章節 503: Retsu Vs. Irene; Part 2

Earth Land, Ishgar, kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

September 2, x786.

While Retsu and Irene's battle raged on, Tsunade, with Retsu's motorcycle slung over her shoulder, dashed towards Magnolia. However, before she could even reach the town gates, she looked up and saw a flash of violet light flash past her in the sky.

"I guess they already noticed." Tsunade muttered to herself while continuing to run towards the town. "Still, I have to let Fairy Tail know what's going on. They'll need more than the kid to stop a fight between those two."

With that, Tsunade continued to run, eventually reaching the Fairy Tail guild hall only a few minutes later. Then, once she was outside the building, she placed the motorcycle down before flipping down the kick stand and entering the guild hall.

However, when she entered, she was surprised to see Elicia, Cana, Gildarts, and Ur rushing towards the doors. However, when they saw Tsunade, Gildarts and Ur came to a stop while Elicia and Cana continued forward.

"Oh, you're here?" Ur asked, surprised that Tsunade had returned. "I was certain that you would have stayed to help Master Unohana."

"*Sigh* I wanted to." Tsunade said as she clenched her fists. "But Master Retsu ordered me to come back here and let you all know what was happening."

"I see." Ur said with a nod and a solemn expression on her face. "Well, now that you've arrived, you should come with us."

"Yeah, those kids won't be enough to stop that woman." Gildarts replied with a nod of his own. "You still got the stamina to go back?"

"Of course, I do." Tsunade replied with a scoff. "Just who do you think I am? Or do I need to punch you through another settlement for you to remember?"

Hearing that, Gildarts unconsciously tensed. Meanwhile, Ur looked at him with interest.

"You can tell me that story later." Ur said after shaking off her interest. "For now, we need to get moving."

"Uh… Yeah… Right." Gildarts replied sheepishly before putting on a solemn expression once again. "Let's go."

With that, Gildarts, Ur, and Tsunade rushed out of the guild hall, intending to help Retsu face Irene.

Meanwhile, Brandish, after feeling the wizards of Fairy Tail start moving, left the hotel suite. Then she dashed towards the town gates, intending to cut off Elicia and Cana somewhere outside the town.

Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Open Road.

At the same time, Alfonzo, who had been flying towards the battlefield where Retsu and Irene were fighting, arrived just in time to see Retsu get blown away by Irene's [Disappear Enchantment]. However, instead of interfering immediately, he floated high above the battlefield. And when he saw Retsu start climbing back to her feet, he knew that was the right decision.

'She's gonna use her [Bankai].' Alfonzo thought.

["Of course, she is."] Bedlam replied. ["Hell, she would have used it outside of the house if you hadn't stopped her yesterday."]

'I know.' Alfonzo replied. 'Still, I'm pretty excited to see it.'

["Yeah, this is gonna be fucking bad ass!"] Riot shouted excitedly. ["The anime of the Thousand Year Blood War Arc hadn't come out when you died in your past life. And although the manga was fucking awesome, it's not the same as when you get to see the scene moving."]

["Besides... Oh, it's starting."] Bedlam said, interrupting what he wanted to say.

And just as Bedlam said, Retsu, standing unsteadily, raised her Zanpakuto, Minazuki, resting its blade in her left hand. Then, she pulled it back, slicing open her palm.

"[Bankai: Minazuki]." Retsu chanted.

As soon as Retsu chanted her release command, Minazuki began to liquify. And as it did, it turned into a blood-colored, viscous liquid that fell to the ground. Then, upon contact with the ground, the viscous liquid began spreading much faster than it should have.

On top of that, the liquid increased in volume, a feat that should be physically impossible. Eventually, the area surrounding Retsu and Irene was covered by this viscous liquid.

Meanwhile, Irene, having never seen a magical phenomenon like this, watched everything in interest. Something she would come to regret in the coming moments. Retsu, on the other hand, waited until the [Bankai Release] of her Zanpakuto was complete.

And that moment was marked by Minazuki's blade being reformed by some of the viscous liquid. However, its shape had changed slightly. Instead of taking the form of a nodachi, a single-edged blade that was slightly longer than an average katana, it took the form of an average katana.

"Now, the battle has truly begun." Retsu, with her hair simply hanging down, said with that same blood thirsty smile.

"I'll admit this is impressive." Irene said while continuing to look around the state of the battlefield. Then, she continued as she returned her gaze to her battered opponent. "And I can see that your magic power was increased by somewhere between forty and forty-five times. Still, what can you do with your body in that shape?"

"Oh, there's no need to worry about my body." Retsu said with a smile as all the damage she had taken began to heal at a visible rate.

As Irene said, Retsu's magic power had increased by forty-five times with her Zanpakuto released to its [Bankai] state. Something that greatly surprised Ireen, as now Retsu had more magic power than she did in her human form. About a third more, to be exact.

However, it did answer the question she had about Alfonzo's spike in power against God Serena. But the thing that surprised her the most was the fact that Retsu was healing from such heavy injuries at such a high speed.

"So, that boy, Alfonzo's tonfa that he carries around everywhere he goes, has a similar effect to your sword, huh?" Irene asked in an interested tone. Though, it was mostly to hide her astonishment at Retsu's rate of healing. "I wonder if his increase is as absurd as yours? Because from what I could tell, he's even stronger than you before you cast that spell."

"I'm afraid that is something you won't live to find out." Retsu replied as she slashed her sword at Irene from a distance.

In the next instant, the blood-like liquid on the ground surged upwards, forming a large blade that rushed toward Irene along the line of Retsu's slash.

Unbothered, Irene held her staff in front of her, intending to swing it horizontally to deflect the incoming slash. However, before she could do so, her eyes widened as she picked up Retsu standing directly behind her with [Magic Power Detection].

In the next instant, Irene made a half turn. So, instead of facing the incoming slash, she avoided both the slash made from blood-like liquid, as well as the slash from Retsu, who appeared behind her. As a result, Retsu cut down her own attack, which was easily destroyed before splashing back into the rest of the blood-like liquid.

Still, Retsu did not even slow down as her sneak attack was seen through. Instead, she stepped forward, swinging her Zanpakuto horizontally. In response, Irene raised her staff vertically to defend.

*Bang!*

Unlike the last time the two clashed weapons, however, Irene was sent flying by the power behind Retsu's attack.

'I see, so it's not just a boost in magic power.' Irene thought to herself as she flew through the air. 'Rather, it's an overall boost. This is more dangerous than I thought.'

As she thought to herself, Irene righted herself in the air. Then, before dropping down to the ground, Irene stopped before slightly moving to her left. An instant later, a blade made of the blood-like liquid rose from the spot where she would have landed. At the same time, Irene noticed Retsu performing an upward slash from the distance.

'I was only able to dodge that because of my centuries of experience.' Irene thought to herself. 'With all this liquid having the same feel as that woman herself, I can't tell when an attack using it will be activated. If things continue like this, I'll be defeated because of a lapse in concentration.'

"Enchantment Magic: Repulse Enchantment]." Irene chanted as she slammed the butt of her staff into the viscous liquid.

As a result of Irene's [Enchantment], all the viscous liquid in a seven foot diameter was forcefully blown away, allowing Irene to stand on the real ground. However, she noticed that it was rushing back to fill the gap rather quickly.

In less than a blink of an eye, however, Retsu once again appeared in front of Irene, ready to thrust her sword into Irene's throat.

In response, Irene spun her staff to deflect the sword. Unfortunately, thanks to Retsu's increase in power, Irene's staff was stopped when it came in contact with the Zanpakuto. No, stopped was inaccurate. Instead, she was forced to stop it, as when the staff came in contact with the edge of the blade, it was being cut through.

If Irene was not fast enough, her entire staff would have been cut through. But since she was able to react so quickly, she was able to change her method. So, instead of moving her staff horizontally, she used the fact that part of the blade was buried in her staff. Then, she changed the direction of the force she applied, forcing the tip of Retsu's sword over the top of her head.

Unfortunately, with both her arms extended upwards, Irene had no way to defend against Retsu's next attack.

*Bang!*

In the next instant, Irene's head was snapped back when Retsu landed an uppercut on her chin. On top of that, Irene was shot up into the air from the force of the punch. Then, Retsu, before recovering her fist, vanished from her spot in a burst of speed.

Then, before Irene could recover, Retsu appeared above her, swinging her sword downward. And thanks to Irene's vulnerable position, she received a slash across her back with a large amount of blood splattering from the wound. On top of that, the wind pressure from Retsu's slash forced her back down to the ground at high speed, as well.

"Argh!" Irene groaned in pain as she was sent towards the ground at high speed.

Not one to miss the chance to take advantage of an opening, Retsu, from her spot in the air, performed a return slash, despite the fact that she was too far away to connect with Irene. Instead, that slash was used to send a blade of the viscous liquid upwards.

'When was the last time I felt pain like this?' Irene asked herself as she watched the blade of blood-like liquid rush towards her. "It was at least four hundred years ago, during the Dragon King Festival. As for emotional pain, it was when that foolish man betrayed me after my [Dragon Seed] started the [Dragonization] process. Or maybe it was when my people actually believed his lies that I had been a dragon all along?'

Deciding she could ponder that later, Irene did something she never thought she would have to while on this mission to learn about Alfonzo… She transformed into her true form of a dragon with scarlet red scales and a flesh colored under belly, feathery wings, and three pairs of protrusions jutting out from her lower jaw.

Then, with one powerful swipe of her right front claw, Irne destroyed the incoming blade of blood-like liquid. On top of that, for the first time since coming to Magnolia, Irene was able to feel Alfonzo's [Magic Power Detection] now that she had taken her true form.

"I see." Irene said, her voice sounding much more bestial as she looked up to where Alfonzo was watching the battle from. "Your magic power control truly is incredible, Alfonzo. Unfortunately, you've seen more than you should have."

"Well, damn." Alfonzo replied as he stopped bending the visible light around him. "Can't we just pretend that I wasn't here? I can go back and help Lici and Cana with Brandish, after all."

"I'm afraid not." Irene said, though her tone indicated she was smiling. "Instead, I'll be bringing you back with me. After I kill this woman, that is."

"*Sigh* And where is it you'll be bringing me back to?" Alfonzo asked as he lowered himself next to Retsu. Though, he had no intention of landing in that blood-like liquid produced by her [Bankai].

"That's something I can't tell you." Irene replied as she flapped her wings to keep herself afloat. "But if it makes you feel any better, I'll be bringing all your little girlfriends and your wife along with us. That way you won't be lonely."

"Wow!" Alfonzo exclaimed in the dryest tone he could before continuing in the same tone. "You're so considerate."

"Now is not the time, Alfonzo." Retsu said as she took her stance once again. "There is no place for talk on the battlefield."

"While I would like to disagree, I'd rather not piss you off right now." Alfonzo replied as he glanced at Retsu out of the corner of his eye. "Anyway, I guess you'll have to come back to the mansion after we're done here. Can't let you go back to Mermaid Heel with your clothes like that, after all."

"We can talk about Elicia making new clothing for me later." Retsu said, her tone indicating that she was getting annoyed. "Prepare yourself for battle, otherwise, I'll simply let her take you."

Hearing that, Alfonzo pulled Riot and Bedlam from the straps on his back before dropping into his fighting stance with his arms spread.

"[Run Wild with Destruction on your Fingertips. Usher in Pandemonium with Creation in Your Hands. Riot, Bedlam]." Alfonzo chanted as Riot and Bedlam liquified before climbing up his hands and forearms. "I guess I'll get serious, then. I have something I wanna try out, anyway. Never had a dragon to test it out on, though."