Earth Land, Ishgar, Stella, Altair.
October 9, x791.
"Yeah, that's definitely the guy from the mafia's magic." Alfonzo said after taking a good look at the cloth in Chrollo's hand. "Does that have something to do with that book in your hand?"
"That's none of your concern." Chrollo said coldly.
"It kinda does, though." Alfonzo replied while tilting his head in amusement. "You are trying to kill me with it, you know?"
To Alfonzo's disappointment, Chrollo did not respond. Instead, he dashed forward, swinging the cloth in Alfonzo's direction.
Reacting smoothly, Alfonzo pushed away from the cloth. Knowing what the [Fun Fun Cloth] did thanks to his meta knowledge, Alfonzo was actually curious to see how much he would be weakened if he were to be covered by it. But he was not arrogant enough to actually test it and find out.
According to what Alfonzo knew, being completely engulfed by the [Fun Fun Cloth] would allow the user to shrink or enlarge the engulfed target at will.
'Basically, it's a bootleg version of [Command T].' Alfonzo thought to himself while repeatedly. 'I wonder what Brandish would think if she saw this thing.'
*Zap!*
As that thought passed, Alfonzo dodged the cloth once more. Then, with lightning concentrated in the center of his palm, he thrust forward, his palm aimed at Chrollo's sternum.
"[Electromagnetism Magic: Taser Gun]." Alfonzo chanted just before his palm landed.
*Bang!*
Reacting quickly, Chrollo managed to shift his body to the left. As a result, instead of landing on his sternum, Alfonzo's palm thrust hit him in his rib cage.
"Ugh!" Chrollo grunted while enduring the pain from the palm thrust and the electric current running through his body.
Even so, Chrollo fought through the spasms to swing the [Fun Fun Cloth] one more time. Unfortunately, even if Alfonzo was mildly surprised that his attack was not enough to incapacitate, that was not enough to make up the difference in raw speed and reaction speed between the two S-Class wizards.
"You're tougher than I expected." Alfonzo said after creating some distance. "But that's not gonna change the fact that you'll never be able to hit me."
"*Pant* * Pant* We'll see about that." Chrollo shot back with ragged breaths as he dispelled the [Fun Fun Cloth]. He then chanted once again with the [Skill Hunter] book in his hand. "[Copy Magic: Teleportation]."
In the next instant, Chrollo vanished from where he stood in front of Alfonzo. A moment later, he reappeared in front of the cave entrance that Alfonzo entered from. Then, he drew his free hand back and...
*Bang!*
*Crack!*
... slammed his fist into the cave wall. Immediately afterwards, the wall surrounding the entrance began to crack, spreading up the wall to the ceiling. Then....
*Crumble!*
The tunnel collapsed, sealing the cave entrance. Then, still under Alfonzo's gaze, he teleported to the entrance leading deeper into the cavern.
*Bang!*
*Crack!*
*Crumble!*
Chrollo then repeated the process, collapsing that cave entrance, as well. However, unlike when he collapsed the first entrance, Chrollo made sure to collapse this one in front of him. Meaning, Alfonzo was left alone in a completely sealed room.
"Now, let's see how you deal with this." Chrollo said , his voice carrying through the rubble blocking the entrance. "[Copy magic: Indoor Fish]."
"Well, shit…" Alfonzo muttered. "I guess my pride is starting to get the better of me again. Why the hell did I let him set up this shit? I should have just killed him and moved the fuck on. *Sigh* Other than when I fought Acnologia a few months ago, everything has just been too easy. I need to get my shit together before something I can't take back happens."
While Alfonzo was talking to himself, half a dozen fish manifested, floating in the air right in front of the collapse. However, these fish were nothing like normal fish. Instead, they were completely made of bone from tip to tail. And as they completely manifested, they all turned towards Alfonzo, their empty eye sockets locked on the meal in front of them.
"This is gonna be a pain in the ass." Alfonzo muttered to himself while tracking Chrollo's movements with is [Magic Power Detection]. "Opening a hole in this sealed room won't be an issue. But if I use too much power, I could bring down the whole mountain. And that will definitely destroy the Kurta Clan's eyes that are hidden in the cave system. *Sigh* What to do…? What to do…?"
As Alfonzo thought aloud, the [Indoor Fish] finally made their move. Swimming through the air as though it were water, they attacked Alfonzo like a pack of carnivorous fish.
"Luckily, Lucilfer isn't moving too far away." Alfonzo muttered to himself as he dodged a bite from one of the [Indoor Fish]. He then continued as he coated his right hand with Orichalcum and formed his fingers into a spear. "He's probably staying nearby to summon more of these fucking fish when I destroy them."
*Shing!*
*Crack!* *Crumble!*
As his words ended, Alfonzo thrust his Orichalcum coated hand into the open mouth of an [Indoor Fish]. As he did, the fish viciously closed its mouth around Alfonzo's hand. However, when its teeth met the Orichalcum coating Alfonzo's hand, its teeth shattered before Alfonzo's spear hand thrust tore it apart. In the next instant, Alfonzo's body was cloaked in violet electricity before he vanished from where he stood, avoiding bites from the other four [Indoor Fish].
Reappearing near the collapsed entrance where he first entered the cave, Alfonzo looked at the [Indoor Fish] he had impaled and killed just in time to see it fade into motes of magic power. He then turned to look at the other cave entrance.
"Yup, Lucilfer is still standing on the other side of those rocks." Alfonzo said as a new [Indoor Fish] came into being in front of the collapsed entrance. "He's doing his best to keep me here so that that guy making copies… What was his name again? Fuck it, it doesn't matter. Anyway, so that guy can finish making copies to trick me. He'll probably make copies of himself and Lucilfer, before they try to escape."
Had Chrollo been able to hear Alfonzo's mutterings, he would have been dumbfounded. Because Alfonzo had exposed his entire plan in a few sentences. Though, if Kortopi could hear Alfonzo, he would probably be either very happy or pissed off at the fact that Alfonzo did not know his name.
"Alright, I need to bring this to an end before they can actually put that plan into motion." Alfonzo said as he started to move again.
For the next minute or so, Alfonzo played a game of tag with the [Indoor Fish], constantly destroying those who got too close, only to have them replaced by Chrollo's magic. And that little game continued until Alfonzo had all the [Indoor Fish] lined up in a straight line pointing in a certain direction.
"Now." Alfonzo said quietly as he stretched his right arm towards the [Indoor Fish]. "[Metal Magic: Armor Piercing Shell]."
As soon as Alfonzo's chant ended, an Adamantite Bullet manifested in front of his outstretched hand. However, unlike a normal bullet, this one was long and slender, like that of a sniper rifle. On top of that, groves were carved into it, making the bullet look like a drill bit.
*Zap!*
Then, a spark of violet electricity sparked from Alfonzo's fingers. And when that spark hit the bullet, it caused the bullet to spin at high-speed, air friction making the surrounding air whine loudly.
"[Electromagnetism Magic: Railgun]." Alfonzo chanted as an cylindrical, electromagnetic field stretched from his right shoulder towards the nearest [Indoor Fish], engulfing the [Armor Piecring Shell] as it did so.
At the same time, as the [Armor Piercing Shell] was engulfed by the electromagnetic field, its rotational speed increased, making the sound echoing through the cave even harder to handle. A moment later…
*Boom~~~~~~~~~~!*
The entire cave shook from the dozen, or so, overlapping sonic booms that were unleashed when the [Railgun] was fired. On top of that, Chrollo, who was standing just outside of the cave, was blown backwards along with the rubble blocking the entrance before being buried by the same rubble a short way down the corridor behind him.
Yet, before any of the destruction from the shockwaves occurred, the shell Alfonzo fired passed through all six [Indoor Fish] in a straight line, leaving a streak of orange, superheated air in its wake. On top of that, in the range of Alfonzo's [Magic Power Detection], Alfonzo felt quite a few of the magic power signatures in the cave disappear when the shell blasted through the last remaining member of the Phantom Troupe, Kortopi.
Naturally, those magic power signatures other than Kortopi's were the copies of all the Phantom Troupe's belongings that he was trying to make before he and Chrollo escaped. Unfortunately, once he was killed, all of his copied items were dispelled.
"Damn… I'm glad I made earplugs before I fired that shot." Alfonzo muttered, his ears still ringing from the sonic booms as he used his index fingers to tapp the metal earplugs he created right before firing.
["Seriously, what kind of fucking moron causes sonic booms in an enclosed space?"] Riot bellowed in rage as he covered his ears in Alfonzo's inner world. ["Fuck! I don't even have a god damned physical body, and my ears are still ringing!"]
["Yeah, that didn't sound like the brightest idea you've ever had, Alfonzo."] Bedlam said, his usual smirk still on his face. ["But I gotta say, that was some damn fine magic power and power output control. With an attack that big, it wouldn't have surprised me if you brought down the whole cave system."]
'Cut the shit, Bedlam.' Alfonzo replied internally as he started walking to the rubble burying Chrollo. 'You know good and damn well that I didn't really have to try that hard to have things end up exactly the way I wanted. Hell, I did something similar back when I took out that damned Monokuma on Galuna Island seven years ago.'
["True."] Bedlam admitted. ["Still, let's be real, things weren't the same back then, either."]
'Stop patting this asshole on the back, damn it!"] Riot roared. ["Let's just hurry up and finish this damn quest. I miss Lici."]
'Simp.'/["Simp."] Alfonzo and Bedlam shot back in unison.
Even so, Riot was right. Alfonzo had no idea what Elicia had seen when going after Zash Caine. And while he had no doubt about her safety, she was still more soft-hearted than he was. At least, until someone ruined the clothes she made, threatened him, or threatened members of their family.
"Hey! You still alive in there?" Alfonzo asked as he reached the base of the pile of rubble burying Chrollo.
*Ugh!" A groan sounded from the pile of rubble.
*Crumble!*
A moment later, the pile began to move. Shortly afterwards, as several rocks fell from the pile, a hand reached out from inside.
"Oh, you're still with us, huh?" Alfonzo asked while shaking his head in disappointment. "Well, I guess that's good… For you, at least. I'm sure being smashed to pieces by a bunch of rocks would hurt a whole lot more than a clean kill from me."
*Rumble!*
With the sound of more rubble falling from the pile, Chrollo pulled himself out of the pile. However, it was clear that he did not have a good time when he was hit with all the flying rubble. Covered in cuts, bruises, and blood, Chrollo looked as though he was hanging on by a thread.
"Damn… you… *Cough*" Chrollo rasped through ragged breaths before coughing up a mouthful of blood. "Because of… you… the people of Meteor City… wont' have… anyone to--- Hrrk!"
"I'm not interested in your sob story." Alfonzo said calmly as he clamped his hand around Chrollo's neck. "Most people have a reason why they do things. Even evil mother fuckers like you. But that don't make that shit okay. Hell, if you really wanted to help the people you were talking about, I'm sure you could have cut a deal with any government on Ishgar. You were definitely strong enough for it. Instead, you chose to steal and kill. But why didn't you do that shit to the people who were threatening the ones you wanted to protect?"
With every word, Alfonzo's grip on Chrollo's throat tightened, not giving the leader of the Phantom Troupe a chance to answer. Because, like he said, Alfonzo was not interested in Chrollo's sob story. He was just asking for the sake of it.
Either way, Chrollo was going to die. Because Alfonzo was a Fairy Tail wizard. And Fairy Tail wizards completed their quests as they were assigned. Well, unless you're Natsu and Lucy in the canon… They did fail the quest to destroy the book, Daybreak, after all.
"Argh~~~~~~~!" Chrollo screamed as his injuries began to hurt even more than before.
Unfortunately, as Chrollo expelled the air in his lungs, Alfonzo's grip continued to tighten. As a result, he was unable to refill his lungs, making his suffocation proceed even faster. Though, Alfonzo had no intention of making him suffer for that long.
*Zap~~~~~~~~~!*
A moment before Chrollo passed out, Alfonzo generated a large amount of electricity in the hand gripping Chrollo's throat, electrocuting the Head of the Spider to death before he could succumb to asphyxiation.
"Ah… Shit…" Alfonzo groaned as he released Chrollo's corpse. "I forgot about the evil Lici. I hope her body is still intact after all the sonic booms."
Unfortunately, when Alfonzo finally found Machi's body, it was almost completely unrecognizable, having been nearly torn to shreds by the shockwaves.
"Oh well, Kurapika will just have to deal with it." Alfonzo muttered. "If he wants proof that it's her, I'll just let him see the process of me killing her all the way to when her body was destroyed by the shockwaves with [Archive Magic]."
After that, Alfonzo [Sealed] Chrollo's and Machi's remains in a [Storage Scroll]. Then, he made his way towards the cave where Kortopi had been working, [Sealed] all the Kurta Clan's eyes and Kortopi's body, which was missing a large portion of its torso thanks to the [Railgun] shell's impact, and left the cave to return to the city.