Laxus lay flat on the scorched earth, his golden spiky hair matted with dust and blood. He was a mess.
He tried to push himself up with his arms, but the sharp pain from his bones and the churning in his organs made every effort trigger a violent cough.
Yet, within his eyes, an unyielding flame of defiance and total shock still burned.
He couldn't figure it out.
He couldn't figure it out at all!
It had clearly lost the power and crushing pressure that came with its massive size, so why... why had its speed, strength, and explosive power increased so much?
Was he really going to be defeated today by something he had never even heard of?
"Cough... Cough, cough..."
Laxus struggled, using his trembling arms to push himself up, inch by inch.
He swayed as he stood, and though every step felt like walking on knives, he still straightened his spine.
"What kind of... joke is this..." he growled, his voice raspy. "I... am Laxus... How could I possibly... fall in a place like this!"
He took a sharp breath, and the burning pain in his chest suddenly vanished.
He frantically squeezed out every last drop of magic power he had left, along with all the pride and stubbornness etched into his bones.
A blinding lightning glow lit up his throat.
"Lightning Dragon's—Roar!"
This time, it was a true, all-out Dragon Slayer spell, pouring out every ounce of power he could muster.
A torrent of golden lightning, thicker, more condensed, and filled with a will of destruction far greater than before, tore through the air.
Carrying Laxus's unyielding roar, it blasted towards BlackWarGreymon.
Faced with this desperate final blow, BlackWarGreymon's eyes, which seemed to burn with black flames, flickered slightly.
It took a single step forward.
Just one step.
But with that step, the silent dark pressure surrounding its body seemed to ignite.
It raised its arms, claws covered in jet-black dragon armor and rapidly swung them in an overlapping pattern in front of itself.
The speed was so fast that it left countless black afterimages, as if weaving a dense, impenetrable net of black claws.
The torrent of golden lightning slammed viciously into this "black claw net."
Tssssssssssss...
There was no explosion, only a scalp-numbing, intense sound of corrosion.
The golden lightning and the black claw frantically consumed and tore at each other.
BlackWarGreymon's claws moved with astonishing speed and precision, each strike perfectly "hacking" at the weak points of the lightning torrent, destroying its structure and dispersing its energy.
The stalemate lasted for barely two seconds.
"Break."
Following a deep, hoarse shout from BlackWarGreymon, its right claw suddenly shot forward like a venomous dragon emerging from its lair.
It instantly pierced through the already shattered lightning, the tip of its claw flashing with a cold glint.
Before Laxus's horrified eyes, it swept across his chest.
Screeeech!
A gruesome claw mark was torn across Laxus's chest, running from his right shoulder to his left abdomen.
If BlackWarGreymon hadn't seemingly controlled its power, or if Laxus hadn't flinched at the last second, this single claw strike could have ripped him open.
More critically, because it was the left claw that struck, the cut managed to miss the Fairy Tail guild mark on the left side of Laxus's chest.
The mark was completely untouched, and soaked in blood, it looked all the more tragic.
"Argh!" Laxus let out a blood-curdling scream.
Unable to support himself any longer, his knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.
What he felt from his chest wasn't just agonizing pain, but a weakness and coldness that seeped into his bones, as if his very soul was being torn apart.
The dark energy lingering on the claw mark was like a vicious curse, eating away at his life force and magic power.
"How can this be... a small wound like this... how..."
Laxus knelt on the ground, looking down at the terrible wound on his chest that was gushing blood, his heart filled with disbelief and anger.
The wound looked bad, but with a Dragon Slayer's body and magic power, it shouldn't have taken him out of the fight so quickly.
It was that dark energy!
That strange energy was stopping the wound from healing and draining his strength.
Just then, he saw BlackWarGreymon ahead slowly raise its arms.
Its sharp claws, covered in menacing dragon armor, slowly came together in front of its chest.
A heart-pounding, highly condensed ball of dark energy began to form.
A terrifying vibration, purer and closer to the essence of "destruction" than the previous attack, began to spread.
"Could that be... Terra Destroyer?!"
From a distance, Ace saw this starting motion and his heart leaped into his throat.
BlackWarGreymon had two ultimate moves, and either one of them could actually kill someone.
Laxus was the Master grandson, he couldn't let him die in front of him!
"BLACKWARGREYMON! DON'T DO IT!" Ace screamed loudly.
As if hearing Ace's shout, BlackWarGreymon's body paused slightly, and the gathered dark energy showed a moment of instability.
Its jet-black eyes turned towards Ace, and a tiny flicker seemed to pass through its cold gaze.
'Was that a good thing?' Ace had been worried it wouldn't listen to him.
Now it seemed that, at the very least, it would consider his suggestions.
However, in that brief instant, the situation on the battlefield changed dramatically.
"Lightning Dragon's—Breakdown Fist!"
A roar filled with venom and resolve rang out.
Laxus, who had seemed to be at his limit and kneeling on the ground, had somehow burst forth with his final strength.
He shot up, his body wrapped in the last thin but extremely condensed wisps of lightning.
His right fist, as if carrying the stubborn soul of the Lightning Dragon, slammed viciously towards the distracted BlackWarGreymon!
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