Two and a Half Years!

"Thunder Dragon's Collapsing Fist!"

Laxus's right fist tightened slightly, beginning to accumulate electricity. As tiny arcs of lightning flickered and danced across his knuckles, a powerful surge of electrical energy gradually converged.

Not far away, Allen, still in his LordKnightmon form, watched Laxus with an easy expression, as if the incoming attack was of no concern to him at all.

The next moment, Laxus let out a fierce shout and thrust his right fist forward. A thick bolt of lightning roared like a mad dragon as it hurtled toward Allen. Yet, faced with such a fierce assault, Allen simply stood there, unmoving, letting the Thunder Dragon's Collapsing Fist slam directly into his body.

A dull "thud" rang out as the lightning exploded on impact, but Allen emerged completely unharmed, his body not even swaying.

"Doesn't even tickle, Laxus. With strength like this, how are you supposed to come out and train with me?" Allen said, the corner of his mouth lifting in a slightly mocking tone.

Already irritated that his attack had no effect, Laxus felt his anger spike even higher at Allen's words. Gritting his teeth, he quickly swept his hands through the air in front of his chest.

In an instant, between his palms, a torrent of magic power surged like a tidal wave, converging and intertwining under his control into a massive energy sphere. At the same time, dazzling lightning bolts leaped and crackled around the sphere, filling the entire training ground as if heavenly thunder were striking continuously.

Then, Laxus raised the lightning sphere—brimming with terrifying power—high above his head with both hands, and hurled it with all his might toward Allen. As he did, he shouted, "Try this one, big brother! Thunder Dragon's Halberd!"

With Laxus's roar, the lightning sphere streaked across the air like a meteor, crashing into Allen at astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, it collided with him, triggering a violent explosion that shook the entire training ground.

Flames shot skyward, smoke and dust billowed, and a powerful shockwave swept outward in all directions.

Laxus's vision was completely obscured by the thick smoke from the blast, leaving him unable to see what lay ahead. Even so, his expression remained grim, because he knew full well that this devastating Thunder Dragon's Halberd likely wouldn't deal much damage to someone as strong as Allen.

Sure enough, Allen simply flicked the cape behind him. To Laxus, it felt like a gentle breeze passing by. With that seemingly casual motion, the raging flames from the explosion and the thick smoke filling the air were extinguished in an instant, as if snuffed out by an invisible hand, vanishing without a trace.

Laxus stared wide-eyed at Allen, who stood completely unharmed before him. Frustration and chagrin churned in his chest. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, letting out a sharp "Tch," then shouted at Allen, "I'm done! Big brother, LordKnightmon's Chrono-Adamantium is way too unfair!" Shaking his head in defeat, he lowered his hands.

Hearing Laxus concede, Allen revealed a confident smile. He raised his right hand lightly, and in an instant, he released his LordKnightmon takeover state, returning to his original form. He walked over to Laxus, saw the obvious reluctance on the other's face, and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Haha, Laxus, you can't blame LordKnightmon for being strong. You have to understand—defeating an opponent doesn't just rely on equipment and skills. What's more important is improving your own strength. So, you need to keep working hard to gain more power and develop even better techniques! Alright, that's enough training for today. Let's head back and rest." Allen patted Laxus on the shoulder with a grin, then turned and walked toward the exit of the training ground.

This place was a dedicated training ground deep in the dense forest, carefully built with Makarov's personal help. Here, Laxus—who had successfully implanted the Lightning Dragon Slayer Crystal two and a half years ago—and Allen trained day after day in their daily routine: one-on-one duels!

Ever since Laxus had successfully implanted the Lightning Dragon Slayer Crystal into his body, the results of Allen's daily training had begun to improve at an astonishing rate. Not only did this make his own growth in strength increasingly exaggerated, but it also allowed him to control more of LordKnightmon's power with greater ease.

After two and a half years of relentless, hard training, Allen finally made an important decision—to temporarily leave the guild and venture out into the world to hone himself and accumulate real combat experience. After all, the world Fairy Tail inhabited was far from the peaceful, carefree slice-of-life anime it might seem. On the contrary, it was filled with countless unknown dangers and challenges.

The Balam Alliance and the Albares Empire had never stopped coveting the Fairy Tail guild. They were constantly watching from the shadows, searching for any opportunity to crush the continent of Ishgar. Worse still, that terrifying black dragon always loomed over everyone's heads like an inescapable shadow, threatening the lives of all at every moment.

When Laxus learned that Allen planned to go out and train, he immediately became restless. Having grown up alongside Allen, he knew very well that if he didn't follow Allen on this journey, the gap in their strength would only widen by the time Allen returned. That was a situation Laxus absolutely did not want to see, and one he could never tolerate. So, without hesitation, he expressed his strong desire to go with Allen.

Allen had no objection to Laxus wanting to come along, as long as he got Makarov's approval. After all, the stronger Laxus became, the more help he would be to Allen.

When the two returned to Polyushika's house in the forest, Makarov happened to be there as well. So, Allen brought up the idea of going out to train, and Laxus chimed in, saying he wanted to go too.

The first instinct of both elders was to refuse. They felt that Allen and Laxus were still too young—at an age where many people couldn't even take care of themselves. Going out to train at that age was something they had never even considered. They also worried that the two would be easily deceived out there, and most of all, they feared that if Allen and Laxus ran into danger, no one would be there to help them.

Allen decided to argue his case. First, regarding the issue of looking too young: Allen was now ten and a half years old, 175 cm tall, and weighed 125 pounds. Although he was a bit lean, if someone didn't look at his face, they would only see a healthy adult. As for the face problem, that was easy to handle. Over the years, Allen had also learned some other magic, such as transformation magic that could directly alter his face—similar to Makarov's giantification magic, which could change the shape of certain body parts.

In the blink of an eye, Allen's facial features shifted, transforming from a ten-year-old into a twenty-year-old. Seeing this change, Makarov pinched his nose and reluctantly approved Allen's solution.

Next, regarding the elders' concern about their lack of experience, Allen said to them, "Grandma, Grandpa, if we never train, our experience will never grow. I know we're still young now, but please trust me. I'll take good care of Laxus, and I also have reasons I can't ignore for going."

The two elders exchanged a glance, fell silent for a moment, then nodded to each other, conceding to Allen's point.

As for the issue of strength, that was simpler for Allen. He simply took on LordKnightmon's form again in front of them. Feeling the pressure emanating from LordKnightmon, the two had no further objections.

After gaining the elders' approval, not only Laxus but also Allen showed a hint of surprise on his face.

Allen had been afraid that Polyushika would refuse. If she had said no no matter what, he would have respected her wishes—after all, he had to listen to his own grandmother! In the end, though, he hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.

Polyushika noticed the surprise on Allen's face and said to him, "I've watched you grow up. Ever since you became sensible, everything you've done has been well thought out. So if you want to go out and train, you must have your own reasons. I won't ask what they are—if you want to tell me, you will. But I still have to say this to you both: the world outside isn't like the guild. Some people out there have dirty, evil minds. So don't act impulsively. Think things through. If you run into a problem you can't solve, come back. Your Grandpa Makarov and I will help you."

As Polyushika spoke, her eyes reddened. Makarov wasn't much better off. Laxus was already in tears—he had taken the idea of going out to train too lightly, and only now, hearing Polyushika's words, did he realize how much the elders cared for them. Allen's eyes were also glistening with tears as he stepped forward and hugged Polyushika. Laxus joined in, embracing her too.