Exorcists and Wizards

Chapter 8: Elfman vs Bacchus

~Afterwards~

"Oh my! This is unquestionably a one-sided match! Elfman can't land a blow!" Chapati announces when Elfman has one of his knees on the ground with a hand as some parts of his clothes are shredded. Elfman continues to glare at him while panting.

"Beautiful sisters all to myself... Nice..." Bacchus says.

"H-Hey is that...?" Lucy trails off.

"I can see how he'd fight you to a draw, Erza." Gray comments.

"No, what's really hard to deal with his coming up." Erza says.

"Elf-niichan..." Lisanna mutters.

"Don't worry! He's a man who gets down to business when he needs to, right?" Evergreen tells her.

"Yeah. That's true..."

"Go, Elfman!" Happy cheers.

Elfman roars out as he charges towards Bacchus when his body starts to glow.

"Beast Soul: Weretiger!" He exclaims and sends swipe after swipe, but Bacchus manages to dodge them.

A lightning-quick Take Over!" Mirajane exclaims.

"If his attacks hit now..." Juvia says.

However, after sending another swipe, Bacchus retaliates by sending a palm thrust at Elfman's chin. Elfman then kicks him but the Quatro Cerberus mage counterattacks, sending Elfman to the ground.

"Wild..." Bacchus starts.

"FOUR!" The rest of the members responds.

"Even at that speed, Elfman's attacks aren't landing at all!" Gray says.

"Maybe it's because of that guy's weird movements..." Lucy wonders.

"His magic is actually pretty orthodox. It's a type where magic converges in the palms of his hands." Erza explains. "But the secret of his strength is mastery of a martial art that allows him to maximize that magic. The style of martial art is called Cleaving Hook Palm and that characteristic stance is used to deliver skillful palm strikes."

"Palm strikes..." Gray repeats as Bacchus continues to hit Elfman.

"What was even more fearsome is when he improved on that martial art, devising Drunken Cleaving Hook Palm."

"Drunken..." Wendy repeats.

"You mean he's drunk?" Natsu asks.

"That's right. It's impossible to predict the attacks of a drunken hawk. On top of that, his destructive force has been beefed up, making him a shoo-in to win. Even so, that's not the problem. He hasn't had even one drop of booze yet."

"Cleaving Hook Palm... That's an unusual style of martial art." Yajima comments.

"Actually, I've never seen it myself. COOL~!" Jason shouts.

"Hey, is that..." Happy asks.

"The move we saw at the tavern incident." Wakaba says.

"Dammit isn't there anything he can do?" Macao wonders.

"He'll figure out a way. He's more than just a big lug." Evergreen states.

"That's right. We've got to believe in him!" Lisanna exclaims.

"I've heard of Cleaving Hook Palm before, but I never have seen like this...!" Alice says.

"Then Elfman going to lose?" Lenalee asks.