Cluny's eyes gleamed with murderous intent as he stared intently at the calm-faced Chase.
Dark purple magic circles lit up on both arms hanging at his sides. Rolling black mist spilled from them, shrouding his open palms and condensing into long, pitch-black demon claws.
Under the Lightforce Sword's radiance, the demon claws flashed with mesmerizing black light—as if a single swing could tear through steel plates!
As the president of a feared dark guild, this was once his proud magic.
Somewhat similar to Erza's "Knight" requip magic—both were melee types.
But Erza's weapons were drawn from another space, while Cluny highly compressed powerful magical power to achieve the "weapon" effect!
"Kid, you've pissed me off."
Cluny stuck out his tongue, licking his demon claw. "We still need you alive, but before that, I'll make you experience..."
"The painful hell of despair!"
His face, covered in scars, was filled with brutality. He bent his legs and exploded at incredible speed.
Black light flashed as the demon claw drew a vicious arc, reaching Chase in an instant!
CLANG!
The sound of blades colliding rang out, sparks flying.
Cluny's expression shifted slightly. In his fierce pupils, the figure of an unfamiliar swordsman reflected.
The swordsman's gaze was firm and fearless. Clad in steel armor, his purple cloak gently billowed behind him.
Cluny's gaze followed the long sword grinding against his demon claw to Chase standing behind the swordsman.
Between his slightly raised right fingertips, a faintly glowing card was held.
'Besides that fire-breathing bone dragon and those light swords, his card magic can also summon a humanoid swordsman?!'
Feeling the heavy weight transmitted through the mysterious swordsman's blade, Cluny was secretly shocked.
Back when he was still Deep Swamp Abyss's master, he'd fought a lot of card mages and considered himself quite familiar with them.
Their magic, though varied, had pathetically weak bodies.
That's why he'd chosen to close in on Chase as fast as possible for a fatal blow.
He never imagined this guy still had such a card!
"Leave it to you, Elusive Elf Swordsman." Chase revealed the mysterious swordsman's identity.
[Elusive Elf Swordsman]: Four-Star Monster Card. Possesses skilled swordsmanship and combat ability, with an unyielding will.
Elusive Elf Swordsman nodded slightly at Chase, then shouted softly, gripping his sword with both hands and pushing hard forward.
Cluny was knocked back by this strange force, stumbling several meters.
Regaining his footing, a black shadow cast down from the purple cloak above.
Elusive Elf Swordsman flipped his sword, turning a slash into a chop, and brought it down toward Cluny's head using the inertia of his high leap!
As an experienced dark guild master, Cluny reacted rather quickly. He heavily stomped the deck, swung his right arm, and deflected the sword with his demon claw.
Simultaneously, his left arm thrust from a tricky angle, thrusting directly at Elusive Elf Swordsman's abdomen.
SHLUCK...
The claw directly pierced through the steel armor, emerging from the swordsman's back.
BANG!
Mortally wounded, Elusive Elf Swordsman shattered on the spot, scattering into countless heroic fragments.
"Pathetic. If all your cards are like this, you'd better kneel and beg for mercy now."
Cluny sneered sneered. "If you please me enough, maybe I'll make your suffering lighter!"
Perhaps used to loneliness at sea, or perhaps because his opponent was the famous Fairy Tail S-Class mage, he desperately wanted to see fear and panic on Chase's face.
——Just like those mages who'd accepted the request before, weeping as they knelt begging for mercy!
But in response, only a sword light came from the side.
Cluny hurriedly raised his claw to block but was still knocked flying by the impact, crashing heavily into the pirate ship's cabin.
Instantly, wooden boards shattered, the cabin collapsed, reduced to rubble.
"How is this possible?! Didn't I tear you to pieces?!"
Cluny violently shoved off the debris on him, staring intently at Elusive Elf Swordsman, who should have dissipated but had reappeared.
Elusive Elf Swordsman gripped his sword tightly, coldly not responding.
Silence was his nature.
"If you don't show some real skill, you won't break through Elusive Elf Swordsman's defense, dear Chairman Cluny." Chase's voice came slowly.
Theoretically, as long as the duelist lived, card monsters never truly perished.
But that didn't mean he could summon indefinitely. If a monster was "killed" in battle, it would fall into a period of dormancy.
For example, Dark Magician Girl, who'd taken Ignia's roar head-on, had slumbered for three days and nights before awakening.
The same applied to Magic Cards and Trap Cards.
Of course, this dormancy could be released early with resurrection-effect cards like [Monster Reborn] or [Premature Burial].
But normally, Chase kept such special cards as important trump cards, don't use them easily.
The reason Elusive Elf Swordsman could reappear was naturally his own monster effect:
Cannot be destroyed by monsters stronger than itself!
Cluny looked toward the voice and was instantly furious.
Chase was sitting comfortably
On his animal skin throne, legs crossed, Erlang's legs are crossed comfortably.
He even held a cup of tea—where the hell did he get that?!
He was a dark guild master, a pirate captain ruling these seas—when had he ever been so disrespected?!
Flames of rage instantly erupted.
Ignoring Cluny's murderous glare, Chase took a sip of tea and added, "Like, for example, magic that sprays scorching flames."
"You think I'd believe such obvious bullshit?" Cluny's face darkened terrifyingly.
From his reaction and the previous exchanges, Chase determined this guy probably didn't use flame magic.
That old bastard Marshall—even this little intelligence had to be steamed?
If the client Marshall was 99% likely the mastermind before, now it was 100%!
As he pondered,violent winds suddenly whipped up on the pirate ship.
Refusing to accept defeat, Cluny bursts with magical power, his demon claws thrusting continuously, engaging in intense close combat with Elusive Elf Swordsman.
Though there were gaps even among S-Class mages, Cluny was still a master of this tier—far beyond ordinary mages.
A mere Four-Star monster, Elusive Elf Swordsman's cap was limited. After a few exchanges, he was torn apart.
Then, with his undestroyable effect, he quickly returned and rejoined the fight.
This annoyingly persistent tactic frustrated Cluny to no end.
After several rounds, he still couldn't find an opening to kill the card holder, Chase.
Realizing this procrastination would eventually exhaust him, after tearing the swordsman apart again, he stopped attacking.
Instead, he leaped back, distancing himself from the resurrected Elusive Elf Swordsman.
"Hah, as expected of Fairy Tail. Truly tenacious."
Black mist rose as Cluny voluntarily deactivated the demon claw magic covering his arms. He reached for the skull necklace around his neck.
"Kid, you're not bad. Out of so many clients, you're the first to make me release this magic."
"But this is where it ends for you..."
CRACK!
The skull was violently crushed. An ancient magic, completely different from before, erupted with a heavy, chilling aura!
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!
patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!