BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Under the consecutive bombardment of the holy light meteor shower, the area where NatsuGray stood erupted in a massive explosion.
Terrifying energy scattered in all directions, traveling along the frozen lake surface to the shore, bringing with it violent tremors.
The icy ground cracked open on the spot. Lake water surged out again, lifting up huge chunks of floating ice.
The Fairy Tail members looked up. The lake surface was empty. NatsuGray was nowhere to be seen.
"No way! Blasted into pieces?!" Lucy turned pale with fright, covering her head and gasping.
"Not even close! The current strongest wizard of Fairy Tail—how could he be taken down that easily?!"
An echo sounded. The water at the shore suddenly burst with scorching flames.
NatsuGray leaped high from within, sending up large splashes.
Both of his hands burned with raging flames. His aura was fierce and wild.
"He dove to the bottom of the lake to avoid the attack while preparing a counterattack, huh?"
Mira, standing next to Lucy, saw through it at a glance. "To react like that the moment Mirror Force locked onto him—truly worthy of being Natsu and Gray's fusion."
Natsu might usually be an idiot, but there's no denying that his battle IQ is genuinely high.
Add to that Gray's calm and analytical mind, and NatsuGray as a combat opponent is an incredibly troublesome existence!
Especially since he is extremely familiar with Chase's magic, Duelist Soul, allowing him to recognize card effects instantly and mount effective counters!
"If Chase doesn't bring out his full strength, he might actually lose this time~"
Mira looked toward Chase ahead, shrouded in flames, and offered her assessment with a smile.
Even so, her tone remained quite calm.
"Natsu and Gray's fusion is this strong?!" Newbie Lucy found it hard to believe.
She knew better than anyone how strong Chase was.
As she marveled, the flames in NatsuGray's hands—now mid-jump—had been pushed to their limit.
"Heh heh. In such a short time, you definitely don't have time to set a face-down card, do you, Chase!"
NatsuGray grinned, swung his arms, and merged the flames in his left hand with those in his right, forming the Fire Dragon's Blazing Flame.
Then he released Ice-Make Magic, forcibly compressing the blazing giant fireball onto his right fist, now covered in ice.
"Take this! Ice Flame Dragon's Explosive Frost Fist!!"
Twin flames erupted, bursting with tremendous force, propelling NatsuGray through the air in a rapid dive toward Chase on the shore.
Like he said before—he knew Chase's fighting style and weaknesses all too well.
If he could bypass the cards and engage Chase in close combat, victory was simply a matter of time!
However, to his surprise, Chase stood there calmly, showing no sign of drawing a card at all.
Did he give up because there's no time?
No! That was definitely not Chase's style! This guy was surely plotting something!
Because he understood Chase's magic so well, NatsuGray had been on guard the entire time. He could swear there was absolutely no face-down card beneath Chase's feet!
Despite his doubts, it was clear: as a fusion of Natsu and Gray, NatsuGray wasn't the type to be overly cautious. Whatever tricks you have, I'll find out once I hit you!
Before the attack even landed, waves of ice and fire came crashing down from all directions, making the onlookers in the distance extremely uncomfortable.
At the front of the group, Chase watched NatsuGray growing larger in his pupils—and still stood motionless.
Finally, the overwhelmingly powerful Ice Flame Dragon's Explosive Frost Fist arrived. It smashed down hard!
BOOM!!
A terrifying shockwave swept in all directions. The neatly built lakefront stone bricks and the surrounding area turned to ash in an instant!
Thick smoke mixed with flames and ice shards billowed out, concealing the scene inside.
Forgetting about the destroyed lakeshore, the Fairy Tail members held their breath and stared intently, desperate to know whether Chase had been taken down by that punch.
"He really didn't have any trap. It landed cleanly—"
Deep within the smoke, NatsuGray, still holding his punching posture, wasn't excited at all. Instead, his face was filled with horror. "Damn it, I went too far. That guy Chase wouldn't have—"
I... I killed Chase?!
"Don't flatter yourself. You're still far from being able to do that."
Chase's voice slowly emerged, accompanied by a powerful, surging gale that blew away the thick dust.
The view suddenly became clear. NatsuGray, who had been panicking just a second ago, shrank his pupils sharply.
Chase stood firmly on the ground, where traces of ice and fire remained. The area beneath his feet was completely unharmed.
His fist—was stopped by a single hand?!
"Hey, hey, am I seeing things? Chase used only his physical strength to block such a terrifying blow?"
"His body is strong, sure, but that's the fusion of Natsu and Gray!"
The Fairy Tail members, now able to see the whole scene, found it equally unbelievable and gasped repeatedly.
"No! Look at Chase's arm!" Cana noticed something unusual about Chase.
Everyone looked up and indeed found something: the entire right arm with which Chase gripped NatsuGray's fist was crimson red, as if clad in a layer of red armor.
Those were—dragon scales?!?!
NatsuGray, being closest, saw it clearly. Through the contact between their hands, he keenly sensed an indescribable, sacred aura.
"Pay attention, NatsuGray. What I'm about to use next is the power of a god!"
As if to answer the confusion in NatsuGray's heart and that of his companions, Chase narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He pushed the Sky Dragon's God Slayer magic to its limit.
Hum! Hum! Hum!!
A storm of dark gold magic power erupted from within his body, then in the blink of an eye, it was dyed an even deeper crimson.
Just standing nearby and watching, his companions instinctively felt their hearts tighten and chills run down their spines. Their bodies, influenced by the divine presence, trembled uncontrollably!
"Chase's magic nature has changed. An ability I've never seen—"
The only one who could remain calm was Mira, an S-Class wizard. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and her expression became unusually serious.
"Th-That... if I'm not mistaken, it should be—"
Behind Mira, Lucy cautiously poked her head out, watching the dragon-shaped phantom formed by the crimson magic around Chase, and spoke timidly, "Slifer the Sky Dragon!"
"Aye~! It really looks just like that God Card Chase mentioned before!" Happy flew down from above.
The group: "God Card?!"
On the battlefield, NatsuGray—who had Natsu's memories—also recognized the imposing phantom of the Sky Dragon.
After a moment of brief surprise, excitement and passion replaced the shock and panic.
"I don't know what's going on, but in other words—"
NatsuGray raised the corners of his mouth, "Chase, you've become a Dragon Slayer wizard too, right?"
"Let me correct you slightly: a God Slayer wizard."
With that, Chase took a heavy step forward, channeling all of his released magical aura into his right arm.
"And this is—the Sky Dragon's Divine Eye Judgment!"
Thunderbolts raced. Holy radiance shone.
Chase pushed forward with his palm. NatsuGray was blasted away by the ultimate force, forced to become a speeding streak of light, shattering the massive floating ice on the lake like foam.
In an instant, he crossed over a thousand meters and crashed heavily into the mountains on the opposite shore!
***
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