"Uh…"
Lucy was momentarily thrown off by the bizarre way Nahabi had introduced himself.
"Hey! Fire Cat, over here!"
The Dark Magician Girl grinned and lobbed a grilled fish toward him.
"You mean Master Fire Dragon Cat!"
Even so, the moment the aroma reached him, Nahabi's instincts kicked in.
He took one step forward before springing into the air, catching the grilled fish in a perfect arc and immediately biting into it with smug satisfaction.
The Dark Magician Girl's eyes sparkled as she turned to report to Chase. "Master, he really does have the instincts of a Happy!"
Lucy: "…"
She couldn't prove it, but she had a strong suspicion that this was starting to look less like magic testing and more like someone training a pet.
"Hahaha, let's push the test a bit further."
Chase clapped his hands and strode over to the corner of Lucy's kitchen, opening the fridge without hesitation and pulling out the only remaining fish head.
Lucy: Why are you so quick and experienced at this and that was for my fish head soup!!
Her silent protest was deafening, but completely ignored.
With a quick swing of his arm, Chase hurled the fish head out the open window.
Whoosh!
The moment it left his hand, a magic circle flared to life behind Nahabi. Two wings one white, one red sprouted from his back, radiating a transcendent glow.
In the blink of an eye, his figure blurred into a streak of light, wings beating as he soared out into the street after the airborne fish head.
He intercepted it mid-air, snatching it cleanly into his palm.
The next second, flames roared from his mouth, searing the once-frozen fish head until it was perfectly cooked. Then he dug in, savoring every bite like a gourmet.
Meticulous, even in eating.
"Not just personality and appearance," Chase observed, narrowing his eyes, "he can use both of their original magic freely as well. Judging from the mana consumption, it's about the same as Natsu and Happy combined."
Which meant, by his reasoning, that Igneel hidden deep inside Natsu remained in an isolated state, unaffected by the fusion.
After all, even Acnologia had never sensed it. That had to be some kind of advanced spatial magic at work.
"Love~! Eat enough and the power just surges right out of you!!"
While Chase was lost in thought, Nahabi having just finished his fish head suddenly puffed up with confidence. Fighting spirit flared in his round, harpy-like eyes, and waves of heat rolled off him as flames erupted from his body.
" Too many complaints!"
The line sounded so much like Natsu that it was familiar, yet the odd tone made it feel completely wrong. Lucy didn't even know where to begin pointing out what was strange about it.
"Anyway, let's settle this, Chase! I'm invincible right now!"
Buzz!
As Nahabi's magic surged, the flames around him gathered and streamed toward his red-and-white wings.
The wings spread wide in the heat, glowing with an intense brilliance that made for a surprisingly striking sight.
From a distance, it almost looked like Natsu in the midst of transforming into a dragon
Of course, that impression disappeared the moment you noticed the ridiculous harpy motif.
"Not bad. You've got guts. Alright, I'll take your challenge, Totoro."
With a smooth leap, Chase vaulted out the window and landed on the empty street below.
"Wait wait! You're going to fight here?!" Lucy yelped in alarm.
"Relax, Lucy. It'll be over quickly," the Dark Magician Girl said with a serene smile.
"Call me the invincible Lord Totoro!" Nahabi declared solemnly as he hovered in midair. He angled his body sideways, taking up a fighting stance. "Chase, taste my move!"
"The ultimate fish-slaying secret art, Harpy Fire Style "
"Red Lotus Flying Fish Sword!!"
Buzz!!
A torrent of roaring flames burst forth, lighting up the night and painting the canal in shades of crimson.
Nahabi dove from above, his body wreathed in fire, mimicking the image of a blazing flying fish plummeting toward its prey.
He charged straight at Chase.
Chase inhaled slowly, magic concentrating in his right arm. The seal lines along his wrist glowed faintly.
With one clean, precise motion, he drove his fist forward shattering the fiery "Red Lotus Flying Fish" and landing a solid blow to Nahabi's midsection.
Thud.
The flames around Nahabi winked out instantly. He dropped like a rock, hitting the ground with a dull bounce.
"So weak! That was way too weak!" Lucy gawked.
From her point of view, it had gone something like this: The "invincible" Lord Totoro made his grand entrance… Chase threw one punch… and the "invincible" Lord Totoro was down for the count.
"After all that, this really wasn't any different from when Natsu challenged Erza," Lucy sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Honestly, I was ready to pack up and run if my house got caught in the fight!"
"That's because no matter how flashy their aura is, Natsu and Happy together still aren't that strong," the Dark Magician Girl explained matter-of-factly.
"That's true. After all, their opponent was Chase. Even two Natsus wouldn't stand a chance against him," Lucy realized aloud.
Out on the street, Nahabi lay sprawled on the ground, apparently unconscious. A little white soul floated up from his mouth, waving a tiny white flag in surrender.
"As expected, the fusion didn't produce any noticeable increase in combat power when it comes to Natsu and Happy," Chase muttered under his breath.
Of course, the main reason was Happy but part of it was also because Natsu just wasn't very strong when it came to friendly sparring matches.
If Chase really wanted to test fusion potential, he'd have to find someone on par with Natsu to fuse with him. Only then would the difference be obvious.
Still, he wasn't in any rush. Even from this short test, he'd gathered a fair bit of useful data.
With the experiment over, Chase raised his hand and canceled the fusion magic.
One of the perks of cards powered by his own magic was that they didn't require an extra "Fusion Release" card like with summoned monsters.
The magic circle glowed, a white flash of light erupted, and the unconscious Nahabi split apart into two figures.
"Damn it! This is all your fault for being too weak, Natsu! If you were stronger, we could've beaten Chase!"
"Hah? You're the one who dragged us down, Happy! If I'd fused with anyone else, we'd be unstoppable!"
"It's your fault!"
"No, yours!"
No sooner had they woken up than Natsu and Happy were blaming each other, bickering fiercely.
Lucy, leaning on the windowsill, curled her lip. "Wow. You two have an amazingly fragile partnership."
"Awww, they're just like little kids," the Dark Magician Girl said with a smile reminiscent of Mira's, clearly enjoying the scene.
"Hey, Chase! Forget Natsu let me fuse with Lucy next time!"
Happy broke away from the argument and padded toward Chase.
Whap!
A pink slipper sailed from the windowsill and smacked him squarely on the forehead.
"Damn cat! How many times do I have to tell you not to say weird stuff like that?!" Lucy roared, fists clenched.
"Happy's right! Chase, let me fuse with Lucy before I fight you!"
Natsu stepped forward eagerly.
Whap!
Another pink slipper flew through the air, landing on his head without mercy.
Grinding her teeth, Lucy shouted, "Hey! How about asking me, the person involved, before making these kinds of decisions?!"
Both Natsu and Happy clutched their heads, bowing deeply toward the window. "Sumimasen! Gomenasai, sumimasen!"
"It's obvious Lucy doesn't want anything to do with fusing with you two," Chase said with a shrug, glancing up at the starry night sky. "Let's call it a day. I'm a little tired."
"The Dark Magician Girl is heading back too," she said.
"Okay!"
After waving goodbye to Lucy, the Dark Magician Girl turned into a streak of pink light and quickly caught up to Chase as they walked away.
"…Weird. I feel like I've forgotten something important."
Lucy's gaze followed their retreating figures. Then she looked back at Natsu and Happy, who were still arguing in the street, and suddenly remembered.
"That's right! Brother Chase take these two idiots with you!!"
....
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