章 335: The Trial of the Century: Fairy Tail Vs. The Magic Council Begins

Earth Land, Ishgar, kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

March, x785.

Just like when Alfonzo learned the name of his [Soul Armaments], Elicia's also underwent a change. Now, instead of simple needles of varying lengths and thicknesses, they all took on a golden hue. On top of that, the eye of each needle was in the shape of a dragon's head with a piercing blue eye. Meanwhile the eye of the needle was now the space between the dragon's jaws.

One thing that was unlike the change in Alfonzo's [Soul Armament], however, was the fact that Elicia's change did not go completely unnoticed.

["Hey, I think you should go check on Lici."] Riot said from Alfonzo's inner world.

'Hmm? Did something happen?' Alfonzo asked while chopping vegetables for the stir fry he was planning to make for dinner.

["Just hurry and go check on her, Asshole!"] Riot shouted angrily.

["It wouldn't kill you to give him a little more information, would it?"] Bedlam asked. ["Well, what was I expecting from someone like you. Let me tell you what's going on, as there's probably no one better for the job than me."]

["Grr!"] Riot growled in rage.

["Anyway, it feels like her [Soul Armament] went through a change."] Bedlam explained. ["And I'm sure you really want to be the first one to see it, right?"]

With that, Alfonzo's movements came to an immediate stop. Then, after a moment, he calmly laid his knife down on the cutting board before casually walking out of the kitchen.

Naturally, this drew the attention of the girls at the kitchen table.

"Hey, Fonzie, what's wrong?" Marin asked curiously.

"It's nothing, I just got a feeling about something." Alfonzo replied without stopping his steps. "And I'm going to check it out."

This answer only led the girls to be even more confused. Still, they decided to let him be… for now.

Meanwhile, Alfonzo had made his way to the entrance of the living room. And just as Bedlam said, he saw a change in Elicia's [Soul Armament].

"I guess she's been doing quite a bit of soul searching since this whole mess started, huh?" Alfonzo whispered not to disturb Elicia's meditation session.

["Well, that tends to happen when you do something that nearly ruins all your relationships."] Bedlam replied.

["You two are way too hard on her."] Riot interjected. ["She deserves a second chance. So, just let it go."]

In response, both Alfonzo and Bedlam rolled their eyes. Though, Alfonzo agreed with Riot on a subconscious level.

Meanwhile, in Elicia's inner world.

"Oh, so your name is Scylla?" Elicia said with a smile.

"Yeah. But you can think about that later." Scylla replied. "For now, you should go back outside. There's someone waiting for you to wake up."

Hearing that, Elicia was slightly confused. Still, she returned her consciousness to her body just as Scylla said.

A moment later, Elicia slowly opened her eyes. And when she did, the first thing she saw was Alfonzo sitting on the couch opposite her. And he was smiling at her. Smiling very gently.

"Congratulations." Alfonzo said when he saw Elicia open her eyes.

Instead of replying immediately, Elicia's expression changed from serene to upset. Then, tears began to drip from her eyes.

"Fonzie!" Elicia shouted as she leapt off the couch she was sitting on and lunged at Alfonzo.

Reacting quickly, Alfonzo opened his arms and caught Elicia, who wrapped him in a tight hug as she began crying loudly.

"Fonzie! I'm sorry!" Elicia shouted as she cried. "I'm so sorry! I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to hurt anyone! And I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I promise I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you!"

In response, Alfonzo, who was not expecting this kind of reaction, wore a confused expression at first. However, a moment later, he wrapped his arms around Elicia and started combing his fingers through her hair.

["Don't just sit there in silence, forgive her already!"] Riot Shouted.

["Simp."] Bedlam muttered.

Ignoring Riot's shouting and Bedlam's jabs at Riot, Alfonzo continued to hold Elicia in silence while she vented her emotions.

A few moments later, the other girls also came running to the living room after hearing Elicia's cries. However, after seeing Alfonzo holding her while she repeatedly apologized, no one knew what to say. Nor did they wish to interrupt the moment.

Eventually, Elicia cried herself to sleep. Then, Alfonzo lifted her and carried her out of the living room to put her to bed. Meanwhile, the other girls simply watched Alfonzo leave.

"I guess we never noticed just how much she hurt herself with her actions, huh?" Marin asked.

"Well, we weren't exactly looking for it, either." Ultear replied.

"Was punishing her really the right thing to do?" Sun asked, feeling sorry for Elicia after seeing her cry the way she did.

"Definitely." Cana and Erza replied simultaneously.

"They're right, you know." Mirajane added as she started patting Sun on the head. "Even if we don't' want to punish her, it has to be done. She really did do something wrong this time."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Sun replied while lowering her head.

"Anyway, let's go back to the kitchen." Cana said. "Once Fonzie puts her to bed, he'll come back and finish cooking dinner."

In response, the other girls nodded before they all returned to the kitchen table. And when Alfonzo eventually returned to the kitchen, no one spoke of what just happened. They simply enjoyed dinner before heading to bed themselves.

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.

April 18, x785.

After the night Elicia released the seal on her [Soul Armament], things went back to normal. And the following day, the guests from Mermaid Heel left after finalizing the deal for the training rooms. After that, Alfonzo and Ur focused on the upcoming trial against the magic council.

And during that time, they tried to get as much support for their case as they could from other guilds. As well as the support of former Magic Councilor, Yajima.

On top of all that, they even managed to pull the former chairman of the Magic Council, Crawford Seam, into the trial to be judged for his actions.

Now, some people would say that the fact that Crawford Seam lost his position as Magic Council Chairman should be punishment enough. But Alfonzo begged to differ. After all, Crawford Seam was not fired from his position. Rather, he was given the opportunity to resign. And to Alfonzo, that sounded less like punishment and more like retirement.

And finally, with all their preparations made, Alfonzo and Ur, who would be representing Fairy Tail in this trial, were standing outside the Royal Castle in Crocus, where the trial would be held. On top of that, the several of the nations of Ishgar were in attendance to act as the panel of judges in this case.

Not only the rulers, but most of the Ten Wizard Saints were in attendance as well. However, the rank one of the Wizard Saints, God Serena, claimed that he could not be bothered with such a trifling matter and refused to participate.

"*Sigh* Our words would have more ewghit behind them if God Serena had decided to show up." Ur grumbled as she and Alfonzo were led through the halls of the castle.

"Man, fuck that guy." Alfonzo replied. "Just because people started calling him the strongest wizard on Ishgar, he started thinking he was above it all. Just wait… As soon as I get the chance, I'll challenge him to a duel for his position and whoop his ass."

'Plus, the mother fucker is a traitor.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'And the way Acnologia basically one shotted him in the series was too quick a death for an arrogant, treacherous asshole like that.'

["I agree."] Bedlam replied from Alfonzo's inner world. ["People like that deserve a slow, painful death."]

["Hell yeah, make that son of a bitch beg for death."] Riot added excitedly.

'Oh, we will.' Alfonzo muttered darkly to his [Soul Armament Spirits]. 'We definitely will.'

"Sounds like you don't have the best impression of the rank one of the Ten Wizard Saints." Ur said with a grin.

"Not really." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "It's not like he really had to work for his level of power, after all. I mean, hell, if you stuck eight dragon lacrima in anyone else, they would probably be dumb strong, too. Yet, because of that, he got arrogant."

"Hahaha! And to think, there was a time when a lot of us thought you were arrogant, too." Ur said with a laugh.

"Yeah, I could see that." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "I never hid the fact that I was proud of what I had accomplished. Hell, I still don't. But I know that in no way does that make me better than anyone else. And the only time I ever look down on someone is when they're utterly irredeemable douchebags."

Before the conversation could continue, however, the knight who was leading them to the room where the trial would be held signaled that they had arrived.

"Well, it's about that time." Alfonzo said as he straightened his tie.

Today, as the occasion would dictate, Alfonzo wore a black business suit with a light grey vest, a white dress shirt, a black tie, and black leather shoes. Naturally, the ensemble was designed and sewn by Elicia.

Meanwhile, Ur was wearing a dark blue, form-fitting business suit with a matching skirt, a white collared shirt, a dark blue tie, a pair of pantyhose, and black heels.

Then after a nod to the knight, signaling they were ready for entry, the knight opened the large double doors leading to the court room. And when they entered, the first thing they noticed were the rulers of Fiore, Caelum, and Isvan sitting on a raised platform. The next thing they noticed were the members of the Wizard Saints sitting on a slightly lower platform.

After that, they saw that the members of the Magic Council were seated to the right side of the raised platforms while the members of Fairy Tail were seated to the left. Lastly, they saw that the witnesses were seated on either side of the room, just waiting to be called to testify.

Another thing to take note of was the fact that Crawford Seam was seated with the members of the Magic Council while Gran Doma, the current Magic Council Chairman, was seated with the witnesses.

After checking the room's layout, Alfonzo and Ur exchanged glances before nodding at each other and making their way over to Fairy Tails side of the room.

*Bang!*

A moment later, the double doors to the room were closed.

"Are all in attendance?" Toma E. Fiore, the King of Fiore, asked in a booming voice that did not seem to fit his small stature. Then, after receiving nods to his question, he continued. "Then, let us start the proceedings. Today, we are here to bear witness and pass judgement on the trial of Fairy Tail Vs. the Magic Council. Plaintiff, Fairy Tail, you may make your opening Statement."

Once again, Alfonzo and Ur exchanged glances. Then, after receiving a nod from Ur, Alfonzo stood from his seat and adjusted his tie before walking to the center of the court room.

"Ladies and gentlemen." Alfonzo said in a sonorous tone. "I am Alfonzo Marcus, an S-Class wizard of the Legal Guild, Fairy Tail. And I'm sure you are all aware that our guild has not always had the best reputation. As we were prone to acts of public property damage in the past."

When Alfonzo reached this point, everyone, other than the wizards from Fairy Tail, who flushed in embarrassment, nodded their heads in agreement.

On a side note, Team Natsu, the wizards in the guild most likely to cause property damage, were ou ton a quest. So, they could not attend the trial… Or make a mess of Alfonzo and Ur's plans.

"Yet, in the last few years, our guild has done no more damage to public property than any other guild on Ishgar." Alfonzo continued. "However, despite our change in behavior, the Magic Council has always been bias against us. And on two occasions, they have taken actions that would seriously damage our guild had they succeeded, claiming their actions were for the greater good."

Hearing that, many of the members of the Magic Council frowned. Meanwhile, the others showed very little in terms of expression.

"One example would be when they fired the Etherion on a small, unnamed island off the coast of Caelum." Alfonzo said. "I know all of you are aware of that incident. The Council was briefly disbanded because of it, after all. But what you may not know… Or rather what you most-likely do not know is that myself along with four other promising wizards from Fairy Tail were on that island at the time the Etherion was launched. On top of that, the Council was aware of that fact, as we had submitted a report before heading over there to stop the Tower of Heaven from being utilized."

That last piece of information was enough to gain the members of the Magic Council a few inquisitive looks, as they had not reported the fact that there were people other than dark wizards on the island.

"Even more recently, Fairy Tail held its annual S-Class Promotion Exams on our holy ground, Tenrou Island." Alfonzo continued. "And just as the exam was completed, the island was attacked by the Dark Guild, Grimoire Heart. Yet the Magic Council, whose naval fleet was anchored a short distance from the island, did not give the order to assist us. Luckily, we were able to emerge victorious against such a daunting foe."

At that point, the gazes the Magic Council received grew colder as time went by.

"On top of that, we came to find out that an officer employed by the Council had also infiltrated our guild, using methods unknown to us." Alfonzo said, glaring at Doranbolt as he spoke. "I suspect it to be some kind of [Memory Control Magic]. Though, without the chance to analyze it, I'm only speculating. Yet, everyone in our guild seemed to have memories of him. Just under a different name."

This time, all the cold gazes in the room were shifted to Doranbolt, who began to sweat under the pressure.

"In conclusion, the Magic Council has schemed against Fairy Tail to weaken us in the hopes of disbanding us." Alfonzo said passionately with anger in his tone. "They wish to harm us, who have completed tasks for the continent such as killing Deliora in Isvan, eliminating many harmful Dark Guilds, including both Grimoire Heart and the Oración Seis, and bringing in a pair of dangerous rogue scientists from the Bureau of Magical Development."

At this point, Alfonzo paused to catch his breath and scan the expressions of everyone in the court room. And to his surprise, many of those involved in giving a verdict on this case seemed to be moved by his passionate speech.

"Thus, for the Magic Council's transgressions, Fairy Tail seeks the maximum sentence for their crimes." Alfonzo said, bringing his opening statement to an end with a bow to the rulers seated at the highest position in the room.