Night had fallen over Magnolia, the sky twinkling with stars, their gentle light reflecting off the quiet river that flowed through town.
Inside a small house near the riverbank modest in size but uniquely furnished Ches was soaking in a cool bath, finally unwinding after the chaos of the day.
Though Fairy Tail provided dormitories for its members, Ches didn't live there.
Instead, he'd used the reward money from his many completed missions to buy his own property in town.
It wasn't that he liked peace and solitude on the contrary, "quiet" was probably the last word that described him. The real reason?
He'd been kicked out of the dorms by Makarov himself.
The official reasoning? Constant destruction. Every time Ches stayed there, something exploded, walls collapsed, or an entire wing had to be rebuilt. Eventually, Makarov had sighed and said, "If you like destroying things so much, go destroy your own house!"
And so here he was.
"Home really is more comfortable," Ches murmured to himself as he leaned back in the tub, steam rising gently around him. "It's been more than a year…"
His upper body was bare, clad only in a pair of loose, light-blue leggings. His physique was lean and powerful, skin marked with an array of scars from countless life-or-death battles.
Among them, one particular wound stood out a deep, jagged claw mark that ran diagonally from his shoulder to his abdomen, a cruel souvenir from his encounter with Ignia, the Flame God Dragon.
It was a reminder of just how close he'd come to death.
Ches stepped out of the bathroom, his damp hair tousled and clinging slightly to his neck. He walked barefoot across the wooden floor and entered the spacious living room, where the dim, cozy lighting cast long shadows on the walls.
Without hesitation, he flopped down onto the plush sofa with a satisfied sigh. Reaching toward the coffee table, he skillfully retrieved a sleek can of black tea and placed it beside a compact, rune-engraved kettle.
With a faint hum, the kettle began to bubble the moment he channeled a bit of magic into it. In seconds, light steam rose from the spout, and the gentle aroma of brewing tea began to waft through the room.
"Magic really is such a convenient thing," Ches muttered with a lazy smile.
He lifted the cup of freshly steeped tea, inhaling its warmth before taking a small, careful sip. The rich, earthy flavor bloomed in his mouth, flowed down his throat, and seemed to melt into every corner of his body.
"Ahh…"
He exhaled slowly, eyes fluttering shut as he leaned deeper into the couch cushions. The cool breeze of the magic-powered air conditioner washed over his bare skin, contrasting with the warmth of the tea in his hands.
This was one of his favorite ways to unwind.
A steaming cup of tea. A quiet evening. A rare moment of peace.
For Ches, this was bliss.
Of course, wreaking a little havoc still technically counted as stress relief though Ches would insist it was never intentional.
After lounging for quite a while, fully refreshed and clear-headed, Ches slowly opened his eyes and sat upright.
He lifted his right hand, and with a flick of his fingers, a gentle pulse of magic shimmered in his palm. A glowing magic circle unfolded atop the coffee table, humming quietly with ethereal light.
In the next moment, a small deck of cards materialized above it and settled neatly onto the surface.
"Even though running into Ignia was a nightmare," Ches murmured to himself, "I guess I can consider this a lucky break..."
He slid his fingers across the top of the deck, shuffling it with practiced ease, then paused and drew a single card glowing faintly with golden radiance.
As he turned it over, its vibrant artwork and text came into view:
[Osiris the Sky Dragon]Level 10 / Divine-Beast / ATK: ? / DEF: ?One of the legendary Egyptian God Cards, feared for its apocalyptic power. Requires a divine incantation to summon. Capable of smiting anything that dares stand in its way.
Ches stared at the card with reverence.
The deck he had received from the "Duelist Soul" wasn't a full set. Other than a few core guaranteed cards, the rest could only be unlocked as rare drops rewards granted when he defeated particularly powerful enemies.
And Ignia, without a doubt, had qualified.
The higher the intensity of the battle, the rarer and more powerful the dropped cards became.
At the same time, the total number of cards in Ches's deck directly influenced his own Magic Power capacity. This was his greatest advantage as someone without innate magical lineage to rapidly ascend into the ranks of Fairy Tail's S-Class Mages.
After all, relying solely on traditional training and meditation? That kind of slow, incremental growth just wasn't going to cut it.
In short: if Ches wanted to grow stronger, the most effective and direct method was to continuously battle powerful opponents and gather increasingly rare and potent cards.
The name of his mysterious power, "Duelist Soul," came from this very mechanic.
There were three types of cards in his deck:
Monster Cards – Summoned creatures that assisted in combat. The summoning process depended heavily on Ches's Magic Power reserve. The higher the star level, the more energy required to bring the creature into battle.
The one he had just obtained, Osiris the Sky Dragon, was a ten-star monster completely beyond his current limits.
His most powerful summonable monster so far was the eight-star Chaos Black Magician, which already pushed him to his limits whenever he called it forth.
Trap Cards – These required chanting time to prepare. If Ches wanted them to trigger instantly, he had to set them up ahead of time, predicting the flow of battle.
For example, the [Hexagram Curse] trap he used earlier on Natsu had been primed in advance. Ches had carefully anticipated Natsu's impulsive charge, completed the incantation, and simply waited for him to step into the snare.
Magic Cards – Versatile support spells with a wide range of effects: enhancing monsters, restoring stamina, altering the battlefield, or even reviving destroyed creatures.
Ches leaned back on the sofa again, his fingers lightly tapping the golden card in his hand.
To him, this wasn't just a game. It was his entire path to power.
This scene was a textbook example of how Trap Cards operated predictive, strategic, and reliant on prior setup.
Magic Cards, by contrast, were more straightforward to use. They didn't require incantations or setup time, but in return, they demanded a larger amount of raw Magic Power to activate.
Ches gazed at the radiant glow of the golden card in his hand[Osiris the Sky Dragon]. His brows furrowed as he muttered:
"With my current Magic Power, summoning the Sky Dragon is probably going to be tough…"
Even though acquiring this new god-tier card had slightly increased his total Magic capacity leaping two full star levels at once it was still uncertain whether he could sustain a summon of that magnitude. A Divine-class monster wasn't something you could just casually toss into battle.
After a moment of hesitation, he decided to test his limits cautiously.
He drew another card with a swift flick of his fingers.
As soon as his Magic Power surged into it, a low hum filled the room Buzz!
Intricate runes began to glow across the wooden floor of the living room. A delicate Magic Circle formed beneath his feet, pulsing with rosy pink light.
From deep within the summoning pattern, the soft silhouette of a girl began to take shape graceful, enchanting, and radiating a mysterious charm.
Her staff gleamed, her eyes sparkled, and her pointed sorceress hat swayed lightly in the magical breeze.
It was
[Dark Magician Girl].
When the magic circle's glow finally faded, the figure of the girl emerged clearly.
She had light yellow hair, cascading down in soft waves, with long, side-swept bangs framing her face. Her emerald green eyes sparkled with energy and charm.
Atop her head sat a playful blue conical hat trimmed with pink, and around her neck hung a yellow collar adorned with a red gemstone that shimmered in the ambient light.
She wore a striking outfit: a blue off-the-shoulder tube top with a short pink cape, matched with a pink mini-skirt that fluttered lightly as she moved. Her blue and pink wristbands and boots added a final touch of flair, highlighting her tall, lithe figure. The look was an elegant mix of cute and enchanting, with just the right balance of youthful charm and magical allure.
[Dark Magician Girl]Level 6 Monster Card.A prodigious girl adept in wielding dark magic.
True to her character, Dark Magician Girl seemed to come with a natural clumsiness. The moment she landed from the summoning, she tripped over her own foot and nearly took a full Wendy-style faceplant right in front of Ches.
Fortunately, she recovered at the last second, twisting her waist with remarkable flexibility to regain balance avoiding disaster in the most dramatic way possible.
With a sparkling smile, she struck a cute pose, wand raised high:
"Ta-da! Dark Magician Girl makes her dazzling appearance!"
Then she leaned forward sweetly with a wink:
"Long time no see, Master!"
Dark Magician Girl twirled her blue and pink magic staff in her right hand, flashed a peace sign with her left, and struck a playfully dramatic pose, radiating her usual bubbly charm.
Like Lucy's Celestial Spirits, the monsters in Ches's deck weren't just tools or projections they had personalities, consciousness, and real souls. Once summoned, they truly existed in the world. When unsummoned? Most were lazing around inside the deck, killing time.
Ches looked at her and sighed with mock exasperation.
"What do you mean 'long time no see'? If I remember right, we just met two days ago."He gestured toward her pose."Also, could you please stop using that same entrance routine every time you come out? Did you forget the cow dung incident last time?"
At the mention of that disaster, Dark Magician Girl puffed out her cheeks in indignation, her eyes brimming with protest.
"What?! That was totally your fault for placing the magic circle in a weird spot!"
Ches smirked and crossed his arms.
"A true Magister should constantly be aware of her surroundings and respond accordingly."He leaned forward slightly."If you fall into an enemy's arms in a real fight, it won't just be a matter of getting your boots dirty."
The lesson, though harsh, was real. And judging by the blush rising to her cheeks, she knew it too.
Ches put on a straight face, trying his best to look stern.
Black Magician Girl, of course, wasn't fooled.
"Oh please, Master would never summon us into a dangerous place," she said with a sidelong glance, trying to dodge accountability.
In truth, she knew full well that the cow dung incident had been her own fault.What really terrified her, though, was the thought of her "Master Black Magician" hearing about it if that ever happened, she'd be scolded for a hundred years straight!
Quickly changing tactics, she darted to the coffee table, grabbed the still-warm cup of black tea, and handed it to Ches with a grin.
"Since Master is finally home, I wonder why you summoned me tonight?" she asked sweetly, hoping to shift the mood.
Ches accepted the teacup and took a calm sip until he saw her glance out the window, then rest her cheek on her palm in mock contemplation.
"Hmm… doesn't seem like it's time to warm Master's bed yet."
PFFFFT!!
The sip of tea Ches had just taken exploded from his mouth in a powerful spray.
"…When the hell did I ever ask you to warm my bed?!" he shouted, wiping his mouth in disbelief.
"Huh? So Master has thought about it?"Black Magician Girl folded her arms beneath her chest and gave him a sly wink."Hmm… well, I guess I wouldn't mind."
Ches twitched violently in place, his mouth opening and closing without a word. Then he wordlessly reached into his deck and slowly pulled out the card: [Black Magician].
Her eyes bulged.
"Sumimasen, hondou ni sumimasen!!"Black Magician Girl instantly dropped to her knees, skidding to his side and clinging pitifully to his leg like a child begging forgiveness.
Her act of contrition was swift and very, very familiar.