Bab 173: Tying Up Some Loose Ends
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Road to Crocus.
August, x784.
"I kinda feel bad for lying to them like this." Alfonzo said while sitting behind the wheel of his Vanquish.
"Technically we're not lying, though." Elicia said from the passenger seat. "We just didn't tell them the whole truth. Besides, it's not like we could take care of him with Gramps and the others there."
"*Sigh* I guess you're right." Alfonzo replied with a shake of his head.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
Going back a few hours, after Alfonzo met with Lucy before she left to speak to her father, Alfonzo went to discuss the finalized designs for the guild hall with Makarov. Although, there really was not much to discuss.
Makarov, after hearing Alfonzo's new idea for the guild hall was elated. Especially after hearing that his office would be on the eleventh floor overlooking all of Magnolia.
After that, Alfonzo returned to the mansion and met with his girlfriends in the living room. Naturally, he called them all there so that he could inform them that he would be making a trip to Crocus to procure the materials that he was unwilling to make for the new guild hall.
"I wanna go with you." Elicia said with her hand raised after Alfonzo explained his next steps.
"Me, too." Cana added. "*Sigh* But I'm not allowed. Gramps wants me to go to some kind of AA meeting or something. I can't believe he thinks I'm an alcoholic."
In response, everyone discreetly diverted their gazes away from Cana without a word.
Cana, on the other hand, noticing that no one took her side was shellshocked. Then, she stood up from her seat on the couch and started to walk away in a huff. Before she could get too far, however, Alfonzo grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his lap.
"Let me go!" Cana shouted.
"Take it easy, Cana." Alfonzo said gently while running his fingers through her long, dark brown hair. "We can't be on your side this time. You did something really dangerous because of the alcohol."
This time, it was Cana's turn to avert her gaze and remain silent.
"Now, I wasn't there to see it, but I heard you put a lot of people in the line of fire with your [Super Nova] spell." Alfonzo said. "And if you're gonna do that just because your alcohol was wasted, we have a lot to talk about."
"*Sigh* Fine." Cana grumbled after Alfonzo finished. "I know I messed up back there. But… That was the really good stuff. The really high quality ale that I was saving. *Sigh* But I get it. I'll stop drinking if that's what you're telling me to do."
With that, Cana nuzzled into Alfonzo's chest with sadness on her face while wrapping her arms around his waist.
Meanwhile, everyone else in the room, namely Alfonzo, Elicia, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, and Sun, were thoroughly flabbergasted. Cana, of her own volition, had agreed to stop drinking. At the same time, when they saw the expression she was wearing, all the girls glared at Alfonzo like he was the reason for all of Cana's sadness.
Naturally, Alfonzo's eyes widened in disbelief when he saw the looks he was getting.
'How the fuck is this all my fault?' Alfonzo asked himself internally.
After that, he glared back at the girls, who averted their gazes.
"*Sigh* I'm not telling you to stop drinking, Cana." Alfonzo said with a soft smile. "But there's a time and place for everything. For example, you shouldn't have been drinking on the construction site. Nor should you have been so worked up over losing your barrel during the fight."
"But… It was the really good stuff…" Cana whined.
"*Sigh* I'll buy you another barrel if you promise that you'll only drink where it's appropriate." Alfonzo said.
Immediately, Cana's expression brightened and she pulled Alfonzo into a deep kiss.
"I promise!" Cana said excitedly after separating her lips from Alfonzo's.
After that, she stood up from Alfonzo's lap and skipped out of the living room. Meanwhile, everyone else could only look at her in stunned silence.
"I just got played, didn't I?" Alfonzo asked, still looking at the entrance to the living room where Cana just exited through.
"Looks that way." Ultear replied. "Looks like she had already decided to cut back. But she wanted to get another barrel of what she lost last week."
"I don't understand how she can like to drink that much." Sun said while shaking her head with a disgusted expression on her face. "I've tried the stuff that she calls 'the good stuff' and it's horrible. It just burns my throat and tastes bad."
"Well, alcohol isn't for everyone, Sun." Elicia said with a smile. "But if you wanted to try a drink that doesn't taste bad, Fonzie could make one for you."
"Really?" Sun asked skeptically.
"That one with the mango and peach, right?" Erza asked. "That was pretty good. But I'd rather have one with strawberries instead."
"It's mango vodka, peach schnapps, and orange juice." Alfonzo corrected. "But it can be pretty dangerous since you don't really taste the alcohol."
With that, the discussion continued for a while before they got back to the original topic. Eventually, it was decided that Elicia would go with Alfonzo to Crocus while the rest of the girls would help with the demolition of what was left of the old guild hall.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Road to Crocus.
"Anyway, he's gonna pay for what he did and said." Alfonzo said with a dark glint in his eyes. "No one, whether man or god threatens my Lici like that."
Hearing Alfonzo's declaration, Elicia smiled sweetly as she placed her hand on top of Alfonzo's hand on the shifter knob.
"So, how are we gonna do this?" Elicia asked, her expression hardening as she did so. "Even if he's more than likely crippled for life because of Gramps' [Fairy Law] spell, he's still gonna be in a maximum security prison for breaking the Magic Council's laws on starting a guild war."
"I have a few ideas." Alfonzo said as he continued to drive. "But we're gonna have to work together for any of them to work."
"You don't have to worry about that." Elicia said with a smile. "It's been you and me for as long as I can remember."
Like that, Alfonzo and Elicia discussed their plans for the rest of the trip to Crocus.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.
About an hour later, the two made it to Crocus. When they did, there were a few hours left until sunset. So, the first thing on their agenda was to find a hotel. Then, after booking a room, they walked around the capital city, comparing prices on the materials they would need for the new guild hall.
Eventually, when the sun set, they made their way to the restaurant where Elicia, Marin, and Lucy ate the last time they were in the capital, The Feeding Bowl.
To Elicia's surprise, the same guy who was the leader of the kidnappers was still the one who got them seated. After getting seated, Elicia asked him how he was still working here.
Apparently, after hearing the whole story, none of the families of the kidnapped girls had pressed charges. In fact, they were grateful that the girls were no longer associated with those men they were dating. Still, they were quite upset that their daughters had been kidnapped.
In the end, the five kidnappers were required to teach classes on the same things they were teaching the kidnapped girls. However, they would not be paid for their efforts. A kind of community service if you will.
After getting the explanation Alfonzo and Elicia enjoyed a nice meal before heading back to their hotel room.
Along the way, however, they were both scared out of their wits when they rounded a corner and came face to face with Darkness. Luckily, Elicia's instincts kicked in and she cast [Hiding in Plain Sight] before she and Alfonzo ran away, leaving Darkness standing at the corner with confusion written all over her face.
Not long later, Alfonzo and Elicia were back in their hotel room.
"That was scary." Elicia said while taking deep breaths to calm down.
"Darkness isn't that bad." Alfonzo said with a wry smile on his face. "As long as you don't flip her switch, that is. But now that I think about it, you've already done that, huh?"
In response, Elicia glared at Alfonzo while her lips were pouted to the limit, causing Alfonzo to laugh loudly.
"Anyway, let's get going." Alfonzo said in a solemn tone after his laughter died down. "We've got work to do."
Nodding in response, Ellicia reached into her luggage and pulled out a special bar of soap, one that would erase their scents for a few hours after they washed with it.
After that, Alfonzo and Elicia showered together, which in hindsight was probably a bad idea. They had to fight the temptations to get physical in the shower. But they managed to do so. Then, after getting out of the shower, they both donned black clothing with masks and slipped out of the hotel room's window. Though, Elicia did make an illusion of her and Alfonzo sleeping in the bed together with her [False Appearance] spell just in case someone came to check on them for whatever reason.
Fifteen minutes later, Alfonzo, with Elicia in his arms, was floating outside of the prison where Jose Porla was being held.
"He's probably in the medical wing." Elicia said.
"Yeah, but neither of us has ever been here before." Alfonzo said with a frown. "And Jose was completely crippled, so [Magic Power Detection] won't work. Which means we'll have to look through every cell in the wing… After finding the medical wing, that is."
"Relax, Fonzie." Elicia said quietly. "Just wait for me here. I'll find out where he is and come right back."
"Sure." Alfonzo replied with a shrug.
After that, Elicia wrapped a few of her threads around Alfonzo's waist before she lowered herself to the ground. Then, she dispelled her threads and with her [Camouflage Magic] she managed to sneak inside the prison. After that, it was just a matter of following the signs to get to the medical wing.
A few minutes later, after finding her way to the medical wing, Elicia found the documents that detailed where each prisoner was being held. Naturally, that included Jose's medical cell as well. However, instead of leaving the prison and going to get Alfonzo, she made her way to the cell where Jose was being held.
When she arrived outside of Jose's cell, she used her threads to pick the door's lock before slipping in silently.
"Good, he's asleep." Elicia muttered after looking over the form of Jose Porla, who had seen better days. "It would have been a pain If he had been awake."
After inspecting the room, Elicia noticed that there were two lacrima that were constantly monitoring Jose. Luckily, she was still under the effect of her [Hiding in Plain Sight] spell. After noticing the two lacrima, Elicia made her way over to the window in the room and sent her threads through the bars.
"Seriously, they didn't even put him in a room with real windows?" Elicia asked herself as she manipulated her threads. "Well, without his magic, I guess he doesn't have much value to the Magic Council anymore."
Meanwhile, Alfonzo was still floating outside of the prison. Though, he was using his own magic to keep himself hidden from the sights of the patrolling guards now that he was no longer with Elicia. Eventually, he saw a bundle of threads appear in front of him and arrange themselves into a message.
{I found him. Follow the threads}
After reading the message, Alfonzo touched the threads, sending the feedback to Elicia. A moment later, Alfonzo was once again under the effects of Elicia's [Hiding in Plain Sight] spell.
Less than a minute later, Alfonzo was floating outside the window to Jose's room. Then, he placed his hand on the wall of the prison and coated Jose's room in a thin sheet of metal with all sorts of sigils carved into it. Naturally, these sigils included illusions to fool the surveillance lacrima, a silencing barrier, and a magic power isolation barrier.
Once all the sigils were in place and activated, Alfonzo used his [Metal Magic] to bend the bars and enter the room. At the same time, Elicia dropped the [Camouflage Magic hiding herself and Alfonzo, while they both removed their masks.
"Wakey, wakey, Jose." Alfonzo said once he and Elicia were standing over Jose's bed. "Lici and I came to say hi and see how you were holding up in prison."
*Smack!*
After speaking, Alfonzo lightly smacked Jose on the face. Just hard enough so that he'd feel it. But not hard enough to leave a mark.
"Huh? What? Who's there?" Jose asked in a groggy tone.
"It's your two favorite Fairy Tail wizards." Elicia said with a smile. "I know you must have missed us after you got locked up."
Still confused and a bit groggy after being woken up, Jose moved his eyes from side to side to see who was speaking to him. And when he recognized the faces, his expression changed from one filled with confusion into one filled with rage.
"It's you two again." Jose shouted, wishing with all his might that he could still move and had access to his magic power. "Have you come to humiliate me even more? I've already lost everything. What more do you want."
"I wouldn't say you've lost everything." Alfonzo replied with a grim smile on his face. "You're still alive after all. You should never undervalue the worth of a human life, right?"
Hearing Alfonzo's words and seeing the expression on his face, Jose's breath hitched for a moment.
"But living a life like you are now must be torture." Elicia said, wearing a similarly grim smile. "So, we came to, maybe, help you with that."
"Wait! You're here to kill me?" Jose asked in a panicked tone. "No, you can't do this. You're not dark wizards."
"Neither were you." Alfonzo replied flippantly. "But you had no problem telling us how you were gonna torture us, right?"
"No, that was just an intimidation tactic." Jose said, his eyes starting to water in fear. "I would never do anything like that. You have to believe me."
In response, Alfonzo and Elicia simply glared at Jose coldly. Meanwhile, Jose continued to try and plead for his life.
"Lici, I've heard enough." Alfonzo said in acold tone.
With that, Elicia's threads wrapped around Jose's mouth and the back of his head, acting as a gag. Then, without a word, Alfonzo opened Jose's patient gown and revealed his bare chest. A moment later, he created a thin blade on the tip of his right index finger.
*Swish!*
Using that blade, Alfonzo made a small incision over Jose's heart. At the same time, the blade on his finger disappeared into Jose's chest while healing the small wound in the process.
'What did you do to me?' Jose asked with his eyes after realizing that he was not bleeding.
"A few years ago, I came across a metal that I found rather interesting." Alfonzo said in a cheerful tone. "It had the ability to heal any injuries it came in contact with. But on the downside, it turned all the tissue it came across as hard as iron. I called it the Techno Organic Metal. Pretty neat, huh?"
'Did you just put that metal inside my chest?' Jose's eyes asked in horror.
"You pick up on things pretty quick." Elicia said with a smile. "Well, I guess you weren't the guild master of Fiore's second strongest guild for nothing, huh?"
Hearing that, Jose's already pale face paled even further.
"Based on how close I put the Techno Organic Metal to your heart, it should only take fifteen minutes to slow your heart enough to kill you." Alfonzo said. "It will be pretty agonizing. But don't worry, no one will come and interrupt the process. Then, after everything is over, all the metals inside of you and the room will just disappear, leaving no evidence of us being here."
With that, Elicia released Jose's gag with a smile on her face.
"*Pant* You two are *Pant* monsters." Jose said, starting to hyperventilate due to panic and fear.
"Only when people push us to be." Elicia said. "Now, I hope you enjoy the last… fourteen minutes of your life, Jose. Have a good evening."
With that, Alfonzo and Elicia left through the window before Alfonzo used his magic to fix the bars.
Then, just as Alfonzo said, fifteen minutes after he put the Techno Organic Metal in Jose's chest, his heart had hardened to the point that it could no longer pump blood. However, because of the state that his body was in after taking Makarov's [Fairy Law] spell, he died a few minutes earlier.
Then, once the time was up, all the metals Alfonzo added to the room vanished. On top of that, by the time Jose's body was autopsied, his heart had softened to its normal state, leaving no evidence that he was murdered.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
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