Behind the Fairy Tail guild, on the lake, stood the magical weapon Nirvana.
During the few days Chase and the others had been away in Edolas, the already-completed Nirvana had undergone two more rounds of optimization and construction. Now, surrounded by greenery, with a wide-open view and various recreational facilities available, it had become quite a nice little vacation island.
That is, when it wasn't in combat mode.
Around the square dueling platform at the center, the tiered spectator areas were packed with people. Every idle guild member without a request was present.
On the platform, Chase and Mira stood facing each other. The cool breeze blowing in from the lake ruffled the hems of their clothes, and a slightly tense atmosphere hung in the air.
Despite knowing she was no match for him, Mira had ultimately agreed to Chase's request for a fight.
Quite some time had passed since she had taken in the Demon King's soul. She had now fully mastered that deep, terrifying, and domineering power—and she wanted to show it off in front of her comrades.
If it were a Take Over like Demon Soul Satan or Demon God Halphas, Mira, who didn't like being the center of attention, wouldn't have had any desire to show off. But the Demon King was different.
That was the first "gift" Chase had ever properly given her!
Of course, there was another, more important reason. Mira knew about the special "card drop" mechanic of Chase's magic, Duelist Soul, and figured that if she could help him out, even getting beaten black and blue would be worth it.
As Lucy had judged, she didn't think that Chase, that battle-crazed card nerd, would go easy on her just because she was a girl!
"Ooh! Chase vs. Mira! A battle between S-Class mages of the guild! I didn't expect such an exciting event after the banquet!"
"This is great! See? Choosing to slack off at the guild was the right call. What do those hardworking idiots like Max know?!"
"Hey, Mira can't beat Chase, can she? That guy is so strong he barely seems human. He even beat Laxus..."
"Are you guys forgetting what Mira used to be called? That's Demon Mirajane we're talking about! And she's even mastered the Demon King's power now!"
In the spectator stands, everyone was excited. Some cheered that they had stayed behind at the guild, while others argued heatedly over who would win. The scene was quite noisy.
Natsu, Gray, Elfman, and Gajeel—who had returned from the Card Space—had already started throwing punches, constantly landing Friendship-Ruining Fists on each other's faces.
Natsu and Gray, familiar with Chase's power, naturally sided with Chase. Elfman, the sis-con, needed no explanation. As for Gajeel... well, he just wanted to go against that annoying Fire Dragon.
"...So let me get this straight. Mira-nee and Chase-nii haven't even started fighting yet, but the audience is already brawling?!"
Lucy, far from the combat zone, held her forehead and sighed deeply.
These guys really have way too much energy.
"If they didn't act like this, it wouldn't be Fairy Tail," a sweet voice said from beside her.
Lisanna smiled as she watched the brawl, a look of emotion in her eyes.
Fairy Tail in Edolas was lively too, but compared to this kind of daily fistfight, it clearly wasn't on the same level.
"I suppose that's true..." Lucy also smiled.
"Hey, Lucy. Earlier in the guild, I think I saw you and Erza whispering to Chase about something. Was it a secret that can't be discovered?" Lisanna suddenly changed the subject.
"Ahaha, not at all. Just a very ordinary topic."
Hearing this, Lucy became equally cautious, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Come to think of it, didn't you also drag Chase-nii and Mira over to the bar for a long chat? You wouldn't happen to have some ill intentions, would you?"
"What we talked about was also very wholesome~" Lisanna said with a sly smile.
After saying this, the two fell into a brief, silent silence.
Deep within their beautiful eyes, as they gazed at each other, there was a quiet rivalry that only they understood: Chase-nii is going to be my brother-in-law!!
These "love rivals," already bound by the fate of childhood friend versus sudden blonde, had successfully butted heads once again...
Meanwhile, led by Macao, the other guild members, including Makarov who loved a good commotion, enthusiastically began the traditional activity of the Fairy Tail civil war: opening betting pools.
You could see that on the clearly divided left and right sides of the betting board, a considerable amount of cash had been piled up. Unexpectedly, it wasn't a landslide victory for those betting on Chase. The two sides were surprisingly evenly matched.
Everyone knew that in terms of pure strength, Mira probably wouldn't be a match for the monster Chase. So the people betting on Mira were actually betting that Chase still had some tiny shred of humanity and gentlemanly behavior left in him—that he wouldn't actually beat the gentle, adorable Mira to a pulp.
At the very least, he should let Mira win in the end!
"Order! Order! The match is about to begin!" A clear voice rang out across the venue.
Everyone looked up to see Happy flying in the air, wearing a rather cool custom-made black suit. Floating in front of him was a magical microphone for amplifying sound.
Since the guild's usual emcee, Max, wasn't around, Happy—with his aerial view—had been put in charge of commentating this match. His compensation was one sea fish, sponsored by Chase.
"Well then, Chase, shall we begin right away? We can't disappoint everyone's enthusiasm," Mira said with a smile.
Fwoosh!
A dark magical array appeared, and a deep purple magical storm erupted.
Mira's flowing white hair was pulled upward, her ahoge standing tall. On her fair, flawless face, the distinctive black vertical lines of Satan Soul appeared, making her gentle, sweet smile look somewhat terrifying.
Chase remained calm. He looked at the transformed Mira and gave an honest assessment. "Not bad, Mira. Your aura after taking in Satan Soul seems stronger than before."
"Don't let my appearance fool you. After releasing my magical seal, I've been training hard to recover, you know~"
Mira—or rather, Demon Mira, who had released a bit of her true nature after taking in Satan Soul—lightly clenched her fist, a fighting spirit flickering deep within her humorous eyes.
"Then I'll—"
Chase spread his arms and took a step forward. A gray-toned magical array lit up beneath his feet. "Armor! Summoned Demon!"
Crackle!
A thunderbolt struck down from the sky, transforming into arcs of electricity that danced and jumped as they condensed around Chase, forming the white bone armor of the Summoned Demon.
The curved demon horns and the slowly unfurling demon wings radiated a thick, evil, and ferocious aura.
With Chase's current level of power, going all out would be a bit unfair.
So before the battle, he and Mira had agreed that he would only use the same "demonic power" that she did.
This restriction was both a special consideration for Mira and a way to draw out the combat potential she had neglected for two and a half years.
At the same time, it would also increase the pressure on himself, thereby raising the probability of a card drop and allowing him to test his previous hypothesis about the new card drop mechanic!
***
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