After everyone had defeated their opponents, they all regrouped. Cana was making her way towards the center of Solidaster while Happy carried Natsu with Erza right beside him, looking at him with worry all the way. They all sped as fast as their legs and wings could carry them. It was rough, yet they managed and they soon arrived in the center of the city.

"Look, there she is!" Happy shouted.

Cana saw the three closing in. "It's you guys!"

"Cana!" Erza ran up and presented herself. She looked a little banged up in her armor, but nothing she wasn't capable to endure. "Are you alright?"

Cana ignored the several injured fragments on her body and looked worried all the same. "Don't worry I'm fine." She turned towards Natsu. "But what happened to him?"

Natsu was set down by Happy, leaving Erza to support him. She looked at him with yet another concern look with hints of relief. "He went up against a far greater adversary that we could barely subdue. He was immensely strong."

Cana grew suspicious. "Was he…"

Erza shook her head. "No, he wasn't Grander." Her gaze cascaded downwards. "Which makes me wonder just how powerful Grander really is."

A sudden pair of footsteps from south began to close in, making them all turn their heads to find two familiar faces running towards them. Both were clad in armor, with one having a red cape.

Natsu recognized them. "Huh? Hey, it's the king."

"You four!" Shore ran alongside Sentoro as they caught up to the guild mages. "I'm glad to see that you're all well. Are you guys alright?"

Erza turned towards him as Natsu stood up on his own. "Yes, your majesty. We were able to suppress the higher ranks of Grander's crew as you had advised."

This bit of news caused Shore and Sentoro to recoil in shock. Shore recovered quickly. "You mean that you were able to defeat the top three?"

Natsu crossed his arms. "Top three? But I thought there were two?"

"One didn't seem to come after me for some reason." Erza explained.

"This is odd." Cana figured. "I fought against one, and you and Natsu teamed up again another…" She looked north. "Then was that huge tornado from before the works of that third guy?"

"But the third was also defeated." Sentoro added in. "You mean an outside force stopped the last one?" They all looked north, seeing how there were clear skies, despite there being a savage tornado not too long ago. "Whomever it was, they have our thanks."

"Huh?" Natsu noticed something peculiar. He turned towards Shore. "Hang on a second, why are you here? Shouldn't you be up in your little palace and watch us go to work or something?"

A pause fell before Shore grumbled. He opened his eyes back up and faced the four before him. "While I am accountable for your call, I cannot sit by any longer, as your lives would be on my behalf. I shall assist in this conquest and defend this city, as it is my own."

Erza wasn't so lenient on the prospect of Shore entering the fray, but if he was skilled, and if he wants to defend the city, then who was she to stop such a dedicated man? Reluctantly, she complied. "Very well, but please let us take the lead."

"As you wish." Shore and everyone turned north, as a breeze past them by. A breeze that was more of anticipation than subtlety. They all began forwards, advancing towards the north.

Velvea rushed out of her chamber and into the sunlight; the sunlight caught her blind for a few moments and she blinked profusely to rid of the sudden light differentiation. She hurried along and rushed off to where she thought her father would be, all while her guards were chasing her.

"Lady Velvea! You can't be out here!" One guard called out. "It's for your safety! Please get back inside!"

She just kept on running, hoping that she could see her father and stop the madness. "Father!"

The group advanced forwards still, soon coming to a halt. It was so sudden for Erza and the others because their eyes widened greatly. Whatever it was, it had lots of Magic. Erza's body was beginning to shudder. "This Magic Power…"

Cana was just as uneasy. "This level…it's off the charts."

Natsu's veins were popping right out. "What is this?" His teeth began to grit. "It's like nothing I've felt before…"

"I can feel this too." Shore was more composed than the shuddering three, Happy included, yet his eyes were shaken up. "This level of Magic is not comprehensible at all. We thought the air was being torn to shreds, and ironically that was the case."

'This is even…more Magic than the old man.' Natsu mentally admitted, yet this only made him all the more agitated.

A dust cloud was brewing before everyone as the high winds picked up briefly. They felt the Magic level rise even more, and saying it was powerful would be putting it mildly at the very least. The dust cloud passed by, and they all saw someone standing.

His presence alone was shuddering. Erza herself felt unnerved, as was her accompaniment. The figure and his immense Magic Power stood with crossed arms as his sleeveless coat flapped in the winds that dialed down. This was the raw power of Grander in the flesh.

"Well this is a surprise." Grander said with a serious and disciplined frown, seeing the group some ways away. "I came all this way, just to find out that a small group of miscreants running loose and picking off my subordinates. What a disgraceful predicament."

Erza stood affirm, assessing her right. "I take it that you must be Grander?"

"Correct." He answered firmly. "I take it that you were sent here by his majesty to turn me over? Sorry, but that's impossible."

Natsu clenched his fists tighter than before, and he looked like he was gonna burst out in frustration. Despite the temptation, he knew better than to tamper with people like Grander, who has an overwhelming presence.

"So, just who are you exactly?" Natsu inquired. "Whoever you are, you've gotta have some business with our buddy here, right?"

Grander's disinterested gaze was unwavering. "Yes, that would be more or less in the right direction." He took another step forward, making everyone tense up. "Though my business is conducted on a more complicated matter. I don't prefer to go into details, so let's make this simple, shall we?"

"What do you mean simple?" Sentoro asked, offended.

"This: Either you tell me where your daughter is, or I'll slice everything and everyone in your city into bite-sized pieces. That's simple." His coat waved as his body was giving that same Magical pressure again, the dust itself rippled, yet it only got so far until it looked as though it was sliced up by the molecule, much to everyone's sheer terror yet shocking surprise.

Cana was getting uneasy by the second. "He isn't playing around. He might really do as he said."

Erza stepped forward, requipping a sword. She pointed it at Grander. "I don't know who you are to try and apprehend another man's daughter, but enough is enough. Tell us, why do you want the heiress?" She demanded in a low roar.

A strong silence fell, a very desolate one at that. Not even breathing was heard as all eyes watched as Grander's eyes shut. A few seconds came and went, and then his eyes opened up again.

Erza saw his arm swipe slowly yet steady. It was a short arc, but enough to run from one end of a building to another. A second passed by, and nothing seemed to happen. It was then that a deep cut was impaled into the side of one building, and then followed by the other, leaving them cut completely yet still intact. As for Erza, her steel sword was sliced in half, and her armor was completely split open, revealing her white sleeveless blouse and blue bowtie. She screamed as she fell on her back into a harsh skid.

"Erza!" Natsu shouted.

"Erza, no!" Cana yelled.

Erza winced on the ground, finding it hard to get up. She took a very brutal blow, and it was all within a blink of an eye. She tried getting to her feet, but she had a rough time. Stumbling up, she gave a vicious glare to Grander.

"You haven't answered me." Erza lowly roared, shadows over her eyes. "Why do you want the heiress?" She requipped, flashing into her Purgatory Armor with a fresh mace. She lifted up the mace, readying to assault.

Grander looked disinterested as Erza jumped up, bring her mace overhead. "This is so pointless." He muttered as Erza sailed down on him. Her mace met his head, sending strong winds bellowing all around.

Once they settle, Erza tried pushing, but to her horror, Grander wasn't even fazed. In fact, his head was so hard, as though it were impenetrable armor. Her eyes widened. "What's this?!"

Happy looked startled to say the least. "Not even a scratch."

"But how?!" Natsu shouted. "That's impossible!"

Grander looked down, unfazed while Erza struggled to drive her mace deeper. It was extremely tough, and she gave it all she had, but it clearly wasn't enough. Grander brought an arm across, and the knuckles and fingers morphed partly into shiny, sharp blades, sharper than any knife seen.

"What a pitiful trick." He swatted the mace, slicing it with the back of his hands. In less than a second. The entire weapon was sliced in half, and Erza's entire armor along with it.

Erza reeled back as her armor fell apart like glass and grunted. "Curse you!"

Overhead, Natsu was seen with flaming fists. "How about we see what you look like when I melt you!" He vertically spiraled and brought a flaming axe kick down. "Fire Dragon's Claw!" His attack crashed down on the head, but Grander didn't seem at all fazed; not even a single blink.

Natsu had no way to describe the startling predicament. "What? Not even fire works on this guy?!"

Grander brought an arm around, and the arms became sharp blades. "I keep warning ya." He brought his arm around is a slash, and Natsu gagged blood as his abdomen suffered a serious cut, as well as the buildings that were all around. Each of them had gashes from Grander's attack, yet the Dragon Slayer had it worst because he fell on his back with a thud as his abdomen bled out.

"Natsu!" Happy shouted in worry. He sped on over and looked at his fallen buddy. "Natsu, you've gotta hang on!"

"Unbelievable." Shore stated. "Even Fiore's number one guild can't suppress Grander." His eyes were shaking as he saw Grander stand there, not even fazed by any offense nor defense applied through the whole battle.

Looking at Natsu's deep cut, Erza angrily shuddered and turned her full attention to Grander. "You…" She requipped, flashing into her Black Wing Armor. "You're gonna pay for that!"

She lunged out at Grander, letting out harsh battlecries as the man didn't even seem fazed. Erza poised both sword in her hands and began slashing relentlessly.

Grander closed his eyes. "Hummer Deflector." His entire body glistened, shining like polished metal. He remained absolutely still while Erza slashed all around. Her strikes were dead on, and her reflexes and speed were all the more unwavering. Not a single slash was misled, and she let out cries of a pure warrior all around.

After a minute of slashing, she stood in a slashed stance, looking just a little worn out from her relentless assault. The dust began to settle, and her eyes widened when footsteps pressed through the earth. When she saw the dust subside, she could've sworn she'd been dreaming.

"Impossible." She muttered, seeing Grander's body emerge…not a single scratch was established.

"He took all of those attacks and didn't even flinch. And this was in her Black Wing Armor too!" Cana exclaimed.

He stopped advancing and had his feet spread apart. "Just ridiculous, that's what you are." He scolded. "My body is as hard as Titanium. Slashing and smashing won't work on me, and I most certainly am immune to high and low temperatures." His face darkened. "No matter how you see it, you're at displeasing disadvantage."

Erza's eyes shook. "His body…"

"…is titanium?" Cana continued.

"Titanium Magic." Sentoro stated. "I wouldn't have believed it unless I saw it with my own eyes."

Grander had his arms spread out. "Perhaps I should give you an example of my magic." A small pressure built up and the dust rippling at his feet actually split apart by the molecule. The sides of his arms, elbows, pinky, thumb, and all related to the edges, all were lined with titanium – razor sharp titanium.

Erza held up her blade, positioning herself to strike. Her focus narrowed onto Grander, and Grander alone. With her wings spread, she sped on in and brought her sword back.

"Moon Flash!"

"Blood Sickle!"

Grander swiped both his arms horizontally. Slashing sounds vibrated out of him, and the cross slash aimed for him completely split into small fractions, dispersing in a lot of random directions. Bits of buildings were sliced off and fell to the ground.

Erza's eyes widened. "He went right through-!" The aftershock of Grander's attack went on ahead, and horror struck all eyes as Erza's abdomen suffered a vicious cut, as well as her arms, and her legs were covered in red. Her armor completely fell apart, and she fell onto her back once more.

"Erza!" Natsu screamed, yet blood was coughed up.

"Natsu, you've got to stay down!" Happy insisted.

Cana flashed some cards. "Well if those kinds of attacks won't work…" Her cards glowed, and she flung them out at Grander. "Then try this! Summoned Lightning!"

The cards became green bolts and collided with Grander's body. His body was zapped relentlessly by the green bolts, yet his arms remained crossed with titanium blades on them. After several seconds, the lightning didn't seem to faze him as dark shadows cascaded over his eyes.

Cana stepped back, bewildered. "No way, even lightning doesn't do much against him?"

Grander's throat emitted a low growl. "Fiore is such a small part. You all have no idea about the world beyond Fiore's borders."

Shore grew worrisome. "What?"

"There are many other countries out there. Fiore is one, yet many have their own tales, and those tales and monsters are what defines a region. I guess one could say…I'm a monster."

He slashed his arms again in an X formation. White glints shined everywhere, and it looked as though nothing happened, but all worries came to life when several buildings were sliced with great slants, and the ground beneath everyone had huge slice marks running like crevices right past them. The sheer shock of Grander's assault was enough to make them all scream and fly off, tumbling against the ground and coming to a painful halt.

"Is that all you Fiore Mages got?" Grander taunted.

Sentoro got to his feet, sword in hand and nearly fell over from the small amount of cuts and gashes his armor had ascertained. He gritted his feet and positioned his sword and readied to strike. "I won't tolerate this any longer! For the honor and safety of Solidaster, I cast you out!"

He carried his own weight and let out a battlecry as he advanced towards Grander.

"No, Sentoro!" Shore insisted, but it fell on deaf ears as Sentoro ran on with high valiance, showing no attempts of recoiling as he closed the distance.

Grander's fingers twitched, emitting fresh titanium blades. "Your boldness is amicable, but it ain't worth much." He slashed upwards, and that was all that he needed to shatter Sentoro's sword, and shatter the man's armor entirely, even cutting into his abdomen. His majesty's right-hand man yelled as he fell back as his injured front made him cough and wince.

Grander pressed his foot on Sentoro's body, his weight and pressure making Sentoro choke on a scream. "Like I said, this world's tales are far lethal than what you had known!"

Erza, Natsu, Cana, and Happy were all covered in cuts; more gruesome on Natsu and Erza. Erza's swordsmanship wasn't even close to Grander's caliber. She felt so useless now because her assaults can't even harm him.

"Is he even able to take a hit?" Erza questioned.

Natsu, barely able to sit up, glared ahead. "He's gotta have a weakness. Look." Erza and everyone else looked at what Natsu was implying to, seeing something on Grander's abdomen…it was a huge bruise, and permanent. "Whatever the case, there's no way he's unstoppable."

Grander's eyes narrowed. "Shut up." All he did was flick on of his fingers at Natsu from the distance between, and that's when a cut arose on his left shoulder, making Natsu wince in pain. The Dragon Slayer was already low on Magic Power, and with Erza and Cana injured, they were at their limits. Grander's men was one thing, but this guy was perhaps inhumane.

Grander crossed his arms and seemed to grow all the more irritated. "I'm tired of waiting. Where is your daughter?"

Shore clutched a sword he unsheathed. If anything he looked nervous, but as the leader of a coastal city, and for the safety of others, he would have to put his life on the line. His grip tightened.

"I'll never answer-"

"Father!"

The sudden female voice was what caused the whole ruckus to call for a ceasefire. All eyes turned towards the origin of the voice, revealing the culprit being the one person who was targeted. The young woman with vermilion hair had rushed towards the startling scenery, slowly coming to a halt with her eyes wide at the wreckage and carnage before her.

Seeing the tattered and destroyed streets, her eyes were swollen with shock. "What happened?" She managed to spill.

Shore looked back to find his daughter present. "Velvea…what are you doing here?!"

Velvea looked with worry. "I've come to reason with you." She had a deep plea in her eyes. "Please, don't do this."

Shore looked startled, but he pressed on. "Velvea, Fiore's relationship with Bosco is at stake here. You think I'm doing this for no reason? You know why!"

"But resort to having guild mages help us?!" Velvea cried out, looking guiltier by the second. "I don't want lives to fall on our shoulders anymore! I just want what's best for all of us!"

Happy looked scared. "What's going on?"

Grander looked pleased for the most part. "So, you're finally showing yourself." He had his arms out. "As you can see, Velvea, we have been making negotiations. Finally, nothing stands in my way."

Velvea swallowed. "You destroyed the city, you've threatened many lives, you've even maimed so many of our forces…please, just stop." She begged.

Grander raised a brow. "So, you want me to meet your demands?" He made it sound more threatening than an inquiry. "Fine, only you hand yourself over to me."

Shore intervened. "I won't let you take her!"

"Father, please." Velvea insisted. She turned towards her father, looking as though she had a number of emotions swelling inside of her. "Just don't, he'll kill you."

"I'd rather die than have my own daughter be taken away!" He hollered back. "That man may be a monster, but I'll never have my own flesh and blood go so low as to be some tool to him for his own personal gain!"

Grander looked more than a little peeved. There she was, not even twenty feet away. He was just itching to slice through everyone, yet remained composed. "Look, I'm tired of all of this. Are you coming with me, or am I gonna have to strike down everyone before you?" He sounded more threatening than before, and his Magic Power was a clear emphasis.

Even from the distance, Velvea could feel the Magic Power nearly dicing her skin cells. It wasn't a pretty feeling, it was like small scissors poking at her and she couldn't stop it; although, the only way she could stop it was to let herself be taken.

Looking down with discontent, she was beginning to take a step, but she proceeded no further when a bright flash blinded her and everyone around her. The light faded quickly, revealing the source having been Erza., now in her hakama with bandages around her breasts and her hair in a ponytail.

"This has gone on far enough!" She shouted, the redhead requipping a sword. "Come forth; Demon Blade Crimson Sakura!" A pink light emitted from the requip, showing Erza with her sword.

"Erza! What do you think you're doing?!" Cana shouted.

Erza's grip on her sword increased. "It's just as Natsu said, he's not unbeatable. I will pour all of my Magic Power into his one attack, so that he'll fall!" She held up her blade, which began to shine a bright pink light. Her eyes grew to become that of a warrior's.

"Erza." Natsu muttered.

She looked back at him. "Don't worry, this'll be over before you know it." She looked back at Grander, poised to strike. "I won't let him make you suffer!"

Despite the harmful cuts her body had, she powered through and let out a harsh battlecry as she closed in on Grander.

On the other hand, Grander looked as though he was expecting such a comeback. Yet he didn't fight it. He would allow this one to slide. "Fine by me." He challenged in a scoff. "But you're just wasting your breath."

Erza's sword glowed brighter and she slashed with all she had. "HRAH!" In a downwards diagonal slash, a bright light filled the scene, and Erza's feet landed on the ground. She was seen in a crouch and posing right behind Grander. Without even looking back, she heard a pink slash clang in a diagonal fashion, and she heard Grander grunt in pain.

Grander grunted in pain as he felt the small slash rake all over his abdomen in a diagonal slash. It was painful at most, and he stumbled a little.

Natsu's face brightened. "Alright! You got him!"

"Aye!" Happy cheered.

Erza nearly fell over in exhaustion, as that attack had used up the last of her Magic Power. She got to a knee and panted in exhaustion. Finally, she looked back, watching Grander stumble a little.

To her horror and disbelief, she witnessed Grander actually recovering quickly. She saw him standing upright, growling and still facing away. "Impossible…"

Grander slowly turned around. He showed a small, long cut that was superficial at best. But at least it caused some damage. He looked mad at best, but all the more amused. It was a slight contrast, and it was hard to debate if he looked pitiful at her, or only acknowledged that one blow.

"Are you done?" He asked, not sounding harmed in the slightest. "Because I got business to attend to. I'll just take my prize and go."

Erza's eyes dilated. "Even with all of my Magic Power in one slash, his titanium body…is that hard?"

A shadow casted over his eyes. His arm was edged in pure titanium, and his fingers were as such. He raised the one arm and grunted.

Erza hurried out of the way as fast as she could.

"Titanium Bisect!" With an arm chop, swift and stern, a slash sound echoed downwards straight ahead, and a small glint came and went.

Everyone looked on with slight anticipation and horror, and yet nothing happened. Finally, the entire ground ahead of Grander, reaching out to the beach about a few miles away…completely split apart. A five-foot crevice covered the ground and stretched all the way out to the beach, making a crevice of sand. Even from the distance, they all saw the crevice even make way to the water, erupting a high geyser.

The shockwave from the attack Erza barely dodged, made her scream and smash into a nearby building. She fell with a thud onto her damaged front, and found it more than difficult to stand.

"Erza!" Natsu screamed.

"He cut completely that far out! With just a single chop?!" Cana exclaimed in disbelief. "Just how powerful is this guy?!"

Erza stumbled back up to her feet. That's when Grander appeared right on her side and delivered a brutal punch to her punch. The titanium-hard fist rammed her and sent Erza flying back, screaming in pain.

She fell and landed right beside Natsu, landing on her back with a spine-shattering thud. She looked worse than before, and despite her efforts, it didn't look good as even Natsu couldn't get up.

"Erza!" Natsu looked over to her, worried.

Erza turned her head towards Natsu. "Natsu."

Grander stepped in front and raised the familiar arm. "Goodbye…and I'll be taking the heiress with me!" He slammed his arm down in a chop, and everyone readied for the potentially destructive blow.

A swift clang clashed, and everyone heard a brief echo wash through the air, grinding against their ears. It zipped past them, and then a brief silence past.

A full-scale view of the city was seen, and exactly at the positions of 4 and 8, large crevices shattered through the earth, slicing apart houses and buildings until reaching the cove cliffs.

Shore and everyone else was wide-eyed as they looked behind left and right, seeing the dust settle and the land finally began to stop quaking. Before them, everything was completely split in half, right down the middle and heading off to as far as the eye could see.

"Father…" Velvea couldn't find the words.

"That was too close." Shore noted. He turned ahead. "But still, what could cause that attack to…"

Turning around, a figure stood in front of the group. All eyes were set on the figure, who had his two swords already crossed and slashed in an X formation. It was hard to believe, especially for Grander. They all saw the figure look back ahead, and he seemed more than agitated.

Grander's eyes shook. Despite how calm and collected he was; this was the first initial shock they all saw of him. "No way. You."

The figure's sea blue eyes looked predatory. "Well look who we have here. At first I thought it was the living dead. Looks like you're even more hard-headed than I remembered."

Natsu, Erza, and Happy all stared in sheer shock of their savior; compared to them, Cana was more than startled, as she recognized the face. The brunette's eyes shook as she stared ahead.

"You've gotta be kidding me." She muttered. It was someone she'd never thought she would have to see again.

It was Craig Crius, aka, Cranky.

Craig glared down Grander, who seemed more than a little peeved. He looked like he was gonna tense up by Craig, whose presence made him uncomfortable. Likewise, Craig looked as aggressive as ever, not looking at all happy…then again, when is he ever happy to see someone?

"Craig Crius." Grander growled while standing still.

Craig's face contorted to looking agitated and displeased. He sheathed both of his swords and crossed his arms. "And here I thought you and your little party were finished back in Bosco, guess I was wrong."

"You really made a mess in Bosco a year ago." Grander sneered. "I personally can't believe you became the heart of that rebellion that ruined Bosco and its slavery."

"Nobody stopped me then, nobody's stopping me now." Craig scoffed back. "If you ask me, Bosco could've used some remodeling. The looks on your sorry faces was what left the living grinning after so many years."

Grander growled while having a grudge on his face. "After that day, everything was ruined. I had to start from scratch."

Craig bared his teeth. "Funny, after that day, I thought I killed ya." He thus cracked his knuckles. "But instead I left ya a nice little beauty mark." Craig smirked, showing his sharp teeth once more. Grander, however, grunted and refused to look down at his bruised abdomen.

Shore looked confused. "What's the meaning of this?"

Velvea looked just as confused. "I don't know. Does that man have a connection to the Bosco incident?"

"What the…?" Natsu was genuinely surprised. "Who the heck's this guy?"

"I don't know." Erza's eyes narrowed. "Apparently, it sounds like he was the one responsible for that Bosco slave rebellion."

Cana was baffled beyond comprehension. "Tell me this is a joke. Cranky?"

"What?" Craig turned around, and he saw the familiar face of Cana. He looked surprised at first, but was immediately replaced by discontent. "You've gotta be pulling my leg." He groaned in a roar. "What the hell are you doing here…Brownie?" He added some extra spite to the nickname, which only added fuel to the flame.

"We're here on a job." She explained.

"Yeah? Well it looks like you can't handle the job yourself." He turned back ahead. "Be lucky that I don't blame you. Grander is a savage monster."

Erza glanced up at Cana. "Cana, you mean you know him?"

"Yeah…unfortunately." Cana admitted. "He helped me about a week ago. He has a serious anger issue."

Craig raised a brow. "Oh, and your drinking isn't, Brownie?" That comment earned him a tick mark from Cana, who never thought she would have to deal with him, ever.

Shore looked uneasy about the whole scenario. "Sir, please tell me what's going on. Who are you, and who is the man before us?"

"If you shut up, then I'll answer how I please." Craig warned, narrowing his gaze at his majesty. Shore remained silent at Craig's vicious demeanor and had Craig take the floor as he glared back at Grander.

"I'm Craig Crius. I take it you know this walking garbage dump." He sounded really pissed. "His name is Grander; labeled as the overlord of slavery in all of Bosco. One could say he was in charge of everything with human trafficking there." His remembrance of the man left him to recall the three subordinates and Grander himself after such a long time. "He was the most infamous person in the country, and apparently a skilled human hunter and killer. Step out of line and you'll lose your head."

"That's putting it mildly." Grander scoffed.

Erza's eyes widened. "He was…Bosco's most dangerous underground individual." She swallowed. 'No wonder he's so powerful.'

"So what happened, Grander? Why are you here?" Craig stated.

His eyes narrowed. "Sorry, I don't answer to trash like you."

Craig's teeth showed once more; they were all sharp as ever. "Funny, those were the exact words you said to me, and yet I still knocked you for a loop. So in retrospect, you're the trash because I threw you over that cliff." Craig did have a point, which let Grander to growl in frustration.

"Fine." He sneered. "If you ever read the news, you'd know that there's an ambassador conference soon. That conference will determine Bosco's power over slavery."

Craig didn't look at all fazed. He expected this from the get-go. "I get it. So since you were against the whole idea of ridding slavery, you decided to stoop so low as to take Fiore's Bosco ambassador as a hostage and blackmail everyone at the conference. Am I right?"

Velvea's eyes widened as she had a hand over her mouth Craig figured it out, and she was gonna be the catalyst to make Bosco a living nightmare again. "The horror."

Shore's eyes narrowed. "Bosco would stoop so low as to smuggle slave trading, and blackmail with fellow ambassadors. How repulsive."

Craig looked back at Cana. "Well looks like you're in luck today." He still sounded and looked aggressive. "I get to save your hide, again." He shook his head as he looked back ahead. "Seriously, can you be anymore helpless."

"Well so~rry! I don't know that psychopath as well as you!" Cana rebuffed. "Just so you know, I am not taking you out to dinner again, Cranky!"

"Don't worry." He smirked as he reached back for his blood red sword. "After I finally dealing with Grander, you may just lose your appetite."

"Is he serious? He's gonna fight him all by himself?!" Happy shouted in disbelief.

"He's out of his mind." Natsu muttered.

Cana narrowed her eyes as tension arose in the air. "Guys, trust me. Cranky here is gonna make things ugly."

"Uglier than you when you get scared. That much is guaranteed." Craig snickered.

"Okay, you're just asking for a butt-whooping!" Cana fumed. "I hope you get hurt to the point where you can't stand!"

Craig frowned. Suddenly all that was sheer and lively died. A shrilled wind blew, and Cana immediately silenced as she noticed the dead serious look on Craig's face. "…you might be right."

Grander's eyes narrowed. "Looks like it's you and me. Compared to last time, those two were in the way."

Craig gripped his still sheathed sword and a snarl escaped, like that of a wild animal.

That same day as when Boreas, Iori, and Malloy were defeated, ash and fire was everywhere. Craig, Al, and Nina were in front of Grander. All three were finding the area hard to move around in because it felt as terrible as razorblades.

Grander stood with arms stained with blood from slicing through others beforehand. "You three. You're causing a disaster here; these riots, these massacres, these running slaves…" His eyes narrowed. "You've ruined Bosco, Craig!"

Craig had his swords poised. "And I don't regret it! Like I said, it's a good day to die!" He lunged ahead, yet Grander let out a battlecry as he chopped downwards. Craig moved out of the way as the earth was sliced into and spread onwards for miles, obliterating quite a few sites and collapsing several abandoned watchtowers.

Craig gained footing again and got in close. "Smash!" He punched forward with vicious intentions. His punched echoed, yet Grander didn't seem moved by Craig's punch. Craig grunted as his arm felt like it was in pain.

"Craig, get away!" Nina pleaded.

"His entire body is a blade! Remember that?!" Al shouted.

Craig's eyes widened, but was too late as Grander's arms came around in a vicious swipe, cutting into Craig's forearms as he was recoiling. He flew back into a thud on his back, and grunted as his arm had some red.

"Craig!" Nina angrily looked back at Grander. "Just look at what you've done! I won't have you hurt my friend!" The little girl began to proceed, catching Al off guard.

"No, Nina! He'll kill you!" Al shouted, but watched on as the little girl grabbed a nearby pipe and ran up to Grander. She thus began to pound away at his legs, and all Grander did was look down, glowering.

Nina hit away, the pipe bashing at his legs. "I don't care about what happens! I won't let my friends suffer any longer! We cared for another, and we lived with another!" She grew some misty eyes as she hopelessly pounded at Grander's titanium body. "And now we're all fighting! My friends are gone! I won't have any more taken from me-!"

She gasped as Grander suddenly slashed at her pipe, breaking it into diced fragments. Nina looked scared as she found herself stumbling backwards. She looked up at Grander to see his dark face with shadows.

"Consider yourself fortunate then, because you'll be free to see them anytime you want." With that comment, his arm slashed at the little girl, making her fall over and squeal.

"NINA!" Craig and Al screamed. Both furiously rushed for the severely injured girl. Both men angrily rushed outwards and jumped in front of Nina. They jumped ahead at Grander and attacked with fists of vengeance, one punch from each echoing through Grander's body, and yet nothing happened.

"How pathetic!" Grander brought an arm around, ready to slice at Craig.

"Craig, no!" Al's cry echoed and he shoved Craig out of the way. He pushed Craig enough to keep him safe.

Craig stumbled back as time slowed down, and he saw the vicious horror of Al falling in his place as Grander slashed his sharp arms diagonally on Al's side.

Craig was filled with horror as Al fell right beside Nina. "AL! NINA!"

Craig's eyes burned with hostility, and he was never gonna forget that day. The day he lost so many comrades. He drew forth a second blade, and crossed both swords in an X formation.

"For all of those fallen slaves, for Al, for Nina, I'll end you right here; for all of our sakes." Craig vowed.

"Oh, really?" Grander asked, not convinced. "I highly doubt that."

"Be ready, Grander." A feral and vicious smirk arose on Craig's, startling and creeping everyone out. "Because you're gonna dance with the devil, one final time!"

Nothing too exciting, I admit, but I hurried with the last half in one day. I am lagging behind in pacing, but I still do my best as ever. Some more Cana and Craig bickering, as you all love.

Comments and reviews appreciated! I'll be sure to make a quality fight next chapter! Until then! :)