Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Akane Beach.
June 1, x792.
*Bang!*
The punch Elicia threw was powerful enough to ripple the wind as her fist passed. And when the blow landed on Bianca's elbow, which she lowered to block the punch, it sounded as though a gun had just been fired.
"Oh!" Bianca exclaimed as her eyes lit up with excitement. "It looks like little Lici has been training hard. Good, this should be fun."
As soon as she finished speaking, Bianca's left fist, which had been lowered along with her elbow, shot up towards the tip of Elicia's chin. However, Elicia reacted quickly, tilting her head back just enough to evade by less than an inch.
Yet, before Elicia could counterattack, she leaned back much more as a condensed shockwave was fired past the place where her head was just located.
However, thank to Elicia's flexible fighting style, she was still able to launch a counterattack, as she bent her back into a bridge, put her hands on the deck, and flipped backwards, sending the tips of her boots at Bianca's chin in return.
At the same time, when Elicia's hands were in contact with the deck, she forced several of her threads into the seams between the boards. Though, without [Magic Power Detection] neither Neinhart, Bianca, nor Orlando noticed.
*Bang!*
Meanwhile, Bianca quickly raised her arms to block Elicia's kick. And just like before, another loud sound of impact sounded. However, Bianca was not able to maintain her footing, as the force behind Elicia's kick lifted her off the deck and sent her flying back a short distance. {Pic}
"Geez, Dad." Elicia said as she flipped back onto her feet. "Sneak attacks aren't the way you should treat the daughter whose been missing you for more than twenty years."
"Sorry, Sweetheart." Orlando replied as he pointed his hands behind him and shot himself forward with a pair of shockwaves. "I'd rather not be fighting you at all. But I can't really do anything about it."
"*Sigh*I know." Elicia replied while ducking under the kick Orlando threw once he was in range. She then made a quarter turn to evade an overhand right from Bianca, who had recovered during the short break in their fight. "Still, I really don't like this. I'm gonna kick that guy's butt so hard after this."
"Good." Bianca said as she threw a flurry of heavy punches at Elicia's head and torso. "Beat the shit outta him for me, too."
"Of course." Elicia said with a smile. A moment later, however, her smile turned into a pout. "Tch! You put your [Dispel Magic] around him, too, Auntie Bianca?"
"Oh, you noticed already?" Bianca asked. "I guess you tried to attack him already, huh? I didn't even notice."
"[Camouflage Magic] is good for hiding stuff." Elicia said with a cheeky grin.
After speaking her piece, Elicia once again rushed towards Bianca. Then, when she was within range, she was forced to duck her head to avoid a right hook. She then twisted her torso to evade a left knee strike aimed at her sternum. After that, she reached out to grab Bianca's raised leg.
Realizing that she would not be able to pull her leg back before Elicia could grab it, Bianca tensed her muscles to try and throw her off once the grab was locked in. Yet, when she saw Elicia's arms wrap around her thigh, she was confused when she did not feel the sensation of being grabbed.
"Shit!" Bianca growled as she lowered her leg and whipped her head in Neinhart's direction. "She actually used that damn [Camouflage Magic] right after telling me about it."
*Bang!*
"Argh!"
Yet, when Bianca looked at Neinhart, he was still standing there with his smug smile frozen on his face after seeing Elicia's arms phase through Bianca's leg. A moment later, Orlando's painful groan caused both Bianca and Neinhart to snap their heads in his direction.
When they did, they saw Elicia standing where Orlando once stood with her right leg high above her head. Meanwhile, Orlando was rising into the air with his head snapped back and blood flowing out of his mouth. {Pic}
"Sorry, Dad…" Elicia muttered before she vanished from where she stood in a burst of speed.
In the next instant, Elicia appeared behind Orlando with her [Thread Magic] seeping from her hands and moving to wrap around Orlando's arms and torso.
*Psst!*
Yet, just as the threads were about to touch Orlando, they were dispelled, causing them to disappear completely.
"Tch!" Elicia clicked her tongue in annoyance. "She used it on him, too."
Even so, Elicia was not deterred. Instead, she tightly wrapped her arms around her father's arms and torso. And the strength in those arms was more than enough to surprise Orlando, as he was unable to break free from Elicia's grasp.
A moment later, Elicia had reoriented hers and Orlando's positions, pointing their heads towards the deck, and forced them both into a rapid spin. {Pic}
*Boom!*
*Splash!*
A moment later, before Bianca could reach them, Elicia and Orlando crashed through the deck, and all the levels below, before the sound of a splash could be heard from the hole they created.
Then, a blue and white blur shot out of the hole before a column of water followed.
"Yeah, there was no way in the world I was getting my hair wet." Elicia muttered while looking at the water spout.
"How?" Neinhart muttered. "How could you fight someone whom you should have longed to see again with no mercy?"
Instead of replying to Neinhart's muttering, Elicia turned towards Bianca and once again took her fighting stance.
"Sorry, Auntie Bianca, I'm gonna have to finish this quick." Elicia said as she dashed forward. "Like I said, I don't' wanna get my hair wet. And as big as the hole at the bottom of the ship is, it's not gonna last too long before it sinks."
"Stop talking and just do it." Bianca replied with a sneer. "Just don't let that asshole get away."
"Of course." Elicia said with anger shining in her eyes. "No one gets to desecrate my memories of you and Dad. He's definitely gonna whish he never used that magic today when I'm done with him."
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!!*
With that, Elicia and Bianca rushed forward. And in the blink of an eye, they collided, throwing a flurry of blows at each other. Blocks, parries, landed blows, dodges, punches, kicks, and all sorts of martial arts techniques passed between the two.
As time passed, the angry expressions the two women wore began to turn into excited smiles. And when they saw the smiles on each other's faces, it came as no surprise to either Elicia or Bianca.
For Elicia, when growing up, there was no one she looked up to more than Bianca. The only thing she ever disapproved of when it came to her personality was the amount of swearing that came out of her mouth. As for everything else, Elicia wished she could be just like Bianca. Her strength, her beauty, her take no nonsense attitude. Those things were everything Elicia thought a strong woman should be like. So, getting to fight her like this was something of a dream come true.
As for Bianca, seeing her partner and best friend's daughter having grown into someone so strong was just as fulfilling. The only thing she had to complain about at this point was not getting to see just how strong her son had grown.
But like all good things, the fight between Elicia and Bianca eventually came to an end.
Slipping a right cross, Elicia lowered herself and swept both legs at Bianca's knees. However, Bianca reacted quickly, hopping over the leg sweep. Elicia then followed up by pushing off the ground into a hand stand and continuing her spin, flinging both legs at Bianca's abdomen.
Lowering her arms, Bianca was able to block Elicia's kick, but she was forced back several steps. And by the time she regained her footing, Elicia was flipping through the air with her feet aimed at the phantom of her mother in law's face.
Once again, Bianca was able to get her arms in position to block. Unfortunately, the hasty repositioning of her arms blocked her own line of sight for a moment. A moment that Elicia did not fail to take advantage of.
Putting her flexibility and acrobatics to use, Elicia aborted the kick to the head. Instead, she let herself fall a little lower before wrapping her legs around Bianca's waist. Then, with a twist of her body, she swung around to Bianca's back, bent her waist, and wrapped her arms around the phantom's right shoulder and neck, putting her in a submission hold while jerking herself backwards to fall down to the deck.
"Damn..." Bianca muttered through strained breathing as Elicia tightened her hold. "You definitely didn't learn this shit from me."
"Nope~." Elicia replied cheerfully. "Fonzie came up with this fighting style for me when he realized how flexible and acrobatic I am."
"Then, he did a good fucking job." Bianca replied with a smile. "You move around so much, it's hard to get a bead on you."
"Yeah." Elicia said, her smile turning noticeably more downcast.
"Knock that shit out." Bianca said sternly. "You beat me. Be proud. And next time you see him, tell Zo that I'm proud of him."
"I will..." Elicia replied while trying to sound a little happier. "Well then, goodbye, Auntie--- No… Mom."
Hearing Elicia's change in her term of address, Bianca smiled. Then...
*Crack!*
... Elicia, with a sad expression, jerked her arms. The sickening sound of bones breaking and the way the light vanished from Bianca's eyes before she faded into motes of magic power marking the end of the fight.
With tears streaming down her cheeks, Elicia stayed on the deck for a little while longer. Yet, she did not forget about Neinhart.
"What is this!" Neinhart's panicked shout sounded a moment later.
Hearing that, a grim smile appeared on Elicia's face as she slowly stood up. When she did, she turned to look at Neinhart, who was being hoisted up by a number of her threads that had popped out from behind him through the cabin's walls.
"Like I told you, you made a big mistake using them against me." Elicia said as she slowly walked towards Neinhart. And I'm gonna make sure you understand that to the fullest extent that I am able."
As she spoke, Elicia let her threads creep into the gaps in Neinhart's armor. And when he felt them congregating at his crotch, the color in his face drained completely.
"No, you can't do that!" Neinhart shrieked like a pig being slaughtered. "Anything, I'll do anything. Just please don't do what you're thinking!"
"Oh, and what is it that I'm thinking~?" Elicia asked in a playful tone. "Please, why don't you tell me what I'm thinking? I'd really like to know."
Yet, before Neinhart could respond, the flagship lurched, as the amount of water it was taking on was affecting its buoyancy.
"Oh, but before you do, we should probably relocate." Elicia said while looking at the sea, which was quite a bit closer to the deck than it was when she first landed on the ship. "I'll need to move these guys, too. I'm not a killer, after all."
With that, Elicia started moving the subdued soldiers to the shore. And for some reason that Neinhart could not fathom at the moment, she also cut off the ships mast and moved it to the shore, as well.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
About an hour later, Cana, Marin, and Sun finished dealing with the soldiers on the other ships before returning to the shore. But when they did, they heard the repeated sounds of flesh striking flesh.
However, with the use of [Magic Power Detection], they already knew that Elicia was not fighting anyone. Rather, it seemed like she was hitting some kind of magical sandbag.
Exchanging glances, Cana, Marin, and Sun rushed to where they could sense Elicia's presence. And when they did, they all froze in shock.
"What the hell?" Cana muttered in disbelief.
"Is that... Lici?" Marin asked in a breathless whisper.
"She looks so... angry." Sun pointed out.
What the three saw was Elicia unleashing a flurry of powerful blows on a defenseless man strung up by her [Thread Magic] on a mast that had clearly been broken off from one of the warships and planted into the sand on the beach outside Alfonzo's and Elicia's villa. ON top of that, there were dozens of Alvarez Empire soldiers strewn about the beach watching the beating one of the Spriggan 12 was receiving.
For the next few minutes, everyone on the beach watched Elicia beat Neinhart senseless. But the beating did eventually come to an end. And when it did, Neinhart was left wearing a broken suit of armor with blood and bruises covering his exposed skin. {Pic}
Meanwhile, Elicia wiped the sweat that had beaded on her forehead with her forearm. On top of that, the angry expression she was wearing had been replaced by a refreshed one.
"Ah~~~! I feel much better now." Elicia said in a cheerful tone. "Seriously, letting stress build up is a really bad thing. I'm glad I had a way to vent it out."
*Voom!*
Cana, Marin, and Sun had a lot to say in response to Elicia's refreshed declaration. Yet, before they could, the Blackbird appeared in the sky above the beach, drawing all the eyes in the area to it.
Then, everyone saw the Blackbird's hatch open with Alfonzo standing in the doorway.
A moment later, Alfonzo leapt from the Blackbird and used his [Electromagnetism Magic] to lower himself gently. Yet, before he even landed, Elicia had already taken off running towards his landing point. Then, just before Alfonzo landed, Elicia threw herself into his arms, new streaks of tears running down her face as she wrapped her arms around his neck. {Pic}
"It's okay now." Alfonzo said softly as he combed his fingers through Elicia's hair. "You did a great job, Lici. I'm sure Mom and Uncle Orlando would have said so, too. For now, why don't you go inside and get some rest? I'll take care of sending these guys somewhere they can be detained."
"No..." Elicia replied while shaking her head against Alfonzo's chest. "I wanna come with you. Please..."
With a loving smile on his face, Alfonzo wanted to nod to Elicia's request. But both he and Elicia knew it was not possible at the moment. So, Alfonzo simply remained silent while using one hand to continue combing his fingers through Elicia's hair.
At the same time, Alfonzo used his other hand to direct his [Metal Magic]. And with it, he started restraining Neinhart and all the soldiers. Meanwhile, Cana, Marin, and Sun were thoroughly confused by what they were seeing, as they did not know that Elicia was forced to fight her father and Alfonzo's mother on the fleet's flagship. But when they eventually found out, they were just as angry as Elicia was.