Earth Land, Ishgar, Fiore/Bosco Border.
June 1, x792.
"Do you think he ended up in space?" Elicia asked while looking up at the sky with a hand held to her forehead to shield the sunlight. "If so, we don't have anything to worry about anymore, right?"
*Smack!* x 2
As soon as Alfonzo and Irene heard Elicia's words, they both face-palmed in unison. Then, they looked at Elicia with dry stares.
"It never ends with you, does it, Elicia?" Irene asked dryly.
"Oh… I guess it doesn't." Elicia said sheepishly before sticking out her tongue.
"We can talk about Lici raising flags later. Alfonzo said while looking up. "He's coming back. Lici, let's do it."
"Okay~." Elicia said, happy to change the subject.
A moment later, Alfonzo and Elicia joined hands. Then, their magic power flared to their current limits.
"[Unison Raid: Razor Wire Rhapsody]." Alfonzo and Elicia chanted in unison.
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
In the next instant, dozens of the scales on Elicia's free hand shot upwards at high speed while trailing threads behind them as they transformed into golden sewing needles. Shortly afterwards, the threads were quickly coated in a thin layer of metal with sharp edges.
However, instead of continuing to fly up, they pierced into the sky before the needles disappeared. However, this was not like Elicia's usual [Camouflage Magic] hiding the threads. Instead, it was an application of Scylla's power, allowing the needles and the threads connected to them to pierce into reality as if it were a piece of fabric. {Pic}
At the same time, Acnologia, while looking down from high above, decided that he did not have the time to play with his prey any longer. So, instead of engaging the humans below, he decided to destroy them from where he was.
On top of that, there was a Dragon Slayer with them. So, he would kill two birds with one stone.
Opening his mouth wide, Acnologia sucked in a large breath of air. And as he did, an orb of blue magic power tinted black on the edges began to form between his open jaws, the precursor to his breath attack, [Giga Flare].
However, before the breath attack could reach critical mass, the needles that disappeared into the fabric of reality reappeared all around Acnologia before quickly moving to wrap the threads attached to them around his limbs, tail, wings, and snout.
"Hmph!" Acnologia only snorted at the attempt.
Having fallen victim to the same attack in the past, Acnologia already knew how to counter it. Mobilizing a small amount of his magic power, the black dragon formed a protective shield over his body that would stop the sharp threads from cutting into his scales.
*Bang!*
Yet, to Acnologia's surprise, the threads were not thoroughly mangled when they came into contact with his magic power defense. Instead, the sharp edges of the metal coating the threads cut through it with ease. On top of that, they cut right into his scales, as well.
And the most surprising thing that came from his underestimation of his opponents was the fact that his jaws were forced shut, causing him to involuntarily swallow the [Giga Flare] that was forming in his mouth. An act that made the more than four hundred year old dragon feel a bit queasy thanks to the fact that Dragons and Dragon Slayers are unable to consume their own magic.
'How is this possible?' Acnologia thought to himself while struggling to free himself from his bindings. 'How can these puny wizards harm me with their mundane magic?'
As soon as those thoughts passed through his head, Acnologia noticed a familiar feeling coming from the wounds the [Razor Wire Rhapsody] caused.
'This power! It's the power of a Dragon Slayer!' Acnologia bellowed internally. 'That witch! Did she [Enchant] their magic with the [Dragon Slayer] element? No… I can't feel her magic power… Then, how?'
In reality, the metal Alfonzo used to coat Elicia's threads during the [Unison Raid] was Orichalcum alloyed with the metal Alfonzo synthesized after studying Gajeel's [Dragon Slayer Magic]...
"[Electromagnetism Magic: Live Wire]." Alfonzo chanted after Elicia handed the threads connected to her needles to Alfonzo.
*Zap!*
... on top of having Dragon Slaying properties, the metal currently digging into his scales was highly magic power conductive.
*Roar~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
Acnologia's painful roar echoed over the region as the high voltage electrical current traveled through the wires and entered his body, the wire's Dragon Slaying property compounding the pain.
Thrashing violently from the pain, Acnologia eventually broke the restraints, his entire body now covered in burns and wounds as he fell from high altitude.
"Well, that didn't last as long as I thought it would." Alfonzo muttered while watching Acnologia plummet towards the ground.
"It did more damage than last time, though." Elicia said optimistically.
"Still, that's' nowhere near enough." Irene said while pointing at the falling dragon. "Look, he's already starting to heal."
Just as Irene said, after channeling magic power into their eyes to increase their vision, Alfonzo and Elicia saw Acnologia's wounds starting to close at an observable rate.
"Well, we can't have that, now, can we?" Alfonzo asked as he created several conical chunks of metal. "[Electromagnetism Magic: Railgun Barrage]."
*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*
In the next instant, a dozen shells were fired upwards at eight times the speed of sound. The shockwaves produced by the shells sending up dust clouds in all directions.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
Yet, before the dust could travel any significant distance, three of the shells struck Acnologia in the chest, cracking scales and drawing blood in large amounts.
*Roar~~~~~~~~~~!*
The new wave of pain brought Acnologia back to his senses. Then, in the split second it would have taken for the rest of the shells to arrive, Acnologia swept his tail, knocking all the other shells off course and sending them into the distance. Mavis even had to quickly jerk the Blackbird's controls to avoid one of the flying chunks of metal.
"A little warning would have been nice." Elicia muttered while trying to keep her hair from flying around too much.
"Yes, I would have been quite vexed if I had to create another hat." Irene added while holding down her hat.
"Is now really the time?" Alfonzo asked while rolling his eyes.
In response, Elicia and Irene shot Alfonzo a pair of nearly identical grins, making it clear that they were just trying to keep the mood light, despite the heavy atmosphere from facing off against the continent's most powerful creature.
"But seriously, I don't know if I can do much against him now that he's serious." Elicia said in a slightly disappointed tone. "If I could have reached [Bankai] before today, I could have been more help."
"*Sigh* I'm not even sure if I would have been much help with [Bankai]." Irene said while shaking her head. "Although all my magic carries the Dragon Slayer Property, so does his. And I get the feeling that my [Bankai] would be really weak to his magic. On top of that, I'm pretty sure Belserion was no match for Acnologia even when he was alive."
"That's fine." Alfonzo said with a smile without looking away from Acnologia, who once again opened his mouth to gather magic power for his [Giga Flare]. "I'm gonna try a few more things before I go all out. That way, I'll know what does the most damage when the time comes."
"Then, we'll evacuate to the Blackbird." Irene said while placing a hand on Elicia's shoulder.
"Can you go get Tear?" Alfonzo asked as he once again flared his magic power. "Although Master Mavis knows the basics of controlling the Blackbird, she's no expert. I'd feel a lot better if someone who could make real evasive maneuvers was in the pilot's seat."
"Will do." Ireen replied. "Well then, we'll be on our way."
"Be careful, Fonzie." Elicia said in a worried tone.
"What? You don't think I can win?" Alfonzo asked with a cocky grin.
"Of course I do." Elicia said with a frown on her face. "But that doesn't stop me from worrying about you. As your wife, I think I have that right."
"Fair enough." Alfonzo replied with a shrug.
Then, just before Irene teleported her away, Elicia rose onto her toes and pecked Alfonzo on the cheek, leaving him alone to face Acnologia's [Giga Flare].
*Zap!*
In the next instant, Alfonzo vanished from where he stood in a flash of violet light. About a second later, he reappeared under Acnologia's chin with his leg cocked back to deliver a lightning-speed kick. {Pic}
"Shut your damn mouth!" Alfonzo shouted as he swung his leg with all the strength he could muster.
*Crack!*
Alfonzo's kick forced Acnologia's mouth shut once again. And for the second time in less than five minutes, the black dragon was forced to swallow his own magic power, making him feel even more queasy than before.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo channeled his magic power into his hands. When he did, the excess liquid metal making up his monster-like hands moved towards his palms before forming a pair of short swords. And as the swords formed, Alfonzo's hands slimmed down, eventually making it look like he was wearing a pair of black, elbow-length gloves.
*Bang!*
However, before Alfonzo could start moving to inflict more damage on Acnologia, Acnologia slapped Alfonzo away with his tail. And although Alfonzo knew it was coming, the flexible appendage moved so quickly that he, despite his considerable speed and reflexes, was not able to react. As a result, Alfonzo was sent flying far into the distance.
"Argh!" Alfonzo groaned in pain while flying backwards at high speed.
However, Alfonzo did not just take the attack. While soaring through the air, he channeled his [Electromagnetism Magic] before throwing the two swords in his hands. And with the electromagnetic circuit he created, the two swords easily broke the sound barrier before sinking into Acnologia's left shoulder.
*Roar~~~~~~!*
Acnologia roared in pain for the third time. However, instead of letting the pain stop him, he flapped his wings and followed after Alfonzo. And before the Fairy Tail ace could arrest his own momentum, he found himself staring at the dragon's palm as it swung towards him like a moving wall.
*Boom!*
In the next instant, Alfonzo's horizontal momentum was completely overwritten by the downward force of Acnologia's strike, sending him rocketing downward even faster than terminal velocity. Yet, Acnologia was not able to bask in the small victory. Because when Alfonzo reached a certain distance from the dragon, he found himself being jerked downward, as well.
Looking towards the location of the pulling force, Acnologia noticed the two swords that sank into his shoulder a moment ago. However, now that he was paying attention, Acnologia also noticed the thin chains connected to the swords' hilts, as well. On top of that, now that he was focusing on them, he noticed that the blades lodged in his shoulder were not simple blades. Instead, they had hooks jutting out of the flats of the blades, anchoring the blades in his flesh.
"Get over here!" Alfonzo shouted as he yanked on the chains.
Yet, instead of pulling Acnologia towards him, Alfonzo stopped his downward momentum, the sudden stop causing him to feel a large amount of internal pain. Then, he shot towards Acnologia while shortening the chains to aid his movement speed.
Seeing that, Acnologia snorted. Then, he started casting [Eternal Flare] again. With that, dozens of magic power stars formed around his outstretched wings. {Pic}
"[Electromagnetism Magic: Flash Point]." Alfonzo chanted after seeing the stars forming.
*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
Just as the magic power stars shot towards Alfonzo, a pair of metal rails wrapped in violet electricity appeared on either side of him. He was then shot in a direction that would allow him to pass close enough to Acnologia to attack while letting him avoid the incoming magic power stars. And as he flew past Acnologia, he slashed at the dragon with a pair of newly created Dragon Slaying short swords, cutting through the tough scales and into his flesh.
Then, just as he started to slow down, a new pair of rails appeared around Alfonzo again, and he repeated the process, leaving dozens of cuts all over Acnologia's body. Though, Acnologia was able to move his wings away from the path of each strike, preserving his ability to stay airborne.
Yet, just as Alfonzo's spell fizzled out, he once again found himself face to face with Acnologia's massive tail. And to no one's surprise...
*Boom!*
... Alfonzo was once again sent flying towards the ground. And this time, he was not able to get a pair of blades connected to chains lodged into the dragon's flesh. As a result...
*Boom~~~~~~~~!*
... Alfonzo slammed into the ground, kicking up another mushroom-shaped cloud of dust and debris while creating a huge crater on impact.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Open Skies.
Meanwhile, Elicia, Shizuka, Irene, and Mavis watched the battle with worried expressions while Zeref and August did the same while wearing solemn expressions. Ultear was also watching from the pilot's seat. However, she was on high-alert just in case she had to dodge stray fire.
"Although he put up a good fight, it looks like this is as far as his strength can take him." Zeref said in a slightly disappointed tone.
"Indeed." August added with a nod. "But he made quite an impressive showing."
"Hmph!" Irene snorted disdainfully. "Your information about Alfonzo's capabilities is quite lacking."
"That's unsurprising." Elicia said while continuing to stare at the screen showing the mushroom cloud Alfonzo's impact created. "Fonzie has never publicly showed just what he's capable of."
"Right!" Shizuka said while nodding emphatically, the movement causing her breasts to bounce vigorously. "Fonzie is really, REALLY, strong."
"Seriously, we need to strap those things down." Elicia muttered while watching Shizuka's breasts out of the corner of her eyes. "They're really distracting."
Irene, Mavis, Zeref, and August all nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Shizuka, as adorably clueless as ever, only tilted her head in confusion.
"The dust is clearing." Mavis said while pointing at the screen showing Alfonzo's landing point. "And it looks like Alfonzo is standing up.
Just as Mavis said, on the screen showing Alfonzo's landing point, the dust was clearing. As it did, it revealed Alfonzo laying atop a puddle of liquid metal while slowly climbing to his feet while looking up at Acnologia, who was flying down towards him at breakneck speed.
Before Acnologia arrived, the air around Alfonzo began to distort. Then, the metal covering his hands started to peel off before forming a pair of tonfas colored red and violet. Finally, when the tonfas finished forming, Alfonzo raised his hands over his head, and his magic power spiked to an even higher level. {Pic}
"What is that?" Zeref asked with his eyes wide open, able to feel Alfonzo's surge in magic power from the Blackbird.
"Fonzie... Is about to go all-out." Elicia replied solemnly.