Fairy Tail: The Dark Swordsman

76 - The Etherion

[X784, The skies above the Tower of Heaven]

— Laxus Dreyar —

When the meteor was destroyed, it revealed Jellal flying there with his breath ragged. Pulling a spell like the one he just did must've cost him dearly. A damn celestial nuke would do that to you.

Laxus hovered beside Dannis, his arms still humming from the Unison Raid. That kind of magic didn't come without a price—even he was winded—but he'd be damned if he showed it.

Jellal's eyes widened in disbelief, pupils trembling.

"Impossible," he hissed, voice cracking. "I can't be defeated! It's my destiny to create a land of freedom! For me! For Zeref!"

Laxus sneered.

Another self-righteous lunatic using destiny as a damn crutch.

"Yeah well, your idea of freedom was flawed from the very beginning." Dannis started, the darkness on his blade lengthening and lengthening until it stood four times as tall as Laxus himself.

"Erza told me everything, about your so-called change after you were taken," The darkness on Obsidian intensified. "You want to find freedom by taking it from others? Don't make me laugh. You're no better than the slavers that kept you here."

Dannis must've hit a sore spot, as Jellal's eyes widened in manic rage. Laxus still didn't really know much of what's going on here, but he could hazard a good guess.

Jellal's composure shattered.

With a scream, he surged toward Dannis, a comet of rage. Laxus met him in the air before he could do so, their forearms locking as a shockwave emanated from the impact. Lightning burst out in wild arcs from Laxus' skin, and for a second the sky looked like it was cracking.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

"Nah." Laxus gave the Wizard Saint a mocking grin. "You're not skipping my dance card that easy."

He knew Dannis had some sort of plan, given that he was putting much magic into his lengthening sword. Laxus needed to buy time.

He intercepted Jellal again as the man tried to sidestep him, slamming a fist into his gut.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Jellal snarled and retaliated with a volley of high-speed blows. Laxus met every one of them head on—Dragon Force surging through his limbs, his power on a level he rarely needed to reach.

But even so—Jellal was fast. Even tired, even rattled, the guy was a Wizard Saint for a reason.

Their clash became a blur of fists and magic, lightning crashing with starlight, each strike rippling across the sky.

A serpentine tattoo slithered out from Jellal's fingertips. It wrapped around Laxus like a constrictor and tightened.

Laxus recognized the spell, the Snake Bind. A form of sealing magic meant to restrain someone's movements.

His limbs froze for half a second. Just long enough.

"Grrrahh—" With a burst of effort, Laxus exploded in lightning, vaporizing the bind, but the delay was all Jellal needed.

A kick landed flush on Laxus' cheek, sending him flying backward through the sky. His vision spun as he tumbled through open air before catching himself with a burst of momentum.

He snapped his head back up, spitting blood.

"Son of a—!"

Jellal was already charging Dannis again.