Seeing Chase and NatsuGray put away their magic, Erza finally relaxed a little.
Thankfully, the shop that maintained and repaired her equipment was in the next town over. If she had come back any later, who knows how things might have turned out!
"Oh ho, the Fairy Queen. Didn't expect you back so soon."
NatsuGray crossed his arms and slowly walked up to Erza, his eyes looking slightly downward, exuding an arrogant, condescending attitude.
The strand of cherry-black hair falling across his forehead swayed in the breeze—cool and cocky.
After experiencing the immense power of fusion, he was honestly a bit full of himself. He didn't regard Erza, whom he usually feared like a tiger, with any respect. In fact, he was itching for a fight.
He wanted to use this chance to get back at her for everything he'd endured—through combat!
But before he could even declare his challenge, a sharp SMACK rang out. The moment they faced each other, Erza gave him a hard slap across the face.
"What did you call me?"
Erza's gaze was terrifyingly cold, like a demon crawling out of the abyss.
The once-arrogant NatsuGray immediately shrank back, tucking his head down, and muttered, "E-Erza..."
That clean, ruthless slap to his face instantly awakened the instinctual fear that bottom-of-the-food-chain creatures have toward apex predators.
Even though he could trade blows with Chase, that didn't change the fact that he was the fusion of Natsu and Gray.
And who were Natsu and Gray most afraid of? No need to even think about it!
Against her, NatsuGray was suffering from double the suppression—thanks to his lineage!
SMACK!
Another slap landed on his other cheek, leaving NatsuGray completely dumbfounded.
He met Erza's sharp gaze for a second, and all the spine of the "guild's strongest wizard" vanished without a trace.
"I'm sorry, Lady Erza!"
NatsuGray was genuinely cowed. His eyes went wider and clearer than a university student's.
"Mm. That's more like it."
"I don't care whether you're Natsu or Gray. Messing around with Chase and the others is fine."
The ferocious Erza reached out, grabbed the dragon scale scarf around NatsuGray's neck, yanked him close to her face, and threatened, "But act tough in front of me, and I'll kill you."
NatsuGray couldn't muster even a hint of resistance. He nodded vigorously, obedient as could be: "Aye~!"
The fear etched deep into his genes instantly turned him into Happy.
"Cutting off a duel between men so abruptly is quite rude, Erza."
Chase descended from mid-air and landed steadily on the shattered ground.
Hearing this, Erza released NatsuGray and walked over with a grim expression.
NatsuGray, having escaped disaster, watched smugly, eager for the drama: Don't let me be the only one getting hit. Go on, Erza. Let that bastard Chase taste those slaps too!
Under his expectant gaze, Erza stopped in front of Chase, who wore a smile on his face. She stood silently.
Thud~
The next second, the crisp sound of a human head making intimate contact with steel armor rang out.
Erza moved quickly. She spread her arms and pulled Chase into an embrace—in a forceful way that left no room for refusal.
"You're just letting Chase off easy like that? Where are the slaps?!" NatsuGray protested.
Erza glanced back, and his discontent vanished instantly.
"Chase is very strong. Conventional suppression doesn't work well on him, so I have to use love to reform him," she explained seriously.
Chase, pressed firmly against her cold steel chest plate and unable to move, couldn't help but remark, "Your love is really hard..."
Although the battle had drained a fair amount of his energy, he could have dodged Erza if he wanted to. There just wasn't any need.
By this point, he had mostly finished testing the data on both fusion and God Slayer magic. The only thing left was a full-power blast.
Besides, Erza had a point.
If they really leveled this mountain range, the hefty compensation would indeed be a problem—not that he couldn't afford it, given his resources.
Might as well give Erza face and call it here.
With that thought, Chase raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
A magic circle lit up. Magic power rippled outward. A dazzling white glow enveloped NatsuGray, who slowly split into two separate forms.
"So gross!" x2
Back to normal, Natsu and Gray looked at each other and quickly put distance between themselves.
Remembering the feeling of their bodies merging, they both turned their heads and dry-heaved.
For the record, NatsuGray's scarf and shorts ended up on Natsu. Gray, on the other hand, returned to his most original, honest state—completely naked.
Seeing this, Erza finally released Chase and looked at the two of them, deep in thought.
She had learned about Chase's "Polymerization" card from Happy before coming here, but seeing Natsu and Gray separate right before her eyes still felt unbelievable.
This kind of magic was far more powerful than ordinary Unison Raid!
And so, the battle between Slifer
the Sky Dragon and the Ice Flame Dragon came to a complete end. The four of them returned to the new guild hall construction site across the lake.
"Erza, how could you do this?! They didn't decide a winner. What are we supposed to do about our betting pool?!"
"Yeah, yeah! I was ready to make a killing and buy a ton of fish!"
"At least let them finish their final attack! It's not like Chase can't afford the damages!"
The guild members who had joined the betting pool were super unhappy, grumbling at Erza.
Erza raised an eyebrow. The noisy scene instantly fell dead silent.
"What's this, Macao? Looks like you've got a lot to say?"
Macao, who had been half a step too slow and was now shielded by many of his comrades, sweated profusely: "N-No, not at all! Absolutely not!"
Just then, Mira walked over gracefully from the side.
"Erza, you came just in time. If they kept fighting, they'd start disturbing the fish in the lake and the little animals in the mountains," she said with a smile.
"That concern is a bit unnecessary..."
Lucy followed behind, glanced at the utterly wrecked lake and mountains ahead, and muttered quietly, "The little animals are probably sleeping very peacefully now."
The kind where they don't wake up.
"Lucy! Why didn't you stop Chase earlier?!" Erza suddenly scolded.
"Ah... Ah?!"
Lucy, startled by the sharp reprimand, bristled like a frightened cat. She pointed at herself in disbelief, eyes wide open. "Me?! Stop those two—no, three—monsters?!"
"Fine. I can't be bothered with you anymore." Erza held her forehead and sighed.
"She's serious! And she got disappointed so fast!"
Lucy slumped. Suddenly, she felt incredibly embarrassed.
Sorry for letting you down, Erza!
"Aye~ Don't worry, Lucy. Even though you're useless, at least your courage isn't big at all," Happy comforted warmly.
"Thanks. You know, shutting up would also be perfectly fine." Lucy felt even more exhausted.
"Speaking of which, Chase, what exactly is this new 'Polymerization' magic card about?"
Erza glanced at Natsu and Gray, who were happily arguing in the background, then turned to Chase. "And that magic you used earlier—why did it feel like Dragon Slayer Magic?"
Hearing this, the other guild members all perked up with interest.
Having witnessed NatsuGray's power, they wanted to know more details too.
"Hehe~ Let me, the cute and charming one, explain it to Erza!"
Dark Magician Girl stepped forward voluntarily, raising her hand high.
After her explanation, everyone finally understood the principles behind Polymerization and God Slayer magic, and they broke out in exclamations.
No need to say much about Polymerization—the fact that NatsuGray could perform at an S-Class level showed its power intuitively.
As for God Slayer magic, which bore the name of gods, they had never heard of it before. This was their first introduction to an ancient Lost Magic used for "killing gods."
"See? That flame idiot and I just don't get along. Hey Loki, if we fused, that'd be a real power combo!"
Naked Gray stepped away from the heated argument, turned, and found Loki hiding in the crowd.
He and Loki had a good relationship. The two had even agreed to team up for this year's S-Class Wizard promotion trial.
"Sorry, Gray. I'm not really in the mood to move right now."
Loki adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. His voice sounded weak.
"Are you okay?" Gray noticed his fatigue.
"I'm fine. Just a bit tired lately. I'm heading back."
Loki didn't want his guildmates to know his secret. He shoved his hands in his pockets, said his goodbyes, and turned to leave.
"That guy... did he get his heart broken?" Gray muttered quietly, watching his retreating figure.
Elsewhere, Natsu had sought out Elfman, the manliest man in the guild.
"A real man!"
"I'm fired up!"
The two shared the same temperament and hit it off immediately.
Lucy watched from the side, sweating: A monster and a powerhouse—just thinking about that combo makes me want to stay far away!
"Chase's Polymerization seems to make 1+1 greater than 2. If we fuse, we can protect Levy-chan even better!"
Jet and Droy of Team Shadow Gear were both excited.
Lucy: Aside from not having to fight over carrying Levy's luggage, whether you two fuse or not makes no difference...
"I'd really like to try fusing with Lu-chan too!"
Levy walked over, smiling, and took Lucy's hand.
"Even you, Levy-chan?"
"Because fusion just seems really interesting."
Levy unconsciously glanced at Lucy's generous chest and blushed.
"What's interesting about two girls? Lucy, fuse with me instead!"
The old pervert Macao came sniffing around. "A union between a guild veteran and a rookie is the strongest!"
Lucy's mouth twitched. She stepped back two paces. Your abacus beads are hitting me in the face!
Romeo: "Hey, hey, Dad?!"
Wakaba: "Damn it! He beat me to it!"
In the corner, Alzack and Bisca blushed bright red.
Just the word "fusion" made this passionately-in-love couple's hearts race wildly.
At the same time, other guild members had also found their own fusion partners: Cana and Laki, Warren and Nab, Lidas and Bickslow.
Marcus, who used Sand Magic, spotted a blind spot: "You idiots! When it comes to fusion, obviously the best partner is our strongest guild master!"
Mm. The idea is novel. But it's a bit much to ask of Chase...
The group excitedly discussed various fusion possibilities.
In a distant, dark corner.
Juvia bit her collar, struggling to suppress the urge to run over, kneel before Chase, beg for a card, and merge ice and water with Gray-sama. For now, she was still an enemy of Fairy Tail.
"What they're saying has me interested. I wonder what fusing with Erza would be like?"
Mira rested her delicate white chin on one hand, imagining a fusion between herself and Erza.
"If that happened, we'd have no rivals left in this guild."
Erza stood with one hand on her hip, a supremely confident smile on her lips.
As longtime rivals who had fought each other for years, she knew exactly how strong Mira was at full power.
"Erza and Mira-nee would be way too unfair!"
Lucy and Levy, having just turned down the two old perverts, walked over.
"About that, I'd actually like to try it too. But unfortunately, I can't do that yet." Chase spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness.
The conditions for activating Polymerization were closely tied to the strength of the fusion materials.
Obviously, with his current magic power—even with various card buffs—he couldn't make Mira and Erza successfully fuse.
That Re-equip and Take Over combination was undoubtedly the most anticipated one. As for the others in the guild, Chase wasn't particularly interested.
Even the fusion of Natsu and Gray didn't produce a card. Let alone them!
Still, when he had nothing better to do, he could always mess with these people for fun—and dig deeper into Polymerization's possibilities~
"Speaking of which, I noticed this when I came back."
Erza glanced toward a remote corner piled with construction materials, her expression slightly serious. "Isn't that one of Phantom Lord's Element 4?"
"Yes, I think her name is Juvia."
Mira glanced at Juvia, who quickly hid, tilted her head, and smiled. "She's been there since construction on the new guild hall started. Every day before sunrise, she's waiting at the entrance."
The Phantom Lord incident had just passed. Juvia's hiding skills weren't exactly top-notch. It was only natural she'd be noticed.
"Phantom Lord? Element 4? An enemy?!"
Newbie Lucy obviously lacked that kind of observational skill. She couldn't help but jump when she heard that.
"No need to be nervous. She doesn't seem hostile," Mira said calmly.
Chase picked up the conversation and added with a smile, "To be more precise, she's fallen in love with someone in our guild."
"Ara~ Chase noticed too, huh?" Mira also had a smile on her lips.
"In love? Who?! Who is it?!"
Hearing that, Lucy, who had been full of concern just a moment ago, immediately wore a melon-eating expression. Even Levy couldn't help but subtly perk up her ears.
"The master seems to have a special plan, so don't spread this around for now~"
Mira lifted the hem of her wine-red skirt, stepped forward, and whispered the man's name into Lucy and Levy's ears.
"NANI?!" x2
Lucy and Levy still couldn't help but gasp.
It wasn't that their reaction was too big. After all, Gray was indeed handsome. But that guy was also a complete, utter exhibitionist pervert!
And right now, he was still standing there naked, chatting animatedly with Cana!
As if sensing their strange gazes, Gray suddenly looked up in their direction.
Lucy and Levy were so scared they nearly jumped, quickly hiding behind Mira and Erza.
"How weird. What are those people messing around with? Acting all mysterious."
Gray scratched his head, completely confused.
***
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