Earth Land, Ishgar, Fiore/Bosco Border.
June 1, x792.
*Smack!*
Seeing Alfonzo's fist flying towards his face, Acnologia did not panic. Instead, he quickly raised his hand and attempted to catch the punch.
*Scrape!*
However, instead of catching the punch, Acnologia felt a sharp pain in the palm of his hand. On top of that, he was forced backwards by more than fifteen feet, his feet leaving to long grooves in the ground.
"Hmph!" Acnologia snorted while looking down at his reddened palm.
A moment later, Acnologia shook his hand a bit while looking up at Alfonzo, who was smirking at him. Seeing that mocking smirk on Alfonzo's face, Acnologia's murderous impulse grew even sharper.
"I'm going to kill you." Acnologia said in a menacing tone.
"We'll see about that." Alfonzo replied without losing his smirk.
*Swish!*
*Swish!*
In the next instant, both Alfonzo and Acnologia disappeared from where they stood before reappearing at the halfway point between their previous positions. And Acnologia was the first one to attack.
Sweeping his right arm in a wide arc, Acnologia's fingers swept towards Alfonzo's chest in an attempt to gouge a chunk of flesh out of Alfonzo's torso.
*Smack!*
Yet, Alfonzo reacted quickly, with a quick step back with his right foot, Alfonzo avoided the claw strike before using his left hand to slap the back of Acnologia's arm, adding more momentum to the missed strike than the dragon anticipated.
Then, once Acnologia's hand passed the rest of his body, Alfonzo stepped forward and threw a hook aimed at Acnologia's abdomen, his punch passing under Acnologia's outstretched arm.
*Bang!*
Yet, Acnologia reacted just as quickly. Raising his right knee, Acnologia blocked Alfonzo's fist. Then, in the same motion, his raised right foot shot out in a vicious side kick aimed at Alfonzo's ribs.
*Smack!*
Almost as if he knew it was coming. Even before his fist made contact with Acnologia's knee, Alfonzo was already slapping out with his left hand again, and just barely managed to catch the back of Acnologia's leg, sending the kick veering just to his right.
"[Electromagnetism Magic: Gravity Ball Rasengan]." Alfonzo chanted as a spinning orb of violet magic power formed in his left hand.
With the [Gravity Ball Rasengan] spinning in his palm, Alfonzo thrust it towards Acnologia's kidneys.
*Bang!*
Yet, before the spell could land, Alfonzo was sent flying to his right with such force that he was not able to right himself immediately. As a result, he ended up skipping across the ground for nearly a hundred feet. {Pic}
But before long, Alfonzo slapped the ground forcefully to regain his balance before flipping up onto his feet and sliding back a few more feet. Then, he looked at Acnologia and saw that he had manifested his tail while still in his human form.
"Damn… That stung a little." Alfonzo said after spitting a small amount of blood. "That was a bit sneaky, though. Still, it looks like the first point goes to you."
Instead of responding, Acnologia once again charged towards Alfonzo. And as soon as he was in range, he threw a flurry of punches, kicks, and tail whips. However, this time Alfonzo was not caught off guard by the extra appendage. So, he was able to dodge, parry, or block all of Acnologia's attacks without taking more damage.
Then, after catching an opening in Acnologia's offensive, Alfonzo slipped under a tail whip. Yet, instead of letting it pass by him uncontested, he reached up and wrapped his arms around it.
"Let go." Acnologia ordered coldly.
"Nah, I'd rather not." Alfonzo said as he tightened his grip around Acnologia's tail. "[Metal magic: Beyblade Blitz]."
*Zap!*
With Alfonzo's chant, what appeared to be a highly stylized spinning top manifested under his feet, lifting him about a foot off the ground. Then, his right foot lit up with arcs of violet electricity before he dragged it against the flat surface of the top.
*Whiz!*
And in the next moment, the top started spinning in place. That naturally caused Alfonzo to spin with it. And because he was holding on to Acnologia's tail, Acnologia was dragged along, as well. {Pic}
"So? Still want me to let go?" Alfonzo asked while spinning at high speed. Then again, you probably can't even hear me properly. But I'll tell you what? I'll do you a favor and grant your request. Aren't I a nice guy?"
*Whoosh!*
And as soon as his words ended, Alfonzo let go of Acnologia's tail. As a result, Acnologia went flying at high speed.
*Flash!*
At the same time, Irene teleported onto the battlefield with Elicia. And they were just in time to see Acnologia go flying past them fast enough to make Irene hold her hat while Elicia's hair blew with the wind pressure. {Pic}
"What just…?" Elicia asked in a dumbfounded tone. "Was that…?"
"I think that was Acnologia." Irene said, her tone slightly more composed than Elicia's. "I'm not sure what happened, though. But I'm pretty sure it had something to do with Alfonzo."
As she spoke, Irene pointed towards Alfonzo, who was still standing on the top that was close to slowing to a stop.
Following Irene's pointing finger with her eyes, Elicia also saw Alfonzo. However, before she could call out to him, she saw Alfonzo shoot up from where he stood before the area was bombarded by an uncountable number of magic power bullets.
Immediately, both Elicia and Irene snapped their heads in the direction those magic bullets came from. When they did, they saw Acnologia, still in his human form, though now he had a pair of wings to go along with his tail, flying in the air with the same magic power bullets firing from around his wings.
"I remember that spell from back on Tenrou Island." Elicia said as she flared her magic power. "I think he called it [Eternal Flare] or something like that."
"Yes, that's correct." Irene replied with a nod as she, too, flared her magic power. "I've seen it many times over the years. And it's even stronger than the last time I saw it."
And Irene was correct about that. Over the centuries, Acnologia's strength did not increase much because he already knew he was the strongest and was satisfied with his strength. But after the humiliating way he was sent flying at the end of his last run in with Alfonzo, Acnologia vowed that nothing like that would ever happen again.
So, he spent the last few months training himself. And even though he could not improve much in a few months, he did improve a bit. And when you're as powerful as he is, a bit looks like a lot to weaker beings.
"Anyway, we can't let Fonzie fight him alone." Elicia said "So, I'm going in. [Mend the Seams of Reality, Scylla]."
For the second time today, Elicia's hands were covered in golden dragon scales while her fingernails transformed into needle-like claws. She then shot several scales from her hands into the air. Yet, instead of eventually falling to the ground, the scales pierced into reality like needles into fabric.
Then, Elicia yanked on the threads connected to the scales and swung towards Alfonzo.
"Well, that's new.' Irene said while adjusting her hat. "Now she can literally mend the seams of reality, huh?"
A moment later, Ireen tapped Belserion on the ground before vanishing. Then, about the time Elicia reached Alfonzo, Irene also appeared next to him.
"So, how should we handle this?" Elicia asked in a solemn tone while looking up at Acnologia.
"We beat the shit outta him." Alfonzo said with a grin. "What else are we supposed to do?"
Both Elicia and Irene rolled their eyes at that response. Then, Irene tapped her stave on the ground again.
"[Enchantment: Rubrum Ray]." Irene chanted as dozens of orbs appeared in the air around her. Then, she took a deep breath before using the [Rubrum Ray] to mimic her next spell. "[Sage Dragon's Roar]."
With that, Irene fired her breath attack from her mouth while each of the orbs floating around her fired the same spell into the sky. {Pic}
Meanwhile, Acnologia snorted at the incoming spell. In fact, he was so disdainful that he did not dodge. Instead, the only thing he did was wrap his wings around himself and let the attacks hit him.
*Boom!*
Yet, to Acnologia's surprise, each time one of the [Sage Dragon's Roars] hit his wings, they left serious burns on them. On top of that, after they all exploded against his wings, he was sent flying once again.
"Damnable Dragon Slayer!" Acnologia roared while flying through the sky.
However, before he got too far away, Acnologia felt something wrap around his arms, legs, and tail. And when he looked to see what it was, he saw that they were threads. Then, before he could tear apart the thread, he was yanked downwards at high speed.
*Boom!*
The force with which Acnologia hit the ground was enough to kick up a huge dust cloud. A moment later, his angry roar sounded once again.
"[Electromagnetism magic: Linear Cannon]."
*Zap!*
A moment later, a line of superheated air shot upwards, dispersing the dust cloud while connecting the ground to the sky. Then, the sound of the sound barrier being broken several times over sounded throughout the area.
*Boom~~~~~~~~~~!* {Pic}
"That should be enough to make him take us seriously." Alfonzo said while looking up in the sky with a hand shielding his eyes from the sun.
"Do we really want him taking us seriously?" Elicia asked as she appeared next to Alfonzo in a burst of speed.
"Probably not." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "But I doubt anything we can do would be able to kill him before he got serious. So, might as well get the second phase started early, right?"
"*Sigh* You're the only one who would ever say something like that." Irene said, having teleported next to Alfonzo around the same time Elicia arrived. "But I suppose I can see your reasoning. Wasting resources on the easier part of the fight would be foolish."
"Exactly." Alfonzo said while nodding in agreement. Then, he turned to Elicia with a smile. "Anyway, let's get the next move ready, Lici. We haven't use it in a while, after all."
Understanding exactly what Alfonzo meant, Elicia's eyes lit up before she quickly took hold of Alfonzo's hand.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Open Skies.
While the battle was going on on the ground, Mavis, Zeref, Shizuka, and August were watching from the Blackbird. While Mavis and Shizuka watched as though they expected everything that happened, Zeref and August watched as if they had seen a monster.
To them, even when Acnologia is in was human form, he has the strength to overwhelm August with ease. Meanwhile, Zeref is about even with the human form Acnologia. Or rather, he was… back before Acnologia spent those few months training. But now, he would admit that he comes up a little short.
Then, they were even more surprised when they saw how strong Irene had become since she left the Alvarez Empire. On top of that, neither of them had ever seen Irene use her {Sage Dragon Slayer Magic] while in her human form before. But now, she could do just that while using [Rubrum Ray] to copy it.
Lastly, but certainly not least, Elicia was able to bind Acnologia long enough to pluck him out of the air and slam him into the ground without her threads breaking. On top of that, she was fast enough that August was incapable of seeing her movement path while Zeref could only see a blur.
"Wow! Fonzie, Lici, and Irene are so strong!" Shizuka cheered excitedly.
"Yes, they are quite impressive." Zeref said in a solemn tone while watching Acnologia be pushed towards the planet's atmosphere by Alfonzo's [Linear Cannon]. "But this is just the beginning. The real fight will begin when Acnologia shifts into his dragon form."
"And when that happens, none of us will be able to help them." August said, his tone as solemn as Zeref's.
"Even so, I believe in them." Mavis said with a gentle smile. "Alfonzo and Elicia have never let the guild down before. And I don't believe they will start now. On top of that, they have Irene to help them."
"That's right!" Shizuka cheered excitedly while raising her arms over her head, the movement causing her large breasts to bounce gloriously. "Fonzie and Lici can do anything!"
Zeref wanted to agree with Mavis and Shizuka. But after fighting Acnologia for four hundred years, he knew better than anyone just what that dragon was capable of.
"It's time.' Zeref said as Acnologia finally pushed himself off the [Linear Cannon] shell just before leaving Earth Land's atmosphere.
On the magical screen displaying Acnologia, the four in the Blackbird watched as he was covered by blue light. Then, his silhouette began to expand into a four legged creature with a large wing span and a long tail. And when the light faded, Acnologia was revealed in his dragon form. {Pic}
And at that moment, the atmosphere in the Blackbird got heavy. Because even through the magical screen, the four wizards could feel the pressure Acnologia was outputting. Still, although they showed worry… Worry for Alfonzo's, Elicia's, and Irene's safety, neither Mavis nor Shizuka showed any signs of despair. Because like they said, they believed in the members of Fairy Tail.