The Unbridgeable Gap!

As soon as Erza and Mirajane entered the hall, they saw the terrified and fearful expressions on everyone's faces, and felt the terrifying pressure in the air that made it hard to breathe. They immediately understood what was going on.

"This is Jiang Bai's magic."

Erza spoke first; her calm voice dispelled much of the panic in everyone's hearts.

"It must be that idiot Laxus who made Xiao Bai angry."

Mirajane added from behind, his tone tinged with obvious schadenfreude.

Upon hearing this, the guild members all swallowed hard.

Jiang Bai... is angry... that's terrifying.

But then, an even more overwhelming emotion replaced the fear.

Is this the total amount of Jiang Bai's magic power?

This boundless magic, as vast as the stars and the sea, is so immense that even if all of them were combined, they wouldn't amount to a fraction of it.

However, after confirming that the source of this pressure was one of their own, the guild's most reliable man, everyone's fear gradually disappeared, replaced by a strange sense of security.

With him around, there won't be any problems.

And in the eye of the storm, inside the cathedral.

The ground beneath Jiang Bai's feet was already too heavy to bear, and spiderweb-like cracks spread outwards in all directions from him.

This was already the result of his best efforts to control his magic.

Laxus stood there dumbfounded. His prized lightning seemed as insignificant as a spark that could be extinguished at any moment in the face of the opponent's pure ocean of magic.

His composure completely collapsed at that moment.

The difference... how could it be so huge?

No! Impossible!

He roared like a madman, his eyes filled with disbelief and madness.

"This must all be fake! It's an illusion!"

As he spoke, Laxus, like a mad beast, threw all reason to the back of his mind and roared as Roar toward Jiang Bai.

Since magic can't win, then let's use our fists!

He would use his strong body, that of Dragon Slayer, to tear apart the man before him who filled him with despair!

However, in Jiang Bai's eyes, everything he did was just a futile struggle.

To make Laxus truly experience the difference, Jiang Bai didn't even activate "Infinity".

He simply stood there, facing Laxus's fist, which was powerful enough to shatter city walls. He merely raised one hand and easily grabbed the other's wrist.

Laxus used all his strength, only to find that his fist was as if it were locked in an iron clamp, unable to move forward even an inch.

The next second, Jiang Bai twisted his wrist, and an unparalleled force came through.

Laxus felt as if his arm was about to be broken off. He was thrown out of control and crashed heavily into the church wall, creating a huge human-shaped dent in the solid stone.

Pebbles flew everywhere, and dust filled the air.

"Cough..."

Laxus struggled to slide down from the dent in the wall, clutching his aching chest and spitting out a mouthful of dusty saliva.

The physical pain was far less intense than the humiliation of being utterly crushed in one's heart.

He was unwilling to accept it!

"The Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

Laxus took a deep breath, his chest heaving, and channeled all his anger and resentment into a devastating golden lightning breath, which he unleashed with overwhelming force towards Jiang Bai!

The entire church trembled violently under this energy, and a layer of the ground was even lifted up.

However, faced with an attack powerful enough to level a small mountain, Jiang Bai didn't even flinch.

He simply raised his right hand and spread his five fingers.

The raging Lightning Dragon Roar, and when it touched his palm, it was as if it had crashed into an insurmountable wall of sighs. It was forcibly split into two torrents, which brushed past his body on both sides and blasted two huge holes in the back wall of the church.

Throughout the entire incident, only Jiang Bai's hair was moved by the wind.

That's it?

Jiang Bai lowered his hand, his tone as calm as if he were asking, "Have you eaten?"

These two words, however, pierced Laxus's proud pride more than any mockery.

"Damn it! Don't underestimate me!"

Laxus Roar and charged again, its body crackling with electricity.

"Lightning Dragon's Crushing Fist!"

"Lightning Dragon's Jaw!"

"Lightning Dragon's Halberd!"

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art Technique: Thunderclap!"

In an instant, the entire church was filled with lightning and thunder. The violent fist winds and lightning intertwined to form a deathly domain, and countless pebbles and wood chips were reduced to dust in the aftershocks of the energy.

Laxus risked all his dignity, unleashing the full power of his Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic!

No matter how swift or ferocious his attacks were, they all seemed laughable in front of Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai moved as if strolling leisurely in a courtyard, effortlessly dodging or parrying every attack with minimal movement and the most graceful manner.

He even had the leisure to, during a lull in Laxus's attacks, raise his hand and pat off non-existent dust from his clothes.

This extreme contempt drove Laxus completely mad!

"Ahh!"

He seized an opportunity, gathering all his magic power in his fists, and slammed them hard into Jiang Bai's head!

However, what awaited him was Jiang Bai's casually raised foot.

Bang--!

The seemingly casual kick contained unparalleled and terrifying power, striking Laxus precisely in the abdomen.

Laxus felt as if his internal organs had been dislocated. He was sent flying backward like a cannonball, smashing the already crumbling wall to Crush once again. He flew out of the church and crashed heavily into the square outside.

Jiang Bai slowly walked out, looked down at Laxus who was struggling to get up, and shook his head.

"It's over, Laxus."

"It's not... it's not over yet..."

Laxus braced himself on his elbows, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth, yet he laughed—a maniacal, desperate laugh.

He knew that in terms of pure strength, he had already lost miserably.

Since that's the case...

"Yes! I admit it! I'm no match for you in terms of strength!"

He struggled to his feet, opened his arms, and let the golden magical light envelop him.

"However, the strongest Fairy Tail has never been just power!"

"We still have faith!"

A sacred and vast magical wave began to spread from him throughout Magnolia!

"I will use this magic to judge you, and to judge all the rabble in the guild! To prove that what I have done is true justice!"

Jiang Bai looked at his fanatical appearance, but even though he already knew how it would end, he remained unconcerned.

Or perhaps Jiang Bai had been eagerly anticipating Laxus's use, otherwise why hadn't he knocked him out for so long? Was it really because Laxus had closed the gap between himself and Jiang Bai?

Don't make the author laugh.

"You want to use... that magic?"

"That's right!"

Laxus raised his head, a triumphant laugh on his face, clasped his hands together, magic surging around him, then separated his palms, revealing a dazzling golden sphere between them.

"Buzz--!"

"The Fairy Law!"