Dark golden light flowed across the surface of his chiseled muscles. With the dense magical aura and his powerful build, Chase looked like a battle mage from an ancient era, radiating immense pressure.
Outside the Fourfold Magic Array.
"Wait, that's?!" Future Minerva's pupils contracted sharply.
"How does the Fairy Queen's armor appear on him? And this power—"
Future Kagura was equally shocked, instinctively gripping her Unfearing Heaven. "It's on a completely different level!"
The two who had been defeated by Erza's Exodia Armor were still aching from the experience. They recognized Chase's current form immediately.
"To be precise, my armor was crafted using Chase's cards as the prototype," Erza explained with a smile.
Before, seeing Chase show off hadn't bothered her much—she'd even found his recklessness a bit annoying. But now that they were officially together, it was completely different.
That was her boyfriend. Of course he should look this cool!
Proud.jpg
Everyone else, including Fairy Tail members, watched the battlefield intently, their expressions varying.
Some were grim, some panicked, some bewildered, some fearful.
From Makarov, they had learned about the Eclipse Project and understood that Chase was trying to capture the dragon from four hundred years ago.
What a madman.
Inside the arena.
Motherglare stared at Chase, who had suddenly grown to roughly its size.
The ancient aura it had never felt from a human made its nerves tense involuntarily, and it was excited by this.
Without wasting words, Motherglare beat its powerful wings, kicking up fierce winds. It flew to the top of the Fourfold Magic Array, then dove toward the ground at incredible speed.
With gravity and its wings propelling it, its massive body fell like a meteor, compressing the air with a thunderous roar and forming a visible barrier around it.
"Come on!"
Chase clenched his fists and stepped forward, meeting the descending dragon without fear.
BOOM!!
The dragon's head, covered in hard scales, collided with the Exodia Helmet engraved with ancient runes.
The moment they made contact, a violent shockwave erupted from the point of impact, shredding everything around it.
Pure violent collision!
Though Chase held against Motherglare's physical assault with the full Exodia set, the fragile ground, already damaged by the dragon's roar, crumbled like melting snow and collapsed downward.
The single blow had pierced through tens of meters of rock!
Deprived of footing, Chase and Motherglare fell into the underground cavern together. All of Crocus was built atop an intricate network of underground chambers.
Motherglare adjusted its position midair, its wings beating against the wind. Before landing, it extended its sharp claws and raked them across Chase's chest.
Sparks flew. The claws gouged out large chunks of debris, leaving deep, terrifying gashes in the hard Exodia armor!
As a dragon's natural weapons, their destructive power was evident.
Having landed a blow, Motherglare raised its claw again, ready to tear apart the troublesome armor from its aerial advantage.
But heavy chains rattled as a powerful fist shot out first, slamming into its muscular abdomen!
"It's not just wings that let you move freely in the air."
Chase stood on a dark golden magic circle, twisting his body. The Sealer's Right Fist, deeply embedded in Motherglare's belly, exploded with force.
BOOM!
The upward shockwave shattered the falling debris and sent Motherglare hurtling back into the sky.
Then, a faint glow of Flight Magic surrounded Chase. He shot upward as a streak of dark golden light, even faster.
Dragon and human burst from the deep pit one after another, returning to everyone's view.
Watching the figure rapidly growing larger in its eyes, Motherglare snapped its wings open, forcibly halting its backward momentum. Its thick, powerful tail whipped around with a sonic boom, violently swatting Chase away.
"Even with a body equal to mine, you're still only human. Claws, fangs, a tail—you have none of these weapons."
Motherglare raised its head arrogantly, about to pursue, when its expression suddenly changed.
As if in reply, an unremarkable card slowly rotated in midair.
HUM!
A staff glowed. Three Lightforce Swords descended from above. The binding force took effect, restricting Motherglare's movement.
After a brief moment of shock, Motherglare roared in fury and broke free of Lightforce Sword's restraints with raw brute force.
But no sooner had it moved forward than its massive body seized up again. A Hexagram Curse appeared on its abdomen.
This time, it was the Hexagram Curse!
By the time the enraged Motherglare broke free the same way, a torrent of dazzling golden light had already erupted on the ground.
Within the shattered pit, at the heart of a pillar of light, Chase crouched slightly, his palms clasped together behind him.
Between his hands, a terrifying sphere of energy took shape, radiating an aura of annihilation.
Without giving Motherglare any time to react, Chase stepped forward and thrust the gathered magic forward.
"DEMON GOD FLAME CANNON!!"
The concentrated energy ray streaked across the sky, striking the dragon suspended in midair.
BOOM!!!
The explosion was like thunderclap, its brilliant flames dispelling the night and illuminating all of Crocus!
The Fourfold Magic Array shuddered violently, cracks appearing across its surface, startling Lucy and the others into comical expressions.
If this barrier broke, the battlefield would engulf all of Crocus!
Fortunately, with the four mages channeling their power, the shimmering barrier quickly repaired itself.
"H-How is it?" Lucy clutched her chest in after-fear.
Even a dragon shouldn't be able to survive such a terrifying attack from Chase, right?
"No. If that guy is anything like the dragon I know!" Natsu spoke seriously for once, his tone grim.
Wendy and Gajeel, also raised by dragons, remained silent, but their grave expressions gave the answer.
There was no doubt about Chase's strength. They didn't question the power of his Demon God Flame Cannon. But the enemy was a dragon.
SWOOSH!
As if confirming their conclusion, the howling winds drove back the flames and smoke. The dragon's spread wings blocked the blood-red moon in the sky.
Motherglare's figure appeared once more before everyone's eyes!
Compared to its initial appearance, the dragon was now more battered. Blood trickled from wounds on its face and chest.
Thin black smoke rose from the gaps between its scales. Its wings showed varying degrees of damage.
But these injuries were far from fatal.
Motherglare's aura hadn't diminished much. On the contrary, having been wounded by a human, it had become even more savage and ferocious!
***
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