The Semi-Finals; Part 1

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

October 15, x784.

"Team Alzack and Team Steel Threads are present. Now, the semi-finals will begin." Makarov declared, the dignified expression that was present throughout the round of eight present on his face once again. "Now, before the matches begin, I'll be announcing a slight change to the format for the semi-finals and the finals."

In response, not only the remaining teams in the tournament, but all the spectators quieted down in curiosity at Makarov's declaration.

"From this point forward, the two on two match will follow the first one on one match." Makarov announced. "The reason behind this change is simple, more wizards are guaranteed to have a chance to fight, even if the match ends after only two rounds. With that said, both teams, send your first fighters to the ring."

While the spectators were excited by the slight change in the tournament's format, the remaining teams were forced to rethink their strategies for the upcoming matches.

"Go ahead, Sun." Alfonzo said, patting Sun on the back.

Nodding in response, Sun gripped her shirasaya a little tighter before she hopped into the ring.

"I'm surprised you aren't worried." Elicia said, snuggling up to Alfonzo's side as she spoke. "What if they send up Mystogan to try and clinch the first victory."

"That just means I have bad luck." Alfonzo replied while glancing at Mystogan, who rejoined his team just as they gathered at ring side with a new mask on his face. "On the other hand, Sun would get some experience fighting a wizard who is more than a bit stronger than her."

"Are you saying there is no way that Sun could beat Mystogan?" Marin asked curiously while glancing at Elicia enviously.

"Of course he's not." Elicia said with a smile, hopping over to Marin and wrapping her in a hug after seeing her envious glances. "Sun has what it takes to beat Mystogan. But she's lacking in both raw power and experience."

"Lici's right." Alfonzo added. "It would really come down to if Sun could get close enough to land a decisive blow or not."

"Oh, I get it." Marin replied with a nod.

Fortunately, Sun did not have to worry about trying to find a way to defeat Mystogan as Max hopped into the ring less than a second after she landed on it.

In fact, Mystogan had every intention of fighting in the first round. However, when he noticed Alfonzo ushering Sun forward, he decided not to. Just like Alfonzo was looking forward to facing him in battle, he was also looking forward to testing himself against Alfonzo.

"Max Alors of Team Alzack Vs. Sun Seto of Team Steel Threads. Are you both ready?" Makarov asked as he glanced at the two fighters in the ring. Then, after receiving a nod from both, he announced the beginning of the match. "Very well… Begin!"

While Makarov's announcement was still echoing over the venue, Sun bent her knees before shooting off in Max's direction.

In response, Max materialized a large amount of sand around his right hand before lashing his arm in Sun's direction.

"[Sandstorm Magic: Sand Slash]." Max chanted as the sand around his hand elongated towards Sun in the form of a whip.

Seeing the incoming sand whip, Sun first ducked under the horizontal swipe. However, Max continued to wave his arm once his initial strike missed. So, with the sand whip striking at her from different directions, Sun was forced to stop her charge. Unsheathing her blade, she began to slice at the whip in order to gain herself some breathing room.

Although Sun was able to cleave through the sand whip with every swing of her sword, Max would simply push more magic power into the spell and bring the previously cut whip to its former state. On top of that, Sun was starting to get wary of all the sand that was piling up on top of the ring.

"[Water/Sword Compound Magic: Third Form: Flowing Dance]." Sun chanted as her blade was coated in [Water Magic].

With her chant, Sun's movements changed. Instead of violently cutting at the sand whip, she began to move more gracefully as she and her blade moved forward in a winding pattern.

On top of making the sand more difficult to control after it began to clump up thanks to the water, Sun was also able to begin closing the distance between herself and Max. As an added bonus, the water that splashed off her sword every time it made contact with the sand whips also dampened the sand on the ring, as well.

"Tch!" Max clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Of course, she'd use water. I guess I better make use of all the extra sand before it's too late. [Sandstorm Magic: Sand Rebellion]."

Similar to, but different from, the spell he used against Natsu, Max manipulated the sand laying all over the ring to swirl around Sun. And with The swirling sand surrounding her, Sun was forced to bring her [Flowing Dance] to an early end.

Looking around at the current situation, Sun was quick to react, having seen Max use the same spell against Natsu.

"[Water/Sword Compound Magic: Sixth Form: Whirlpool]." Sun chanted as she slashed her blade while making a full turn.

As she spun in place, a number of pressurized blades of water were mixed with the turbulent air flow her numerous slashes created. As a result, the water blades shredded the swirling sands that surrounded her, dispersing it in all directions.

"[[Water/Sword Compound Magic: Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust]." Sun chanted once again as she stopped spinning.

In the next instant, Sun's magic power was focused on her legs and she shot towards Max at a much greater speed than before with her blade drawn back, ready to thrust forward once she was in range.

"[Sandstorm Magic: Sand Wall]." Max chanted, generating a large amount of sand between himself and Sun.

*Poof!*

A moment later, the newly generated sand compressed itself into a wall that block the path between Max and Sun. However, as soon as it was formed, Sun blasted threw it with her shirasaya extended forward.

"Damn it!" Max exclaimed as he threw himself to the right, narrowly avoiding the tip of Sun's blade that was aimed at his left shoulder.

Not giving Max the time to recover, Sun followed up by slashing down at Max, who was still rolling across the ring.

In response, Max generated more sand on his left hand and pressed it against the ring after dodging the follow up slash.

"[Sandstorm Magic: Quicksand]." Max chanted as he pushed himself off the ring.

Meanwhile, the sand on Max's hand spread out, rushing past Sun's feet, slightly destabilizing her balance. A moment later, however, it rushed back to Max's hand, completely disrupting her balance.

Taking advantage of Sun's bad footing, Max shot up to his feet and swung his left hand at Sun, sending the sand forth in a wave.

"[Sandstorm Magic: Sand Wave]." Max chanted as the torrent of sand surged towards Sun.

Regaining her footing, Sun eyed the incoming sand wave. Then, she sheathed her blade and sharply inhaled. Exhaling just as sharply, she dropped into an iaido stancebefore drawing her sword while channeling as much magic power as she could into the swing and the space in front of her.

"Water/Sword Compound Magic: Secret Form: Tidal Wave]." Sun chanted while slashing her blade.

Faster than most could follow with their eyes, Sun slashed her sword at the incoming wave of sand. A moment after she completed her swing, a mass of water materialized in front of her before shooting forward in the form of a massive wave, propelled by the air pressure generated by her slash.

In the next instant, the wave of sand and the wave of water made contact before the water washed over the sand and Max, who was positioned right behind it. However, before Max could be washed away, Sun rushed forward, placed her mouth on the back of the wave she created, and cast her [Howling Voice] into the water.

An instant later, Max could be seen opening his mouth with a pained expression on his face. On top of that, the blood that leaked from his open mouth dyed the water red as it eventually washed past him, who was now lying on the ring, and splashed on the ground outside the ring.

Soaked from the spell Sun cast, Max struggled to raise himself to his feet. After a few moments, Max did manage to raise himself to his knees. However, the soundwave that struck him at nearly five times the normal speed of sound did quite the damage. As a result, his body gave out before he could raise it any further and he collapsed back to the ring.

"Max Alors is unable to battle." Makarov declared once Max fell to the ring again. "Winner of the round, Sun Seto from Team steel Threads."

As they had with every fight, the crowd exploded into cheers. Meanwhile, Sun sheathed her sword again before rushing over to Max.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sun asked with some worry in her tone.

"*Cough* Not really." Max replied with a wry smile on his face and blood dripping from his lips. "But I'll live."

"I'm sorry." Sun said, tears pooling in her eyes, as she reached down to help Max up. "I didn't mean to---"

"Don't worry about it, Sun" Max said, cutting off the rest of Sun's sentence while she lifted him from the ring and lent him a shoulder. "Everyone in the guild knows that you would never hurt someone if you could help it."

'Besides, if you cry because of me, I get the feeling both Alfonzo and Gozaburo will kick my ass.' Max thought as he winced at the prospect.

Seeing Sun's show of sportsmanship and comradery, the crowd cheered even louder as they watched her help Max off the ring and towards the medical station.

"What the hell…" Alzack muttered while he watched Sun carry Max away. "Her [Howling Voice] is even more dangerous in water."

"Yeah, that was crazy." Bisca added with a nod while subconsciously grabbing Alzack by the arm.

A moment later, both Alzack and Bisca noticed the position they were in and quickly separated with blushes on their faces.

"Sorry I didn't…" Bisca murmured in embarrassment.

"It's okay, I don't mind." Alzack replied, just as embarrassed.

Alzack and Bisca both froze at the implications behind Alzack's statement. However, neither of them knew how to continue the topic. So, they fell silent instead.

"Although it is rather interesting to see you two interact like this…" Mystogan said, breaking the silence that was quickly turning awkward. "… The two of you should prepare yourselves for the next round. Your opponents will not be easy to deal with."

Alzack and Bisca straightened up after hearing Mystogan's voice. Realizing that they would have to fight Alfonzo and/or Elicia in the next round, their expressions turned serious very quickly. Though the flush on their faces did not go away quite as quickly.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ring.

"So, she finished her [Secret Form], huh?" Elicia asked with a pout as she watched Sun helping Max to the medical station. "She didn't even tell us."

"It wouldn't be much of a secret if she did." Alfonzo replied with a smile. Then, he lightly shook his head as he continued. "But still, using the air pressure from her swing to push forward the wall of water she summoned in front of her like a tidal wave, that's pretty fucking bad ass."

"And you were wrong about her having to get close enough to land a decisive blow if she were to fight with Mystogan." Elicia pointed out with a cheeky smile on her face.

"Yeah, I guess I was." Alfonzo replied with a shrug.

"Technically, I should be able to do that, too, if I can swing my daggers fast enough, right?" Marin asked, her eyes sparkling after seeing Sun's newest spell.

"Yeah." Alfonzo replied with a nod, subconsciously combing his fingers through Marin's hair as he did. "In fact, the heavier you can make your daggers when you do it, the more effective it would be. The effect would multiply if you made them longer, too."

'Sun's physiology as a mermaid makes it much easier for her to gain the required physical strength to do something so ridiculous, though.' Alfonzo thought to himself, not wanting to put a damper on Marin's enthusiasm.

"Sweet!" Marin cheered, clenching her fists as she brought them up into a guts pose. "I'm gonna make my own uber-cool air pressure slash, too. Just you wait."

"If that's the plan, you should learn some [Dagger Magic], too." Elicia added. "It would make it easier to get the daggers up to the proper speed."

In response, Marin nodded energetically.

"I'm glad you're so energized." Alfonzo said with a smile. "Because you and Lici are up next."

Freezing for a moment at Alfonzo's words, Marin's excited expression quickly turned into one filled with determination.

"Come on, Lici!" Marin shouted. "We've got a fight to win."

As Marin walked away, Elicia snuggled up to Alfonzo once again.

"Do you want us to lose the match on purpose? You know, so you can fight Mystogan?" Elicia asked quietly.

*Smack!*

"Eek!" Elicia yelped as Alfonzo slapped her ass.

"As much as I want to fight Mystogan, don't say stuff like that, Lici." Alfonzo admonished. "Go all-out. Well, not all-out. Let Marin fight, too."

"*Sigh* Fine." Elicia said with a pout. Though she was hiding the excitement she felt from having her ass slapped behind it. "Basically, you want me to fight normally. No using my threads to just take their weapons away and hold them at gun point, right?"

"Right." Alfonzo replied with a nod and a smile. Then, he leaned down and planted a kiss on Elicia's cheek. "Good luck and have fun out there."

With Alfonzo's kiss, Elicia's pout disappeared instantly, giving way to a bright smile. Then, she skipped away from Alfonzo and followed Marin to the ring.