After the brief chat, Chase lightly clenched his fist, battle intent surging in his eyes.
"Speaking of which, Erza, let's have a fight for old times' sake!"
The trap card [Mirror Force] he'd gotten before had been from Erza.
Now, a year later, Erza was clearly much stronger. With any luck, he might even score an even more powerful "banned card"!
Hearing this, Lucy silently complained: Can't you wait? Could you maybe read the room for once?!
Come to think of it, a fight between Bro Chase and Erza would probably...
Be pretty spectacular, right?
Although this thought might be a bit "can't wait to watch the world burn," Lucy couldn't deny her intense curiosity.
Chasing Eisenwald all the way here, she had witnessed firsthand just how terrifying Erza was, and her absolute dominance over Natsu and Gray!
'But someone like Erza probably wouldn't agree under these circumstances...' Lucy thought to herself.
"A challenge after a year? No problem. I accept."
Erza's interest was piqued. Her beautiful eyes narrowed as she began cracking her knuckles.
Her steel gauntlets scraped together, making clanking sounds.
Lucy, who had just finished her analysis, was startled by this serious stance: She actually agreed just like that!
"Hahaha! A fight? I'm fired up!"
Natsu caught the wind of it and immediately sidled over.
"A rare opportunity—let me knock you both off your S-Class pedestals!"
Gray, shirtless as usual, followed closely, traces of cold air already emanating from his palms.
Lucy stood utterly bewildered in the wind—in the blink of an eye, she, who seemed perfectly normal, had become the "odd one out"?!
CRACK.
Just as the four were about to throw down, the sudden sound of a flute hitting the ground came from Makarov's direction, interrupting the heated battle fervor.
Peering from the bushes, they saw Kageyama kneeling on the ground, his face twisted in pain and indecision.
Remembering everything that had happened, the Fire Dragon Natsu's roar about mate kept echoing in his ears.
In the end, he couldn't bring himself to blow the flute.
Makarov saw the confusion in this young man's eyes, sighed softly, and walked over.
"Nothing will ever change that. The weak are weak, no matter the time. But weakness itself is not a sin. Humans are born fragile."
"It's because we feel uneasy alone that we have guilds, companions—everyone supporting each other as they walk forward."
"Clumsy people may hit more walls, take more detours. But if they believe in tomorrow, take that step, and firm their own path, power will continuously well up."
After a brief pause, Makarov casually glanced at Kageyama and added in a low voice, "Even... without using that flute filled with cursed aura."
With those words, Kageyama's emotions completely collapsed. He buried his face in the ground, weeping bitterly. "I'm sorry... we've lost..."
"Oooh!!"
As his words of surrender and defeat fell, cheers erupted from the bushes.
"Huh? Natsu? Gray? What are you doing here?!" Makarov startled.
Before he could react, his head was slammed at light speed into a hard steel breastplate, stars spinning before his eyes.
"Truly an inspiring speech, Master."
Deeply moved, Erza smiled and pulled Makarov into an embrace.
"Br- broken... my neck's going to break, Erza..."
Makarov weakly raised his hand.
The guild masters who had followed over shook their heads and laughed at his miserable state, permeating the scene.
"Everyone... it seems things aren't over yet."
Dark Magician Girl's sweet voice interrupted the lively atmosphere.
Everyone froze, following her pointed finger.
The top of the cursed flute on the ground—the hollow skull—suddenly glowed with three crimson lights.
Amidst the oppressive aura it emitted, a hoarse, gloomy voice emerged from within.
"That's enough! Both of you indecisive bastards! If you weren't going to blow it, you should've said so earlier!"
BOOM!!
A purple dark current, carrying fragments of the broken cursed flute, explosively erupted, forming a huge magic array crackling with purple lightning in the sky.
A massive foot was slammed down, causing the entire mountainous ground to tremble violently.
A pitch-black brown body followed, gradually revealing its true form in the magic array's light.
It was a huge demon with three eyes, spewing thick, turbid!
"Wh-what happened?! A monster came out of the flute?!"
Lucy's face paled as she stared at the colossal being suddenly before them.
"That's not merely a cursed instrument that harvests souls when blown. It's something that's existed for hundreds of years, known as living magic itself..."
Goldmine, the Mermaid Heel master, crossed his arms and calmly explained. "The demon itself, recorded in the Dark Mage Zeref's book—Lullaby!"
"Hundreds of years? The demon itself?!"
After hearing this, Lucy grew even more terrified, quietly retreating behind the others.
"Useless, worthless humans! In the end, I'll just have to eat all your souls myself!"
Demon Lullaby shrieked, the mere action unleashing a fierce storm that crazy swayed the surrounding trees.
In the distance, the Fiore army, having received word and arrived to subdue the magical beast, stood ready for battle.
They raised their weapons high, proclaiming they'd show these arrogant mages the true power of the military.
The noisy shouts irritated Lullaby. As if venting anger or demonstration, it gathered terrifying magical power in its maw and swiveled, blasting it out.
BOOM!!
A distant mountain peak vanished into dust amidst explosive flames!
"Report! The mountain peak is gone!" a soldier reported to his commander.
"Excellent! Retreat!"
The commander's survival instinct instantly maxed out. With a sharp "tweet," he blew the retreat whistle.
In the blink of an eye, the army that had arrived so fiercely vanished without a trace.
Were these guys here for comic relief?!
What happened to all those bold declarations just now?!
Lucy makes crazy comments in her mind.
"The small fry are gone. Now, let me properly savor the souls of you mages!"
Lullaby was quite satisfied with its deterrent effect and greedily eyed Makarov and the assembled masters.
"Hey Chase, what do souls taste like? Are they good?" Natsu asked curiously.
"I knew you'd ask something boring like that..." Lucy sighed helplessly.
"I don't know what souls taste like either. But..."
Chase strode forward against the wind, stretching his limbs, and smiled. "I'm sure it's not as delicious as beating the crap out of this big guy."
"Let's change the rules for the fight we couldn't have earlier. Whoever lands the final blow on this thing wins. How about it?"
This proposal immediately received enthusiastic agreement from Erza, Natsu, and Gray.
"The final blow, huh? Then I can't hold back. Requip! Heaven's Wheel Armor!"
"Sounds great! But you've already lost your chance. The winner's definitely me. Ice-Make..."
"Hahaha! I'm fired up! Fire Dragon's..."
Magic arrays of different colors successively ignited, drawing astonished glances and exclamations from the guild masters behind.
Erza's "Knight," Gray's shape magic, Natsu's Dragon Slayer magic—all were incredibly powerful.
They'd only heard of these magics before, never witnessed them firsthand like this.
And of course, besides these, there was Chase's unique card magic!
"Dark Magician Girl, ready up!"
Magical power surged around Chase, cards flashing between his fingertips, silently overlaying in place.
"Yes, Master!"
Dark Magician Girl adorably snapped her fingers, pulling her magic wand from the void.
A pink light mass sparkled at the staff's tip, brewing Surging power.
"Super Magic Wave Cannon!"
"Entangling Sword!"
"Ice Lancers!"
"ROAR!"
Four magics simultaneously poured out toward Lullaby, whose three eyes were wide with shock as it stood frozen like a target.
BOOM!!
A huge explosion resounded, scorching waves of flame illuminating the entire forest!
***
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!