Lucy stared at him.
(•ิ_•ิ) ‘What kind of decent human being asks a girl such a private question the very first time they meet?!’ “Don’t ask something that constitutes blatant harassment in such a natural, calm, and polite tone!” she shrieked, her voice cracking as she threw her arms up in exasperation.
“Ahahaha, sorry, sorry.
Maybe that was a bit sudden.” Chase scratched the back of his head, looking genuinely troubled.
He paused, his expression turning deadpan and serious.
“Then I’ll tell you mine first.” “I’m not interested at all!
Who the heck wants to know your useless measurements?!” Lucy’s mental image of the dignified, unattainable S-Class Mage shattered into a million pieces.
Her voice shot up several octaves as she unleashed a barrage of insults, a fine mist of spittle flying from her lips.
Chase took the spray right to the face.
He didn’t even flinch.
Instead, a low chuckle rumbled in his chest as he casually raised a hand to wipe his cheek.
“Hahaha, don’t get so worked up.
It was just a joke.” “…That wasn’t funny at all!” Lucy fumed, her teeth practically grinding together like a saw-toothed beast.
“Compared to the timid, stiff look you had when you first walked in, Lucy, I honestly prefer you showing your true feelings,” Chase said.
A warm, satisfied smile curved his lips.
He had achieved exactly what he set out to do.
“Well, thank you for your…” Lucy bit off her retort.
She looked at the gentle amusement dancing in Chase’s eyes, and a sudden realization washed over her, freezing her in place.
‘Could it be…
his ridiculously rude behavior just now was entirely on purpose?
Just to dispel my instinctive fear of an S-Class Mage?’ “Laughing and talking loudly, cursing when you want to curse, fighting when you want to fight.
That’s how partners in the Fairy Tail guild should be.” His words hit her right in the chest, confirming her exact suspicion.
“Mr.
Chase, you…” She blinked, completely stunned.
The life he casually described was something a young heiress, raised in a cold, suffocatingly strict estate, had never dared to imagine.
Yet, it was the exact freedom she had yearned for her entire life.
“Compared to such unimportant matters, none of that matters at all!” A rough, abrasive shout shattered the touching atmosphere.
“Hey!
Chase!
Hurry up and fight me!!” A young man with spiky pink hair and a scaly white scarf vaulted out from the rowdy crowd.
Roaring flames ignited around his fists, casting a harsh orange glow across the guild hall as he charged straight at Chase.
Without a doubt, this was Fairy Tail’s most battle-crazed Dragon Slayer, Natsu Dragneel.
“Natsu?!” Lucy gasped, her nerves instantly snapping taut.
She threw her hands up.
“With a stance like that, you aren’t giving him any chance to refuse!” “Lucy, Natsu already said hello.” Happy fluttered over, casually hovering in the air beside her.
“What kind of greeting is that?!
At least let the man prepare!” Lucy groaned, rubbing her temples to ward off an incoming headache.
“The opponent is Chase.
If you warn him in advance, you won’t have any chance at all.” Happy chewed on a fish head, adding thoughtfully, “Though, you won’t have a chance even if you launch a surprise attack.” “Natsu?
A surprise attack?
No chance?!” Lucy had personally witnessed the devastating power of Natsu’s Dragon Slayer Magic.
She couldn’t reconcile Happy’s casual dismissal with the monster she knew Natsu to be.
While she struggled to process the logic, Natsu had already closed the distance.
Searing heat washed over Lucy’s face as Natsu pulled back his right arm, his fist wrapped in a roaring inferno of Dragon Fire.
He was right in Chase’s face.
Point-blank.
Lucy opened her mouth to scream a warning, but a blinding flash of golden light forced her to shut her eyes.
When she blinked the spots away, her jaw dropped.
Natsu was frozen mid-lunge.
The fire around his fist still burned fiercely, but no matter how hard he gritted his teeth and strained his muscles, he couldn’t move a single inch forward.
Beneath his boots, glowing golden lines etched a massive six-pointed star into the floorboards.
Ancient runes spun along the outer ring of the magic circle, radiating a heavy, oppressive aura that locked the Dragon Slayer in place.
“Still as reckless as ever, Natsu.” Chase hadn’t even shifted his stance.
He looked completely bored.
Between his right index and middle fingers, a rectangular card had materialized out of thin air.
Trap Card [Spellbinding Circle]: Constructs a binding magic circle using the caster’s Magic Power, severely restricting the target’s mobility.
“Damn it, Chase!
Don’t you dare look down on me!
I’m dozens of times stronger than I was a year ago!!” Natsu threw his head back and roared.
His Magic Power flared wildly, the ambient temperature in the guild hall skyrocketing as his entire body ignited into a pillar of flames.
Using the sheer explosive force of his magic, he shattered the golden bindings.
The six-pointed star broke apart like glass, and Natsu drove his flaming fist directly toward Chase’s handsome face.
“Ahahaha!
I got him!” Natsu crowed triumphantly.
Chase didn’t flinch.
The corner of his mouth merely ticked upward into a sly smirk.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Bang!
Flames exploded outward in a shockwave, rattling the nearby tables.
Smoke billowed through the hall, but as it cleared, Chase stood perfectly unharmed, his clothes completely unwrinkled.
Floating between him and Natsu’s fist was a tiny, dopey-looking chestnut-colored furball.
It had absorbed the entire brunt of the devastating strike.
Monster Card [Kuriboh]: A cheap, highly effective workhorse shield.
When attacked, it can negate one instance of battle damage.
Taking the full force of a Fire Dragon’s Iron Fist, the little Kuriboh let out a pitiful squeak before shattering into a shower of golden starlight.
Chase tilted his head, his smirk widening as he teased the stunned Dragon Slayer.
“It’s not quite as exaggerated as you claimed, Natsu.” “Flames of this level are better suited for lighting candles on a birthday cake.” Natsu ripped his fist back, veins bulging furiously at his temples.
“Bastard!
Don’t you dare look down on me!
This is the magic Igneel taught me!!” His magic flared even higher, condensing into a blinding, scorching torrent of Dragon Flames.
“So that’s the fire of the Fire Dragon King, Igneel…” Chase’s eyes narrowed.
The playful, relaxed demeanor vanished from his face, replaced by a chilling stillness.
It wasn’t because Natsu’s power was increasing.
Even at maximum output, Natsu’s current level was leagues below an S-Class Mage; he couldn’t exert a single ounce of pressure on Chase.
What triggered Chase’s shift in mood was the name associated with Igneel.
Ignia, the Fire God Dragon.
One of the Five Dragon Gods who appeared after the death of the Black Dragon Acnologia.
The biological son of the Fire Dragon King Igneel, making him Natsu’s half-brother.
More, he was the terrifying, apocalyptic monster Chase had accidentally crossed paths with during his ten-year quest on the continent of Guiltina.
Even now, recalling that brief clash, a purgatory of flames that could effortlessly reduce an entire city to white ash, sent a phantom chill down Chase’s spine.
Compared to that world-ending destruction, Natsu’s current flames truly were just birthday candles.
“Such a cute little guy!
Is Mr.
Chase using a summoning magic similar to Celestial Spirit Magic?” Lucy, who had wisely retreated to a safe corner of the guild hall, stared at the fading starlight in awe.
As a Celestial Spirit Mage, she was highly sensitive to summoned entities, especially ones as adorable as that little furball.
“Not entirely.
That Kuriboh that blocked the attack is a Monster Card, and that six-pointed star was a Trap Card.
They both belong to Chase’s unique magic, Duelist’s Soul!” Happy proudly acted as the color commentator, clearly very familiar with Chase’s abilities.
As he explained, the blue cat casually fished a few gold coins out of his green pouch.
He strolled over to a betting table hastily set up by Macao and Wakaba, silently sliding his coins onto Chase’s name.
Curious, Lucy peeked over his shoulder.
She didn’t know what to expect, but the sight nearly made her eyes pop out of her skull.
A massive mountain of chips and coins was piled high on Chase’s side of the board.
On Natsu’s side?
Not a single, solitary jewel.
“Hey, hey, Lucy, do you want to play too?
If you bet on Natsu, the odds are super high right now,” Happy purred, waving a paw enticingly.
Macao and the other guild members turned to her, their eyes gleaming with predatory invitation.
Lucy felt a cold sweat break out on her forehead.
She pointed a trembling finger at her own face.
“Do I look like the kind of idiot who would willingly throw my money away?!” She might be a total newcomer who barely understood the chaotic ecosystem of Fairy Tail, but looking at the completely one-sided betting pool, the conclusion was glaringly obvious.
S-Class Mage Chase was terrifyingly strong.