Fairy Tail: Metal and Threads

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.  

July 6, x791.  

"I guess it's almost over." Alfonzo muttered to himself while continuing to work. "Let's see, looks like Ur is the only one from our team that got eliminated. Marin took care of Yumichika, and Lici just finished off Minerva and Rufus. Oh, and Bacchus somehow managed to defeat both Sting and Rogue. That's kinda impressive. But not surprising. Oh, and Guy just ran into Lici. I wonder how long that fight will take. *Sigh*"  

After reaching that point, as he sighed, Alfonzo closed all his [Archive Magic Screens], put down the parts he had constructed, and looked up towards the end of the dock where his chair was located.  

"Seriously, can't you guys just leave me alone?" Alfonzo asked in a disgruntled tone. "It's obvious I'm trying to work on something. But you all just wanna get your asses kicked so bad, huh?"  

"Don't compare me to Jura." Laxus, the newest interruption for Alfonzo, said casually while Election, back in its sealed form, was resting over his shoulder. "I may not be a wizard saint, but you know he can't compare to me."  

"Yeah, and you can't compare to me." Alfonzo replied in annoyance. "So, I don't see your point."  

"We'll just have to see about that." Laxus said as a battle hungry grin appeared on his face.  

*Zap!*  

In the next instant, Laxus vanished from where he stood in a flash of golden light before he reappeared in front of Alfonzo with Elexion drawn back to strike.  

However, Alfonzo reacted calmly, almost lazily raising his right hand with barely noticeable arcs of violet electricity coating his fingers.  

*Swoosh!*  

*Ting!*  

Then, with a powerful swing of Laxus' arms, Elexion's axe head cleaved through the air, aimed at Alfonzo's chest. However, before it could make contact, Alfonzo stopped it by clamping it between his thumb and fingers, the arcs of golden and violet electricity both wizards employed fighting for dominance between them.  

"So, what were you saying?' Alfonzo asked nonchalantly.  

"Instead of getting upset at Alfonzo's taunt, Laxus' smile only widened as he twisted the shaft of his halberd, freeing it from Alfonzo's grasp before he swept its but end at Alfonzo's legs.  

In response, Alfonzo calmly took a step back. However, just as he did, Laxus stepped forward with golden lightning coating his right fist.  

"[Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist]." Laxus chanted as he punched forward with his right fist.  

Then, as soon as his fist was fully extended, the lightning surrounding Laxus' fist shot forward, reforming into an over-sized recreation of his fist that shot towards Alfonzo.  At the same time, Laxus raised Elexion into the air with is left hand.  

Meanwhile, Alfonzo, with both hands coated in electricity, caught Laxus' incoming attack. However, thanks to the amount of magic power Laxus packed into it, he was dragged along the dock before being pushed off its edge over the recreation of the sea. He then heard Laxus chanting over the sound of the arcing lightning.  

"Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder, plunge down from the heavens and reap destruction. [Roaring Bolt]." Laxus chanted as the sky over the marina darkened with thunder clouds.  

*Boom!*  

A moment later, just as Alfonzo arrested his momentum, a bolt of lightning fell from the clouds above. It then landed on the raised Halberd in Laxus' hand. Laxus then reeled back his left arm, the butt end of the halberd held firmly in his hand, before chanting another spell.  

"[Lightning Dragon's Heavenly Halberd]." Laxus chanted as he flung his left arm in Alfonzo's direction.  

*Swoosh!*  

In the next instant, Elexion was sent spinning through the air towards Alfonzo. And with all the lightning coating it, combined with the speed at which it was spinning, it looked more like a crackling electrical disk, rather than a halberd.  

"Not a bad strategy." Alfonzo said with a grin as he tossed the [Breakdown Fist] to the side.  

*Boom!*  

*Hiss!*  

"Since we usually spar in the guild hall or fight in the tournament, you could never use a spell like this." Alfonzo continued as the water exploded into steam around him. "Still, do you really think that will work?"  

After speaking his peace, Alfonzo did not try to catch Elexion as he had earlier. Instead, he simply vanished from where he was floating over the water with a flash of violet light. Yet, when Laxus, who had reappeared behind Alfonzo in a flash of golden light and started taking a deep breath in preparation for his [Roar] spell, saw that he could only widen his eyes in disbelief before raising his hands to catch Elexion.  

["His awareness is too high for a plan like that too work."] Elexion said from Laxus inner world. ["He might have actually tried to catch me had you not moved, as well. But he knows how you tick too well to be caught by a plan like this."]  

"Damn it… You're right." Laxus said as he raised Elexion over his head.  

*Bang!* *Zap!*  

Then, as soon as Elexion was raised, Alfonzo's fist slammed into its shaft. And because he knew that Alfonzo would never coat his fist in electricity when he struck him, Laxus surged as much [Lightning Magic] into the halberd as he could to try and catch Alfonzo off guard.  

Yet, before the [Lightning Magic] could even touch Alfonzo, he once again vanished in a flash of violet light before reappearing in front of Laxus with is right knee flying towards Laxus' abdomen.  

*Bang!*  

Raising his own knee in response, Laxus was able to block Alfonzo's knee strike. And from there, the battle exploded into a brilliant display of magically enhanced martial arts. Even so, Laxus found himself being pushed back little by little.  

"Damn it!" Laxus growled, thinking he had been able to shorten the gap in their power since the last time they fought. "I won't let things end like this. Not this time. [Bow Down to the Emperor of Lightning, Elexion]."  

With that, Laxus' magic power spiked and Elexion began to glow. It then grew a second head on the butt end as Laxus used it to block one of Alfonzo's punches. At the same time, the shaft split in the center and the two smaller halberd's were connected by a chain.  

Then, as the glow faded, Laxus began spinning the side of the halberd he used to block like a pair of nunchucks, the blade cutting through the air at high speed causing Alfonzo to take some distance.  

Unfortunately for Alfonzo, as soon as he jumped away, Laxus extended the chain connecting the two halberds as he made his swings wider.  

"Oh, not bad." Alfonzo said in a praising tone. "I always thought those weird gauntlets were kinda lame. But his is much better."  

"If you think that's not bad, then let me show you more." Laxus growled. "[Lightning Dragon's Tail Whip]."  

*Boom!* *Splash!* *Boom!* *Splash!* *Boom!* *Splash!*  

In the next instant, a surge of [Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic] was sent into the chain halberd as Laxus used them to whip at Alfonzo over and over again. And with every missed attack, an explosion of lightning and a column of water shooting up in the air could be seen from the Lacrima-Vision screens in the Domus Flau.  

Meanwhile, the crowd in the Domus Flau was going crazy at the most spectacular battle occurring in the event so far.  

{"Incredible!"} Lola cheered loudly over the broadcast system. {"Contestant Laxus has finally made Alfonzo take the event seriously. And with such power, it looks like there is a chance that he might be able to push him to his limit."}  

{"Although Laxus' showing is quite impressive, I'm not so sure about pushing Alfonzo to his limit."} Yajima objected calmly.  

{"Why do you say that?"} Lola asked curiously, some of his excitement dampened after hearing Yajima's rebuttal.  

{"Just look at his expression."} Yajima said while pointing at the nearest Lacrima-Vision screen.  

Not only Lola, but everyone in the Domus Flau looked at Alfonzo's face. And when they saw the grin that was slowly spreading into a smile, they were all surprised.  

{"He's… smiling?"} Lola asked in a dumbfounded tone.  

{"That's right."} Yajima replied with a nod.  

{"And if I had to guess, it's because Laxus is pushing him more than he's been pushed at any other point in this year's Grand Magic Games."} Arcadios added. {"From what I've seen from Alfonzo over the years is that he enjoys a good fight like every other member of Fairy Tail. However, his standards for good are much higher than everyone else's."}  

{"I've come to the same conclusion."} Yajima replied with another nod.  

{"Wow!"} Lola exclaimed in amazement.  

Meanwhile, back in the Hargeon recreation, Alfonzo was able to dodge the incoming strikes. But as Laxus got more and more used to his dodging pattern, he left the younger wizard less and less space to avoid.  

Eventually, Alfonzo was painted into a corner. And although Laxus' lightning would not do too much damage since Alfonzo had coated himself in his own electricity, the impact and cutting edge of the halberd would more than make up for it.  

So, before Alfonzo could take any heavy damage, he reached to the strap on his back and unsheathed Riot and Bedlam.  

*Clang!*  

Then, with the tonfa coated in electricity, he parried the unavoidable strike from the electrified halberd before hooking Riot's shaft under the axe blade and pulling with all his might.  

"Shit!" Laxus exclaimed in surprise.  

However, just as Laxus felt himself being pulled forward, he once again extended the chain connecting his weapons. And when he did, the halberd on the end of Alfonzo's weapon was flung behind him, causing the chain to go whizzing past him, as well.  

Laxus then took hold of the chain with his free hand and threw the other halberd in Alfonzo's direction, as well.  

"[Lightning Dragon's Winged Embrace]." Laxus chanted.  

A moment later, Alfonzo tilted his body slightly to avoid the second halberd. He then flared his magic power before slamming Riot and Bedlam together.  

"[Electromagnetism Magic: Flash Bang]." Alfonzo chanted.  

*Flash!*  

*Boom~~~~~~~~~~!*  

And with that, a loud, disorienting explosion of sound echoed throughout the southern part of the town where the marina was. At the same time, a brief, but intense, flash of light blinded anyone looking in its direction.   

Meanwhile, Laxus, the closest to the [Flash Bang], tensed while focusing on his [magic Power Detection] so that he would not be caught off guard by Alfonzo's follow up. Yet, when he felt that Alfonzo had not moved in the slightest, he was thoroughly confused. And when he saw Alfonzo still standing in the same place when the flash subsided, is confusion reached a different level.  

'He must have only done that to make me retract my weapons to defend myself.' Laxus thought to himself as he snorted inwardly. 'But I've fallen for too many tricks like that when fighting him over the years.'  

With that, Laxus took a hold of the chain he was holding in his left hand with his right, as well. Then, with all his strength, he pulled back on the chain, causing both Halberds to be jerked back towards him. At the same time, he also retracted the length of the chain, making the speed at which the halberds returned staggering.  

*Swish!*  

Eventually, the two halberds, having crossed to the opposite sides of Alfonzo, returned without touching their target. However, Alfonzo was right in the way of the chains that were surging back towards him just as quickly.  

Yet, to not only Laxus', but the surprise of everyone in watching the fight, the chains just passed through Alfonzo, who did not move at all.  

"How?" Laxus shouted in confusion. "How could that just be an illusion from controlling light? [MPD] is telling me he's right there!"  

["You don't have time to think about that!"] Elexion shouted, bringing Laxus bac to the here and now. ["Instead, you need to try and find him. Otherwise, you're done for!"]  

Nodding his head, Laxus tried to sharpen his senses through [Magic Power Detection]. Like Ur, he had figured that Alfonzo was capable of doing something similar to Evergreen with her [Fairy dust]. Unfortunately, he was just a little too late.  

"What the…?" Laxus exclaimed in surprise as a pair of hands wrapped around his ankles while he floated just above the surface of the water.  

*Splash!*  

*Boom!* *Splash!* *Boom!* *Splash!* *Boom!* *Splash!*  

In the next instant, Laxus was yanked down into the water. Then, because there were no viewing Lacrima positioned underwater, the only thing the audience could see were flashes of light and columns of water shooting up from the surface for the next few minutes.  

During that time, everyone in the Domus Flau, the recreation of Hargen and the stands, could feel an overwhelming spike of magic power coming from the underwater battle. And since everyone had seen several similar, though most were less powerful, instances, Sui-Feng's [Bankai] being the only exception, over the last two years, they figured that Alfonzo had started taking the fight seriously.  

Then, after all the explosions subsided and the water settled, Alfonzo rose from the water near the dock and took a seat in his chair before picking up the components he was building while shaking his head to expel as much water from his hair as he could.  

Yet, when the audience saw that his hands were covered in liquid metal, they guessed what had happened. Like Laxus, Alfonzo must have activated those strange weapons while fighting underwater. Even so, they were still disappointed that they were unable to see the battle to its conclusion.  

"*Sigh* If I wasn't on a time crunch, I could have probably beaten him without using your partial releases." Alfonzo said while getting back to work.  

["Yeah, I'll admit, Laxus has gotten strong after achieving his new released state."] Bedlam replied. ["But after reaching full release, you're just on a totally different level now. Even when you only partially release us, I bet Irene is the only one in the guild who could give you a good fight. Even Retsu would--- Shit!"]  

"Shit!" Alfonzo said at the same time.  

["That crazy, battle hungry bitch is gonna show up at the guild hall and ask you for a fight after this is all over."] Riot said in an exasperated tone.  

"No doubt about it." Alfonzo replied in fond exasperation. "You know, I really like Master Unohana. But that battle hungry Yachiru is a little more than just a little scary."  

["Yeah, she's the kind of crazy that would stab herself through the heart if it meant she could take her opponent down with her."] Bedlam added.  

Alfonzo and Riot nodded in response.  

Meanwhile, in the Mermaid heel seating area, all the members of the guild who were not participating in the Grand magic Games were cowering in fear. Why? Because Retsu, or rather Yachiru, was smiling insanely while staring at the Lacrima-Screen showing Alfonzo working on his WorldTravel Device.  

"I knew it." Retsu whispered to herself. "I had a feeling that you would be the one who would be able to give me the fight I wanted. And I really hope you don't disappoint me, Alfonzo. I even have the perfect excuse to come see you. It's about time for an oil change for my bike. So, I was going to come to Magnolia soon, anyway."