Finn narrowed his eyes as he studied the hotel building before him. Although he stood directly in the open without a defensive stance, the enemy troops withheld their fire. He could see dozens of rifles and crossbows sticking out of every window and how most of them shook frequently in a struggle to steady their aim. It was understandable, considering that Finn single-handedly eliminated two-thirds of their forces with ease. The worst aspect of it all was the fact he showed no signs of exertion after the skirmish. His breathing rate seemed relatively even with his chest moving accordingly. Aside from the magma blood and dirt that covered parts of his overall appearance, the candy warrior remained poised for battle.

"Are you serious?" Erwin asked out loud with clenched teeth. "He's storming the front?!"

Finn narrowed his eyes at the enemy commander in the third floor and deadpanned, "Do they really expect me to make a complete mockery of myself by entering through the backdoor?" He flicked his wrist with the sword in hand and prepared to strike.

The leading elemental noticed this subtle gesture and promptly radioed, "Infantrymen, keep back!"

A split second later, Finn broke off into a sprint and charged towards the entrance. Hundreds of bullets and arrows were cast into his direction, but many of them missed despite the warrior being at a close distance. His eyes narrowed in deep concentration as he used his enhanced reflexes to deflect the rest of the incoming fire and before he knew it, he spearheaded himself right into the entrance. The row of sentries who previously guarded the lobby with their shields were caught by surprise as the human fired a charged plasma blast right into the center. The formation broke instantly upon impact, knocking each of them back across the spacious room and effectively killing them.

Although Finn was capable of wiping out the remaining forces efficiently by just destroying the building, he was ordered by Princess Bubblegum beforehand to apprehend Peppermint Butler. The candy warrior had to limit his powers as a result, but was free to use his physical strength, his sword, and any other weapon he could obtain from the enemy. He didn't complain from his mission parameters and in fact felt thrilled about dragging the engagement. Somehow he found it exhilarating when he fought by himself against multiple targets. Maybe it was the fact he had to constantly keep his defenses sharp as he pressed forward or that he could see his enemies cower in fear as the battle progressed. Either way, the whole experience made him feel disturbingly alive.

The rest of the elementals on the first floor zeroed on Finn's location with guns blazing in hand. Two groups approached from the sides with another straight from the center. The room howled ominously without pause as the bullets traveled, but none of them landed on target. Instead, the human stood his ground and blocked with his sword effortlessly. The ground and furniture cracked around him, and it wasn't until a few moments later he decided to redirect some of the projectiles back into his enemies. Once he saw a few guards fall in defeat, he broke off into a sprint and lunged towards the weakest group at the middle. Trails of gunfire followed the human as he traveled across the room and it didn't take long for him to start slashing in quick succession. His movements were too fast for anyone to track at that moment that it seemed like he merely ran past his opponents.

They were wrong.

Bursts of magma blood violently splattered the area as the elementals sustained open cut wounds. Some of them collapsed with their bodies in one piece, while others died from losing their arms and legs in midair. The last thing each of them did after the fact was show frozen expressions of shock and disbelief. As soon as the entire group was dispatched, Finn reached his free hand towards the remaining two and used his telekinesis to suspend all the incoming projectiles before him. The bullets slowly obscured his form like a thin veil as he scanned for all visible targets. Once they were acquired, Finn slightly pushed his palm forward and immediately sent all the gunfire back towards his shooters. The men were riddled within seconds and the whole lobby became hollow with silence.

"Team one, is down!" A guard radioed in distress. His gaze turned towards the distant stairwell as he suddenly heard a rapid pair of footsteps climbing upward. Once Finn reached the end, he quickly dove into a forward somersault and bisected the nearest elemental from the head downward. "Hostile's engaging the second floor!" As he said that, the candy warrior could be seen throttling a couple guards several feet into the nearby squads.

"He must not reach the hostages!" Erwin advised with bewilderment. "Protect them at all costs!"

As the superior awaited an answer, the only things he could hear were the guns discharging along with a series of miniature explosions. Cries and shouts of pain echoed across the building as the battle progressed, and it didn't take long for the leader to realize it was time to send in backup.

"Alright," Erwin ordered out loud to his remaining forces. "I need one team to rappel right into the second floor, one team for the elevator, and one more for the stairwell. The rest of you, mount up defenses and keep the hostages safe!"

The men complied and everyone rushed into position awaiting their leader's signal.

Erwin looked down at the floor hearing the ongoing fight from below and contemplated his next move. He knew he had a short time putting his plan into action but it had to be done at the right moment. There were still guards defending the second floor but the fighting began to subside at an alarming rate as their numbers dwindled. Without pause, the commander issued everyone to go.

"Engaging!" A grunt announced. "I have a target!"

A few moments later, the fighting below escalated again as the next wave of troops were dispatched. Windows shattered as the group outside made their entrance, while the others made rumbling footsteps towards the action. The sounds of battle intensified once more and for a brief moment, the situation seemed promising for the elementals.

Unfortunately, Erwin started to hear the next company utter screams of agony and anguish. The gunshots began to subside in a similar matter once more and was eventually replaced by a steady background noise of people being pummeled and slashed altogether. Indistinct radio chatter followed, and Erwin could have sworn he heard a chainsaw going off for a split second. At this point, he lost his sense of reality. His mind reasoned with himself that it was too fantastic for a lone person to show up and start butchering his unit like they were cannon fodder. It just didn't make any sense.

Erwin's thoughts were shortly interrupted when he suddenly heard a nearby guard radio, "Teams two, three, and four are down! We're all that's left!" The remaining defenders readied their weapons on instinct and exchanged nervous glances.

"Sir," a grunt tugged behind Erwin's shoulder. "Get behind cover!"

The superior adhered to his subordinate's suggestion and shuffled to the back end of the group. As he made his way, his gaze was fixated towards the elevator and nearby stairwell. "There are two possible entry points," he thought to himself. "We'll be ready for him." Insanity took over as his mind slipped into denial from recent events.

Everyone tensed when they suddenly heard the elevator approaching. As the light indicator flicked at the current floor, the lift stopped and the doors slowly parted. Inside, the elementals saw a gruesome mess of their fallen comrades with blood splattering the walls like a blank canvas. These men were butchered upon closer observation and the elevator light flickered, making the experience all more unnerving.

No one moved and no one said anything. The doors began to close on their own after being idle for a while but were kept back as a dead trooper slid into the doorframe from the side. Slowly but surely, the bodies dissolved into ash, leaving behind sets of armor in a smoldering heap. The doors still couldn't close because of the now obstructing chest plate and the sight became unbearable for the remaining guards to handle.

The light inside continued to flicker erratically for a few moments. When it finally dimmed out, a moderate-sized opening bursted on the floor between the guards and elevator. A flash of purple flames followed suit and the whole group found themselves stunned from temporary blindness. As the men struggled to recover, each of them were quickly downed between 1-2 moves. Some of them died from being caught in a chained sword dash, while others were grappled and smashed into the floor and nearby walls. The elementals never really had the chance to react and the whole fight became one-sided as Finn pushed on the aggression.

Somehow, Erwin was the last defender alive when the dust settled. Whether it was by sheer luck or cruel fate, he'll never know. Right now, he could only fathom the predicament he was in as Finn bore into his gaze with a darkened expression. The commander frantically crawled backwards in fright and then grabbed a nearby rifle from a fallen ally. He wasted no time at shooting his target but missed as Finn deflected the gunfire with ease. The elemental then climbed back on his feet and adjusted his grip on the weapon until he held it horizontally in front of his body. In an act of desperation, Erwin rushed towards his opponent with a yell in an effort to pin him against the wall.

Finn holstered his sword on the back and widened his stance as Erwin approached. In seconds, the rifle was met with another pair of hands being pushed simultaneously in opposite directions. The crazed commander snarled as he gained little to no ground, while Finn remained composed during the power struggle. After gauging his enemy's limits, the candy warrior went on the offensive and gradually pushed the rifle back against the elemental's chest. Erwin buckled from the weight as he struggled to gain the upper hand but was met with no avail.

Suddenly, the strength in the elemental's grip was lost as Finn purposely brought the rifle close to his own chest. The commander could only squeeze his eyes shut in realization and grit his teeth as the weapon banged against his forehead. Dazed for a brief moment, the elemental slackened his grip until Finn delivered a front kick straight at the stomach. Erwin flew backwards a considerable distance and groaned as he now stared at the ceiling. Finn took his time as he approached the downed elemental and even paused long enough for Erwin to recover and grab a nearby sword from a fallen comrade. Once he staggered back on his feet for the last time, Erwin held the blade upwards in a side-stance and yelled indignantly, "Come on! Is that all you got?!"

Finn drew his own sword in response and dangled the blade from the right side. On his free hand, he conjured a small purple flame from the palm with his fingers curled. The enemy commander could only watch in horrid fascination at the display of power and trembled as Finn took the first step forward. Without thinking, Erwin tightened his grip and charged uttering the loudest battle cry he could muster.


Further down one of the corridors was a safe room that housed nine candy subjects, including Peppermint Butler. It had a large conference table that took most of the space and reinforced walls to prevent a break-in. Two automated blast doors covered the entrance and the room also had no windows. The group was able to witness the ongoing action through the camera feed that was installed, but lost visual when Finn breached the third floor. Although static replaced all the screens, Peppermint's group were still able to hear through the audio. When they heard the commander make his final effort against his adversary, the last thing they could recall was hearing his voice change from pure madness to outright terror.

As soon as Erwin's voice slowly died down across the building, Finn was casually walking across a hallway with his eyes scanning every door. Some of them led to the guest bedrooms, while others led to lounging areas. His Finn Sword remained holstered on his back during the whole search, knowing the rest of his mission was easy. When he finally cleared a certain section of the floor, he looked down at his right hand where he was clutching the helmet that once belonged to the late Commander Erwin. Upon further analysis, Finn tossed it aside in disgust and thought, "The Supreme General's head will be the true reward, second only to the Flame Princess." He clenched his right fist and continued, "I hope you two will put up a better fight when we meet again. And this time, I WILL finish the job!"

Right when he located the entrance for the safe room, the human strode towards it with heavy footsteps. Peppermint's group could feel the ground trembling slightly and they quickly huddled behind the farthest end of the conference table from the door. Everyone looked down and shook tremendously as Finn got closer and soon they held their breaths when he approached the doorway. The former candy subjects then squeezed their eyes shut, anticipating the worst to happen.

"Finn," Princess Bubblegum suddenly radioed, freezing the warrior in place. "My scanners have detected an enemy demolitions team enroute towards the south generator. Your new orders are to intercept and eliminate them all at once!"

"Understood," he complied in a monotone voice.

As the transmission ended, Finn shot a concentrated stream of flames around the doorframe and welded the entrance shut. Once he was finished, he gazed outside at the distant buildings before he instantly vanished with a gust of wind. Peppermint felt relief for a brief moment on the other side, only to have it replaced by anxiety as he realized his impending demise. The fire special forces that were once classified as an elite unit were utterly wiped out, and there was no one else to rescue the unfortunate butler.

With no other options left, all Peppermint could do was count the seconds.