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96.51% Fairy Tail: Metal and Threads / Chapter 664: Irene's Ideas

章節 664: Irene's Ideas

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

 

October 10, x789.

 

"Hmm? Where is everyone?" Irene asked shortly after walking through the guild hall's sliding doors.

 

"Did they all leave on quests?" Juliet asked in her usual upbeat tone.

 

"I doubt it." Heine replied. She then pointed at the tables scattered around the guild hall's first floor. "Look, there are a lot of empty plates and glasses on the tables."

 

"You're right, Heine." Irene replied with a nod. She then focused on the lone person sitting at the bar. "But I think there is someone we can ask sitting over there."

 

At the end of Irene's line of sight, Ur, nursing a glass of wine, sat at the bar, seemingly deep in thought.

 

"Ur, good afternoon." Irene said as she, Heine, and Juliet approached the bar. "Quite the unusual sight to see you sitting at the bar alone. Did something happen?"

 

"Oh, Irene." Ur said, her eyes lighting up as she laid them on Irene. "Just the person I wanted to see."

 

Immediately, Irene went on guard. Ur looked way too excited to see her. And she did not like it. Not one bit.

 

"And what can I do for you, Ur?" Irene asked, making sure not to show her caution in her tone.

 

"There are two things, actually." Ur replied with a smile. "As I'm sure you are aware, there are a couple of openings among the Wizard Saints, most notably, one of the Four Gods of Ishgar. And I was hoping---"

 

"No thank you." Irene replied before Ur could finish her sale's pitch. "I'm simply not interested."

 

"Well, can't say I didn't see that coming." Ur replied, undeterred. "As for the second thing, how would you like to be the fifth guild master of the Fairy Tail wizarding guild. And before you reject, hear me out, at least."

 

Ur's last sentence cause Irene to not decline immediately. So, she gestured for Ur to continue. Meanwhile, Heine and Juliet were excited by the prospect of Irene becoming the next guild master. In their opinions, no position in the guild would fit her better.

 

"You see, ever since the Grand Magic Games started, I haven't had the opportunity to participate." Ur continued.

 

"Because guild masters cannot participate." Irene said, nodding in understanding.

 

"Right." Ur replied with a nod of her own. "In fact, that's the reason Alfonzo always rejects whenever I ask him to be the guild master in my place. He's always wanted to participate in the Grand Magic games. Unfortunately, his work has gotten in the way for the last few years."

 

"I see." Irene replied, once again nodding in understanding.

 

"So, I got to thinking…" Ur said, leaning a little closer to Irene as she did so, her eyes sparkling in anticipation as she continued.. "Since you aren't interested in taking part in the Grand Magic Games, it would be the right call to put you in the position of the guild master."

 

"I can definitely see where you're coming from." Irene replied with yet another nod after letting Ur's reasoning sink in.

 

"I know, right?" Ur replied with a wide smile stretched across her face.

 

"You're still young enough to compete with the best the kingdom has to offer." Irene continued. "Powerful enough, too. It's no wonder you want to join the Grand Magic Games."

 

"Exactly." Ur said, nodding her head with great vigor as she did so.

 

"But…" Irene said before pausing for dramatic effect.

 

That one word was enough to make Ur's smile freeze on her face, the feeling that she was not going to like what followed after the "but" rushing to the forefront of her mind.

 

"I really have no interest in taking the position of guild master." Irene said. "I truly enjoy the fact that I can spend my days as leisurely as I'd like. Taking quests when I feel like it. Not having to deal with the Council, spending time with my daughter and my new family. It's all I could ask for."

 

Immediately after hearing that, Ur hung her head in defeat.

 

"*Sigh* I understand." Ur said in a defeated toen. "I suppose it would be cruel to ask you to take on a responsibility like that after everything you've been through and what you've finally been able to attain after so much hardship."

 

Seeing Ur's downcast mood, despite how sadistic she could be, Irene felt pity for her. So, before Ur's mood could spiral downward any further, she spoke once again.

 

"But I may have a solution." Irene said.

 

As if a light had shined down from above, Ur snapped her head up to stare Irene directly in her eyes.

 

"Wha… What is it?" Ur asked as if she were grasping at straws.

 

"Well, why not ask Mavis?" Irene suggested. "I'm sure she would love to take charge of the guild she founded. Especially since her time as guild master was cut short thanks to Ankhseram's curse."

 

Ur's eyes shot open, surprise and realization dancing in their depths.

 

"Plus, Alfonzo sacrificed a Philosopher's Stone to have that curse removed, didn't he?" Irene asked, a smile spreading across her face at the sight of Ur's excitement. "And that means, not only will she finally start aging like anyone else, but she doesn't have to worry about hurting anyone she cares about, either."

 

"That's right, he did.!" Ur exclaimed happily. "I'll definitely ask Master Mavis once she gets back from visiting Warrod!"

 

"Good." Irene said. "Now, may I ask you a question, Ur?"

 

"Of course." Ur replied, clearly on cloud nine at the moment. "anything you want."

 

"Where is everyone?" Irene asked.

 

At the same time, in the large training chamber on the tenth floor of the guild hall, most of the guild was gathered, standing against the walls of the training room. Meanwhile, at the room's center, Alfonzo and Brandish stood across from each other.

 

"Are you sure you want to do this, Brandish?" Alfonzo asked, not really interested in having this match.

 

"Why, afraid you'll lose?" Brandish asked in an almost bored tone.

 

Despite her tone, the excitement in Brandish's eyes could not be hidden. It was clear shew as looking forward to her upcoming fight with Alfonzo.

 

"*Sigh* Fine, if this is what you really want." Alfonzo said as he started shaking his arms to loosen up.

 

Instead of replying, Brandish raised her guard in a standard kickboxing stance. At the same time, she started bouncing on the balls of her feet, which looked a little strange with her high heeled sandals.

 

"Are you ready?" Brandish asked.

 

Seeing that Brandish was not using a weapon, Alfonzo did not draw his own, either. Instead, he took a Philly Style boxing stance, with his left hand dropped low and his right hand up near his chin. Then, he two started bouncing on his toes.

 

"Yeah, I'm ready." Alfonzo replied.

 

As soon as Alfonzo gave his affirmation, Brandish shot forward in a blur of speed. Then, once she was close enough, she snapped a jab at Alfonzo's chin.

 

In response, Alfonzo, though not wanting to have this fight, was focused, his right hand shot out, batting Brandish's Jab to the side while simultaneously tilting his head to the side, as well, as Brandish's hand opened just after her punch was batted away.

 

"[Command T: Expansion]." Brandish chanted.

 

*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*

 

Alfonzo's left hand then shot up from below, knocking Brandish's left arm up before she could retract it. Then, Alfonzo stepped in and ducked under her raised arm while he hooked his left arm under hers and shifted his body around behind her in one motion.

 

Unfortunately, the spectators behind Alfonzo's starting position missed the smooth transfer into a grapple as the barrier separating them from the sparring ring was impacted by nearly a hundred tree limb-sized splinters.

 

"What the hell?" Gray exclaimed as he jumped at the pieces of wood that came flying from out of nowhere.

 

"Hmm… She must have had a hand full of saw dust or something like that in her closed hand before she opened it." Erza analyzed.

 

"Wait! Are you saying she was trying to throw all that in Alfonzo's face?" Lucy asked in horror.

 

"It looks that way." Erza replied with a nod. "Not that it would have harmed him, though. It would have probably pushed him back at the very most."

 

"Still, that's really dangerous." Lucy said while shifting her gaze back to Alfonzo. "By the way, why are those two fighting, anyway."

 

"I have no idea." Erza replied with a head shake.

 

Meanwhile, After slipping behind Brandish, Alfonzo tried to hook his right arm under Brandish's right, as well. However, Brandish reacted quickly, throwing her right elbow back with all her might.

 

*Bang!*

 

*Crack!*

 

"Argh~~~~~~~~~!" Brandish screamed from the unexpected pain coming from the tip of her right elbow.

 

Unfortunately for Brandish, Alfonzo reacted just as quickly, materializing a sheet of Adamantite on the surface of his skin at the point of impact. As a result, the sound of bone cracking echoed around the training room, causing a few of the guild members with weaker wills or pain tolerances to wince, pangs of phantom pain shooting through their own right elbows and arms..

 

Despite the pain, Brandish moved her arm once again, her hand surging towards the metal plate her elbow just slammed into.

 

"[Command T: Expansion]." Brandish chanted once again.

 

In the next instant, the thin plate of Adamantite swelled in size, forcing Alfonzo to release Brandish's left arm quickly before stepping back. Even so, while stepping back, Alfonzo tapped the tip of his right index finger on the sheet of Adamantite.

 

"[Electromagnetism Magic: Static Discharge]." Alfonzo chanted just as his fingertip touched the adamantite.

 

In the next instant, a bolt of purple electricity exited Alfonz's finger, the adamantite sheet conducting it into Brandish's body.

 

"Ahh~~~~~~ Ah baba-ba-baba." Brandish screamed unintelligibly due to the electrical current flowing through her body.

 

The sheet of Adamantite then disappeared, having been dispelled by Alfonzo before he shot forward again, still in his Philly Boxing stance. Then, when he was in range, his left fist shot out, burying itself in Brandish's abdomen.

 

"Gah!" Brandish grunted involuntarily as she doubled over Alfonzo's fist.

 

Then, in one smooth motion, Alfonzo slipped past Brandish, his left arm wrapping around her throat and causing her body to straighten up. Then, he hooked his right arm under her right, forcing her once again into a half-nelson before his left hand locked around his right bicep as he flexed his left bicep slightly as he lifted Brandish's 5'6" tall frame off the floor.

 

"You giving up? Or do I have to shock you again?" Alfonzo asked with is hold locked in.

 

However, it took a few moments for Brandish to recover enough to speak, with the injury to her elbow, her body still spasming from the electric shock, and having her breath knocked out of her by Alfonzo's punch.

 

Meanwhile, a short silence fell over the training room. Although most people expected Alfonzo to win, they did not expect him to win so easily. Brandish had magic power on par with, if not a little lower then, Gildarts, after all.

 

"I don't' get it." Droy said in a confused tone. "Why didn't she try to use her [Command T] on Alfonzo directly?"

 

"It's because [Command T] doesn't work on individuals who vastly out strip you in power." Levy replied. "And although it may not look like it, Alfonzo usually hides how much magic power he's outputting at all times."

 

"But is Alfonzo really that much stronger than Brandish?" Jet asked curiously.

 

"Honestly, if you had asked me earlier today, I would have said there was no way." Levy replied. "but now, I'm not sure."

 

"It's not that Alfonzo is that much stronger, actually." Gajeel, looking like he was ready to jump in the ring himself, said, cutting into the conversation. "Instead, he's just that much faster than her."

 

"what do you mean?" Jet and Droy asked simultaneously.

 

"I'm pretty sure she has to touch him with her hands to activate [Command T]." Gajeel asked. "Right, Pipsqueak?"

 

"If I had to guess." Levy replied with a nod while shooting an annoyed pout at Gajeel. "At least, I've never seen her cast it with any other parts of her body."

 

"That is actually incorrect." Irene, having entered the training room with Ur just a moment ago, said in reply to Levy's analysis. "Brandish doesn't actually need physical contact to cast her magic. The real reason Brandish did not use her magic on Alfonzo directly, is because she couldn't."

 

Hearing Irene's voice from so close by, Levy, Jet, Droy, and Gajeel all turned to look at her in surprise. However, they still paid close attention to her following words.

 

"And that's because, despite not having that much more magic power than Brandish, Alfonzo's magic power is so much denser than hers." Irene continued while watching Brandish tap her uninjured left hand on Alfonzo's bicep three times, signaling that she was giving up. "Honestly, it amazes me just how dense his magic power is. And he's not even twenty-five yet."

 

'Though, I'm not actually a hundred percent sure about that.' Irene muttered to herself. 'Not after all the things I learned about other worlds from him and his and Elicia's guests that stopped by a couple of months ago.'

 

While Irene was considering the possibilities of interdimensional travel, Alfonzo set Brandish back on the floor. Then, he gestured towards Wendy, asking her to heal Brandish's cracked elbow. Meanwhile, everyone else discussed the rather short spar that just took place. Not long after that, everyone got back to what they were supposed to be doing. Namely, Harvest Festival preparations.


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SixthSense1029 SixthSense1029

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章節 665: As Expected

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

 

October 10, x789.

 

"*Sigh* I can't believe I lost." Brandish said while resting her head in her hands at one of the guild hall's tables. "And so easily at that."

 

Currently, Brandish was sitting at a table with Elicia and Marin. And after hearing Brandish repeat the same thing for the fifth time, Elicia, who was sitting next to her, patted her on the shoulder.

 

"Well, Fonzie is called the second strongest member of the guild for a reason, you know?" Elicia said while smiling wryly.

 

"Ugh!" Brandish groaned in annoyance. "But I was a member of the Spriggan 12. The strongest wizards in Alvarez." Brandish replied.

 

"Well, I kinda beat Jacob in a one-on-one, you know." Elicia said. "And according to you and Irene, he was stronger than you, right? And Fonzie is stronger than me.'

 

"Yeah, and the proof of that is that he's still locked up in the guild's prison." Marin added.

 

"The only reason I couldn't beat him is because I couldn't see him when he used his [Stealth Magic]." Brandish countered. "But now that I know [Magic Power Detection], I'm sure I could take him easily."

 

"Well, you're probably not wrong." Alfonzo, carrying a plate of peach cobbler said as he approached the table where the three girls were sitting. "And if your magic worked on me, that fight would have gone differently. I still don't' think I would have lost, though. But I would have had to work harder for it."

 

Hearing Alfonzo's voice, Brandish raised her head just in time to see Alfonzo put the plate of peach cobbler in front of her.

 

"And just how the hell is your magic power so dense?" Brandish asked while looking up at Alfonzo who was walking around the table to sit next to Marin.

 

"Lots of hard work and training." Alfonzo replied while taking a seat next to Marin.

 

Brandish could only grumble at that response. It was not like she did not train hard, too. Though, she knew that thanks to her apathetic nature, she did not train as hard as she could. Plus, she had seen Alfonzo's training regimen before. And there was no way she would train like he did. Hell, she was sure that not even Zeref trained that hard when he was Alfonzo's age.

 

"Anyway, now that our team is complete, we should talk about our strategy in the tournament." Alfonzo said after he saw Brandish pick up her fork to start eating. "Lici, Sun, Marin, and I haven't participated in the tournament since it was four-on-four. And Brandish has never participated at all."

 

"Mmm~~~~~~!" Brandish moaned in food-gasmic bliss after taking her first bite of the peach cobbler.

 

Having grown used to such a sight over the years, no one reacted to Brandish's faux pas, deciding to carry on the conversation as if it never happened.

 

"That's true." Marin said with a nod. "But shouldn't we wait to have this conversation with Sun? She's still at the hospital visiting Shizuka with her mom, right?"

 

"I don't think we need to worry about that." Elicia replied. "We can just tell her about what we came up with later."

 

"Yeah, she's pretty good at following the majority." Alfonzo added.

 

With that, the group of four started talking about their team set up in certain situations and against particular teams. And that continued for a while after Brandish finished eating. Then, they all left to do their own things. Though, Alfonzo and Elicia did make a trip to the hospital to see Shizuka and Calvin before heading home.

 

October 15, x789.

 

Time passed quickly after that. And before anyone knew it, it was the day of the Harvest Festival. And things went like they always did on that day. Or rather, like they have for the last five years.

 

The streets of Magnolia were decorated with festival decorations. The people were happy, looking forward to the festivities sponsored by Fairy Tail. Especially the Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament and the Fantasia Parade. Though, a lot of the men in the town were wishing that the guild would open the Miss Fairy Tail Pageant to the public. Unfortunately, all they could do was wish, as the pageant was an internal event.

 

Yet, all the free members of the guild were gathered in the guild hall's first floor. And like always, the stage used during important announcements had been lowered.

 

"Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?" Warren asked from the top of the stage while wearing a midnight blue suit with a white dress shirt and no tie. "Then, allow me to welcome you to the fifth annual Miss Fairy Tail Pageant. Now, without further ado, let's kick things off with the Evening Gown portion of our proceedings. Please help me in welcoming our first contestant, Saeko Busujima."

 

With that, the Miss Fairy Tail Pageant began. And just like every year, there were three stages, the evening gown stage, the talent show stage, and the swimsuit stage. And by the end, after all the votes were collected, a winner had been decided.

 

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's been another great pageant, hasn't it?" Warren, standing on the stage with all the contestants standing in a line behind him, asked the audience. "And all the girls were amazing, weren't they? Unfortunately, there can be only one winner. And I'm sure you're all looking forward to finding out who that is, right? Then, I won't keep you waiting any longer."

 

With that, the lights in the guild hall went out. Then, spot lights fell onto all the contestants, highlighting their appearances in their swimsuits. A moment later, the spot lights began to flicker between all the contestants as Warren continued.

 

"And the winner is…" Warren said, doing his best to build suspense. "Brandish µ~~~~~!"

 

With that, the spot lights stop cycling, lighting up Brandish's figure. And just like always, she wore that bored expression on her face.

 

"You can't be serious!" Evergreen shouted. "How? Every year? How can the perfect example of beauty that is me not win this contest?"

 

"Maybe if you fixed your attitude, things would change." Ur said from her seat in the audience. "You act like this every year. Hell, I still remember the time I had to drag you back stage and teach you how a proper lady should act after you did this the first time."

 

"I really don't think you have the right to teach anyone how a proper lady should act, Miss Guild Master Wino." Alfonzo said with a cheeky grin on his face.

 

"What was that?" Ur asked as she snapped her head in Alfonzo's direction.

 

And just like that, in classic Fairy Tail fashion, the guild hall devolved into a brawl. However, this one did not last as long or get as intense as the usual Fairy Tail guild brawls. And the reason for that was simple, the Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament would start soon. So, after the brawl ended, everyone made their way to the town's outskirts where the usual arena was set up.

 

Once all the wizards and spectators had arrived, things proceeded like they usually do. The teams drew their lots, and the order of battle was decided. After that, it was time for some of the good old fashioned, controlled violence that everyone has come to expect from this tournament.

 

It should be noted that ever since the format of the tournament changed from four-on-four to five-on-five, the rules of the tournament had changed slightly.

 

It was still a single elimination tournament with the winner of each match moving on to the next round while the losers were eliminated. However, the way teams won points had changed. On top of that, the flow of each match had changed as well.

 

Now, instead of a one-on-one, a two-on-two, and a one-on-one match as a tie breaker, there were two one-on-one matches before the two-on-two match, which would be followed by the last one-on-one match. 

 

And because the number of matches would be even, a point rule was introduced. Meaning, each one-on-one match won would net the winning team one point. While the winner of the two-on-two match would receive two points.

 

Then, after about six and a half hours, with breaks between rounds, it was time for the finals. And to no one's surprise, the two teams competing for the title of the strongest team in Fairy Tail, as well as the chance to compete in the Grand Magic Games, were the Thunder god Tribe, consisting of Laxus, Bickslow, Fried, Evergreen, and Saya, and Team Steel Threads, consisting of Alfonzo, Elicia, Marin, Sun, and Brandish.

 

And just as unsurprisingly, the match went to the final round, Alfonzo versus. Laxus, a rematch from the very first Battle of Fairy Tail tournament. The other matches were quite similar, as well.

 

In the first round of the match, Elicia and Evergreen had a rematch, as well. And just like in the first iteration of this match, Elicia won. Though, it was not quite as close as the first time. Even though both fighters had grown since their match five years ago, Elicia had outpaced Evergreen since then in terms of training, despite having to take time away because of pregnancy, parenthood, and her business.

 

After that round, Brandish faced off against Saya. And unfortunately for Saya, she was just lacking too much in terms of power and experience to put up a fight against Brandish, resulting in an easy victory for Brandish.

 

The third round was another rematch from the first tournament, Marin and Sun versus Fried and Bickslow. And although it was much closer than the first time, Fried and Bickslow were able to just barely take the win.

 

The last match, Alfonzo versus Laxus, was not as anticipated as expected, however. It was common knowledge by now that Laxus, ever since the first time they fought a little more than seventeen years ago, had never beaten Alfonzo. And although they both used the [Partial Release States] of their [Soul Armaments], Elexion only had the effect of amplifying Laxus' [Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic]. And Alfonzo had already proven that he was able to handle that for years.

 

So, in the end, Team Steel Threads won the tournament and regained their title as the strongest team in Fairy Tail. On top of that, they would be representing Fairy Tail in next year's Grand Magic Games in a bid to reestablish Fairy Tail as Fiore's strongest guild.

 

After that, the wizards of Fairy Tail had just enough time to return to the guild hall and change into their parade costumes before starting the Fantasia Parade, the highlight of the Harvest Festival. But for some reason, there were quite a few guests from out of town this year. And Alfonzo and Elicia happened to know most of them.

 

For example, from Tatsumi Port Island, Takeharu and Mitsuru Kirijo, Akihiko Sanada, and Yukari Takeba were in attendance. There were a few more people accompanying them, as well They even brought a dog.

 

Then, there were quite a few shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye from Fiore's Knight Order, Pinako Rockbell and Din from the town of Resenbool, as well as Moka and Bobo from Galuna Island. There were others, as well. However, those few were the most notable of the visitors from out of town.

 

And just like that, the Fantasia Parade went off without a hitch. And before everyone knew it, the time flew by, and it was almost time for the S-Class Promotion Exam to begin again. However, Team Steel Threads were not too concerned with that. Instead, they focused on training hard. And when they were not training, they all did the things they enjoyed. 

 

Meaning, Alfonzo either cooked or tinkered with new inventions. Elicia made clothes. Sun went to Akane Beach to swim as often as she could. And Marin and Brandish spent, what most would say was, an unhealthy amount of time reading erotic novels with Erza and discussing their contents.

 

December 13, x789.

 

And some time just before the S-Class Promotion Exam was set to take place, while the S-Class wizards were on Tenrou Island getting the exam ready, Ao, from the Village Hidden in the Mist showed up with a message from Mei Terumi addressed to Ur. He then left to return to the Mist Village shortly after handing it over.

 

"So, she's finally got enough free time to make the trip, huh?" Ur said while reading the message from Ao. "Well, I'm sure Alfonzo, Laxus, and Marin will be willing to entertain her when she shows up after the exam."


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SixthSense1029 SixthSense1029

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