Amidst a tense atmosphere, Laxus and Layla stood facing each other. With a flicker in his eyes, Laxus made the first move, raising a hand as a bolt of lightning surged straight toward Layla.
Layla agilely sidestepped, letting the electricity blast a crater into the ground behind him. "Hey, seriously? No way."
Glancing at the sheer destructive power of the magic and noting Laxus's dead-serious expression, Layla couldn't help feeling a twinge of hesitation. Fighting with this much intensity—how was this supposed to end?
Giving Layla no time to think, Laxus pressed his advantage the moment he saw his attack easily dodged, closing the distance rapidly. Clenching his fist tightly to gather magic power, a dazzling golden arc of electricity wrapped around his hand as he prepared to strike again.
Not daring to let his guard down for even a second, Layla realized Laxus's speed far exceeded his expectations. Sensing the other's intent, he quickly retreated, yet the gap between them continued to close.
Though Laxus could not yet transform directly into lightning, his speed was already extraordinary.
Seeing Laxus close in, Layla had no choice but to use teleportation magic, flashing a dozen meters behind Laxus. Missing his target, Laxus stopped and spoke up.
"Layla, you aren't just going to keep dodging, are you?" Laxus pointed an index finger at Layla; with Layla constantly evading, there wasn't much he could do.
"Sigh, well, don't blame me for fighting dirty then." Layla was still trying to figure out how to bring the duel to a satisfying close, but seeing Laxus's relentless pursuit, he sighed and abandoned evasion.
"Magic Sword!"
Layla shouted it out. While it sounded a bit cheesy, he felt it had plenty of dramatic flair—comparable to shouting "Bomb!" in a game of landlord.
A sword materialized in Layla's hand. Its blade was broad and deeply black, inscribed with ancient runes along both the metal and the hilt.
Gripping the Magic Sword, Layla charged straight at Laxus. Laxus closed in to meet him, and the two clashed. Perhaps because Layla's weapon held the advantage, Laxus avoided a direct parry, instead knocking the sword aside with a single punch. Layla shifted his stance, gripped the hilt with both hands, and prepared to bring it down in a heavy slash.
Laxus slipped back a step to dodge, whereupon Layla instantly flattened the blade, stepped forward, and slashed horizontally at Laxus. However, Laxus suddenly grabbed Layla's right hand with his left, unleashing a burst of electric magic. A wave of numbness shot through Layla, forcing his right hand open. The Magic Sword slipped from his grasp, caught smoothly by Laxus with a smirk on his face.
With a wave of Layla's hand, the Magic Sword vanished from Laxus's grip and rematerialized back in Layla's hands. He immediately lunged to slash at Laxus again, catching Laxus completely off guard before he could speak.
"Lightning Dragon's Crushing Fang!"
Swallowing the words back down, Laxus felt a surge of frustration. No longer holding back and daring not to be careless, he directly unleashed Dragon Slayer Magic.
With a single move, he forced Layla back step after step, yet Layla pressed the attack just as relentlessly. Gradually, Laxus found himself unable to parry, struggling to withstand Layla's wave-like, endless offensive. Suddenly, he leaped back with all his might, attempting to put some distance between them.
At the same time, a blinding arc of lightning shot straight toward Layla's face—an electric strike even faster than Laxus's previous ones. Seeing the lightning hurtling toward him, Layla showed not a hint of panic; he triggered his teleportation magic and reappeared directly behind Laxus.
Noticing the approach of the sword in Layla's hand amidst this intense situation, Laxus transformed into a bolt of lightning to dodge away. Layla looked slightly startled at this sight, clearly not expecting Laxus to possess a lightning form.
Laxus dashed at Layla again, and Layla charged back. The two made to clash once more, but as they closed in, Laxus abruptly changed his attack, sparks of electricity suddenly crackling across his body. "Oh crap!" Unprepared at such close range, Layla was zapped directly by the flash.
Just as Laxus was about to secure victory, Layla pulled off a last-second teleport, dodging the blow. Seeing this, Laxus couldn't help uttering, "Too bad."
"Hey, Laxus, you're way too despicable," Layla shouted from a distance, thinking to himself, *I almost went blind there. Guess I'm still lacking experience.*
"Layla, you're finally talking. How can that be considered despicable? That's called strategy." Laxus shrugged both shoulders with an indifferent expression.
"Fine, then don't blame me." With that, a pair of sunglasses materialized in Layla's hand.
"That's why I said it's too bad." Laxus knew that once that move came out, Layla would definitely have a countermeasure ready.
The real fight was about to begin; everything up to this point had been nothing more than mutual probing. Having never crossed paths before, the two naturally knew nothing about each other's combat routines.
As time wore on, the battle grew increasingly fierce, with neither side giving an inch as they traded blows.
Laxus's physical conditioning was monstrously strong, leaving Layla with no choice but to rely on constant teleportation just to keep up with his speed.
In the end, Layla lost the battle. With his magic completely exhausted, the Magic Sword dissipated at the crucial final moment, leaving him unable to dodge and forcing him to take Laxus's hit, knocking him flat on his back with a single punch.
This was Layla's first serious fight, and the harvest had been substantial. Yet looking at Laxus, whose physical stamina was freakishly strong—consuming a massive amount of magic for Dragon Slayer Magic yet still able to trade blows with him evenly—it was quite something.
"Layla, let's call today a draw." Laxus walked over to Layla, sat down beside him, and said with a hint of haughty pride.
"Yeah, if you say it's a draw, it's a draw." Sitting on the ground, Layla sighed internally. It was finally over. "Though, why are we calling it a draw?"
"I'll help you keep your secret!" Laxus didn't spell it out, merely reiterating the promise he made before the fight.
"Yeah, thanks."
As he spoke, a wave of exhaustion washed over him, and Layla simply lay back. Seeing this, Laxus lay down beside him as well, feeling the faint warmth radiating from the earth and the relaxation of the moment.
After the prolonged battle, the clouds overhead had been dyed crimson by a smear of sunset. Layla gazed at the beautiful scenery, feeling the fatigue in his heart gradually fade away. In that moment, he experienced a tranquility unlike anything he had ever known before.
After some unknown amount of time, Laxus felt it was getting late. Fearing that Makarov might come looking for him and wanting to avoid exposing Layla, he stood up and bade farewell.
"Hey, hold on, let me fix your clothes first." Layla reached out to interrupt Laxus's departure.
"Right, okay." Laxus held out his arms, seeing that his clothes were torn to shreds with sword marks; returning like this would definitely draw questions from Makarov.
Layla snapped his fingers, and an outfit identical to the one Laxus had worn when he first sought him out before the battle materialized before them. Laxus changed into it, gave a casual wave, and left.
Finally letting go of all his remaining strength, Layla collapsed limply onto the grass, feeling a nagging sense that he was going to be hounded by this guy from now on. A wave of hunger suddenly struck him, and Layla muttered to himself that he had certainly gotten his money's worth of fun today. Slowly pulling himself up, he patted his stomach and headed home.