"Zzzzt—"
Golden lightning raced wildly through the forest. Laxus moved at such incredible speed that the naked eye could barely follow him; all anyone could see were afterimages flickering between the tree trunks.
"Too slow! Too slow, Lu Chongwei!"
Laxus laughed maniacally as he appeared at Lu Chongwei's left side in an instant and swept out a vicious roundhouse kick wrapped in lightning.
"Lightning Kick!"
The kick was as fast as lightning. It shattered the air with a piercing shriek.
Yet Lu Chongwei seemed to know what was coming. He leaned back slightly and shifted his footing.
"Whoosh!"
The kick could have shattered rock, but it skimmed past the tip of Lu Chongwei's nose, its gusting force stinging his cheek.
"Speed alone won't do you any good."
Lu Chongwei smiled faintly and swung his Zanpakuto upward.
"Clang!"
The blade collided with Laxus's lightning-armored shin, sending a dazzling spray of sparks into the air.
The two separated as soon as they made contact.
But in the next moment, they clashed again.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
In just a few short breaths, the two had already exchanged dozens of blows.
With the tremendous speed granted by lightning, Laxus darted around Lu Chongwei like a ghost, unleashing a storm of attacks.
Lu Chongwei, meanwhile, stood firm as a mountain. Thanks to his astonishing physique and the perception of Observation Haki, he deflected every attack.
"Tch, you're like a turtle hiding in its shell!"
Frustrated by his inability to break through Lu Chongwei's defense, Laxus grew irritable.
He suddenly leaped back, rapidly forming hand seals in front of his chest as countless orbs of lightning gathered around him.
"If close combat won't work, I'll blast you to pieces!"
"Thunder Pressure Raging Waves!"
With a shout, he sent the lightning orbs, each brimming with terrifying magical power, roaring toward Lu Chongwei.
Faced with a sky full of lightning, Lu Chongwei advanced instead of retreating.
He held his Zanpakuto upright before him, and flames surged from its blade.
"Rain of Fire!"
Lu Chongwei swung his sword.
Countless crimson fireballs shot from the blade. Each one seemed alive as it precisely met a lightning orb in the air.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
Lightning and fire collided violently in the sky, triggering a chain of explosions.
The entire forest was instantly transformed into a sea of flames and lightning.
Amid the smoke and dust, Laxus turned into a bolt of lightning and tried to charge through the explosion zone for a surprise attack.
But he had clearly underestimated the density of Lu Chongwei's flames.
He dodged most of the fireballs, but three still clung to him like burrs, anticipating his movements.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
All three fireballs slammed into Laxus.
"Ugh!"
Laxus grunted as his clothes burst into flames and searing pain burned through him.
He stopped abruptly, tore off his burning shirt, and bared his muscular upper body.
Three charred burns marked his chest and arms.
"Good! Very good!"
Laxus looked at his injuries, fury blazing in his eyes.
"Lu Chongwei, you've really made me angry!"
"Zzzzt—"
The lightning around Laxus suddenly turned wild. A streak of dark red, like blood, mingled with the golden bolts.
His muscles swelled and his body grew a size taller, making him look like a humanoid tyrannosaur.
A suffocating surge of magical power erupted from within him.
"This is..."
Lu Chongwei's eyes narrowed.
He could feel the Dragon Slayer Crystal inside Laxus operating at full power.
"Roar—"
Laxus threw back his head and roared, his voice thundering like a dragon's.
He took a deep breath, his chest swelling as the lightning elements around him rushed into his mouth.
"Dragon's... Roar!!!"
Boom!
A massive pillar of lightning, carrying the force to destroy everything, burst from Laxus's mouth.
The trees and rocks in its path turned to dust the moment the beam touched them.
That attack was powerful enough to pierce the entire island!
Faced with this devastating attack, Lu Chongwei's expression grew more solemn than ever.
He didn't dodge. He knew there was no escaping an attack of this magnitude.
The only way was to overcome it head-on!
Lu Chongwei gripped his sword with both hands and raised it above his head.
At that moment, his presence drew in to the extreme, as if all his strength had gathered at the blade.
"Sword Path: Severance."
"Nadeshiko!"
Lu Chongwei brought his sword down.
There was no dazzling display of light, only a sword pressure honed to the utmost.
Like an invisible blade, the sword pressure sliced through the air and slammed into the oncoming Dragon's Roar.
"Shhk—"
A grating sound of severance rang out.
From afar, Makarov and Gildarts watched in shock.
The terrifying pillar of lightning had been cleaved cleanly down the middle!
The lightning scattered to either side, gouging two deep trenches into the ground. The spot where Lu Chongwei stood, however, was completely untouched.
"What?!"
Laxus's pupils contracted sharply.
But that wasn't the end of it.
The instant the pillar of lightning dissipated, Lu Chongwei had vanished.
"Behind you!"
As an S-Class mage, Laxus had exceptionally sharp battle instincts.
He whirled around and drove his right fist forward, unleashing all the power of his lightning.
"Dragon's... Crushing Fist!!!"
The punch contained all his strength and fury.
Lu Chongwei didn't back down either.
But instead of punching, he held his Zanpakuto horizontally in front of him.
"Bang!!!"
The fist slammed into the blade.
The immense impact shattered the ground beneath Lu Chongwei's feet, burying both of them deep in the soil.
"Got you!"
Laxus grinned viciously as lightning poured from his fist, trying to send a paralyzing current along the blade and into Lu Chongwei's body.
Lu Chongwei did feel a tingling sensation in his arm as the high-voltage current attacked his nerves.
But his expression didn't betray the slightest panic. Instead, a meaningful smile spread across his face.
"Laxus, your lightning is indeed powerful."
Lu Chongwei spoke slowly, his voice so calm it was unsettling.
"But have you ever witnessed true hell?"
"What?"
Laxus froze. A sudden wave of unease rose within him.
"If you want so badly to see my full power, then I'll show you."
Lu Chongwei's fingers tightened around the hilt.
An ancient, desolate, and unbearably scorching aura erupted from the seemingly ordinary Asauchi.
The surrounding air instantly turned bone-dry. Leaves began to ignite, and all the moisture in the ground evaporated in an instant.
Lu Chongwei's gaze turned as indifferent as a god's.
He slowly spoke the Shikai command that made all of Soul Society tremble:
"All creation, reduce to ashes..."
"Ryujin Jakka!!!"
Boom!!!
As the final word fell,
a towering storm of flames surged from Lu Chongwei, sweeping across the entire island in an instant.
This was no ordinary fire.
It was a flame of such intensity that its temperature rivaled the surface of the sun!
Laxus felt an indescribable wave of heat rush toward him. The lightning he had once prided himself on was like snow beneath the sun—it melted away in an instant.
"Ahhh—"
Screaming, he retreated in a rush. His skin was roasted red, and his hair began to curl.
At the center of the island, Makarov and Gildarts were stunned.
"What... what is that temperature?!"
Gildarts shot to his feet, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
Even from so far away, he could feel the horrifying heat, as if it could set his very soul ablaze.
Makarov's eyes widened as he stared at the screen, at the forest that had become a sea of fire.
The trees by the shore withered, burned, and turned to ash in an instant.
The seawater boiled, and the earth cracked.
The entire Tenrou Island seemed to have become an erupting volcano.
"Is... is this Lu Chongwei's true power?"
Makarov's voice trembled, his face filled with shock.
He had known Lu Chongwei was powerful, but he had never imagined that the boy's flames could be this terrifying.
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