Fairy Tail: My Magic is a Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck — Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Furious Jose, Total War!

Footsteps slapped against the cobblestone. Jet sprinted around the street corner, his face pale with panic, leading Erza, Natsu, and the rest of the group. They skidded to a halt just as the dust settled over the ruined street.

Gray stared at the shattered pavement and the massive crater. Inside lay the battered, unconscious form of Gajeel.

“What the hell happened here…?” Gray muttered.

Erza’s gaze locked onto the fallen attacker. Her expression hardened, a dangerous edge bleeding into her voice. “I didn’t expect Phantom Lord to send someone this dangerous. The Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel Redfox…”

She glanced at the intact members of Shadow Gear, a cold sweat breaking out on her neck. If Chase hadn’t anticipated this ambush, Levy, Jet, and Droy would have been slaughtered.

Lucy and Dark Magician Girl hurried over to Levy and Droy. The two only had a few minor scrapes and dust on their clothes.

“Are you guys okay?” Lucy asked, checking Levy’s arms.

Levy offered a relieved smile and squeezed Lucy’s hands. “Thanks to Chase, you, and Dark Magician Girl, we didn’t get hurt at all.” She cast a lingering look toward the deep crater where the terrifying Dragon Slayer lay motionless.

Natsu stomped his foot, flames briefly licking his sandals. “Damn it! I was a step too late! Chase hogged the whole fight!”

Frustration boiling over, Natsu marched straight down into the crater. He grabbed the front of Gajeel’s studded tunic and shook him violently. His head snapped back and forth like a ragdoll.

“Hey! Wake up! Aren’t you supposed to be the tough Iron Dragon Slayer? Get up and fight me, you bastard!”

Happy hovered nearby, dropping his paws in exasperation. “Natsu, he’s completely out cold.”

While Natsu threw his tantrum, Chase strolled through the debris. He stopped near a pile of shattered bricks. A man with an utterly forgettable face lay face-down, holding his breath and pretending to be a corpse.

Chase nudged him with his boot.

Realizing the jig was up, the thug scrambled to his knees, pressing his forehead to the dirt and babbling spineless pleas for mercy.

Erza walked over, her armor clinking. “Chase, who is this?”

Chase didn’t bother answering with words. He delivered a swift, precise chop to the back of the man’s neck. The thug’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed. Chase reached down and tore away the ragged fabric of the man’s shirt, exposing a dark guild mark tattooed on his chest.

Erza crossed her arms, her brow furrowing. “A guild emblem I don’t recognize…”

“It’s Sabertooth,” Chase said casually. “A minor guild. Not much fame to their name.”

“Why would a minor guild team up with Phantom Lord for an ambush?”

“Probably holding a grudge. I beat up their Guild Master at the last regular meeting.”

Erza’s eyes widened. “You beat up the Master of Sabertooth?!”

She had fought alongside Chase during the Lullaby incident, yet neither he nor Makarov had ever mentioned this little detail.

Chase pulled a blank card from his deck. A soft glow enveloped the unconscious thug, pulling his physical form into the card’s surface until only a flat illustration remained.

“We can discuss the details after we hand this guy over to the old man,” Chase said, tucking the card away. He knew Jiemma was a muscle-brained idiot. Sabertooth was likely just a disposable pawn manipulated by Jose. It wouldn’t change the grand scheme of things, but Makarov needed to know.

“And what about the Iron Dragon?” Erza pointed at Gajeel. Natsu was still aggressively slapping the unconscious man’s cheeks.

Chase chuckled, a wicked glint in his eye. “Taking him back to the guild is boring. I have a much better idea.”

Because of Lucy’s status as the heiress to the Heartfilia fortune, a war between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord was inevitable. Playing defensively would only make Jose bolder. It was time to flip the board.

Jose wanted to force Fairy Tail into a war? Fine. They would give him one, using Gajeel’s favorite method of sending a message.

“Erza, Phantom Lord’s largest branch is in Oak City, right? Up northeast of Magnolia?”

Erza narrowed her eyes, catching his drift. “It is… Wait, Chase. What exactly are you planning?”

Lucy, Gray, and the others gathered around as Chase laid out his proposal.

Natsu threw his head back and roared with laughter. “Ahahaha! That sounds awesome!”

“Aye!” Happy cheered.

Gray smirked, crossing his arms. “You’re a real piece of work, Chase. That’s just mean.”

Lucy winced, her large eyes filled with a mix of pity and horror. “Chase… isn’t that going a little too far?”

Erza, usually the strict enforcer of guild rules, closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. She thought about the ambush. She thought about Levy, Jet, and Droy. The anger she had been suppressing on Makarov’s orders finally won out. She nodded. Phantom Lord had crossed an unforgivable line. It was time for a warning.

The group split up. Erza, Lucy, and Levy took the sealed Sabertooth thug back to Makarov. Chase, Natsu, and Gray hauled Gajeel onto the back of the Citadel Wing Dragon, taking to the night sky toward Oak City.

The next morning, the central square of Oak City was packed. A massive crowd of residents and merchants gathered beneath the towering spire of the Phantom Lord branch, pointing, whispering, and stifling laughter.

“Step aside, step aside! We are from Phantom Lord! Non, non, non!”

The Element 4 shoved their way through the dense crowd. When they finally broke through to the front, all four froze.

High up on the stone wall of the tower, pinned by a glowing Hexagram magic restraint, hung Gajeel Redfox.

He was completely naked.

His bare backside faced the morning sun. On his left butt cheek, someone had sloppily painted a crooked Phantom Lord emblem. On the right cheek, a massive, brightly colored middle finger.

Totomaru’s jaw dropped. “Is that… Gajeel?!”

Juvia stood perfectly still under her parasol, her face deadpan. “Do not worry. The rain will soon wash away this ugly graffiti. Pitter-patter…”

Sol twisted his long limbs into a bizarre, contorted pose, adjusting his monocle. “This is truly… an insult to all refinement. Non, non, non.”

Aria covered his face, massive tears cascading down his cheeks. “Did Gajeel lose? Ah… the humiliation of a comrade… It is so sad!”

Unlike Natsu, who would have burned the city to the ground if a friend were hurt, the Element 4 merely observed the spectacle with their usual eccentric detachment.

Heavy leather boots clicked against the cobblestone.

The crowd parted instantly, suffocated by a sudden, crushing pressure. Jose Porla stepped into the square. His face was a mask of terrifying gloom, dark magic swirling around his gaunt frame like a physical miasma.

He didn’t care about Gajeel’s pain. He cared about the mockery.

The strongest Mage of his guild was hanging naked in the public square, reduced to a walking punchline. The whispers of the crowd felt like needles driving into his skull.

“You really dared to do it, Makarov…” Jose hissed.

The middle finger painted on Gajeel’s rear end was a direct challenge. If Makarov’s weakness was his children, Jose’s absolute trigger was the reputation of Phantom Lord.

Dark purple magic erupted from Jose’s body, cracking the pavement and sweeping across the square in a violent gale.

“Aria,” Jose commanded, his voice dripping with venom. “Contact Jiemma. Wake up the Six-Legged Walker.”

The air grew heavy, thick with the promise of destruction.

“Everyone, prepare yourselves. We are going to war with Fairy Tail. Total war.”