That Day When Suzuki-kun Wasn't the Mob-B! Chapter 464: The Fall of Crocus (Patreon)

"Stop that dragon!"

"ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH! MY LEG!"

"NOOOOOOOO! WHAT IS HAPPENING?! PRINCESS!"

Absolute terror swallowed the capital of Fiore. The dragons that had crossed through the Eclipse Gate were now rampaging through the city, inflicting a level of brutality that defied human comprehension.

To the ancient beasts, this was perfectly normal. Did humans feel any remorse when they crushed an ant or swatted a mosquito? When a bug bothered a human, they simply killed it. To the dragons, humanity was nothing more than a swarm of noisy insects. Why should they care how many they stepped on?

Yet, for the humans being slaughtered, trampled, and terrorized, rolling over to die was not an option. They fought back with everything they had.

"Take this!"

"Attack! Attack from the flanks!"

"Kill it!"

While countless civilians were paralyzed by fear, huddling together in the rubble or collapsing in despair, the mages of Fiore burned with absolute fury. This was their home. These monsters were the source of the disaster. Throwing caution to the wind, they hurled their strongest magic, swung their heaviest weapons, and threw their very bodies at the dragons to stop the destruction!

It was utterly meaningless.

The moment their enchanted steel struck the dragons' scales, the weapons shattered. When their ultimate spells collided with the dragons' flesh, the magic simply dissipated. Nothing worked. No one could stop the walking natural disasters.

And the one who had brought this apocalypse upon them?

"Princess! Princess, hurry up and move!"

"PRINCESS, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! WHY DID YOU BRING THEM HERE?!"

"ARRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Standing amidst the ash and ruin, Hisui felt the crushing weight of terror and insurmountable guilt bear down on her fragile shoulders. The screams and accusations of her dying people pierced her heart, even as her loyal guards desperately tried to drag her to safety.

Yet, the mages who had participated in the Grand Magic Games refused to yield.

"Black Cannon!"

"Memory Make: Light of Arrows!"

"Die, you bastard!"

Sabertooth, Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, and Fairy Tail threw themselves into the fray. If they didn't fight, they would lose their homes. They would lose everything. Even Jellal and the independent mages cast aside their past grudges to join the desperate defense!

"We can't let them advance any further!"

"Aim for the eyes! Kill it!"

"Come on, everyone! Push it back!"

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!"

Drawing the most attention on the battlefield, Makarov unleashed his Giant Magic, expanding into a colossal titan. Roaring in defiance, he grappled one of the dragons with his bare hands, violently slamming the beast into the cobblestones to protect the retreating civilians!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!

"I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY CHILDREN!" Makarov bellowed.

But there was more than one dragon, and even a single ancient beast wasn't weak enough to be defeated by sheer physical force.

"ARRRRGGGGHHH!!!"

A second dragon lunged, its massive jaws clamping down brutally on Makarov's shoulder. Blood sprayed across the ruins as a massive chunk of his flesh was torn away. Screaming in agony, Makarov was instantly forced back into his normal form.

"Gramps!"

"YOU BASTARDS!"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Watching the carnage unfold from the safety of the castle perimeter, Mirajane, Lisanna, and Future Lucy could only stare in a horrified daze. Even from a distance, they knew perfectly well that standard mages were absolutely no match for these creatures. Yet, if no one intervened, the beasts would reduce the entire continent to ash—exactly as Future Lucy and Future Rogue had warned.

Standing beside them, Finn casually surveyed the battlefield. Did the plot change? he wondered. No, the number of dragons that came through is still seven.

The only real difference was that Future Rogue was dead. No one was controlling the dragons anymore. However, that didn't mean the danger had decreased. In fact, the situation had worsened. Before dying, Future Rogue must have used his Dragon Supremacy magic to send them into a frenzied rampage. Without a master to direct them, they were now just chaotic beasts acting purely on destructive instinct.

To stop them, they all had to die.

Finn knew he had to step out. If he waited any longer, Crocus would be completely erased. The combined forces of the magical guilds were far weaker than he had anticipated, and he could already feel Ultear, Flare, Meredy, and Sorano mentally crying out for his help.

"Where are you going?" Mirajane demanded, her hand snapping out to tightly grip Finn's arm the moment he shifted his weight.

"Where? Isn't it obvious?" Finn looked out at the towering dragons. "I'm going to kill all of them."

His original plan had been to wait until the dragons destroyed enough of the city to plunge everyone into absolute despair before swooping in. However, he realized that if he delayed much longer, Ultear might resort to something incredibly drastic. He needed to leave immediately.

Mirajane and Lisanna stared at him. They could see the absolute conviction in his eyes; even if they begged him to stay in the safety of the dungeons, he was going to walk into the apocalypse.

"Just stay here. I'll be back soon," Finn said.

"You will, right?" Mirajane asked, her voice hitching slightly as she fought to hold back her tears.

"Why does it look like you're about to cry?" Finn teased gently.

"Who's crying?!" Mirajane snapped, her protective anger flaring to mask her fear. "Do you want to turn my little sister into a widow already?!"

"Of course not." Finn stepped closer to Lisanna, leaning down to press a soft, lingering kiss to her forehead. "I will be back soon."

"Yeah." Lisanna closed her eyes, leaning into his touch right in front of her sister, finding a sudden, unshakeable peace in his promise.

"I'll go first."

Finn flashed a faint smile at Mirajane. He briefly considered kissing her as well, but time was of the essence—Ultear was already on the verge of doing something incredibly stupid.

As he vanished from the corridor, the three women were left staring at the empty space, praying to whatever gods were listening that he would be okay.

"I have to do this."

Standing amidst the burning ruins of Crocus, Ultear looked at the sheer scale of the disaster. She knew of only one magic spell capable of saving everyone, of reversing this absolute tragedy. She hesitated, her hand instinctively drifting down to touch her lower belly. The price of casting Last Ages was entirely unforgiving; it would steal her time, her youth, and perhaps her very life.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?"

Ultear jumped. "Finn?!"

"Don't do anything stupid," Finn ordered, glaring at her sharply. He knew this self-sacrificing woman was heavily contemplating throwing her life away.

"Then do you have a better method?!" Ultear cried out, her voice trembling with helplessness. She didn't know what else to do.

"Rely on me. Those dragons are just overgrown lizards. Don't worry, I will slaughter every last one of them."

Finn calmly drew his katana from his spatial storage. "Wait here."

Before Ultear could process his absolute confidence, he vanished.

Across the city, in a devastated plaza, Erik (Cobra) and the members of the Reborn Oración Seis—who had covertly traveled to Crocus to support Finn—were fighting a desperate, losing battle. Their opponent was the Dark Dragon, an ominous, shadowy beast that utilized darkness-based physical enhancements. Its raw power was entirely insurmountable.

"Dammit! Get down!"

"DIEEEE!"

"Erik, use your magic!"

Despite unleashing everything in their arsenal, Erik's Poison Dragon Slayer Magic barely scratched the beast's shadowy scales. The dragon wasn't just strong; its destructive blasts had already leveled the surrounding blocks and brought the dark guild to the absolute brink of defeat.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Yet, it was impossible for them to give up now. Finn had given them a future outside of their prison cells, and they absolutely refused to let that future be incinerated!

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

The Dark Dragon reared its massive head, darkness gathering in its jaws for an apocalyptic roar that would erase them all from existence.

Just as the blast was about to fire... a faint silver flash cut through the night sky.

The dragon suddenly stopped moving. A second later, its massive, shadowy head slid off its neck, crashing into the cobblestones with an earth-shaking thud.

".........."

The Reborn Oración Seis stood in absolute silence, staring at the geyser of dark blood erupting from the decapitated beast. Slowly, their eyes traced the trajectory of the blade to the figure casually standing atop the dragon's severed neck, shaking the blood from his katana.

"BOSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!"

At that exact moment, watching Finn effortlessly one-shot a creature of legend, they knew with absolute certainty: the age of dragons was already over.