Across the field, Raizel watched Laxus's aura rise like a storm tide.
He wasted no time.
"Take Over: Jesmon."
Raizel transformed.
His body became encased in sharp, blade-like armor, and the Three Sword Spirits materialized, floating at his left, right, and above his head, humming with energy.
"Roar... of the Lightning Flame Dragon!"
Laxus initiated the attack.
A beam of golden lightning and crimson fire erupted from his mouth, tearing up the ground as it raced forward.
Knowing he couldn't take the dual-element attack head-on without heavy damage, Raizel made a split-second decision.
He accelerated directly upward like a streak of white light.
The Roar followed him, the intense heat distorting the air around his ankles.
'Go. Interrupt him.'
Raizel commanded the Sword Spirits mentally.
The three spectral blades peeled away from his side, diving at Laxus from three different angles.
Seeing the threat, Laxus ceased his roar.
He clenched his fists, and the arcs of lightning and flames surging around his body solidified.
WHAM.
The Three Sword Spirits struck the barrier of solidified magic but bounced off, unable to penetrate the density of Laxus's power.
Suddenly, Raizel vanished from the sky.
He became a blur of white light, descending like a meteor.
A tremor ran through Laxus's heart.
'Fast!'
"Lightning Flame Dragon, Burst Fist!"
Instinctively, Laxus threw a punch upward.
Raizel's right arm blade met the fist in a clash of equal force.
CLANG.
But Raizel wasn't done.
While their arms were locked, his tail blade swept low, aiming for Laxus's legs.
Laxus reacted on pure instinct.
He fired a Roar directly at the ground. The explosion propelled him into the sky, barely allowing him to evade the sweeping blade.
But in the air, he was vulnerable.
The Three Sword Spirits reappeared, surrounding him to renew their assault.
"Don't fucking underestimate me!"
Laxus turn around in mid-air.
Lightning and fire swirled violently around him, forming a massive, rising tornado of destruction that scattered the Sword Spirits.
The Lightning Flame Dragon Tornado expanded, surging toward Raizel like a hungry maw.
'This move... it looks familiar', Raizel thought, recognizing the technique.
'It's like Atlas Flame's Hellfire spin. Did he learn this from the vision during his absorption?'
"Take Over: Imperialdramon."
Raizel shifted forms instantly.
Draconic wings sprouted from his back. He began fanning them counter-clockwise against the rotation of Laxus's gold-red tornado.
WHOOSH.
The opposing wind pressures collided, creating a vacuum that neutralized the tornado in seconds.
...
"Are these two idiots trying to tear Tenrou Island apart?!" Makarov cursed.
He slammed his staff down, conjuring a barrier to protect the spectators, as the shockwaves were already whipping Erza and the others' hair wildly.
...
Laxus clearly hadn't expected Raizel to counter his wind so swiftly.
Seeing Raizel flying toward him, he materialized his Lightning Flame magic into a massive weapon.
"Lightning Flame Dragon's Halberd!"
He hurled the spear of magic towards Raizel.
Raizel didn't dodge.
He aimed his palms forward. "Dragon's Roar."
A barrage of concentrated energy bullets fired from his hands.
BOOM.
The Dragon's Roar and the Halberd collided in mid-air.
A brilliant flash of white light exploded outward.
It was so intense that Erza and the others had to shield their eyes.
Ur swiftly conjured ten layers of Ice Shield in front of them to block the blinding radiation.
As the light slowly faded, the spectators opened their eyes.
All they could see were two streaks of light—one white, one gold-red—clashing in the air, separating, circling back, and colliding again with the sound of thunder.
After a prolonged aerial dogfight, the two descended, crashing onto the beach.
"Raizel, try this one," Laxus panted, his magical power flaring.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Resounding Imperial Flame Thunder!"
He condensed the gold-red energy into a single, devastating point and unleashed it.
The blast hit Raizel dead on.
Laxus was certain Raizel couldn't dodge at such close range.
The magical power detonated, stirring up a massive cloud of swirling dust.
Laxus didn't let up.
He refused to believe Raizel would go down that easily.
He fired another Roar, followed by another Halberd into the dust cloud, just to be sure.
Finally, the dust settled as Laxus narrowed his eyes.
Standing in the crater was Raizel, transformed.
He was clad in majestic crimson and white armor with a cape flowing behind him.
A holy lance was planted upside-down in the ground, and a massive round shield was held firmly at chest level.
Take Over: Gallantmon (The Crimson Paladin).
The armor remained pristine.
The shield bore only minor scorch marks. Raizel had been pushed back several meters, but he was completely unharmed.
'He remain unscathed?' The thought flashed through Laxus's mind with a mix of disbelief and frustration.
'How is that possible?'
Raizel stood up, lifting the lance.
"It seems you won't be able to break through my defense from a distance Laxus."
Seeing that ranged attacks were ineffective against the shield, Laxus didn't lose heart.
Noting the armor's heavy appearance, he made a choice.
"Fine. Close quarters it is."
Laxus's magical power surged once more, golden lightning and crimson flames coiling around his arms like vipers.
"I was frail as a child," Laxus declared, his voice grinding like stones. "But since I began training, I have never neglected my body. I have always pursued the ultimate strength."
CRACK.
Laxus stomped down, creating a massive spiderweb fracture in the bedrock.
He launched himself forward.
Raizel dissolved the lance and shield.
He decided to honor Laxus's challenge with a contest of pure martial arts.
"Take Over: Gankoomon."
Laxus closed the distance in a heartbeat. "Lightning Flame Dragon's Iron Fist!"
The punch vibrated the air across the entire beach.
"Tekken Seisai."
Raizel's fist, wrapped in a blazing aura of "Hinukamuy" energy, met the attack.
BOOM.
Fist met fist.
The shockwave blew the ocean waves backward.
Raizel's superior force dispersed Laxus's golden arcs and red flames, sending the Dragon Slayer flying backward.
Laxus dug his fingers into the ground to brake, then kicked off a palm tree, snapping it in half.
He used the recoil to charge back in, faster than before, fueled by rage.
The brawl began.
Fists collided with flesh. Shins clashed against shins.
Laxus anchored his left foot and launched a spinning kick charged with lightning at Raizel's ribs.
Raizel countered it with a raised knee.
Their exchange intensified.
Raizel slipped a jab and drove an iron fist into Laxus's face. Laxus staggered back, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't fall.
Laxus wiped the blood away with his thumb. "Not bad. That actually hurt."
He roared and charged again.
In a pure martial arts duel, Raizel couldn't claim total dominance.
Laxus had taken on countless difficult missions; his practical combat experience was forged in blood.
Raizel took several hits, including a heavy blow to the abdomen that knocked the wind out of him.
Amid the flurry, Laxus executed a spinning elbow strike infused with lightning.
Raizel blocked with an open palm, then flipped his grip to seize the elbow, pulling it downward.
Laxus countered immediately, attempting a shoulder lock and a knee strike to the chin.
Raizel clawed at Laxus's elbow with his right hand while pressing his left down to stuff the knee.
It was a stalemate of high-level grappling.
Both men broke apart while breathing heavily.
Raizel decided to end it.
The fiery aura around his right fist swelled to massive proportions.
"Fire God's Strike."
Laxus, exhausted and bleeding, refused to surrender.
He gathered every drop of his remaining magic into his right fist. It condensed into the shape of a dragon's claw, wrapped in blinding energy.
They charged.
BOOM.
A deafening explosion rang out.
Erza and the others covered their ears and shut their eyes against the blinding flash.
When the light faded, the ground around the combatants had completely collapsed into a crater.
Raizel stood tall, his white cloak fluttering in the wind.
Opposite him, Laxus was kneeling on one knee.
He braced one hand against the scorched earth, the other clutching his knee.
He was trembling violently, struggling to force his legs to work.
Raizel didn't move.
If Laxus could stand, the fight would continue.
Laxus punched the ground in frustration. "Still not strong enough… I need to be stronger!"
Gritting his teeth, Laxus forced himself up.
He swayed unsteadily, his vision blurring.
"Laxus is pushing his body beyond its limit. Master, shouldn't we stop this?" Ur asked, worried.
"As long as he doesn't admit defeat, let him be." Makarov's eyes were red.
He crossed his arms to hide his trembling hands.
"I seem to have reached my limit," Laxus coughed, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the sand.
He looked up at Raizel and smiled wryly. "People say I'm the Old Man's grandson. That I inherited his talent. That everything comes easy to me. But only I know how much blood and sweat I've poured into this."
He shook his head. "No. You probably know it, too."
Raizel's voice was soft. "Are you planning to surrender, Laxus?"
"Surrender?" Laxus laughed, a choked sound.
"No. You know me. I'd rather lose standing than ever surrender. NEVER!"
Laxus reached deep into his core, stirring the dregs of his magical power.
"Not enough… still not enough… STILL NOT ENOUGH!"
ZZZT.
A new color emerged.
From deep within the golden lightning and crimson fire, a dark, ominous Red Lightning began to crackle.
The three hues intertwined with each other, creating a terrifying new aura.
"Yuri!" Mavis gasped from her rock, recognizing the signature magic.
"Father?" Makarov's jaw dropped.
Crimson Lightning.
The power of Yuri Dreyar.
"Crimson Thunder Dragon?" Raizel watched, genuinely surprised. "He awakened his bloodline power?"
"One last punch, Raizel!"
Laxus transformed into a living bolt of tri-colored lightning.
He closed the distance with speed that defied logic.
Raizel knew he couldn't take this hit lightly.
"Take Over: Craniamon."
Raizel shifted forms instantly, clad in impenetrable black and purple armor, raising a demonic shield.
If he retreated now, he would lose.
BOOM.
Fist met Shield.
A mushroom cloud of dust and magic erupted on the beach.
A violent shockwave rippled outward, nearly knocking the spectators off their feet.
The ocean was cleaved in two, the force of the impact carving two massive elliptical fissures into the water that extended toward the horizon.
Sea spray rained down on the island like a storm.
Raizel was sent sliding backward, digging deep trenches in the sand for dozens of meters before stopping.
He looked down.
The shield of Craniamon—the ultimate defense—bore a deep, fist-shaped dent.
'Damn it! Ref, he's cheating! I'm reporting him!' Raizel complained internally, his arms numb from the impact.
Laxus remained frozen in his punching stance, his fist still extended.
Raizel dismissed his Take Over form and He slowly walked back toward his friend.
He stopped in front of Laxus.
"Congratulations on your breakthrough, Laxus."
There was no response.
Laxus had lost consciousness the moment the punch connected.
He began to topple forward.
Raizel reacted quickly, catching him in his arms before he hit the ground.
...
Laxus is op as hell now.
Tekken Seisai[10] (鉄拳制裁? lit. "Striking With Fists"): Strikes with all its strength at anyone and everyone who talks back to it.
Hinukamuy : Firegod