After a round of frantic explanations and desperate clarifications, the misunderstanding was finally cleared up.
The Dark Magician Girl and Virgo Baluge hit it off surprisingly well. The two summoned companions found themselves sitting in the corner of the room, chatting quietly while occasionally sneaking curious glances at Chase and Lucy.
As expected from fellow otherworldly beings, they got along effortlessly.
Meanwhile, back in the heart of the chaos...
"Hey, Chase! Now that Lucy's back, we can finally check out that thing, right?" Natsu said with way too much excitement as he helped himself to a stack of papers tucked neatly into a bookshelf.
"My novel!!" Lucy shrieked.
The black tea she'd just sipped came spraying out like a geyser. Her soul combusted with rage, and with an explosive burst of energy, she launched a textbook roundhouse kick straight into Natsu's face.
CRACK!
The floor split beneath his body.
"Seriously?! Why is your first instinct always to snoop around people's stuff?!"
Lucy hugged her manuscripts tightly to her chest like a dragon protecting her treasure. Her expression had morphed into a demon lord's, complete with imaginary fangs and glowing red eyes.
"I'm sorry!! I won't peek again!" Natsu whimpered, his ghostly white soul rising up and spinning in the air.
"Lucy," Chase said as he calmly wiped tea off his face with a handkerchief, "I heard everything just now. So you really are writing a novel?"
She froze.
Then Chase continued with a straight face, "Don't worry. I'll make absolutely sure Natsu doesn't get to peek… with me watching."
"Don't join in!!"
Lucy turned red and looked like she was about to explode again.
"After all," Chase said seriously, setting his teacup down, "I'm also a creator with dreams. I know all too well the shame of someone discovering your secret work in progress."
Lucy froze.
And then, tears welled up in her eyes like twin fountains. She slammed her hands on the table with heartfelt emotion. "Brother Chase, you're amazing! Please, come visit more often especially when Natsu's here!"
She shot a death glare at Natsu, who shrank into the couch like a scolded puppy.
But then Lucy's eyes lit up with realization. "Wait! Chase, when you say creator, do you mean you're also a writer?!"
She immediately imagined Chase seated under a warm lamp, quietly scribbling away with a feathered quill, a thoughtful look on his face, soft classical music playing in the background…
Then she blinked and dropped the thought with a sweatdrop.
Nope. Couldn't picture it at all.
"That's not quite it," Chase replied flatly. "Writing novels is something only superhumans can endure. It's a psychological battlefield. Definitely not for mortals."
"A-Ahaha... yeah, totally," Lucy laughed awkwardly. "So then, what kind of creation do you mean...?"
The Dark Magician Girl raised a finger and beamed. "There's a magical music city on the Kiltina continent, remember? During the year we spent on that ten-year quest, Master has been composing a song!"
"Wait, music? You mean… songwriting?" Lucy asked, genuinely surprised.
Even Natsu and Happy looked up, blinking in disbelief. "Chase? Writing… music?"
They stared at Chase, then at each other, then immediately burst out laughing into their hands.
"Honestly," Happy whispered through his paws, "I could picture him fighting a dragon barehanded easier than playing an instrument."
Lucy nodded internally. Chase playing the piano? That was even harder to imagine than him writing a romance novel.
"That's right!" the Dark Magician Girl continued proudly.
Chase cleared his throat and stood from the sofa with a rare spark in his eye.
"Fighting the enemy to the backdrop of thrilling music… just imagine it! That's true invincibility!"
Natsu and Happy blinked.
A second later, both had the same mental image Chase, towering like a demon, hoisting massive speakers on his shoulders, blaring music while dropkicking enemies into mashed potatoes.
"Yeah," Natsu nodded, "that feels more like it."
"Totally reasonable!" Happy added, wings flapping excitedly.
"Reasonable?!" Lucy exploded, leaping up with a wild look in her eyes. "That scene's way too violent! And since when does any music mage fight with giant speakers?! That's not how it works!"
Chase tilted his head, confused. "Huh? But Lucy, as a novelist, shouldn't your imagination be broader than that?"
"W-Well, I'm not officially a novelist yet…" Lucy wobbled, suddenly dizzy from embarrassment.
"Wait, that's weird," Happy mumbled. "Chase just said you don't have a rich imagination."
"SHUT UP, DAMN CAT!"
Chase chuckled, unfazed by the chaos. "Actually, it was meant for the Harvest Festival. I haven't found all the performers yet, but "
He spread his fingers, a gentle glow forming.
"Since the mood is right… I'll let you hear my work."
Natsu, Happy, and Lucy stared at him like he'd grown a second head.
Chase reached into the air, pulling out a blank card. As he infused it with magic, a complex circle shone bright and in a flash, a sleek, futuristic magic guitar appeared in his hands. Next to him, a shimmering piano materialized, its keys gleaming under the light.
"Master," the Dark Magician Girl stood up beside him with a wink, "let me play backup for you!"
The Dark Magician Girl raised her hands dramatically and leapt onto the magic piano. Despite her mastery of spellcraft, her musical skills were at best still in beginner territory. But she had a fascination with enchanted instruments powered by magic, and after some enthusiastic trial and error, she'd managed to learn the basics.
Chase wasn't much different. His musical journey had been cobbled together with help from professionals in Music City on the Kiltina continent, who'd arranged the score for him. All the passion none of the formal training.
"You've got to be kidding me," Lucy muttered as she watched Chase sling the magic guitar over his shoulder like a rock star. "That guy actually knows how to play an instrument?"
"Oh no, oh no! Happy, cover your ears!" Natsu hissed in panic. "Whatever he's about to play it's going to be dangerous!"
Happy clamped his paws to his ears and nodded vigorously. "It might melt our brains, aye!"
Lucy sweatdropped at their dramatic reactions. "Is that really necessary? You two are being way too exaggerated…"
Even as she said it, Lucy found herself taking an unconscious step back. Despite herself, she was starting to get nervous too.
Chase, on the other hand, smiled coolly. He didn't bother scolding Natsu or Happy he had confidence in what was about to happen.
After all, the piece he was about to play wasn't just any tune.
It was one of the most iconic, most powerful, most blood-pumping themes in Fairy Tail history.
"Listen up, Natsu," he said calmly, gripping the guitar.
"Try not to explode."
After nodding to the Dark Magician Girl, who was already seated at the magic piano with a serious face and fingers poised, Chase adjusted the strap of his enchanted guitar and strummed the first note.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
The moment the vibrant and energetic prelude filled the room, Natsu and Happy froze.
It was like something primal stirred deep inside their bodies a forgotten instinct awakened by the rhythm. Their hands, which had been firmly clamped over their ears a second ago, dropped to their sides.
"Wait… this music…" Natsu muttered, his pupils trembling.
Even Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief.
She had grown up surrounded by culture and refinement, exposed to all genres of music from classical orchestras to cutting-edge rock. But this… this was different. This wasn't just a melody.
Her blood was reacting.
It pulsed in time with the beat, rushed with the rising tempo, surged with the crashing chords. It was like every fiber of her being was urging her to stand up and fight.
She glanced at Chase in awe. If this song was played during battle… could it really ignite morale like this?
Just imagining it sent shivers down her spine.
"This is incredible," she whispered.
"Princess," came Baluge's deadpan voice, cutting through the moment like a needle through a balloon. "You're on fire."
"Huh? What?" Lucy blinked.
"I mean your skirt," Baluge said with all the emotion of a weather report.
Lucy looked down and screamed.
"Aaaaah!! My skirt is actually on fire?!"
She flailed in panic, stomping out the small flames as she ran in frantic circles, her previously poetic awe of the music completely forgotten.
Happy floated above her, laughing his head off. "Aye! That's the power of Chase's burning music!"
Natsu leaned in with wide eyes. "Can it actually light people on fire?! I wanna learn this magic!"
Lucy finally extinguished the flames and stood trembling, her eyes filled with tears of disbelief. "What kind of cursed performance sets its audience ablaze?!"
Chase, completely unfazed, just smiled as he strummed the final chord, his voice smooth as ever: "Good music always sets something alight."
Is Chesgo… also a wizard who can use music to perform magical attacks?!
"No! That can't be right!"
Lucy turned her head toward the source of the sudden heat only for her face to go pale with shock.
Natsu was now completely engulfed in flames.
But not the kind of dangerous, out-of-control fire you'd see from an accident.
No this was his own magic reacting wildly to the music!
He clenched his fists with a feverish grin, flame roaring off his arms, his eyes alight with uncontainable excitement. "WOOOOOO!! This beat is LIT!!"
Lucy shrieked, "No no no!! Ches-bro, stop! Natsu is really on fire now!!"
Beside her, the Dark Magician Girl looked up serenely from the magic piano. "Once the master starts his musical performance, he cannot be interrupted."
"Is that setting really appropriate for someone who said he'd be embarrassed if found out?!" Lucy wailed.
"Ahahaha! I'm on fire! Literally!!" Natsu shouted, spinning like a top and shooting flames in every direction.
"MY HOUSE MY HOUSE AHHHHHH!!"
Furniture burst into flames. The curtains caught next. Happy was flying laps around the ceiling yelling, "Like! I love this chaos! Love the devil, love!!"
The room instantly became a battlefield of madness.
Lucy stood in the middle of it all, trembling like a leaf. "This… this is worse than a Dark Guild attack…"
Meanwhile, Chase was still strumming, fully absorbed in his performance.
Oblivious. Unapologetic. Unstoppable.
Truly, fighting with a speaker… was invincible.
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