Chapter 623 - 623: Wrath and Gluttony

"My world… How could it possibly shatter so easily…?"

Luso stared at the murderous-looking man standing before her, her emotions in complete turmoil.

She and her older sister were among the strongest female alchemists on the entire continent of Guiltina.

Just as Sai specialized in Bond Alchemy, the Signario Sisters specialized in World Alchemy. Even the name suggested that their abilities operated on a far more conceptual level than ordinary alchemical techniques.

Luso's Crazy World might not have been anywhere near the size of the real world, but when she declared herself its god, she hadn't been exaggerating.

Within that artificial realm, she was effectively the world itself.

Which meant that Laxus had genuinely destroyed both Luso and the world she created through his own overwhelming power.

"What terrifying strength…"

A strange light entered Luso's eyes.

She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and slowly rose to her feet, her previous playfulness replaced by a far more serious expression.

"Unfortunately for you, that's nowhere near the limit of what an alchemist can do."

Laxus studied her with a frown.

Then he noticed something unusual.

"Your Magic Power hasn't decreased?"

"Heehee~ You noticed?"

Luso raised one hand triumphantly.

The space surrounding them began twisting once more, and the strange, childish world filled with abstract drawings gradually reappeared.

Her confidence returned as the enormous toys began taking shape around her.

"You see, alchemists are different from mages."

She spread her arms, directing another group of gigantic dolls to rise.

"When mages fight, their Magic Power gradually decreases as the battle continues. The more spells they cast, the more exhausted they become."

"But alchemists are different!"

Luso smiled proudly.

"We only need to use the Magic Power inside our bodies to establish the circuits required for our alchemical techniques. Once those circuits are complete, the transmutation can sustain itself!"

She gestured toward the countless dolls surrounding her.

"No matter how fierce the battle becomes, we can maintain our condition at a full one hundred percent!"

Laxus opened his mouth and unleashed a devastating roar of crimson lightning.

A massive pillar of red electricity swept through the newly reconstructed world, incinerating dozens of enormous dolls and leaving little more than blackened remains scattered across the floor.

But his eyes remained fixed on Luso, who was hiding behind the advancing monsters.

"So you're built for prolonged battles."

He sounded thoroughly unimpressed.

"Doesn't matter. I'll just have to finish you off in an instant."

"Hmph."

Luso watched the crimson lightning expand, her expression suddenly becoming peculiar.

An unnatural gleam appeared in her eyes.

Then something unexpected happened.

The enormous mass of lightning surged toward her, but instead of striking her body, the entire attack was drawn inward.

Luso opened her mouth and swallowed it.

Every last trace of the violent crimson electricity disappeared into her body.

A moment later, that same savage lightning began circulating around her, surrounding Luso like a legion of loyal guards protecting their queen.

Laxus frowned.

Luso giggled and raised one hand.

On her finger was a ring engraved with the image of a pig.

"Did you forget?"

She wiggled her fingers teasingly.

"I still have this!"

The Pig Ring.

The very Divine Ring Laxus had temporarily discarded after discovering its terrifying side effects.

Its power had transformed Luso's constitution, granting her the ability to consume practically any substance and convert the energy into her own.

Laxus remained calm.

He watched the increasingly powerful currents of red lightning gathering around her and gave a quiet warning.

"I'd stop if I were you."

"That ring isn't as wonderful as you think. Keep using it carelessly, and it'll turn you into a monster without me having to do anything."

Luso laughed.

"Alchemists aren't afraid of confronting terrifying things, you know!"

Her fingers tightened around the ring.

"Besides, power granted by the gods was always going to come with a price!"

She immediately used the crimson lightning she had devoured to construct a new generation of monstrous toys.

Enormous creatures rose from the floor, their bodies wrapped in crackling electrical currents.

Their bloodshot eyes bulged from grotesque faces, while their enormous mouths opened wide enough to swallow a person whole.

They no longer resembled ordinary toys.

They looked more like hideous, ravenous zombies.

And they were all moving toward Laxus.

Luso's expression became increasingly excited as she watched them advance.

She gripped the ring tightly, and her smile gradually twisted into something distinctly unnatural.

"This is the power of Gluttony!"

Her voice trembled with exhilaration.

"One-seventh of the God of Sin's divine authority!"

She raised her hand toward Laxus.

Her eyes were filled with hunger, and she repeatedly swallowed the saliva gathering in her mouth.

"If I can gather all seven pieces of divine power, what does a little side effect matter?!"

Laxus studied her increasingly fanatical expression and sighed inwardly.

Then he lowered his gaze toward the other Divine Ring in his possession.

The Dragon Ring.

He slowly brushed his thumb across its surface.

Around him, Crazy World had already become a nightmare filled with flesh-eating monsters. The grotesque creatures staggered forward, eager to tear him apart, while their creator watched with the single-minded obsession of someone who had forgotten everything except the pursuit of power.

Laxus's eyes turned cold.

"Chasing power for its own sake…"

His voice was quiet.

"That's only going to end in your destruction."

A faint crimson glow emerged from the dragon engraving.

The moment Laxus activated the ring, his eyes turned blood-red.

Veins bulged across his forehead, and an inexplicable surge of fury erupted inside him, threatening to overwhelm both his thoughts and his body.

At the same time, his crimson lightning became even more violent.

The destructive force contained within each electrical current increased dramatically.

Anything touched by his Red Lightning was instantly reduced to ash.

But the ring's influence wasn't limited to his magic.

An increasingly savage desire to destroy everything around him began burning through his mind.

Luso, meanwhile, had already surrendered almost completely to the hunger created by the Pig Ring.

She was devouring everything that approached her.

The zombie-like monsters she had created herself.

The crimson lightning erupting from Laxus.

Even the fragments of her artificial world were being swallowed and absorbed into her body.

She no longer seemed capable of distinguishing between her own creations and the attacks of her enemy.

Laxus was different.

He stood still for a moment, his brows tightly furrowed as he struggled against the fury flooding his mind.

Gradually, clarity returned to his eyes.

The blood-red glow began to fade.

Through sheer force of will, he suppressed the ring's mental influence without relinquishing its power.

Then he looked toward Luso.

"You want to eat?"

His voice became cold.

"Fine."

He clenched his fist.

"THEN EAT YOUR FILL!"

Laxus unleashed his Red Lightning without restraint.

Enormous electrical blasts tore across the artificial world, hammering Luso from every direction.

The space around them was repeatedly destroyed, only to be reconstructed through her World Alchemy.

Dolls, walls, and floors disintegrated beneath the lightning and immediately began reforming.

But Luso paid no attention to the destruction.

She simply continued swallowing the energy Laxus released.

The more she consumed, the more her body swelled.

Soon, the situation began turning grotesque.

Cracks appeared across her skin.

Thin streams of violent crimson lightning seeped from the wounds, illuminating the fractures from within.

Her abdomen expanded to an unnatural size as more and more electrical energy accumulated inside her.

The power she had consumed was already sufficient to destroy Crazy World many times over.

And all of it was now trapped inside her body, threatening to tear her apart from within.

Yet Luso still couldn't stop eating.

The pleasure that had initially accompanied the act of consuming power was gradually replaced by excruciating pain.

Her smile began trembling.

Her expression twisted.

But her hunger remained insatiable.

That was the true nature of the Pig Ring's Gluttony.

It granted the ability to devour almost anything, but at the same time inflicted an endless appetite that could never be completely satisfied.

The Dragon Ring possessed a different power.

Wrath.

The more Magic Power its wearer expended, the more intense their anger became. In turn, the stronger that anger grew, the more the ring multiplied the Magic Power available to them.

The two effects fed into each other, creating the potential for an explosive increase in strength.

But they also formed a dangerous cycle.

The more power someone used, the angrier they became.

And the angrier they became, the more power they wanted to unleash.

Without sufficient self-control, the ring could easily drive its wearer into a frenzy.

Yet even as his Magic Power surged, Laxus refused to surrender his mind to the divine artifact.

His willpower and control over his own Magic Power were extraordinary.

He deliberately limited his output to a range he could manage, preventing the Dragon Ring from pushing his anger beyond his control.

Then he used that carefully regulated power to continue feeding Luso.

Again.

And again.

And again.

The difference between them was becoming increasingly obvious.

Laxus was controlling the ring.

Luso had allowed the ring to control her.

She had surrendered her rationality to Gluttony and was indulging her endless appetite without considering the consequences.

But she had overlooked one very simple fact.

No matter how powerful an ability became, the body carrying that power still had limits.

Putting the world's greatest engine inside a broken-down car wouldn't magically make the car indestructible.

The moment that engine was pushed beyond what the vehicle could withstand, the entire thing would fall apart.

And Luso's body was rapidly approaching that point.

"AAAAAAAH!"

At last, the madness on her face disappeared.

It was replaced by sheer terror.

The immense energy swelling inside her had become unbearable.

Her entire body trembled as she desperately tried to regain control, but the power she had consumed was already far beyond what she could safely contain.

The repeated destruction and reconstruction of Crazy World finally came to a halt.

The surrounding space stopped regenerating.

Laxus recognized the opening immediately.

A crimson flash streaked through the air.

He appeared directly in front of Luso and drove a devastating punch into her grotesquely swollen abdomen.

BOOOOM!

The impact sent her flying.

Luso's body, now swollen almost into a sphere, hurtled across the room before crashing into the ground.

Then she began vomiting uncontrollably.

But what emerged from her mouth wasn't food.

It was Red Lightning.

Enormous torrents of crimson electricity erupted from her body, unleashing the accumulated power she had spent the entire battle devouring.

The already unstable dungeon floor began trembling violently.

Walls cracked.

The ceiling shook.

For several terrifying moments, the entire level became a prison of blood-colored lightning, with destructive electrical currents surging in every direction.

Laxus was completely unaffected.

As a Lightning Dragon Slayer, he was immune to the very electricity now tearing through the surroundings.

He stepped through the storm, caught Luso's violently trembling hand, and immediately pulled the Pig Ring from her finger.

The effect was almost instantaneous.

Luso's body finally stopped swelling.

Her skin was covered in bloody cracks and wounds, and she had completely lost the strength to stand.

Her eyes rolled back as she collapsed helplessly onto the floor.

Laxus looked down at her and sighed.

Then his attention shifted toward the Dragon Ring still resting on his own finger.

The fury inside him hadn't disappeared.

Even after the battle had ended, the divine artifact continued feeding his violent emotions, urging him to release more power and finish off the helpless woman before him.

Laxus gritted his teeth.

With a sharp movement, he tore the ring from his finger.

He placed it beside the Pig Ring and stood there for a long moment, breathing slowly while the murderous anger inside him gradually subsided.

Finally, the oppressive sensation faded.

"Phew…"

Laxus released a long breath.

Then he glanced toward Luso.

His expression tightened slightly.

The tremendous electrical storm had burned away her clothing, leaving her battered body exposed amid the ruined chamber.

Laxus frowned.

He wasn't particularly interested in looking at an unconscious enemy in that condition.

After retrieving his coat, he draped it over her and wrapped it securely around her body.

Then he gathered the two Divine Rings and turned toward the exit.

There was no reason to remain here any longer.

Luso had been defeated, and whatever plans Gold Owl had for the dungeon would have to continue without her.

His footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

Only the injured alchemist remained in the darkened chamber, barely conscious beneath the coat he had left her.

Her lips moved faintly.

And through the haze of her shattered awareness, a single name escaped in a weak murmur.

"Laxus…"