Fairy Tail: My Magic is a Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck — Chapter 185

Chapter 185: The Village Emitting a Strange Aura

Maintaining a Golden Key Star Dress demanded a far more staggering toll on Magic Power than Lucy had ever anticipated. That was without even factoring in the multiple constellation gates she had already forced open today. The moment Chase unequipped the magic card Unicorn’s Horn, the artificial tether sustaining her Star Dress snapped.

The golden light shattered.

Worse yet, in her absolute thrill of mastering the form, she had completely forgotten one crucial detail. Her original clothes were gone.

If Happy were floating around right now, the blue cat would undoubtedly point a paw at her shivering form, roll his tongue, and drop a merciless, ‘As expected of Lucy, huh.’

Thankfully, Dark Magician Girl chimed in with a lifesaver, suggesting she swap to the Canis Minor Star Dress. The Magic Power requirement for the little snowman-dog spirit was practically nonexistent. Only then did Lucy’s impromptu and highly embarrassing fanservice hour come to a close.

Given the sheer distance remaining to their client’s location, Chase activated Stamina Enhancer Super Z. The restorative magic flooded Lucy’s depleted reserves, dragging her back from the brink of exhaustion so she could endure the high-intensity training required to stabilize her volatile Star Dress magic.

For this exact purpose, the Baondali Forest served as the ultimate crucible. Teeming with vicious, territorial magical beasts, it offered no room for hesitation.

Fighting tooth and nail through the dense underbrush, Lucy’s proficiency skyrocketed. Her success rate in donning the Star Dress climbed from a pitiful twenty percent to a solid fifty.

It was a terrifying pace of growth, though Chase hardly found himself surprised.

Lucy’s innate talent for Celestial Spirit Magic was already monstrous. In the original timeline, even while juggling rent and a full-time newspaper gig, she had managed to teach herself the Star Dress technique in a single year. Now, backed by the grueling foundation of the Dark Magician training regimen, guided personally by Chase and Dark Magician Girl, and thrown into a life-or-death survival trek, her progress was bound to be explosive.

Naturally, this semi-hellish bootcamp carried glaring drawbacks.

By the time the jagged silhouette of an ancient village finally pierced through the treeline, Lucy was a hollow shell. Her legs wobbled like jelly, completely devoid of strength. Stamina Enhancer Super Z only topped up Magic Power; it did absolutely nothing to heal physical bruises or mend a fractured mental state.

“Master, is that settlement up ahead our destination?”

Dark Magician Girl balanced effortlessly on a swaying treetop, bringing a fair hand to her forehead as she peered into the distance. The setting sun bled a vibrant orange across the endless canopy of the forest, signaling the arrival of twilight.

Chase unrolled a crumpled parchment map, tracing the topography before tucking it away. “According to the coordinates, that has to be it. There aren’t any other settlements for miles.”

“We finally made it…” Lucy let out a soul-deep groan.

Her tongue practically lolled out of her mouth as she panted. Dressed in the fluffy, pure-white Canis Minor uniform, she looked exactly like a literal tired dog. Even with her newfound mastery over advanced magic and multiple mana restorations along the way, she felt utterly unfit to meet a client.

The ambitious rookie who dreamed of becoming an S-Class Mage was currently getting a brutal reality check regarding SS-Class requests.

Just as Lucy gathered the absolute last dregs of her willpower to march toward the village gates, the dense thicket ahead violently thrashed. A dark shadow erupted from the bushes at breakneck speed.

Chase’s eyes narrowed. His reflexes flared, dark golden Magic Power instantly surging into his clenched right fist.

A heartbeat later, the lethal energy dissipated. He slowly lowered his arm, recognizing the chaotic aura of the incoming figure.

“Hmm? A little dog?”

A man adorned in purple shoulder pads stumbled forward, reeking of cheap booze. He leaned directly into Lucy’s personal space, his nose twitching as he aggressively sniffed the air around her.

“Where did this perverted magical beast come from?!” Lucy yelled, pure survival instinct taking over as she planted a violent, magic-laced kick square into the man’s jaw.

The stranger traced a soaring arc through the twilight sky before crashing headfirst back into the thorny bushes. Only then did Lucy blink, realizing the beast was actually a human being.

“Ah! Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I just reacted!”

The man groaned, struggling to untangle himself from the vines. He swayed on his feet, though whether that was from the concussive kick or the sheer volume of alcohol in his blood was entirely up for debate.

“It’s fine.” He waved a dismissive hand, shaking his head as he stumbled back over. He squinted at her. “But you… you’re clearly wearing a little dog outfit, yet I don’t recognize your scent at all. You look clumsy and foolish. Are you a new recruit for our Quatro Cerberus guild?”

The sheer audacity of the drunkard snapped Lucy’s guilt in half, instantly igniting her inner complaint engine.

“I am just wearing a dog-themed outfit! I am not an actual dog, and I do not have a weird smell!” she yelled, waving her arms frantically. “And jumping to the conclusion that I’m in your guild just because of an outfit is ridiculous! What kind of rookie would wander into a death trap like this forest anyway?! Also, what do you mean clumsy and foolish?! Your pickup lines are garbage! Absolute garbage!”

Mid-rant, Lucy’s brain finally caught up to the words she was yelling. She froze, her eyes widening.

“Wait. Did you just say… you’re a Mage from Quatro Cerberus?”

As a fellow official guild within the Fiore Kingdom, Quatro Cerberus might not have matched Fairy Tail’s chaotic infamy, but they were far from a minor faction. They boasted serious firepower. Before joining Fairy Tail, Lucy had carefully researched the kingdom’s major guilds, so she knew their reputation well. During the Lullaby incident, she had even briefly seen their Guild Master, Goldmine, knowing he was an old drinking buddy of Master Makarov.

What on earth was a Quatro Cerberus Mage doing all the way out here?

“That’s right. This guy is an S-Class Mage from Quatro Cerberus.”

Chase strolled forward, his hands tucked casually into his pockets as he eyed the swaying man. “Bacchus. The Drunken Falcon.”

The Fiore Kingdom was a small world. It was incredibly common for Mages from different guilds to cross paths on the road. Back when Chase had first claimed his S-Class title, he and Bacchus had crossed paths. Two massive egos clashing had inevitably led to a brawl, ending in a mutual knockout where both of them collapsed into the dirt.

Coincidentally, that was the exact fight where the magic card Pot of Greed had dropped for him.

“S-Class?! This drunkard?!” Lucy stared in disbelief, before a snicker escaped her lips at the memory of Natsu’s favorite nickname for them. “Quatro Puppy…”

“Tch. Didn’t expect to see you here, you bastard card-slinger,” Bacchus slurred, curling his lip in a mix of disdain and genuine surprise.

Under normal circumstances, the battle-crazed martial artist would have already thrown a palm strike at Chase’s head. But right now, Bacchus’s breathing was ragged, and his Magic Power fluctuated erratically. He was in terrible shape.

“What, it’s just Fairy Tail. I thought a cute girl had finally joined our sausage fest.” Bacchus spat on the ground. “Hey. If you guys are out here for that SS-Class request, turn around and go home.”

A few more figures dragged themselves out of the treeline. The rest of the Quatro Cerberus team looked even worse than their leader. They were caked in dried mud and blood, sporting deep lacerations and carrying an aura of absolute defeat.

Quatro Cerberus was essentially a brotherhood of rough, brawling men; seeing them this battered was a stark warning.

Chase took one look at the bruised squad and smirked, his tone dripping with dry amusement. “Let me guess. You couldn’t handle the request, right?”

Bacchus caught the taunt, but the usual explosive anger never came.

Instead, a shadow crossed the Drunken Falcon’s face. Remembering whatever nightmare they had barely survived over the past two days, he let out a heavy, rattling sigh. Lingering fear flickered in his dark eyes.

“Chase. I’m serious. Give up while you still have your lives,” Bacchus said, his voice dropping its drunken slur entirely. “This request… it’s simply not something Mages like us can complete.”

Despite the grim warning and the sheer gravity etched into Bacchus’s face, Chase didn’t feel a single ounce of hesitation.

If anything, his blood pumped a little faster.

Judging by the state of the Quatro Cerberus elites, this SS-Class request was indeed a death sentence for an ordinary S-Class Mage. Unfortunately for whatever lurked in that village, Chase was no longer ordinary. With his current power scaling to the level of the Ten Wizard Saints, he had left Bacchus in the dust a long time ago.

Lucy, on the other hand, looked like she was about to pass out from sheer terror.

Watching the battered Quatro Cerberus Mages limp away into the darkening forest, she tugged nervously at Chase’s sleeve. “Chase… can that guy really fight you to a draw?”

After surviving the war against Phantom Lord, Lucy had developed a distinct impression that Fairy Tail’s S-Class roster was simply built different compared to other guilds. For instance, Gray’s senior disciple, Lyon, had only recently been promoted to S-Class in Lamia Scale. She desperately wanted to downplay Bacchus’s strength to convince herself this mission wasn’t a suicide run.

“That was in the past. Right now? I’d flatten him in two minutes flat,” Chase replied, rolling his shoulder with absolute confidence.

“See! I knew it!” Lucy exhaled, a massive smile breaking across her face.

“However,” Chase continued smoothly, shattering her hopes, “barring any weird situational advantages, Bacchus’s raw combat strength is roughly on par with Erza’s. He is the undisputed strongest Mage in Quatro Cerberus, after all.”

“On par… which means…” The relief drained from Lucy’s face, leaving behind a mask of pure horror. Her pupils shrank to pinpricks. “Even if Erza came, she wouldn’t be able to finish this request?!”

“That’s a flawed conclusion. Raw power is the baseline for high-ranking requests, but a Mage’s battlefield judgment, sheer willpower, and combat experience dictate the final outcome,” Chase explained, adopting a rare, professorial tone. Putting aside the chaotic variables of a deathmatch, Erza’s monstrous willpower eclipsed Bacchus by miles.

“And don’t forget, sometimes a little bit of luck is far more useful than raw strength!” Dark Magician Girl chimed in, raising a cheerful finger.

“Luck, huh…” Lucy muttered, a dark cloud seemingly forming over her head. Ever since she joined the guild and started teaming up with Natsu, her luck had been so abysmal she could barely scrape together her monthly rent.

“Turning tail and running home without even throwing a punch isn’t the Fairy Tail way.” Chase cracked his knuckles, a predatory grin spreading across his face. “Besides, now we have the perfect excuse to clear this request. Let’s go, Lucy. Time to give Quatro Cerberus a massive slap in the face.”

Without waiting for an answer, he strode down the overgrown path toward the village.

Dark Magician Girl skipped right after him, humming a light, upbeat melody.

“He’s right. We didn’t walk all this way just to turn around!” Lucy slapped her own cheeks, took a deep, stabilizing breath, and sprinted to catch up.

The trio soon arrived at the exact coordinates marked on the parchment. Looming before them was a secluded village, heavily fortified by towering stone walls that stretched several meters into the air. Thick, creeping moss blanketed the masonry, blending the fortress smoothly into the encroaching forest.

Set into the center of the wall was a massive bronze gate, deeply engraved with archaic, twisting symbols. It looked impenetrable.

Though the heavy doors were sealed shut, Chase could feel it. A bizarre, suffocating aura bled through the microscopic cracks in the metal. It didn’t feel like human Magic Power, nor did it carry the feral, natural scent of the beasts they had slaughtered in the woods. It was entirely alien.

Needing to confirm his suspicions, Chase stepped up to the threshold.

The absolute second his fingertips brushed the cold bronze, the Magic Power circulating through his veins violently shuddered. A sickening, oppressive chill spiked straight through his bones.

“This village…” Chase pulled his hand back, his brows knitting together.

“Master, the energy inside feels incredibly wrong,” Dark Magician Girl murmured, her usual cheer fading. Having spent countless hours honing her senses alongside the Dark Magician, her magical perception was arguably even sharper than Chase’s.

“Chase, Dark Magician Girl, please don’t scare me like that. Why don’t I feel anything at all?”

Lucy, who had already ducked behind Chase’s back at the speed of light, peeked over his shoulder to eye the bronze gate. If just touching the front door was enough to unnerve an S-Class monster like Chase, she didn’t even want to fathom the horrors waiting inside.

“Hey! Who goes there?!”

A gruff shout barked from the top of the wall, nearly making Lucy jump out of her skin.

She snapped her head up to see a burly man clad in thick beast skins, leveling a massive, cold-steel saber directly at them.

‘Oh thank Mavis, it’s just a normal human and not some twisted, faceless monster.’ Lucy placed a hand over her racing heart, exhaling a quiet sigh of relief.

“We are Mages from Fairy Tail. We’re here to take on the request.”

Chase stepped forward, casually pulling the official request form from his pocket while turning his right arm to display his guild mark.

“Fairy Tail? The guild that claims to be the strongest in Fiore?” the guard muttered, his grip on the saber tightening.

A few days ago, hearing that legendary name would have sent him into tears of joy, believing their village’s nightmare was finally over. But after watching the absolute strongest warrior of Quatro Cerberus get broken and sent packing, his faith in these so-called famous guilds had shattered.

Still, a desperate man couldn’t afford to throw away hope. The guard vaulted over the high stone wall, landing heavily in the dirt before Chase.

He snatched the parchment. After scanning the official seals and confirming the details, the hostile tension bleeding from his shoulders finally eased.

“Greetings, Mages who have traveled so far. I am Bereste, the guardian of this village.”

“Chase Lin Edogado. S-Class Mage of Fairy Tail,” Chase replied, offering a polite handshake.

Bereste’s eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. “Chase?! The same Chase who annihilated the Eighteen Battle Gods of Yakuma on Galuna Island?!”

“If the rumors haven’t exaggerated too much, then yes, that would be me,” Chase replied smoothly, letting a hint of arrogant confidence lace his tone.

The fact that an isolated guard deep within the Baondali Forest knew about the Galuna Island incident proved this strange village maintained active intelligence networks with the outside world. It made sense; they had the connections to submit a bounty to the Guild Alliance and the Magic Council, ultimately elevating a standard S-Class crisis into an SS-Class nightmare.

“Thank the gods! If it’s really you, then you must be infinitely stronger than that drunken fool from Quatro Cerberus!” Bereste said, his face lighting up with wild, desperate joy.

Standing in the back, Lucy felt an invisible mountain of pressure crash onto her shoulders. ‘I don’t even want to know how badly this guy is going to trash Fairy Tail’s reputation if Chase somehow fails…’

“Naturally. Bacchus is nothing more than a defeated opponent of mine.”

Chase took a deliberate step to the side, completely exposing the trembling blonde hiding behind him. He placed a hand on her back and shoved her forward with a bright grin.

“But more, the one leading our vanguard today is none other than the great Lucy-sama right here!”

Lucy stumbled forward, her eyes going completely blank as her brain short-circuited.

‘…Vanguard?”Lucy-sama?!”M-Me?!!!’