The Next Morning

  After breaking the evil barrier and completing the mission, Nate and the others were ready to leave Galuna Isnd. The vilge chief, Moka, led a group of vilgers to see them off.

  "We are truly grateful, Nate-san, Erza-san, Juvia-san!"

  "Bobo, make sure to safely escort our benefactors to the port of Hargeon," the vilge chief said, shaking Nate's hand repeatedly in gratitude.

  This time, they didn’t charge for the job—it was a free follow-up service, greatly increasing the vilgers' appreciation for him.

  "There won’t be any more issues this time. The evil aura won’t return, so you can rest easy," Nate said, waving to the vilgers.

  Just as they were about to board the ship to return to Hargeon, Bobo, their boatman, looked confused and asked, "Uh, Nate-san, you came with four people, but you’re leaving with only three? Isn’t someone missing?"

  Nate: "..."

  Erza: "..."

  Juvia: "..."

  The three of them froze in shock.

  "Where's Laxus?" Erza excimed, surprised.

  Last night, they stayed in the vilge, but it seemed like they hadn’t seen Laxus since then.

  "Could he be lost?" Juvia asked, hitting the nail on the head. "It seems like he didn’t know where the vilge was."

  "I'll go find him," Nate said as he lifted off the ground, slowly floating into the air.

  He had brought Laxus along, so of course, he couldn't just leave him behind.

  Fortunately, Galuna Isnd wasn’t that rge, so finding a person wasn’t too difficult.

  Rising a few hundred meters above the isnd, Nate used his Six Eyes to scan the entire isnd in an instant.

  He saw…

  A deer pying in the woods.

  Monkeys jumping from tree to tree in the forest.

  A snake lurking in the bushes.

  A bird perched on a branch, preening its feathers.

  Nate's vision encompassed the entire isnd, capturing all the information with his Six Eyes.

  Finally, on the western coast, near a rocky outcrop, he spotted Laxus.

  Laxus was fast asleep against a rock, with a burned-out campfire and some fish bones scattered beside him.

  "Found him," Nate muttered before flying off toward Laxus.

  Juvia looked up at Nate and shouted, "Wait for me, Nate-sama!" She quickly followed after him.

  Seeing this, Erza turned to the vilgers and said, "I’m sorry for the dey. Please wait a little longer while we retrieve our companion."

  With that, she followed Juvia.

  The vilgers looked at each other in confusion, scratching their heads.

  The vilge chief banged his cane on the ground and shouted, "What are you all standing around for? Our benefactor is missing! Go help find him!"

  "Yes, Chief!" The vilgers sprang into action, with many sprouting demonic wings to search from the air.

  ...

  On the Western Coast

  Nate slowly descended from the sky.

  Laxus was not far away, lying comfortably against a rock with his hands behind his head, sleeping soundly.

  But Nate’s attention was drawn elsewhere.

  About 200 meters away, Lyon sat on another rock, staring bnkly at the rolling waves, completely still, like a forlorn statue.

  Lyon’s three companions stood behind him.

  "Want to say hello?" a ghostly figure appeared beside Nate. Ur, transitioning from fully transparent to semi-transparent, asked him quietly.

  "No, better not. If he finds out about my current state, it might cause more trouble," Ur replied with a gentle smile, looking at her former disciple from a distance. "He’s just a bit lost right now, but he’ll bounce back soon enough."

  Nate nodded, not wanting to disturb Lyon during his emo phase.

  He stepped up to Laxus, who, despite being asleep, instantly woke up, his sharp instincts kicking in.

  "It's you. I thought it was some clueless wild beast."

  "Why are you sleeping here?"

  "It’s cool here," Laxus said, dusting himself off as he stood up, unwilling to admit he had gotten lost.

  Nate didn’t call him out on it. Instead, he smiled and said, "The mission's done. Time to go back."

  As he turned to leave, Laxus hesitated. 'The mission was done?' He felt like he hadn’t done anything except zap a big rat. But no matter—that wasn’t important.

  A grin spread across his face as his body surged with golden magic power, simir to a Super Saiyan's aura exploding outward.

  "Now that the mission's over, as agreed, it’s time for our fight!" Laxus roared, stepping forward aggressively.

  Nate paused and turned back. "Here?"

  "Here’s perfect!" Laxus shouted as he lunged forward.

  "Lightning Punch!"

  His fist crackled with electric magic, and before it even made contact, the electricity began to sting the air.

  Nate raised his arms in an X shape in front of him, channeling magic to protect the spot where the hit would nd.

  Boom!

  The punch connected with a brilliant burst of electricity.

  The impact immediately caught the attention of Lyon and his group. They turned to look in shock.

  "Aren't they… comrades?"

  "Why are they fighting?" one of Lyon’s companions murmured.

  Even the previously dazed Lyon stirred and gnced over.

  Nate's feet dragged back, creating long lines in the sand as Laxus' punch forced him back several meters.

  "Heh, Nate. Is this all you’ve got? Was beating Erza just a fluke?" Laxus taunted with a grin.

  Nate chuckled softly in response.

  "I was just testing your elemental magic’s power. No surprise, lightning stings a bit. My arm's a little numb now."

  With his Six Eyes, Nate could see that Laxus’ magic power was far stronger than Erza's, likely rated above five stars.

  "Is that so? Then let’s see how your body handles more!" Laxus snorted. Without moving, bolts of lightning suddenly crackled above Nate’s head, zapping down in an instant.

  "Lightning Strike!"

  Boom!!

  The lightning struck the beach with a deafening explosion, sending sand flying everywhere.

  However, Laxus frowned—he hadn’t nded a hit.

  "He’s gone…"

  He was faster than the lightning, so fast that Laxus hadn’t even seen him dodge.

  But instead of frustration, Laxus ughed.

  "Yes! This is what I want! If you went down so easily, you’d be as useless as Natsu!"

  Just as he finished speaking, Nate suddenly appeared in front of him.

  Time-Space Magic: Flying Thunder God.

  "You didn’t think I took your punch just to test your magic, did you?"

  "I was lying."

  Nate’s right leg swept out, striking Laxus hard in the stomach. The force sent him flying backward, smashing into the rock where he’d been sleeping. Laxus bounced off the ground like a ball, rolling dozens of meters away.

  At that moment, Juvia and Erza arrived, just in time to witness the scene.

  Seeing the two fighting, they were initially shocked, but then both let out sighs of relief when they saw it was Laxus being sent flying.

  "Nate-sama!" Juvia called out happily.

  Nate, however, ignored the onlookers, floating a few meters off the ground as he watched Laxus pull himself up from the sand. With a faint smile, Nate remarked,

  "You have no chance of winning—not even one in ten thousand."

  "Why don’t you try your strongest magic?"

  "Fairy Law!”

  Bleam