Earth Land, Ishgar, Stella, Altair.
October 9, x791.
"Alright, haven't you been following us for long enough?" Cana asked after she, Ultear, and Sun reached an uninhabited part of Altair. "We thought you were members of the Phantom Troupe and not some creepy stalkers."
As she finished speaking, Cana turned towards the direction from which the trio came. And just as she expected, three men, Hisoka, Phinks, and
Bonolenov stepped from around the corner of building.
"Oho! So, we were discovered." Hisoka, wearing an unsettling smile, asked rhetorically. "Just out of curiosity, how long have you known we were following you?"
"Since you first started." Ultear replied casually. "To be honest, nothing you could have done would have stopped us from noticing you."
"Yeah, you have way too much magic power to blend in with the rest of the citizens of Altair, ya see?" Sun added in her usually endearingly bubbly tone.
"I see." Hisoka said before licking his lips. "Just as I thought. You're perfectly ripe and ready to be plucked."
Seeing the lewd and unhinged smile that spread across Hisoka's face, Cana, Ultear, and sun all felt goosebumps rise on their arms. In fact, despite all their experience dealing with Dark Wizards, it took all they had to not take a step away from such a strange man.
"Now I see why so many people are afraid of clowns." Ultear said with disgust.
"Yeah, I really don't wanna fight him, ya see?" Sun added While shaking her head.
Even Phinks and Bonolenov, despite the fact that they had every intention of killing the three women in front of them, gave Cana, Ultear, and Sun somewhat pitying looks. Because as fellow members of the Phantom Troupe, they were well-aware of just how unsettling it could be to have Hisoka's interested gaze on them.
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
Yet, before anyone could comment any further, Hisoka's right arm blurred. At the same time, a volley of what appeared to be playing cards were sent flying towards the three Fairy Tail wizards.
"Hmph!" Cana snorted disdainfully when she saw Hisoka's form of attack. "You actually have the nerve to use cards as weapons in front of me? Don't tell me you don't know who I am."
As she finished speaking, Cana seemed to blur for a moment, as well. However, instead of just one arm, it was her entire body. Then, after only an instant, her form stabilized once again. However, now she held all the playing cards Hisoka threw in her hands.
"Eww… What the hell is this crap?" Cana asked as she noticed a bubblegum like substance attached to the cards. "I knew you had something connected to them. But I never expected it to feel this gross."
Hearing that, the three Spiders all widened their eyes.
"Does it really feel that gross?" Sun asked curiously. "Should I just cut it apart?"
"What exactly does it feel like?" Ultear asked curiously, as well.
"Kinda like chewed bubble gum." Cana replied while trying to shake off the sticky substance from her hands. "It's just so gross."
"Hmm…? Do you think it will get brittle if I freeze it?" Ultear asked.
Meanwhile, as the Fairy Tail wizards discussed how gross Hisoka's magic was and how to get rid of it, Hisoka, Phinks, and Bonolenov stared at them with their eyebrows twitching. Because to them, it seemed as if they were being ignored. And as members of the Phantom Troupe, that was a first for any of them. Especially after a fight had already started.
"Why are we even wasting time talking to these wenches?" Phinks asked angrily.
Annoyed by the dismissive attitudes, Phinks, the one present with the worst temper, dashed forward, right hand cocked back and ready to throw a devastating punch with his fist saturated with his magic power.
The sheer speed with which Phinks moved was enough to make all three Fairy Tail wizards look at him a bit more seriously. Even so, thanks to [Magic Power Detection], neither of the three were caught off guard. And based on what happened next, they had more than enough time to react to his high-speed movement.
"Water Sword Combination Magic: First Form: Water Surface Slash]." Sun chanted as she stepped forward, intercepting Phinks' charge.
In the next instant, Sun drew Kanade from her sheath and slashed horizontally, the blade aimed straight for Phinks' magic power covered fist.
Seeing Sun's counterattack, Phinks' eyes widened in surprise. Though he did not think he was the strongest, as he knew that there were stronger wizards than him, he never expected the short woman in front of him to be one of them.
But that was not entirely Phinks' fault. Standing at 6'1" and weighing nearly 190 lbs., he did not expect that Sun, only standing at 5'5" and weighing less than 100 lbs., to be able to come close to matching him physically.
Yet, when he saw Kanade's blade inching closer to his fist, Phinks knew that if he did not avoid the blade, and the highly compressed [Water Magic] coating it, there was a very good chance that he would lose his hand in this exchange.
*Crack!*
*Swoosh!*
Forcefully halting his momentum with a powerful stomp that cracked the street beneath him, Phinks shot himself backwards just before his fist met Sun's blade. Yet, before he could get too far, he noticed that another one of the women was closing in just as rapidly as he had approached.
"[Ice-Make: Ice Claws]." Ultear chanted as she rushed forward with her hands in her casting gesture.
In the next instant, as Ultear separated her hands, they were covered by deep blue ice that took the form of claws. Then, when she closed the distance with Phinks, who was still backing away, she raised both arms and raked her claws down towards his chest.
*Bang!* *Bang!*
However, before Ultear's claws could reach Phinks, Bonolenov flashed between them and threw a jab-straight combination that blocked her attack.
"Damned bitches." Phinks growled once he was out of harm's way. "I'll kill you all."
As he spoke, Phinks once again drew his right fist back. However, instead of rushing forward to attack again, he began spinning his arm in a clockwise direction. And with each turn of his arm, Cana, Ultear, and Sun could feel that the magic power concentrated in his fist was increasing in power.
"I don't' know what you're trying to do, but I won't let you." Sun said as she dashed forward. She then leapt over Ultear and Bonolenov, somersaulting through the air as she chanted. "[Water/Sword Compound Magic: Second Form: Water Wheel]."
"Not so fast." Hisoka said with that unsettling grin on his face. "Although I don't' really like those two, I can't let you just cut him down like that. [Transmutation Magic: Bungee Gum]"
With his chant, Hisoka flung his left arm in Sun's direction. With the use of [Magic Power Detection], the three Fairy Tail wizards were able to see that when he did that, Hisoka's magic power extended from his body and took the same form of the sticky substance that was attached to the cards Cana plucked out of the air a moment ago.
"If it didn't work the first time, what makes you think it will work this time?" Cana asked disdainfully. "Card Magic: Random Throwing]."
As she spoke, Cana saturated the cards in her hands with her own magic power. At the same time, that melted Hisoka's magic power that was still attached to them. Then, Cana flung the cards, each arching through the air in sophisticated trajectories, all aimed at the [Bungee Gum] approaching Sun.
"Tch!" x 2
Sun's and Cana's actions caused both Phinks and Hisoka to click their tongues. Though, while Phinks clicked his in irritation, Hisoka's came from a totally different place in his heart, as his unhinged and perverted grin widened while he turned to look at Cana, who just cut through his spell with little effort.
*Shing!*
In the next instant, Phinks was forced to leap back once again. On top of that, his hasty retreat caused him to stop rotating his arm. A moment later, Sun, while flipping through the air, landed in Phinks' former location, her sword slicing into the street as if it were soft as butter.
"[Water/Sword Compound Magic: Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust]." Sun chanted as she once again kicked off the ground.
"Damn it!" Phinks growled as he regained his footing.
Despite his apparent complaints, Phinks did not retreat any further. Instead, he took a fighting stance while flowing his magic power into his fists. Then, once Sun's blade approached to pierce through his chest, he quickly used his left hand to parry the blade to his left before throwing a right straight at Sun's face.
Reacting quickly, Sun tilted her head to the side, barely avoiding Phinks' punch. She then adjust the grip on her hilt and slashed at the larger man's waist.
"[Water/Sword Compound Magic: First Form: Water Surface Slash]." Sun chanted as her blade was once again coated in dense [Water Magic].
This time, instead of leaping away, Phinks only stepped out of the range of Sun's slash before stepping back in with a left hook. He then followed up with a right uppercut and an overhand left.
Ducking her head to avoid the hook, Sun then pivoted on her right foot to avoid the uppercut before slashing upwards with Kanade to deflect the overhand punch.
*Clang!*
While Phinks was forced back several steps when his fist met Sun's blade, Sun, thanks to the downward force in Phinks' punch, was forced down to one knee.
"She's stronger than I thought." Phinks muttered while rubbing his fist, which had gone numb from clashing with Sun's blade. "Even so, I'm gonna kill her and her friends in the most painful way possible. [Enhancement Magic: Ripper Cyclotron]."
Phinks began rotating his arm once again. All the while, he kept an eye on Sun, not intending to be caught off guard by her again. Meanwhile, Sun sprang back to her feet and charged forward once again.
Then, just before she reached Phinks, she leapt high into the air and raised Kanade above her head.
"[Water/Sword Compound Magic: Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin]." Sun chanted as she began to fall, a large amount of [Water Magic] gathering around her sword.
"Hmph!" Phinks snorted as he lowered his stance and stopped rotating his arm. "Six Rotations should be enough."
In the next instant, both Sun and Phinks initiated their attack with Sun slashing down with all her might while Phinks' fist shot upwards to meet Sun's blade.
*Boom!*
*Shatter!*
The collision caused the magic power in the two attacks to detonate. As a result, the ground under Phinks' feet shattered like a pane of glass. At the same time, all the [Water Magic] Sun gathered on Kanade's blade shot off in all directions like a fragmentation grenade, causing all the others on the battlefield to frantically dodge the lethal flying waterdrops.
Meanwhile, Sun, thanks to the rebound force from the collision, was sent high up into the air. And although she was completely unharmed by the backlash, she was surprised by how powerful Phinks attack was.
"It looks like I'll have to go all out to finish this quickly." Sun said as her eyes narrowed. "We've already caused too much damage. Alfonzo's not gonnna be happy when he sees this."
Sun then, while still ascending, held Kanade in front of her in a middle-stance before flaring her magic power to its limit.
"[Sing, Kanade]." Sun said, calling out her [soul Armament's] release command.
In the next instant, Kanade was covered in the light of Sun's magic power while Sun's aura skyrocketed. Then, once the light faded, instead of holding a shirasaya, Sun held a more traditional katana in her hand. However, instead of a single blade, there were two parallel blades making the sword look like a tuning fork.
"I'm still developing this style." Sun said as she raised Kanade once again while falling from the sky. "But let's see how you handle this! [Voice/Sword Compound Magic: First Form: Roar]!"
Using her [Voice Magic], sun shouted towards Kanade, which absorbed the soundwaves from Sun's shout. She then swung towards Phinks. As she did, the absorbed sound waves were ejected from the two edges of the blades, streaking towards Phinks at the speed of sound.
"What the hell is that?" Phinks asked in an alarmed tone as he frantically rotated his arm to try and contest against Sun's attack. "[Enhancement Magic: Ripper Cyclotron]."
Unfortunately, because of the speed of Sun's attack, Phinks was not even able to rotate his arm as many times as before. Instead, he was only able to make three rotations, which was only half of the previous attempt.
*Swish!*
*Shing!*
And because of that disparity, Phinks was not able to put up a decent fight against Sun's spell. As a result, he was forced to watch as the soundwave attack, bolstered and sharpened by sun's [Sword magic], sliced through his fist, down his arm, and through his torso before cutting into the street behind him and leaving two parallel gashes.
"Damn… it…" Phinks groaned as he struggled to lower his head to look at the damage he just took.
*Splatter!*
Unfortunately, that small movement caused blood to splatter from Phinks' injuries. And the pressure from the blood flow caused his body to fall apart, as well. Also, if one were to take a closer look at the pieces of his body on the ground, they would be able to see that Phinks' internal organs had been liquified by the soundwaves as they passed through his body.
A moment later, Sun, her expression slightly uncomfortable from the gore, landed near Phinks, whose eyes were still wide open, even in death.
["I think you overdid it just~~~ a little bit."] Kanade said, her voice sounding from Sun's inner world.
"Yeah…" Sun replied while scratching the side of her head in slight embarrassment and disgust. "I didn't think it would be that powerful. And I held back, too, ya see?"
["Oh well, what's done is done."] Kanade said in a bubbly tone. {"At least we don't have to worry about going back to help Tear. She's already done, too."]
Hearing that, Sun turned to look at Ultear and Bonolenov's battlefield. And just as Kanade said, Bonolenov was frozen in a block of ice while Ultear's right hand was place on his chest, her arm buried up to the elbow in the ice block.
Going back a few minutes, just after Sun flipped over Ultear and Bonolenov.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
The [Ice Claws] and Bonolenov's boxing gloves collided over and over again in rapid succession. At least, that's how things went until Ultear fainted a swipe with her left claw resulting in Bonolenov throwing a right straight, which met nothing but air when Ultear did not commit.
As a result of his missed punch, Bonolenov found his balance thrown off slightly, and Ultear had no intention of missing the opportunity that was presented.
Ducking under Bonolenov's outstretched arm, Ultear lunged forward and raked her claws on her left hand across Bonolenov's chest.
*Rip~~~~~!*
Along with the bandages being torn, Ultear's claw swipe left five gashes across Bonolenov's chest. However, thanks to the cold of her [Ice Claws], no blood was spilled as the wounds were instantly frozen over.
However, instead of paying attention to the wound she left on his body, Ultear was surprised by the holes all over Bonolenov's body. And the large hole on his abdomen drew the most attention.
"What in the world is up with those holes?" Ultear asked in a tone filled with morbid fascination.
"Well, I guess there's no point hiding it now." Bonolenov said while looking down at his exposed torso. "It's going to be a hassle wrapping myself back up later, though."
With that said, Bonolenov bit down on the laces on his left boxing glove, untying the knot that kept it secure. He then pulled off the boxing glove before untying the laces on his right glove and removing it, as well.
With his gloves removed, the holes on each of Bonolenov's fingers were also revealed. However, before Ultear could get a good look at them, Bonolenov used his hands to tear off the rest of the bandages on his torso, revealing the Spider Tattoo on his back. He then continued by ripping off the bandages on his legs, revealing that they were also covered in holes.
"Alright, now that those are out of the way, are you ready for round two?" Bonolenov asked as he once again raised his guard.