The Semi-Finals Begin

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

October 15, x785.

After the Thunder God Tribe and Team Strauss cleared the ring side area, Ur called Team Ultear and Team Alzack to the ring. Unfortunately, this match ended up being quite one sided.

While Saeko, who went up in the first match of the round, put up a good fight against Laki, cutting through many of her wooden constructs, and even narrowing the distance enough to end the match with a single strike, had they landed, on several occasions, Laki's experience proved too much for the newfound wizard.

As for the two on two match, Ultear and Meredy took the stage against Alzack and Bisca. Unfortunately for Alzack and Bisca, Ultear was looking forward to having a rematch against Mirajane, who she lost to the previous year. So, she had Meredy sync with her magic power as soon as the match started. Then, she cast [Ice Age] over the entire ring, ending the match with one move.

As a result, Team Ultear moved on to the semi-finals with a score of two to zero. IN fact, the audience were all surprised that all the matches in the first round ended with scores of two to zero. Either way, that did not stop them from once again making their way to all the Sixth Sense Catering booths in the stadium once Ur announced a thirty minute break.

"I really thought Saeko had a chance to win." Takashi, on vacation with his mother, Rei, Kiriko, and Tadashi, said while standing in line at one of the refreshment booths.

"Yeah, me, too." Rei said, disappointed that a friend she made during the worst incident of her life lost the match.

"Unfortunately, things only looked that way." Kiriko said while shaking her head. "I'll admit that Busujima girl is really talented, but her opponent has clearly been training for much longer than she has."

"Kiriko's right." Tadashi said. "You could tell by the way she reacted to each situation. She clearly has much more experience in battle."

"You're quite observant." A red-haired woman said from in front of the group of five. "Laki has been with the guild for almost as long as anyone in the younger generation. And despite the fact that I have been training Saeko since she joined the guild, a little more than a week is not enough time to close the gap."

Hearing the voice that cut into their conversation, Takashi, Rei, Sayuri, Kiriko, and Tadashi all turned their heads to see who it was. And when they did, they all opened their eyes wide in shock.

"You… You're Titania, Erza Scarlet!" Rei shouted with a star struck expression on her face. "After the guild master, you're the strongest woman in Fairy Tail!"

Hearing that, Erza, who had just placed an order for strawberry shortcake, could only smile wryly.

"Unfortunately, that statement is inaccurate." Erza said as she stepped to the side, allowing the group of five to place their orders. "I'm the publicly recognized strongest woman in Fairy Tail after Master Ur."

"Is there a difference?" Takashi asked curiously.

"Since you know Saeko, I would assume you are from Takanosu, correct?" Erza replied with a question of her own, instead of answering Takashi's question directly. Then, after receiving nods all around, Erza continued. "Then, you more than likely already met the strongest woman after Master Ur."

While Takashi, Rei, and Tadashi tilted their heads in confusion, Takashi and Rei because of their inexperience, and Tadashi because he never met Elicia, Sayuri and Kiriko's eyes lit up with understanding.

"I see, so it was her." Kiriko said with a nod. "I mean, after seeing her shred zombies the way she did and stitch two houses together, causing them to crush all the zombies between them, I understand."

"Who are you talking about, Mom?" Rei asked in a confused tone.

"Did you forget who from Fairy Tail came to exterminate the zombies, Rei?" Sayuri asked.

"Of course not." Rei said. "I'd never forget about Alfonzo and--- Oh~~~."

"It looks like she gets it." Kiriko replied with a nod.

"But I'm curious to know, Miss Scarlet." Sayuri said in a genuinely curious tone. "Why are you the one that's publicly recognized to be stronger? Despite eh fact that you admit that Elicia is stronger."

In response, Erza smiled sheepishly before answering Sayuri's question.

"Though I hate to admit it, it's because of the way we usually complete quests." Erza replied. "While Elicia is hardly ever even seen by more people than necessary while completing quests, I have the tendency to damage my surroundings. And that brings me a lot of attention."

"The strawberry shortcake is ready." The employee working at the refreshment stand called out.

Hearing that her order was ready, Erza's eyes lit up in excitement. Especially since she knew that the strawberry shortcakes at this particular refreshment stand were personally baked by Alfonzo.

On a side note, while the group conversed, Takashi, Rei, Sayuri, Kiriko, and Tadashi placed their own orders before moving aside to not stop the stand's business.

"Well, if you'll excuse me." Erza said as she turned to the stand to receive her order. "I have to get back to my team. We'll be fighting last year's champions in the next round. Though, it was nice meeting you all. And I'll tell Saeko to come see you before the parade starts. We've already shown her all the best places to watch it from."

With that, Erza nodded at the group of five before finding a quiet place to blissfully enjoy her strawberry shortcake. Meanwhile, Takashi, Rei, Sayuri, Kiriko, and Tadashi continued to chat about the tournament as they each received their orders and found a place to eat.

After that, the rest of the break went by peacefully. And after the thirty minute mark, Ur announced the resumption of the tournament. And the first match of the semi-finals began shortly after her announcement.

"Team Steel Threads, Team Natsu, please make your way to the ring." Ur's announcement rang out over the stadium.

"So, what's the order gonna be for this round?" Marin asked as she walked alongside the rest of her team towards the ring.

"Well, that depends…" Alfonzo replied with a wry smile. "Do any of you want to fight Natsu?"

Immediately, Elicia and Marin shook their heads, having fought with Natsu enough at the guild hall for a lifetime. Meanwhile, Sun seriously considered it.

Like the rest of the guild, Sun had also fought with Natsu more times than she could count during the numerous brawls at the guild hall. However, she had never fought with him while using her magic and her sword. So, she was honestly interested in giving it a try. But there was someone on the other team she would definitely rather fight against other than Natsu.

"Is there any way we could keep Natsu from jumping up on the---" Sun began to say, her speech ending abruptly when she saw Natsu jump into the ring without discussing with the rest of his team. "Uh… Never mind."

"You wanted to fight Erza, huh?" Elicia asked with a smile.

"Yeah." Sun replied with a nod. "But I guess I could fight---"

"Hey, Alfonzo, come on, let's fight." Natsu shouted from atop the ring.

"*Sigh*" Alfonzo and Sun sighed simultaneously.

"I guess I'll go." Alfonzo said in a tired tone. "If I don't, he'll whine about it for weeks."

"Yeah, and no one wants to see a whiny Natsu." Elicia added with a wry smile.

Nodding in agreement, Alfonzo then looked towards Sun.

"If you're lucky, Erza will go up in the next match." Alfonzo said with a smile. "And if you take Lici with you, she'll be able to let you have your one on one with her."

Hearing that, Sun's eyes started to sparkle. Then, she turned towards Elicia with hope shining in her eyes.

"Okay, I'll go up in the next match with you." Elicia said as she pulled Sun into a hug.

Meanwhile, Alfonzo hopped into the ring.

"Aww yeah, I'm all fired up now!" Natsu shouted energetically as Alfonzo landed on the ring.

"*Sigh* What a moron." Gray said from Team Natsu's side of the ring. "Getting his ass kicked in the privacy of the guild wasn't enough for him, huh? Now he wants to get beat up in a public setting, too."

"Come on, Gray." Lucy said in an exasperated tone. "We're team mates, can't you say something encouraging?"

"Yeah, like that's gonna make a difference." Gray said while shaking his head. "Maybe I'd have something nice to say if I didn't see Alfonzo beat Gildarts earlier. But now, I don't think Natsu could win even by fluke."

Hearing that, Lucy wanted to retort. However, when she remembered Alfonzo's fight with Gildarts, her words were stuck in her throat. ON top of that, her face reddened while she lightly brushed her thighs together involuntarily.

"Indeed." Erza said with a nod, her cheeks slightly flushed as well. "After seeing just how strong Alfonzo has gotten, I doubt Natsu is ready to face him quite yet."

"*Sigh* I guess you're right." Lucy said as she looked into the ring.

While Gray, Erza, and Lucy were discussing Natsu's chances of winning, Ur had completed her introduction.

"Begin!" Ur said, signaling the beginning of the match.

"Come on, Alfonzo!" Natsu shouted as he brought his hands up in front of his mouth. [Fire Dragon's Roar]!"

In the next instant, Natsu blew a stream of blistering hot flames between his hands. However, Alfonzo appeared completely unbothered. Then, at the last moment, a wall of fire resistant metal materialized between him and Natsu's breath attack.

"If you think that's enough to stop me, you've got another thing coming." Natsu said as he stopped his breath attack and dashed towards the wall.

"Oh, I wasn't counting on that to do much." Alfonzo said as he appeared next to Natsu with a burst of speed.

"Huh?" Natsu exclaimed, surprised that he could hear Alfonzo's voice from so close.

In the next instant, Alfonzo grabbed Natsu by the back of his head with his left hand, intending to slam him face first into the ring. However, before he could do so, Natsu's right foot lit up with his [Dragon Slayer Flames].

"[Fire Dragon's Talon]." Natsu chanted as he threw a kick back at Alfonzo's chin.

In response, Alfonzo pulled Riot from the strap on his back, flowed electricity through the tonfa, and used it to deflect Natsu's kick.

*Bzzz!*

"Ahh!" Natsu screamed involuntarily thanks to the electrical current.

*Bang!* *Bzzz!*

Then, before Natsu could recover, Alfonzo crouched down, swept Natsu's leg out from under him, stood back up, and jammed Riot's short end into Natsu's sternum, hitting him with another dose of electricity and rendering him unconscious.

"The winner of the match is Alfonzo Marcus of Team Steel Threads." Ur said announcing the outcome of the match after Natsu remained still for a while.

With Ur's announcement, Alfonzo put Riot back on his lower back. Then, he reached down and placed his right hand on Natsu's chest.

"Alright, I guess I'll take this back." Alfonzo muttered as he pulled all the electricity he used in that last attack out of Natsu's body. "Now, let's get you to the medical station."

As he spoke the last line, Alfonzo hoisted Natsu off the ring before slinging his unconscious body over his shoulder and leaving the ring.

"Well, that lasted longer than I thought it would." Gray said while shaking his head.

"Yeah, and you managed to keep your clothes on for the entire match, Gray." Lucy said. Then, she continued in a tone filled with mock pride. "I'm proud of you."

"Huh? Really?" Gray exclaimed excitedly. "Hell yeah!"

"*Sigh* That was sarcasm, Gray." Lucy said in an exasperated tone. Then, she turned her attention to Erza. "So, who's gonna go up next?"

Instead of responding immediately, Erza looked over to Team Steel Threads side of the ring and she made eye contact with Sun's sparkling eyes.

"It looks like my presence is requested for this match." Erza said with a smile. "So, you two can decide who will come up with me between yourselves."

Hearing that, Lucy and Gray exchanged glances. Then, they both looked at the opposite side of the ring. And they were just in time to see Elicia and Sun hop into the ring.

"Do you mind if I go, Gray?" Lucy asked. "I've never fought Lici seriously before."

"Yeah, but I haven't got a chance to fight in the tournament yet." Gray said, looking forward to fighting, as well. "And if you guys end up losing this match, I won't have gotten to fight at all in the tournament this year."

Hearing that, Lucy relented.

"Fine, I guess I'll have to challenge Lici some other time." Lucy said. "Not that I think I have even a snowball's chance in hell of winning."

Shooting a grateful glance in Lucy's direction, Gray made eye contact with Erza for a moment before they both jumped into the ring.

"The next match will be between Elicia Marcus Taylor and Sun Seto of Team Steel Threads Vs. Gray Fullbuster and Erza Scarlet from Team Natsu." Ur said, introducing the fighters. "Now, if both sides are ready, begin!"