Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Word Count: 6,381

To say that the lightning dragon slayer was exhausted was an understatement. He felt about ready to pass out on his bed. Upon the arrival of the townsfolk, there was cheering and plans for celebration, which the duo immediately tried to turn down. They were offered free room and boarding in a surprisingly intact inn as a thanks for freeing their town of the mind flayers and ogres. For the first night in a long time, the Grinning Stallion Inn was fully packed with merrymaking. Those who could cook banded together to create a large feast, men and women drank to their heart's content at the bar, and the children danced to the merry tune being played.

Laxus didn't get a chance to talk to Leona during the festivities regarding their conversation earlier. She was constantly being surrounded by the villagers who were either thanking her or asking her about some of the rumors being circulated. Something Laxus notice was that a smile never left her face during the night, even when telling stories about some of her most dangerous encounters with creatures he's never even heard of, like a beholder and cloakers. Her smile was the brightest when interacting with the children, either playing with them or dancing in a circle.

Laxus had to admit that he felt relax but there was sense of tension still at the back of his mind. Even if this village was free from harm, the threat was still out there. A whole colony of them that is mentally connected with by a central entity. It's possible that there could be survivors holding out at the colony but what were the chances of that? Probably low since those abducted are civilians and it's unknown if any of them were mages.

Besides the problem with the mind flayers, the other thing bothering him was the voice he heard earlier. Laxus was not considered a 'true' dragonslayer since he had his slayer abilities from the lacrima implanted. Not only was he not taught by a real dragon but he didn't have the incessant inner dragon instinct that Natsu and, from his observations during the planning phase of the Battle of Fairy Tail, Gajeel had. Laxus remembered lounging up on the second floor years ago when Levy had asked Natsu about dragon slaying magic and what makes a dragon slayer different from a normal mage. Natsu had been surprisingly informative for being such a flame-brain. He had explained that a dragon slayer took on dragon-like traits from their dragon parent, such as an urge to horde things, heightened senses, and an inner dragon. Hoarding-wise, Laxus couldn't say if he had a history of hoarding anything. In the case of Natsu, he seemed drawn to collecting memorabilia from each mission he went on. Gajeel on the other hand seemed to hoard iron, but its possible that it was more for food than actual hoarding. Having heightened senses was a given for being a slayer, but it was that inner dragon Laxus' laxed.

An inner dragon was the most primal and feral part of a dragon slayer. It was the raw force of their most basic instinct that also acted as a guide to dragon slayers at times, sometimes even communicating with the slayer. During heightened emotions, the inner dragon can boost the magical levels of the slayer due to the drive they possess. From the way Natsu made it sound, an inner dragon was integral to being a dragon slayer. There was more information Laxus had missed out on since he stormed out of the guild hall halfway through. Laxus could remember being in a piss poor mood for the next week or so after hearing that. Another thing to remind him that he wasn't a true dragon slayer. He never heard his inner dragon communicate with him since the lacrima was put into him. It's possible that something happened to it during the implantation process since that was the last time he heard that voice.

'Shitty pops still messing with me after all this time.' His thoughts were interrupted by a light knocking at the door. 'Who's up at this time?' By the time he left the party, half of those who participated in the celebration were either passed out drunk or went back to their homes. His senses were dulled by the amount of alcohol he consumed and the exhaustion he felt.

"Who is it?"

"It's me Sparky." Leona. Immediately, Laxus stumbled out of the bed, hand reaching out for the door handle. Once the door opened, greenish blue eyes met sapphire blue. There Leona stood at the hallway still in her armor, which was clean now. Her wet hair was released from its braid with several white feathers still entwined. While not standing directly in front of his door, he could smell how intoxicating her scent was. Leona smelled like fresh lotus, a scent that is rare and hard to find in the country in Fiore. It was subtle, airy, and most important of all natural, nothing like the overpowering scents that the women at Fairy Tail had with their obsession with perfumes. God forbid the last time he got roped to go shopping with Evergreen.

"Kitten? What do you need?" Her eye twitched.

"What's the point of telling you my name if you're not going to use it?" Laxus gave a smug smirk.

"The same could be said to you. Don't think I've heard you say my name either since I gave it." Again, another twitch.

"If you're this rude to a person you barely know, I can't imagine how you treat the people you do know." His back went tensed as memories of what he did passed by. While he understood his actions were wrong, it didn't mean he was over what happened. "Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you again for your help. I shouldn't have been so hasty in freeing more than one town in a day. The first one had a larger population and I was already tired from the traveling. So, thank you Laxus. You didn't have to but you did."

"I was just passing through and saw that there was something I could do. No big deal." A small flush of pink rested on his cheeks. He was used to the cheers and praises from when he was in Fairy Tail with the Thunder Legion but this time felt different, more personal. Perhaps it was because his actions weren't tied down by a name. Perhaps it's because it's was the first time she actually said his name. Perhaps it was the little smile on her face that graced her face when she said his name. Perhaps it was nothing and he's just buzzed still.

"Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks and if you are serious about being my partner in this, we can talk tomorrow morning. There's going to be plenty to discuss and plan but little time before they realize that all their scouts and minions are dead instead of simply being out of range." Her tiny smile turned downward. A small rumble made its way through his chest.

"Hey, enough of that self-pity crap. Remember what I said, you're not alone in this now. I asked you, not the other way around. You got yourself a partner." Leona stared at him with wide eyes before the smile returned.

"More like demanded. I'll see you tomorrow than. Sweet dreams Sparky." She quickly turned on her heel and headed to her room before she could hear his reply.

"Tch. Didn't even wait to for me to respond." Laxus shook his head before closing the door and getting ready for bed. He laid on his side facing the windows to stare at the glowing moon. Maybe his life can still be interesting without being at the guild.

"Night Kitten."

As quickly as the night came and went, the morning came too quickly for Laxus' taste. The excitement from the day before still had him mentally drained. He sat up to get ready for the day since there was no time to waste. Quickly throwing on his simple traveling clothes after his shower, which consisted of a dark shirt under a long light jacket closed by a simple belt, loose dark pants ending below his knees, and a pair of boots, he headed downstairs. There was some planning he and the paladin had to do.

Reaching the dinning area of the inn, Laxus could smell the aroma of coffee permeating through the air. He could use one right now actually. Leona wasn't a hard person to miss. A vision of silver, white, and gold, she was seated in a corner booth with a mug in her hand. She seemed to glow under the sunlight.

"Morning Pipsqueak." The new nickname earned him a withering look as he sat across from her.

"We can't all be freakishly tall giants Lightning Rod." She took a sip of her drink, which he could now smell and identify as a mixture of black tea, raspberry, and pomegranate. A strange mixture to him since he wasn't much of a tea fan. Probably had to do with bad memories of being forced to drink bitter crap by Porlyusica when he was young and sickly. Just thinking about the red-eyed, pink-haired devil made him shiver. "I have a name, you know?"

"Didn't we just have this conversation last night? I'll start using your name when you start using mine." A waitress came by and placed a breakfast platter and coffee in front of Laxus and a platter of fruit in front of Leona. "For me Kitten? You shouldn't have." Immediately he took a large gulp out of his freshly brewed coffee.

"At this point I really shouldn't if I have to suffer this abuse. And if I remember correctly, I did call you by your name last night so don't use that logic on me Sparky."

"Back to Sparky, huh? Get creative with your nicknames. You don't think I haven't heard those ones before?" As if to spite him, she stole a slice of his bacon. "Hey!"

"Not fast enough!" Another piece snatched.

"I'm warning you Kitten." This time a piece of sausage. Then a piece of toast. It wasn't until she reached out for her next victim that he reached out to grab her wrist.

"Leona." If he knew that saying her name would get her to stop, he would have done it earlier. Her wrist laid in his firm, but loose, grip while she stared at him. Only now did he notice that she didn't have her gauntlets on. They laid innocently on the table against the wall. Her wrist felt soft and smooth in his grasp, despite the scars etching her forearms.

"L-Let's just finish our breakfast and I'll fill you in on what I know." Leona retracted her hand from his grip with a small blush on her cheeks. She couldn't remember the last time someone had touched her hands without her gauntlets on. They had become a source of security over her time alone. The only reason she didn't wear them now was because the handle of the small mug containing her tea was too small for her to hold. Stupid reason but she liked holding mugs with handles that way.

The two finished their platters in silence, both in deep thought. By the time they were done, the sun had risen higher in the sky. Agreeing that this topic wasn't something to discuss with others around, Leona led him away from the town to a nearby creek that was obscured by the trees. At first Laxus thought it was a bit excessive but went along with the paladin. Reaching the brook, there was a large willow tree resting beside the creek with a patches of grass and various rocks of varying sizes surrounding it. The area was well shaded with the various trees and was actually very peaceful. Leona opted to sit with her back leaning on the willow tree while Laxus sat across a few inches beside one of the larger rocks. There a nice breeze blowing through the clearing.

"I have to ask you once more before I debrief you Laxus. Are you a hundred percent sure that you want to do this?" There was no playful banter or teasing tone in her words. It was stern and similar to the way she spoke the day before during her fight.

"This is the third time I've said this and I'll say it again to get it through your thick skull. I'm your partner in this." However that serious face didn't relax.

"If I remember right you said you were a 'S-class mage', correct? Were you part of a Light or Dark guild?" Now he felt he was being insulted. He was pretty sure she saw his Fairy Tail guild symbol the night before while they were doing clean up.

"Seriously? Do you really think I would be part of a Dark guild after risking my ass to help you and the villagers out? Where are going with this? Cause it sounds like you're accusing me of something." His words spat at her like venom. He felt like as if she was questioning all of the good he was trying to do. He didn't need that when he was already doubting himself. However, the rage and anger he felt brewing stop when he saw her facial expression change from emotionless to one of possibly regret. Her eyes were downturned and her lips curled into a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I wasn't questioning your moralities but I had to know. I wasn't sure whose guild mark you bore and I had to make sure because as far as I am aware of, Light guilds don't kill, especially commit genocide of an entire race." Her eyes returned to his wide, confused ones.

"Genocide? Where are you going with this?"

"Mind flayers are considered sentient creatures, able to think and feel things like us humans. However, they are dangerous and are considered irredeemable. I'm sure you're smart enough to assume that they feast on their victims, correct?" Laxus nodded his head, coming to that conclusion the night before.

"They feed specifically on their brains. It doesn't have to be a human one either. As long as they can get their hands on an intelligent brain, they will eat it. The creatures you saw working for them are ogres and are not the smartest cookie in the jar. They are one of the races that mind flayers considered as inedible so they turn them into slaves instead. No living creature with a brain is safe from them. It's impossible to reason with one. They are selfish creatures whose only goal is to expand their domination over all other creatures, controlling their minds to use them as either mindless slaves or as a livestock in order to devour their brains for sustenance." She paused for a bit to catch her breath before continuing. "I know you killed two of them yesterday, whether it was by accident or not, but will you be ok with killing more of them? On purpose? Are you willing commit essentially genocide to a society of sentient creatures? I cannot have you doubting your actions if you decide to tag along."

It seemed funny to him that she would bring this up, seeing as he just had a debate with himself the other day regarding killing those mind flayers. He wasn't phased in killing the creatures, especially knowing now that they were basically putting targets on nearly every single living creatures backs if they had an 'intelligent' brain. If anything, that strengthened his resolve in actually killing those damn things. Could he live with himself in committing genocide? What would gramps say? Probably that everyone deserves a second chance but it sounds near impossible for a race that constantly needs brains to satisfy their hunger. To save the villagers of the towns affected, future victims, the country of Fiore, and his family, Laxus needed to do this. Leona cannot be the only one to hold this burden on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't be able to call myself a S-class mage if I let others suffer the same fate as these villages. Besides, the Magic Council rules regarding creatures are vague to say the least and I'm thinking these mind flayers fall under that category." Laxus gave her a small smirk. "You're not running me off that easily Kitten. Got it through your thick head yet?"

Leona stared at the man in front of her in absolute shock. When was the last time someone talked to her like this with so much confidence and conviction? It's been forever since she had someone to rely on during her travels. Someone to watch her back and stick with her through the good and bad. However, she knew that this partnership would end once the mind flayers were taken care of. She couldn't and shouldn't get attached to him. Truly, she did have a thick skull but that didn't stop her from letting a little smile slip.

"I got it Sparky." A bright flash glowed in Leona's hands, revealing a map after it faded.

'Requip magic? So she's well-versed in different fields of magic. Interesting.' Opening the map up revealed a series of circles with slashes through them and a large 'X' made in red.

"After a few weeks of scoping out the towns that were under mind flayer control, I was able to pinpoint the center of where their colony resides. Those circled in the red are the towns previously occupied by mind flayers. The slashes through them means they have been dealt with." A red marker was requipped out. Leaning over, she made a slash through the only remaining circle that wasn't marked. "We are right here in Krymmer and over here-" her marker went to the large 'X' mark, "is where the colony located."

Judging by the scale of the map, the lair looked like it was roughly ten miles away. It would probably take two and a half hours or three if they headed there at a high pace, but all that time could be cut in half if Laxus used lightning body. If he had to carry Leona it wouldn't slow him down by too much.

"The elder brain can reach up to eight miles without complications, ten miles makes communication sketchy. Luckily for us, Krymmer is between that eight and ten mile zone. While I was scoping out for the city, I found several hidden entrances, all unguarded but hidden with strong illusion magic. We can set up traps at each of the entrances and use one or two of them as our entrance and exit point. A mind flayer lair can span almost two miles with the elder brain at the center. My original goal was to try and take out the entire colony in one hit."

"What about survivors? They'd be caught up in the attack."

"I have an ability to teleport them out but it would require me to teleport out with them. In order to do that first, I would have to stealth in and try to find them and there's a variety of factors that could go wrong. If I get caught, the mind flayers will be on high alert and heighten their defenses. Hitting the entire colony in one powerful attack will decimate a large number of them and possibly destroy the elder brain. Once that thing is dead, the telepathic connection will be severed and severally injure their mental state. They're basically vulnerable until they can either find another elder brain or try to create their own colony with the same goals as before." Leona let out a frustrated sigh. There was too much riding on this and too many variables to account for. If she was younger, she would probably bust in without thinking about the possibility of things going wrong. Thankfully Xayah knocked that out of her, despite Rakan's protest.

Laxus sat there with his arms crossed, trying to come up with a plan with the new information. There was now two mages instead of one working on this. They could both sneak in together and search for the villagers and watch each others back but the chances of running into mind flayers was high. While he didn't know what abilities they had, he understood that they were highly telepathic and probably sensitive to outsiders. Laxus also didn't know what Leona's skill set was except for a few spells and that she was clearly an expert with a sword.

"You mentioned that you wanted to hit the colony with one attack. What is your magical ability? We should probably figure out what abilities we have and work from there. What can a paladin do?" You couldn't really blame him in being curious since paladins technically are 'extinct'.

"A paladin can technically be identified by the type of magic we use, Channel Divinity. It's considered lost magic since many of us were killed many years ago. We are born with the innate ability to channel divine energies that are gifted to us by the existing divine bodies in the world. It is possible for someone to not know they have the ability to use Channel Divinity because many mistake it for some kind of caster or holder magic. It depends on how it manifests. The only way to harness the true potential of Channel Divinity is through a mentorship by an older paladin. Once the basics and traditions are taught and passed on, we are given the choice to swear an oath that will bind us to our words and deity or choose to not make an oath and have Channel Divinity become a secondary source of magic. Those who choose the second option tend to still work with their mentor paladin until their core source of magic develops. For those who chose the first option, we are given the title of paladin and our magical abilities will change and alter due to the oaths that was taken and what deity that oath falls under. For example, those who swear an oath to the Wildmother are blessed with the ability to perform elemental magic. What kind of element depends on what he or she is compatible with. It's a bit complicated." Her little smile annoyed him a little. How much more confusing could you get? Because that wasn't really that helpful. Seeing his face scrunched in confusion, Leona couldn't help but laugh at him.

"You've seen some of my spells yesterday, like Warden example. Warden is divine energy that is condensed to form a barrier that can protect an individual or a group. The more energy I put into casting Warden initially, the stronger the shield. Warden is one of the basic spells all Channel Divinity users learn under the tutelage of a paladin. I tweaked my version of Warden so it can absorb the magical energy exerted on in so I can redistribute it into either sustaining the shield or creating a kinetic energy pulse bomb. I couldn't do that the other day since the ogre was attacking it physically. " Laxus' facial expression didn't really change much, with his eyes furrowed together.

"It's just going to be something I'm going to have to see to understand that huh?"

"Basically."

"So do you have some kind of boost with whatever oath you took for the deity you follow?" Something definitely suspicious this time because Leona let out a hesitant laugh while rubbing the back of her head.

"W-Well you see, I didn't really take on the traditional oaths that most took. The ones my mentors follow didn't really connect with me. Neither did the other oaths I read about. It wasn't because of the deities themselves I had a problem with, but the tenets of the oaths. So I did the next best thing, I made my own."

"You can do that?" Her magic was getting really confusing. Actually, she was just confusing in general.

"My mentors told me that it's not impossible to do and there's some documented cases but it's more uncommon because our oaths are powered by a deity. An oath is our solemn promise that we will uphold for the rest of our lives. The god or goddess we say our pledge to is there to make sure we fulfill our vows and grant us with that magical boost to not only help us uphold our oath that they have approved of, but to also remind us what we can lose if we ever stray from our path. With the state of the world today, it's already difficult enough for a paladin to even exist because of how little of us there are. Just imagine how hard it is now to get a blessing from a deity with a new oath." Leona gave a small smile. "I wasn't expecting one to answer my call when I made my oath. Honestly, if I didn't get an answer, I was still going to stick with it. I guess I'm stubborn like that. You can imagine my surprise when I heard their voices calling out to me."

"Wait, 'their'? As in more than one? Multiple? That sounds crazy. What the hell kind of magic do you have Leona?! What kind of oath did you make? How many of these deities do you have following you? What do you have to give up just for this power?" This was becoming extremely complicated compared to dragon slayer magic. A paladins' magic was clearly tied to his or her beliefs and actions and in order to gain more abilities they had to essentially tied themselves to a higher being of power. What kind of oaths do these people have to take? Could this be the reason why there were barely any paladins left after the Dragon King Festival?

"'Never be cruel or cowardly. Never give up, never give in. Hate is always foolish while love is always wise. Always leave things better than you found it. Be kind and have faith.' Those are the tenets of my oath. It's an oath of kindness when I was offered none for so long. Not until I was found by my mentors. If it wasn't for them, I don't even think I would be here today." If Laxus didn't feel like an ass earlier, he felt like one now. He could see how tense her shoulders got since his little outburst. Shit. He really messed up this time. Why couldn't he kept his damn mouth shut and let her finish?

Apologize.

'I don't need you to fucking tell me that.' Laxus really didn't need to hear this growling imaginary voice right now. He knew he messed up. There was still so much he needed to learn with tact and patience being two of them. Jumping to conclusion is another, especially since he just did just that not even a few minutes ago when all she was trying to do was help.

"I didn't mean to offend you, your oath, or your magic. If anything, it sounds like a good one. From my end, it sounds dangerous, like you're giving your freedom and life to some higher power for just some power. The practices of paladins weren't well documented and I've never came across any kind of magic that you're describing. Despite that, I shouldn't have reacted in that way. I'm sorry Leona." The silence between the two was deafening. None making any sounds and lost in thought before Leona ended it.

"It's fine. I don't expect normal mages to understand how our magic and traditions work. Let me finish explaining my abilities and then it'll be your turn." Her words did not make him feel better. Here she was answering his question and essentially baring her vulnerability to him, and he was the ass that ruined it. Laxus had to make it up to her somehow, someway. He wanted to prove to her, and himself, that he wasn't a complete asshole.

"Where was I? Oh, yes, the voices. There were seven of them that came and offered their services to me. Each deity have their own domains and found my oath to be acceptable. In all the books and scrolls I've read, there were no documented cases where a new oath was offered so many offers initially. Because of my inability to choose a singular deity to pledge myself to, they granted me with Requip Divinity magic. This changes my armor and weapons and grants me access to a specific deities domain. Using my example from earlier, one of the deities that accepted my oath was the Wildmother. She is the Goddess of the Wilderness and the Sea and is typically worshipped by hunters and seamen. I can requip into the Wildmothers' Embrace and it will grant me the ability to control and manipulate the elements of the wild and the sea. Currently, I have access to at least four requips." It's barely noon and Leona already felt exhausted.

This was probably the most she's shared to a complete stranger. She should of just gave him a simple run down of her powers instead of answering what a paladin was. Was she that lonely? Here she was, essentially spilling her guts out to this man. Shit, she should had just sticked with traveling with Rakan and Xayah but their constant flirting and making out wasn't appealing.

"Regarding your inquiry about my 'one-hit' spell, I can only use it with the Dawnfather's Light. The Dawnfather is the God of the Sun Domain. This is one of my most powerful defensive forms and it can also be extremely destructive when the sun is out. The ability Cruel Sun creates a large mass of heat and energy that is condensed into a size of my choosing. I was planning on using it but it would completely wipeout any chances of finding any survivors and it is more effective when there is a source of sunlight. With the lair being underground, I could still use it but the same problem would surface." The possibility of there being survivors was high. Mind flayers only need to consume at least one intelligent brain per month in order to remain healthy. They could be keeping a handful of humans to indulge themselves before having to replenish their stock.

"You said you have an ability to teleport potential survivors out, correct?" Laxus had a plan, one that he felt extremely reluctant to use but if they were able to pull it off, the survivors would be safe and the lair destroyed.

"Yes. The Raven Queen's Knight is a tricky requip but I've mastered its aspect of shadows. Shroud of Darkness lets me use shadow travel but it also allows me to teleport by entering the Shadowfell dimension. Through entering this dimension, I can move a short distance within it and emerge back at a farther one. I can teleport other people and objects along with me, however, I cannot do this for a long period of time because normal people cannot traverse safely through Shadowfell. The larger the group I transport, the more energy it requires to safely transport them out."

"I see." The plan Laxus was formulating was possible, however, it would require them to split up. Leona would have to play bait in the sense while finding survivors in order for Laxus to execute the one hit attack. There were two problems. The first one would be the lack of preparation and assets in a short amount of time. It could take days to just collect the items. The second one was that the last time he used it, he tried to destroy Magnolia and really didn't want to ever use it again. Like ever. Just thinking about it made him upset at his stupid actions. The problem was that if he didn't use it, Leona would have to attack and Laxus didn't have any mobility abilities that would help any survivors out of the lair, besides Lightning Body but he could only hold maybe two or three people at a time. Plus it was too flashy and distracting. What the hell is he going to do?

Move forward.

It was the growling voice again but it didn't sound as aggressive as it did the previous times and spoke more than one word. The voice spoke in a soft rumble, almost like a purring cat.

Forgive yourself. Move on.

'Who are you?' He received no response but still felt the rumbling in his chest. It felt relaxing, as if all the tension in his body had flushed out. Laxus could ponder on this at a later time but those words resonated within him. Forgiveness. It's only been a month since his banishment and he had learned that his actions were wrong but he had never forgiven himself for them. For hurting his nakama. Was this thing telling him he was worthy of being forgiven? Was using this destructive ability the first step in accepting his actions and a step towards forgiving himself?

Yes.

The rumbling got louder and Laxus could feel it coursing through his whole body.

'Understood.'

"I have a plan but it will take time to execute. How much time do we have before they realize their scouts aren't coming back?" His words snapped Leona out of her own thoughts. He was able to come up with a better plan then hers in only a few minutes? She would be lying if she didn't say she was impressed with the man despite how his previous outburst upset her.

"There was a total of fifteen small villages like Krymmer and four large towns. It's been nearly two weeks since I started my attacks. This was the last village to be freed. To my knowledge, scouts are sent out and are expected to return within two to three weeks. It usually depends on how many people they bring back to the lair and how far away the villages are. I was hoping to attack them within this timeframe." He had about less than week to go and gather the items needed to pull of his attack and then charge them with his magic. It would be difficult, but doable if he was able to find a well-stocked town.

"Then there's no time to lose. Let me explain first and you can ask questions later." It was his turn to explain his magic. Once he saw her nod, he sat up straighter and unfolded his arms to rest them on his criss crossed knees.

"First, I owe you an explanation of my magic. I use lightning magic, but to be most specific, I use Lightning Dragon Slayer magic." For so long he kept it under wraps because he didn't want to hear Gramps' lectures but ever since spilling the beans to Natsu and Gajeel during their little fight, it felt a bit freeing to say. While not trained by a real dragon, he felt a sense of pride of learning how to use the lost magic without any help.

"Dragon Slaying magic?"

"Didn't I say-" He didn't expect Leona to cut him off.

"I've heard about this type of magic."

"What?" Exactly how much does this girl know? She's sounding like a walking encyclopedia of monsters and magic.

"I've come across that phrase a few times in my scrolls but never read into it since some of it was in another language. Didn't really have the patiences to translate it at the time." Her brow furrowed in concentration. "If I remember right, I met a young girl a few years ago while hunting down a creature killing a villages livestock. Cute kid but extremely shy. She uses Sky Dragon Slayer magic."

"She give you the rundown on how we use our magic then?" Laxus asked. If she really did meet another dragon slayer, he didn't really need to waste more time in explaining it. Although, the prospect of there being more dragon slayers out there did interest him but would they be like him, a second generation slayer, or a first generation slayer.

"Yes, she was nice enough to open up about her abilities. I can assume your magic is similar but with lightning?"

"Yeah. There are a few basic slayer spells that every dragon slayer uses, like the roar attack I used yesterday. Besides that, as far as I'm aware of, each element has their own specialty spells." From his fight with Natsu and Gajeel, he can assume that all slayers despite their generation can use some form of roar, claw, or wing attacks.

"I'm not built for defensive magic. Any mobility abilities I have are primarily for when I go on the offensive. It's no good for helping out large groups in escaping. For the plan, we are going to have to split up." This got an eyebrow raise from Leona.

"What happened to working together, partner?" Leona couldn't help but throw that word in his face with how much he kept saying it.

"Well partner," he shot back, "since you clearly have a way to get any survivor out without any problem, you might have to play bait until I give you the signal." That caught her attention.

"Signal?" Laxus nodded.

"There is a specialty spell that I created that can do something similar to your Cruel Sun. It requires some prep time on my part because it requires me to get a large amount of lacrima and fill them with an enormous amount of lightning magic. Once that's done, I need time to put them up in the air in a circle formation around the lair. When activated, everything below the circle is struck by powerful lightning bolts."

Leona could see that there was some kind of internal struggle within Laxus when he started talking about this spell. She could practically see the veins bulging on the hands that were gripping his knees. What exactly did he do with this spell? Why did he even need such a destructive spell?

"I call it the Thunder Palace."