Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.
July 6, x790.
After increasing the output of his [Lightning Enhancement] spell, Alfonzo, with an Eskrima stick in each hand, dashed forward. And his target was Rogue, probably the most troublesome combatant on the current battlefield.
Seeing Alfonzo's approach, Rogue took a fighting stance. At the same time, his body turned into a shadow, making him intangible. And just to test the waters, Alfonzo, arriving in front of Rogue faster than he could react, swung his right arm, the Eskrima stick aimed at Rogue's head to land a knockout blow.
*Swoosh!*
Yet, due to the intangibility of rogue's [Shadow Form], the Shadow Dragon Slayer was completely unharmed.
"[Shadow Dragon's claw]." Rogue chanted, reeling his hand back to counterattack as he did so.
In the next instant, Rogue threw his fist forward. When he did, he dropped his [Shadow Form] an instant before his fist would connect with Alfonzo's torso. Yet, Alfonzo seemed to be expecting such a move. So, with the Eskrima Stick in his left hand he pressed against Rogue's forearm and calmly guided the punch to his right, just under his outstretched arm.
"[White Dragon's Claw]." Sting chanted as Alfonzo countered Rogue's attack.
Just as Alfonzo's weapon came in contact with Rogue's arm, Sting gathered an orb of [White Dragon Slayer Magic] in his right palm. Then, he quickly threw it in Alfonzo's direction, aiming for his exposed left flank.
Yet, without even flinching at the incoming attack, Alfonzo grinned. He then shifted the form of the Eskrima stick in his right hand after allowing it to slip from his grasp. The Eskrima stick then changed into a sheet of metal. As it did, sigils were quickly inscribed onto its surface, as well.
"[Metal Magic: Reflection Barrier]." Alfonzo chanted.
*Bang!* *Swoosh!*
In the next instant, Sting's [White Dragon's Claw] struck the newly formed barrier. Then, with very little of its power lost, it was shot backwards, returning from whence it came.
"Damn..." Sting groaned as he quickly dove aside to avoid his own attack.
On a side note, although Dragon Slayer's were immune to their own element, up to a certain point, they could still be harmed by it. Especially if they are hit by their own magic power.
*Bang!* *Bang!*
"Gahh!" Rogue groaned in pain.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo shifted the form of his other Eskrima stick, as well, turning it into a chain with a manacle at the end. And that manacle just so happened to be wrapped around Rogue's wrist. Then, following the momentum of his parry, Alfonzo turned to his right. As he did, he lashed his right hand out, backhanding Rogue, who had yet to return to his [Shadow form], before raising his hand and catching Yoruichi's lightning clad fist in his own electric clad palm.
"Nice try." Alfonzo said as he yanked his right hand downward, causing Yoruichi to stumble forward momentarily.
*Bang!*
At the same time, Alfonzo yanked the slightly disoriented Rogue's arm in Yoruichi's direction.
*Bang!*
"Ahh~!" Yoruichi screamed after Rogue's [Shadow Dragon Slash] landed on her shoulder.
Alfonzo then followed up by kicking Yoruichi in the abdomen, sending her flying through the hole in the mansion's wall that was created when Alfonzo's [Big Bang Attack] split the [Dragon Roars] from Sting and Rogue a little while ago.
"Now, let's deal with you." Alfonzo muttered as he increased the speed of his spin, whipping Rogue around, before dispelling the chain and manacle. As a result, Rogue was sent flying.
*Boom!* *Crash!*
As a result of Rogue still being a bit woozy from the backfist he just received, Rogue was unable to defend himself before he slammed into the Everlue Mansion's wall, destroying it on impact and causing part of the wall to collapse on top of him.
"Rogue!" Sting shouted in atone filled with worry.
"The battle's not over yet. [Raiōken]."
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
*Boom!*
Before Sting could rush over to Rogue's side to make sure his partner was alright, he heard a woman's voice in his ear. Then, before he knew it, Sting felt several, nearly simultaneous, strikes land on his back and shoulders. And the last one sent him flying towards the mansion like Rogue. Also, like Rogue, Sting burst through the wall causing it to collapse on top of him.
From an outsider's perspective, it would have seemed as if Yoruichi appeared behind Sting. Then, she grew two more pairs of arms, and all three pairs of arms threw punches at high-speed into Stings back before sending him flying.
Yet, before Yoruichi could admire her work, she was forced to [Flash Step] away from her position after a barrage of electrically charged projectiles tore through the spot where she just stood.
*Bang!*
Despite that, as soon as Yoruichi stopped, she was forced to defend herself as she saw a fist clad in a metal gauntlet aimed at her abdomen. However, the force behind the blow sent her flying all the way to the mansion's outer wall.
"You didn't just... beat me to that spot, did you?" Yoruichi asked in an astonished tone while staring at Alfonzo, who was pulling his fist back after delivering his punch.
In response, Alfonzo only shrugged his shoulders. He then looked away from Yoruichi and turned his attention back towards the two holes in the mansion's wall.
*Rattle!* x 2 *Boom!* x 2
At the same time, both piles of rubble where Sting and Rogue ended up started to tremble. Then, they both exploded outward. When they did, Sting and Rogue were revealed. However, it was clear that they had seen better days, as they were both covered in cuts, bruises, and blood. Even so, they both looked at Alfonzo and Yoruichi with the determination to come out as the winners of this battle.
"Rogue." Sting said in a solemn tone.
"I understand." Rogue replied.
Then, the Twin Dragon Slayers each started amassing their elements in their hands.
'Oh, they're about to use that, huh?' Alfonzo asked himself. 'I can feel their magic power starting to synchronize.'
["You know, most people would try to stop them before they can do what they're trying to do."] Bedlam said from Alfonzo's inner world in a clearly amused tone.
'Yeah, but what would be the fun in that?' Alfonzo asked with a grin. 'Besides, if things are worse than I expected, I still have you two, right?'
["That would just be bullying."] Riot said in a manic tone. ["And I'm all for it. Hell, you should have used us from the very beginning."]
'I'd rather not use you guys at all.' Alfonzo said casually while Sting and Rogue's magic power finally synchronized. 'If I do, I might scare Pain and the Akatsuki from attacking us to get Naruto. And we can't have that. I'm really looking forward to what Porlyusica could come up with if she got the chance to study the Rinnegan. I mean, she said she was almost done analyzing and finding a way to harness the power of Obito's Mangekyō.'
["it's about damn time."] Riot grumbled. ["We took that thing from him almost a year and a half ago. But there have been no results. I think that old bag is starting to get too old for this."]
When Riot said that, Alfonzo felt a cold chill down his spine. On top of that, he felt the shadow of a broom looming overhead. Luckily, before he could be consumed by this feeling, Sting and Rogue finally finished preparing their spell.
Sting and Rogue then both held their hands out towards Alfonzo, their fingers all pointing in his direction. In the next instant, the amassed magic power in their hands was all focused on their fingertips. Then, they fired thin, piercing rays of holy light and shadows at Alfonzo in unison.
"Well, I'll give you this, that's a pretty nasty spell." Alfonzo said as he reached his hands to the strap on his lower back. "But if you think I can't deal with that kinda shit, you're sleepin' on me, you know?
With that, Alfonzo drew Riot and Bedlam from his back in their sealed forms. Then, with his [Soul Armaments] coated in his magic power, he began spinning them at high speed. As he did so, with great accuracy, he smashed each of the incoming beams of [Dragon Slayer Magic], while remaining completely unscathed.
"What the...?" Sting exclaimed in shock after seeing that his tandem attack with Rogue was ineffective.
"Impossible..." Rogue muttered in just as much shock.
Meanwhile, Yoruichi, after seeing Alfonzo's feat, decided that she was probably unable to defeat him. So, she [Flash Stepped] away to try and get as many points as she could for her team before Alfonzo starts roaming the battlefield.
"Well, I was wondering how long it would take for her to decide this was pointless." Alfonzo muttered to himself as he stopped swinging his tonfa. "Well, let's end this, alright? [Electromagnetism Magic: Thunder Shock Surprise]."
With that chant, Alfonzo raised Riot and Bedlam, pointing their long ends at Rogue and sting. At the same time, arcs of violet electricity gathered on their tips before forming into orbs of electricity. Then, as soon as the orbs were formed, Alfonzo fired them at the Sabertooth wizards.
"This won't work on us." Sting said as he jumped aside to dodge the incoming orbs of electricity. "It's too bad that lightning of yours is some weird purple color. Otherwise, if it were white, I could have had a snack."
Like Sting, Rogue also jumped aside to avoid the incoming attacks. However, to both Dragon Slayer's surprises, instead of just sailing past them, the electrical orbs unfolded, creating cages that trapped the two inside. On top of that, because the electricity was so bright, Rogue found himself unable to take his [Shadow Form].
Meanwhile, once the two were caught, Alfonzo slipped Riot and Bedlam into the strap on his lower back. He then turned away from the Twin Dragon Slayers.
"Well, that was fun." Alfonzo said as he raised his left hand over his shoulder. "But I've spent enough time here. And it looks like most of the strongest guys are already out. So, I gotta go help the girls wrap this up. See you after this whole thing is over. Deuces."
*Snap!*
After he finished speaking, Alfonzo made a show of snapping his fingers. With that, the electrical cages trapping Sting and Rogue began to shrink. And before too long...
"Argh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!" Sting screamed as he was electrocuted.
"Ahh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!" Rogue also screamed due to the electricity running through his body.
Then, before long, both Sting and Rogue were engulfed in particles of light before being transported out of the arena.
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
Meanwhile, in the Domus Flau's stands, the audience was cheering loudly at Alfonzo's display of power, with the Fairy Tail wizards being the loudest of all.
"Damn, the Kid has really gotten strong, hasn't he?" Gildarts said with a wide smile on his face. "I can still remember when he was taking the S-Class Promotion Exam about ten or so years ago. *Sigh* How time flies."
"Yes." Makarov, who took time off from his duties with the Magic Council to join the rest of Fairy Tail, said while stroking his mustache. "I can still remember the day Macao and I brought him an Elicia back from the orphanage in Hargeon. Although I had no doubt they would be powerful in the future, especially when I remembered who their parents were, this is far beyond my expectations."
"Indeed." Ur added. "From what I can tell, if Lici and I were to fight, I'm not sure who would win anymore. Though, I get the feeling that I would be the one who ends up on the ground. Especially since she's gotten so good with her [Camouflage Magic]. I mean, the only ones who can see through it in the guild at this point are Alfonzo and Irene."
"Um... Speaking of Irene..." mavis said from her seat next to Makarov. "Where did she go?"
Hearing that, the other three all froze. Then they tried to sense Irene's magic power signature. Unfortunately, they were unable to do so. And to be honest, that kind of terrified them. Especially when you consider just how much magic power Irene had.
"Ha... Ha... Ha..." Ur laughed in a hollow manner. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. It's not like Irene has a track record of causing trouble, right?"
Unfortunately, not one, no even Ur, felt reassured by her question. Because, they all knew that Irene did, in fact, have a track record of causing trouble. Big trouble, in fact. Because you don't get an epitaph like "the Scarlet Despair" for being on your best behavior, after all.
"Well, I for one have no idea where she went." Ur said with a refreshing smile on her face. "So, that's what you call plausible deniability."
Hearing Ur's shameless response to the problem at hand, Makarov, Gildarts, and Mavis could only stare at her blankly. Yet, they had no way to deny her words. So, instead of thinking about it too hard, they shook their heads before returning to watching the event with full attention.