"Chase! Over here!"
Mira, sitting at the makeshift counter chatting with Lucy, was the first to notice Chase entering the construction site. She waved her arm enthusiastically.
Hearing her, Chase skirted around the chaotic zone where Natsu and Gray had already started one of Fairy Tail's daily brawls, following the edge of the fence.
"Morning, Mira. Lucy."
He greeted them and casually sat down beside Lucy.
"Morning, Chase."
"Morning, Chase!"
With that, Mira leaned down slightly and pulled out a hidden breakfast from under the counter. "Here. These are tough times, so just make do with something simple."
A pink plate slid toward Chase. He looked down to find a carton of milk, a red bean bun, and two boiled eggs.
Though it was "just making do," by breakfast nutrition standards, it was quite decent.
Chase didn't stand on ceremony. He unwrapped the bun and bit right into it.
Lucy, however, narrowed her eyes and noticed something: the quality of the bun and the packaging of the milk were completely different from the "work meal" Mira had given her earlier!
"I happened to pass by the best bakery in town and picked these up. How are they?" Mira blinked and smiled.
Lucy: 'Happened to pass by'?!
"Not bad, but—"
Chase glanced at the half-eaten bun in his hand. "You just bought these? Why are they still warm?"
Considering that Natsu, Gray, and the others were already here, he hadn't arrived particularly early. By all rights, the buns should have gone cold by now.
"Because I've been keeping them warm against my chest," Mira said with a sweet smile.
"Huh?!" Chase suddenly felt the bun had taken on a hint of milkiness.
"Just kidding! There's a special magic warmer."
With that, Mira pulled out a pink metal box from under the counter, something resembling a microwave.
No batteries, no power cord. Just inject magic into the crystal ball on top, and it worked.
"I see. That's a relief."
Chase sighed in relief and continued enjoying his breakfast.
"…"
Mira's gentle smile freezes instantly.
This damn card freak. 'That's a relief'? What's that supposed to mean?!
Sensing the danger, Lucy flinched and silently scooted her chair away from Chase.
Just as Mira was about to take over Satan Soul and get a proper answer, a whoosh cut through the air. A hard hat came flying from the brawl.
Chase, who was in the middle of peeling a boiled egg, was facing away but reacted quickly. Without even looking, he caught it firmly.
Seeing the hard hat hovering steadily before him, Mira smiled faintly and abandoned the idea of transforming.
Whoosh~!
Right after, a high-flung reflective construction vest descended from above and, as if guided by GPS, landed squarely on Lucy's head.
Since she'd moved away earlier, even if Chase had noticed, he couldn't have helped.
"By the way, where are the Master and Erza?" Chase asked as he ate his egg.
"The verdict for Phantom Lord and Jose comes out today, so the Master was called to the Council early this morning."
Mira propped her chin on her hand and tilted her head thoughtfully. "As for Erza…"
"She probably went to maintain her equipment. I heard her mention it last night."
"I see. No wonder those guys are making such a racket on the construction site."
"Well, a lively atmosphere is nice too. It's always been like this~"
As Chase and Mira chatted, Lucy—who had just removed the reflective vest Gray had tossed away—was hit again, this time by Elfman's flying sandal.
The guild's newest member, having taken all the hits, slunk back to Chase's side, where she felt safe. Internally, she chastised herself for her earlier escape.
But what could she do? She wasn't Erza. She couldn't just charge in and punch those monsters one by one!
She'd get destroyed!
"That's all well and good, but if they keep this up, the new guild will be stillborn," Chase said.
Finishing his milk, Chase slowly stood up, stretched his limbs, and walked toward the chaotic crowd.
"My, my. A little exercise after a meal is quite nice too," Mira said, her faint smile still in place.
"W-Wait! If Chase joins in, the new guild is really doomed, isn't it?!" Lucy cried out.
In the span of a few words, Chase had already reached Natsu, Gray, and the others.
"Hey! Don't you think you've had enough?!"
Lucy was stunned by the Erza-like tone. He's actually going to stop them?!
"If you're going to fight, at least make it interesting. This petty scuffling is pathetic!"
Lucy: He thinks it's not chaotic enough!!
Hum!
Chase's magic erupted outward.
Sensing the terrifying aura, the fighting guild members' fierce expressions instantly turned clear. They all stopped throwing punches.
Once he had everyone's attention, light wove between Chase's fingertips, and a card materialized.
"No way... He's going to use that Spell Card here?"
Lucy recognized it.
That's right—it was Polymerization, which she had witnessed just last night.
This was a rare opportunity. Chase wanted to further test the effects of Fusion and al
so put his Sky Dragon God-Slaying Magic—honed over several days—into actual combat.
After all, practice was the most effective test of all.
Based on these two goals, the fusion subjects needed to be relatively evenly matched, with sufficiently distinctive magic.
And with a little personal preference thrown in, Natsu and Gray were the perfect "materials." Chase had his eyes on them.
"Spell Card: Polymerization, activate!"
Given how much these two hated each other—ice and fire—they would never willingly agree to fuse. So Chase didn't even bother greeting them. He just activated the card.
Hum!
The Fusion magic circle instantly formed beneath their feet.
"Fusion? Hey, Chase! Wait, I don't want to fuse with this perverted ice freak, aaaahhh!!"
"F-Fuse? What's that supposed to mean, you idiot fireball?!"
Natsu, who had seen Fusion before, was resistant. Gray, who had no idea what was happening, broke out in goosebumps.
They could only watch helplessly as the light of Fusion engulfed them, dragging them toward the center of the circle.
In an instant, blinding light flooded the entire site.
Before the other guild members could figure out what was happening, a biting, freezing storm howled outward, making everyone shiver violently.
After the freezing wind came a dry, scorching wave of heat, as if they were deep inside a furnace.
From within this bizarre dual hell of ice and fire, a figure radiating strange yet powerful magic slowly stepped forward, coming into view!
***
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!