Earth Land, Ishgar, Stella, Altair.
October 9, x791.
While Elicia entered the underground area of Zash Caine's mansion, Cana, Ultear, and Sun continued walking around the city. While it did not look as if they were searching for members of the Phantom Troupe from the outside, as they were window shopping, buying snacks from streetside stalls, and looking at the stock in liquor stores, they kept their [Magic Power Detections] active the whole time.
And as it turned out, they caught the magic power signatures of three rather powerful wizards while doing so. However, they did not make their way over to those signatures immediately. Instead, they made sure to keep an eye on them while slowly making their way in order to not spook them and cause them to start a massacre of something of the sort.
"That's them, right?" Sun asked a she, Cana, and Ultear finally reached the vicinity of the three magic power signatures they found.
At the end of their line of sight, Cana, Ultear, and Sun glimpsed three people, all with strange appearances. At least, they were strange for the citizens of Altair. One was dressed like a modern-day pharaoh, one like a boxer wrapped from head-to-toe in bandages, and the last was dressed like the cross between a clown and a stage magician.
On another note, it seemed as if the trio did not get along, as the pharaoh and the boxer seemed to be giving the clown/magician the cold shoulder. Though, neither Cana, Ultear, nor Sun could tell if that was just an act as part of their cover.
"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if that was them." Cana muttered quietly enough that only Ultear and Sun would be able to hear her. "I mean, dressing like that makes them look unhinged enough to be those kinds of psychotic homicidal maniacs described by the client."
"Yeah, because you're one to talk about dressing properly for the occasion." Ultear snarked as she looked Cana up and down.
Naturally, Cana wore a variation of her signature attire, a purple bikini top, a pair of black, hip-hugging capri pants, and a pair of high-heeled sandals. This time, however, she added a little extra to her outfit in the form of a pair of flowy, detached sleeves that ran from her mid-biceps to her wrists.
"Huh? Is there something wrong with my outfit?" Cana asked in a confused tone. "Lici made this for me, you know?"
"*Sigh* Never mind." Ultear replied in a tired tone, clearly not in the mood to debate with Cana about how a bikini top is not all-occasion attire.
"Well, I think it looks cute." Sun said in a cheerful tone.
"I know, right?" Cana replied happily. "Your outfit is cute, too. I think you could stand to show off a little more of your figure, though."
Ultear rolled her eyes in response to Cana's critique of Sun's outfit. The pink shirt, white jacket, and yellow pleated skirt Sun was wearing was perfectly suited for the occasion. There was no way to add a bikini top into the mix. Meanwhile, Sun only smiled wryly at Cana's clear insinuation.
"I don't' know why we're even talking about this." Cana said as she glanced at the white and blue short dress with a train Ultear was wearing. "I mean, seriously… Everything Lici makes looks great."
Ultear and Sun could only nod along with Cana's statement. And as that happened, the three walked past the people of interest they detected not long ago.
However, just as Cana, Ultear, and Sun were paying attention to the three people of interest, those three, Hisoka, Phinks, and Bonolenov were paying attention to them, as well.
"Those three, they're from Fairy Tail.' Phinks said in an irritated tone as he watched the three ladies walk down the street.
"Oh, how did you figure that out?" Hisoka asked in a mocking tone. "I'm sure the guild emblem on that woman's abdomen didn't give it away, did it?"
As he said that, Hisoka gestured towards Cana, who, as he mentioned, had her guild emblem on full display thanks to her outfit. And his mocking tone made it clear that he was trying to get under the wannabe pharaoh's skin.
"What did you say?" Phinks asked angrily.
"Now is not the time to fight amongst ourselves." Bonolenov said calmly as he placed a hand on Phinks' shoulder. "Instead, we should see if we can get some information about why they are here. Perhaps, they may even have information about why Uvogin is so late."
"Hmm… Not a bad idea." Hisoka said before licking his lips while looking in the three Fairy Tail wizards' direction. "But they seem pretty strong. S-Class, I'd wager. What if they refuse to tell us what we want to know?"
Though Hisoka posed it as a question, he, Phinks, and Bonolenov already knew the answer.
"Then we force them to tell us." Phinks said in a brash tone filled with bloodlust.
"And because no one is supposed to know we're here, we silence them afterwards." Bonolenov added calmly while leaking bloodlust that made the nearby people walk away as quickly as they could.
"Hehehe! Good." Hisoka said while giggling in a creepy manner. "It seems we're all on the same page."
With that, the three members of the Phantom Troupe began to follow Cana, Ultear, and Sun. And the three Fairy Tail wizards naturally noticed. Because of that, they started moving towards a less populated area of the city, as they knew that a battle was inevitable once the three caught up.
At the same time, Pakunoda, Nobunaga, and Shizuku arrived at the place where the Phantom Troupe intended to make the exchange of Curta Clan's eyes with Zash Caine. However, instead of surveying the area in the open, they all used their own detection skills to see if there was anyone lurking around the area.
"Looks like the coast is clear." Nobunaga said after doing a sweep of the area.
"Don't let your guard down." Pakunoda replied sharply. "I have a bad feeling about this. Especially since Uvogin still hasn't arrived. No matter how much of an idiot he may be, he's never been this late before."
"Then, you're severely underestimating how much of an idiot he is." Nobunaga replied with a smirk.
Pakunoda only shook her head in response. She has known both Uvogin and Nobunaga to know that they were the definition of frenemies. When there was no outside source of danger, they could be seen constantly arguing with each other and fighting when words were not enough to settle the argument, which was more often than not. Yet, when someone threatened either, they would be the first to come to the other's aid.
With that, Pakunoda started ignoring Nobunaga because she knew that he could go on for ages about Uvogin. Meanwhile, Shizuku continued to watch the area. Because of that, she was the first to notice people approaching.
"I don't know why you're talking about Uvogin, but there are people incoming." Shizuku said in a calm, almost soulless, tone. "What were we supposed to do about that again?"
Immediately upon hearing Shizuku speak, Pakunoda and Nobunaga turned their heads to look in the direction Shizuku was looking. When they did, they saw the silhouettes of three people, two women and a man, approaching.
"*Sigh* Your forgetfulness grates on the nerves at times, Shizuku." Pakunoda said in a somewhat tired tone.
"Besides, is there really a reason to ask that question?" Nobunaga asked as he rested his right hand on his sword's hilt. "We kill 'em. Even if we didn't have orders to keep the area clear, just running into us is their bad luck."
"I see.' Shizuku said as she adjusted her glasses. "I suppose I should not have expected anything different from such a simple-minded brute."
Shizuku's blunt comment made Nobunaga grit his teeth in anger. And that anger only fueled his desire to kill the approaching people to vent that feeling. So, without waiting for Pakunoda or Shizuku, he gripped his sword tightly and began walking towards the trio approaching the area.
"Well, this is probably going to get messy." Pakunoda said while shaking her head. "With his temper, he probably won't stop until pieces of those three are all over the area. We'll be counting on you to clean it up with [Blinky], Shizuku."
"Huh?" Shizuku intoned while adjusting her glasses once again. "What are you talking about? Where is Nobunaga going?"
Pakunoda only sighed in response. She then gestured for Shizuku to follow her as she followed Nobunaga to confront the three new arrivals.
At the same time, those three new arrivals, Gildarts, Ur, and Levy, approached the area Pakunoda, Nobunaga, and Shizuku had been investigating.
"No one's here." Gildarts said while looking around. "I thought you two said there were people here."
"Don't doubt us." Ur replied while rolling her eyes. "Just because you can't search with anything other than your eyes doesn't mean we can't."
"Do you always have to poke my sore spot, Honey?" Gildarts asked in a downtrodden tone.
"Of course not." Ur replied with a sweet smile as she reached up to pinch Gildarts' pouting cheeks. "But that sad look on your face is just so~ cute."
Ur's actions made Gildarts smile like a fool. Meanwhile, Levy, who was walking along with them, wore a somewhat perturbed expression on her face. A moment later, however, Levy turned to look towards the three members of the Phantom Troupe who were approaching.
"I don't mean to interrupt your flirting, but they're coming this way." Levy said quietly as she pulled a Light pen out of the small bag on her waist. "And they all have S-Class levels of magic power."
Levy's warning pulled Gildarts and Ur back to the here and now. And just as she said, the two older wizards saw a man, followed by two women, approaching.
"Oh, are you that big guy's friends?" Gildarts asked in a friendly tone while smiling at the three approaching Dark Wizards. "I think his name was Uvogin. Then again... I wasn't really paying attention. He was too weak for me to take seriously."
"You don't have to antagonize them, Gildarts." Ur said while rolling her eyes.
"Huh? But I'm not." Gildarts replied in a confused tone. "I was just telling the truth."
With that, Gildarts and Ur started bickering again. Meanwhile, Levy watched the reactions of the three members of the Phantom Troupe. And just as expected, as soon as Gildarts mentioned Uvogin's name, two of the three's expressions turned cold. As for the woman wearing glasses, her expression did not change in the slightest. Though, Levy could feel her flare her magic power minutely.
"What have you done to Uvogin?" Nobunaga asked in a cold, demanding tone.
"Huh?" Gildarts, pulled out of his little squabble with Ur, intoned in confusion. A moment later, his expression turned sheepish. "Oh, about that. Yeah, I kinda... um... accidentally broke his neck. Sorry to say, he didn't make it after that..."
*Swish!*
In the next instant, Nobunaga vanished from where he stood in a burst of speed. Then, once he was in front of Gildarts, now standing in an iaido stance, he drew his sword faster than weaker S-Class wizards would be able to follow with their eyes and slashed at Gildarts' neck.
However, Nobunaga's slash was no normal slash. Instead, it was coated in an extremely dense layer of magic power that, like the blade, sharpened on one side. As a result, the cutting power of his blade was greatly increased.
*Clang!*
Yet, before the sharpened layer of magic power could reach Gildarts' neck, it was stopped in its tracks. On top of that, Gildarts had not even moved a muscle to stop it. And that was made even more obvious by the fact that a whip, also strengthened with magic power, was wrapped around the blade.
Following the whip back to its origin, Nobunaga noticed that it was firmly held in the hand of the woman standing next to Gildarts. Namely, Ur. On top of that, despite holding Nobunaga's sword in place, he could not see any indication that Ur was straining to do so.
"Well, after finding the three of you, we were gonna ask some questions." Ur said in a relaxed tone while glancing at Nobunaga, Pakunoda, and Shizuku. "But this reaction to what my idiot said makes that a bit unnecessary. So, we'll just take you down. Unfortunately for you, thanks to the contents of our quest, we can't let you live. But we'll at least make it as painless as possible."
Just before Nobunaga attacked, Alfonzo was approaching the cave the Phantom Troupe was using as their secondary hideout. However, just before entering, he suddenly stopped.
"Hmm... I couldn't feel these from only a few steps back." Alfonzo said as he knelt to get a better look at the nearly invisible threads laid out at the cave's entrance. "If I hadn't been paying close attention, I might have walked into some kind of trap."
Alfonzo then stood up and turned his head to the left before continuing.
"You're pretty good." Alfonzo said with a smile. "Almost as good as Lici. But even she can't hide her threads from me. So, are you gonna come out and fight? Or do I have to destroy all these traps and walk right inside? Your leader should be in there, right?"
Alfonzo did not receive a verbal response to his inquiry. Instead, he was washed over by a very potent killing intent that seemed to originate from all directions. However, after bathing in Acnologia's killing intent twice, this felt like little more than a gentle breeze.
"*Sigh* I guess we're doing this the hard way." Alfonzo said while shaking his head in mild disappointment. "Then again, you Dark Wizard types never do things the easy way."
*Zap!*
After speaking, Alfonzo stepped forward. As his foot touched the ground, an arc of electricity shot along the ground into the cave's entrance, frying the threads that acted as both a trap and an early warning system. And as soon as the threads were dispelled, Alfonzo felt the presences in the cave go on high alert.
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
At the same time, several dozen needles, each threaded by a magical thread, streaked towards Alfonzo's vital points from all directions. On top of that, both the threads, which were under the effects of some kind of [Stealth Magic], and the needles, which did not have a magic power signature of their own, would have been nearly impossible to detect for almost anyone else.
"Hmm... I guess I'm not as famous as I thought." Alfonzo said as he casually reached out and plucked one of the needles, which he had brought to a complete halt with his [Metal Magic], out of the air. "Most people who see me know better than to use metal weapons against me. Or is it that you think your shit don't stink? Either way, that was a bad move."