Finding Daybreak

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Shirotsume.

June, x784.

After separating from Elicia, Alfonzo and Lucy chose to go left from the window they used as their point of entry into the Everlue mansion. From there, they opened every door they came across. And they found everything from closets full of cleaning supplies, to an entertainment room, to an indoor pool.

"How the hell do you fit an indoor pool on the third floor?" Alfonzo asked after closing the door to the room with the pool. "I mean, seriously? How thick are the floors in this mansion."

"Maybe it takes up more than one floor?" Lucy aske, unsure about her answer.

"Well, I guess that makes sense." Alfonzo replied as he and Lucy started walking to the next door.

Like that, the duo opened a few more doors as they continued.

Meanwhile, Elicia, acting on her own, spread a large number of ultra-thin threads all around the third floor. This way, not only could she keep track of where Alfonzo and Lucy were, but she would also be able to map the floor.

Unlike Alfonzo's [Magic Power Detection], Elicia's [Thread Detection] does not allow Elicia to gage how powerful the people she detects are. She only detects things through the physical contact people and objects make with her threads.

Alfonzo's [Magic power Detection], on the other hand, does not allow Alfonzo to do any mapping. Since he can only detect things that have magic power in them. So, tools, buildings, and other inanimate objects don't appear in his detection.

Elicia, who, like most of the wizards in their group of friends that were patient enough to learn it, had also learned [Magic Power Detection]. And if she combined the two forms of detection, she would be able to map out an area and follow the movements of any living creatures in her range.

Unfortunately, using both gave too much feedback. So, she could only use them together for a short time.

"Hmm… I think I found something that appears to be an office." Elicia said as she quickly, yet quietly dashed through the mansion. "Hopefully, there is something in there I can use."

Back with Alfonzo and Lucy, they had just closed another door. Until now, they had yet to come across the library. Still, they were amazed by how much useless gold ornamentation they found during their search.

"This guy puts gold on everything." Lucy said with a bit of disgust in her tone. "It's so tacky."

"I don't know why you're surprised." Alfonzo said while walking toward the next door. "I mean look at the maids he claimed to be beautiful."

"Fair point." Lucy said while gritting her teeth and following Alfonzo.

When they eventually reached the next door, Alfonzo opened it carefully, so as not to make too much noise. However, what he saw caused him to freeze in place.

Before the door was a half-bath, or powder room, with a golden toilet and a marble sink with a golden faucet. Although it was a bit… way over the top, that was not enough to cause Alfonzo to freeze. Instead, it was the nearly skeletal maid sitting on the toilet seat, with her legs spread, maid dress hiked up, and feet resting on the toilet seat as well, masturbating while staring lustfully at a golden statue of Everlue placed in the corner of the room.

After his brain finally rebooted, Alfonzo closed the door just as carefully as he had opened it. Then, he turned to the side and vomited all over the floor.

"Alfonzo! Are you okay?" Lucy asked after seeing Alfonzo's condition. Then, she rushed over to him and started rubbing his back in worry. "What did you see? Was there some kind of torture chamber in there?"

Instead of answering immediately, Alfonzo dry heaved a few times before he slowly straightened his back. Then, with the most solemn expression Lucy had seen since she met him, Alfonzo placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Lucy, there are some things that a mortal mind is not equipped to fathom." Alfonzo said, tears welling up in his eyes. "So, I beg you… Please don't make me explain the horrors I just witnessed."

'Is he… crying?' Lucy asked while looking into Alfonzo's eyes. 'What could cause a guy like him to break down like this?'

"Kya~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!" Came a deep, somewhat masculine scream from the other side of the powder room door.

A moment later, with her uniform still disheveled, the skeletal maid swung the door open and pointed an accusing finger at Alfonzo.

"If Duke Everlue finds out I've been seen by another man, he won't love me anymore!" The skeletal maid shrieked while pointing at Alfonzo. "To keep my secret, the two of you have to die. There's nothing I won't do to keep from losing the feeling of that sexy man inside of me."

Once again, Alfonzo could feel his stomach revolting against the situation. Even Lucy's face paled at the thought.

"That's so gross!" Lucy said, flinging herself at the skeletal maid. "No one wants to have that thought in their head. [Lucy Kick]!"

Lucy then threw a high kick that landed on the maid's chin, knocking her out immediately. Then, once she fell backward into the powder room once again, Lucy pulled the door shut. Then, Alfonzo used his [Metal Magic] to seal the door shut.

"We need to get moving." Alfonzo said, still looking a bit sick. "That scream probably alerted most of the mansion."

"Not so fast, intruders." The pink-haired maid who first greeted Lucy outside the mansion shouted as she and three other maids sprinted down the hall toward Alfonzo and Lucy.

"Damn, they reacted fast." Alfonzo said. "[Electromagnetism Magic: Lightning Enhancement]."

With that chant, Alfonzo stimulated his muscles and brain, raising his reaction time. Then, he charged at the group of maids.

In response, the pink-haired maid raised both of her arms and swung her hands down on the approaching Alfonzo. However, with his enhanced reaction speed and physical ability, Alfonzo dodged the smash. Then, he ran past the pink-haired maid and fired the harpoons hidden in his gauntlets at two of the other three maids.

Instead of piercing the maids, however, Alfonzo manipulated harpoons to wrap around the two maids. Then, using a combination of his physical strength and metal manipulation, he swung the two into the other two maids. Resulting in three of the four attacking maids falling unconscious.

The pink-haired maid was able to recover quickly enough, however. So, before Alfonzo could retract the harpoons, she leapt high into the air. Then, using her full body weight, she fell on top of Alfonzo, hoping to crush him under herself.

*Boom!*

"Alfonzo!" Lucy shouted, pulling one of her Celestial Spirit Keys out of her waist pouch.

Before she could summon the spirit, however, Lucy froze when she saw the large, pink-haired maid starting to levitate. A moment later, Alfonzo was standing with his arms extended over his head and holding the hefty maid above him.

"That's a huge bitch." Alfonzo said before he tossed the maid upward.

Then, just as the maid began to fall toward Alfonzo again, he performed a backflip and kicked her into a wall headfirst, leaving her unconscious.

"Alfonzo, are you okay?" Lucy asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alfonzo said, ending his [Lightning Enhancement] Spell. "I probably could have won without exerting myself like that. But we needed to silence them quickly. Now, hurry up. We need to hide them. It should keep us from being discovered for a little while, at least."

With that, Alfonzo and Lucy dragged the four unconscious maids to the powder room with the fifth unconscious maid. Then, once they were all inside, Alfonzo sealed the door by fusing the lock with the door frame.

After that, it only took three more doors to find the library.

"We're supposed to find one book among all these?" Lucy asked while scanning the room with her gaze. "This could take hours."

"Well, there's no other choice." Alfonzo said with a wry smile. "Let's just get started."

Nodding her head, Lucy headed to the nearest bookshelf. Meanwhile, Alfonzo closed his eyes without moving from the entrance of the room.

'If I remember correctly, Daybreak had magic cast on it by Zaleon, or Zekua Melon, to conceal its real contents.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he extended his magic power. 'So, it shouldn't be that hard to find, I hope.'

And just as Alfonzo thought, it didn't take long for Alfonzo to find a few sources of magic power on the bookshelves., narrowing his search down by quite a bit.

Quickly, Alfonzo checked the hits he picked up with his [Magic Power Detection]. Like that, he found the book rather quickly.

"Hey, Lucy, I found it." Alfonzo called out.

"Really, how did you find it so fast?" Lucy asked as she ran over to Alfonzo.

Not holding anything back, Alfonzo explained the steps he took to find the book. Then, he handed it to Lucy.

"What? You want me to be the one to destroy it?" Lucy asked.

"No, I thought you'd want to read it before we finished the job." Alfonzo said with a smile. "Besides, there's some kind of magic cast on it. So, there might be some kind of secret hidden inside."

"Boyoyo! A secret, huh?" Everlue's voice rang through the room.

A moment later, Everlue burst through the floor with his hands clasped behind his back.

"That book has no secrets." Everlue said with a smirk. "I've read it from cover to cover. It's worthless."

"Well, if you don't like it, why don't you let me have it." Lucy said innocently.

"No! It's mine!" Everlue shouted while stomping his feet and waving his arms like a toddler throwing a tantrum. "And you can't have what's mine!"

"Stingy butt." Lucy said quietly while turning her head towards Alfonzo. "Hey, can you keep him busy while I see if there really is something hidden in this book."

"Sure." Alfonzo replied with a smile and a shrug. Then, he started combing his fingers through Lucy's hair. "I feel like slapping some sense into this guy, anyway. I mean, how could he not see how beautiful you are."

With that, Lucy began to blush and smile shyly.

'Calm down, Lucy. He's a playboy, remember?' Lucy thought to herself. 'Still, it's not so bad getting compliments like this.'

'Boyoyo! Did you really think I would act to take care of you myself?" Everlue asked smugly. Then, he snapped his fingers. "Of course, I won't. That's what I hired them for."

As soon as Everlue's words fell, the door to the library opened. Through it, a pair of men walked into the library.

"Allow me to introduce you to the Vanish Brothers of the Southern Wolves Mercenary Guild." Everlue said in a tone that would suggest that he had already won.

The first of the two men was a tall man, about 5'10" (1.78 m) tall with black eyes and a mostly shaved head. The exception being a long braided ponytail of black hair that reached his hips tied off with a white ribbon. He wore what looked the attire of a Chinese martial artist with black accented, white top and black pants. He also carries what appears to be a gigantic frying pan on his back.

The second man was almost twice as tall as the first with black hair style very distinctively with four straight tufts that stick upward on his head. Also, he wore sunglasses that covered his eyes, a blue long-sleeved shirt, white pants, and a black belt.

"Hey Bro, are we sure this guy is a wizard?" The taller of the two asked while observing Alfonzo. "He's not scrawny like the other wizards we've fought.

"Yes, He's got to be, younger brother." The shorter man replied. "He's with that girl from a wizard guild."

"I guess you're right, Bro." The taller man said with a nod.

"Alright, Lucy, you get out of here and figure out what that's book's secret is." Alfonzo said with a smile. Then, he slammed his gauntleted fists together. "I'll deal with these guys and keep them off your tail."

With that, Alfonzo dashed forward, straight toward Everlue. In response, Everlue, just like he had done when eh entered the room, only in reverse, sank into the floor to escape Alfonzo's attack. At the same time, the Vanish Brother's charged forward to engage Alfonzo.

The larger man, first to arrive, threw a punch at Alfonzo's head. Tilting his head to the side, avoiding the incoming punch, Alfonzo was forced to leap back when the smaller man fell from above, swinging his giant frying pan down at Alfonzo's head.

*Clang!*

*Crack!*

Having missed his sneak attack from above, the smaller man's frying pan struck the ground, cracking it from the force. At the same time, the frying pan seemed to have taken no damage at all.

By this point, Lucy had slipped out of the library while the two mercenaries were focused on Alfonzo, who they deemed a threat due to his build.

Instead of waiting for the mercenaries to attack again, Alfonzo charged toward the smaller man, throwing superman punch at his chin. Quickly, the smaller man raised his frying pan to block. At the same time, the larger man stepped to the side and threw a round house kick at Alfonzo's head.

Ducking under the kick, Alfonzo pointed his hands at the two mercenaries. Then, he fired his two harpoons.

"[Electromagnetism Magic: Taser Gun]."Alfonzo chanted.

Immediately, a current of electricity was flowed into the harpoons.

While the larger man narrowly dodged the incoming attack, the smaller man used his frying pan to block.

"Wrong move." Alfonzo said with a smile.

*Clang!*

*Zap!*

"Argh!" The smaller man grunted when the electrical current passed through the frying pan into his hands. Naturally, this caused his grip on the frying pan's handle to loosen.

At the same time, Alfonzo changed the magnetic pulls of the harpoon and the frying pan. Then, when they were firmly stuck together, he yanked it out of the smaller man's hands.He then swung his arm at the larger man, sending the frying pan toward where he just dodged to.

In response, the larger man leapt high into he air, quickly reaching the ceiling. Then, he flipped around, and kicked off the ceiling propelling himself straight at Alfonzo.

"When you watch the sky!" The larger man said with intensity.

"the attack comes from the ground!" The smaller man said, continuing from where his brother left off.

Then, Alfonzo was forced to divert his attention to the smaller man who attacked his legs after recovering from the electric shock.

Raising his left leg to avoid the leg sweep from the smaller man, Alfonzo stomped down hard, barely missing the attacking leg.

"And when you watch the ground!" The smaller man said, just as intensely as his brother.

"The attack comes from the sky!" The larger man said, bringing down an axe kick on Alfonzo.

In response, Alfonzo raised his arms to block the kick. However, at the same time as the successful block, the smaller man kicked him in the chest, sending him flying into a nearby bookcase.

*Bang!*

"Heaven and Earth Extinct Attack!" The two mercenaries said in unison.

"I'll admit, he was better than I expected." The smaller of the men said while approaching his frying pan.

"Yeah, he fought with his body and magic." The taller man said. "But he was still no match for our combo attack."

"Indeed." The smaller man said while picking up his frying pan.

At that moment, Alfonzo's harpoons were retracted and headed toward the bookshelf Alfonzo crashed into.

"Yeah, that was a pretty good attack." Alfonzo said while picking himself up from the pile of books that fell off the bookshelf when he slammed into it.

"What!?" The Vanish Brothers exclaimed in unison.

"But, you'll have to hit harder than that to keep me down." Alfonzo said with a battle hungry grin. "Now, let's start round two. [Electromagnetism Magic: Thunderclap and Flash]."

Although Alfonzo stole the name from Demon Slayer, the move was different. As soon as he finished chanting his spell, Alfonzo clad his body in electricity, pushing his [Lightning Enhancement] spell to its limits. Then, he clapped his hands together strongly, producing a loud noise and a bright flash, much like a flash bang.

With his lightning enhanced body, Alfonzo dashed forward while the Vanish Brothers were disoriented. First, he threw an uppercut into the taller one's diaphragm, causing him to bend forward. Then, he raised a knee into his face, breaking his nose. Alfonzo then followed up with an axe handle smash to the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.

All the while, the smaller of the two was unable to hear the beating his brother was receiving due to the ringing in his ears. On top of that, his eyes were still irritated from the sudden bright flash. So, he did not notice Alfonzo approaching until it was too late.

The smaller man realized he was in a bad situation when his head was snapped back and he was sent flying straight up by a kick from Alfonzo. He realized things were even worse when eh felt that his body was being wrapped up by the previously retracted harpoons. After all that, he heard the sound of his opponent's voice, though still muffled, in his ear.

"[Electromagnetism Magic: Primary Lotus]." Alfonzo chanted as he ran an electrical current into the harpoons.

While the electric current was causing the smaller mercenary's body to spasm and go numb, Alfonzo started spinning himself and the smaller mercenary before flipping them over so that they would fall headfirst onto the floor.

"*Boom!*

A moment later, Alfonzo slammed the mercenary into the floor while flinging himself away at the last possible moment. Then, he looked down at his beaten opponents.

"That didn't' take as long as I thought it would." Alfonzo said. "It shouldn't take too long to catch up to Lucy. I wonder if Lici found anything on Everlue? I mean, everything about that guy screams corruption and pompous arrogance. So, he probably didn't even hide the evidence of his dirty deeds."