章 563: x787 S-Class Promotion Exam; Part 3
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Tenrou Island.
December 15, x787.
After destroying a good portion of the forest, Ur and the other S-Class wizards returned to the viewing stands by the ring. Once they were all seated, though Ur still seemed angry, Alzack and Masa hopped into the ring. This would be the last match of the tournament and everyone was looking forward to the outcome.
"Are the two of you ready?" Ur asked in an authoritative tone. After receiving nods from both fighters, she continued. "Then, Fight!"
Immediately after receiving the signal, Alzack drew his pistols. However, before he could even pull the triggers, Masa had already taken off running.
"[Enhancement Magic: Full Body Enhancement]." Masa chanted while running.
At the same time, Alzack started shooting. However, with his spell chanted, Masa's speed increased exponentially. As a result, none of Alzack's shots landed. Still, he did not give up. As soon as one of his magazine's was emptied, he swiped his pistol down towards his thigh, quickly reloading with the magazines that were strapped onto his thighs.
"[Guns Magic: Mud Shot]." Alzack chanted as he changed the direction of one of his pistols. Then, he fired a bullet at the ring in front of Masa. As soon as the magic bullet made contact with the ring, it exploded into a blob of thick, viscous mud. As a result, Masa's speed was slowed significantly.
In response, Masa swept his left arm in Alzack's direction, causing dozens of knives to be sent flying.
"[Knife Magic: Iron Maiden]." Masa chanted as he slowed down to not lose his footing.
"No way I'm letting any of those get close." Alzack muttered as he changed his magazines back to normal magic bullets and began shooting down all the incoming projectiles.
However, what Alzack forgot is the fact that Masa had other ways of getting close other than using [Knife Substitution]. While Alzack was busy dealing with the numerous knives that all changed directions to skewer him all over, Massa also changed direction and started running directly at Alzack.
Along the way, Masa easily dodged the bullets that ricocheted in his direction after hitting his knives. By the time Masa eventually arrived in front of Alzack, Alzack had dealt with all the flying knives, negating the effects of Masa's spell.
"I knew I'd be no match for you when fighting at range." Masa said as he flicked his wrist, causing knives to fall from his sleeves. Then, with three knives gripped between the fingers of each hand, Masa continued. "So, let's see how you do up close."
*Clang!*
With that said, Masa swept his right hand at Alzack's left shoulder. However, Alzack raised the pistol in his right hand to black. Then, Alzack swept his right arm in a circular motion towards the right side of his body, bringing Masa's arm along with it. Then, he raised the pistol in his left hand and…
*Bang!*
*Ting!*
Fired a bullet at the right side of Masa's torso. However, with incredible reflexes, Masa was able to bring the knives in his left hand across his body to block Alzack's bullet. Then, following the momentum from having his first strike redirected, Masa lashed out with is left heel, throwing a roundhouse kick at Alzack's temple.
Reacting just as quickly, Alzack ducked his head to avoid the kick while simultaneously changing the magazine in the pistol in his left hand. Then, he fired a bullet at the ground below Masa's feet.
"[Guns Magic: Ice Shot]." Alzack chanted.
Before Alzack could pull the trigger, however, Masa had already flicked one of the knives in his left hand behind Alzack. So, as soon as the bullet made contact with the ring, Masa disappeared, a single knife falling to the frozen ring in his place.
At the same time, as Masa reappeared behind Alzack, he raked his knives down at Alzack's back. However, because of [Magic Power Detection], Alzack had felt Masa's reappearance. Unfortunately, he knew he was not fast enough to evade the attack completely. Doing what he could, Alzack threw himself forward. Though, he was still cut on his back.
"Ugh!" Alzack grunted as he felt the searing pain on his back.
Despite the pain, Alzack rolled forward. AS he did, he picked up the knife that fell when Masa teleported. Then, after he rolled away, Alzack killed his momentum before pushing himself up into a kneeling position, he threw the knife with all his might, irritating his injury in the process.
In response, Masa tilted his body out of the knife's flight path. Before he could straighten up, however…
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
Alzack fired his pistols several times in quick succession. Though, none of the bullets managed to hit Masa. And that was by design, something Masa noticed. In fact, all the bullets ended up imbedded in the ring in a circle around Masa. And Masa knew this could turn out bad for him if those bullets detonated.
Masa had already seen that Alzack had the ability to delay the effects of his magic bullets, and he did not want to be in the center of all their magical effects. So, he threw one of his knives outside of the circle to once again use [Knife Substitution], thinking that if he tried to jump over them, Alzack would detonate them immediately.
However, to masa's surprise, when he cast [Knife Substitution], he did not move. And when he realized what was happening, he could not help but smile wryly at Alzack.
"Well played, Alzack." Masa said. "You've really had Alfonzo make magic bullets for every situation, haven't you?"
"Yeah, he told me about that one guy from the Magic Council that could teleport." Alzack said as he struggled to stand up, despite the wound on his back. "So, I thought, if I ever had to fight someone like that, I couldn't let him run away. And with that thought, these [Space Magic] disruption bullets were made. I never thought I'd have to use them like this, though.'
In fact, ever since Himiko had used Mest's powers to escape from him in Cedar, Alfonzo had been working on a way to stop teleportation. And one day, Alzack had asked him what he was working on. So, Alfonzo naturally explained the [Space Magic] disruption and why he made it.
Hearing Alfonzo's explanation, Alzack asked him to make some of those bullets for him and Bisca, just in case they ever came across Himiko while they were out on a quest. Fortunately, they never did. So, these bullets stayed in Alzack's arsenal ever since then.
And today, they came in handy. Because despite the fact that [Knife Substitution] was a [Knife Magic] spell. It was undoubtedly a spell that used the principles of [Space Magic], as well. It was just less versatile than the actual [Teleportation] spell, as an item was needed to act as an anchor point before teleportation could be initiated.
"Well, now I know that I have to be wary of all your bullets from now on." Masa said. "It was a mistake on my part. I didn't even know Alfonzo had created magic items like that. *Sigh* I just hope the Boss isn't too disappointed in me."
"I don't think you need to worry about that." Alzack said while smiling awkwardly. "I bet he'll take it better than you think. Anyway, let's end this. [Guns Magic: Delayed Shot: Flame Cyclone]."
With that, about half of the magic bullets embedded in the ring around Masa activated. And with half of those bullets being [Firestorm Shots], and the other half being [Tornado Shots], the effects combined smoothly to produce a fiercely burning, rotating column of fire.
A moment later, after being blown up into the air, Masa fell heavily into the ring. And despite all the damage his suit took from the flames, his sunglasses and afro were still in perfect condition.
"Well done, Alzack." Masa said, still sounding just as poised as ever. "I'll challenge you to a rematch in the future. And I'll definitely make sure I'm ready for whatever you can throw at me."
With that said, Masa calmly turned his head away from Alzack before losing consciousness.
'Masa~!' Alfonzo and Elicia thought simultaneously after seeing Masa's cool display even after suffering defeat.
"The winner is Alzack!" Ur announced loudly. Then, she looked directly at Alzack, who was clearly in pain from the injuries to his back. "There will be another break. Once Alzack is healed, he will choose the S-Class wizard he wishes to challenge for his opportunity to be promoted to S-Class."
Reaching that point, Ur turned her attention to Wendy.
"I'm sorry to have to keep asking this of you, Wendy." Ur said as she could hear everyone who had been making fun of her earlier start to snicker. "but can you take care of healing Alzack and Masa?"
"Of course." Wendy replied as she ran towards Masa, who was more heavily injured, to start healing him.
"Until then, you are all free to do as you please." Ur said. "However, I expect everyone to be present for the final part of this year's promotion exam. Now, dismissed."
With that, Ur left the stands quickly, to avoid any more ridicule from her wizards, with Gildarts following close behind her. Meanwhile, the other S-Class wizards went to talk to the candidates.
"Lucy, what are we gonna do with you?" Elicia asked as she approached Lucy and wrapped her in a hug. "although the exam was little more than a spar, it was still more than that."
"*Sigh* I know." Lucy said, sounding disappointed in herself. "It's just that I've sparred with everyone so many times over the years that it's hard to get into the right frame of mind when I fight them."
"Don't worry, we'll definitely be working on that." Alfonzo said as he started combing his fingers through Lucy's hair. "You have to be able to turn it on and off on command in this line of work. And when we're done with you, you will be able to do just that."
"Now I feel kinda scared." Lucy said while smiling wryly. A moment later, she put on an expression filled with determination. "But I will definitely be ready for anything in the future."
As Lucy made her declaration, Rika approached Alfonzo, his wives, and his fiancées. And she had an annoyed expression on her face. Though, anyone who knew her would be able to tell she was faking her annoyance.
"Seriously, Alfonzo?" Rika said, stopping in front of Alfonzo with her hands resting on her hips. "We lived together for more than a month. And you couldn't tell me that Alzack had finally completed his [Delayed Shot] spell? I thought we had something special."
Smiling at Rika's act, Alfonzo could only shake his head.
"Rika, I've been away from the guild for most of the year." Alfonzo replied. "Do you really think I knew what Alzack had up his sleeves for this exam?"
"You should have, you're his best friend." Rika shot back. "And if you had told me about it, I would have made it worth your while, you know?"
A she reached the end of her sentence, Rika raised her right hand to her mouth before playfully, yet seductively, licking it.
"Seriously, Rika?" Alzack shouted from next to Wendy, who was still healing Masa. "You're trying to seduce my best friend into giving up my secrets?"
"Oh, don't get me started with you, Alzack." Rika barked back while pointing her right index finger at Alzack.
"Could you please not point the finger you were just licking at me?" Alzack muttered.
"We're on the same team." Rika continued, ignoring Alzack's muttering. "You should have told me about your new move either way."
"It's not like you were even at the guild for the last month or so." Alzack continued muttering. "And I only made it work after you left with Alfonzo. And as soon as you got back, we were named S-Class candidates and told we'd be fighting each other."
"That's not an excuse." Rika countered. "We all have lPhones. You could have called and told me."
"Tch! Whatever." Cana said while rolling her eyes. " I don't have anything to say about Alzack not telling you about his new spell. But it's obvious the only reason you said that to Fonzie was because you were looking for a reason to let him into your panties. But you can't be honest about it. You're just like Tear who can't be honest about how she wants Fonzie to--- MMPH!"
"Okay, Cana, you don't have to bring that up all the time!" Ultear said as she forcefully covered Cana's mouth with her hands. Then, she looked around cautiously. "Especially when we're not at home. You don't need to tell my secret to everyone, right?"
"Yeah, like everyone doesn't already know by now." Mirajane said while smiling pleasantly. "It's not like you've been able to stop Cana from saying something every time."
"Yeah, but at least everyone pretends not to know if Cana doesn't say anything." Ultear replied as she took her hands away from Cana's mouth and slumped her shoulders.
"Then, you should just be honest about your desires." Cana said in a feigned tone of disdain. "Nobody likes someone who always hides their true feelings."
"One of these days, Cana." Ultear said as she raised her fist in Cana's direction.
"Any time, Tear." Cana replied with a battle thirsty grin. "We've always been on the same team in the Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament, the only time we really go all-out when we fight guild mates. So, I haven't had the chance to fight all-out with you since the promotion exam in x783. But I gotta say, I'm looking forward to it."
Like that, the wizards of Fairy Tail continued to chat happily until Wendy finished healing Alzack and Masa. When she did, Ur and Gildarts returned. And when they did, everyone noticed that Ur seemed to be glowing while she had some extra pep in her step. However, they were all smart enough to not ask her about it. Though, Ultear made a mental note to ask about it later.
"Is everyone ready for the final part of this year's promotion exam?" Ur asked once everyone was seated, as not only the S-Class wizards were seated in the viewing stands. A moment later, she turned her attention to Alzack, who was standing in the ring. "Then, Alzack Conell, tell us, whom among the S-Class wizards present do you wish to face in order to prove your qualifications to join their ranks?"
"Wow, it must have been really good." Elicia said, whispering into Alfonzo's ear. "I mean, look at the way she's talking."
Immediately, Ur's fierce glare landed on Elicia, who shrank back before sticking her tongue out at her.
Shaking her head, Ur returned her attention to Alzack, awaiting his answer.
"Yes, I have chosen." Alzack said in a solemn tone. Then, he let his gaze roam over all the S-Class wizards in the stands before stopping on a certain person. "I choose…"
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