Chapter 375: Getting Marin Treated
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Mermaid Heel Headquarters.
June 3, x785.
About ten minutes after leaving the battlefield, Alfonzo landed in front of the Mermaid Heel guild hall with Marin in his arms.
Currently, Marin was no longer bleeding from the injury to her arm. Still, she had paled significantly due to the loss of blood. On top of that, the injured area had turned a shiny metallic black color.
As it turned out, after flying for a few minutes, and having the chance to calm down, Alfonzo remembered the properties of the Techno Organic Metal. So, he created a small amount while in flight and allowed it to interact with Marin's wounds. Still, Alfonzo thought it would be for the best to have Tsunade take a look at Marin's injuries regardless.
"Is Master Tsunade in?" Alfonzo asked loudly as he pushed open the doors to the guild hall.
"Huh? Alfonzo?" Kagura asked, surprised to see Alfonzo entering the main hall from the front entrance. "Why are you…? Is that Marin? What happened?"
"We can talk about that later." Alfonzo said hurriedly. "I need Master Tsunade to look at her, immediately.
Thanks to Alfonzo's slightly panicked tone, Kagura decided that her questions could wait. Instead, she ran up the stairs and made her way to Tsunade's office. Meanwhile, Alfonzo made his way to the guild hall's medical ward.
"You're back." Ritsu said as she joined Alfonzo on his way to the medical ward. "So, what happened?"
'Fuck… me…' Alfonzo said internally after not feeling Ritsu's presence before she spoke to him. 'How does she do that? That's twice I wasn't able to sense her and this time I'm sure I have my [MPD] spread out.'
["I don't know, but this woman is kind of terrifying."] Bedlam replied.
'Yeah, I'd hate to fight someone I could lose track of so easily.
["Hmph!"] Riot snorted in disdain. ["You should already know you would never have to worry about that. It's not like she'd fight you any way other than head on, anyway, if her switch got flipped."]
Hearing that, both Alfonzo and Bedlam stopped to consider what Riot said. Then, after a moment, they both could only agree with his assessment.
"Seriously, we need to put a bell on you or something." Alfonzo said while shaking his head. Then, with a more solemn expression on his face, he answered Ritsu's question. "She was attacked by an enemy of mine and Lici's. They probably wanted to use her to lure us out. But Marin is stronger than they thought, I guess. Since she was able to put her attacker down. Unfortunately, she got hurt in the process."
With the end of Alfonzo's explanation, he and Ritsu finally reached the medical ward. Then, Alfonzo wasted no time laying Marin down on one of the beds.
"Well, since Tsuna isn't here yet, I'll take a look at her first." Ritsu said as she approached the bed, as well.
Knowing of Ritsu's healing prowess, Alfonzo did not hesitate to step away from the bedside, making room for Ritsu to examine Marin's condition. However, when Ritsu saw the injured area, she found herself thoroughly confused.
"What is this?" Ritsu asked, pointing at the metallic flesh.
"Oh, that was me." Alfonzo replied, reaching out his hand towards Marin's injured arm. "This metal has healing properties, along with other side effects. But it was the only thing I could think of to stop the bleeding."
With that, Alfonzo exerted a bit of his magic power. Then, the Techno Organic Metal that was currently healing Marin's arm was slowly pulled out of the injury. Unfortunately, the short time it took for Alfonzo to return to the Mermaid Heel HQ was not enough time for the wound to close completely.
With the metal gone, Ritsu was finally able to get a good look at Marin's injury.
"The artery was cut." Ritsu said calmly. "It's a good thing you used that metal of yours, though. Otherwise, there's a good chance she would have bled out before you could get her here. The cut artery was the same one that suicide victims generally choose on the wrist. Just further up the arm."
"Can you save her?" Alfonzo asked with a hint of anxiety in his tone.
"I can." Ritsu replied with a nod and a gentle smile. "But we should take her outside before I start my treatment."
'I see.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he lifted Marin once again without hesitation. 'She's gonna unseal Minazuki, huh? Yeah, I guess that big ass manta ray thing would be too big for this room.'
With that, Alfonzo, with Marin in his arms, and Ritsu made their way out towards the training field. Along the way, they met up with Wendy, Carla, Virgo, Kagura, and Tsunade, who had rushed down from Tsunade's office.
"What's the situation?" Tsunade asked as soon as she caught sight of Alfonzo and Marin. "How bad are her injuries?"
"They're pretty severe." Ritsu replied. "But I'll take care of them."
"Were they really that bad?" Tsunade asked, knowing what it meant for Ritsu to be leading Alfonzo outside.
"Yes and no." Ritsu replied. "If Alfonzo was unable to do some level of healing before arriving here, I wouldn't be able to save her."
"Is Marin going to be okay?" Wendy asked in a worried tone with tears pooling in her eyes.
"Don't worry, little one." Ritsu replied with a gentle smile. "I'll be able to heal her.'
"So, you're going to use that, huh?" Tsunade asked.
"Indeed." Ritsu replied with a nod. "This way, I can take care of her healing while Alfonzo gets back to work. And since she'll be nearby, he won't have anything to worry about."
Despite himself, Alfonzo could only smile wryly at Ritsu's words. He could tell she was not happy by the way he seemingly destroyed all the work he had done over the last week and flew off with almost no explanation.
A few moments later, the group of eight arrived on the outdoor training ground, catching the attention of those who were still training.
"Hey, is something wrong?" Anko asked while standing perpendicular to a vertical wall.
With that, she leapt off the wall and made her way over to the group.
"Is that Marin, what happened to her?" Anko asked.
"Leave your questions for later, Anko." Ritsu said as she gripped the hilt of her katana. "[Minazuki]."
Just as Ritsu spoke the name of her sword, her Zanpakuto, the hilt, along with the blade that was still inside the sheath, turned into a green sludge that flowed out of the sheath and began to float in the air.
A moment later, the sludge began to expand, eventually taking the form of a large, floating, one-eyed manta ray with its mouth open.
"Lay her down in its mouth." Ritsu said calmly.
Hearing that, Wendy and Carla looked at Ritsu warily. Meanwhile, Alfonzo did as instructed without hesitation.
"Alfonzo, is that really a good idea?" Wendy asked with trepidation in her tone.
"Yeah, we don't even know what that thing is." Carla added.
"If she wanted to hurt Marin, the only thing she needed to do was refuse to treat her." Alfonzo said as he laid Marin inside the manta ray's mouth. "She wouldn't need to go through all this."
"He's right." Tsunade said as she patted Wendy and Carla on their heads. "That's Master Ritsu's unique [Healing Magic]. It's even more effective than my healing skills."
With Tsunade's explanation, Wendy and Carla visibly relaxed.
"Anyway, now that Master Ritsu is handling the case, let's go back to my office." Tsunade said, patting the girls on the head once more. "You've still got a lot of work to do."
In response, Wendy and Carla, though still concerned about Marin's well-being, turned around and Followed Tsunade back into the guild hall. Virgo was about to follow them, as well. However, before she could get very far, Alfonzo stopped her.
"Virgo, I need you to go back and make lunch for Lucy." Alfonzo said with a wry smile. "I panicked a little when I got Marin's emergency signal… And I kinda made a bit of a mess that I have to clean up. Tell Lucy that I'm sorry, too."
"Yes, Master Alfonzo." Virgo replied with a respectful bow. "I'll return once I have completed my task."
With that, Virgo turned around and made her way towards the house where the Fairy Tail wizards were staying. AT the same time, Kagura and Anko returned to what they were doing, as well.
"Now, you should be able to get back to work with no worries, correct?" Ritsu said once all the others were gone.
"Yeah, I'll clean up the mess I made." Alfonzo said with a wry smile. "Let's get back to work."
A few moments later, Alfonzo and Ritsu, with Minazuki in tow, returned to the work site Alfonzo abandoned earlier in the day. Then, with little effort, Alfonzo expanded the crushed training room back to its original size.
Unfortunately, due to the magic power he expended on his round trip, Alfonzo's work pace was slowed significantly. Luckily, Ritsu did not blame him for that. Had he not been more concerned for the well-being of one of his women than making some money, she would have been rather disappointed in him, after all.
Like that, the next couple hours went by with no issues. However, as soon as Alfonzo finished running all the mithril wiring from the training room to Tsunade's office, he had a thought while wiping off the sweat he accumulated while working.
'I feel like I forgot something.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'But for the life of me, I can't think of what it could be.'
["Well, if you can't remember what it is, then it probably isn't that important, right?"] Bedlam asked.
'I guess you're right.' Alfonzo thought while pondering what it could be.
After that, Alfonzo continued to work, making sure all the connections were secure while testing that the console he installed in Tsunade's office could control all the functions of the training room.
["I think I just figured out what Alfonzo forgot."] Riot said.
["Oh yea, what is it?"] Bedlam asked in curiosity.
Before Riot could reply, the sound of the wind picking up could be heard from every part of the Mermaid Heel HQ.
*Smack!*
And upon hearing the sound of the wind, Alfonzo could not help but face palm
"Damn it, I forgot to disable Marin's emergency signal." Alfonzo groaned into his hand.
Meanwhile, with Astraia still released, Erza had just landed near the location where Alfonzo installed the first of the training rooms. And when she did, her eyes fell on the large, one-eyed manta ray floating above Ritsu.
A moment later, she looked down at the lacrima that had been guiding her to Marin's location.
"So, you have betrayed Fairy Tail's trust?" Erza asked as she jumped to conclusions. "Why have you abducted Marin?"
"I think it would be best if you calmed down." Ritsu replied with her usual gentle smile.
"Answer my question or I'll force you to." Erza said as she pointed Astraia at Ritsu.
"*Sigh* So impulsive." Ritsu said in an exasperated tone.
In the next instant, a number of wizards from Mermaid Heel arrived on the training field and surrounded Erza.
"Erzie-Werzie, what are you doing here, meow?" Millianna asked after noticing who the intruder was.
"Millianna?" Erza asked without lowering her guard. "Have you joined with the guild of---"
"Alright, Erza, that's enough." Alfonzo said as he appeared behind Erza in a flash of violet lightning. "You're jumping to conclusions again."
"Alfonzo, what's going on here?" Erza asked, now sounding thoroughly confused.
"*Sigh* You really should have had that tone when you first showed up." Alfonzo said while combing his fingers through Erza's hair. Then, with his free hand, he pointed at Minazuki. "Right now, Marin is in that thing's stomach. According to what Master Unohana told me, its stomach acids are powerful medicines and healing ointments. As for what happened to Marin, I'll tell you later."
"I see." Erza replied with a nod. "Then, she turned to address the wizards of Mermaid Heel and bowed her head. "Please forgive me. In my worry, I made false accusations. Please hit me as recompense."
With that, Erza dispelled Astraia's release, reverting the sword back to its sealed state. However, as soon as she did, her body went limp and she passed out from magic power exhaustion.
"I guess I should have seen this coming." Alfonzo said while smiling wryly. "She probably flew off from Magnolia at top speed after getting the emergency signal. Then, partway to Shirotsume, she had to redirect and come here. It's no wonder she's exhausted."
["And that's why you have to keep your cool in all situations."] Bedlam said in a sagely tone. ["Had you remained calm, you would have remembered about the emergency signal and stopped it much earlier. Then, none of this would have happened."]
["yeah, you really should take a page out of my book."] Riot said. ["I mean, look at how calm I was in this situation. I was even the one who remembered about the emergency signal."]
In response, both Alfonzo and Bedlam decided they had not heard Riot speak.. at all.
In the end, both Marin and Erza were allowed to rest in the Mermaid Heel medical ward until Alfonzo and Wendy were ready to return to their house. Then, after returning home for the evening, Alfonzo laid Erza and Marin on the bed in the room where Lucy's belonging's werebeing stored, before he got dinner started.
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