356 Execution Day

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.

May 11, x785.

After Darkness passed out, Alfonzo and Elicia hurried to finish their dinner. Although they would have preferred to finish their food at a leisurely pace, Darkness' satisfied, yet sloppy, smile was quite unnerving. On top of that, the scent around their table, as well as the viscous liquid that was dripping from Darkness' chair to the floor was a bit… a lot more than they wanted to deal with for the evening.

Then, once they finished eating, Alfonzo and Elicia stood from their seats. After that, Elicia engulfed all three of them in her [Camouflage Magic] while Alfonzo slung Darkness unconscious body over his shoulder and dropped a rather sizeable amount of money on the table.

"God fucking damn it!" Alfonzo cursed as he and Elicia made their way through the streets of Crocus, while still under the effects of the [Hiding in Plain Sight] spell. "I knew bringing her with us was a bad idea."

"Yeah, but it proved that my plan of action when dealing with Darkness was viable." Elicia replied. "But no one could have expected spicy food to affect her like that."

"*Sigh* Anyway, we need to take her home." Alfonzo said in a tired tone while gesturing to Darkness. "Any idea where she lives?"

"Nope, no idea." Elicia replied. "Let's just take her to the knights' barracks."

"*Sigh* Fine." Alfonzo replied. "And the worst thing is we can't just leave her tied up somewhere. Since I'm pretty sure she'd point us out as the culprits when she woke up."

"Probably." Elicia replied with a nod. A moment later, she opened her eyes wide in realization. "Why don't we just wake her up?"

"Come again?" Alfonzo asked as his footsteps came to a stop.

"We should just wake her up." Elicia repeated. "After that, we could just part ways and not have to worry about people seeing us with her… like this."

As she finished speaking, Elicia pointed at Darkness' face, which was still smiling in sloppy satisfaction.

"*Sigh* I guess you're right." Alfonzo replied, sounding even more tired than before.

A few moments later, Alfonzo and Elicia had taken Darkness to a deserted alley. Then, Alfonzo created a steel plate they could sit her down on so that her Dress would not get any more ruined than it already was.

After that, Elicia squatted down in front of Darkness and raised her hand to the woman's face. However, just before she tried waking her, she looked back at Alfonzo.

"Remember, you absolutely cannot look at her with disgust after she wakes up." Elicia warned.

"I know, I know." Alfonzo said while waving dismissively. "I got this."

With that, Elicia nodded before she turned back to Darkness.

*Pat* *Pat* *Pat*

"Darkness! Darkness! Are you okay? Wake up!" Elicia shouted, making her voice sound frantic intentionally.

At the same time, the longer she spoke and tried to wake Darkness, the harder her patting on Darkness' face became. However, just before Elicia could outright slap her, Alfonzo caught her arm.

"Huh? Fonzie, what's wrong?" Elicia asked as she looked back at Alfonzo with confusion.

"She's awake." Alfonzo said with his eyes narrowed. "We wouldn't want to do any unnecessary damage, would we?"

Hearing that, Elicia snapped her head back in Darkness' direction. And sure enough, she was awake, looking at the two in embarrassment.

"*Cough* Hi, Alfonzo, Elicia." Darkness said awkwardly with a slight blush. Though Alfonzo and Elicia were unsure if that came from embarrassment or excitement at the fact that she was almost slapped in the face. "Dinner was truly lovely. Perhaps we could do it again the next time you are in the capital. It would be my treat, next time, of course."

"If you were awake, why didn't you say anything?" Elicia asked in a concerned tone. "I was worried, you know."

Hearing that, Darkness lowered her head with a hint of guilt in her expression. However, as a knight, she was unable to lie.

"I… was waiting for you to slap me… for real." Darkness said as her breathing became more ragged with every word. "And the longer… I was able to… hold out… The harder… you would… slap…. Mmm~ me."

At that point, Darkness raised her head with an excited smile and flushed cheeks.

"Then, I would eventually start moaning and groaning from the pain of your slaps." Darkness continued with drool leaking from the corner of her lips. "When that happened, you would stop. Then, you would ask me if I had been awake for a while. And I would reply with a yes. After that, you would get angry and start slapping me even harder while glaring at me with tangible disgust in your eyes. Then, with your hardest slap, you would say: 'Bitch! You're so fucking gross!' Ahn~~~~!"

Meanwhile, as Darkness masochistic fantasy spilled from between her lips, Alfonzo and Elicia looked on blankly. On top of that, they tried their best to keep the disgust they were feeling out of their gazes. Which was a herculean task at that moment.

*Cough* Anyway, since you're awake…" Alfonzo said awkwardly while scratching the back of his head. Then, he continued, forcing out the words he felt he would regret very soon. "Why don't you let us walk you home?"

With that, Darkness snapped out of her delusions. Then, she took a moment to wipe the drool from her mouth. After that, she looked at Alfonzo and Elicia with a sincere expression as she declined Alfonzo's offer.

"Although I appreciate the offer, I could not ask you to do so." Darkness said as she picked herself up from the steel plate.

Then, she reached back to pat any dust off the back of her dress. However, she paused for a moment when she felt the wet patch on her butt.

'Wait, what is this?' Darkness thought to herself. 'Did they parade me through the city with this wet patch on display while I was unconscious. Oh my God, the looks the people must have given me.'

At that point in her thoughts, Darkness began to shudder.

"Something tells me she's misunderstanding the situation." Alfonzo said with a deadpan.

"You're probably right." Elicia said while smiling wryly. "Um… Hey, Darkness…"

Once again, Darkness was snapped out of her delusions.

"Yes? What is it?" Darkness asked in a curious tone.

"Just to let you know, I put you under the effects of my [Camouflage Magic] before we brought you here. So, you don't have to worry about anyone seeing you like that. IN fact, that's why Fonzie offered to bring you home. We wouldn't want anyone to think you peed yourself, or something."

Hearing that, Darkness' breath hitched.

'This would be so humiliating.' Darkness thought to herself with her eyes shining. 'The people would look at me with such disgust when they saw my current appearance as I walked to my apartment in the city. Oh, how embarrassing would it be to hear them whispering about how I urinated on myself as I walked past them.'

"*Pant* Truly, you need not concern yourself." Darkness said, her expression turning resolute. Though, there was still an excited flush on her cheeks. "I've taken up enough of your time today. Not only did you invite me to dinner, but you brought me here to protect my reputation. I am truly grateful. But I can no longer take any of your time. So, I will bid you goodbye and head home on my own."

"If you say so." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head. Then, after putting on a smile, he continued. "Well then, have a good night, Darkness."

In response, Darkness nodded as she walked past Alfonzo and Elicia.

"See you later, Darkness." Elicia said while waving at Darkness' retreating back.

To that, Darkness came to a stop. Then, she looked at Elicia from over her shoulder.

"Like I said, we should have dinner together again next time you're in the capital." Darkness said, her face even more flushed than before. "*Pant* And perhaps, *Pant* you could help me with my rope *Pant* escape techniques, as well. *Pant*"

"Uh… Yeah… We'll see." Elicia said, trying her hardest not to let her smile cramp up.

Meanwhile, Darkness nodded in response before she turned back around and left the alley.

Then, as soon as they could feel that Darkness was no longer nearby, Alfonzo and Elicia both dropped their smile and exchanged glances. A moment later, they both broke out into hardy laughter. And once their laughter died down, they decided that they had had enough excitement for the evening and returned to their hotel.

May 12, x785.

The next morning, after completing their morning routines and eating breakfast, Alfonzo and Elicia left the hotel and made their way to the execution grounds where Crawford Seam and Org would be hanged for their crimes.

"*Sigh* This is one of the things I'm not a fan of from the medieval setting." Elicia said as she and Alfonzo moved to the front of the gathered crowd. "Public execution is so… barbaric."

"I know." Alfonzo said, beginning to comb his fingers through Elicia's hair to comfort her. "But you gotta look at the silver lining."

Hearing that, Elicia turned her head in Alfonzo's direction with a curious expression.

"At least they aren't beheading them publicly." Alfonzo continued in response to Elicia's curious gaze.

"*Sigh* I guess you're right." Elicia said. "Small blessings, right?"

"Exactly." Alfonzo replied. "Besides, the only reason public executions are a thing is because there really isn't any other form of entertainment. I guess I should push my plans for creating the internet and TV forward…"

With that, Alfonzo's voice lowered to a mutter as he got lost in his thoughts. Meanwhile, Elicia could only smile wryly. However, things did not stay that way for long. Eventually, a procession approached from the direction of the prison, while another approached from the castle.

"I guess it's starting." Alfonzo muttered as he was brought back to the present.

"Uh huh." Elicia added.

Eventually, the three rulers who presided over the trial a little less than a month ago, Toma E. Fiore, the King of the Kingdom of Fiore, The King of the Kingdom of Caelum, and the Prime Minister of the Land of Isvan, arrived in front of the crowd. Meanwhile, the division of knights escorting the prisoners got Crawford Seam and Org situated on the execution platform.

"I'm sure you are all aware why we have gathered here today." Toma said as he stepped forward to address the crowd. "You shall all bear witness to the execution of former Magic Councilmen Crawford Seam and Org for the crimes they committed."

With that, Toma continued his speech by detailing the crimes for which the two were being executed. And by the time he was finished, the gathered crowd was cheering for the two of them to be put to death.

"*Sigh* This is mob mentality at its worst." Alfonzo said while keeping an eye on a certain man in the squadron of knights. "Bradley's here, too. I get the feeling that something is gonna go down."

"I know." Elicia replied with a nod.

Meanwhile, Bradley had been chosen as the executioner for today's event. And just as Alfonzo and Elicia thought, Father was planning something. However, he did not plan for Alfonzo and Elicia's presence.

'Those two are here.' Bradley thought to himself as he noticed Alfonzo and Elicia. ''I'm almost certain they were the ones that got Hughes and his family out of the city. And Alfonzo Marcus was more than likely the one who saved him. Especially after learning about the metal that had been injected into Envy. On top of that, Elicia Taylor was able to seal the [False Gate of Truth] inside of Gluttony while simultaneously defeating Lust. Those two are too much of a threat to Father's plans to leave alive, much like their parents were.'

As Bradley, or rather Wrath's, thoughts came to an end, his subordinates had wrapped the nooses around Crawford Seam and Org's necks and were just waiting for Bradley to finish things. And when Bradley received the signal, he reached into the pocket of his uniform and secretly pulled out a small syringe with a red liquid inside.

Meanwhile, after seeing Bradley approach, Org, who had been wearing a depressed expression ever since he was brought out to the execution ground, had his eyes light up when he saw Bradley.

"I did everything I was asked to." Org mumbled in a pleading tone once Bradley was close enough. "I leaked the location of those retired Fairy Tail ruffians' village to that cult. It's not my fault they could not get the brats. I also kept the Council from interfering in Grimoire Heart's attack on Fairy Tail. So, you must be here to save me, right? He promised me immortality, after all."

Meanwhile, Crawford Seam could only look at Org and Bradley in confusion.

On top of that, although Alfonzo and Elicia were back in the crowd, they had heightened their senses ever since they noticed Bradley was with the knights. So, they heard all of Org's mumblings clearly. Because of that, their killing intents started to leak, frightening the people around them.

"You could say that." Bradley replied to Org's questions with the syringe in his hand. "You happen to be in luck. Father wants to know what would happen if a wizard were to be injected with a Philosopher's Stone. So, if you survive this, you will become immortal. Though, you may no longer be yourself."

"What are you---" Org started to question.

Before he could finish, however, Bradley injected the red liquid, which happened to be a liquified Philosopher's Stone, into Org's blood stream.

"No! Ahh~~~~~~~~~~! Stop! Please! Make it stop!" Org Screamed at the top of his lungs.

Meanwhile, without paying attention to Org's pained screams, Bradley turned around and addressed the crowd.

"I've heard the last words of the two to be executed. And now---"

"Sorry, but I can't allow this one to die." A bestial male voice said, interrupting Bradley's address to the crowd, who thought that Org has lost his mind because of his impending death.

With the interruption, a hand landed on Bradey's shoulder. And when he turned his head, he saw a young man with shoulder-length blond hair that covered his left eye, a yellow right eye with a slitted pupil, what appeared to be animal ears on the top of his head, and a sadistic grin that showed off a mouthful of sharp, triangular teeth.

"He has information that we want." The young blond man continued. "So, I'll be taking him with me."

At that moment, Alfonzo and Elicia, who recognized the young blond man began to act. While Elicia pulled all the knights away from the execution platform with her threads, Alfonzo raised an adamantine barrier around the platform.

*Boom~~~~~~~~~~!*

A moment later, the sound of a large explosion rocked the entire execution round. However, the force from the blast was sent directly upwards thanks to the cylindrical barrier Alfonzo made to protect the innocent bystanders.