“Chase, you bastard!
Didn’t you say you were completely out of Magic Power?!” Natsu thrashed against the floor, his eyes wide with shock as the glowing, ethereal swords of light pinned him firmly in place.
“You’re still far too young, Natsu,” Chase replied.
He sat comfortably on the sofa, a faint, indifferent smile playing on his lips as he casually swirled the tea in his porcelain cup.
“Chase, wait!
Natsu told me to secretly scratch up your coffee table!” Happy waved his paws frantically, his fur standing on end as he sold his partner out without a second of hesitation.
“If you want to settle accounts, take it out on him!
I’m completely innocent!” “You traitorous cat!
Are we even brothers anymore?!” Natsu roared, struggling against the magical bindings.
“Don’t worry.
Neither of you are escaping tonight.” Chase set his teacup down and stepped forward.
A wicked, thoroughly amused grin spread across his face.
Beside him, Dark Magician Girl materialized, floating step-by-step alongside her master with a mischievous giggle.
The sheer, oppressive aura radiating from the duo terrified the pinned Dragon Slayer and his Exceed companion.
Unable to move a single muscle, Natsu and Happy snapped their heads toward the doorway, their wide, pleading eyes locking onto the blonde Celestial Mage.
‘Lucy, save us!’ Lucy took one look at Chase’s glowing fists and broke into a cold sweat.
“Ah ha…
ah ha ha!
Well, I certainly won’t disturb you any further, Mr.
Chase!
Have a good night!” Without a single backward glance, she spun on her heel and bolted out the front door.
“Hey, Lucy!
Don’t leave us behind!” Natsu screamed at her retreating back.
“We are Mages of Fairy Tail!!” Watching Chase slowly raise a fist the size of a sandbag, Natsu and Happy finally succumbed to absolute despair.
They shook their heads wildly, thrashing against the floorboards as the shadows closed in.
A few minutes later, Lucy was strolling across the stone bridge that spanned the city’s central river.
Suddenly, two deafening explosions echoed from the residential district behind her.
She looked up just in time to see two dazzling meteors streak across the starry night sky, hurtling over the horizon before vanishing with a faint, twinkling ding.
Carried on the night breeze, a furious, unwilling roar echoed from the heavens.
“Bastard Chase, I’ll be baaaaack!” “Ayeeee!” “Natsu, Happy, and Mr.
Chase really do have such a wonderful relationship.” Lucy sighed softly, a wry smile touching her lips as she quickened her pace toward her own apartment.
She needed to hurry back to her desk.
She had to add two brand new character tags for Chase in her upcoming novel: ‘Delusional Chuunibyou’and’Massive Pervert’!
Back at the house, Chase dusted off his hands.
Having successfully dealt with the home invaders, he collapsed back onto his sofa and looked up.
Through the massive, freshly blasted holes in his ceiling—one perfectly shaped like a spiky-haired boy, the other like a winged cat—he had a wonderful view of the vast, starry night sky.
“I miscalculated.
I subconsciously treated this place like the guild hall.” Blowing things up at the guild was perfectly fine; after all, Guild Master Makarov’s retirement fund was specifically budgeted to cover those daily damages.
But his house was a completely different story.
He was going to have to pay out of his own pocket to hire a construction crew tomorrow.
“Still, after more than a year away, Natsu and Happy are just as lively as ever.
They’ve definitely gotten a lot stronger, too.” Hovering nearby, Dark Magician Girl didn’t seem worried about the property damage in the slightest.
She had thoroughly enjoyed the brief scuffle.
Beating up the Dragon Slayer had done wonders to dissipate the lingering frustration she felt from being instantly obliterated by Ignia, the Flame God Dragon, during their quest.
Chase had already explained the family tree to her.
The tyrannical Fire Dragon God and the loudmouthed boy she just launched into the stratosphere shared the same father, making them brothers in name.
“Having said that, there’s still quite a gap compared to the level I was expecting from him.” After spending the entire day interacting with the guild, Chase had managed to gauge the current combat strength of Natsu and the rest of the members.
To his magic, fighting enemies was combat, but fighting his own friends was also combat.
The Duelist’s Soul possessed a unique card-bursting mechanism that didn’t discriminate between friend or foe; it only cared about the sheer intensity of the battle.
When he had first joined Fairy Tail years ago, Chase had shamelessly exploited his fellow guildmates, picking fights to accumulate his starting deck of cards.
Back then, he had been beaten black and blue by monsters like Erza and Laxus on a daily basis.
But over time, through sheer persistence and endless duels, he had gradually grown strong enough to stand on par with them as a true S-Class Mage.
In fact, that was one of the primary reasons he had chosen to leave on a grueling ten-year mission a year ago.
He had practically harvested all the low-hanging fruit the guild had to offer!
“That’s just because Master’s speed of getting stronger is far too fast!” Dark Magician Girl declared.
Her expression was fiercely loyal, the corners of her mouth lifting into a proud smile as her large, bright eyes stared intently at him.
Having fought by his side all the way across the Guiltina Continent, she knew exactly how much blood, sweat, and endless combat Chase had endured to achieve his current overwhelming strength.
“Not just me.
Us.” Chase reached out, his fingers gently brushing against the heavy deck of cards resting on the table.
A faint, ethereal light screen flickered to life before his eyes, displaying the myriad of card monsters who were silently, warmly watching over him from within the deck.
“Hehe, that’s right!” Dark Magician Girl wasn’t modest in the slightest, puffing out her chest and accepting the praise generously.
…
The next morning, bright and gentle sunlight bathed the earth, dispelling the chill of the night.
The merchants and laborers of Magnolia began their daily routines, filling the cobblestone streets with the lively, bustling energy of a prosperous magic town.
Chase had enjoyed a rare, incredibly peaceful night of sleep.
After contacting a local crew of builders to patch up the Natsu-shaped holes in his roof, he stepped out into the morning air, taking a leisurely stroll along the city river toward the guild.
“Bastard Chase, why are you back?!
If you have nothing to do, hurry up and go take a request!” “I’m begging you, go buy a house by the seaside and live out there!
If you stay, I’m going to have to renew my life and accident insurance!” “Don’t walk so close to my property!
I just had the patio renovated!” As Chase walked down the street, the local neighbors immediately broke into a chorus of foul language, their faces pale with sheer terror as they urged him to keep moving.
They were absolutely terrified that if they so much as blinked, their cozy little homes would spontaneously collapse in an unexplained magical explosion.
It was a clear indicator of just how reckless and destructive Chase had been in his youth to leave such an indelible, traumatic shadow on the local populace.
To successfully claim the title of ‘Number One Destroyer’ in Fairy Tail—a guild where literally everyone was a walking demolition crew—spoke volumes about his explosive capabilities.
“Hahaha, it’s really touching.
I didn’t expect everyone to be just as enthusiastic as they were a year ago.” Chase waved cheerfully at the surrounding residents, completely ignoring their panic as he laughed and greeted them.
The neighbors, from the elderly down to the children, all shouted in unison: “Enthusiastic my foot!” “Let’s make sure to keep in touch!
I’m planning on staying in town for quite a while this time!” Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
With that single sentence, every neighbor on the block violently slammed their front doors shut.
The more cautious ones even drew their curtains and locked their heavy wooden shutters.
“Alas, the people here are wonderful, but it’s a pity they’re all so terribly shy.” Chase smiled, shaking his head in amusement as he continued his walk.
Amidst the highly ‘enthusiastic’ greetings from the locals, he finally arrived at the towering doors of the Fairy Tail Guild.
Even though it was still early in the morning, the main hall was already packed with familiar faces.
Kana was already passed out on a table, snoring softly with a giant barrel of booze hugged to her chest.
Nab was wandering aimlessly back and forth in front of the request board, and Loki was smoothly flirting with two beautiful women by the pillars.
It was loud, chaotic, and entirely lacking in discipline.
It was the perfect atmosphere for Fairy Tail.
“Chase?
I didn’t expect you to come in so early.” A gentle, sweet voice cut through the noise.
Chase turned to see Mirajane walking quickly out from behind the bar, dressed in her signature black evening dress.
“Yo.
Good morning, Mira.” “Good morning.” Mira nodded in response, but her delicate brows immediately pulled together into a tight frown.
A hint of genuine urgency flashed across her fair face.
“Chase, if you don’t have any pressing business here, you really shouldn’t stay in the guild hall today.” “Why?
What’s wrong?” “The Guild Master…
he looks like he wants to murder you.” “CHASE!!” Before Mirajane could even finish her warning, a deafening, furious roar rattled the wooden rafters.
A colossal, five-meter-tall shadow suddenly plummeted from the second-floor balcony.
Boom!
The monstrous figure slammed into the floorboards.
The enormous kinetic impact shook the entire foundation of the guild, instantly kicking up a massive cloud of dust and splintered wood.
The shockwave jolted Kana awake.
Nab froze in his tracks by the board, and Loki nearly dropped the woman in his arms as he whipped his head around.
The swirling dust quickly settled, revealing the magically enlarged, Titan-form of Makarov Dreyar.
“Chase!
Do you have absolutely anything to say to explain why you destroyed half of a town in the Kingdom of Orgath on the Guiltina Continent?!” Makarov was apoplectic, his face flushed purple with rage as he violently hurled a massive stack of official documents onto the floor at Chase’s feet.
The old man had spent the entire morning assuming he only needed to draft a standard apology letter for the failure of the ten-year mission.
He never expected that Chase had left behind a disaster of this magnitude!
The boy had only arrived back in Magnolia yesterday afternoon, and the official complaints, legal grievances, and massive property damage bills had already caught up to him by sunrise!
[Akarin’s Note: Enjoying the story?