Fairy Tail: My Magic is a Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck — Chapter 198

Chapter 198: New Card, Archfiend of Gilfer!

“Are you okay, Chase?”

Ultear held her crystal ball in her right hand, the white fabric of her corset fluttering gently against the chilling wind.

“I’m fine.” Chase exhaled a long breath and shook his head slightly. He was genuinely surprised that Ultear had managed to arrive so quickly after receiving the Demon King’s message.

Sensing the surging, oppressive Magic Power around Silver gradually stabilizing and pulling back, Chase let the glowing magic circle at his fingertips fade, canceling the chant for his trap card.

“The Magic Council?” Silver murmured. He tilted his head back, his cold eyes locking onto the heavily armored magic airship cutting through the clouds above. “Now is not the time to start a war with your lapdogs.”

Silver lowered his gaze, sweeping past the Council’s enforcement unit in the sky, past Ultear standing poised on the rose-shaped ice, until his eyes finally rested heavily on Chase.

“Young man, I will temporarily leave the magic egg and those demons in your care,” Silver said, his deep voice echoing across the frozen wasteland. “Let us have a proper fight the next time we cross paths.”

The moment the last word left his lips, a thick layer of frost rapidly bloomed across his skin. The ice encased him completely in a matter of seconds. With a sharp, ringing crack, the frozen statue shattered into countless glittering specks of diamond dust, scattering into the wind. He vanished from his original spot without a trace.

Chase’s fingers, hanging loosely by his side, twitched. He weighed his options for a brief second before ultimately dismissing the idea of giving chase.

Putting aside the Council’s miscellaneous soldiers hovering above, even with Ultear’s considerable assistance, forcing a death match with Silver right here offered zero tactical benefits. Worse, it risked drawing the premature, undivided attention of Tartaros.

At this current stage, everyone in Fairy Tail was in a period of cautious, necessary growth. Directly provoking the strongest Dark Guild on the continent right now would be tantamount to smashing an egg against a boulder.

The Fairy Tail emblem stamped on his right arm dictated his responsibilities. Small skirmishes were perfectly fine, and even served to build the guild’s reputation, but when it came to massive threats that could gamble the lives of his companions, he had to tread carefully.

Besides, Silver was essentially Gray’s destined power-up. There was no absolute need to capture him today. In fact, if played right, there might even be a chance to win the Ice Devil Slayer over to their side eventually.

Adding a monster of that caliber to Fairy Tail’s roster would be a massive advantage. Chase just wondered if a man who had died years ago, yet retained his body and consciousness perfectly, could be fully brought back using Monster Reborn.

The thought lingered in his mind as the icy mist settled. However, testing that theory would have to wait until Fairy Tail possessed the raw strength to crush Tartaros. Now was simply not the time.

Pushing the future aside, Chase focused on the immediate spoils of this unexpected encounter. A brand new card hovered deep within the sea of his consciousness.

Golden light flowed through his mind, tracing the complex borders of the card art. The image solidified, revealing a six-star Fiend-Type monster boasting dark red, leathery wings, razor-sharp barbs, and a ferociously grinning visage.

Archfiend of Gilfer.

While its raw offensive effect might not match the sheer destructive power of Buster Blader, and its level fell short of heavy hitters like Black Luster Soldier or Magician of Black Chaos, it was an incredibly solid addition to his current deck.

Even better, binding the new card instantly forced Chase’s own Magic Power reserves to expand, a warm current of fresh energy washing through his veins.

Miles away, deep within the dense, untouched forest, Silver stood silently on a massive tree branch. He gazed back through the canopy, his eyes fixed on the distant coordinates where he had left Chase and the others.

“That Ice-Make Magic just now… and an appearance completely identical to Ur. Was that Ur’s Tears?” Silver muttered to the empty woods.

A faint, genuine smile broke through his usually stoic expression. “My foolish son really has gathered a lot of reliable companions around him.”

This brief, chaotic interlude at the Demon Village had inevitably stirred up memories of the boy he hadn’t seen in years. For a fleeting moment, the chilling aura of the absolute zero demon faded into the warmth of a proud father.

But the warmth did not last. The smile was quickly buried, replaced by a mask of cold, calculating cruelty as the dark shadows of the dense foliage swallowed his figure.

To complete his ultimate revenge against the demons of Zeref’s books, he was destined to walk alone in the darkest abyss. He could never afford to acknowledge his son.

Back at the ruins of the village, Ultear finally let her tense shoulders drop. Only when the terrifying, heart-palpitating Magic Power completely vanished from the region did she allow herself to exhale.

“What exactly is the origin of that man?” She cast a sideways glance at Chase, her eyes still holding a trace of wariness. “He was radiating pure danger.”

“He claimed to be a member of the Nine Demon Gates. From the Dark Guild, Tartaros,” Chase answered casually.

“Tartaros?” Ultear’s brows pinched together. “Why would a Dark Guild that even the Magic Council knows next to nothing about suddenly appear out here?”

While Tartaros and Grimoire Heart were both pillars of the Balam Alliance, their relationship was strictly a non-aggression pact rather than a true partnership. The three giant Dark Guilds rarely interacted, deliberately keeping the identities and magic of their core members a closely guarded secret from one another.

Dark Guilds were breeding grounds for power-hungry fanatics. Trust was a myth; today’s ally was simply tomorrow’s backstabber.

Because of this intense isolationism, even though Ultear was the leader of the Seven Kin of Purgatory, she had never actually crossed paths with someone like Silver.

Her dark eyes dimmed slightly as her thoughts drifted. She remembered the strict orders Guild Master Hades had issued just a few days ago, demanding her immediate return to Grimoire Heart.

Piecing that together with the scattered intelligence the Council had recently gathered, she strongly suspected this sudden shift in the underworld had something to do with the Oración Seis making aggressive moves in the shadows.

“I’m not entirely sure of his grand plan, but he specifically said he wanted to destroy the magic egg and wipe out the demon villagers,” Chase said, looking toward the horizon where Silver had vanished.

Those words snapped Ultear out of her political calculations.

She looked up, her gaze sweeping over the utterly devastated landscape. Craters littered the earth, ancient trees were splintered into toothpicks, and the ground was scarred by deep trenches of frost and scorched earth. She pressed a hand to her forehead, a look of deep exhaustion washing over her features.

“So you went ahead and fought him anyway,” she groaned. “You are unbelievably reckless. I explicitly told you not to act rashly and to just let the Council handle the situation!”

Despite her sharp reprimand, Ultear wasn’t actually shocked that Chase had managed to hold his ground against a legendary Demon King.

The man standing in front of her possessed the absurd power to shatter Iced Shell and casually dismantle Jellal. It was a level of monstrous strength that even she secretly admired.

“If the Council lapdogs got involved, we wouldn’t get our commission reward,” Chase replied with a perfectly innocent smile. He raised his hand, a card materializing between his fingers.

Just as he spoke, Lucy came sprinting over the broken terrain, panting heavily as she finally caught up to them. She waved frantically at Ultear.

Chase flicked his wrist. The magic circle shimmered brightly in the air, and in a flash of light, Éclair, Momon, and the entire crowd of displaced villagers were freed from the card space, stumbling back into reality.

The Old Village Chief and his people stood awkwardly amidst the rubble. They blinked at the shattered earth and the massive craters, their faces painting a picture of absolute bewilderment.

The situation earlier had been far too explosive for Chase to sit them down and explain the tactical retreat.

After a few minutes of rapid explanation from Lucy, the villagers finally realized that the apocalyptic wasteland beneath their boots was actually their once-peaceful home. Their mouths twitched. Several looked like they desperately wanted to complain about the collateral damage, but considering Chase had just saved their lives from a literal demon, they swallowed their grievances.

“So, Village Chief, the magic egg has been completely restored to its original state. That means this commission is officially complete.”

Picking up the business transaction that had been rudely interrupted earlier, Chase pulled the glowing magic egg from another card. He held it out toward the elderly man. “Do you still want to keep this thing?”

“Ah? Oh, yes. Thank you so much, young man.”

The Old Village Chief, still clearly shell-shocked by the total annihilation of his real estate, habitually reached out to take his ancestral relic.

He grabbed the egg. He pulled.

The egg did not move. It seemed practically glued to Chase’s palm. The old man grunted, planting his feet and tugging harder, but Chase’s arm remained as immovable as a mountain.

“Mr. Chase, you…” the Chief started, looking up in confusion.

“I asked, do you still want to keep this thing?” Chase repeated. His friendly, polite smile had not shifted a single millimeter.

“Well, we should probably hold onto it for now and assess the situation,” the Old Village Chief replied, assuming this tug-of-war was just some bizarre post-mission ritual.

He pulled again. The egg stayed exactly where it was.

Finally, the gears turned in the old man’s head. He looked at Chase’s unyielding grip, then at the terrifying craters surrounding them, and suddenly achieved total enlightenment. He let go of the egg and waved his hands with exaggerated generosity.

“Actually, no, no! Relying on an artifact with such massive, catastrophic hidden dangers is simply not the right path for our people’s future!” the Chief declared loudly. “As a special bonus for your outstanding service, the village would be honored to gift this magic egg to you, Mr. Chase. Please, take it off our hands!”

“Is that so? Well, I suppose I can do a good deed and take on that heavy burden for you.” Chase nodded solemnly. In a blur of motion, the magic egg vanished into his deck before the old man could even blink.

The sheer speed of the transaction left Lucy standing off to the side with her jaw hanging open.

‘No way, you can actually extort a client like that?!’she screamed internally.’Chase, you aren’t even trying to hide the robbery anymore!’

While she was busy judging her guildmate’s lack of morals, a sudden movement caught her eye. Dark, jagged spots were beginning to manifest on the Old Village Chief’s wrinkled skin. Right before her eyes, a pair of sharp, twisted horns tore through the skin of his forehead.

“Wait! Old Village Chief, your face!” Lucy shrieked, stumbling backward. “No! Why is everyone in the village—”

She spun around in sheer horror. It wasn’t just the Chief. The guard Bereste, the women, the children—every single villager was rapidly sprouting demonic traits. Scales, wings, and claws tore through their human disguises, transforming the entire crowd into a horde of hideous monsters in the blink of an eye.

Hearing the blonde celestial mage’s terrified screams, the villagers finally snapped out of their post-teleportation daze. They looked down at their own hands, then at their neighbors, realizing the transformation had taken hold.

To Lucy’s absolute shock, there was no screaming. Aside from a brief, instinctual flinch, the villagers remained entirely calm. They looked at their new claws and wings with mild curiosity, readily accepting their new reality.

“Lucy-sama, please, you do not need to look so distressed,” the Old Village Chief said. His voice was rougher now, echoing with a demonic timber, but his cloudy eyes shone with a peaceful determination. “Since those of our family who were previously demonized can never return to their human forms, then the only right thing to do is for all of us to become monsters together.”

The truth was, the moment they had learned the true nature of the magic egg, the entire village had quietly made their peace with this outcome.

It was exactly what they wanted. If they hadn’t been willing to throw away their humanity to stay with their cursed families, they never would have risked following Chase and Lucy into the black mist to confront a Demon King in the first place.

“But… no matter how you look at it, isn’t this way too sad?” Lucy asked, her voice trembling as she looked at the monstrous faces that had once been so kind and human. “You guys… everyone here was human!”

“This village was originally built by a group of broken, homeless outcasts huddling together just to survive the winter,” the Old Village Chief replied, letting out a booming, hearty laugh that rattled his new horns. “Our human skin was never the thing that mattered. As long as we are all still together, these little cosmetic changes don’t mean a thing.”

As his laughter echoed over the ruins, the rest of the villagers immediately broke into enthusiastic, overlapping chatter.

“Hahaha! So what if I’m a demon now? The kingdom abandoned me years ago anyway. I’m done being human!”

“Zane has a point! Honestly, compared to walking, this pair of demon wings on my back is incredibly convenient!”

“You idiot, look closer, I’m Brick!”

“Ahahaha, my bad, my bad! Your snout threw me off for a second.”

“Hey! Check this out! Look at my new arm, it’s glowing purple! How cool is that?”

Lucy stood frozen, watching the terrifying horde of demons teasing each other, flexing their claws, and laughing under the open sky. The initial shock faded, replaced by a deep warmth blooming in her chest. A soft smile graced her lips.

They looked like monsters out of a nightmare, but their souls hadn’t shifted an inch. Seeing them bicker and joke like this inevitably dragged her thoughts back to her own chaotic family.

She couldn’t help but picture what would happen if Fairy Tail underwent the exact same transformation.

Demon Natsu would immediately try to pick fights to prove he was the strongest demon in the underworld. Demon Gray would still strip out of habit, probably revealing a demonic physique that was entirely too embarrassing to look at. Demon Erza would just casually equip her Demon King’s Armor and beat Natsu into the dirt. Demon Happy would probably just turn into a really annoying, flying mosquito.

And then there was Chase and Mira. They would probably run off to some dark, romantic demon cave for a date… and end up having a bunch of ridiculously overpowered, cute little demon babies.

For some inexplicable reason, the pure-hearted Lucy’s imagination violently derailed at that last thought. Steam practically whistled out of her ears as an intense, burning blush hijacked her entire face, leaving her furiously fanning her cheeks in the middle of the ruined wasteland.