Looking at the dark guild members emerging from deep within the forest, Chase did not press his advantage to take down Midnight and the others while they were vulnerable.
His earlier one-versus-four was merely a brief greeting, a small chance to show off in front of the allied forces.
The main reason was actually to reveal the weaknesses of the four enemies' magic to Natsu and the others through that short clash.
After all, to him now, opponents like Midnight were hardly worth mentioning. Especially when he already knew their abilities and weaknesses. Forget getting new cards, he probably could not even break a sweat.
Better to let his teammates have these experience points from the original story.
That said, Chase looked up at the enormous crowd behind Oración Seis. Putting aside their actual strength, hundreds of mages gathered together, screaming madly, certainly created an impressive spectacle.
"S-suddenly there are so many enemies..."
The timid Wendy was frightened. She hid behind a rock, timidly poking out her little head.
"Wendy! Be brave!" Charlene stood with her hands on her hips, frustrated.
"Aye~ Carla, don't be afraid. The cat-man Happy will protect you!" The simp cat Happy looked utterly devoted.
"Tui!" Carla turned her head and spat.
Happy's heart raced. His eyes turned into hearts. "She's shy. How cute~"
"Um..." Watching the blue cat completely lost in his own fantasy, Minerva held her forehead, speechless. She had not expected that her idol's guild had such a character. Well, cat character.
The reactions of the other allied forces, while not as panicked as Wendy's, were still somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the enemy. They were surprised that Oración Seis had gathered all their subordinate dark guilds in advance.
It was clear that they were absolutely determined to obtain Nirvana.
"Now that we have the advantage in numbers, you who claim to be righteous, what do you plan to do next?" Brain stepped forward, leaning on his staff. He narrowed his eyes, watching Chase with great interest.
"No matter how many grunts there are, they are all the same, are they not?"
Chase smiled as he met the man's gaze. Slowly, he raised the cards between his fingers. "What do I plan to do? Obviously..."
"Let the battle begin!"
The moment the words left his mouth, magic circles spun, and a dazzling white light illuminated the area.
Streams of light fanned out behind him. From them emerged Dark Magician Girl, Celtic Guardian, the Three Musketeers of the King (King's Knight, Queen's Knight, Jack's Knight), and Buster Blader.
Seeing Dark Magician Girl strike a peace sign and almost pull off a Wendy-style faceplant, Lucy was startled for a moment. Then she excitedly ran over, grabbed the girl's hands, and began boasting about her triumphant defeat of an Oración Seis member.
Erza, Natsu, and Gray also greeted the other Card Monsters. The members from the other guilds watched with curious eyes.
"So this is your trump card? Even so, it does not change the disparity in numbers," Brain said gravely.
Even as he spoke, however, his attention was drawn to the powerful presences radiating from the summoned Card Monsters. He knew full well that the useless grunts behind him were no match for them.
Still, he did not panic. After all, the entire purpose of bringing his subordinate dark guilds here was to wear down Chase and the others' magic power.
With that thought, a grim expression crossed Brain's face. He slowly raised his staff to give the order to attack.
But then, the humanoid Card Monsters exchanged glances. Suddenly, their style changed completely. Their staves and swords dissolved into specks of light.
In their place appeared magical instruments: electric guitars, drums, bass guitars, and more.
"Bastard! What is the meaning of this? Are you looking down on us?!"
"We are about to go to war, and you want to play music? Are you taking us for fools?!"
The masters and members of the dark guilds flew into a rage, screaming wildly.
After all, they were dark guilds with some standing within the Balam Alliance. They had brought their full forces. How dare a mere dozen or so people be so arrogant?
Even Midnight and the other three at the front looked displeased. They clenched their fists in anger.
"No, that is not right. That is..." The well-traveled Brain's pupils contracted. He had noticed something. "Music Magic!"
"Is that not what I just said? This is an all-out battle!"
Standing at center stage, Chase raised both hands and swung them down. Dark Magician Girl and the others understood immediately and began playing their magical instruments.
The mood was right. This was a rare opportunity. It was time to test the effectiveness of his self-developed Music Magic in actual combat.
Dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun!
Amplified by magic, the passionate, rousing music immediately rang out across the entire battlefield.
"OOOOH! I am fired up!"
Natsu was the first to react. The Fairy Tail emblem on his right arm glowed with dazzling light.
A signature grin appeared on his face. He clashed his fists together, kicking up sparks of fire.
"Hey! You with the slanted eyes! You are a Dragon Slayer too, are you not?!"
Feeling his blood boiling, Natsu charged straight out. His target was Erik.
The earlier failed attempt at a Poison Dragon's Roar had made him suspect that the man might be a Dragon Slayer like himself.
"The pot calling the kettle black," Gray muttered, seizing the opportunity to take a jab.
The Fairy Tail emblem on his chest also glowed.
"I will take the one with the yellow mohawk." x2
"Huh?"
Gray turned to see Lyon, who had chosen the same opponent and had also stripped off his clothes. "Damn it, Lyon! Pick someone else!"
"Sorry, Gray. Right back at you."
Though the effect was not as noticeable as on the Fairy Tail members, Lyon, as an ally, was still benefiting from the music's amplification. "That guy beat me pretty badly earlier. I need to settle the score."
"Care to make it a contest?" Gray challenged with a glance.
"Does the result even need to be stated? Do not get in my way, Gray." Ice crystals scattered from Lyon's palm.
Exchanging verbal jabs, the two perverts charged at Racer Sawyer, who was already starting to sweat a little.
Watching Natsu and Gray quickly engage the enemy, Erza stepped forward and shook her head with a sigh. "Honestly, you two..."
Swish.
A magic circle for her Requip flashed. A purple kimono that perfectly accentuated her figure fluttered in the wind. Her powerful light blades glinted coldly.
The BGM surrounding her made the Fairy Queen's fighting spirit soar. She had equipped the highly flexible Faraway Robe.
Her target was naturally Midnight, who possessed the strongest magic power among the members save for Master Brain.
Through Chase's earlier brief clash, her sharp eyes had already understood the weakness of the man's magic.
"What a wonderful feeling. Listening to this music, my blood is boiling for the first time in a long time."
Even the steady Jura was affected. Faint smile appeared on his usually serious face. "I suppose I will put in a little effort as well."
Having taken a hit before the battle even started, he had wanted to prove himself against Brain. But catching sight of Ur, clearly itching for a fight out of the corner of his eye, he immediately abandoned that idea. He chose Richard as his opponent.
"Finally, I can cut loose." Ur ripped off her only piece of clothing, a brown jacket. Her eyes sharpened, and she exploded with powerful ice magic. "Brain! Let us settle our score from all those years ago!!"
"After being frozen for so many years, do you really think you are still the strongest mage in the North?" Brain sneered. He raised his staff and fired off a blast of dark magic that collided violently with Ur's Ice-Make spell, exploding in a shower of sparks.
Amid the thick smoke, the dark guild members screamed and shouted, activating their multi-colored magic arrays as they charged toward the allied forces.
"Perfume Magic: Power Aroma. The ultimate magic for amplifying all physical abilities, man~!"
Ichiya, now incredibly muscular, struck a bodybuilding pose. He looked confidently across the battlefield. "Come! Let me find some unlucky... NANI?! There are no opponents left?!"
"You steal all the strong fighters while I am striking a pose! How can you call yourselves my most trusted allies?!"
The muscle-bound Ichiya, ready for a rampage, was devastated.
Lucy covered her mouth and whispered, "Who is this guy?"
Yes, that was a double pun.
In the end, with no opponents left, Ichiya was in tears. He had no choice but to tearfully engage the grunts charging at him.
Blue Pegasus's three handsome men and Sherry followed close behind. Inspired by the Music Magic, Minerva, Wendy, and the two cats also joined in.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions from colliding magic rang out continuously. Shockwaves spread in all directions. The great melee between the legal guilds and the dark guilds had been thoroughly ignited. The battle lines stretched far.
Chase and the "band," having fallen back, were comparatively much more relaxed.
"Say, Lucy. Are you not going to go get fired up?" Chase asked, looking at Lucy beside him.
"No, thank you. I will leave the opportunity to Natsu and the others." Lucy's smile was somewhat forced.
Though her depleted magic power had been restored, she knew that the main reason she had been able to defeat Sorano was that her opponent was a Celestial Spirit mage not suited for close combat.
If she had faced one of the other members, who could trade blows with Natsu and Gray, the advantages of her Celestial Spirit Dress would not be so obvious. She might have gotten beaten black and blue.
Having just gone through a difficult battle, all she wanted now was to lie low by Chase's side.
"Not even Music Magic can fire you up, Hageshi? You really are something else..." Chase sighed internally. Then he said
in a low, teasing tone, "I see. So you have the same goal as me. You want to take on the true master of Oración Seis, Zero?"
"An admirable ambition. When he appears, I will let you go first!"
"Eh?" Lucy's already shaky smile froze.
After a few seconds of silence, a Celestial Spirit magic circle suddenly glowed on her body.
"Mr. Ichiya! I am coming to help you!"
Who would want to fight someone who sounds that terrifying?!
The shrewd heiress, armed with her Cancer twin blades, decisively threw herself into the raging battlefield without a moment's hesitation.
This idiot little sister of mine... Chase shook his head, helpless and amused.
Without Lucy there to lighten the mood, he began to seriously scan the entire battlefield. He analyzed the amplification effects of the Music Magic on everyone while keeping an eye out for any unexpected crises.
Even missing Happy's mobility, Natsu could still hold his own against Erik and Cubellios. The flames of the Fire Dragon clashed fiercely with the poison of the Poison Dragon.
Knowing the true nature of Racer Sawyer's magic, Gray and Lyon were also handling themselves with ease. Their occasional bickering was the only thing adding some uncertainty to the fight.
Erza's battle against Midnight was completely one-sided. She even sliced through his illusion magic with a single swing of her blade.
Jura's rock magic and Richard's earth magic were monumental in scale. Every exchange reshaped the surrounding terrain. Richard seemed quite interested in Jura's bald head.
Cold ice rain beat down mercilessly. Brain was being chased and beaten by a fully unleashed Ur. His disheveled, embarrassed appearance was a stark contrast to his earlier arrogance.
After taking in the main battle zones, Chase casually swatted away a grunt who had foolishly charged at him. He turned his attention to the others.
Ichiya and the rest were not particularly interesting to watch. Clearing out grunts was hardly entertaining.
The ones worth watching were the two children, Wendy and Minerva.
"Waaah! They are coming! The dark guild mages!"
Wendy, participating in such a large-scale battle for the first time, was forced to run for her life by a group of fierce-looking thugs.
Charlene had no choice but to carry her into the air.
But the enemy was not about to give up easily. Their staves began to glow as they prepared to blast the girls out of the sky with long-range magic.
At the critical moment, two salted fish came flying in from the side, knocking the dark mages several meters away.
"Heh heh. Attacking beautiful ladies with magic? What a bunch of bold idiots!"
Happy put away his salted fish dual-blade style. He waved a paw at Charlene with a lustful look in his eyes. "It is okay now, Charlene. I took care of all the bad guys~"
Charlene descended with Wendy. Though she had the faintest urge to praise him, one look at his pathetic face made her immediately turn her head away. She let out a cold "hmph" and said nothing.
Happy's imagination ran wild. She is so speechless from my coolness!
"Heh heh. I never expected to run into you here."
A cold voice, accompanied by a sudden sickle blade swinging into view, shattered Happy's fantasy.
Erigor walked over slowly, stepping on the defeated grunts. Hatred filled his voice. "You caused me quite a bit of trouble last time, Fairy Tail."
During the Lullaby incident, his guild Eisenwald had been destroyed. He had only barely escaped the Council's pursuit after tremendous effort, returning to Oración Seis's fold. His grudge against Fairy Tail ran deep.
"E-Erigor?!" Happy was shocked.
Knowing he was outmatched, he was about to shout for Wendy and Charlene to run when Erigor's scythe, wrapped in wind, swung down.
Wendy was frozen in fear, unable to move. Charlene, fearless, stepped in front of her.
At that critical moment, a young girl's shout rang out.
"Eighteen Demon Gods Magic: Spatial Vortex! "
Whoosh.
A sphere of swirling chaotic colors warped the surrounding space, trapping the unsuspecting Erigor like a water prison.
***
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