The man who emerged had sharp, piercing eyes, a well-built, muscular frame, and stood tall with confidence. The Fairy Tail emblem was clearly visible on both his chest and right arm.
In his features and mannerisms, traces of both Natsu and Gray could be seen.
The most striking detail was his short hair, which shifted in color from black to cherry pink.
One loose strand fell across his forehead, brushing over half his cheek, swaying gently in the breeze alongside the dragon-scale scarf at his neck an unexpectedly handsome sight.
"Hey… what the heck is this ?"
"He looks like both Natsu and Gray… Did they actually merge?"
"Hot and cold… yeah, that's exactly the vibe those two give off when they're together."
"By the way, am I the only one who thinks he's giving off that cute, pink 'girly summer' look~?" Levy suddenly remarked.
Everyone: "What the heck is 'Pink Girly Summer' supposed to mean?!"
"Love~! We saw it yesterday," Happy chimed in, flapping into the air like a sports commentator. "This is Chase's new card Fusion! It merges two people into one. The magic power is way stronger than either of them alone, and you can use all the magic that both of them know at the same time!"
"By the way, even the fusion between Gajeel and Natsu couldn't do much, so don't expect too much from this one."
Fusion magic…?
The onlookers were stunned, their eyes fixed on the strange yet familiar figure standing before them.
"Ahhh… as expected of Chase. Things are about to get very interesting," Mira said calmly, smiling as she clasped her hands together.
To a certain extent, Take Over magic could also be considered a kind of fusion the user's personality would inevitably be influenced by the being they had taken in.
For example, after she took on Satan Soul, Mira herself became far wilder and more aggressive than usual.
And when it came to dangerous beings like the Demon Shatley or the Demon God Halphas, the risk was even greater. One careless moment, and the damage could be catastrophic.
"Happy and Natsu are already a handful. I can't even imagine what kind of personality you'd get if you fused a hotheaded monster with a shameless pervert…"
Lucy, hiding behind Mira, peeked out to mutter her complaint. "That's got to be really bad!"
Meanwhile, in a shadowy corner not far away.
Juvia, who had finally regained consciousness after her earlier love-struck fainting spell, was staring intensely at the Fusion card in Chase's hand.
One could only wonder what sort of decidedly non–child-friendly scenes were playing out in her mind.
"Hey! You over there, striking a pose who are you supposed to be?"
From the crowd, Macao shouted toward the fused Natsu–Gray.
"Heh… I am neither Natsu nor Gray," the man replied, his lips curling into a smug grin, "but the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail…"
"Ice Fire Dragon Nagrez!"
He spoke with an air of dramatic self-importance, drawing out his words as if savoring the title.
Everyone: "So arrogant! I want to punch him in the face!!"
Mira: "Nagrez… clothes."
At that, Nagrez glanced down and froze.
All that remained on his body was a single pair of shorts.
"What?! When did this happen?!" he shouted in disbelief.
Well… Mira was still Mira. With just one short line, she'd reduced his newly inflated pride to rubble.
"A flawless inheritance of Gray's stripping habit," Lucy called out loudly.
"Forget it… something this small doesn't matter."
Nagrez quickly regained his composure, pointing straight at Chase with a confident laugh. "Ahahaha! Regret your foolishness, Chase "
"I am now above you!"
The instant he finished, the fire in his eyes flared. He bent low, muscles coiling like a spring, before stomping down and charging toward Chase at incredible speed.
Buzz!
Flames roared to life on his clenched right fist.
"There it is! First Gray's stripping habit, and now Natsu's reckless charges!" Lucy sighed without surprise.
Chase took a deep breath, releasing a dark-golden wave of magical power.
Planting his feet, he shifted sideways at just the right moment, letting Nagrez's blazing punch whip past him before grabbing his other arm.
"Don't be so hasty. If this is a proper challenge, then we should "
With a powerful twist, Chase spun Nagrez a full 360 degrees and hurled him hard toward the inland lake behind the guild. " find a stage where we can truly unleash our strength!"
Whoosh!
A streak of pink light shot out from the card, zipping past and intercepting Nagrez before he even hit the water.
"Nice to meet you, Nagrez," the Dark Magician Girl said with a sweet smile before lifting her pink staff high. "Super Magic Wave!"
The blast slammed into his head midair, sharply changing his trajectory and sending him crashing straight down into the lake.
Splash!
The calm surface of the lake shattered like a massive mirror, a towering column of water shooting into the air.
Gravity quickly dragged it back down, breaking it into countless droplets that rained across the lake's surface with a resounding splash.
"Yeah! Perfect home run!"
Suspended in midair, the Dark Magician Girl playfully struck a peace-sign pose toward the shore.
The old lechers, Macao and Wakaba, immediately fell into a daze, declaring her "absolutely adorable."
But just then, the lake now settling back to stillness was suddenly enveloped in a freezing chill.
From the point where Nagrez had landed, ice spread outward at a speed visible to the naked eye. Within seconds, the entire lake's surface was frozen solid.
"It hurts, you idiot!"
From deep within the icy fog, Nagrez emerged, pressing a hand to the sizable bump on his head. Despite the hit, his condition didn't seem to have worsened much.
Standing on the shore, Chase narrowed his eyes.
The Dark Magician Girl hadn't used her full strength, but that attack had still been powerful. Under normal circumstances, neither Natsu nor Gray would have come out unscathed and Natsu, who tended to underperform in their guild's internal scuffles, might've been knocked flat on the spot.
But Nagrez… he was clearly performing far above that level.
Out on the frozen lake, Nagrez shook his head and brought his hands to his waist
The telltale start of Gray's magic.
"Maker Magic… Ice Cannon!"
A pale-blue magic circle flared beneath him. With both palms slamming to the ice, a massive icicle burst upward, aimed straight at the Dark Magician Girl still hovering midair in her victory pose.
A blast of freezing wind struck before she could react, sealing her inside an icy prison in an instant.
Crack… crack…
But the icicle lasted less than two seconds before fractures began to spiderweb across its surface.
From deep within, pink light blazed brighter and brighter until the ice split apart, shattering into a spray of glittering shards.
"Idiot! That's one of Gray's moves. Of course I was ready for it!" The Dark Magician Girl brandished her staff proudly.
The moment the Ice Cannon hit, she had activated a magic barrier.
"Heh…" Nagrez grinned.
The next instant, the floating shards of ice flared crimson, glowing like miniature grenades with the pins already pulled.
"How about this, then?"
Nagrez clenched his right fist, magic surging. "Ice Fire Dragon's Frostfire Barrage!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
The energy within the ice shards peaked, and they detonated all at once. Heart-pounding blasts echoed through the air, one after another, shaking the entire lakeside.
Flame and thick smoke billowed out from the explosions, engulfing the sky until, in the blink of an eye, most of it was completely obscured.
....
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