Hughes and Mira, the Money-Grubbing Swindlers

"Is that what the master taught you?" Hughes asked curiously. These Lightning Chains actually had sealing powers, and Hughes found that he could no longer use Elementalization.

Seeing that his combination move had worked, Laxus, who was breathing heavily, breathed a sigh of relief.

Hughes was as strong as a monster. The lightning dragon's power seemed to give him nothing more than electrotherapy, and Laxus's magic was completely useless against him.

Afraid that Hughes might break free of the Lightning Chains, Laxus didn't dare let his guard down. He planned to settle the fight with one move.

Powerful magic surged in all directions. Streaks of lightning struck down from the sky, and golden lightning filled the air around Laxus.

Laxus exhaled deeply and compressed all the lightning around him into his right hand. The crackling sounds were so piercing that Macao and the others covered their ears.

This was the magic Laxus took the most pride in: Lightning Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Narukami. Until now, no opponent had ever gotten to see him use it!

"Get ready, Hughes. This time, I've won!"

"Huh? Says who?"

As Laxus watched in shock, Hughes activated Tekkai. Veins bulged on his arms as he ripped the Lightning Chains off his body.

"Who do you think you are, Satan?!"

As Hughes's shout rang out, flames hotter than ever before erupted from his body.

"Since you're using a Dragon Slayer Secret Art, kid, you can't blame me. Master, make sure you protect Laxus!"

"Fire Fist!"

"Lightning Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Narukami!"

Lightning and flames clashed once more, but this time the flames easily swallowed the lightning. The sky-obscuring blaze continued forward, frightening Macao, Wakaba, and the others at the back into fleeing.

"Just as I thought, I'm terrifyingly strong now!" Hughes shook his head and spoke in a daze as he watched the flames rage.

Makarov, standing beside Laxus, transformed into a giant as golden magic rippled around him. He met Hughes's Fire Fist head-on, but the flames pushed him back step by step, burning off his graying beard in an instant.

Hughes could tell the little old man was all right. With his current strength, he still couldn't hurt the old man, and besides, he hadn't used his full power.

If he really used his full power and beat Laxus into despair, how would Laxus ever challenge him to another fight?

A million J was no small sum. It was enough to cover more than a year's rent!

Gildarts, on the other side, had a much easier time. Hughes had deliberately aimed his Fire Fist away from them, so Gildarts only needed to break down the flames that spread their way.

"Natsu, go eat! These flames should make you a little stronger!" Using the flames, Hughes appeared beside Mira and threw Natsu out!

"Not bad, Hughes! Let's have a fight sometime when you're free!" Gildarts looked at Hughes with shining eyes. He could tell Hughes hadn't used his full power yet.

Hughes immediately turned down Gildarts's challenge. If he could beat Gildarts, he would have accepted the quest on his system panel long ago.

That bastard didn't just look like Shanks; his strength was like a bottomless pit, too.

If someone said Gildarts was stronger than Makarov now, Hughes would believe it.

While the two chatted, Makarov and Laxus finished dealing with all the flames and walked straight over to them.

The old man, who had been burned black, sat down and caught his breath. "Mira said you'd gotten much stronger. I believe her now!"

Laxus was no weakling. As he was now, he could already measure up to some veteran S-Class Mages from other guilds, yet he had been like a toy in Hughes's hands.

"Ah, I only got a tiny bit stronger," Hughes said modestly, pinching his thumb and forefinger together.

The Flame-Flame Fruit's Awakening had leaped from 6% to Initial Awakening at 30%. His strength had grown by far more than a little!

As long as he didn't run into any bug-level magic, all he needed was some more time to think things over and develop a few new moves, and he'd even dare to hunt demons alone!

After being trounced by Hughes twice in a row, Laxus had accepted reality. He shook his head. "I'll give you the million J when we get back to the guild!"

"How generous, boss! May you make a fortune!"

Hughes's complete lack of a strongman's bearing disgusted Laxus so much that he stepped back. He couldn't understand why someone with that kind of mindset could be stronger than him.

At this age, Laxus was still a normal young man, far from the obsessive freak he would become a few years later. He was still fairly pleasant to look at.

Hughes went straight over and put an arm around his shoulders. "Don't get discouraged. Your Lightning Chains are useful. Think about them some more and make them stronger, and you'll definitely beat me next time!"

"Really?"

"If I'm lying, I'll stand on my head and eat shit!"

Both Laxus's Lightning Chains and Satan's Sealing Chains could seal Elementalization. The Lightning Chains simply weren't nearly as strong as the Sealing Chains, which was why Hughes had been able to break free so easily.

Even so, in just two days, that grandfather and grandson had managed to combine their own moves and develop magic specifically to counter him. They really were terrifying.

"Come on, let's head back to the guild! Nobody's eaten yet!" Gildarts said with a smile, picking up the ball-shaped Natsu and placing him on his shoulder.

As a longtime guild member, Gildarts was happy to see the young people in his guild growing strong.

"Brother Hughes, is Natsu going to be okay?" Lisanna asked worriedly as she followed Natsu.

"He'll be fine. Once Natsu digests my flames, he'll get even stronger. Gray probably won't have such an easy time fighting him next time!" Hughes answered with a smile. Just then, he faintly heard someone say, "Damn it," though he didn't know who.

"But, Lisanna, I might have some bad news for you!"

"What is it, Brother Hughes?"

Hughes pointed behind her, indicating that Lisanna should look.

A demon was standing there with her head bowed and eyes lowered, magic faintly rippling from her body.

Good luck, Lisanna~

Back at the guild, Makarov, who had taken a bath, was clearly in a good mood. He jumped onto the bar and called everyone together.

"It's rare to have everyone here today. Kids, let's have a party~"

The guild immediately erupted in howls and cheers. It was Hughes's first time seeing this, too. After asking around, he learned that Makarov picked up the tab for everyone's purchases at the guild on party days.

"This is so embarrassing. We can't do this, Hughes!"

"What are you afraid of, Mira? Make yourself at home and take whatever you want!"

In a corner of the guild where no one was paying attention, Hughes had already piled up a huge heap of things.

They were paying for everything, of course. It was all going on Makarov's tab!

Elsewhere, Macao and Wakaba were surrounded by a crowd as they settled the bets.

"Nab, you bet on Laxus to win and promised to pay later. Remember to give us your 100,000 J in a bit!"

"Reedus, you bet 100,000 J on Hughes to win and promised to pay later, too. The odds were 1:1.2, so here's your 120,000 J."

"Macao, why is there a million J bet here? You took it?" Wakaba was nearly scared to death by the amount on the last line of the ledger. When had they ever dared to take bets that big?

"Oh, Mira bet that million J. I was busy fishing at the time, so I agreed to it!"

An exasperated Wakaba grabbed Macao by the collar. "Damn it, give up fishing, or I'm finding someone else to work with next time!"

"But that fish weighed ten kilos, Wakaba! It was the first time I'd ever caught one that big!"

"Get lost, asshole! When did I ask about the fish?!"

In the end, Hughes and Mira worked together and amassed over seven million J.

They were getting closer and closer to paying off the forty million J they owed Makarov.

Strange. Hadn't they only owed twenty million to start with? How had their debt kept growing?