"Blasting Hex!"
Rowan rose straight into the air and hurled a red flash downward. Laxus felt the danger immediately and dodged aside instead of taking it head-on.
"Thunder Pressure: Wrath Surge!"
Storm clouds bloomed over the island in an instant. Lightning poured down in chaotic sheets, not to defeat Rowan outright, but to tear away his concealment. The air howled as the bolts interfered with the spell cloaking him.
Rowan reappeared midair.
"Now!"
Laxus kicked off the ground, lightning surging through his legs as he prepared to launch upward and smash Rowan out of the sky.
The red spell Rowan had released earlier struck the arena behind him.
And exploded.
The delayed detonation slammed into Laxus from the side, snapping his momentum apart and blasting him backward. The shockwave sent him tumbling through the air. Only the lightning armor wrapped around his body, reinforced by draconic scales, kept him from being seriously injured.
Rowan did not waste the opening.
"Fiendfyre."
His wand carved a sharp arc. Blue flames surged into the sky, twisting into the form of a massive fire-dragon that roared as it dove.
Laxus was too slow to fully evade. The Fiendfyre dragon clamped down on him, and a strange chill flooded his body. The flames burned with a cold that gnawed at the soul rather than the flesh.
"Since when does fire feel like this…?" Laxus grit his teeth.
Dragon Slayer defenses saved him again.
"Rampant Volt!"
Violent lightning erupted from his body, tearing the Fiendfyre dragon apart. A golden magic circle flared in front of him.
"Lightning Dragon's Roar!"
The blast was far stronger than before, shredding the remaining flames and scattering them into sparks.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Laxus snarled, his dragon traits deepening. His body swelled further, veins lit with electricity.
"Lightning Orbs!"
Dozens of crackling spheres formed and shot upward toward Rowan.
Rowan merely lifted his arms. Electricity wrapped around him as he redirected the orbs effortlessly, sending them spiraling harmlessly away.
"You know that won't work on me."
The lightning faded, revealing Laxus again. This time, he held a weapon. A halberd formed entirely from condensed lightning, solid enough to hum like steel.
"Then try this," Laxus said, hurling it with full force. "Lightning Dragon Halberd!"
Rowan's eyes gleamed with interest. He tried to divert it with electromagnetic control.
It didn't budge.
So much power had been compressed into the weapon that it exceeded the limits of his control. Without a second thought, he flicked his wand.
"Protego."
A shimmering barrier bloomed. The lightning halberd smashed against it, grinding forward before finally stalling.
A roar split the air.
"Lightning Dragon's Jaw!"
The sound came from above.
Rowan looked up.
Laxus was already there.
The earlier lightning barrage had been a feint. While a projected body remained below, Laxus had split his magic and slipped overhead in elemental form, hands clasped and descending like a thunderbolt.
Below, the other Laxus leapt as well.
"Lightning Dragon's Crushing Fist!"
A perfect pincer.
Rowan smiled faintly.
He had noticed the real Laxus the moment hostile intent appeared above him. He simply chose not to react yet.
"Let's deal with the decoy first."
The ground beneath the arena ruptured. A spear of metal shot upward, impaling the projected body from behind and tearing it apart in a burst of dissipating magic.
Rowan had prepared more than a hundred metal spears beneath the arena before the fight began.
The projection vanished.
Half of Laxus's magic vanished with it.
Realization hit instantly.
"I fell for it—!"
But Laxus had already committed. He forced every remaining spark of lightning into his arms and drove forward anyway.
If he landed this hit, it would be worth the cost.
He didn't.
Rowan vanished.
At the exact moment Laxus's fists should have connected, Rowan completed his Apparition. He reappeared above Laxus instead.
"Let me show you one of Dumbledore's crown jewels."
Rowan raised his wand.
"Firestorm."
The sky ignited.
Flames poured outward, painting the heavens over Magnolia red. This was one of the most destructive fire spells known, and Rowan's body, infused with draconic power, amplified it further. His wand, reinforced for fire magic, pushed it beyond its normal limits.
The inferno collapsed inward, forming a massive flaming vortex.
It struck Laxus from above.
He was smashed straight down into the arena.
Rowan didn't stop.
"Firestorm."
Again.
And again.
And again.
One eruption after another hammered the battlefield. Rowan only ceased when his senses confirmed that Laxus had finally reached his limit.
Infinite magic reserves made restraint unnecessary.
Only durability decided how long this would last.