Laxus's Lightning Dragon's Roar slammed into the Abyssal Dragon like a raging tornado, instantly triggering a violent explosion of lightning. Lightning scattered in every direction, crackling as the Abyssal Dragon thrashed violently within it, gradually falling still and silent.
Laxus showed no sign of feeling that he had succeeded in defeating the Abyssal Dragon. Instead, he gathered his Magic Power again, preparing to unleash another spell.
High in the air, Zorn held the clothes and watched the battle quietly.
Through their Observation Haki, they could sense that the Abyssal Dragon was not dead. Though badly injured, it was playing dead to make them lower their guard, so it could launch a fierce attack when they came forward to check on it.
The Lightning Dragon's violent power rapidly gathered in Laxus's right hand, drawing on the immense lightning around him. The temperature in the air rose, and a dangerous aura reached the Abyssal Dragon as it played dead. A giant Lightning Dragon's Halberd took shape.
"Roar!"
Sensing the danger of the attack, the Abyssal Dragon knew it could no longer keep up the act. It dragged its charred body upright and roared furiously at the two, glaring at them with hatred as it prepared one last desperate strike.
A sphere of energy, stronger than its previous roar, slowly gathered in the Abyssal Dragon's open mouth. It competed with Laxus for the surrounding lightning to strengthen itself.
Laxus gripped the halberd tightly, lowered his stance, and swiftly twisted his waist back into position. His right hand followed the motion, hurling the Lightning Dragon's Halberd through the air. Its lightning blade cut through the air, the hissing and crackling sounding like the wailing of ghosts.
It sped toward the Abyssal Dragon, kicking up powerful vortexes of air in its wake. At the same time, the Abyssal Dragon unleashed its roar.
The instant the two spells collided, a powerful shock wave spread rapidly outward. The surrounding air grew scorching and turbulent, as though it would devour everything around it. The two forces of energy crashed together, intertwined, and tore at each other.
Zorn descended slowly and stood to the side, casting Defensive Magic in front of himself and Laxus to shield them from the secondary damage. Laxus slowly turned to glance at Zorn, then folded his arms and watched the spells clash in the air.
After a brief stalemate, Laxus's Fangtian Ji tore through the roar and flew straight into the Abyssal Dragon. It pierced through its body and slammed into the mountain opposite, which was instantly shattered by the intense heat and powerful energy, then collapsed.
The Abyssal Dragon let out one final roar and fell to the ground. Black smoke still rose slowly from the hole in its chest. This time, it could not have been any deader.
"Laxus, impressive, impressive." Zorn grinned beside him and praised him.
"We can go back to Fairy Tail now. This mission really was boring," Laxus said with a displeased look. He had thought the Abyssal Dragon would be much stronger, but the fight had ended in just a few moves.
"Not yet. The conditions here are excellent, perfect for training and developing a powerful Lightning Magic spell. We need to stay here for a while." Zorn raised an index finger and pointed at the lightning-filled surroundings, explaining to Laxus why they could not return to the guild yet.
"Powerful Lightning Magic?" Laxus looked at Zorn in complete puzzlement, waiting for him to continue.
A few days later, at the Fairy Tail guild...
The guild members were telling one another about the novel things they had encountered on their missions, while a few others were roughhousing. It was as chaotic as ever when a startled voice suddenly came from the bar.
"What? Laxus and Zorn aren't coming back yet now that their mission is over? They're going to train and develop magic?" Natsu shouted in shock at the news from the master.
"Glug, glug. Ah, that's good. Yes, that's what Zorn said in his letter. Glug, glug." The master sat at the bar and raised his glass, taking several big gulps before letting out a satisfied sigh. He casually confirmed the news Natsu could hardly believe, then took several more gulps.
"Master, did he say exactly how long?" Cana asked worriedly.
"No, but he also enclosed a training plan for all of you and a letter just for you." Makarov took a densely written sheet of paper and an envelope from his robes and handed them to Cana. Then he continued, "He said you should train with Natsu and Gray, teach the two of them Observation Haki, and keep an eye on the other guild members' training. And there's this letter."
When Makarov first saw the training plan, he too had been astonished by the care Zorn had put into it. The whole plan was highly detailed, covering every aspect. It explained how to increase the strength of their Haki and laid out all kinds of training for each person going forward. To exaggerate a little, even a pig could follow this plan and succeed in becoming stronger and escaping its fate.
Zorn had already done everything Makarov could do as guild master, and had even considered things Makarov had not yet thought of. What a good child he was. Makarov was delighted, which was why he was drinking so leisurely.
Cana passed the training plan around to Erza, Mira, Natsu, Gray, and the others beside her. Holding the letter meant for her alone, she felt a little shy, and her mind was already imagining what words it might contain. Her face turned slightly red.
"Cana, it seems like Zorn treats you differently. When did you two get together? And don't tell me that's a love letter?" Seeing this, Mira put an arm around Cana's shoulders and teased her with a mischievous look.
Cana's slightly flushed face turned scarlet in an instant, and she became even more flustered. Erza and the guild members pricked up their ears too, pretending not to care as they prepared to listen to what Cana would say next.
Only Natsu, Gray, and a few of the little ones looked a little puzzled by everyone's reactions. Seeing how everyone around her was behaving, Cana began to stammer.
"I-it was the day the S-Class Exam list was announced... There's nothing going on between us... That's all." After explaining, Cana took the letter and ran straight out of the guild, too embarrassed to stay. She decided to read the letter by herself...
"Oh, so it was that day..." The guild members exchanged knowing glances, then began discussing it.
On the hill behind the guild, Cana finished reading Zorn's letter to her and gazed into the distance in the direction out of town. A sweet smile lit up her face, and her bright eyes sparkled like stars, revealing a deep sense of peace and happiness, as though she had found the peaceful harbor in her heart.
To be continued~