Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
September 20, x791.
"Why didn't Alfonzo ask to fight me?" Natsu whined in irritation.
"Probably because he's already tired of kicking your ass." Gray shot back nonchalantly.
"What did you say?" Natsu barked angrily. "You trying to pick a fight, Ice Cube?"
"Any time, you fiery mouth breather." Gray replied as he turned a pointed glare in Natsu's direction.
"Neither of you are strong enough to give Alfonzo a challenge." Laxus, standing with his arms crossed, said disdainfully.
"You wanna find out if that's true?" Gray and Natsu shouted simultaneously as they both turned their anger in Laxus' direction.
"*Sigh* Will those two ever grow up?" Mirajane asked while resting her right hand on her cheek.
"Don't act like you're any better, Big Sis." Lisanna said while holding Miyako's hand.
"Did you say something, Lisanna?" Mirajane asked sweetly while wearing her usual pleasant smile as she turned to look at Lisanna.
"Nope!" Lisanna backpedaled immediately. "Nothing at all."
"Mommy, Aunt Mira, is Uncle Alfonzo really that strong?" Miyako asked with her eyes shining curiously.
"That's right, Miya." Mirajane replied, her pressure vanishing immediately as she turned to look at Miyako. "He's the strongest member of the guild."
"Daddy's the strongest." Bianca added with a nod from her spot in Mirajane's arms, looking like a seasoned veteran with how serious she was when she did so.
"You'll find out just how strong your Daddy is if you keep acting up." Mirajane said sternly as she looked down at Bianca.
In response, Bianca only pouted. Mirajane had made her quite aware of how bad her actions were when she tried to push Calvin off Alfonzo's lap a couple of weeks ago. In fact, she still feels phantom pain on her butt from the punishment whenever she sees Mirajane frown.
As the conversations continued, the large training room on the tenth floor of the guild hall slowly filled up with all the available members of the guild. Meanwhile, Alfonzo stood near the center of the training room while Erza, Sun, and Saeko stood opposite him, each with a sword strapped to their hip.
"Looks like almost everyone is here.' Alfonzo said with a smirk. "I hope you three are ready."
"Of course." Erza said with a stern nod.
"We won't go easy on you, ya see?" Sun added with a smile.
"Don't disappoint me." Saeko said while licking her lips.
"I wouldn't dream of it." Alfonzo replied as his smile widened. He then lowered his stance and spread his arms as he continued. "But I'll say the same to the three of you. If I feel that any of you are holding back, I'll have some words for you later."
*Clang!*
As soon as Alfonzo's words ended, he quickly drew Riot with his right hand and raised it to block the vertical slash from Erza.
"I assure you." Erza said while pressing Astraia's blade against Riot's shaft. "Holding back is the last thing on any of our minds."
"Good." Alfonzo replied simply before pushing Erza back.
*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!*
In the next instant, Alfonzo Swept Riot down to his side, blocking a horizontal strike aimed at his legs. He then flipped it so that the shaft was running along his forearm and blocked a second strike aimed at his waist before pushing away the blade and punching at his attacker with the short end of the tonfa.
Reacting quickly, Saeko raised her blade and blocked Alfonzo's strike with the flat of her blade. She then pivoted on her right foot, slightly adjusted the grip on her hilt, and thrust the tip of her katana at Alfonzo's ribs.
*Swish!*
*Swish!*
Reacting just as quickly, Alfonzo took half a step back, Saeko's blade passing just in front of his chest. He then reached out with his left hand and clamped his fingers on the flat sides of the blade before yanking Saeko forward.
As a result, both Erza and Sun, who aimed to capitalize on Alfonzo's movement, were forced to divert their strikes to avoid cutting Saeko. At the same time, as Saeko stumbled forward, Alfonzo stuck out his right foot, intending to destabilize her footing even further.
*Swoosh!*
Before that could happen, however, Saeko released her hilt with her lefthand, grabbed her sheath from her hip, and swung it at Alfonzo's legs.
Forced to release Saeko's blade to gain distance and avoid Saeko's sheath, Alfonzo reached behind him and drew Bedlam just in time to parry strikes from both Erza and Sun, who circled around Saeko without missing a beat.
*Clang!* *Clang!* *Swish!* *Clang!* *Swish!* *Clang!* *Clang!*
That led to a fast exchange of slashes, sweeps, thrusts, parries, blocks, and dodges between the four combatants. And as time passed, the amount of magic power the three circulated through their bodies increased slowly, but surely.
And with the rise in magic power circulation, so too did the speed at which the four moved. By the time they were at their peaks, no one under A-Class could even follow their movements.
*Clang~~~~~~~~~!*
Then, after a final clash, with Alfonzo managing to block all three swords simultaneously, the four separated with Alfonzo standing in the center of the room while Erza, Sun, and Saeko surrounded him from three directions.
"Damn... that was intense." Vijeeter said while fidgeting in place. "A display like that makes me want to choreograph a new dance routine."
"Yeah, I remember the first time I fought Sun." Max said with a wry smile on his face. "We were pretty close to even back then. But now... I don't think I'd last even a minute if I faced her now."
Many of the wizards in the guild who had not made S-Class nodded in agreement with Max.
"You guys are missing something." Wakaba pointed out.
"What do you mean, Wakaba?" Warren asked curiously.
"They didn't use any magic just now." Macao said while watching Alfonzo and the three swordswomen closely. "They only used their magic power to strengthen their bodies."
That caused Max, Warren, and the others to widen their eyes in surprise.
"Alright, that was enough of a warm up." Alfonzo said with a grin. "So, why don't we kick it up a notch?"
In response, Erza, Sun, and Saeko all narrowed their eyes solemnly. At the same time, they gripped their swords a little tighter, as well.
"[Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor]." Erza chanted as she was covered by the light of her magic power.
A moment later, nearly three dozen swords appeared around Erza before she sent them all flying in Alfonzo's direction.
"[Flying Heaven's Sword-Style: Kuzuryusen]." Saeko chanted simultaneously as she dashed forward with her blade primed to thrust.
"I don't know why you thought that would work." Alfonzo said while shaking his head.
In the next instant, without any visible effort on Alfonzo's part, all the swords Erza sent flying in Alfonzo's direction stopped in place. Then, half of their number turned their tips towards Erza while the rest turned towards Saeko.
"You can have these back." Alfonzo said playfully.
*Swoosh!*
With that, all the swords were sent flying towards Erza and Saeko. Then, Alfonzo turned towards Sun, whose posture was lowered in an iaido stance.
"[Water/Sword Compound Magic: First Form: Water Surface Slash]." Sun chanted as she shot forward with her hands gripping her hilt and sheath.
*Clang!*
In the blink of an eye, Sun appeared in front of Alfonzo and drew Kanade. In the same motion, she slashed horizontally at Alfonzo's torso. However, Alfonzo did not try to block the slash. Instead, he bent his back, allowing the blade to pass above his chest. Then, he jammed Bedlam's shaft into the floor of the training room before spinning on its point and launching a kick at Sun's side.
"[Water/Sword Compound Magic: Third Form: Flowing Dance]." Sun chanted as her movements changed, and she slipped around Alfonzo's kick.
*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!*
Sun quickly transferred into a flowing series of slashes, sweeps, and stabs. Meanwhile, Alfonzo matched her movements in terms of grace while spinning his tonfa and deflecting Sun's assault with precision.
Meanwhile, Erza, after the swords were sent back in her direction, summoned a second sword into her hand before swinging Astraia and the other sword at high speed, deflecting all the incoming swords. However, to her surprise, she was unable to unsummon any of the swords to her [Requip Space]. On top of that, no matter how many times she deflected them, the swords simply turned around and continued to attack.
"His magic power is integrated with all the swords." Erza muttered to herself while continuing to swing the swords. "On top of that, if I let my swords stay in contact with them for too long, that magic power tries to attach itself to the swords in my hands, as well. Troublesome."
Despite the words she said, a smile began to spread across Erza's face. The challenge of dealing with Alfonzo's magic was igniting her fighting spirit.
And when certain members of the guild, namely Gray and Natsu, saw the smile on Erza's face, they found themselves covering their heads. Specifically, the spots on their heads where Erza tends to punch them when they get too unruly.
"[Flying Heaven's Sword-Style: Ryutsuisen]." Saeko chanted as she vanished in a burst of speed, leaving all the swords Alfonzo had hijacked from Erza's control to slam into each other.
In the next instant, Saeko reappeared above and behind Alfonzo, both hands gripping the hilt of her sword, as she swung a powerful downward strike at Alfonzo's back.
*Clang!*
Alfonzo, once again able to use [Magic Power Detection] now that he was cleared for duty, was not caught off guard by Saeko's sudden appearance. As a result, he was able to react swiftly.
Adjusting the grip on Riot, he let the shaft run along his forearm after parrying a slash from Sun. He then whipped his arm back, parrying Saeko's downward slash before leaping to avoid a well-timed slash at his legs.
"[Requip: Black Wing Armor]." The sound of Erza's chant carried over from the distance. "[Black Wing: Moon Flash]."
"Tch!" Alfonzo clicked his tongue, aborting the plan to kick Saeko away. "[Electromagnetism Magic: Spider Lightning]."
Immediately, Alfonzo's body began to spark with arcs of violet electricity. And when the three ladies saw that, all their eyes widened as they tried to distance themselves from Alfonzo as quickly as they could.
Unfortunately, both Sun and Saeko were too close. On top of that, Saeko was airborne with no way to move until she fell to the floor.
*Zap!*
Violet electricity shot in all directions with Alfonzo at the center. And since her weapon was still in contact with his, Saeko was the first to be electrocuted.
*Kya~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!" Saeko screamed in pain as she was flung backwards before hitting the ground.
The next to be struck was Sun. And with all the water that had splattered around her during her high-speed clash with Alfonzo, she was hit even harder than Saeko.
As for Erza, being the furthest away, she would have usually had time to dodge the arc of electricity that flew in her direction. However, because she was travelling directly towards the source of the electricity, her speed augmented by [Moon Flash], dodging was not an option.
However, Erza's reflexes and strength were on another level compared to relatively newer members of the guild like Sun and Saeko. So, instead of being struck head on, she was able to coat Astraia in magic power that was quickly converted into [Wind Magic] thanks to Astraia's properties, and cut the incoming arc in half, the two sides of the split arc of electricity passing by her as she continued forward.
*Clang!*
Yet, just as Erza performed [Moon Flash], intending to cut Alfonzo, a wall of swords, the same ones she summoned when she [Requipped] into her [Heaven's Wheel Armor], placed themselves between her and Alfonzo. As a result, the X-shaped slash Erza performed with the swords in her hands was blocked cleanly.
"[Electromagnetism Magic: Gravity Ball Rasengan]." Alfonzo chanted, his voice coming from directly behind Erza.
"Damn." Erza muttered quietly as the [Gravity Ball Rasengan] was pressed onto the middle of her back.
*Boom!*
In the next instant, Erza slammed straight onto the floor of the training room, the high gravitational force of Alfonzo's spell holding her in place. Luckily, when she realized how hard she would hit the floor, Erza instinctively [Requipped] into her [Adamantine Armor], letting the armor take some of the damage from the collision.
As for Alfonzo, he stood near Erza and surveyed the battlefield.
Currently, Saeko was trying her best to get to her feet. However, thanks to the electricity, her muscles were not listening to the commands her body was giving them.
Then there was Sun, who, already covered in water from her own magic, had been hit extra hard. As a result, she was convulsing on the floor with the whites of her eyes showing. Even so, her fingers were still tightly wrapped around Kanade's hilt.
Lastly, Alfonzo looked down at Erza, who was in comparatively better shape than the other two. Even so, thanks to the high gravity surrounding her, she was unable to push herself off the floor, even after [Requipping] out of the heavy [Adamantine Armor]
"Well, I guess that's it." Alfonzo said with a nod to himself. "Everything feels almost as good as it did before we faced Acnologia. But this higher magic power density will take some getting used to. Those last two spells hit a lot harder than I intended."
"Yes, that's good." Erza struggled to say while still trying to push herself off the ground. "But do you think you could cancel your spell since this is over?"
"Oh, right." Alfonzo said sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, I got caught up in reviewing my performance. I'll make it up to you when we get back home."
With that, Alfonzo dispelled the [Gravity Ball Rasengan], allowing Erza to push herself up to a seated position. And while Erza did that, Alfonzo made his way over to Sun, followed by Saeko, and dispersed the electricity running through their systems. He then picked up the unconscious Sun in a princess carry.
"Okay, show's over." Alfonzo said, snapping the shocked onlookers out of their dazes. "Get back to what you were doing. I'll take these three to the infirmary. I'm glad I knocked out Gozaburo earlier, though. Otherwise, I would have had to kick his ass again after he saw Sun get knocked out."
With that, a pair of metal plates appeared next to Erza and Saeko. The two plates then moved carefully, making the women lay down on them as Alfonzo made his way towards the training room's door.
Meanwhile, the rest of the guild members just watched Alfonzo leave with his three lovers.
"He's even stronger than before." Laxus said with his eyes narrowed. "Damn it... I'm falling even further behind."
"They didn't even release their [Soul Armaments]." Laki said with a smile. "And they were still able to move that fast and hit that hard."
"If they had released them, this training room probably wouldn't even exist anymore." Elicia said while shaking her head. "Most of us would have been caught up in the crossfire, too."
"Yeah, anyone under S-Class would have probably ended up seriously injured if they had." Ultear added. She then turned towards the training room's door and continued. "But seriously, just how dense is Alfonzo's magic power now?"
"Does it matter?" Marin asked in a determined tone. "We just have to work on making our own magic power denser. Otherwise, we're all gonna get left behind."
Everyone who considered themselves as part of the strongest members of the guild nodded their heads in agreement with Marin. Then, instead of going back to relaxing in the main hall, they went to their preferred training rooms and began training harder than ever.