A crisp crack rang out.
Natsu was still winding up for another swing when Chase beat him to it, a lightning-fast Friendship Punch landing square on his face.
Natsu let out a strangled yelp and went sailing backward like a cannonball, crashing straight through the table behind him.
Chase mostly fought with cards, but S-Class mages of Fairy Tail didn’t get there on card tricks alone.
His magic ran deep, and whatever wasn’t magic in him turned out to be plenty strong on its own.
Splinters and dust flew across the hall, and a few unlucky guildmates mid-drink at the next table over went down with him, caught in the blast radius.
“You idiot, lighting candles on a birthday cake.
Want to die?!” Gray was already back on his feet, stalking over with a scowl, and hauled Natsu up by the collar until they were forehead to forehead, Natsu’s face flecked with spit.
“You bastard, you pervert!
You want to say that to my face?
You want to fight, is that it?!” Gray’s sarcasm wasn’t the kind Natsu let slide, and he leaned in nose to nose to make sure Gray knew it.
“If you’re that weak, don’t embarrass yourself further.
You really think someone with your mediocre skills can take on Chase?” “Same goes for you.
If you weren’t standing in my way, I’d have already knocked Chase into next week!” “What did you say, you reckless flame-brain?!” “I’m telling you, you’re a coward who wouldn’t even dare challenge Chase.
You’re just hiding back there shaking in your boots!” Gray’s jaw tightened.
“You’re not walking that one back.” They traded a quick round of blows, the kind that passed for routine between them, before Gray broke it off, cracked his knuckles, and turned toward Chase with total confidence.
“Now, keep your eyes open and watch carefully while I beat some sense into—” Halfway through the boast, a chill ran down Gray’s spine.
He looked down and found his shirt and pants already crumpled on the floor a few feet away.
“They stripped me and I didn’t even notice?!
Damn it, when did that—” Gray, face twisted in disbelief, didn’t so much as glance down at himself.
He just stared across at Chase.
“Hey!
Chase!
Exactly how much stronger did you get while you were away, you bastard?!” Lucy, still new enough to find this alarming, went red and clapped her hands over her face.
Behind the bar, Mira stood with her usual smile, one of Natsu’s flip-flops balanced on her head, a stray casualty of his earlier flight across the room.
She’d long since stopped noticing things like this, and looked over at Gray’s bare backside with the same mild interest she might give the weather, nothing at all like Lucy’s flustered modesty.
The rest of the guild wasn’t much different, a wave of palms rising to foreheads around the room, past the point of bothering to react.
“Gray, I have gotten a lot stronger.
I could probably strip you naked in a heartbeat if I wanted to.” Chase stroked his chin, considering him for a moment.
“But I don’t have that kind of thing for you.
You did that to yourself.” “Huh?!
I did it myself?!” Gray looked thoroughly betrayed by his own body.
“Hey, you perverted bastard, I’ve got a pretty good idea.” Natsu strolled over, a wide, easy grin spreading across his face.
“How about we team up and take Chase down together?” “Team up with an idiot like you?
Just the thought makes me sick.” Gray spat, then looked up at Chase, arms crossed, watching them both, and grinned anyway.
“But if the opponent’s a monster like Chase, I guess it’s not the worst idea.” Fire and ice reached an understanding, and the two of them fell in shoulder to shoulder, grinning as they closed in on Chase.
Their teaming up gave the rest of the room courage.
Macao, Cana, and everyone else Chase had needled earlier jumped back into it, ready for round two.
“Don’t blame us for ganging up, Chase!” Macao laughed.
“You’re just too strong for your own good!” “This time I’m leaving my slipper print on your face!” Cana shouted.
Every face in the crowd wore the same nasty grin, magic circles lighting up under raised hands as they closed in step by step.
They’d been on the receiving end long enough.
Somebody was overdue for a beating, and everybody wanted a piece of it.
“Now that’s an impressive amount of killing intent.” Chase smirked at the wall of guildmates bearing down on him, and instead of backing off, took one heavy step forward to close the distance himself.
“Guess I’ll have to get a little serious to keep up.” “My turn.
Draw.” He drew with a flourish, hand cutting a sharp line through the air, and a glittering card traced a graceful arc as it appeared between his fingers.
Pressure rolled out from it immediately, heavy and close, pressing into every corner of the room.
Red and black light burst out and filled the entire guild hall, weaving itself into an ancient, intricate magic circle.
Out of it, a phantom mage began to take shape beside Chase, robed in black and purple, a staff held loosely at his side.
Lucy’s eyes went wide, pupils contracting.
Even half-formed, the figure gave off a weight of magic she had no way to measure.
Lucy, who had never seen anything like it in her life, backed into a corner and stayed there, shaking.
Just as the seven-star Dark Magician was about to fully descend, a deep voice cut clean through the tension.
Name: Dark Magician Attribute: DARK Level: 7 Type: Spellcaster / Normal ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100 Description: The ultimate wizard in terms of attack and defense.
“Stop right there, Chase.
This building can’t take one of your attacks.” Makarov, small and sharp-eyed under his tall hat, stood on the second-floor railing and looked down at Chase without much concern at all.
“Oh, Master.
Didn’t see you there.” Chase put on his best surprised face.
“Don’t play dumb with me, you bastard.
You just want an excuse to knock the roof off again, don’t you!” Nobody understood how Chase operated better than the man who’d spent years fielding complaints about him from the Council.
Chase chuckled and scratched the back of his head.
“You’ve got the wrong idea completely.
Would I ever think something that dangerous?” Behind him, the Dark Magician, never fully formed, dissolved away, and the pressure bearing down on the room went with it.
Makarov didn’t answer.
He turned instead to Natsu and the rest, still bristling for a fight, and gave them a look sharp enough to settle every last one of them down.
Once the guild had gone quiet, he turned back to Chase, his voice serious now.
“That mission.
The one nobody’s managed to finish in ten years.
How’s it coming along?” Chase let out a slow breath at the question, stepped past Natsu and the others without a word, and made his way over to the bar, where Mira was waiting.
She read the look on his face immediately, and with her usual sweet smile, turned to make him a cup of coffee with sugar.
Chase took it and drank, sweetness first, a thread of bitterness underneath, warming him through.
Yeah.
Mira gets me.
He set the cup down slowly after the last sip, tipped his head back, and scratched at his hair with a faint smile.
“Sorry, Master.
It’s a ten-year mission…”