Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
February 27, x792.
In the main hall of the Fairy Tail guild hall, while watching Alfonzo, in his [Bankai] form, standing over Irene, who by now, had flopped onto her back with her arms and legs spread out in an exhausted manner, the wizards of Fairy Tail had fallen silent. The battle they had been watching for the last six hours, leaving them astonished.
"Is it... over?" Reedus asked, his paintbrush, which had been moving swiftly to capture the essence of the battle, frozen several inches away from his canvas.
"It should be?" Macao replied, though his answer sounded more like a question.
With Macao's affirmation, the silence continued for a few more seconds. Then, as if the pressure could no longer be contained, the lid on the guild's emotions shot off, resulting in the entire guild hall being drowned in loud, excited conversations about the battle they just witnessed.
"Hey, Laxus!" Gajeel shouted, drawing the Lightning Dragon Slayer's attention. "Can you move as fast as Alfonzo did at the end? If not, not only did he just take the title of the strongest in the guild, which I'll take from him one day, but he also took the title of the fastest wizard in the guild, too."
"What do you mean the fastest in the guild?" Jet asked indignantly from the table where he sat with Levy, Droy, and Gajeel. "That title belongs to me! My magic is made for that kind of speed."
Instead of dignifying Jet with a response, Gajeel only rolled his eyes while keeping all of his attention on Laxus.
"No, I can't." Laxus, also ignoring Jet, said calmly. "But you're wrong about one thing, Gajeel. Actually, make that two."
"Oh? And what's that?" Gajeel asked with a grin.
"First off, Alfonzo has been faster than me for a long time." Laxus said, no shame in his tone. "So, he already had that title."
"That's quite mature of you, Laxus." Saya said with a smile while reaching out to hold Laxus' hand. "Admitting your shortcomings is the first step to overcoming them."
"Is it still mature if he spent more than ten years getting it beaten into him before he admitted it?" Chico asked playfully.
Laxus response was to roll his eyes at Chico before focusing on Gajeel again.
"What's the second thing?" Gajeel asked impatiently.
"How are you gonna take the title of the strongest from Alfonzo if you can't even beat me?" Laxus asked, his mouth splitting into a mocking smile. "And if you can't beat me, do you think you could beat Irene, who just lost to Alfonzo?"
"Grrr!" Gajeel growled indignantly. Because despite how much he wanted to say he was stronger than Laxus, not once since he joined the guild has he ever taken more than three hits from Laxus in a fight.
"When is Alfonzo coming back!?" Natsu shouted, interrupting the conversation. "I wanna fight him! I wanna fight him right now! Then, I'll beat him and become the strongest."
"Yeah right." Gray shot back disdainfully. "It really feels like those flames of yours have fried your brain. You really think you can fight against that kind of power?"
"Of course I can!" Natsu shouted. "Me and Igneel are the strongest. You might be able to see that when you can keep your clothes on."
"Huh? What are you...?" Gray asked before looking down to check the state of his clothes. Yet, to his surprise, he was fully dressed. He then raised his head to yell at Natsu again. "What the hell are you talking about you---"
*Bang!*
However, before Gray could finish his insult, Natsu slammed a fist into his face, sending him flying backwards. And when Juvia saw that, she reached out to catch Gray. However, she was only able to catch one of his pant legs. As a result, Gray came clean out of his pants, flying across the guild hall in just his underwear.
"Hell yeah! It's not my fault this time!" Gray shouted, excited that he was not the reason for his loss of clothing, despite the fact that he was still soaring through the air. "Ur's curse is finally broken!"
"What was that, Brat?" Ur asked as she appeared in Gray's flight path, her hands in her casting gesture.
"Huh? Wait, Master Ur, I'm---" Gray replied in a panic.
"[Ice-Make: Seven Fist Combo]." Ur chanted in a tone colder than her ice.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
With Ur's chant, several [Ice Fists] manifested around Gray. Then, they all began to move with precision. The first fell from above, slamming into Gray's abdomen, causing his body to bend into a V-shape. The second performed a right cross, striking Gray on his left cheek and causing his body to spin. Then, when he turned a hundred eighty degrees, the third fist struck.
With an uppercut, Gray's body was sent into a backwards summersault, causing his body to straighten out in the end. Then, the fourth and fifth fists struck, a hook to the right side of his abdomen followed by a hook to the left side of his head.
Finally, just as Gray was about to hit the floor, the final two fists, clasped together in an axe handle smash, came crashing down, striking Gray on the top of the head, driving him face first into the floor.
*Boom!*
The sound of Gray's head slamming into the ground sounded similar to the sound that rings out over Magnolia whenever the large bell in Kardia Cathedral's bell tower was struck. At the same time, Gray, with his eyes rolled back into his head, lay on the floor in a heap, his body twitching every so often, letting everyone know he was still alive.
"Hmph!" Ur snorted while dusting off her hands. "How dare you call your own incompetence my curse, you brat. Next time you even think about it, I'll double the length of the combo."
"Understood, Master." Gray replied, his swollen face making it hard to understand his words.
"Jeez, Auntie Ur, you didn't have to go that hard on him, did you?" Elicia asked with a cheeky smile spread across her face.
As soon as the words "Auntie Ur" were spoken, everyone in the guild hall could feel the temperature drop significantly. At the same time, Ur slowly turned to face Elicia.
"Oh shit... It's about to get dangerous in here." Vijeeter said while performing some sort of dance to express his feelings on the matter.
*Bang!*
However, before Vijeeter could finish his performance, he was pulled down and slammed to the ground by Nab, who was standing nearby.
"That's not important right now." Nab said while covering his head, as he was also lying down to avoid the incoming chaos. "Ur's about to lose it. If you don't wanna end up frozen or cut up by flying ice shards, sit down, shut up, and make yourself as small as possible."
"Elicia." Ur said, her tone much calmer than anyone expected.
"Yes~?" Elicia replied cheerfully.
"I promise I won't kill you." Ur said, her tone taking on a gentle tone that made everyone in the guild hall feel goosebumps pop up on their arms. "But I am going to make you understand what you did wrong."
"Uh oh!" Elicia exclaimed, pretending to cower. "I think I'm in trouble~."
In the next instant, Ur vanished from where she stood, reappearing next to the bar stool Elicia was sitting on with her [Ice Whips] in her hands.
*Swish!* *Swish!*
Ur then swung the whips at Elicia, her anger pushing her strength and speed to another level. Even so, when the whips hit Elicia, instead of the satisfying sound of impact she was expecting, the whips passed straight through the younger wizard before Elicia's image faded away.
"An afterimage?" Ur asked in an astonished tone. A moment later, she shook her head and expanded her [Magic Power Detection]. "No, that was her [Camouflage Magic]."
Actually, Ur was wrong in her assessment this time. Although Elicia was capable of creating an illusion of herself with her [Camouflage Magic], she wanted to test the effectiveness of something else this time. And because of that, Elicia decided to provoke Ur so that she could test the results of her training in combat.
A moment later, several copies of Elicia appeared around Ur in a semi-circle. Meanwhile, Ur slowly turned to face the [Clones] with her eyes narrowed, and her grip around her whips tightened.
"Oh, is that [Ninjutsu]?" Mavis asked while leaning closer to the nearest [Clone]. "The [Clone Jutsu], to be precise. I didn't think we would see any more of this after Naruto, Sasuke, and Fū left."
"Are you sure that's just the [Clone Jutsu], and not the [Shadow Clone Jutsu] like the blond kid used?" Gildarts asked, also examining a nearby [Clone].
"I can understand why you would think that." Retsu replied, answering in Mavis' stead. "But mavis is right, that is the [Clone Jutsu]. But thanks to Elicia's exquisite magic power control, they are almost indistinguishable from [Shadow Clones] at first glance."
"Damn… She really is good, then." Gildarts muttered before taking a sip from his drink. "If you didn't say anything, I wouldn't have even known. Hell, at first, I thought it was just a regular kind of illusion made with her [Camouflage Magic]. Can't really tell the difference."
"Does that mean that Lici provoked Ur just to get some practice using her [Ninjutsu]?" Cana asked before taking a long swig from a mug of mead. "*Burp~~~~~~~~~*"
"So, you just wanna use me as a test dummy, huh?" Ur asked as her grip on her whips tightened even further.
*Swish!* *Swish!*
In the next instant, Ur swung her arms, her whips following the arches. As a result, the whips slice through each of the [Clones] Elicia created without resistance causing them all to fade away while smiling and waving at Ur.
"I wouldn't call you a test dummy, per se." Elicia replied as she appeared standing on the bar. "But still, I don't' even know why you get that mad about being called Auntie, Ur. I mean, we're practically family. Plus, you're not that young anymore."
As soon as Elicia's words ended, the guild hall fell silent as the temperature dropped even further.
"Oh shit…" Gildarts muttered while picking up his drink and backing away from the bar. "Shit's about to go down."
"Yes, even I think you went a little too far with that one, Lici." Mavis added as she, too, got up and left the bar area.
"Huh? Did I?" Elicia asked while scratching the side of her head.
"Yeah, you really did, Lici." Cana replied after chugging the rest of her drink, standing up, and starting to walk away. "Anyway, come on, Ren, I'll buy you a drink."
"Uh… Sure." Ren replied as she followed Cana away from the bar.
The only one who did not move was Retsu, who was certain that no matter what Ur and Elicia did, she would be able to protect herself. Instead, she simply picked up her sake cup, took a sip, and got ready to watch another good show.
"Actually, now that I think about it, I guess I did go a little too far with the last comment, didn't I?" Elicia asked, finally realizing exactly what she said, and what it meant to a woman. "Yeah, Ur, I'm really---"
"[Ice-Make: Rosen Krone]." Ur chanted, cutting off Elicia's apology.
As her chant ended, Ur slammed her palms onto the floor. Then, several ice roses grew, their stems snaking towards Elicia to restrain her.
"Yeah, master is pissed." Gray muttered while slowly inching away from the bar. He had already been punished once. And with Ur so angry, he felt there was a good chance he would end up being punished again as collateral.
It did not take long for the ice roses to wind around Elicia. Yet, to everyone's surprise, she did not move in the slightest. Instead, she just continued to stand there with an apologetic smile on her face. Then, just when the rose stems tightened around her…
*Poof!*
… she was covered in a cloud of smoke. And when the cloud dissipated, though the ice roses were still there, there was only a bar stool in the place where Elicia once stood.
At the same time, Elicia appeared next to Ur, replacing the bar stool that once stood there.
"Nice try." Elicia said as she patted Ur on the shoulder. "But you're gonna have to try harder than that."
Then, before Ur could react, Elicia shot a [Sticky Thread] at the ceiling, leapt into the air, and swung towards the place where the other wizards of the guild were gathered. Then, she dropped into their midst, causing them all to scatter in terror.
Yet, when everyone turned to look at the place where Elicia landed, there was no one there. However, they did notice another anomaly.
"Why are there two Grays?" Laki asked while adjusting her glasses. "Is this the [Transformation Jutsu]?"
"That's what it looks like." Levy said calmly while her gaze shifted between the two Grays. "And that was right after using the [Substitution Jutsu]. Looks like Lici's learned all three of the Academy-Level Jutsu."
"Hey, Lici, stop messing around." One of the Grays said while pointing at the other Gray.
"What are you talking about, Lici?" The other Gray asked, similarly pointing at the first Gray. "Turn back right now! I don't want Master to punish me again!"
"Lici, this isn't funny!" The first Gray replied. "You're seriously gonna get me into real trouble."
As the two Grays bickered back and forth, they both began stripping out of their clothes, seemingly without their own knowledge or forethought.
"This is even more incredible." Mavis said with a smile. "Lici's magic power control has gotten to the point where she can mimic the magic power signature of whoever she wants to transform into. Truly impressive."
"I see." Ur said, her head hanging low, causing her bangs to cover her eyes. "Well then, I guess there's only one thing to do in a situation like this."
As she spoke, Ur once again made her casting gesture. And when the two Grays, one real, and one Elicia's disguise, saw that, they both put on expressions filled with terror. Then, they exchanged glances. And as if they were both the real Gray…
"Run!"
… they shouted in unison before running in opposite directions.
"[Ice-Make: Garden of Thorns]." Ur chanted as she once again pressed her hands to the floor.
In the next instant, the entire guild hall was covered with ice roses with thorny stems growing from the ground doing their best to capture the two Grays. As a result… an expected result, the guild hall was thrown into chaos.
Meanwhile, Juvia, who saw the two Grays taking off their clothes, was lying in a puddle of her own blood, which was leaking from her nose, with a dopey expression on her face.
"There are two Grays…" Juvia muttered in a euphoric tone. "Two almost naked Grays… Juvia can die happy…"