Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
October 15, x785.
While most of the crowd was going wild after the end of the match, there was a section of the audience that were quivering in fear due to the potent blood lust one woman was releasing.
"Ritsu, calm down, please..." Makarov pleaded as he looked back at Ritsu, former guild master of Mermaid Heel. "You're going to make the people around us faint. And that won't look good for you, Mermaid Heel, Fairy Tail, or the Magic Council."
Hearing Makarov's plea, Ritsu, who's eyes were narrowed dangerously, looked at the people in her surroundings. And when she noticed the effect her bloodlust was having on those around her, she took a deep breath. Then, her bloodlust was slowly retracted.
"*Sigh* Thank goodness." Makarov said in a relieved tone while patting himself on the chest.
"I suppose you're right, Old Pervert." Ritsu said, her blood thirsty smile being replaced with her normal gentle smile. "This is neither the time nor the place for that."
"Yeah..." Makarov said with a nod.
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to powder my nose." Ritsu said as she stood from her seat. "I'll return before too long."
With that, Ritsu disappeared from where she stood with the [Flash Step].
Meanwhile, Goldmine, who was surprised by the burst of blood lust coming from Ritsu, turned his head towards Makarov after Ritsu left.
"And you used to try to flirt with her?" Goldmine asked as he looked at Makarov as if his friend were a lunatic.
"What can I say, I was young and dumb." Makarov said with a shrug. A moment later, however, his expression turned lecherous as he continued. "Besides, didn't you see that rack? Can you really--- Ugh!"
Before Makarov could finish his sentence, a full beverage bought from one of the many Sixth Sense Catering stations located in the stadium smashed into the side of Makarov's head, covering him, and only him, in its contents.
"Yeah, you really are a lunatic." Goldmine said while shaking his head.
Meanwhile, back at ringside, Gildarts was finally released from the torment of being electrocuted. And as soon as he had control of his body once again, he sat up quickly. Then, after looking around for a moment and realizing he was out of the ring, he released a sigh as his shoulders sagged.
"I lost, huh?" Gildarts muttered with a wry smile. "Damn, that kid really got strong. But I still don't know how his magic power spiked like that."
"it's because of those tonfa he was using." Maes said as he and the rest of Team Doting Daddies approached Gildarts. "But since you haven't been watching their training for a while, you would have had no way of knowing about it."
"You mean those tonfa he always carries on his back?" Gildarts asked as he looked up at the rest of his team. "But how is that possible?"
"I'll tell you about it later." Maes said with a shrug. "For now, we need to figure out who we're gonna send up in the two-on-two match. Personally, I don't think it matters. Since we're probably gonna lose whatever match I'm in."
"You gotta be more confident, Hughes." Gildarts said in a reprimanding tone. "If you don't think you can win, then you never will."
"No, it's not that I don't think I can win." Maes said with a wry smile. "It's that I know I can't. I'm just a civilian, remember? I don't have any magic power."
"You just have to push through with your guts!" Gozaburo shouted enthusiastically. "And that's why you and Macao are going up for the next match."
In response, Macao and Maes simply shrugged their shoulders before heading towards the ring.
Before they could get too far, however, Macao and Maes were forced to come to a stop by an announcement from Ur.
"Due to the damage the ring sustained in the last match, we'll be taking a short break to rebuild the ring." Ur said loud enough to cut through all the chatter in the stadium. "So, feel free to visit the concession stands and make yourselves comfortable."
Hearing Ur's announcement, the people in the audience decided to follow her advice. And most of them made their way to the nearest sixth Sense Catering booth to get some refreshments.
Meanwhile, Ur wore a smile that would look right at home on the face of a shady merchant.
'That's right, go get your refreshments.' Ur thought deviously. 'You're just making Fairy Tail and I rich. Hehehe!'
As it turned out, Ur finally got Alfonzo to agree to let Fairy Tail buy shares of Sixth Sense Holdings, ten percent, in fact. She even managed to buy five percent shares for herself. Still, eighty-five percent of the shares were still in Alfonzo's hands, so they had no real power in the company's operations.
While the audience was busy buying food and drinks, Fried, Laki, and Levy made their way to the ring. At the same time, Elicia bounded to the ring and made her way over to Alfonzo ahead of the other three.
"Fonzie, are you okay?" Elicia sked as she supported Alfonzo to his feet atop the pillar of the ring.
"Yeah, just a little tired." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "Even though I have more magic power than Gildarts when I release Riot and Bedlam's seal, Gildarts' magic is cheating. I had to pump so much magic power into that last spell to punch through his [All Crush]."
"Still, it was really cool." Elicia said energetically as she leapt over the disintegrated part of the ring with Alfonzo in her arms. "Plus, you used Vegeta's signature move."
"That's not the first time, either." Alfonzo said with a proud smile on his face. "I used the [Big Bang Attack] during the quest to protect Rosemary Village, too."
"Aww… I can't believe I missed that." Elicia replied with a pout.
Eventually, Elicia helped Alfonzo off the ring. And waiting for them on the ground was Gildarts, smiling at his best friends' children.
"I'll admit, that was pretty impressive." Gildarts said as he raised a thumb in Alfonzo's direction.
"Yeah, but you're still stronger than me, though." Alfonzo replied with a wry smile and a shrug. "I mean, it's clear that you could keep going despite the fact that I won. Meanwhile, I used up more than seventy percent of my magic power in that last attack."
"Yeah, if there was no immediate ring out rule, you probably would have gotten back into the ring and won." Elicia added.
"Probably." Gildarts replied with a shrug. "But you won in the end. You should be proud. There aren't too many people who can boast about defeating Fairy Tail's Ace, Gildarts Clive."
Hearing that, both Alfonzo and Elicia smiled, with Elicia looking much prouder of Alfonzo's accomplishment than he himself did.
"Anyway, you should get some rest, Kid." Gildarts said, patting Alfonzo on the shoulder as he did so. "I have no doubt that your team will be going on to the next round, even if you don't win the next match."
Nodding in response, Alfonzo and Elicia returned to the rest of their team after exchanging a few more words.
A few minutes after Alfonzo and Elicia joined Marin and Sun, Fried, Laki, and Levy, with the combination of their magics were able to repair the ring. Around the same time, most of the crowd had returned to their seats, as well.
Seeing that everyone was back where they were supposed to be, Ur wasted no time in restarting the proceedings. They were on a schedule, after all. And no one would be happy if the parade was delayed, regardless of the reason.
"Now that the ring is back in shape, let's continue." Ur said, drawing the attention of everyone in attendance. "Both teams, send up your next fighters."
Hearing Ur's instructions, Marin and Sun exchanged glances. Then, they nodded at Elicia, who nodded in return, and jumped into the ring.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ring, Macao and Maes were making their way to the ring, as well. However, before they could jump into the ring, they were stopped by a voice coming from behind.
"Hey, Maes, I've changed my mind." Gozaburo said as he walked towards the ring. "I think you should sit this one out. I'll go with Macao for this one."
Shrugging his shoulders, Maes did not care either way. He did not think he would last long in a battle between super-powered freaks, anyway. Besides, this way, he could keep his daughter from seeing him get his ass handed to him. So, it was a win-win for everyone.
"Good, let's go, Macao." Gozaburo said sternly. A moment later, however, his expression changed into a doting one as he continued. "I'll be able to show Sun just how strong her daddy is."
Shaking his head in exasperation, Macao hopped up into the ring, leaving Gozaburo to daydream for a bit longer.
A few moments later, both teams of two were in the ring standing across from each other. Then, after introducing the two teams, Ur gave the signal to begin the match. And while Marin and Sun both readied their weapons, and Macao summoned a whisp of purple tinted black flames, Gozaburo smiled brightly at his daughter, Sun.
"*Sigh* I can already see what's about to happen." Ren said exasperatedly while shaking her head. Then, she turned around and walked into the medical station as she continued. "I'd better prepare a bed for him."
Meanwhile, Shizuka tilted her head in confusion as she watched Ren walk away. Then, once Ren disappeared inside the tent, Shizuka turned her head back towards the ring with curiosity on her face. Though, she could not help glancing at Alfonzo every now and then.
'The little Alfonzos were so cute.' Shizuka thought to herself. 'I wonder if he can change like that again. I really wanna hug one.'
Back in the ring, things went exactly as Ren expected them to. Instead of preparing to fight, Gozaburo began heaping all sorts of over the top praise on Sun, embarrassing her immensely, while subtly insulting Alfonzo as often as he could, causing both Sun and Marin to frown at him unhappily.
Macao, on the other hand, after seeing the expression on Sun's face, distanced himself from his teammate.
'Well, I guess this is gonna be our loss.' Macao said. 'I'm not as young as I used to be, either. And although I'm confident in taking on one of them, there's no way I'd win a two-on-one. *Sigh* I guess I'll just give up after Sun hospitalizes her dad… again.'
"[Dad, that's enough!]." Sun shouted in a mix of embarrassment and anger while her [Howling Voice] spell was mixed with her angry shout.
"Urgh!" Gozaburo grunted as the shockwave blew him away.
"Stop embarrassing me!" Sun continued to shout, this time without the [Howling Voice]. At the same time, she dashed forward with Kanade still sheathed. Though, she was holding it in a thrusting posture. "And stop saying mean things about Alfonzo! [Water/Sword Compound Magic: Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust]!"
In the next instant, Sun's speed increased even further as she caught up to her airborne father. Then, with water magic coating her sheathed shirasaya, she thrust it into his solar plexus.
"Oof!" Gozaburo grunted as the wind was knocked out of him and he was sent flying out of the ring past Gildarts and Maes before crashing into the wall surrounding the ring area.
*Bang!*
Imbedded in the wall, Gozaburo smiled at Sun weakly.
"My precious Sun… is so… strong… now." Gozaburo struggled to say before falling unconscious as soon as the last word left his mouth.
At the same time, the audience fell into silence, unable to believe how ruthless Sun was when dealing with her father. However, most of them could also understand why she dealt with him so harshly. They felt second hand embarrassment after hearing his over-the-top praise, too.
Meanwhile, back in the ring, Macao could only shake his head at Gozaburo's fate. However, he was snapped back to the here and now after feeling a glare land on him.
Looking in the glare's direction, Macao saw Sun looking at him as if she had not had enough. And he could tell that she was looking to vent her lingering frustrations on him.
'Nope, I'm not dealing with her dad's fuck up.' Macao thought to himself as he watched Sun slowly approaching.
Not allowing Sun to get too close, Macao raised his hand and looked in Ur's direction.
"I surrender." Macao said, bringing a rather anti-climactic end to this match.
Hearing that, Sun stopped in place, her eyes widening in disbelief. A moment later, however, she pouted at not being able to work off the rest of her negative energy. Then, her pout became even more pronounced as Ur made her ruling.
"Gozaburo is out of the ring and Macao has surrendered." Ur said loudly. "Therefore, the winners are Sun Seto and Marin Kitagawa. And with a score of two to zero, Team Steel Threads will be moving on to the semi-finals."
Although the crowd applauded, it was clear that they were a bit disappointed in the way the match ended. But there was nothing they could do about it. So, they just looked forward to the rest of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Ren emerged from the medical station, dragged her unconscious husband back to the tent, and began working to heal his injuries. AT the same time, Alfonzo, Elicia, Marin, Sun, Gildarts, Macao, and Maes returned to their seats.
Then, when Team Steel Threads reached their seating area, Sun plopped down in Alfonzo's lap right after he sat down, making it clear that she wanted to be spoiled. Knowing that Alfonzo was easily capable of dispelling the foul mood her dad's embarrassment and bad mouthing brought.
"Team Natsu and Team Shadow Gear, report to ringside for the next match." Ur ordered, causing the crowd to erupt in excitement, looking forward to another match.