Gildarts nodded and assumed a fighting stance. Hades' brow twitched. When did Fairy Tail fall to this state? Was it a mistake to hand over the guild to Makarov? And who exactly was Chen Fan?
Chapter Twenty-Three: Hades' Miscalculation
Laxus was the first to make a move. The old man had been beaten so badly by Hades, and for him, who had always deeply respected his grandfather, enduring this for so long was already the limit. He was someone who didn't express his inner feelings, much like Makarov, but his feelings for the guild were no less than anyone else's.
"Sizzle...!" His body transformed into a bolt of lightning, charging towards Hades.
"Lightning Dragon's Fist!" A massive amount of lightning condensed on Laxus's fist, unleashing a powerful punch, but Hades blocked it with a raised hand, rendering the punch ineffective. Laxus was taken aback.
Hades smiled slightly and said, "How irritable! Not gentle at all, so rude even to the elderly. But I like it! Come to my Demon's Heart, and I will give you everything you desire."
"Tch...! Do all old people become this long-winded? Give me what I want, old man, do you even know what I want?" Laxus said.
"Oh...! What do you want?" Hades asked with interest;
"I want you dead, you old bastard!" Laxus shouted, and Hades, enraged by Laxus's words, darkened his face.
"Raging Bolt!" A massive amount of golden lightning erupted around Laxus's body, shattering the ground beneath it. Hades was startled and quickly retreated.
This move was originally intended to paralyze the opponent, allowing for an attack while the opponent's body was numb. However, Hardy-937-S reacted very quickly and dodged the attack.
"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" A devastating storm of lightning surged toward Hades;
Hades' expression changed slightly, and he waved his hands, causing magical chains to move around his body, completely surrounding him. "Boom...!" The Lightning Dragon's Roar collided with the chains surrounding Hades, causing an explosion.
"Whoosh...!" Two chains suddenly emerged from the smoke of the explosion. Laxus was taken aback, not expecting Hades to be able to attack so quickly even after being hit head-on by the Lightning Dragon's Roar. It was too late to react now.
Suddenly, the chains snapped into pieces. Laxus breathed a sigh of relief and said to Gildarts, "Why did you take so long to act? We could have just taken care of this old guy together."
Gildarts chuckled and said, "No, I saw you getting really into it, and I suddenly felt it wasn't a good idea to interrupt. I thought you were going to brag to Chen Fan after defeating Hades or something."
Laxus blushed slightly. He had initially had a slight idea, but after exchanging blows with Hades, he realized that the old man Makarov's defeat wasn't without reason. Those attacks had consumed a lot of his magic power, but Hades seemed to be handling it with ease. He was simply no match for this guy.
"What's so great about beating him? He's just a hundred-year-old guy. These days, some people are proud of beating up kids, but nobody's proud of beating up an old man! I just didn't expect this old guy to be so tough, like a rock," Laxus said.
"Hey! Are you going to make a move or not? If you don't, I'm going to report your dereliction of duty to Chen Fan!" Laxus threatened Gildarts.
Gildarts was startled and quickly went to Laxus's side, saying, "Isn't it a bit too cruel of us to attack him like this?"
"Cruel? The combined age of both of us isn't even half his. If we're talking about age, it's shameless of him to hit us!" Laxus said.
Gildarts was momentarily stunned by Laxus's words. He'd never met anyone more shameless than Chen Fan, but Laxus was just as ruthless! He felt a pang of unease, realizing he was getting old.
Hades was also furious at what the two said. What age? What beating up a child? In the end, Laxus shamelessly said that it was unfair to the two of them.
Finally unable to bear it any longer, the Roar at Makarov, who was resting nearby, "Makarov! Is this how you've raised the guild? How could I have been so blind to entrust the guild to you! How could so many shameless scoundrels have been born!"
Upon hearing Hades's words, Makarov scratched his head sheepishly and said, "I haven't even gone up yet!"
Hades was speechless; Fairy Tail was finished.
He then angrily shouted at Gildarts and Laxus, "Then I'll beat you up and White Magic!" With that, the chains in his hands instantly began to move, forming two enormous fists that he hurled at the two men.
"Boom...!" The ground began to collapse continuously; it was Gildarts' magic, using the ground to mitigate the impact of the magic.
"Disintegrate!" The chains began to break, and Laxus transformed into lightning, moving along them as he charged towards Hades.
"Lightning Dragon's Jaw!" Laxus instantly appeared on Hades' flank, his hands clasped in fists, all the lightning concentrated on them; but before he could attack, two more chains shot out from Hades' body, locking Laxus's collarbone before he could even react. Deprived of his mana supply, Laxus Kazuma, was tossed around like a puppet, finally being thrown towards Gildarts.