"OOOOOH! I'm fired up!"
NatsuGajeel's manner of speaking had a distinct Natsu + Gajeel flavor.
He clenched his fists at his waist, striking the same pose as a Super Saiyan powering up.
The increasingly smooth powerful magic within him surged out, materializing in a low roar and exploding.
The resulting energy melted the ground beneath his feet and the surrounding iron sheets into steaming, bubbling lava!
Flames flickered. The temperature inside the abandoned factory rose rapidly.
The scene vaguely resembled Natsu after his training, when he had returned from the Dragon King Festival and melted the Grand Magic Games arena.
"I'm already fired up!!" Evergreen struggled in terror.
Tied firmly in place, she watched in horror as her clothes slowly dissolved in the high heat.
"Want to go home?" Chase ignored NatsuGajeel's challenge and walked over to Evergreen.
"Mm, mm!" Evergreen nodded emphatically.
The next second, Chase kicked her flying. "Off you go~"
"AAAAH! Damn Chase! I'll never forgive you!!"
Her screaming shout quickly faded. Evergreen got her wish, transforming into a dancing "green fairy" with a ding as she disappeared into the distant sky beyond the factory.
After all, she was a guild comrade. While sending her off, Chase also lifted her restraints and magic suppression, ensuring she wouldn't fall to her death.
"Hurry up and fight me, Chase!" Bathed in firelight, NatsuGajeel was already unbearably eager.
"I'd like to see how strong fused Dragon Slayers are too. But sorry, your opponent isn't me."
Chase clapped his hands, turned his back to NatsuGajeel, walked to the other side of the duelist platform, and jumped down.
Under NatsuGajeel's confused gaze, Chase drew a card from the void and threw it onto the duelist platform.
A magic circle lit up. Thick red mist gushed out.
Two flames burned, dispersing the red mist and revealing an ancient altar engraved with crossed swords.
At the same time, a melodic, passionate background music echoed through the abandoned factory.
It was Yu-Gi-Oh!'s most classic BGM: Duelist's Soul!
Since the atmosphere was already set, it was time for a sense of ceremony.
NatsuGajeel, who had never seen this card before, blinked, still trying to figure out where the music was coming from, when Chase threw out two more monster cards as sacrifices.
Instantly, the altar's flames flickered violently. Black and white streaks of light shot up, blended high above the factory, then fell as a single pillar of chaotic light!
Substantial chaotic colors spread across the entire duelist platform. Deep within, the strongest swordsman, holding a sword and shield, slowly rose and opened his sharp, sharp eyes.
"Chaos Soldier. The legendary strongest swordsman among all my cards." Chase smiled.
With so many card monsters summoned, including the multiplied chestnut ball, his magic power consumption was immense.
With the civil war not yet over, using a "substitute fighter" was undoubtedly the safest option.
And for Chaos Soldier's debut, the Steel Flame Dragon before him was a very suitable opponent!
"So, this guy is your strongest trump card, right?!"
NatsuGajeel had been annoyed, thinking Chase was looking down on him. After hearing Chaos Soldier's introduction, his blood boiled again.
"Negative. Among master's deck, this one is merely the strongest in the domain of swordsmanship," Chaos Soldier said in a low voice.
This guy was serious to the point of being a bit stiff.
"Anyway, strongest is enough!"
NatsuGajeel didn't care. His clenched steel right fist burst into crimson flames. With a slight movement, he charged at high speed.
"Try this! Steel Flame Dragon's — Iron Fist!"
BOOM!!
Dark red firelight exploded in all directions, instantly shattering the duelist platform's floor into pieces.
"Reckless. A direct attack route."
Chaos Soldier raised his shield, which radiated a dark aura, blocking NatsuGajeel's attack. He stood still, unmoving.
"This is just the beginning!" NatsuGajeel stomped down hard, using the thrust from the backward jetting flames to increase the force of his right fist.
Under this power, the dark shield trembled slightly, slowly moving backward.
Chaos Soldier's expression didn't change. He flipped the long sword in his other hand and swung a surging, dazzling holy light slash at NatsuGajeel.
BOOM!
The white light slash split the void, easily cutting the duelist platform in two. It flew along the split ground and hit the outer wall of the abandoned factory at the far end, exploding into a sky full of fire!
Close call...
NatsuGajeel, who had pulled back his fist just in time to dodge, glanced back and silently breathed a sigh of relief.
But the opponent's strength didn't make him retreat. Instead, his fighting spirit burned even stronger.
"Steel Flame Sword!"
A blue-red magic circle flashed. His right arm transformed into a serrated greatsword burning with flames, which he swung at Chaos Soldier from the side.
Chaos Soldier's eyes sharpened. He reversed his grip on his sword and swung from the opposite angle, choosing to confront him head-on.
CLANG!!
The blade glowing with holy white light and the flame-wrapped serrated sword collided in mid-air, sending sparks flying. Waves of shockwaves spread, shattering the floor beneath their feet.
"Good opportunity! Steel Flame Dragon's Wing Strike!"
Seizing the opening, NatsuGajeel swung his left arm. The steel dragon wing, heated to red by the high temperature flames, radiated terrifying destructive power.
"Overruled. Your actions are completely within this one's expectations."
The surging dark aura swallowed the red flames. Chaos Soldier's shield defense was flawless, leaving NatsuGajeel's attack unable to advance.
Not only that, but the sword's light and the shield's darkness pulled each other, coalescing into a chaotic field that forcibly pushed NatsuGajeel back over ten meters. He had to stomp down hard, cracking the ground, to stop his backward momentum!
With darkness as his shield and light as his sword, the light of chaos is inviolable. This is Chaos Soldier!
Chase crossed his arms, maintaining his own magic power output while carefully observing NatsuGajeel and Chaos Soldier facing each other.
Light, dark, fire, iron...
The clash of these four elemental magics gave him a sense of déjà vu of the four-dragon battle at the Grand Magic Games. He looked forward to it.
Compared to Natsu's high-energy crush of Sting and Rogue, this evenly matched fight would certainly be more exciting — as NatsuGajeel said, the real battle was just beginning!
"You really are strong!"
NatsuGajeel shook his numb arm, his expression excited.
After that brief probing, he had confirmed that Chaos Soldier possessed immense strength. He wasn't an opponent who could be easily defeated.
So —
Rip.
NatsuGajeel tore off his mixed-color shirt, revealing his muscular upper body.
Then, his magic power began to rise. A raging aura swirled around him. Faint, translucent blue-red dragon scales began to appear on the surface of his skin!
Both Gajeel and Natsu (after eating the crystal) could enter a dragon scale form individually. The perfectly fused NatsuGajeel could naturally use this power too.
Judging by the increase in magic power, his form was even closer to perfect Dragon Force than when they were separate individuals!
"Let's start round two, black and white swordsman!"
NatsuGajeel, his face covered in dragon scales, curled his lips and beckoned to Chaos Soldier standing on the broken ground.
"Black and white swordsman. Not a favored title."
Chaos Soldier frowned slightly. "However, this one would also like to see what master's comrade is capable of."
With that, he looked sideways at Chase in the distance. Receiving a nod of approval, he crossed his sword and shield before him.
"HAAAAA!"
A massive, imposing pillar of chaotic light shot into the sky, churning the clouds above and causing the surrounding ground to tremble continuously.
After a few seconds, the chaotic light rapidly retracts, completely internalizing, flowing over Chaos Soldier's blue-gold armor.
His high ponytail slowly swayed. The aloof swordsman, having completed his power sublimation, stood at the center of the chaos, demonstrating his strongest form to the Steel Flame Dragon before him.
The aura of coolness was maxed out. The only downside was Chase, who had to continuously deliver magic power and was slightly out of breath.
Under normal circumstances, with his new cards, Chase's magic power was enough to support an 8-star monster going all out.
But now, besides Chaos Soldier, he also had to maintain various other card monsters, including the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, as well as the multiplied Chestnut Ball.
This burden was almost equivalent to a Celestial Spirit wizard opening all gates at once. The pressure was immense!
This was the fundamental reason Chaos Soldier had needed to silently ask Chase.
BOOM!!
While Chase tried to regulate his breathing, Chaos Soldier and NatsuGajeel had already clashed violently.
Just the residual energy from their first collision was enough to blow away the entire abandoned factory, leveling it!
Chaotic light and blue-red light shot through the falling iron sheets and blocks. The battlefield of the strongest swordsman and the perfect Dragon Slayer shifted from the ground to the wider sky.
Fortunately, Chase had anticipated this and chose the duel venue on the western edge, far from the town center.
Otherwise, just the residual energy from their fight would have caused widespread destruction!
Coincidentally, on the eastern outskirts, the clashes between Mira, Freed, and the Dark Magician master and apprentice had also reached their peak. Magical explosions continued to burst in the air.
And so, the residents of Magnolia were confused. They stood on the streets, looking left and right, unsure which "fireworks display" to watch.
Among the onlookers, a blonde girl running through the crowd stood out.
"Hey, cute blonde. I remember you're the newbie from Fairy Tail, right? This Harvest Festival warm-up event is great~" A resident recognized the hurried Lucy.
Normally, being recognized as a guild newbie
would make Lucy secretly happy, but she clearly had no time for that now.
"Ah ha, I'm glad you like it!"
After a quick reply, Lucy continued running toward the guild.
She had been playing cards with Chase at the factory and didn't know about the Thunder Palace Laxus had activated. She just felt the magic crystals in the air were very dangerous and wanted to quickly return to the guild to understand the situation.
THUD!
At a street corner, Lucy ran headfirst into an invisible air wall.
"Ow... that hurts!"
Seeing the purple words appeared before her, her pupils sharply contracted. Ignoring the pain in her forehead, she gasped, "Th-These are Freed's runes?!"
Footsteps came from around the corner. A figure appeared.
"Juvia?!" Lucy recognized her.
"To encounter my romantic rival in such a situation... could this be a test from Gray-sama?"
Juvia's expression was serious as she slowly walked toward Lucy.
"What test?! These are clearly Freed's runes!"
"And what's this 'romantic rival' nonsense?! Gray and I are not in that kind of relationship!!"
After firmly complaining and arguing, Lucy suddenly thought of something bad. Her expression froze.
Wait...
Triggering Freed's runes means the two of them trapped here have to fight each other...
The weakening her versus S-Class Juvia?!
***
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