"Really, Chase?! You can really help me control the Beast King Soul's power?!"
Elfman's eyes widened, his words extremely exciting.
Always talking about manliness, deep down he was actually very cowardly.
Although Lisanna's "death" had somewhat twisted his personality, every quiet night, remembering that rainy day and that damn Beast King inside him...
He was still consumed by endless fear and guilt. He dared not face that power. He would helplessly crouch in a corner, trembling.
This self-hatred for his own powerlessness peaked after Mira returned from Demon Ruins Island.
Mira-nee had moved on from the shadows and sorrow of the past, but he was still standing still, still so cowardly.
Elfman wasn't afraid that Mira had regained her magic power and would leave him far behind.
He was afraid that, still only capable of partial Take Over, he could never protect such a powerful sister!
So he wanted to completely control the Beast King, even if that power represented sin!
But he dared not try lightly. If he failed, the consequences would be catastrophic!
Perhaps sensing Elfman's inner torment, Mira had specifically mentioned this "date."
She firmly believed and relied on Chase, who had saved her, to surely help Elfman out of trouble.
No reason. Just a nearly blind trust between companions.
"It's not a 100% guarantee. The main thing..."
Looking at Elfman's longing gaze, Chase's expression was serious. "Depends on whether you can overcome your own fear, Elfman."
His method was simple: fight.
With Mira's successful Satan Soul re-reception as precedent, Elfman's resolve was stronger than ever.
In this state, his chances of successfully receiving the Beast King were high.
The only obstacle was his fear of the consequences of failure.
Fortunately, Chase—now stronger—had absolute confidence he could suppress the Beast King's power, eliminate Elfman's concerns!
And he could use this opportunity to test his newly acquired [Right Arm of the Forbidden One].
With this thought, a magic array lit up at Chase's fingertips.
The next second, his right arm began to be overlaid with thick dark golden markings. Light converged at his wrist, condensing a broken chain.
Powerful magic surged forth, bringing an ancient, oppressive aura.
"That's... Take Over?! How?! Impossible?!!"
"Hey, no way, Chase! I've never seen you use that before!"
Even Loki, lying on the ground, couldn't help exclaiming.
"The manifestation is similar, but strictly speaking, this is still within the category of card magic."
Chase clenched his powerful bronze right fist. "You can think of it as an equipment card."
He wondered, without using other cards, could he alone, with the Right Arm of the Forbidden One, suppress the Beast King's power?
"Come on, Elfman! Let me see your true manliness!"
Chase stepped forward, beckoning to Elfman, battle intent leaping in his eyes.
Infected by this powerful aura, after a moment's thought, Elfman finally let go of all his worries and uneasiness.
This was the first step towards his future!
"Full Take Over: Beast King Soul!!"
Elfman roared, raising his arm high. A dark red magic array suddenly ignited beneath his feet.
Bathed in gloomy black light, his body visibly expanded. His skin thickened. Beast King horns grew from his forehead. His white hair flew wildly in the raging gale.
ROAR!!
Crimson eyes slowly opened. Beast King Elfman threw his head back and let out a violent roar.
From his slightly twisted expression, his rationality didn't seem completely awake.
"Hey, this isn't good."
Loki had somehow already slipped dozens of meters behind a large tree, peeking out at Elfman.
"Expected."
Chase took a deep breath, holding out the Right Arm of the Forbidden One, and flamboyantly met the Beast King's gaze.
As king of beasts, the "Beast King" couldn't tolerate such provocation. He bent his knees and pushed off.
SWOOSH!
His huge body moved incredibly fast, reaching Chase in an instant!
"Nice!"
Chase advanced instead of retreating, meeting the oncoming gale with a hard punch.
BOOM!!
The bronze fist and the Beast King's fist violently collided mid-air, unleashing a violent shockwave.
After a brief stalemate, the ground beneath Chase shattered. With Elfman's angry roar, the monstrous force from his fist sent Chase sliding backward, carving two deep trenches in the earth.
"So this is the Beast King's power... quite heavy..."
Chase shook his slightly numb right arm.
After all, this was the power that had oneshotted an Element 4 member. Although Phantom Lord's S-Class might be somewhat overrated, the attack power of Full Beast King Take Over was undeniable.
As he mused, a shadow fell over him.
Beast King Elfman clasped his fists together and slammed down from above.
BOOM!
The area where Chase stood was smashed into a deep crater. Gravel and dust exploded outward.
From the smoke's center, Chase cleanly backflipped out, pushed off the riverbank stones, and quickly charged back, punching the caught-off-guard Beast King Elfman into the city river.
SPLASH!
His massive body crashed into the water, exploding a tall column of water, spray flying everywhere.
Before The river could calm, but a surge of magical power erupted with a violent roar.
The entire river was cut in half, revealing Beast King Elfman standing on the riverbed mud!
This scene somewhat mirrored Mira manipulating seawater with her magic, though the currently berserk Elfman couldn't yet reach that level.
"A real man's fight should be passionate! Come on, Elfman!"
Chase surged forward with magic, engaging the charging Beast King Elfman in intense close-quarters combat.
ORA ORA ORA ORA!!
Fist-to-fist combat raised clouds of dust. The ground beneath them spiderwebbed with dense cracks, spreading outward!
"Damn it! Just how strong IS Chase?! Relying only on physical strength and one arm to do this..."
Watching from afar, Loki's heart pounded.
Although weakened by Elfman's limited magic, this was still a Beast King that only an S-Class mage could hunt.
And Chase hadn't even used his core card magic!
After prolonged fighting, Chase could clearly feel the Right Arm of the Forbidden One's power increased significantly.
That was its single-card effect: attack power increases with battle.
Eventually, his right arm's strength could completely suppress the berserk Beast King Elfman!
BOOM!
With Chase's final punch, their passionate exchange concluded.
Beast King Elfman, his abdomen was heavily damaged, swayed unsteadily and knelt.
"So he still can't control it..."
Chase sighed softly, his chest slightly heaving from the fierce battle.
His words seemed to touch Beast King Elfman's mind. As if two personalities fought for control, his brow furrowed, his face twisted.
Seconds later, shadow fell over him again as he slowly stood, raising his clenched right fist.
"Honestly, Elfman, I've always believed in your manliness."
Chase glanced at the still red-eyed Beast King Elfman, then a magic array lit up.
He withdrew the Right Arm of the Forbidden One and stepped forward, standing within range of Elfman's heavy punch.
"Hey! Chase! Don't be reckless!"
Loki, startled by his dangerous behavior, quickly shouted a warning.
But Beast King Elfman's fully charged fist had already crashed down!
HUM!
The punch's shockwave swept around Chase, sending gravel flying and making the river tremble.
Loki's eyes widened in disbelief.
Beast King Elfman's fist had stopped less than a finger's width from Chase's head!
"Ch...ase..."
A hoarse voice came hard from Elfman's mouth.
After a moment of calm, this man, who always spoke of manliness, collapsed into tears.
"I... I did it! I defeated that damn thing!"
"Welcome back, Elfman."
Chase smiled, casually hiding the trap card between his fingers back into his deck.
After a short rest...
Elfman nervously tried Full Take Over a few more times. Confirming his rationality wouldn't be consumed by the Beast King's soul, he couldn't wait to ran home to share the joy with Mira-nee.
As his figure disappeared into the fading sunset, only Chase and Loki remained.
"A good outcome, but this was too much. The Master's going to get another scolding..."
Loki couldn't help remarking, surveying the devastated scene.
"Relax. Damage inside Magnolia won't be blamed on Fairy Tail."
Chase waved his hand, casually saying words that left Loki dumbfounded. "I deposited 100 million with the Mayor's Office. They'll deduct the compensation and fines themselves."
"...You really know yourself." Loki gave a thumbs up speechlessly.
The next second, he suddenly reacted, exclaiming, "Wait! What did you say?! 100 million?!!"
"Haha! Just a small goal. You'll understand when you become an S-Class." Chase laughed.
100 million sounded like a lot, but for him, it was just a dozen or so S-Class commissions.
Duelist Soul's card-bursting mechanic meant that to grow stronger, he needed to constantly fight.
And S-Class commissions almost always involve powerful enemies or monsters—perfect for making money and becoming stronger.
So Chase was also Fairy Tail's annual leader in completed S-Class commissions, playfully called a workaholic by Mira, the king of grinders!
"S-Class, huh..."
Loki looked down at the shimmering river, lost in thought.
He remembered his promise to Gray: to team up and help him secure a spot among Fairy Tail's strongest candidates.
But with his fading body, could he hold on until then?
A star unable to return to the sky was destined to fall dimly...
Chase observed Loki's expression change. "Have you really never thought about returning to the Celestial Spirit World?"
Loki didn't answer immediately, silently staring at the river.
His shattered glasses reflected the light, hiding his expression.
He knew Chase had known he was a Celestial Spirit for a year now.
"I broke the contract between spirit and master. I committed an unforgivable taboo."
"Whatever the consequences, it's the sin I deserve to bear..."
Seeing his dejected, self-blaming state, Chase hesitated but ultimately chose silence.
No one but Lucy could solve Loki's problem.
He could, with words, help Loki step out of the shadows and regain hope.
Better to leave the whole trouble process to Lucy and let her deal with it.
Some guild rookie: Thanks a lot.
Returning to the guild, all of Magnolia was shrouded in night.
Dim light spilled from the open door. Chase spotted a slim figure in black tights dancing strangely on a table.
"Yo, Chase! You're back? Where are Loki and Elfman? Date go well?"
Bickslow greeted him with three rapid-fire questions, his dance steps never stopping.
This guy was almost obsessed with dance. Others fought, he danced. Others flirted, he danced. Others took commissions, he still danced.
No wonder he could never save up to study at his dream dance, "Minstrel."
In some ways, he'd probably get along well with that Uchiha guy.
Chase mused.
"They went home."
Chase glanced around the quiet guild. "Bickslow, you're on night duty?"
"Yep! Chase, wanna dance with me?"
"You should ask Erza."
"..."
One sentence left Bickslow speechless:
Erza's dancing wasn't dancing. It was a demon's lullaby!
Everyone who danced with Erza ended up vomiting and passing out.
Truly a cradle!
Chase chatted casually with Bickslow, but his attention was always focused on the ceiling above.
The dimly lit second floor.
Two figures, one human and one cat, stood before the S-Class request board.
Natsu and Happy, having sneaked in, whispered quietly.
"Natsu, which one should we pick?"
"Hmm... First time. Let's pick the easiest-looking one."
"How about Galuna Island? Lucy would probably really want that key in the additional reward."
"Sounds good! That's the one!"
"Aye~"
***
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