Laxus raised his head, his eyes fixed firmly on Allen as he approached. Allen was currently standing before him in LordKnightmon's form, radiating an awe-inspiring presence from head to toe.
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Laxus slowly reached out and carefully touched the incredibly hard armor on Allen's leg. The moment his fingertips came into contact with the Chrono-Adamantium, a cold, rock-hard sensation instantly spread through him, making his eyes widen.
After feeling the armor's hardness, Laxus's face filled with envy. He sincerely praised Allen, saying, "Big bro, you look so cool! Grandpa, I want to learn Take Over Magic too. Can I?"
Makarov, who was standing nearby, heard Laxus's request and immediately became furious. He raised his hand and lightly smacked Laxus on the head without hesitation, scolding him, "Learn Take Over Magic? You're about to gain Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic. Aren't you satisfied with that?"
Laxus cried out from the pain and hurriedly covered his head with both hands. After a while, he lowered them and rubbed his head while muttering softly, "But... how can Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic compare to armor this cool?" After saying that, he unwillingly curled his lips.
At that moment, Allen smiled and comforted Laxus. "Don't worry, Laxus. Trust me. As you continue to grow and train, your Dragon Slayer Magic will become incredibly cool too. Just imagine—if you could move as fast as lightning and unleash astonishing power, with some dazzling energy effects on top of that, who wouldn't envy your Dragon Slayer Magic then?"
However, even after receiving Allen's encouragement, Laxus still wore an expression of unwillingness. Clearly, at his age, LordKnightmon's appearance was simply too captivating for him to let go of it.
Just then, Polyushika hurried into the spacious training ground. While at home, she had keenly sensed the sudden, abnormal surge of magic power coming from the training ground. Concern had immediately welled up inside her, so she decided to come and take a look.
When Polyushika entered the training ground, her eyes were immediately drawn to LordKnightmon inside. However, what puzzled her was that she could not find any sign of Allen in the enormous training ground. When she shifted her gaze to the three people chatting amicably, though, the answer to her confusion became clear at once.
At the same time, Allen noticed Polyushika entering. He hurried over, his face glowing with excitement and delight. "Grandma, look! This is LordKnightmon's standard form, which has always existed in my mental space. It has other, even stronger forms too, but with my current strength, I can't fully Take Over or control them yet. I need to become stronger first."
Upon hearing this, Polyushika merely said to Allen, "Taking Over LordKnightmon must put a lot of pressure on you. Cancel it quickly. Grandma knows you'll definitely become stronger, so there's no need to rush. You still have plenty of time ahead of you."
Allen nodded and then canceled his Take Over of LordKnightmon. After all, maintaining LordKnightmon's form was still somewhat beyond his current limits.
A few days later, Makarov brought exciting news: Ivan had successfully brought back the incredibly precious Lightning Dragon Slayer Crystal! The news thrilled Laxus, and Polyushika immediately began making intensive preparations to help Laxus have the Dragon Slayer Crystal implanted.
After several days of meticulous preparation, the most crucial moment finally arrived.
Laxus was quietly lying on a hospital bed, his heart tangled with excitement and unease. He was even somewhat at a loss. Allen, standing nearby, keenly noticed Laxus's complicated emotions and gently comforted him. "Don't be too nervous, Laxus. In a moment, all you need to do is sleep well. Once you wake up, the Dragon Slayer Crystal will be safely inside your body. Believe in your own abilities, and believe in Grandma's medical skills." Hearing his big brother's encouragement, Laxus nodded forcefully, as though it could give him more courage. Then he took several deep breaths, doing his best to calm himself.
At that moment, the door slowly opened, and Polyushika walked in. She first smiled at Allen and said gently, "All right, Allen. I don't need your help here for now. Go outside first. Once everything is finished, I'll call you in." Allen stepped forward and gave Polyushika a hug. "Grandma, you've really worked hard during this time."
Outside the door, Makarov and Ivan had already been waiting anxiously. For Allen, this was also his first time meeting Ivan. For various reasons, they had never had the chance to meet before. Now, in this special setting, the gazes of the three crossed. Although they exchanged few words, their solemn yet expectant expressions said everything.
As they waited, the atmosphere fell silent. Ivan looked at Makarov, then at Allen, before speaking. "You must be Allen, young man. My father and Laxus have mentioned you many times. This is our first time meeting, so Uncle wants to thank you for taking care of Laxus all this time."
Allen waved his hand at Ivan. "Uncle, there's no need for that. I just grew up alongside Laxus. I wouldn't call it taking care of him—we simply help each other."
Ivan smiled at Allen, then said nothing more.
There was no way to tell from Ivan's current behavior that he would one day want to drain his own son's magic power. For now, he was still a good father. No wonder Laxus's personality changed so drastically after Ivan left the guild. But now that Allen was here, even if Ivan still betrayed the guild as he had in the original story, Allen would not let Laxus's personality become so strange.
After an unknown amount of time, the door they had been staring at opened. Polyushika emerged, looking somewhat exhausted, and said to the three of them, "All right, it's finished. Just let Laxus rest here for a while. The crystal was only just implanted, so he may still have some trouble controlling his magic power, but training will improve that."
Seeing how exhausted Polyushika was, Allen hurried forward to support her and help her return to rest. Makarov and Ivan entered the room to check on Laxus. When they saw that Laxus had not yet awakened, Makarov sensed the Dragon Slayer Crystal inside his body with his magic power and nodded at Ivan. Then he led Ivan out of the room on tiptoe.
Before you continue