On the outskirts of Magnolia, at an abandoned factory.
Inside the rusted iron walls, the area that should have been piled with industrial waste had been replaced by a neat, square platform.
The platform was about the size of a basketball court. There was an elevating platform on each side. Above were operating panels connected to magic projectors, with two rows of card zones engraved on them.
"Just as I hoped. The magical world makes it easy to build this thing."
Chase, wearing his dark blue cloak, stood on the lift, looking with satisfaction at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon projection on the platform below.
That's right. This was the Yu-Gi-Oh! duelist platform he had spent five days building, specifically for this Fairy Tail civil war!
Fighting and talk-no-jutsu didn't mean much to him. So before beating up Laxus, whether it was Fairy Tail members or the Thunder God Tribe, the conditions for recruiting him, the "neutral party," was simple:
Play cards!
Rarely getting a chance to indulge his card game craving, Chase had even gone to a barbershop in Magnolia and got a somewhat unconventional crab hairstyle.
All for the sake of nostalgia and a sense of ceremony.
"Everything is ready. Now, time to let those guys know my location."
Chase clapped his hands. Dark gold magic power gathered at his fingertips, forming into light bullets that shot through the factory roof and exploded into a card-shaped firework in the sky.
The commotion immediately drew the attention of the Fairy Tail members.
However, they had no time to spare. They only paused for a moment before unleashing magic at their opponents again.
Having stepped into Freed's pre-laid trap, the only way to leave the rune's range was to defeat their opponent!
BAM! BAM! BAM!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The entire town of Magnolia instantly became lively. Wizards could be seen fighting everywhere.
The tourists who had come for the festival were confused. The local residents, however, were used to it. As veterans, they calmly explained: Fairy Tail just loves making this kind of commotion!
Under normal circumstances, a large-scale brawl among wizards in a town would cause panic, and might even alert the Magic Council. But Magnolia remained completely stable.
Well, thanks to Fairy Tail's "notorious reputation."
And Chase, the one who had derived the "Chase's Code," had played a decisive, key role!
(Damn it. Is this within his calculations too?)
Anyway, aside from some property damage, the fierce civil war hadn't caused too many waves in the town.
Compared to the residents' nonchalance, Makarov, trapped inside the guild, was very worried.
Before his eyes, purple text shattered and reorganized, updating the latest battle situation:
[Gray vs. Bickslow — Gray unable to fight]
[Evergreen successfully convinced Elusive Elf Swordsman — vs. Elfman — Elfman petrified]
[Alzack & Giant Shield Guardian vs. Jet & Droy — Alzack wins]
[Wakaba and Marcus failed to recruit neutral party Chase]
[Remaining total members: 17]
[Time until stone statues break: 30 minutes]
"Ahaha! Gray is so pathetic! He couldn't even beat Bickslow!"
Looking at the information on the text panel, Natsu laughed loudly. Another reason to mock that perverted ice cube later.
But he didn't laugh for long. His face full of frustration, he punched the air wall heavily. "Damn it! There are only 17 people left. How can I get out?!"
"I'm... already eighty years old..."
Gajeel crouched nearby, his eyes hollow, counting on his fingers the years of his life.
The more he talked, the more resentment radiated from him. He simply couldn't accept this "reality."
Happy, however, belatedly realized a harsh reality from the list of remaining members: even though he was a Fairy Tail wizard, he hadn't been counted!
"Master! That bastard Freed is going too far! I want to sue him for discrimination against small animals!!"
The devastated damn cat flew down from the air and threw himself on Makarov, complaining. "At the very least, he should compensate me with two — no, five — fish!"
"Is now the time to be worrying about such trivial things?!" Makarov scolded him harshly.
"Boo hoo hoo..." Happy immediately burst into tears. He ran to a corner of the guild and started dropping little pearls.
"Alright, alright. I promise." Makarov held his forehead and sighed helplessly.
He couldn't really blame Happy for treating this serious civil war so lightly. Even he, influenced by that brat Chase, felt that Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe couldn't cause too many waves.
"Really? Then please stamp this compensation form with the guild seal, Master~"
The damn cat's eyes immediately lit up. He pulled out a form from somewhere.
Makarov: "..."
Too emotionally complicated to bother stealing Lucy's job, he turned his attention back to the constantly blinking text panel.
He looked — and was immediately shocked.
[Freed successfully recruited Dark Magician — defeated Lidas, who tried to break the rules and escape the town limits, on the eastern outskirts]
[Alzack vs. Laki — both unable to fight]
[Extra A vs. Extra B (Extra recruitment) — Extra A wins]
"That bastard Freed, he won't even spare Lidas, who didn't want to fight. And..."
Makarov stared intently at the light screen, his pupils contracting in extreme shock. "Dark Magician chose to side with them?!"
As Chase's ace monster, Dark Magician not only possessed great power but also had an unfathomable understanding and research of the magical path.
Even Makarov, with his considerable experience, admitted he was no match.
Among all the neutral card monsters Chase had summoned, Dark Magician was absolutely the strongest!
Makarov quickly ran through the members who hadn't been eliminated yet. Then he realized with horror that he couldn't think of anyone who could defeat the Freed + Dark Magician combination!
"This is looking a bit bad..." Happy had also noticed the updated information.
"Old man, no need to make that face. We've got a wizard right here who can beat that combination." Natsu smiled.
Makarov smelled something very bad from that mischievous smile.
Sure enough, the next second, Natsu turned and walked toward the petrified Erza, muttering with a mean expression, "We can just revive Erza. This is the perfect chance to get back at her."
"Idiot, what are you trying to do?!" Makarov roared angrily.
"Hehe. Melt the stone surface with fire, of course!"
Natsu stepped forward with a lewd expression. His fingers curled, blooming blazing flames as he reached toward Erza's statue.
"Even an idiot has limits!!"
"Natsu, you'll melt Erza's entire body!"
CRACK!
Along with Makarov and Happy's voices came the crisp sound of Erza's stone cheek cracking.
"AAAAH! I haven't even touched her yet!!" Natsu was so startled he failed in panic.
"Stop shouting. Use my iron to weld the crack shut!" Gajeel kindly pulled out his Iron Dragon Sword.
His expression was very serious, as if he wasn't joking at all.
"Enough! You two big idiots!!!" Makarov's eyes literally jumped out of their sockets as he yelled.
CRACK, CRACK.
Affected by the impact of his shout, the cracks on Erza's statue quickly spread — until with a BAM, it was completely shattered.
Fortunately, Erza didn't turn to ash. She returned to normal.
"So hot..."
"That was you, Natsu!"
Erza raised an eyebrow. With lightning speed, she kicked Natsu flying across the room.
Natsu hit the guild wall hard and slowly slid down like a rag.
No one cared.
"Wait, Erza. Why are you okay?" Makarov asked.
"It's probably this prosthetic eye of mine. It weakened Evergreen's magic..."
Erza touched her right eye, took a deep breath, and said seriously, "I heard everything while I was a statue, Master. Let me stop Laxus!"
From Makarov and Natsu's earlier conversation, she had learned the fundamental reason Chase had joined as a neutral party.
Although she could understand, lacking his "foreknowledge," she couldn't so easily accept what Laxus had done to their comrades.
"Laxus isn't an easy opponent. My advice is still to bring Chase back first..."
Makarov looked worried.
Erza was certainly strong. But facing that crazy grandson alone, her chances weren't good. She might even be in danger.
His ideal candidate was still Chase.
"Someone has probably already gone to do that, don't you think?" Erza's lips curled slightly.
She was, of course, referring to Lucy, who had rushed out full of energy.
"Don't worry, Master. Before settling things with Laxus, I'll find Evergreen first. She needs to relieve the petrification on the others."
The hostages were the key factor enabling this civil war.
If they could ensure Mira and the others' safety, even if Chase didn't intervene, the rest of the comrades could overwhelm Laxus together!
"I see. A very accurate judgment." Makarov nodded happily.
And so, having determined her course of action, Erza ran out of the guild to find Evergreen.
According to the original story's development, that was indeed the outcome.
Only this time, she was destined to fail...
On the outskirts of Magnolia.
After rushing all the way, Lucy finally arrived at the abandoned factory where Chase was.
Because the guild was quite far from here, it had inevitably taken her considerable time.
Fortunately, having started much later than the main group, she hadn't encountered the difficult situation of having to fight her comrades.
After taking a deep breath to regulate her breathing, Lucy pushed open the rusted, heavy iron door.
"This is..."
Bright sunlight streamed in. The novel and spectacular duelist platform came into view. Lucy couldn't help but gasp.
"Yo. I didn't expect it to be you, my little sister." Chase, seated on the platform, slowly stood up.
"Chase?"
Lucy immediately noticed the strange hairstyle and delivered a sharp comment. "What's with that hairstyle? You look even more like a crab than Cancer!"
"Ahaha. Pretty cool, right?" Chase struck a card game addict pose, vainly admiring himself.
"Uh..." Lucy didn't know how to rate it.
But anyway, this didn't matter!
Snapping back to reality, she raised her hand to brush the golden hair falling over her forehead, pressed her legs together, showing off her perfect figure.
At the same time, she coquettishly blinked her eyes and said in a sweet, charming girly voice, "Kind and handsome Chase-nii~ can you help me defeat that bad guy Laxus~?"
"..."
Now it was Chase's turn to fall silent.
I had already prepared my next speech and decided which card combo to use to make you cry.
And this is what you give me?
Before Chase could respond, a mocking voice rang through the factory: "Heh. Pathetic. You don't really think such a botched seduction can sway Chase, do you?"
Evergreen, covering half her face with her folding fan, walked over with coquettish steps to stand beside Lucy. "All sexiness and beauty fade in comparison to me — the true 'fairy'!"
Lucy's mouth twitched. "I really want to punch her..."
Evergreen glanced contemptuously at Lucy, then lowered her fan and looked at Chase confidently. "Come on, Chase. If your aesthetic isn't—"
HUM!
An suddenly erupting, terrifying magic power forcibly interrupted her.
Chase stood in the raging dark gold storm. His eyes were like a demon's as he roared angrily, "This isn't a damn beauty contest!"
"Listen up. You have two choices: either play cards with me, or fight me!!"
Using seduction to test a card game addict? Are you kidding?!
"Th-This magic power?!"
Startled by the suddenly exploding magic power, Evergreen's eyes went wide in disbelief. She couldn't believe her seduction had been completely useless.
It had worked so well on Elusive Elf Swordsman...
Lucy also made a meme, her body going stiff.
"I choose cards!" x2
They spoke in unison.
Only an idiot would choose to fight a monster like that!
"Okay~" Chase grinned and withdrew the raging magic storm.
He tossed a pair of glasses and a small booklet to each of them.
"There are ten decks to choose from. The deck info and game rules are recorded in the booklet. The Fūei's Glasses let you read them quickly."
Fūei's Glasses: a magic item that allows quick reading.
Evergreen caught both items. Lucy, being clumsier, only caught the glasses and had to hurriedly bend down to pick up the booklet.
After a few dozen seconds of reading, they quickly understood the rules.
Considering it was their first time, Chase had adopted the simplest, most accessible Yu-Gi-Oh! DM (first generation) gameplay.
Without any hesitation, Evergreen immediately chose Mai Valentine's deck. Her reason: the monster card Harpie Lady suited her identity as a "fairy."
Very arbitrary.
Lucy firmly chose Mutou Yugi's deck. The reason went without saying.
"Since you both arrived at the same time, you'll play a match first. The winner gets to stay and challenge me." Chase smiled and held up one finger.
The two women had no objections. Having learned the interesting card rules, they felt excited and confident instead.
Besides, winning the card game would let them recruit the powerful Chase. The price/performance ratio was super high!
And so, Evergreen and Lucy took their respective decks from Chase, got on their lift, faced each other from afar, and simultaneously pressed the button.
"Duel start!" x2
[Lucy: 4000 LP]
[Evergreen: 4000 LP]
***
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