"No way? Ice exploded into blazing flames like bombs?!"
"Perfect conversion between Ice-Make Magic and Fire Dragon Slayer Magic—this is even stronger than Unison Raid!"
"S-So strong!"
Watching the violent flames exploding mid-air, Macao and the others stared in stunned disbelief, clearly feeling the tangible change brought by the fusion.
If it were just Natsu and Gray fighting together, they could never pull off something like this!
The terrifying chain explosion lasted for dozens of seconds. As the commotion gradually subsided, a figure fell from the depths of the thick smoke and landed steadily on the frozen lake surface.
Cannon fodder—uh, no—the Elusive Elf Swordsman held his greatsword horizontally in front of him, his resolute, fearless gaze fixed on NatsuGray across from him through the blade.
"Phew, that was close!"
Dark Magician Girl, who should have been sent back to the deck, appeared in front of the group on the shore, reflecting on the danger she'd just escaped.
Chase had activated his face-down Trap Card, "Swap," summoning the Elusive Elf Swordsman—who cannot be destroyed in battle—to switch places with her.
The purpose wasn't to minimize losses, nor was it because he cared about Dark Magician Girl. Rather—
"And you have the nerve to call someone else an idiot?! Even if this is an internal battle, you'd better stay sharp!"
Chase gave Dark Magician Girl a solid thump on the head with his fist.
That's right. He just wanted to cure Dark Magician Girl of her carelessness and teach this idiot a lesson.
Back when she broke through the ice pillar, she had plenty of time to notice something was off about the ice shards—but she got too full of!
"Boo..." Dark Magician Girl rubbed her head pitifully.
"Chase, be gentler with girls!" Mira stepped forward to protect Dark Magician Girl.
If it were Lucy—who was tougher—Mira would just stand by laughing "Ara ara." But Dark Magician Girl, whom she already regarded as a little sister, was different.
Dark Magician Girl's eyes darted around. She turned and threw herself into Mira's arms, sobbing, "Boo hoo hoo! Mira-nee, look what my master did to me!"
Lucy watched her expert aegyo act with wide eyes: Oops—I might have just discovered Dark Magician Girl's hidden attribute!
"That's right, that's right! Forget about that card game addict Chase. Let reliable big brothers protect you!"
"Dark Magician Girl, you know I'm always happy to help with this kind of thing."
Macao and Wakaba, the two old perverts, caught the scent and came sniffing around.
Lucy: You're not protecting her—you're obviously trying to take advantage of her!
One kind glare from Mira was enough to make them back down.
Over here, peaceful and harmonious. Over there, on the frozen lake, after several probing attacks, NatsuGray successfully defeated the Elusive Elf Swordsman blocking his path.
As guildmates, he (they) naturally knew the Elusive Elf Swordsman's special effect: as long as you attack with slightly stronger force, its "cannot be destroyed" effect won't trigger.
Just as the Elusive Elf Swordsman returned to the deck, Chase flicked a card from his fingertips. The glow of a magic circle flashed.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Three swords of light descended from the sky. The Binding Force activated, restraining NatsuGray in place.
"Lightforce Sword, huh? This magic won't stop the Ice Flame Dragon's advance!"
Standing at the center of the light swords, NatsuGray clenched both fists, unleashing surging magical power.
Ice condensed on the surface of all three light swords simultaneously, followed by searing flames. Ice and fire alternated like this again and again.
After several cycles, just as the Binding Force's strength was nearly worn down, NatsuGray roared, exploded with power, and shattered the light swords into pieces!
"Oh ho—you even used physics. Not bad."
Chase wasn't surprised. He clapped his hands and offered a compliment.
If the fused NatsuGray couldn't even do that much, then there'd be no need for Chase to bring out the Sky Dragon's God Slayer magic.
"Hey, Chase! I sensed the magic fluctuation earlier. You already set that Trap Card under your own feet, didn't you?!"
Standing amidst the countless scattered light particles from the shattered Lightforce Sword, NatsuGray raised his lips in a confident, radiant smile.
"That's right. So? Want to give it a try?"
Judging by the increasingly violent magic pulsing inside this guy, Chase could roughly guess what move he was about to use.
"Then you'd better block it properly. I don't want to get chewed out by the old man afterward!"
Since Gray's personality was included, NatsuGray didn't act as recklessly as Natsu alone would.
With that, NatsuGray took a deep breath, leaned back slightly, and puffed out both cheeks, bulging with magical particles.
At the same time, his hands weren't idle either, making the standard gesture for releasing Ice-Make Magic.
From a distance, the posture looked impossibly strange. But the Fairy Tail members weren't in the mood to joke. Their eyes went wide with terror.
"N-No way?! He's going to use that move aimed right at us?!"
"Stop it, Natsu! No, Gray! No, NatsuGray! The new guild hall will be flattened!"
"Aye~ Don't panic. Chase is here, isn't he?"
"Then get down from the air, you damn cat!!"
Amid the chaos, NatsuGray stomped down hard with one foot, creating a flashy magic circle where ice and fire linked together.
"Ice Flame Dragon's—"
He suddenly opened his mouth wide, unleashing all the accumulated energy in his throat with a roar, "—ROAR!!!"
BOOM!!
Ice swords, ice axes, ice hammers...
The icy breath carried a dense mass of Ice-Make creations, forming a highly destructive ice torrent that tore through the void and headed straight for the shore where Chase stood.
Everywhere it passed, the moisture in the air froze solid. The surrounding scenery was plunged into pure white, as if a blizzard had struck!
In that instant, Chase flipped open his face-down card: Mirror Force!
Sacred rays of light intertwined, forming an unbreakable energy barrier directly ahead.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
The ice torrent was slammed heavily into Mirror Force, followed by all the Ice-Make creations, which smashed against it in a chaotic mess.
Although the first wave was blocked, the temperature on the shore plummeted rapidly. Even the surface of Mirror Force froze over with a thick layer of ice crystals!
Before Lucy and the others, who had retreated more than ten meters away, could sigh in relief, they saw a single spark flicker at the end of the ice storm.
Then—flames howled. Fire shot into the sky!
The ice, which should have been mutually opposed to fire, became fuel—just like the ice shard bombs earlier—causing the power of the Fire Dragon's Roar to multiply several times over!
BOOM!!!
The sideways-erupting "volcano" hammered away madness.
Under the dual impact of ice and fire, a faint crack sounded. A tiny gap appeared in Mirror Force—it was starting to break!
"About the same power as Erza's Clear Heart: Light Particle Sword—"
Chase stood behind the barrier with his arms crossed, analyzing calmly. "In other words, setting aside uncertain factors like power-up bursts, the fused NatsuGray is at S-Class level."
"Hmm. The boost in strength is pretty respectable."
After finishing his analysis, Chase surged his magic power, raised his arm, and swung it down. The nearly shattered Mirror Force instantly shone brilliantly.
If this had been before defeating Phantom Lord, NatsuGray's Ice Flame Dragon's Roar might have actually pierced through. But now—
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
The effect of Mirror Force activated. Dense holy light tore through the ice and flames, streaked across the sky like a meteor shower, and locked firmly onto NatsuGray standing on the ice!
***
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