Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Freesia.
January, x780.
Outside of the hotel where Alfonzo decided to stay while completing the Dark Guild Subjugation Quest, four people, Alfonzo, Hammer, and two B-Class wizards from Behemoth Claw stood, a confrontation brewing between them.
"You'd be pissed, huh?" Hammer asked with a vicious smile on his face. "I think I'd like to see that."
With that, Hammer raised his right hand and gathered the wind in his palm with even more vigor. A moment later, the wind was compressed into a fist-sized ball. Then, he swung his hand down, intending to smash the compressed ball of wind into the car's hood.
"[Wind Magic: Air Hammer]!" Hammer shouted with a manic grin on his face.
*Bang!*
Feeling the spell slam into a metal surface, hammer's grin widened into a gleeful smile. A moment later, however, his smile froze before being quickly replaced by a frown. Looking down, Hammer saw that another sheet of metal was floating above the hood of the car. What surprised him, even more than a sheet of metal appearing out of nowhere, was the fact that even with his strength, the sheet did not slam into the vehicle.
"Bad move, Baldie." Alfonzo said, walking toward the group of three dark wizards. "Even though my baby isn't even scratched, I'm kinda pissed off that you tried to fuck it up."
"Hmph!" Hammer snorted as he raised his arm again. "You think a little trick like that can stop me?"
Hammer then gathered the wind in his palm again. Instead of slamming it into the sheet of metal and the vehicle, however, he swung it to his right, where Alfonzo now stood.
"[Wind Magic: Air Cannon]!" Hammer shouted his next spell as, instead of slamming a super-compressed ball of wind into Alfonzo, he let it explode while controlling the direction of the explosion.
Instinctively, Alfonzo wanted to dodge the attack. However, with the hotel behind him, he knew dodging was not an option. So, he flared his magic power before creating a curved bugle-shaped metal construct.
Using the concept of a trumpet, Alfonzo allowed the wind from Hammer's spell to enter the bugle. Then, when it escaped from the other side, it came out as a powerful soundwave. And considering How strong the wind spell was, when it hit the B-Class wizard where the other end of the bugle was pointing, it was no surprise that he was blown away.
After being blown away, the B-Class wizard fell unconscious with blood leaking from his ears.
"Ooh.. That's gotta hurt." Alfonzo said, playfully wincing at the fallen dark wizard.
"Damn you!" Hammer shouted, enraged. "I'll make you pay for that."
Naturally, Hammer's rage did not come from one of his comrades being taken down. Instead, he felt as if he had been humiliated. Seeing Alfonzo use his own spell against his people was so infuriating that he forgot about bringing the boy in front of him in alive.
Before Hammer could gather the wind once again, however, Alfonzo dashed forward with his right fist cocked back. Then, when he was in range, he unleashed an uppercut into Hammer's abdomen.
"[Metal Magic: Battering Fist]." Alfonzo chanted just as his punch landed.
An instant later, The metal wraps Alfonzo wore around his hand and forearm unraveled and elongated as it spiraled forward, pushing Hammer into the air. A moment later, Hammer was sent flying over the town toward its outskirts.
"I'll fucking kill you~~~, you little shit~~~!" Hammer shouted as he flew through the night sky of Freesia.
"Have a nice trip~~~!" Alfonzo shouted back in response.
Meanwhile, not only the conscious B-Class wizard that accompanied Hammer, but the other three B-Class wizards as well as the A-Class wizard wore dumbfounded expressions as they watched Hammer sail through the sky.
Unfortunately for the B-Class wizard standing in front of the hotel, Alfonzo would not allow such a lack of focus go unpunished.
"[Metal Magic: Iron Sand Coffin]." Alfonzo chanted, pointing his right hand at the unsuspecting wizard, as a large amount of iron sand was pulled up from under the road.
Feeling the ground vibrating, the B-Class wizard finally snapped out of his daze. Realizing Alfonzo was casting another spell, he chanted his own spell.
"[Water Magic: Spiraling Shockwave]."
As the wizard finished his chant, a circle of water appeared under his feet. A moment later, it began spiraling around him with violent force. However, before it could be shot outward in all directions as a shockwave, a torrent of iron sand shot up from underneath him. Then, the iron sand surrounded him and the water he was producing.
"[Metal Magic: Iron Sand Burial]." Alfonzo chanted, simultaneously clenching his fist.
The clump of iron sand then began to jerk. A moment later, however, the movement ceased while water dripped from between the grains of iron sand.
"I hope I didn't overdo it." Alfonzo said, worry lacing his tone. "I'm supposed to bring them in alive, after all."
After speaking, Alfonzo unclenched his hand. When he did, the iron sand loosened, before falling to the ground. Along with the iron sand, so too did the wizard. Observing his opponent, Alfonzo saw that he was only unconscious, which caused him to breathe a sigh of relief. However, when he saw the several bones that had broken and pierced through the unconscious wizard's skin, he could not help but recoil slightly.
"Yeah, I think I went a little overboard." Alfonzo muttered, scratching his head as he spoke.
Shaking off the slightly nauseated feeling, Alfonzo quickly conjured two pairs of magic sealing cuffs around the two unconscious dark wizards arms and legs. Then, he spread out his [Magic Power Detection] to find any other dark wizards that might be in the area.
"The other A-Class and the three B-Classes are approaching from about a block away." Alfonzo muttered as he felt the magic power signatures. "I can't let the guy I blew away escape. But if I chase him, The others will free the ones I knocked out. What do I do?"
As he spoke to himself, Alfonzo looked between the unconscious dark wizards. While he did that, he saw his Vanquish from the corner of his eye.
"That'll work, I guess." Alfonzo said as he approached the back of his car.
At the same time, he created a pair of metal stretchers that picked up the two unconscious wizards. Then, he opened his trunk, which was pretty small.
A moment later, he coated the inside of the trunk with metal and inscribed anti-magic sigils into the new layer. Then, he dumped the two dark wizards into the trunk and closed it. After that, he walked toward the driver's side door and opened it.
At the same time, the first of the four approaching wizards arrived. Seeing that Alfonzo was about to close the car door, he wasted no time chanting a spell.
"[Corrosion Magic: Acid Rain]." The A-Class wizard chanted, raising his hands and pointing above the Vanquish.
"Oh, hell nah!" Alfonzo shouted as he started his Vanquish and threw the gear into reverse. "The fuck is up with these cocksuckers and fucking up my baby?"
*Screech!*
The tires squealed as Alfonzo backed up, just barely avoiding the downpour of corrosive rain. Then, with a quick shift of gear and a pull on the emergency break, Alfonzo managed to spin the car around and shot off in the direction Hammer flew.
"Damn it!" The A-Class wizard shouted hysterically. "He's getting away! Fiona, you bitch, stop him!"
"Fuck you, asshole!" The female B-Class wizard, Fiona, shouted in return as she stepped onto the road to stop Alfonzo's getaway. She then held her arms in front of her with her palms pointed at the oncoming car and chanted a spell."[Cold Fire Magic: Frost Flames]."
After the chant ended, a blue and white flame was fired from Fiona's hands. Instead of burning and melting everything it touched, however, it left a layer of frost on everything it passed by.
"God Damn it!" Alfonzo shouted once again. "Stop targeting my car!"
As Alfonzo shouted, he used his magic to pull the iron sand along. Then, he sent it in front of the Vanquish to meet the cold flames. Although the iron sand was frozen, it did serve its purpose, to stop the flames from reaching his car.
With the path between him and Fiona now clear, Alfonzo rolled down his window. Then, he stuck his left arm outside and pointed his hand at the woman.
"Metal Magic: Harpoon]." Alfonzo Chanted.
Then, the metal wraps on his arm changed their form. Unraveling from his arm, the wraps morphed into a chain with a spike and a hook on the end. A moment later, it was sent flying at Fiona, who was stunned by the fact that her [Cold Fire Magic] had been stopped so easily.
"Argh!" Fiona screamed as the harpoon pierced her left shoulder.
Alfonzo then swerved slightly to avoid hitting the screaming woman before driving past her at high speed.
"Get over here!" Alfonzo shouted, deepening his voice as much as he could while yanking on the chain that connected him to the harpoon.
A few seconds later, the chain contracted, pulling Fiona toward the speeding car. Then, it wrapped around her and stuck her to the Vanquish's roof. Alfonzo then created more anti-magic sigils on the surface of the chain while fusing the chains to the roof.
At the same time, the three dark wizards pushed their magic power to the limit in an attempt to catch up with Alfonzo, who was diving toward Hammer's predicted landing spot.
Meanwhile, Hammer, who had landed just outside the town wall, was furious and staggering to his feet.
"Damn it!" Hammer roared. "When I get my hands on that little bastard, I'll make him wish he had never been born!"
"Hammer, sir, are you okay?" Nigel, who had been tasked with relaying the situation back to the hideout, asked as he sprinted toward the fallen Hammer after jumping down from the wall.
"Get the fuck away from me, Weakling!" Hammer growled as he fired a gust of wind that slammed Nigel into the town wall.
"Gah!" Nigel grunted in pain as he spat a mouthful of blood.
A moment later, when Hammer had just managed to get back on his feet, Alfonzo's Vanquish soared over the town wall.
"The fuck?" Hammer exclaimed as the magic vehicle flew over his head.
While Hammer watched the car fly through the sky, a metal ramp materialized in the Vanquish's path. Then, with no issue, it drove down the ramp and drifted to a stop once the wheels were back on the ground.
"Damn, that shit was crazy." Alfonzo said as he exited the car. "I bet Lici would have loved that shit."
Seeing Alfonzo and the refreshed expression on his face made Hammer's eyes turn red. Then, he flared his magic power to its limit.
"I'm gonna kill you, you little bastard!" Hammer shouted, his rage taking over. "Wind Magic: Vortex Blaster]!"
As he chanted, Hammer lowered his fists to either side of his waist. Then, a spiraling vortex of wind began flowing around each hand. When the force of the wind reached the limit of what he could handle, he pushed his fists forward, allowing the two vortexes to combine into one. Then, a tornado shot toward Alfonzo.
'Damn, this guy is crazy.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'Doesn't he care that his gild mates are I the line of fire, too? Nah, probably not. Damn dark wizards.'
"Metal Magic: Dome Shield]." Alfonzo chanted as he placed his hands on the ground in front of him.
An instant before the tornado could reach Alfonzo, a thick metal wall rose from the ground. Then, it curved back toward and around Alfonzo and the Vanquish, making a half-circular dome to ward off the wind.
And just as Alfonzo expected, even though it was under quite the pressure and began to deform, the winds were diverted to the sides of the dome, destroying the land to either side. By the time Hammer's attack came to an end, the dome was close to crumbling and there were several cracks at the point of impact.
One of these cracks was wide enough that Alfonzo could see through it and make eye contact with Hammer, who was breathing heavily after expelling so much magic power at once.
Meanwhile, Hammer, seeing that his strongest spell was unable to harm Alfonzo, was shocked. However, when he saw the smile in Alfonzo's eyes, he grit his teeth in anger. Before he could gather more magic power, he heard Alfonzo's next chant.
"[Metal Magic: Shrapnel Discharge]."
*Bang!*
*Crack!* *Crack!* *Crack!*
After the chant was completed, Alfonzo, with his right fist coated in his magic power, punched the barely standing done. Then, the cracks on the dome quickly multiplied before a large part of the dome shattered with the shards flying toward Hammer.
Seeing the incoming projectiles, Hammer focused all his magic power on defense. Creating a wind barrier and coating himself in the wind. Unfortunately, the flying chunks of metal ripped his defenses to shreds. Though they were able to slow the shrapnel down by enough that none of the metal shards were able to punch through his body.
In the end, after the barrage of metal shards ended, Hammer fell unconscious covered in blood, cuts, and bruises.
Meanwhile, Nigel, after the battle ended, tried his best to sneak away. And considering how Alfonzo never looked in his direction after Hammer fell unconscious, he thought that he was successful in escaping unnoticed. Unfortunately, he never noticed the small metal shard that was lodged in the sole of his left boot.