"Damn—"
The moment his heavy kick landed, Chase immediately regretted it.
Because the direction Ikaruga was sent flying was straight toward his own house!
CRASH!
The fragile little building couldn't withstand that instant explosive impact. In no time, walls shattered, pillars broke.
After a few shakes, the building collapsed with a roar, reduced to rubble amidst the billowing dust.
This fight has been lost to grandma's house!
Chase's mouth twitched. He felt an unbearable ache in his wallet.
At the same time, a sharp blade light cut through the dust, followed by the sound of wooden clogs stepping over gravel and debris.
"Completely lacking in gentlemanly manners, Mr. Chase. A man like you will have a very hard time finding a girlfriend."
Ikaruga walked out slowly, gripping her long sword. Her lazy, indifferent eyes now held a bit more cold.
A trace of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Her hair, tied up with two circular buns, had become messy. Her clean, neat white kimono was covered in dust. She looked quite embarrassed.
This showed that she, a master of assassination techniques, had the classic weakness of an assassin: high attack, low defense.
"I'm not the kind of noble man who practices so-called 'gentlemanly conduct' toward someone trying to assassinate me." Chase stretched his muscles and smiled.
"I see. That statement... strangely appeals to me."
Ikaruga raised her hand and wiped the blood from her lips. Looking at Chase, now surrounded by the three summoned knights protecting him at the center, she sighed regretfully. "Unfortunately, this one has never failed an assassination mission. You are destined to die tonight."
Even so, she slowly sheathed her blade without any hurry to continue her attack.
She knew very well that since the initial ambush—her best chance to take down Chase—had failed, and the card wizard had now reacted, the ensuing battle would not be easy.
If it were a one-on-one duel, she—extremely confident in her swordsmanship—would not be afraid.
However, this was Magnolia after all. If the fight dragged on, more Fairy Tail wizards would come. That would directly declare this assassination mission a failure!
So she would have to activate Plan B.
Thinking this, Ikaruga's eyes sharpened, and a cruel smile appeared on her lips.
Chase frowned, noticing the change in her expression.
Suddenly, as if guessing a certain possibility, his pupils sharply contracted.
The Three Crows squad usually acted together. Yet throughout the entire assassination attempt, he had not seen Vidaldus—the long-haired, perverted guitarist.
Moreover, with all that commotion, Lucy, who lived nearby, could not possibly have failed to notice!
Which meant—
"AAHH!!"
A sudden cry of pain confirmed Chase's bad feeling.
He whipped his head around. Not far down the street, a manic Vidaldus was walking toward them with a sinister grin.
Beside him, Lucy's face was twisted in pain, tightly bound by long hair. She struggled fiercely but could not break free.
"Do you know what the consequences of this will be..."
Chase's eyes changed instantly. Like a beast whose reverse scale had been touched.
BOOM!!
Ferocious, terrifying dark gold magic power suddenly exploded. A wild storm formed around Chase, lifting gravel everywhere and making his clothes flutter loudly.
Under this wave of energy, the entire street trembled violently!
"This one didn't want to do this either. But there was no choice. Mr. Chase, you are more troublesome than any previous assassination target."
A few cold sweat droplets formed on Ikaruga's forehead. She looked calm on the surface, but inside, she was horrified.
This magic power—so unsettling it makes the heart race—is not even weaker than Jellal himself!
Are all of Fairy Tail's S-Class wizards monsters like this?
The intelligence was wrong...
"Gehahaha! The beat is already fired up. This is the soul of rock!"
Vidaldus was also startled by Chase's explosive magic power. His already manic expression twisted further. The guitar in his hands continuously emitted sharp sound waves.
A guy like this is much more worth assassinating!
"That's how it is. If you don't want your comrade to get hurt, just obediently give up resisting."
Ikaruga's chest rose and fell rapidly as she used her breathing to relax her body, thereby easing the pressure brought by the magic storm. Her voice was low. "You have ten seconds to decide."
Chase's eyes shifted. He looked at Lucy, whose neck was tightly bound by hair.
His brow furrowed deeply. He appeared to be tangled in pain and angry—at least, that's how it looked on the surface.
Seeing this, Vidaldus let out a twisted laugh, stepped forward, and contracted his hair, tightening the pressure around Lucy's neck.
But this time, the expected scream did not come.
Lucy gritted her teeth firmly, refusing to make a single sound.
I don't know what's happening, but the situation is clear enough: these two are here for Chase!
I absolutely, absolutely cannot become Chase's burden!
"Still not giving up, Mr. Chase? You have only five seconds left."
Ikaruga pressed closer. "Or is this young lady's life of no concern?"
Hearing this, Chase's momentum weakened. The wild magic storm around him gradually subsided.
Ikaruga rejoiced inwardly. She reached out, gripped the hilt of the long sword at her waist, and prepared to strike.
The moment the magic storm dissipated, she would unleash her strongest slash and complete this assassination mission!
"Damn woman, what do you think you're doing?!"
Just then, Vidaldus's alarmed voice suddenly rang out.
Lucy's beautiful eyes revealed determination. Ignoring the pain of suffocation, she used all her strength to step forward.
This was not an attempt to break free. Quite the opposite—she wanted to struggle so violently that the hair around her neck would tighten even more!
"If you want me to become Chase's burden—I'd rather die!!!"
Lucy finally spoke. She shouted loudly, answering Vidaldus's question with unwavering determination.
Vidaldus froze on the spot. The feedback from his hair told him very clearly that this incredibly weak woman was definitely not bluffing.
She really intended to die!
Guild comrades... can actually go this far...
Even the cold-blooded Ikaruga showed a shocked, unbelieving expression.
In contrast, Chase appeared unusually calm.
HUM!
A magic circle suddenly lit up beneath his feet!
"A card?!" Ikaruga's face drastically changed.
Because she had gathered intelligence in advance, she had been watching Chase's every move the entire time, guarding against those possible face-down trap cards.
When did he—
Looking at the magic storm gradually weakening and dissipating around Chase, Ikaruga realized the key issue. Her breath caught.
This monster saw through my caution in such a short instant—and used the magic storm to cover up the fluctuations of his card magic?!
He... predicted my prediction?!
"Mūgetsu-ryū—"
Having guessed the reason, Ikaruga quickly grabbed her sword, trying to forcibly interrupt Chase's card magic.
But how could Chase give her that chance?
"Trap Card — Swap. Activate!"
SWOOSH!
Lucy, who had been struggling forward against the hair binding, suddenly felt her body lighten.
After a brief, intense feeling of weightlessness, she opened her eyes. What came into view were the brilliant, star-filled skies—Chase was carrying her in a princess hold.
Jack's Knight, used as the exchange material, was shredded into pieces by Vidaldus's hair.
"Chase..." Lucy's eyes shimmered. She felt immensely reassured.
"Sorry, Lucy. You were frightened."
Chase gently calmed Lucy down. When he looked up at the approaching Ikaruga, the tenderness in his eyes had been replaced by fury.
"You dare make my cute little sister cry..."
"Then you'd better prepare yourselves!!"
***
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