At Chase's house…
He and the Dark Magician Girl stood by the window, quietly watching Lucy vanish down the street, trailing visible waves of resentment like smoke behind her.
They exchanged a knowing smile.
"Lucy really is cuter when she's full of energy like that," Chase said with a long sigh. "Honestly, I still can't stand seeing girls cry."
The Dark Magician Girl leaned against the windowsill with one hand, tilted her head slightly, and stared silently at her master.
"So... it was you who made her cry in the first place," she muttered.
The pink dumbbell had originally been meant as a gift. She hadn't expected Chase to suddenly change his mind and charge Lucy for it especially such a trivial amount.
And as the one who managed Chase's finances, she knew exactly how much money he had. Every jewel and every coin.
"Hahaha. Didn't you play along with me?" Chase chuckled.
Of course, he hadn't cared about the money. But at that moment, turning it into a farce had been the fastest way to lift Lucy's spirits and distract her from her sadness.
"After all, you are my master," the Dark Magician Girl said softly, her voice carrying a note of warmth.
After hearing Lucy's story last night, she found herself understanding the always-cheerful, always-complaining girl a little more deeply.
"I never forced you. Don't shift the blame on me," Chase replied casually.
The girl narrowed her eyes. "By the way, when Lucy pulled that sexy little act, you were a little moved, weren't you?"
"Who knows," Chase said with a shrug.
"Hmph! I'm mad now. If you coax me nicely, I might be willing to warm your bed tonight."
"You just want dinner and a bed. You're shameless."
"No wonder Lucy called you a scummy cheapskate. Just go die!"
Boom!
She exploded into sparkles and vanished.
Chase rubbed the growing bump on his head and sighed.
"Life is really not easy…"
Lucy lay sprawled across her bed when her eyes suddenly snapped open. She blinked in confusion, staring blankly at the ceiling above.
Maybe it was because of what Chase said last night, but she'd just had the weirdest dream.
In it, Chase had turned into a massive monster and destroyed the entire Heartfilia castle including the back garden and even the back mountain with a single punch. Then, he was imprisoned by the Magic Council.
But it didn't end there. The Council's entire branch was blown away too, and Chase stood triumphantly atop the smoking rubble like a devil, laughing maniacally...
"That was terrifying... Good thing it was just a dream."
Lucy rubbed her temples and lightly patted her cheeks with both hands, forcing herself to snap out of it. The pep returned to her voice.
"Time to find a good commission today. If this keeps up, I won't even be able to pay rent!"
She hopped out of bed, mumbling to herself as she headed toward the living room.
Then she froze.
There lounging on her sofa like some kind of emperor was a completely naked pervert.
"Yo, Lucy. Morning," Gray greeted her casually. He lifted the pink dumbbell in his hand and added, "I'm kinda surprised. Didn't expect you to have such a unique hobby."
"What the heck?! Chase forced this on me! And it cost twenty-eight thousand! Twenty-eight thousand!"
Lucy transformed into a fanged demon on the spot. Her face turned red with fury as she yelled, "Breaking into my house is already insane, but can you not strip in my living room?!"
"Huh? Oh, no, I stripped before coming in," Gray explained, genuinely serious.
"That's not the point!! If you've got nothing better to do, get out right now!"
"I actually came for a reason." Gray finally set the dumbbell down and gave Lucy a more serious look. "Remember when we were forming teams and Erza agreed to fight Natsu? That duel's about to start."
Lucy paused, some of her rage cooling. "So? Natsu's just going to get flattened."
"True, but that's not the main event," Gray said, eyes glinting. "Chase and Erza are going to fight, too. A proper match between two S-Class wizards of Fairy Tail."
"Chase and Erza?!"
Lucy's sleepy expression vanished. Her eyes lit up in an instant. She dropped the issue with Gray completely, rushed to get changed, washed up, and dashed out the door.
Friendly duels between S-Class mages weren't just exciting; they were rare opportunities to learn and grow.
Not only did these battles help improve the skills of both participants, but the rest of the guild often learned a lot just by watching.
That was exactly why Master Makarov hadn't stopped the fight in fact, he encouraged it.
As the temporary host of the duel, Makarov led the entire Fairy Tail guild far out to the suburbs. Magnolia simply couldn't endure the destruction that would inevitably follow a fight between Chase and Erza.
As for Natsu… well, no one paid him any mind not even his loyal partner, Happy.
By the time Lucy and Gray arrived at the designated battle site, the area was already packed with spectators. There were plenty of familiar faces from the guild, but also quite a few people Lucy didn't recognize.
Fairy Tail wasn't a small guild. Aside from the well-known core members, there were many part-timers and marginal members who rarely appeared at the guild hall. For someone like Lucy, who had only joined a few days ago, it was impossible to know everyone.
The crowd had left the center of the clearing wide open. There, Chase and Erza stood at opposite ends of the field, staring each other down. Though neither moved, the faint aura of their magic power hung in the air, creating a palpable pressure that made it hard to breathe.
Makarov stood at the front of the crowd, just about to declare the match officially underway when suddenly, Natsu burst out and charged right between the two.
"Wait a sec! I was supposed to go first!" he shouted.
"Hey, Chase! Back off! If there's going to be a fight, I'm starting it!" Natsu yelled, puffing up his chest.
The entire guild looked at him and sighed in unison.
Makao shook his head. "Is he an idiot? Even if you've got guts, you should know your limits. This isn't some street brawl."
Wakaba puffed on his pipe and smirked. "Should we start a betting pool? Although the odds are going to be... tragic."
Cana drained a mug of ale and laughed. "Gurgle… that idiot should wait until Erza and Chase are done. That way he might at least have a 0.1 percent chance."
Lucky added, "Still, the way that imaginary sword flew out of Natsu's head just now was seriously sharp."
"Sharp?" someone echoed. "You mean... brave, right?"
Hearing such bizarre commentary, Lucy couldn't hold back her need to complain.
"Everyone seems to think Natsu's hopeless. But come on, they're all part of the strongest team, right? The gap between them can't be that huge." She frowned and looked puzzled.
"The strongest team?" Gray snorted beside her. "Who came up with that nonsense? What kind of bored person would make up something like that?"
At that exact moment, Mira who had been smiling beside them froze. Her smile twitched, and then she covered her face with her hands and began to cry dramatically.
"It was Mira!" Gray looked genuinely surprised.
"That's just cruel, Gray. You made her cry," Lucy said, shooting him a look of disapproval.
Gray immediately panicked and tried to comfort Mira with awkward, fumbling words.
Meanwhile, over on the battlefield, Natsu had clearly lost all patience. With a roar, he activated his Fire Dragon's Iron Fist and charged at Erza, a wave of heat trailing behind him.
Erza barely moved. She calmly shifted her stance, dodged his wild swing, and drove her fist straight into Natsu's abdomen.
With a dull thud, Natsu collapsed onto the ground like a rag doll. A tiny white spirit seemed to float out of his mouth, and he raised a white flag in surrender.
"I really can't do anything with you, Natsu," Erza said, shaking her head. "Fine. I'll fight you first."
She withdrew her fist and gave a solemn nod.
"Loooove! It's over!" Happy cheered loudly, raising his tiny arms in a mock celebration of the one-sided "battle."
Natsu was quickly dragged off the field like a sack of potatoes.
Once again, the clearing was quiet. Now only Chase and Erza stood facing each other.
"Hahaha, you sent Natsu flying with one punch. That's the Erza I know," Chase laughed heartily.
"If it were a normal day, I wouldn't mind playing along with Natsu," Erza replied calmly, her expression turning serious. "But today my opponent is you. If I don't conserve my magic power, I'll probably lose badly."
She wasn't being modest.
A year ago, she had fought Chase with everything she had. Back then, they were evenly matched. Neither side had gained much of an advantage, and the battle had ended without a clear winner.
But that was precisely why Erza had told Mira in private that she might not be a match for Chase now.
It wasn't that Chase had held back during their first fight far from it. The problem was his terrifying rate of growth.
When he first joined Fairy Tail, he was the kind of guy who got beaten up by even Nazgre and the others...
Now, one year later, Erza stood before Chase once more. She had grown stronger in that time, no doubt but even so, she wasn't entirely certain she could win.
Yet, what surged within the Titania's chest wasn't hesitation. It was something far more powerful.
The uncontainable thrill of battle.
The raw, burning fighting spirit of a true warrior.
"Come, Chase!" Erza called out, her eyes gleaming with resolve. "Show me how far you've come in this past year!"
"That's exactly what I want to see from you too, Erza!"
BOOM!
At that very moment, overwhelming waves of magic burst forth from both of them, shaking the air and sending ripples across the field like twin storms colliding.
S-Class versus S-Class
The battlefield trembled.
The clash had begun!