The sun set, the second day of Ishgar's Strongest coming to a close. The streets were quiet and most were preparing for the third day of the tournament; the halfway point. But the night was still young. Pergrande's team was far too good to settle for sharing a space with anyone else and had their own building in Crown City. King Ashnard sat upon the mini throne, staring at Mii angrily. Her stunt earlier in the day did annoy the King, as long as Mii's team members. Blair and Lucia were the only two absent; Blair attending to Al Dente! while Lucia was meeting with Zelos. "What do you have to say for yourself?" Ashnard asked Mii.
"I'm pretty hungry." Mii shrugged her shoulders. That cheeky response did not tide over well with the others.
"What the hell is your problem!?" Keele snarled, getting in Mii's face. "What are you doing, throwing your fight like that!?"
"Yeah, we don't have the time for your stupid antics!" Aki said, glaring at Mii. "You could have won that fight easily, but you insisted on fooling around instead! We could've had an even larger lead if you didn't waste your time babysitting that child."
"Oh, so you're gonna try blaming Mii now?" Mii shrugged her shoulders yet again. "It won't be my fault if your sister ends up falling to her sickness. I'm just one member of the team…so you're just gonna have to work harder to pick up my slack. Granted, I really don't care what happens to your sister." That comment made Aki wrap his hand tightly around her throat, causing him to scowl. "Oh no…he's angry at Miiiiii!" Mii stuck her tongue out, even as Aki intended to crush her windpipe.
Aki held a fierce glare at Mii's lazy stare. "I could crush your throat right now! Don't play with me!"
"Hah…I've been through worse. What are you gonna do? Haunt my dreams and make wish I was dead? There's nothing you can do that will bother Mii, so give it up!" Mii's uncaring attitude made it extremely difficult to find a suitable punishment for her. Aki did give up and let her go.
"She's not worth the effort." Zell said while flipping through his book. "There is nothing more she has to offer for the time being, so there is no concern in her actions."
Elly was rubbing her bandaged arm. She was still thinking about the event earlier in the day. "We cannot leave her to her own machinations, though. We must keep a watchful eye on her after that little stunt."
"There is no cause for concern." Ashnard stood up from his seat. "She will behave. She wouldn't want anything to happen to that guild, after all. This meeting is over. You're all to rest for tomorrow."
Mii's expression shifted just slightly. "Kch…"
"…" Keele and Cloud didn't exactly take to being ordered around like this. Not by Ashnard of all people.
Ashnard glanced over his shoulder. "You aren't off the hook, street rat." The King told Keele. He hadn't forgotten about hearing Keele rooting for Natsu during the confrontation earlier in the day. "Another outburst like that, and who knows what fate may befall your sister?" As he said this, he left.
Keele was about to lunge, but Aki kept him in check. "Don't…and I want to, too…"
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Meredy and Ultear were sitting upon a roof, looking over Crown City. Meredy let out an extremely heavy sigh, thinking back to the events earlier. "That was way too tense. I thought for sure Natsu was gonna lose an arm!"
"That situation exploded so suddenly." Ultear sighed. "I knew he was crazy, but to think he'd try and take on the King of Pergrande. He isn't one of the strongest mages in the world without reason."
"I know…" Meredy tucked her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "My magic had no effect on him at all. I couldn't even establish a link. I thought I could help, but whatever is protecting him is exceptionally powerful."
That's when Jellal arrived, landing behind them with his arms crossed. "Ashnard isn't our concern at that moment, though I cannot say he doesn't warrant a glance or two."
"How's Erza?" Ultear asked without even looking back.
"She's still wounded." Jellal replied. "I didn't think they were spare healing expenses. It seems as though if you didn't bring your own healers, you're out of luck."
"That's a bit dirty." Meredy mumbled. "But if you're wondering how the investigation is going, it's spotty. We tried to sneak into Crown Castle while all attention was focused on the tournament, but it was heavily guarded. But on the bright side, we know that Waltz is definitely hiding something! I also thought it was really strange how passive he was in letting Ashnard interrupt things…he just let it happen!"
"That…and I can't shake the feeling that we're being tracked." Ultear admitted. "I wasn't able to see anyone, but there's no doubt in my mind we're being watched."
"I see…" Jellal muttered. "Take caution, you two. I don't know what the Count is hiding, but it's a dangerous secret. Everything in Joya must be connected somehow; the high taxes, the strict medicine, his acquisition of Damascus…"
"Don't worry about it." Ultear smiled, waving Jellal off. "Focus on fighting. Meredy and I will get to the bottom of this before the week is over, you can trust us."
"Yeah, we'll solve this!" Meredy beamed.
This caused Jellal to smile. He could always rely on these two. "I know."
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Crown Castle. The members of Joya's team were all kneeling before the Count, while Beat was directly in front of Waltz. "Beat. I am severely disappointed in you." Before Beat could even manage a defense, Count Waltz used his bejeweled glove to backhand the child with enough force to send him flying backwards.
"Beat!" Retto moved to help, but Jazz held him back.
"You attempted to defy my orders and commit a crime. Defying my order could be grounds for severe punishment." Waltz adjusted his glove. "However, considering you also put us on the board, you are spared. Granted it was a charity act…"
"I-I'm sorry…" Beat looked down. There was a red mark on his cheek from where Waltz had struck. "It's just…that angel! She wasn't the only one! She's the first of many to come soon, I can sense it! They're biding their time, waiting to attack just like they did a few years ago!" His mind flashed back to the angelic descent on Crocus. He was even younger back then, witnessing those angels take away everything he loved.
"You can settle your vendetta at any time after this tournament. But you will not disobey me again, do you understand?" Waltz crossed one leg over the other, practically glaring at the boy.
"Y-Yes…" Beat looked down.
"Yeesh." Yukia rolled her eyes, her attention going to her lacrima device.
"Now then…we'll be facing off against Midi again." Waltz said.
"What, again?" Polka said while walking over to Beat, using her magic to heal his cheek.
"Are you certain that is a wise matchup?" Yeager asked. "After all, they are a rather threatening team altogether. I fear even us Hunters won't be able to take on more than one of them, even if we attacked in trios."
"That is not something you need to worry about." Waltz said confidently. "Two days into this tournament and I've already figured every single team out. When it comes to using multiple members, the divide is even. Four teams will, and four teams won't. Midi, Pergerande, Alvarez, and Minstrel all have too much pride in their own strength to use more than a single fighter; Fiore, Bosco, and Seven will likely use more than one starting tomorrow, since the scoring is only going to pick up from this point on. The advantage in numbers is where we will strike."
"Oooh! He's thought this out!" Marx said while bouncing around.
"As expected of the Count." Rondo waved a hand.
"And what of tomorrow's event?" Tuba asked.
This made Waltz smirk. "I'm glad you asked, Tuba. You see, there's been some excess trash building up in the dungeon as of late and it's apparently too much for the run of the mill guard to take care of. I think it's about time we do some spring cleaning, and the rest of Ishgar is going to help us with that."
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"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Zelos asked Lucia while leaning against the brick wall.
"I just wanted to inform you that Fiore would be facing off against Alvarez tomorrow." Lucia said.
This caused Zelos' face to pale. "Oh, is that so? Well, I wish you would have texted me before I decided to take the stage!"
"Oh?" Lucia quirked a brow. "Well, this works out in our favor, actually. Because I have an order for you. You have to throw your fight."
"What!?" Zelos' eyes widened. "Now, Lucia-chan, you know me. You know that I cannot give a false performance in front of hundreds of women! Plus, I cannot just 'throw' a battle! They saw me try; they know what I can do. Ah…to be cursed with genius, angelic looks, and immeasurable strength. I have no flaws to act on! Why must I be the total package!?"
Lucia ran a hand through her long blue hair. Zelos did present a point: it would be suspicious. "I figured you'd say that. They'd know if you weren't trying against a Spriggan 12. Which is why we've come up with an easier solution. I'm sorry for what's about to happen, but my hands are tied, since I technically can't get physically involved with the competition outside of tournament hours."
Cue numerous question marks appearing above Zelos' head. "Eh?" And in the next instant, a magical rope suddenly tied and restrained him! "Gah!?" Before he knew it, he was dangling in the air! "Are you kidnapping me!?"
"Boss's orders!" Marta said from the building above. The non-magical genius of the Hunters always had anti-magic tools at her disposal. The rope sealed off magic and thus left Zelos hanging in the morning.
"Don't struggle…" Weavel dropped down, hoisting Zelos over his shoulder. "It's only for tomorrow."
"Wait! But I need to moisturize my hair in the morning! You can't do this to me-!" And a gag was stuffed into Zelos' mouth to keep him from making too much noise.
"Sorry, but this needs to be as convincing as possible. Surely you understand?" Lucia waved as Weavel carried Zelos off. "They'll let you go as soon as the event ends tomorrow. Have fun~!"
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The sun shone brightly on Crown Stadium! The crowd was roaring in anticipation and excitement as day 3 of Ishgar's Strongest began! "Good morning everyone! I'm your host, Chapati Lola, excited to welcome you all to day 3 of Ishgar's Strongest! This is the halfway point of the tournament, so I'm sure you can expect plenty of surprising moves from every team involved!"
"Halfway already? My, how time flies." Empress Song hummed. "I wonder if things will be as exciting as the midway point of yesterday?"
"Yesterday was something else, wasn't it?" Ice admitted.
"It's not every day you see someone challenge Ashnard." Calium chuckled quietly. "He's usually so particular about who he encounters. I was surprised to hear him accept it, even if it was only to display dominance. That's Ashy for you." That nickname clearly irritated Pergrande's King and Calium knew it.
"Pssh…Ashy…" Helena snickered. Professionalism was tossed out the window and she had to refrain from laughing.
"Now, here is the scoreboard!" Chapati exclaimed.
Pergrande: 25
Fiore: 20
Alvarez: 20
Bosco: 20
Seven: 10
Midi: 10
Joya: 10
Minstrel: 10
"As you can see, despite the numerous changes to the board, Pergrande has remained on top for 2 days in a row, even after being unable to score a single point yesterday! Their dominance over the tournament is strong, but will today be the day that all changes!?" Chapati questioned.
"And, for those who have forgotten…" Count Waltz began. "Starting from yesterday, the events scoring will match that of the highest scoring fight on the same day. Yesterday was 20, but I do wonder if it will go beyond that."
Erza was well enough to walk and watch the fights in person by this point, but not to fight. She looked around, a bit of a frown on her lips. "I haven't seen Zelos…"
"We haven't seen him since he left last night." Luke crossed his arms. "He better show up soon. He said he'd be fighting today."
"Hey, look at that." Bacchus pointed at Midi's section. "Looks like that sand guy caught the axe!"
"Huh? Hey, he's right!" Sting blinked. Now there was a robed person that they couldn't quite make out from that distance. "Ajeel is gone, but…who is that they replaced him with?"
"…." Lucy felt a strong chill rush down her spine. "…? Something about that person…feels familiar…?"
"Yeah…" Natsu nodded in agreement. He couldn't make out her scent, though. Due to all the familiar scents swirling around Midi's area, it was too difficult to discern.
"Who is that?" Erza narrowed her eyes. She hadn't felt this strange about a person since…
Emeraude glanced towards the mysterious person Midi now had on their side. "…"
"Em?" Emerald tilted her head. This wasn't just her daughter being cautious. This was her daughter…being on edge? Who was that person that captured her attention?
"It's nothing." Emeraude replied.
"Now then, let us get started with the fights for today." Waltz said. "Our first fight of the day: Seven vs Bosco!"
"Oooh! Cosmic Star vs Dealer!" Happy placed his paws on his cheeks. "I always wanted to see those two fight it out!"
"Me too!" Natsu agreed. Those two idiots had wide grins on their faces.
"Well, the longer it takes for us to fight, the higher of a chance Zelos will show up." Minerva couldn't help but feel that something was off, though. Something about today just hung an ominous aura in the air that she couldn't shake and it bugged her.
"Daigo. Let us be off." Heartless said, wandering towards the arena.
"Yes." Daigo bowed. Today it would be him and Heartless taking the ring!
Verona stretched her arms into the air, yawning as she stood up. "I wanna fight, if you don't mind. I've been stale for so long, I'm afraid I've gotten rusty!"
"Do you think you can do this on your own? They are fairly tough!" Alex warned. "If you think you need help, I'll be happy to come with you!"
"Aw, you're adorable!" The dual haired woman poked Alex's nose. "But I should be all right! I'll just need some time to get back into the swing of things. As a member of Cosmic Star, I promise I won't let you down~" With that, Verona skipped towards the arena.
"She's got a lot of pep in her step." Yakuza rolled his eyes. Any form of excitement felt absolutely draining to the loner.
"And it looks like we have our first fight of day 3, everyone!" Chapati exclaimed. "Verona Partheon of Bosco vs Clarissa Heart and Daigo of Seven! Which side will surpass the other and climb even higher in the ranks! This battle could go either way!"
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Next Time: The Invincible Woman.
