"Okay. You and Laxus be careful."
Gildarts knew the situation was urgent, so he had no choice but to trust Allen and Laxus. Then Gildarts leaped onto the house beside him and circled around from the side. The three men from Klay's group did not try to stop him, because Laxus's attack had already reached them.
"Thunder Dragon's Collapsing Fist!"
Laxus punched Klay, who was standing in front of him, straight in the head. The corners of Klay's mouth lifted slightly, revealing a cold, mocking smile. He slowly extended both hands forward. His movements seemed slow, yet carried an indescribable sense of oppression. Just then, a pitch-black, circular shield appeared out of thin air in front of Klay.
In the next second, Laxus's fist actually drilled into the round shield without meeting any resistance. Immediately afterward, Laxus felt a powerful suction force tightly wrap around his right hand.
Laxus then sensed that the round shield was absorbing the lightning power wrapped around his hand. It even seemed intent on draining the magic power from his body as well.
Realizing that something was wrong, Laxus acted decisively and tried to yank his right fist out of the shield.
But Klay clearly had no intention of letting this perfect opportunity slip away.
The originally circular shield suddenly began to twist and change shape. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a huge black glove that lunged toward Laxus's right arm with lightning speed, seemingly intent on wrapping around it completely.
Faced with such a dangerous situation, Laxus knew he absolutely could not let Klay succeed.
Thus, he shouted, "Lightning Armor: Berserk Volt!" In an instant, countless dazzling bolts of lightning erupted from every part of Laxus's body. It was as if he had transformed into a pillar of thunder, and the lightning rapidly spread outward.
Even Allen had suffered when he first encountered Berserk Volt. Therefore, facing the full eruption of Laxus's magic power, Klay naturally could not escape unscathed.
Boom!
A huge explosion erupted where Laxus stood, and the tremendous power of Berserk Volt swept rapidly in every direction. Klay had no time to react before the powerful force blasted him away.
Not only that, but Ford and Eddie, who were standing nearby, were also caught in the sudden attack because of their close distance. The two were likewise sent flying far away by the berserk energy before crashing miserably to the ground.
At that moment, Allen rushed to Laxus's side and asked, "Laxus, are you all right?"
Laxus shook his right hand. After clenching it several times, he said, "Big brother, I'm fine. I was just caught off guard. That Klay's magic can absorb my magic power."
Allen nodded slightly before asking, "You choose your opponent now. I'll handle the other two."
At those words, Laxus's eyes sharpened like an eagle's. He stared intently at Klay, who had just climbed to his feet, and a bloodthirsty smile spread across his lips. "Big brother, I choose him!"
Not far away, Klay stood up somewhat disheveled. He first coughed lightly several times, trying to clear the dust from his mouth.
Although he looked covered in dust, surprisingly, none of the three men, including Klay, seemed to have suffered any real injuries. Just then, Klay's false smile abruptly vanished, and his expression quickly turned cold.
Mysterious runes began to appear across Klay's face. They glowed with an eerie light and spread over his entire body at an astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, two sharp horns slowly grew from the top of Klay's head. At the same time, the end of his spine extended outward, eventually transforming into a long, thick, powerful tail. Ford and Eddie, standing nearby, performed exactly the same actions at almost the same time.
Watching from a distance, Allen raised an eyebrow. In his eyes, the three men seemed to have transformed from humans into humanoid demons in an instant, their bodies radiating terrifying and evil auras.
After completing his transformation, Klay looked coldly at Allen and Laxus and spoke cruelly: "You'll soon be killed by us in this form. I believe that even after you die, you'll feel honored to have contributed to our master."
The instant Klay finished speaking, a blur flashed past. In the next second, his body appeared abruptly in front of Laxus like a ghost. At such a close distance, Klay could clearly see Laxus's eyes widened in shock.
Klay's sharp right claw tore through the air with a fierce whistle as it rapidly reached for Laxus. However, at that critical moment, Klay, who had been certain of victory, suddenly felt an irresistible force strike him. Immediately afterward, his body was sent flying backward several times faster than it had approached.
It turned out that as soon as Klay completed his transformation, Allen, who had been standing ready nearby, had raised his vigilance to the highest level. Just as Allen expected, Klay had launched a sneak attack without hesitation. Before Laxus could recover from his shock, Allen reacted swiftly. Gram in hand, he swung fiercely, and a powerful force suddenly erupted, striking Klay like a cannonball and blasting him away.
"Laxus, take this seriously! The enemy is no pushover!" Allen shouted a warning.
Hearing his big brother's warning, Laxus felt shame and anger surge through him. But he quickly adjusted his mindset and replied in a muffled voice, "Got it, big brother. I really was careless just now, but he won't get another chance like that!" With that, Laxus pushed off hard with his foot and shot toward Klay like an arrow released from a bow.
At the same time, Allen saw Ford and Eddie preparing to intercept Laxus as he charged toward Klay.
Seeing this, Allen acted without hesitation. Gram instantly fired two dazzling beams of light, which roared toward the two men respectively.
"Your opponent is me!"
Laxus shot toward Klay like an arrow released from a bow, moving with incredible speed. As he sprinted, he continuously gathered the power of the lightning within his body. With every step he took, the ground beneath his feet was scorched black by the immense force, leaving behind a series of deep footprints.
After sensing that he had entered attack range, Laxus shouted angrily, "Million Volt!" In the next second, a terrifying bolt of lightning erupted from his body and shot straight toward Klay. Wherever it passed, the air filled with a pungent smell of burning, as if even the air itself had been ignited.
Faced with the frightening display of Million Volt, Klay naturally did not dare to lower his guard. Especially after sensing its astonishing power, he did not foolishly choose to form a shield as he had before. Instead, relying on his agility and superb reactions, he swiftly dodged to the side.
"Boom!!!"
With a deafening explosion, Million Volt slammed into the spot where Klay had been standing. After the enormous blast, an irregularly shaped crater appeared in the ground, while earth and stones flew in every direction and thick smoke billowed upward.
After dodging to the side, Klay counterattacked. His eyes gleamed with a chilly light, while the horns atop his head radiated an eerie glow. He stretched both hands out with his palms facing upward. The magic power within him surged like a tide and quickly condensed into two black magic aggregates in his hands.
"Demon Orb!"
Klay then swung his arms and hurled the two aggregates, which contained immense magic power, toward Laxus.
Seeing this, Laxus also nimbly dodged more than ten meters to the side. The Demon Orbs slammed directly into the spot where Laxus had just been standing. The two consecutive explosions appeared no less powerful than Million Volt.
After narrowly avoiding the Demon Orbs, Laxus suddenly launched himself upward and leaped high into the air. He roared again, "Roar of the Thunder Dragon!"
Before his voice faded, an extremely thick pillar of lightning, resembling a ferocious giant dragon baring its fangs and claws, charged straight down at Klay.
Klay crossed both hands, and another black shield appeared in front of him. However, the impact of Roar of the Thunder Dragon was too powerful this time. Although the shield blocked most of its force, some of the lightning still pierced through. Klay was jolted backward several meters. Taking advantage of the opening, Laxus closed in and crossed both hands, gripping them tightly as he smashed down at Klay, wrapped in lightning.
"Dragon's Jaw!"
On Allen's side, Ford and Eddie attacked him simultaneously.
The two men had transformed into demons, and their attacks and the nature of their magic power were completely identical, making them relatively easy for Allen to handle.
Facing their simultaneous attacks, Allen's body was extremely agile. Gram drew dazzling arcs of light through the air, striking straight at Ford and Eddie's vital points.
Already aware of Gram's power, the two could only interrupt their attacks and dodge away. But Allen gave them no chance to evade. He charged toward Ford, who was closer to him.
When Ford saw Allen charging toward him, a flash of anger crossed his eyes. In his view, Eddie was clearly right beside him, yet Allen had chosen to charge at him, which meant Allen looked down on him. Ford then formed a triangle with both hands in front of him. Dark magic rapidly condensed in the space between them. Because a large amount of dark magic gathered in Ford's hands, they began to suffer injuries.
The instant Allen reached him, Ford fired his Demon Orb forward.
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