has faced worse than death. She has faced loss. She has faced pain. She has faced the darkness inside herself and she has overcome it." Natsu raised his fists. "She is not afraid of your lightning. She is not afraid of your palace. She is not afraid of you."
Laxus stared at him. The lightning around his hands crackled and dimmed.
"You believe in her."
"With everything I have."
Laxus was silent for a long moment. Then he raised his hand, and the lightning returned, brighter than before.
"Then let us see if your belief is enough."
He attacked. Natsu met him. And the battle continued.
Outside the cathedral, Erza's blades were still rising. The strain was visible on her face, but she did not let go. She could not let go.
Above her, the Thunder Palace orbs hummed. Below her, her friends were fighting. And in the cathedral, Natsu was holding the line.
She raised her spear.
"Now," she said.
The blades flew.
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Next Time: Battle for Fairy Tail VII - The Thunder Palace Falls