Finn swung Ryūjin Jakka for a while, seeming tired, and flung Kidoken away.
The immense force sent Kidoken flying, kicking up dust.
Kidoken crawled up, shaking off the debris. Its eyes burned with rage, but it glanced at the two figures on the rooftop, sensing their magical power.
Clearly, they were mages. It couldn't defeat one, and if they attacked together, it was doomed.
Kidoken didn't hesitate, flapping its wings and fleeing.
Finn smiled slightly. "I was waiting for you to run."
Gildarts and Gray came to Finn's side. Gray asked anxiously, "Finn, why did you let it escape?!"
Finn narrowed his eyes. "If it didn't run, how would we find its lair and rescue the captives?"
Finn quietly followed.
Gildarts patted Gray's shoulder. "Learn from him. This kid's good."
Gildarts followed.
"Oh, I see! Wait for me!" Gray exclaimed, realizing what Finn had done. He saw them disappearing into the distance and hurried after them.
In the suburbs, a desolate mountain area, mostly rocks with few trees.
A large cave was there. Kidoken flew into it, and Finn, closely following, spotted the cave.
"This cave must be Kidoken's lair. I wonder if there are any survivors. The mayor only said about 100 people were missing, but we don't know if they're still alive."
Finn frowned, concerned. 100 lives weren't a small number.
Gildarts and Gray arrived. Finn turned. "Gildarts, if there are survivors, please rescue them with Gray."
"I'll handle Kidoken."
"No problem," Gildarts nodded.
"Leave it to me! See? I told you I'd be useful," Gray puffed out his chest.
"Alright, let's go," The three entered the cave.
The cave was dark, but the entrance was large enough for some light to enter. They saw the cave's interior and widened their eyes.
There were three Kidokens, seemingly a family.
Above, cocoons hung from the ceiling – about fifty.
Many bloodstained, broken cocoons lay at the Kidokens' feet. Finn knew these were the victims.
Do moths spin silk? The thought popped into Finn's head.
"What do we do?" Gray asked Finn.
"More targets than expected. Should I help?" Gildarts said. Three Kidokens were beyond the mission's expected difficulty.
Strictly speaking, this was an S-class mission.
Finn had easily handled one Kidoken, but that was because he was exceptionally strong. No other guild member could easily handle a Kidoken.
With so many lives at stake, Gildarts was ready to help.
"Sir, you rescue the people. I'll handle the three Kidokens," Finn said firmly.
Gildarts, seeing Finn's serious expression, said nothing. Trusting your comrades was something every Fairy Tail member did.
Finn vanished, charging towards the three Kidokens.
Finn appeared before the three Kidokens, swinging Ryūjin Jakka.!
"Hitotsume: Nadegiri"
A powerful blade pressure swept over them.
Rumble——
A violent explosion occurred, enraging the three Kidokens. Their roars echoed through the cave, making Gray's ears hurt.
Gildarts and Gray removed the cocoons. Gray created a magic circle, and an ice knife appeared.
Gray cut open a cocoon, revealing an unconscious person.
He checked for a pulse, relieved to find they were still breathing. He and Gildarts began rescuing the others.
While freeing the cocoons, Gray felt a strong wind. A dark shadow flew past him.
"What happened? Finn was blown away?" They looked closely.
Finn had been flung away, holding onto a Kidoken's wing. He roared and threw the Kidoken away.
Gray was speechless. He wasn't even surprised anymore; he was used to it. This guy was a human-shaped Tyrannosaurus Rex!!
Finn clapped his hands and looked at the last Kidoken, a demonic smile on his face.
This one seemed newly hatched, much smaller than the others.
But Finn wouldn't let it go.
He grabbed a wing. This Kidoken knew what Finn was going to do and tried to escape.
But it was no match for Finn.
Finn threw the small Kidoken away and chased after it.
Gildarts and Gray, having freed the last person, followed.
Outside, three giant moths flew in the sky. Finn stood below, drawing Ryūjin Jakka. "There were many civilians inside, so I couldn't use my full power. Now, this place is spacious."
"It'll be more than enough for your graves."
The three Kidokens exchanged glances and gathered their magical power. A large magic circle appeared in front of them.
"Magic? I'll help Finn!" Gray became anxious, taking off his shirt to join the battle.
A magic circle appeared
"Ice-Make: Lance!!"
Gildarts nodded.
Countless ice lances shot out, but the Kidokens' magic was complete – three energy balls combined into one, fired through the magic circle.
Gray's magic shattered on contact, dissipating into magical particles.
The energy ball continued towards Finn.
"Finn, dodge!!"
Gray could only shout, but his voice stopped abruptly.
The energy ball was enveloped in flames five meters from Finn and burned to ashes.
"The magic was burned?" No one answered Gray.
Finn pointed his sword at the ground. Under the moonlight, his body ignited with flames, engulfing him and Ryūjin Jakka.
Finn's usual casual expression was gone, replaced by unwavering determination.
A scorching heat wave swept the area. Gray fanned himself, trying to cool down. Ice mages hated fire.
A drop of sweat trickled down Gildarts' forehead. He felt the intense heat.
The flames spread. The three Kidokens tried to flee.
Finn swung his sword, a wave of flames sweeping the sky, blocking their escape.
The three Kidokens roared in anger.
"Not enough," Finn murmured, his eyes hardening.
"All Things of this World Turn to Ashes, Ryūjin Jakka!!"
"Boom~~~" An even more intense flame erupted, its crimson light illuminating the night sky, dyeing it crimson, like a fiery cloud.
The extreme heat – 6000 degrees Celsius – could melt anything in sight. Even this barren mountain wasn't completely devoid of life.
The moss on the rocks instantly burned, followed by the animals, reduced to ashes.
Even the rocks began to melt into lava, dripping down.
This hellish scene shocked everyone.
The intense heat wave woke the unconscious people in the cave, who fled towards the entrance.
Gray was suffering. Even standing aside, his body couldn't withstand the heat. His pants began to burn, and his skin cracked and wrinkled.
He tried to use his magic to create ice, but nothing happened.
Gildarts said gravely, "Stop trying. Let's leave. The moisture in the air has evaporated. You can't use magic here."
Gildarts grabbed Gray and said to the awakened people, "Everyone, go! This place is no longer safe. Follow me!" He led them away.
Gildarts, my hair!!
Gray panicked as his hair caught fire. He tried to put it out, revealing a shiny bald head…
Gildarts looked back. A towering pillar of fire burned everything. Finn stood in the center, like a god of flames.
Finn appeared in the sky, swinging Ryūjin Jakka, engulfing a Kidoken in flames, burning it to ashes…
The other two Kidokens were terrified and flew away.
"Trying to escape separately?" Finn shook his head.
"You can't escape. Taimatsu!!!" He swung his sword down.
"Something's coming out of the ground?" Gray felt the ground shaking.
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