"Crying to escape from hell?" Laxus said indifferently, his expression unchanged. However, his actions were decisive, and a thunderous attack was unleashed.
Padre's face changed dramatically, the previous smugness vanished instantly. He quickly waved his wand, and a burst of magic erupted.
Despite Padre's hurried defense, it struggled to withstand Laxus's attack, buying Padre only a little time.
But that's all he needed.
Padre swiftly infused magic into a card in his hand, activating it. In the next moment, black and white colors enveloped him.
"Baptism of Light and Darkness!"
Though Laxus's lightning broke through the slight hindrance, it was blocked by something else before reaching Padre.
What blocked the attack was the black and white colors.
Seeing this, Laxus couldn't help but furrow his brow. The chaotic methods were countless, and even he felt a bit annoyed.
"Calvin, how much do you love Dark Mages? Is it necessary to arm them to this extent?"
But thinking about these matters now was too late. Laxus sensed that this was probably another card to enhance a summoned creature. At this moment, the card's magical energy fully erupted, pouring into Padre. Laxus couldn't stop it even if he wanted to.
However, Laxus didn't seem eager to stop it. Rather, he seemed interested in witnessing how much this card, regarded as Padre's savior, could elevate his strength.
Laxus made no move and simply watched as Padre underwent a transformation.
Calling it a transformation was not an exaggeration. In Laxus's eyes, Padre was entwined in black and white, and everywhere the colors touched, the original appearance of the Dark Mage changed.
The Baptism of Light and Darkness was an apt name.
After the baptism, Padre could only be recognized as a Dark Mage by his clothing. The dignified mage hat now resembled two giant horns curving backward. His robe was gone, making his figure appear more slender. Some indistinct patterns appeared on his face, revealing no emotion.
His long hair scattered behind him, giving Padre a more unrestrained look. A cold smile appeared on his icy face, filled with disdain.
In simple terms, he seemed to have become cooler.
Padre's demeanor returned to its initial state in an instant, revealing a displeasing expression.
He raised his hand, carefully examining himself. He seemed somewhat unaccustomed to the new appearance at first, but soon, a joyful smile appeared. He lifted his head, staring intently at Laxus.
"Hehehe... Hahahahaha!"
"Wonderful, is this the 'Chaos Mage'? It's a world of difference compared to before!" Padre's eyes showed excitement for this newfound power.
Because of this power, his arrogance seemed justified. Arrogance without power was nothing but the howling of a defeated dog, no different from foolishness.
Padre, however, would never consider himself a fool or a defeated dog. Therefore, everything was to be blamed on Laxus.
Was it because Laxus was too strong?
Padre probably didn't have the brain capacity to think about these things. He looked at Laxus with a fierce gaze, hating the guy who humiliated him to the core. In fact, Padre wished he could tear Laxus into pieces immediately.
And that's precisely what Padre did. He didn't even bother with words; he went straight to action without reservation.
Pointing his wand at Laxus, an invisible surge of magic erupted. However, the explosive magic seemed to vanish in an instant, leaving Laxus puzzled.
How could the Chaos Mage, a creation of Calvin, resort to such a weak attempt to scare someone?
Laxus suddenly felt a black dot appearing on his chest. The dot seemed to possess infinite suction power, as if all light and matter were about to be sucked into this tiny black spot.
Even Laxus himself felt a profound threat emanating from that black dot.
Without hesitation, Laxus shouted at the black dot, "Roar of the Thunder Dragon!"
A massive lightning, like a laser beam, erupted from his mouth, overwhelming the tiny black dot. However, despite the dazzling display of lightning, the black dot remained visible.
A stronger force emanated from the black dot, distorting and absorbing the colossal lightning, twisting and pulling it inside. Laxus's formidable roar had no effect.
If Laxus hadn't reacted in time, realizing that something was wrong and transforming into lightning to escape, he might not have resisted the attraction of the black dot.
Being sucked into it, he would probably have been annihilated. The thrill of narrowly escaping life and death made Laxus break into a cold sweat.
"I underestimated Calvin. Will that guy's trump cards never run out?" Laxus, now away from the black dot, muttered in displeasure. However, there was also an indescribable sense of excitement.
Even though he was already powerful, the two and a half months of intense training had undoubtedly elevated Laxus's strength.
But how strong exactly? He had no clear concept of his own strength.
So, was there a better test subject than Padre to assess his abilities?
If it were Natsu, he would probably shout, "I'm fired up!" in a situation like this.
Laxus would never do such a tasteless act. He simply cracked his sturdy neck, a flash of lightning flickering in his eyes, and a faint smile appeared on his lips involuntarily.
All these actions indicated one thing.
Laxus was getting serious.
Confident Padre, having successfully forced Laxus to retreat with just one move, felt a surge of joy. Laughing heartily, he leaped high into the air, gripping the wand as if it were a greatsword, and swung it down towards Laxus.
The target was, of course, Laxus.
As the wand descended, it unleashed a burst of magical energy. However, at that moment, what Padre swung down was not the wand or any divine weapon. It was the violent movement caused by the collision of magical forces.
Laxus, however, had no doubt about the power that would erupt the moment the wand fell. Therefore, he would not sit idly by.
His hands radiated with thunderous light as he tore upwards, seemingly tearing open the sky. Two enormous and incredibly powerful dragon claws materialized out of thin air, their composition being the lightning from Laxus.
The two forces clashed, resulting in a deafening roar, with a storm-like shockwave scattering in all directions. Although the room they were fighting in was large, it seemed to struggle against the aftermath of their battle. Cracks appeared on the walls everywhere.
As one of the participants, Laxus remained completely unaffected, charging forward without hesitation. His entire body was enveloped in intertwining lightning, as if a thunder god had descended.
A fierce punch was thrown, simple and direct to the extreme. However, Padre seemed to have not recovered from the previous devastating blow, standing there dumbfounded until Laxus's fist approached him. Only then did he react, hurriedly blocking with the wand in his hand.
But how could he block a punch thrown by Laxus without holding back?
Padre was sent flying from one end of the room to the other, leaving a trace of lightning along the trajectory. He crashed into the wall, almost unable to keep a grip on his wand.
Padre tried to push himself off the wall, wanting to pull himself out, but Laxus seemed unwilling to give him that chance. He surged forward, and with a swift kick, he sent Padre even deeper into the wall.
Laxus, covered in intertwining lightning, made the view of him from afar appear as though he had struck Padre with a bolt of lightning. The visual effect was excellent, and as for the power, one could imagine its magnitude.
However, Laxus's assault was not over. Taking a step back, he summoned a thunderous pool directly above his head. It was unclear whether he had created it or not, but Laxus reached into it casually, grabbing a handful of lightning as if it were nothing.
Then, he threw it towards Padre.
Of course, Laxus wouldn't just lightly toss it.
Boom! Boom!
When the entire pool of lightning had been thrown out, Laxus finally halted his movements. He showed no signs of fatigue, not even a hint of heavy breathing – as if this weren't even a warm-up.
But in front of him lay a pile of rubble.
"No... Impossible!" A weak voice emanated from the debris. Laxus raised an eyebrow, approaching and extending his hand. With a pull, a pitiful figure emerged from the wreckage.
Describing this figure as merely miserable might be an understatement. At this moment, Padre's entire body was charred and blurry, resembling charcoal. Only his right hand, held by Laxus, and half of his right leg remained visible. Everything else had disappeared.
In fact, the fact that he could still make a sound could be considered a miracle.
"Could it be... Calvin is not... the strongest... Mage in your Fairy Tail?"
"How could I... be defeated so thoroughly!"
Laxus shrugged indifferently, lightly saying, "Maybe, but someone like you can never fully unleash the power of the Summoning Card."
With that, Laxus directly released a lightning bolt, dispersing the head of the Chaos Mage, delivering the final blow.
The charred body turned into foam and dissipated, leaving behind a large number of cards.
Laxus picked up the pile of cards, carefully examined them, and without any hesitation, shredded them all. He tossed them into the air, and they scattered.
"Mmm... This feels great~"