Chase didn't fall asleep right away. Instead, he retreated into the card space.
Mystogan's words earlier had made him realize, somewhat belatedly, an important issue.
After defeating Jose, aside from recuperating and dealing with the Magic Council's Enforcement force, most of his attention had been focused on developing and utilizing the Spell Card Polymerization. In doing so, he'd overlooked another, less obvious benefit.
Namely, with the addition of new cards, his magical power had increased as well!
Inside the card space…
This was an independent world, much like the Celestial Spirit World, but divided into numerous distinct areas separated by clearly defined golden boundary lines.
When not summoned, the card monsters reside in their respective territories.
As a result, each area had its own distinct character.
For instance, Guardian of the Fortress occupied a majestic ancient castle. Summoned Demon dwelled in a dark, shadowy underworld. The three knights resided in a splendid, golden palace…
The place Lucy had slept during the Galuna Island incident was actually just the bedroom in the pink castle where Dark Magician Girl lived.
Chase's manifested consciousness hovered in the air, overlooking the vast, spectacular card space.
Sensing his presence, a streak of pink light darted out from the pink castle.
"Yahallo, Master! Did you come to see me~"
Dark Magician Girl batted her eyes playfully.
Although Chase's magic power had mostly recovered, she having been offered as tribute and "sent to the graveyard" during his battle with Jose would need more time before she could be normally summoned. For now, she couldn't appear in the real world.
Even when the time came, Chase wasn't planning to let this scatterbrain out—the Council's interrogation had only just begun!
"No," Chase said ruthlessly.
Thump.
Dark Magician Girl, who had struck a cute pose, tumbled headfirst. She then slowly floated back up, her pink cheeks puffed up like balloons.
This was her "I'm sulking" act.
"Alright, alright. I came here for something important."
Chase could tell she was pretending, but he still reached out and patted her head beneath her magical hat.
Dark Magician Girl giggled, then blinked as his words finally registered. "Something important?"
"That's right. I want to try opening up that area."
Chase raised his finger, pointing toward a mysterious region high above the card space—a place where light and darkness converged, lightning flashed, and a dense, chaotic energy emanated.
At this, the playful expression on Dark Magician Girl's face vanished. Her pupils contracted sharply, and even her breathing quickened.
The reason was simple: that was…
The domain of a God!
"I see. It's still somewhat of a stretch, but your magic power has increased considerably since you first returned to Fiore. It's worth a shot."
His black robes gently billowing, Dark Magician had appeared beside Chase at some point. His arms crossed, his expression was grave as he gazed at the oppressive chaos space high above.
Due to the limitations of his own strength, even as the deck's master, Chase couldn't freely traverse all areas of the card space.
Take Dark Magician of Chaos, for example. Before Chase left for Guiltina on a Ten-Year Quest, the area where Dark Magician of Chaos resided had been completely sealed off.
Rather than a restriction, it was more like a self-preservation mechanism for the system itself—giving a three-year-old a massive sword they couldn't even lift would only hurt them.
In other words, only when Chase could open the chaos space and establish contact with the Sky Dragon within would he truly be qualified to summon a God!
"Let's give it a try."
Exchanging a glance with Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, Chase took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.
After a brief pause, when he opened his eyes again, his entire demeanor had shifted. His magical power surged at an astonishing rate.
Hum!!
A pillar of dark gold magical energy erupted, rushing toward the heavens like an unstoppable tide and slamming heavily against the chaos space.
In an instant, violent winds howled, arcs of lightning crackled, and deep, rumbling thunder echoed across the entire card world!
Ripples spread across the surface of the chaos space. Under the relentless assault of the dark golden torrent, a single crack split open from top to bottom with a sharp crack.
From deep within the fissure emanated an ancient, sacred presence. Beyond it, one could vaguely glimpse an apocalyptic landscape of lightning and thunder.
Clack.
A sharp, clawed talon reached out, followed by rows of fangs embedded with blue jewels, and finally, a pair of fierce, violent golden eyes!
Without any need for words, Chase—as the absolute master of the deck—needed only a single glance to understand all of the Sky Dragon's intentions and thoughts.
As he withdrew his magical connection, the fissure in the chaos space slowly sealed shut. The vast, surging divine presence of the Sky Dragon faded away.
The card space returned to calm.
"How was it?! How was it?!" Dark Magician Girl pressed against him, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
The moment the Sky Dragon had appeared, she'd instantly retreated behind Chase.
Though Dark Magician's reaction wasn't as exaggerated as his pupil's, the glint in his deep eyes betrayed his keen curiosity.
Chase had just collected his thoughts and turned around when he was startled by the sight before him.
It wasn't just Dark Magician and his pupil. Guardian of the Fortress, Curse of Dragon, Kuriboh—all the card monsters had gathered around. Even Dark Magician of Chaos, who normally showed no interest in anything besides magic, was among them!
Then again, it made sense. After all, this was a true God…
(Incidentally, those without flight were standing atop Rock Giant Soldier, crawling their necks eagerly in this direction.)
Seeing the expectant looks on the card monsters' faces, Chase waved a hand and let out a heavy sigh.
"So it still doesn't work after all," Dark Magician Girl said, somewhat disappointed.
"Just summoning him shouldn't be a problem anymore."
Chase scratched his head with a wry smile. "It's just that with my current magical power, I'd be drained completely in an instant."
"So it's basically useless!" Dark Magician Girl said, losing interest.
"Not necessarily," Dark Magician countered in a low voice.
He'd noticed the faint hint of a smile on Chase's lips. Recalling the events of the past few moments, he quickly reached a conclusion.
"Exactly."
Dark Magician of Chaos nodded calmly, having also picked up on the subtlety.
"Ohhhh! What's going on?!"
Dark Magician Girl, the least experienced among the three, tugged at her hair in frustration. She hated when her master only said half of what he meant!
"Even if summoning the Sky Dragon directly would only last a fleeting moment, now that I can connect with the chaos space, a link exists between me and the Sky Dragon."
Finally taking pity on her, Chase stepped in to clear things up for the adorably clueless girl.
"Which means I can use some of the Sky Dragon's power, just like I use your abilities."
"To borrow Natsu's way of putting it…"
"The Sky Dragon's God-Slaying Magic!"
***
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