After Chase finished speaking, the living room fell into dead silence.
Although they could more or less guess that this would be the outcome, hearing the definite answer still left Lucy and the others in disbelief.
"Expelled from the guild? How can it be so severe!"
An agitated Natsu broke the silence first. "Laxus is indeed hateful, but we just had a fight. He's still a guild comrade!"
Until just now, he had still thought Chase's earlier talk of expelling Laxus was just a joke.
"Regardless, this punishment is too..."
Lucy stood frozen in place.
Compared to Natsu, the kind-hearted Lucy hadn't known or spent much time with Laxus. She was very afraid of his proud, arrogant gaze.
But still, Laxus was the master's own grandson. Wasn't this a bit too strict?
Erza was relatively calmer. She lowered her head, her expression serious as she stared at the warm tea cradled in her hands.
Gray in the bathroom also remained silent.
"No! I'm going to talk to the old man!"
A man of action, Natsu stood up and walked toward the door to get Makarov to overturn this decision.
His good buddy and "son," Happy, looked conflicted, unsure whether to persuade Natsu not to be impulsive or to go with him.
"Give it up. The master said there's no room for negotiation. It's for the good of the entire guild." Chase called out to stop Natsu.
"But—" Natsu stopped and spun around.
"In your eyes, Laxus was just competing in the strongest tournament. But his actions were motivated by harming comrades. He even dragged all of Magnolia into it. He's violated the guild's only iron rule. That alone can never be easily forgiven!"
Seeing Natsu's throat move, wanting to say more, Chase's gaze sharpened, his expression became serious.
"If someone like that can stay in the guild as if nothing happened, then the next one to leave will be me!"
This was a necessary step for Laxus to go from rebellious and arrogant to strong and reliable. From the Tenrou Island arc, it was clear that training outside the guild would help him come out of his grandfather's shadow and become more mature.
Makarov, knowing nothing of the future, had made this "heartless" decision. His heart must be in pain.
Chase didn't want the impulsive Natsu to make things worse for the old man.
Seeing Chase put it so seriously, Natsu was at a loss. He shouted "Damn it" and punched a crack into the nearby wall.
Lucy was even more startled. She hadn't expected the usually easygoing Chase to be so serious.
Erza, sitting across from him, sighed heavily, realizing that keeping Laxus in the guild was now impossible.
"Actually, this might not be a punishment for Laxus."
Realizing he might have overacted a bit, Chase softened his tone slightly. "Even if he leaves the guild, there will always be a day we see him again. At least, that's what I believe."
"When that day comes, let's sit down and drink with him to our hearts' content!"
Whether he understood the true meaning behind Chase's words or simply imagined reuniting with Laxus, Natsu's mood suddenly lifted. A familiar, bright smile appeared on his lips.
"I don't want to drink with that guy! By then, I'll be super strong, and I'll beat Laxus one-on-one!"
Excited, he waved his fists and bounced eagerly back over.
"...Your brain really only thinks about fighting!" Lucy couldn't help but complained.
At the same time, the worry and tension on her face disappeared. She couldn't even imagine Chase leaving the guild!
Perhaps infected by Natsu's mood, she relaxed and started daydreaming.
Happy saw right through the guild newbie's thoughts. He spread his arms and mocked, "No way, Lucy. No matter how much time you have, you can't surpass Laxus."
"Damn cat! Can't I at least daydream?!"
Lucy instantly lost her cool. Face red, she snapped, "And secretly peeking into a girl's thoughts is super rude!!"
"Erza, she said I'm polite~" Happy turned and snuggled into Erza's arms.
Lucy's mouth twitched uncontrollably. She clenched her fists. One day, I will definitely hang that damn cat up and beat him!
After all this commotion, the serious atmosphere caused by Laxus's expulsion lightened, becoming relaxed and cheerful again.
"Since you're all here, want to meet my new contracted partner?" Chase said.
"You've got a new card again?"
Gray, finished with his bath, walked over wearing only his basic underwear.
"Is it a dragon?! Hurry and bring it out so I can fight it!" Natsu was full of energy.
"Instead of a dragon, I'd prefer a strawberry monster. Your deck doesn't have anything like that yet." Erza propped her chin on her hand, looking serious and expectant.
"The gap between a giant dragon and a strawberry monster is way too big!"
The honest Lucy noticed a key point. "And Chase, when did you get a new card?"
Since she also summoned companions from another space to fight, she had always considered Chase's card magic and her Celestial Spirit magic to be similar.
But from the start of the civil war to Laxus's defeat, Chase didn't seem to have any way to get a new card (key)!
"Aye~, the wishful-thinking Lucy. Don't you know? Though it appears as cards, the real name of Chase's magic is 'Duelist Soul'!"
Happy, lying on Erza's chest, squirmed into a more comfortable position and explained, "He can get stronger cards through fierce battles, you know~"
Hearing this, Natsu, Gray, and Erza looked calm. They clearly already knew this.
"Damn cat! Don't put strange prefixes before my name!"
"And getting cards just by fighting no matter how you think about it, that's super strange!"
Hearing about this magic for the first time, Lucy was shocked. "How did you all accept and understand this setting?!"
"Because it's magic." Gray said matter-of-factly.
"Lucy sounds like a country bumpkin who's never seen anything~" Natsu nodded seriously.
"The guild's library has many magic books. Lucy, you should study when you have time." Erza even gave advice seriously.
Lucy: "..."
So all the magic knowledge books I've read since childhood were fake?
As the young lady of the Heartfilia Konzern and the daughter of Celestial Spirit wizard Layla, her home covering who knows how many square kilometers had many books on magic collected from around the world.
When she had returned after the Phantom Lord incident, the servants had even mentioned a new shipment of magic books from the north.
Why, then, did Lucy — raised in such an environment — always give people the impression of a magic idiot?
HUM!
A suddenly lit dark gold glow interrupted Lucy's self-doubt.
Chase held a brand new card between his fingers. Through a magic circle, he summoned the new card that had dropped from Laxus during the civil war — besides the Dragon Destruction Swordsman.
Chains rattled. A bronze-colored arm emitted a deep, oppressive, ancient aura.
Not the giant dragon Natsu had mentioned. Not the strawberry monster Erza had hoped for.
It was the Left Arm of the Forbidden One!
***
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