Laxus vs Roaring Blaze
As the battle between Laxus and the Upper 3 has gone underway, the dark unicorn in dragon form repeatedly breathed out streams of flames at the wizard.
Laxus simply dodged by jumping around at fast speed and countered by launching lightning bolts at Roaring Blaze. Though the bolts struck him faster than he could react, the general just shrugged them off.
With his hands, the Upper 3 formed a giant orb of fire and hurled it at Laxus. The wizard easily dodged it as the orb caused a humongous explosion on impact, leaving behind a gigantic smoky crater.
The general suddenly appeared beside Laxus and swung his claws. Laxus ducked under the swing and attacked his opponent with a lightning-empowered fist, knocking the general back a long distance away.
However, when Laxus’ fist connected to Roaring Blaze, his knuckles got singed. As Laxus winced from the burn he received, Roaring Blaze quickly rocketed back towards him and kicked him square in the stomach, leaving a large burn mark on it and sending Laxus flying back with a smoke trail.
“Be careful. Unless you have resistance to heat, you’ll burn if you touch me.” Roaring Blaze said with a smug expression.
Laxus got back on his feet while clutching the burn mark on his stomach. “That really stings, but it’ll take more than a few burns to best me. Besides, your power is nothing new to me. I’m already familiar with someone who wields fire.”
“Insolent human, I’ll have you know that I’m not just a master of fire, I’M A LIVING FURNACE!!!!” The Upper 3 roared while ferocious flames formed around him.
“Don’t care, didn’t ask.” Laxus replied nonchalantly.
“Fair warning, human. No matter how strong you think you are, if you take me lightly, you’ll be in for an ugly surprise!”
The general spread his wings and soared towards Laxus while engulfed in a fiery sphere, only for the wizard to leap out of the way.
“LIGHTNING DRAGON ROAR!” From his mouth, Laxus unleashed a concentrated, destructive blast of lightning.
At the same time, Roaring Blaze unleashed a powerful blast of fire from his mouth. The two attacks collided and cancelled each other out, creating an enormous explosion.
The Upper 3 was then knocked down to the floor by a large lightning strike from above. He quickly rose back up, treating the attack like a minor nuisance. Roaring Blaze then came speeding towards Laxus and aimed to deliver a fatal strike by thrusting his claws at the wizard’s throat, but Laxus was able to move to the side at the last moment.
“LIGHTNING DRAGON IRON FIST!” Laxus struck Roaring Blaze with a fist completely engulfed in lightning, landing a powerful blow without his hand directly touching his opponent.
The general was pushed back, but he just brushed it off and came back at Laxus with a flurry of heat-imbued claw slashes. The wizard repeatedly moved left and right to evade the slashes.
“LIGHTNING DRAGON IRON HAMMER!” Laxus gathered a large quantity of lightning in his fist and then punched the floor, sending out a torrent of lightning that engulfed his opponent.
Roaring Blaze continued to stand his ground and fought back by generating circular waves of flames from his hands. Laxus was singed by the waves as he was forced back.
“LIGHTNING DRAGON HEAVENWARD HALBERD!” Laxus formed a very large trident of lightning and hurled it at the Upper 3.
The lightning trident successfully connected and it sent Roaring Blaze crashing hard into a crystal tree. However, the Upper 3 once again got back on his feet without showing any signs of pain.
“What’s with this guy?! He took all my attacks like they were nothing!” Laxus was visibly unsettled.
“Judging by the look on your face, I guess you’re wondering how am I able to withstand so much punishment. Let me put it this way. In addition to the scales of my dragon form, which have high resistance to both physical and magical attacks, my body is also reinforced by an invisible magical armor.” Roaring Blaze explained.
“I hate to admit it, but the Upper 3 is definitely trouble. All the dark unicorns I’ve fought before were infants compared to this one.”
Continuing the battle, Roaring Blaze materialized hundreds of fiery spheres high in the air above them. A rain of fire blasts was then unleashed onto the battlefield. As Laxus zipped around in lightning form, fiery craters were created on where the blasts landed. The wizard came up with one idea to gain the upper hand.
“ROARING THUNDER!” Laxus rushed at the Upper 3 and released a large burst of lightning from his fist. He aimed his attack at the general’s horn, hoping he could weaken him by breaking it.
The general was pushed away with immense force when the attack landed. Unfortunately, his horn remained intact.
“Dammit! His horn didn’t break!” Laxus expressed annoyance.
“So, you just tried to break my horn, huh? A nice idea, but I’m afraid it’s no small task. I used protective enchantments to make sure my horn won’t get damaged.”
“No matter. Until this war ends, I’ll keep fighting even if it kills me.” The wizard remained undeterred.
“A foe with great strength and unwavering resolve. I like that. Very well then, I’m now releasing all restraints!”
Roaring Blaze’s body was then suddenly covered in a magical glow as the scales changed to a blue hue. Laxus went wide-eyed as the Upper 3’s dragon form slightly increased in size and his entire body became engulfed in an intense aura of bright blue flames.
“Behold! This is my most powerful form! With it, I can incinerate whole armies and turn entire cities into a blazing inferno in just mere minutes! However, the drawback of using this form is that it uses up a large amount of magic power. If I stay in this form until it expires, I’ll be completely exhausted once I return to my pony form.”
“I see.” Laxus flatly said while showing a calm expression.
“This is the ninth time that I’ve used this form and it only failed me twice. The first was when I challenged Dread Lord for the Upper 1 position and the second was when I fought Aura Light. Now, let’s see how well you’ll fare. I’m confident that you’ll be reduced to cinders before long.”
After entering his ultimate form, Roaring Blaze also released an intense heat wave that spread throughout the entire area. Laxus felt like he was standing in the middle of a scorching desert. And the worst part was that the temperature continued to rise as time went on.
The Upper 3 created hundreds of blue flaming spheres high in the air before unleashing a rain of blue fiery blasts. Laxus evaded the blasts and rushed towards Roaring Blaze, planning to strike him with another point-blank attack, but the wizard was stopped in his tracks when the heat coming off of the general’s blue fiery aura burned him.
“I’ll keep my distance if I were you.” Roaring Blaze whistled. “With all the heat coming from me, getting too close is enough to barbecue you.”
“LIGHTNING DRAGON DEMOLITION FIST!” Laxus punched the air, releasing a giant, high-speed lightning blast in the shape of a fist.
The general crossed his arms as the blast hit him, engulfing him in a massive, sparking explosion. However, the attack hardly fazed him.
“Pitiful human. My destructive power not only increased, but my defenses as well.” The Upper 3 smirked.
Roaring Blaze released a gigantic blast of blue fire from his mouth. Laxus responded by using another Lightning Dragon Roar. The two attacks clashed and there was a power struggle. It did not last long as the Upper 3’s attack pushed through and hit its mark. Laxus screamed as he was blown back and seared by the opposing blast.
The general then conjured circular waves of blue flames and sent them towards the wizard. Laxus managed to recover in time and went behind a crystal tree for cover. The tree quickly collapsed due to the devastating power.
“It appears you’re low on options.” Roaring Blaze mocked. “And before you even think of trying to hold out until my power wears off, I’ll let you know that I can stay in this form for up to three hours, and it’s only going to get hotter here with each passing second. You’ll succumb to heatstroke long before my form’s time limit is up. Right now, fleeing from this fight is your best chance for survival, unless you’re too stubborn for that.”
“I’m not going to back down!” Laxus gritted his teeth. “You won’t have the pleasure of watching me run with my tail between my legs! The only direction I’m going is forward!”
“Tough talk from someone who’s going to die.” Roaring Blaze then surrounded himself in a blue fire cyclone and from it, he released a continuous omni-directional barrage of blue fire balls.
Laxus flew around at lightning-fast speed to dodge the projectiles, but due to the rising heat, his focus was beginning to wane and his movements were becoming more sluggish. Eventually, four of the fire balls struck him, engulfing him in blue fiery explosions and causing him to crash and reel on the floor. Satisfied with getting a few hits in, Roaring Blaze ceased his barrage.
Laxus was writhing on the floor in agony, but through sheer willpower, he later got back on his feet, albeit with great difficulty.
“I see you still got some fight in you.” The Upper 3 was actually impressed. “But it appears you’re reaching your limit, so you’ll be back down on the floor soon enough.”
As Laxus was panting heavily, his vision was starting to get blurry.
“This heat is unbearable. I feel like I’m going to pass out soon. I have to end this now!” Laxus then engulfed himself in a lightning aura that changed from yellow to a dark red hue, meaning that he initiated his Red Lightning Dragon Mode. “I was planning on saving this for later, but it’s do or die now.”
“The color of your lightning can change to red? How interesting.” Roaring Blaze mused.
“I only got one shot at this. I have to make it count!” Laxus then charged at Roaring Blaze at breakneck speed, intending to end this fight with one more attack.
“You fool! If you get too close to me, your whole body will be charred!” Roaring Blaze shouted.
“MEGATON: RED LIGHTNING!” While completely enveloped in his red lightning aura, Laxus threw a single empowered punch, while putting his all into this attack.
Even though he was still scorched by the heat surrounding the Upper 3, Laxus’ attack successfully broke through his enemy’s defenses and ripped through his torso, leaving a large hole on it. Roaring Blaze’s eyes widened as he dropped to his knees and his fiery aura died down.
“I am… defeated? I suppose it’s... not an entirely unpleasant feeling. Sorry, Scarlet Night. Guess I won’t be here to welcome you back.” Those were Roaring Blaze’s last thoughts before his body disintegrated into ashes.
All the heat created by the general have dissipated, giving Laxus some respite. Feeling lightheaded after enduring the torturous heat and burns, he limped towards a crystal tree to rest against.
“Damn, I’m in no shape to continue. It would be nice if Wendy, Fluttershy, or any unicorn that knows healing spells were here right now.” Laxus thought as he was catching his breath.
However, while he was trying to rest, he was approached by dozens of spear-wielding orcs.
“Gee, guess there’s never a dull moment in this place.” Laxus said as he struggled to stand.
The orcs then charged at Laxus, intending to finish him off while he was in his weakened state. As the wizard steeled himself for the incoming mob of enemies, five of his guildmates arrived at the scene. The orcs were taken by surprise when they were assaulted by a sudden barrage of magic blasts fired by Bickslow’s dolls and energy needles fired by Evergreen.
Lisanna (in her Animal Soul: Harpy form) grabbed two orcs with her talons and flew up high in the air before dropping the orcs on their fellow monsters.
Elfman (in his Beast Soul: Lizardman form) sent an orc flying with a punch. Eight orcs thrusted their spears at him, only to be stopped by the scales on his body. Elfman responded by swinging his arm, launching his attackers back. He then grabbed two orcs by their necks and threw them at several other orcs.
Some of the orcs remained focused on killing Laxus, but Freed stood in their way.
“DARK ÉCRITURE: SLAY!” Freed slashed the orcs at high speed.
Five of the orcs tried hurling their spears at Laxus, but Elfman used his own body to shield him. Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen proceeded to swiftly eliminate the orcs and made sure that there were none left standing.
“You guys sure are a sight for sore eyes.” Laxus smiled, happy to see his friends. He then passed out as he collapsed on the floor.
“Laxus!” His guildmates rushed to him.
“Is he alright?” Lisanna asked with concern.
“He’s breathing, but these wounds are serious. He’s in no condition to continue fighting.” Freed noted.
“I can’t believe that there was a dark unicorn capable of putting Laxus in this state.” Bickslow commented.
“Judging by this sight, it must be one hell of a battle.” Elfman uttered as he saw all the damage in the area caused by the said battle.
Somewhere else in the fortress, the Mane 6, Levy, and Shining Armor encountered gargoyles and hammer-wielding ogres on their way to Twilight’s location.
Starlight and Shining Armor shot down several gargoyles with magic beams while also putting up a barrier to defend themselves from fire balls launched by the flying monsters. As Rainbow Dash flew in the air evading the fire balls, she unleashed lightning bolts to smite the remaining gargoyles, sending them crashing down to the floor.
Levy wrote a word "Hole" on the floor, and when some ogres stepped on it, they fell into the floor. Rarity conjured spiked iron ball constructs and finished off the trapped monsters by dropping the constructs on their heads. While a flock of ethereal crows summoned by Fluttershy distracted the other ogres, Pinkie blasted most of them with her party cannon. Applejack impaled the remaining ogres with large stone spikes.
“How many monsters we’ve destroyed so far? I’ve lost count.” Rainbow groaned.
“At this rate, it’ll take forever to find Twilight!” Rarity whined. “Monsters can be found at every corner! And why does this fortress have to be so complex?! I wish we could go right to Twilight in a straight path!”
“Wait a minute...” A thought just occurred to Pinkie. “Couldn’t Applejack use her earth manipulation powers to create tunnels through walls? And couldn’t Rarity conjure a gigantic drill construct? Levy could also use her magic to create a drill.”
The group became silent for a moment.
“Why didn’t we think of this earlier?!” Rainbow facehoofed.
“At least we now know some solutions to our problem.” Starlight chuckled sheepishly.
The nearby wall suddenly erupted open, startling the group. Coming out of the wall were Wendy and Lucy (in Star Dress: Virgo form).
“Hey Lucy! Hey Wendy!” Pinkie cheerfully called out them while waving her hoof.
“Oh, hey there!” Lucy greeted back.
“Thank goodness we’ve found more Fairy Tail wizards!” Rarity was deeply relieved.
“Lucy, Wendy, it’s great to see you two again!” Levy said happily.
“Likewise, after many enemy encounters, it’s a relief to see some familiar friendly faces.” Wendy said.
“So, what about my daughter? What about Flurry Heart?” Shining Armor asked.
“We... still haven’t found her yet.” Lucy answered hesitantly.
“Well, we’re also searching for somepony. We’re looking for Twilight.” Pinkie chimed in.
Lucy and Wendy were then informed of the situation concerning the ruler of Equestria.
“Oh no! Now Twilight is in big trouble!” Lucy exclaimed.
“And we haven’t been able to contact her.” Fluttershy spoke sadly.
Using her sense of smell, Wendy picked up on Twilight’s scent. “I got Twilight’s scent, and... it seems she’s close to Flurry Heart!”
“Twilight must be trying to save her right now!” Pinkie surmised.
“Guess you all should tag along with us. We’ll find both Twilight and Flurry Heat.” Lucy said with a smile and a thumbs up.
“Then let’s go! There’s no time to waste!” Shining Armor urged.
Afterwards, the seven ponies and Levy joined Lucy and Wendy as they made their way towards the two alicorns.