Fairy Tail: Evolution Start From The Black Dragon

This process didn't take long—barely a minute.

Of course, every second of it was torture for Laxus.

Golden lightning surged wildly across his chest and hands, mingling with a crimson, blood-colored lightning, but he didn't have the energy to dwell on this unusual red lightning.

With his right hand trembling and bloody, the weakened Laxus gripped a dragon-slaying magic crystal—a diamond-shaped gem with a golden hue. He placed it on the table, then took a sip from his warmed wine.

A masterpiece—the "Toast for the Crystal"!

From a distance, Heine and Mera stood slack-jawed in awe.

Aegon was equally stunned. Extracting a crystal didn't need to be so bloody and complicated. Irene could have done it with Separation Magic in a matter of seconds—completely painless and without any wounds.

But, admittedly, Laxus had won his respect with this stunt. He no longer saw Laxus as just an experiment. Anyone who could be so ruthless to themselves had a true wolf's heart.

Aegon swept the once-priceless dragon-slaying magic crystal off the table and poured Laxus another drink, clinking glasses with him.

"Impressive. Even if you're not a prodigy, I think you'll find your own path."

After Laxus had removed the crystal, it began to dull in color, and the lightning dragon's magical energy inside it dissipated, leaving it useless.

Meanwhile, the lightning energy it contained flowed through Laxus's body, strengthening him. The wound in his chest stopped bleeding and began to heal rapidly. A new, crimson-colored lightning, unlike anything he'd seen before, coursed through him…

"What is this lightning?"

Even Laxus himself was surprised to discover this blood-like red lightning within him.

Laxus's surging magical energy didn't go unnoticed by Irene and Selene. In a misty hot spring, where they had been playfully splashing water at each other, they suddenly paused. With a wave of her hand, Selene conjured a magical water mirror, revealing the scene of Aegon and Laxus.

Erza frowned. "It's Laxus? How is his magic rising so quickly?"

She had once felt confident that her magic could rival Laxus's, but now, that confidence was gone.

His magic had practically doubled, and it was still rising.

Cross-shaped stars glinted in Irene's eyes as she quickly analyzed, "A dragon-slaying magic crystal. Did he just dig it out himself? But somehow, the magic contained within transferred to his body instead. But what's with this crimson lightning?"

Jenny was dumbfounded. "He really did dig it out himself? That's… hardcore."

Misaki, Kiria, and Lisanna all nodded in agreement.

"Lightning in his blood… not true dragon-slaying magic, but it's almost fusing with it?"

In Irene's eyes, Laxus's magic couldn't hide. The golden lightning and crimson lightning intertwined, merging into something new… a new form of lightning.

Selene raised an eyebrow. "So the lightning of a dragon king is fusing with his crimson lightning?"

Misaki seemed to recall something. "The Lightning Dragon King… could it be… Elexion, the Lightning Dragon King?"

Selene looked at Misaki with newfound interest. "Oh? You know about him?"

Misaki nodded. "Yes. The Diabolos Guild once consumed a member of Elexion's soul, leaving the member haunted. But one of the guild's dragon-slaying mages in a spirit form managed to seal Elexion's soul in a box."

Kiria connected the dots. "So, this is the dragon Kirin devoured?"

Lisanna's wide eyes were filled with awe. "The Lightning Dragon King? That sounds incredible!"

Selene chuckled softly, finding it too cumbersome to explain the hierarchy among dragon kings to Lisanna, so she kept silent.

Although she was surprised that Laxus's dragon-slaying magic crystal was the Lightning Dragon King's crystal, Selene's attention soon drifted to something else. With a finger to her lips, she murmured, "Interesting."

Irene shook her head. "I've never seen anything like this. I can't tell if it's good or bad."

Even Irene, known as the Mother of Dragon Slayers, wouldn't dare to claim she had mastered the depths of dragon-slaying magic.

Selene waggled her finger. "No, I was referring to Aegon. It seems he's taken quite a liking to this… what's his name again?"

"Laxus," Erza answered.

Kiria was curious. "Why do you say that?"

With one hand on her hip, Misaki pointed at the magic water mirror. "Lord Aegon poured him a drink himself! When do you ever see him doing that?"

Erza shot a look at Mira and Jenny. "If you two hadn't spoiled him so much, we'd see it more often."

Mira gently touched her cheek, closing her eyes with a smile. "Oh my, do we really?"

"Not at all," Jenny said, hands on her hips in defiance.

Erza didn't back down, crossing her arms. "Absolutely, you do!"

And with that, the three squared off in the hot spring, hands on their hips, chests puffed out, glaring at each other.

"Ow!" Jenny gave out first, slipping and landing with a thud.

"Heh, I win! Hahaha—"

Erza laughed triumphantly, hands on her hips, her head thrown back in glee.

"…"

Silence hung over the hot spring, save for Erza's exuberant laughter.

Kiria scratched her head in confusion. "How exactly do they measure that?"

Irene and Selene ignored the antics, their focus fixed on the magic mirror. Selene's interest lay in the conversation, while Irene wanted to see if this would lead to any changes—whether Laxus would undergo dragonification.

The conversation between Aegon and Laxus was nearing its end.

"Surrender to me, and I'll make you stronger."

This was purely Aegon offering an empty promise…

Dragon-slaying magic relies on personal training and one's innate talent. But Laxus clearly had natural gifts. Though he hadn't yet started to transform into a dragon, dragonified Katherine would no longer be a match for him.

This was thanks to the fusion of the crimson lightning in his blood with the lightning from the Lightning Dragon King, creating a new form of lightning, which enhanced his body.

Aegon's words might have been mere persuasion, but for Laxus, they weren't empty.

He'd previously considered removing the dragon-slaying crystal but had feared it might render him unable to use magic or weaken his body, as it had been in his youth.

It was Aegon who gave him the resolve to remove the crystal. Just by taking that simple step, his strength surged exponentially.

So Laxus agreed without hesitation.

"Deal."

He didn't even bother to ask what serving under Aegon would entail.