Our gaze returns to Mount Razer...
"Come on, attack," Zorn waved to Laxus, who was panting after finishing his physical training.
"Ah~" Laxus roared and charged at Zorn, swinging his fist. The two began their hand-to-hand combat training. Zorn appeared at ease, continuously parrying Laxus's attacks and feeding him moves.
The valley echoed with the sounds of their fists striking flesh, and there was no one else in the valley to disturb them.
Laxus continued until he could no longer move, his stamina exhausted. After a short rest to recover, he would then meditate to feel his surroundings and the lightning elements, deepening his control over them.
This training method continued for three months. During these three months, Laxus's physical combat skills gradually caught up to Zorn's attacks, and his Armament Haki and Observation Haki made significant progress. His Observation Haki could already perceive the entire situation around the valley.
During this time, Zorn also achieved a major breakthrough in his own strength, researching many spells suitable for him.
Laxus's talent truly astonished Zorn; the time he had originally planned was significantly shortened.
Zorn, who was sparring with Laxus, gradually slowed down his attacks. When Laxus launched an attack, Zorn blocked it with crossed hands, used the momentum to move back a few steps, and then raised his hand to signal a stop.
"Rumble, rumble"
The sky was overcast, and lightning streaked across the heavens, like a giant silver dragon weaving through the clouds.
"We can proceed to the next step," Zorn said to Laxus confidently after looking at the sky.
"Next step?" Laxus withdrew his attacking stance and, following Zorn's gaze, also saw the rolling lightning in the sky, his face full of confusion.
"Yes, release your Observation Haki, gather it, extend it upwards, feel the lightning power in the clouds, then extend your lightning along your Observation Haki, let the two lightning forces merge, and under your guidance, let them change form, then release them all at once towards the ground." Zorn explained the general theory. If this spell were successfully cast, its power... should not be underestimated.
"Borrowing the power of nature, huh?" Laxus pondered this possibility, muttering, "But after that, to use this spell again, wouldn't I need to reach a specific condition to succeed?" Laxus immediately pinpointed the spell's limitation, his eyes fixed on Zorn.
He believed that since Zorn proposed this plan, he must have a solution to this problem.
"That's true, but we can create our own thunderclouds to further cast this spell. The principle is... " Zorn explained that by combining the principles of thundercloud formation from his previous life with the principles of lightning magic from Fairy Tail, this condition could easily be met, making the spell usable without special reasons or conditions.
"Oh, I see, that's a very interesting idea," Laxus clenched his fists, his eyes sparkling, looking eager to try. His excitement and anticipation of completing this spell were fully ignited.
"Not bad, huh, haha," Zorn also praised himself for coming up with this method. "Ahem, let's start step by step. First, try to sense the lightning power above." Zorn reined in his slightly exaggerated expression and let Laxus try it out for himself.
Laxus nodded, closed his eyes in place, released his Observation Haki, gathered it by his side, and slowly extended it into the air. He gradually felt the humidity in the air and the slight thrill brought by the lightning. Under the effect of Observation Haki, these sensations were amplified, allowing him to clearly feel that the world had opened up to him.
Just as his Observation Haki touched the thunderclouds, Laxus's body instantly trembled, and he abruptly opened his eyes, "Hahahaha," he burst into laughter.
"The power of this lightning is too strong, truly too strong." The moment he felt the intensity of natural lightning, he could already sense that when this spell succeeded, it would be an unparalleled spell approaching the level of Super Magic, and a powerful area-of-effect spell at that.
"Then let's start by trying to make the lightning in the thunderclouds change form under your guidance, to have a more restrictive lightning power, so you can control it," Zorn said, seeing that Laxus could perceive the lightning power with his Observation Haki, and further explained, moving on to the next attempt.
However, this experimental phase was quite time-consuming. For the first week, the lightning would be uncontrollable and strike directly. Fortunately, neither Laxus nor Zorn feared this lightning, otherwise, the development of this spell would truly not be able to proceed.
One month later, the final attempt...
Laxus and Zorn were already standing on the mountaintop. At this moment, Laxus had gathered all the lightning from the thunderclouds above this valley, and his entire magical power soared into the sky. The sky was now covered by dark clouds, and the earth was enveloped in a suffocating atmosphere. The sunlight was swallowed by the dark clouds, and only occasional lightning streaked across the sky, revealing the unusually terrifying lightning above.
Residents of the nearby town of Rust also noticed the unusual dark clouds in the sky above the distant mountains. They all stopped what they were doing, looking in that direction with confusion or curiosity.
"Mama, look, there's a dragon," a small child suddenly tugged at a woman who was still washing clothes and hadn't noticed the situation. The woman stopped, looked up at the colossal blue dragon head emerging from the clouds, which obscured the sky, and quickly hugged her child, looking up at the sky with fear. The child, however, looked on with wide-eyed wonder, showing no fear at all.
Above the mountaintop where Laxus and Zorn stood, Zorn was also somewhat shocked by the aura of the dragon head that appeared above them. The creature was entirely composed of lightning, and its dragon claws slowly extended, each like a gigantic anchor. The dragon's mouth was slightly agape, and surging lightning scattered from its mouth, displaying overwhelming heavenly might.
"Exhilarating, hahaha," Laxus was also overexcited by this scene.
"Quickly guide it towards the valley, any longer and you won't be able to control it," Zorn said, stopping the still excited Laxus, while simultaneously deploying a defensive spell, "Holy Light Magic - Fivefold Spriggan Shield."
"S-Rank Magic - Lightning Dragon's Strike!" Laxus waved his hand, and the giant dragon in the sky instantly struck down, crashing into the valley below. Immediately, a gigantic pillar of lightning shot up from the ground, the thunder roaring incessantly, and the scattered lightning power, like snakes, rushed wildly in all directions with the shockwave.
Zorn's Spriggan Shield, facing such an impact, saw its first three shields hold for a moment before being broken. Fortunately, the fourth shield managed to hold, and Zorn poured all his concentration into maintaining it, not daring to relax.
As the light faded, the original valley had completely disappeared, the surrounding mountains were leveled, and the ground looked as if it had been hit by a meteorite, its topography completely altered. The dark clouds that had lingered in the sky also vanished with this strike, and sunlight once again bathed the ground.
The moment the Lightning Dragon appeared from the sky and the instant it struck down were captured by the people in the town. The next day, the news spread everywhere with merchant caravans, and the stationed soldiers also recorded it with magic crystals, sending it to the Council Headquarters.
Of course, all the major guilds received the news immediately, and Fairy Tail was no exception. The Council also convened a meeting because of this incident.
Laxus and Zorn, on their way back, were still unaware of all this, and what awaited them upon their return.
To be continued~