"Hey, Erza! You took down an Element 4? That's awesome!"
Natsu, still lying on the ground, tilted his head toward Erza with a proud grin. "But I beat Phantom Lord's ace—Iron Dragon Gaje—AAAAHHH~!"
Before he could finish, Erza grabbed him and hurled him toward the shore. What goes around comes around.
"We can talk later. We need to leave this dangerous place." Erza said seriously.
"Um, Erza... Natsu already left..." Lucy raised her hand weakly.
"I see. Then you're next."
"Lord Happy! Save me!"
"Aye~!"
"Wait, Happy! Lucy! Us too!!"
And so, Erza and Mira efficiently—and with maximum simplicity—sent everyone present a one-way ticket home.
Fortunately, this time was better: their guildmates waiting on the shore caught them, sparing them the indignity of face-planting.
For the record, Loki was caught by a group of beautiful women.
"Wait, what happened to those creepy Phantom Soldiers?"
Back with her comrades, Lucy noticed the shore battle was over. A large number of Phantom Lord mages were tied up and tossed aside.
"They disappeared on their own. Jose must not be able to maintain them anymore."
Levy took Lucy's hand with concern. "More importantly, going into such a dangerous place with those monsters... are you hurt, Lu-chan?"
"I'm fine. Natsu and Gray did most of the work—"
Lucy suddenly stopped. "Wait! Where's Gray?!"
"I'm here." Gray's voice came from the lake.
He swam to shore, unceremoniously dumped the woman he'd been carrying onto the ground, and climbed up.
"Good, you're okay too. But what's with this woman?"
"She's Phantom Lord's Water Element, right? Why does she look so content?"
"Manly! Gray, even if she's an enemy, that's way too harsh! Did you beat her that badly?!"
The others crowded around, eyeing Juvia, whose eyes were spinning with hearts as her own heart pounded wildly.
Gray just felt a coming headache on. I'd like to know what's wrong with this weird woman too!
"That just leaves Chase..."
Mira, having returned to her normal form, clasped her hands tightly, her eyes glistening.
Her comrades stopped teasing Gray and looked toward the collapsing Magic Colossus on the lake.
"Don't worry. This is a battle he must face to grow."
Makarov walked up from behind and stood at the shore, gazing at the battlefield.
His presence was like an anchor, steadying everyone's anxious hearts.
Base of the Magic Colossus.
A surge of dark purple magic blasted away rubble and debris as Jose emerged.
Gone was his earlier composure. Blood ran down his face, his hair was disheveled, his cloak tattered.
He looked battered—but his magical presence hadn't diminished much.
A veteran Ten Wizard Saint, he had erected a defensive barrier at the last moment against Dark Magician of Chaos's Ruin Rune, mitigating most of the damage.
"You damn brat... daring to go this far... unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!"
Jose raised his venomous pitch-black eyes, his gaze cutting through the falling debris toward Chase at the summit.
A purple magic circle opened. Countless Phantom Soldiers poured forth, coalescing around his right hand into a dark purple vortex that devoured the surrounding rubble.
"Despair·Death Storm!"
Whoosh!
A column of dark purple light, several times more powerful than his normal Death Storm, shot skyward. It annihilated everything in its path, aimed directly at Dark Magician of Chaos hovering in midair!
Dark Magician of Chaos spun his staff, conjuring a black barrier to block the blast.
In that split second, Jose teleported behind Chase!
Though shaken by Dark Magician of Chaos's dark power, his judgment remained clear.
Take out Chase, who had little combat capability left. End this quickly. Face Makarov.
"Game over, you damn card brat! Soul Devour!"
Jose's magic circle lashed out. A purple stream bound Chase before he could dodge.
A massive, sinister black-purple phantom materialized behind him, its gaping maw aimed at Chase's head.
Just as the phantom prepared to consume Chase's soul and magic—a spinning card appeared in Jose's vision.
He anticipated my move! He activated this card beforehand?! Jose's mind raced.
Three radiant swords of light descended, landing around them, immobilizing Jose and the giant phantom!
"Now we're both stuck, Master Jose." Chase glanced back at him.
"As I said before—this kind of childish trick is nothing. I'll break it like I broke your Hexagram Curse!"
Jose sneered, pouring magic power into breaking free.
"Surely you haven't forgotten the real purpose of these 'childish tricks,' Master Jose?" Chase smiled.
Jose's eyes widened as realization struck. "You won't get away unscathed either!"
"Now, Dark Magician of Chaos!"
High above, Dark Magician of Chaos had finished charging. He swung his staff with full force. "Ruin Rune, Black Mark!"
BOOM!!
The black sphere of annihilation detonated, engulfing both Chase and Jose in a sea of fire.
Before the blast subsided, a figure shot out from the smoke, landing on the Magic Colossus's
shoulder, gasping for breath.
It was Jose, his robes in tatters.
"Built like a tank. Still standing..."
From within the smoke, Chase let out an admiring sigh.
Beside him, Kuriboh chirped and dissolved into light after shielding him from the fatal blow.
Dark Magician of Chaos descended. "Your magic power is fading."
"Yeah... I guess so. He's a Ten Wizard Saint, after all." Chase sighed heavily.
The battle had drained nearly all his magic. Even his support cards like Book of Secret Arts were failing.
Dark Magician of Chaos understood his condition.
Though it was pleasant to be outside, staying would only accelerate Chase's depletion.
"Farewell."
With those brief words, Dark Magician of Chaos dissipated, returning to the deck.
"One last fight."
Chase slapped his cheeks and faced Jose, who was now utterly enraged.
He had just enough magic left for one Trap Card.
Mirror Force was out of the question. So he'd stake everything on this other card.
"Card brat! I'll kill you!"
Jose's face twisted with madness as he gathered the last of his magic for one final Death Storm.
Makarov, Fairy Tail—all forgotten.
Chase took a deep breath and threw down a Monster Card: Elusive Elf Swordsman.
A magic circle flared. The swordsman raised his blade and charged fearlessly.
"Heh. That's all you can summon now? Desperate."
Jose barely acknowledged the low-level summon. With a flick of his will, a dark arrow shattered the swordsman.
"Watch closely, Makarov! Watch your brat get blown to ash!"
With a manic shriek, Jose thrust forward.
The lethal Death Storm erupted, tearing through the crumbling floor—closing on Chase in an instant.
As the dark purple light filled his vision, Chase activated his set Trap Card: Swap!
Whoosh!
Space warped around Chase—exchanging him with the swordsman, who had been restored by the card's lingering effect!
BOOM!!
The Death Storm roared past, annihilating the swordsman as Jose had intended.
"WHAT?!!"
Jose's mind shattered. I missed?! My all-out attack hit nothing?!
Before he could comprehend what happened, Chase—now in a safe position—raised his right arm, now coated in demonic white armor.
He had no magic left for a high-star summon. But borrowing a fraction of power was still possible.
From Summoned Demon: the power of lightning!
"One last hit, Master Jose. Face the judgment of thunder!"
Chase clenched his fist.
The natural lightning rumbling overhead converged in his grip, forming the majestic shape of the Sky Dragon.
He named this attack: "Osiris's Thunder Roar!"
Under Jose's horrified gaze, Chase flicked his fingers.
CRACK!!
The lightning dragon roared, diving from the storm clouds!
BOOM!!!
A blinding flash illuminated the entire lake and the town of Magnolia.
The crumbling Magic Colossus finally gave way. It collapsed—reduced to nothing but rubble.
***
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