Under Chase's deadly intimidation, Lucy spilled everything.
Initially, the two Natsus and two Happies had "night-raided" Future Lucy's home. Normally that would have been fine, but the cramped rental apartment simply couldn't accommodate four people and two cats. So Lucy had a brilliant idea: redirect the trouble. She brought everyone straight to Chase's rented luxury villa.
Then they had run into the two Grays there.
As for Wendy and Carla, Chase had simply contacted them through his cards to come over, and they happened to run into the main group.
After all the noise settled down, the living room returned to calm.
Everyone sat around the coffee table chatting.
"Um, Chase, why did you call us over so late? Is there something special?" Wendy took a cup of tea and asked timidly.
Future Wendy and the others also looked over with curious eyes.
Chase was about to speak when he suddenly seemed to sense something and slowly set down his teacup.
"Well, about that—let this cute and charming young lady answer!"
A card magic circle spun, and Dark Magician Girl made her flashy entrance, striking a peace sign before affectionately throwing herself into Mira's arms. "Mira! Long time no see!"
"It really has been a while, hasn't it? Ever since the Tenrou Island incident," Mira said with a smile, reaching out and gently stroking Dark Magician Girl's hair through her pink hat.
"Because that idiot master of mine has had me working on the Anima transdimensional device blueprints non-stop these past few days! But thankfully, we're finally done!"
Dark Magician Girl grumbled a little.
Seeing this cute girl suddenly appear, Future Lucy and the others widened their eyes in surprise.
Even though they knew that Chase from the other world could summon Card Spirits like a Celestial Spirit Mage to fight, it still felt incredibly novel.
Future Natsu, being incredibly rude, ran over excitedly and asked if she could turn into a gorilla maid—clearly mistaking Dark Magician Girl for someone like Virgo.
After a brief introduction, he slunk off to the corner looking dejected. "What? So you can't transform..."
"So, why exactly did you call Wendy over here? It's not safe for girls to be out this late!" Carla asked impatiently.
At that, Dark Magician Girl pulled away from Mira's generous embrace, snapped her fingers, and produced a stack of parchment.
"These are the Sky Dragon God Slayer Magic that Slifer compiled and that idiot master then refined."
She divided the parchment into two sets and handed them to the two dumbstruck Wendys.
"Slifer's God Slayer Magic?!" Lucy, Natsu, and Gray all exclaimed in unison.
"Haha. I wasn't planning on having Wendy learn this so soon, but since she just unlocked her Second Origin today, maybe it's worth a try," Chase said with a smile.
The Sky Maiden—just from that title alone, Wendy seemed perfectly suited for the God Slayer Magic derived from Slifer's power.
Moreover, during today's Card Space training, Slifer had observed and confirmed Wendy's talent in this area.
However, unlike Chase, who directly absorbed divine power into himself, this version—fine-tuned by Dark Magician—was closer to native God Slayer Magic. It would alter and enhance Wendy's existing Dragon Slayer attributes, granting her stronger support capabilities and offensive power!
Combined with the foundation built by her earlier training manual, if Wendy worked hard, she should be able to use it during the Grand Magic Games.
"Th-This is so precious..."
Future Wendy was at a loss, holding the parchment in her arms as if it were a hot potato.
In contrast, Wendy, who knew Chase better, was much more composed. Gratitude flickered in her beautiful eyes.
"It's fine. If you two can become stronger, Chase will be happy," Mira said, stepping in to comfort them.
Future Wendy glanced timidly at Chase, then nodded firmly. "Yes! I definitely won't let Chase's expectations down!"
"Um..."
Seeing this heartfelt scene reminded the thick-skulled Lucy of something important. She raised her hand and asked, "Chase, if I were to learn a new magic, what would you recommend?"
During last night's test with Future Lucy on opening Celestial Spirit gates, she had realized this issue, but today's guild atmosphere had been so chaotic that she had forgotten about it.
"Ehh~" Natsu and Gray immediately shot her suspicious looks.
"What's with those looks?!" Lucy felt uncomfortable under their stares. "I just suddenly thought that I should have some combat ability even in special situations where I can't use my keys, that's all!"
"You haven't even mastered Celestial Spirit Magic yet. New magic can wait," Chase said flatly.
"You're such a heartless man!!" Lucy's heart nearly shattered.
She wanted to become stronger too—at least strong enough not to drag everyone down.
"However, that was before unlocking the Second Origin," Chase added.
He was genuinely pleased that his foolish little sister had developed such awareness and growth. After all, in the original story, there had been more than one occasion where she got brutally beaten after mysteriously losing her keys.
As for a new magic that suited her and could maximize the potential of her Celestial Spirit Magic, he actually had a pretty good suggestion!
Hearing this, Lucy's expression instantly shifted from angry to sweet. A smile crept onto her face, and even her voice turned syrupy. "Dearest Chase, you're the best~"
"W-W-Was I always this pragmatic?" Future Lucy stared in disbelief.
"That's wonderful, Lucy. You've finally seen yourself clearly!" Future Happy said mischievously, running over to congratulate her.
"So what magic are you planning to have Lucy learn?" Mira asked curiously from beside Chase.
"Actually, you all saw it today," Chase said, taking his time, not rushing to answer. After a sip of tea to build suspense, he finally spoke: "Ultear's Arc of Time."
As a Lost Magic, the power of Arc of Time had already been fully demonstrated by Ultear—offensive, defensive, supportive, and surprise attacks all in one.
And across the entire Fairy Tail world, Celestial Spirit Mages were intimately connected to the concept of "time."
Take the Eclipse Gate, which required a Celestial Spirit Mage to open it. Or the Celestial Spirit World, with its vastly different flow of time.
Though Lucy might never reach Ultear's level, given her talent, mastering even a fraction of it as a backup magic would be more than sufficient.
There was also an even more important point: Arc of Time could revert objects to their original state or push them into the future!
That's right—if Lucy learned this magic, she might be able to summon the Celestial Spirit King unconditionally!
(The cost of summoning the Celestial Spirit King is breaking one of the Twelve Golden Keys.)
Whether the Celestial Spirit King would acknowledge such a cheat-like summoning method was uncertain for other Celestial Spirit Mages, but for Lucy—who had special privileges—there was no question!
"Ultear's magic..." Both Lucys were frozen in place.
"Oh my, and here I thought Chase was going to teach Lucy how to play cards~" Mira said, equally surprised.
Everyone else looked just as baffled. Only the two Natsus, who had been tormented by Ultear's Arc of Time on Galuna Island, looked uncomfortable.
"Well, it's just a suggestion. What you all really need to focus on right now is preparing for the Grand Magic Games in two days," Chase said.
He already had the Arc of Time magic on hand (from Hades's magic library), so there was no rush for Lucy to learn it right away.
Unlike the Sky Dragon God Slayer Magic, which had high compatibility with Wendy, this would be an entirely new system for them, and they wouldn't be able to master it in a short time.
"I'll learn it! I must learn it! Even if it takes all night!!"
Erza, who had been silent throughout, suddenly shot to her feet, clenching her fists with blazing determination burning in her eyes.
"Wh-What fighting spirit!" Lucy and Wendy were startled by the sudden burst of energy.
"And you, Natsu, Happy, and Gray—the Grand Magic Games are right around the corner! How can you be wasting time here?!"
"What (voice cracking)?!" x4
The two pairs of Natsu and Gray twins, called out by the demon, both looked shocked and terrified.
The two Happies pointed at themselves cluelessly. "W-We have to train too?!"
"Erza, let me help you train them! I promise I won't go easy!" Dark Magician Girl chimed in, never one to miss out on the fun.
"Oh my, oh my~" Mira laughed, knowing exactly what was going on.
Chase tuned out the commotion and stared at the teacup before him, lost in thought.
New magic, huh... Before the Grand Magic Games, he should find someone to test it out on.
***
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