Two Rivals Face Off Again

El Canyon

The two collided, but this time they were evenly matched. Neither took a step back.

Qian Guang looked at the blond man crackling with electricity before him. "Don't be so impatient. Aren't you afraid I'll just run off, stall for time, and become an S-Class mage?"

Laxus did not care about that possibility at all. Anyone he acknowledged would never do such a thing. "Kid, quit talking nonsense. I know you'd never become S-Class that way. You want to fight too, don't you?"

"That's why you're not cute at all, Blondie-senpai!" Having his thoughts exposed, Qian Guang no longer bothered hiding them. No one wanted to keep losing, especially when he had used traps this time. Losing again would be far too embarrassing.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Their fists relentlessly greeted each other's faces, as if both wanted to destroy that detestable mug. Neither used magic; this was purely a contest of flesh and blood.

Qian Guang fought as he retreated. His strength was no longer inferior to Laxus's as it had been a year ago, but because he spent so much time researching magic potions and rarely fought, his technique lagged far behind Laxus's. For now, he mostly relied on the Sharingan to evade.

"Hey, hey. Don't tell me the only improvement you've made since last time is getting a little stronger. I'd be pretty disappointed." Laxus sent the defending Qian Guang flying with a punch, then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Of course not. The friendly greetings are over. Time to get serious." Magic circles lit up in Qian Guang's hands.

Green vines burst from the ground and shot toward Laxus like sharp spears.

Laxus did not use magic to destroy the vines. His magical power might not actually exceed this kid's. Instead, he used lightning's mobility to continuously dodge, slowly closing in on Qian Guang.

"What? Done playing with wind? Now you're playing with flowers and grass? I have to say, your hobbies really are girlish." Though he taunted him, Laxus had an increasingly bad feeling as he drew closer to Qian Guang.

Qian Guang watched Laxus approach, the corners of his lips curling up as wind gathered in his right hand.

Got you!

Laxus suddenly felt his body grow heavy. The ground beneath him turned into a swamp, and both his feet had already sunk in.

Lion's Might!

Then Qian Guang's follow-up arrived. A massive lion's head charged straight at him.

Laxus's eyes narrowed. Too fast. There was no time to cast magic. He could only cover his body in electric current and defend as best he could.

But Lion's Might was made entirely of sharp Wind Blades. Laxus's clothes were instantly shredded, and countless small wounds appeared across his body. Wild lightning was suited for offense, but its defense was utterly lacking.

Lightning Transformation!

Enduring the pain, Laxus transformed his body into lightning and flew free.

But Qian Guang's attack was not over. A tornado even more terrifying than the one from their first battle swept toward him. Qian Guang even mixed flames into it, pouring half his magic power into the enormous tornado at once.

"Laxus! Don't die on me!" Qian Guang grinned viciously at the bare-chested Laxus above. He was going all out.

Laxus understood the look in Qian Guang's eyes. It was the look of someone giving everything he had. They had only worn that expression during their first battle; every other time had merely been sparring. This time, it had become a fight to the death. One mistake could truly get them killed.

Laxus looked at the tornado and wore the same villainous grin. "Hey, kid, is this the little trick you prepared for so long? It's pretty rough. Let me add some lightning for you!"

Lightning Dragon's Crescent Halberd!

Lightning Dragon's Roar!

Laxus did not intend to directly withstand the tornado. He merely followed the wind's direction and added something to it, making it lose control.

Sure enough, after lightning was added, the tornado continued to expand. Qian Guang gradually lost control over it and began running toward the forest behind him.

Seeing this, Laxus circled around the tornado, transformed into lightning, and gave chase. Who wanted to deal with that tornado?

Though he had made it look easy, Laxus had spent over half his magic power to make it go out of control. Combined with taking a Lion's Might head-on, he could not afford to drag this out any longer. That kid's physique was monster-level, after all.

Not far away, Gildarts watched the tornado grow larger and larger, changing direction as it chased after Qian Guang and Laxus. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead. "Those two brats! Seriously, I still have to clean up their mess!" Gildarts was immensely grateful they had chosen this deserted El Canyon for the exam. Otherwise, who knew what kind of disaster this would have caused.

Qian Guang reached the center of the forest and stopped. Turning to face the pursuing Laxus, he said, "Don't say I'm playing dirty!"

Laxus looked at the restless branches around him, and the smile on his face grew brighter. "Then don't disappoint me!" As he spoke, the muscles of his upper body swelled. His old wounds began bleeding again, but Laxus clearly did not care. Holding the lightning-forged crescent halberd, he charged forward.

Countless branches moved at the same time, attacking without pause. Laxus had originally intended to use lightning's speed to rush straight into Qian Guang's face, but he had clearly underestimated the Sharingan. Qian Guang directly predicted several routes he might take and blocked every one of them.

Laxus swung his halberd, cutting apart the incoming branches. But severing them did not stop Qian Guang from controlling the remaining sections. There was no way Laxus could cut them all down.

The branches gradually formed a semicircular encirclement, intending to trap Laxus to death.

Lightning Dragon's Roar!

Laxus blasted a hole through the semicircle and continued charging with his halberd, stubborn as a honey badger.

Qian Guang's crimson eyes locked tightly onto Laxus, flashing continuously as he used plant and wind magic to harass him. What a joke. He could block fists, but he had no weapon capable of receiving a halberd made of lightning. Mira had personally bought these clothes for him. It would be a shame to ruin them.

Qian Guang scattered white powder and used the wind to blow it toward Laxus. This was his third plan: a hallucinogenic flower he had found earlier in the forest. It was perfect for dealing with thickheaded idiots like this. Though the Sharingan could also cast illusions, it was not very effective if they did not make eye contact. After all, he did not have Tsukuyomi, nor did he know any ninjutsu.

The instant Laxus saw the stuff, he knew something was wrong. He spread lightning across his body, held his breath, and tried to use electricity to scorch the powder away. Unfortunately, lightning could not do that. Lightning itself did not understand why this idiot always treated it like earth or fire (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)

This powder only worked when inhaled. To maximize its effect, Qian Guang charged directly into the cloud of powder. The Sharingan resisted illusions to some extent, so he did not need to worry about himself.

"You've got plenty of little tricks, huh? Lightning Dragon's Crashing Fist!" When Laxus saw Qian Guang charge in, he understood his intent. Though he did not know what the powder did, he could only pull away as quickly as possible.

"Because my opponent is you." Qian Guang stopped dodging and used Healing Magic around his arm to take the attack head-on.

Bang!

Dust rose into the air, but a gust of wind blew the powder that should have dispersed back into the area. Qian Guang used the Sharingan to cling tightly to Laxus.

Laxus wanted to rush out quickly. There were already three Qian Guangs in his vision, and he knew he had been affected by some kind of hallucinogenic drug. He was unsure whether using magic power inside his body could dispel it.

As the number of Qian Guangs in his sight increased, the magic power consumed by every attack continued to rise. Whenever he tried to leave, that brat chased after him with the powder, sticking to him like a stubborn plaster.

What Laxus did not know was that Qian Guang had already left the battlefield to recover his stamina. The Qian Guangs Laxus was attacking were nothing but illusions.

"Good thing this stuff takes effect quickly. Damn, this lightning is way fiercer than before. Did he improve this much in just two months without sparring with me?" Qian Guang kept his Sharingan fixed on his opponent without relaxing for even a moment, preparing to find an opening for one final strike.

Lightning Burst!

Suddenly, for some reason, Laxus began firing Lightning Bursts into the sky nonstop, spending magic power as if it were free.

Qian Guang could not understand why, but sensing that Laxus had little magic power remaining, he decided to make his move.

Lion's Might!

Qian Guang not only unleashed Lion's Might, but also formed an ice tachi while Laxus was occupied and charged in to kill him.

Pfft!

Lion's Might struck Laxus again, snapping him awake from the illusion. But Qian Guang's blade had arrived from behind him!

Laxus sensed the chill at his back and instinctively twisted his body aside, but he was still too late. Qian Guang's blade pierced directly through Laxus's left shoulder.

"Got you!" Laxus ignored his wound, turned around, and grabbed Qian Guang's head while enduring Lion's Might behind him.

"Damn it!" He had been careless. Qian Guang had not expected Laxus to recover so quickly, and that instinctive dodge had been absurd. The gap in their actual combat experience was no small thing.

BANG!!!

Laxus grabbed Qian Guang by the head and smashed him into the ground. At the same time, his violent lightning finally found an outlet, pouring every last bit of his magic power into Qian Guang.

"Arghhh!"

Qian Guang felt the wild lightning ravage his body and could not help screaming. He used what little magic power he had left to resist, but the clothes Mira had bought him were already little more than rags.

"You're too green, kid! Lightning Dragon's Crashing Fist!" A cold glint flashed in Laxus's eyes as his right hand gripped Qian Guang's head and repeatedly smashed it down.

"Don't get too cocky!" Qian Guang recovered, grabbed Laxus's right arm with both hands, and kicked at Laxus's face with both feet.

Pfft!

Laxus was kicked flying, but Qian Guang did not have it easy either, slamming hard into the ground.

Huff. ×2

"Not bad, kid, but you're still too green." Laxus pulled the tachi from his body. His back was already a bloody mess.

Qian Guang was not doing well either. He had taken all of Laxus's remaining lightning magic at close range and felt like he could smell roasted meat. But his Sage Body was slowly restoring him. Unfortunately, he had almost no magic power left, or he would have recovered faster.

Qian Guang suddenly sensed something wrong. The wind around them was somewhat beyond his control, violent and wild.

He suddenly remembered something and looked to their side. A massive tornado filled with flames and lightning was charging toward them.

"Hey, hey, this can't be real. This is getting a little too exciting. Blond bastard, we need to find somewhere else to fight." Qian Guang stared at the tornado. He could handle it at full strength, but in his current condition, it would be rough.

"When would we get a better chance? We'll fight right here!" Laxus was completely fired up. He did not care about some tornado, and his backup plan was about to arrive.

Qian Guang did not understand why Laxus was so determined to fight to the end, but if that was how he wanted it, then so be it! The tornado was still some distance away, and his magic power and injuries were recovering faster than Laxus's. He just had to defeat him before the tornado arrived!

"Don't die, okay!" Qian Guang's crimson eyes stared at Laxus. His usual gentle smile was gone, replaced by the exhilarated grin of two people fighting for their lives.

Qian Guang charged forward. He did not fear Laxus in terms of strength anymore. How much technique could Laxus bring out with that heavily injured body?

Sure enough, because of his back and left arm, Laxus struggled somewhat against Qian Guang's attacks and could only defend passively. Even so, several punches still landed on his face, while his own counterattacks were futile before the Sharingan.

Qian Guang did not hold back at all. He wanted to knock Laxus unconscious and carry him away. One punch struck Laxus square in the face and sent him flying.

This time, Laxus felt his body become incomparably heavy. He had been drained too much by those little tricks, and unlike Qian Guang, he did not have that abnormal physique. He was reaching his limit.

Qian Guang walked over, preparing to finish this exam with one last punch.

"Well, bastard, I finally beat you once. How many matches has it been? Twenty?" Qian Guang wiped his mouth and face. The burned parts of his body were slowly easing as well. Looking at Laxus, battered black and blue with even a tooth knocked out, he could not help speaking in a lighthearted, triumphant tone.

"Kid, don't jump to conclusions too early!" Laxus did not look at Qian Guang. He looked at the dark clouds continuously gathering in the sky, a smile spreading across his face as fighting spirit erupted in his eyes once more.

"Ha ha ha ha! It's here! Call Lightning!"

Qian Guang sensed something was wrong and tried to kick Laxus unconscious first, but he was too late. A bolt of lightning shot straight toward them.

Qian Guang gritted his teeth and kicked anyway, enduring the lightning's damage. But before that, the lightning had also struck Laxus!

He had not knocked Laxus unconscious!

This was bad!

Qian Guang looked at the dark clouds gathered overhead, lightning flashing through them from time to time, and knew he was in trouble.

"Damn it, I got too smug! I actually didn't notice it earlier! I have to stop him!"

Lightning Transformation!

Too late. The instant Laxus was kicked away, he devoured the lightning and transformed into a streak of lightning that shot toward the clouds!

Laxus successfully absorbed the lightning inside the dark clouds. Qian Guang could no longer stop him and could only keep adjusting his condition. It seemed this was not over yet.

Boom!

Laxus dropped straight down, rolled his neck, and found that the wounds on his back and left arm had stopped bleeding. "Come on, let's begin round two! Don't say I cheated, kid!"

Laxus laughed wildly, but paired with his utterly battered face, it looked rather ferocious.

Qian Guang looked at the half-health Laxus who had seemingly come back to life, then at the steadily approaching tornado. Inside, he roared endlessly, I hate Dragon Slayers!!!

The great author Qianwei presents: Fairy Tail: Starting with Dual Kamui