"Damn it! The master of the strongest dark guild really is no joke!" The instant that oppressive magical aura swept toward them, all three leaped away. Lightning flashed beneath Laxus's feet as he accelerated to his maximum speed and abruptly appeared behind Hades.
"But after being put through my paces by a real monster—" Lightning burst from his hand, and a massive, crackling halberd appeared in his left hand, gleaming gold. Laxus roared, "This measly bit of magical pressure isn't going to scare me!!!"
"Hah!!!"
With a furious shout, he swung the lightning halberd gripped in his left hand straight down at Hades's back!
"Lightning Dragon Halberd—"
"Don't underestimate me, you rotten brat!!" Hades snorted. Without even turning around, he thrust his right hand behind him. He clenched his fingers and jerked his hand forward, sending a series of sharp, white magical hook chains coiling around the incoming lightning halberd—
Sparks erupted! Though the chains failed to tear apart the lightning halberd in Laxus's hand at once, the tremendous force they unleashed dragged Laxus forward and hurled him through the air!
But Laxus certainly lived up to his status as a powerful S-Class Mage. Already formidable, he had made tremendous advances in his strength, the refinement of his magic power, and his combat instincts and experience after enduring endless torment from a certain unscrupulous individual for a time. Though he still fell a little short of Gildarts, a contender for Fairy Tail's strongest who now had an intact body and his normal strength, he was certainly no weaker than Grimoire Heart's deputy master, Bluenote!
So while Hades's counterattack shocked him with strength far beyond anything he had imagined, that was all it did. His hands did not slow in the slightest!
As he was dragged forward, Laxus immediately released the