Tension filled the air as Craig stood some ways from Grander. Both participants looked hostile, and full of contempt; even the passing winds didn't touch them because their skins were so tense with the blood pumping.

Craig's swords were crossed and his reflection and Grander's was seen on opposite sides of the blades. Both looked locked onto the other, and had no intention on backing down.

"Everyone, get back, this battle may very well get intense." Shore insisted. Velvea and her father assisted in whatever ways they could in getting the wounded Natsu and Erza away several feet. Cana limped away several feet and turned to look back at the hostile face of Craig.

"The only thing that seems to be more painful than your punches is your tongue!" Grander thus began running ahead after Craig, whom looked read and bared his teeth.

"Alright you giant kitchen knife, it's on!" Craig kept his swords crossed as Grander brought down an axe kick, literally. The back of his pants and leg in general manifested into a blade, brought down and caught in a stalemate on Craig's swords. With his raw animal strength behind him, Craig kept his ground as Grander didn't seem to be fazed either.

"You still got some nerve defying everyone in your way." Grander scoffed up close.

"I hate everything, including your sick need for control." Craig deflected Grander with his blades and directed him towards his right. Grander was forced to step back and turn his arms into blades.

"Blood Sickle!"

He attempted a slash at Craig with one arm blade, but Craig turned the handle on his left sword and blocked the arm swipe, the sharp blades grinding against the other. He came around with his left arm blade, but much to everyone's shock, Craig turned his head and opened his mouth. His sharp teeth bit into the arm blade, keeping a strong hold. Grander looked startled as Craig's sharp material was keeping him still.

Erza's eyes were wide. "Amazing. His swords aren't even breaking." She looked on as Craig brought the one hand with the other sword back. "Those swords are so strong, and his teeth and jaw power are like that of a savage predator's."

"Humming Pointer!" Using his blood red sword in his right hand, he used the very tip and jabbed ahead. The sharp tip was like a strong jab as it was fast and vicious; in and out. Grander felt his abdomen take a strong yet weak cut, which caused him to reel back. Craig didn't let up as he came around and spun in place, swinging both his swords and engraving more superficial cuts onto his face.

Happy gawked. "No way! He can cut Grander?!" He saw the monster reel back some more, and saw him use his arm blade to block a sword hammering down onto him. Both continued glaring the other down.

"It looks like it." Erza said, stilled filled with curiosity as she saw a closer examination. "However, they only seem superficial, so not much damage is enforced."

"But to damage his titanium body in general, those swords and those honed edge-wielding techniques are bizarre." Shore stated. "To have such abilities, one must be experienced, and to have swords that have the strongest and sharpest metals on all of Earth Land."

Craig turned his head in time to bite into a downwards chop, the blade caught in time by his fangs. Craig glared at Grander and used the position to drive his dark red sword into him, using another Humming Pointer that made Grander lurch. With him as such, Craig let go of his hold and sheathed a sword. He then threw a fist forward.

"Smash!"

He drove a vicious punch forward, right into Grander's forehead, making a harsh blow rattle through his head that went through his body. Grander stumbled back, which left him open once more. Craig sheathed the other sword quickly and drove an uppercut.

"Soaring Pain!"

Crag delivered an uppercut to Grander's chin, sending the titanium man soaring into the air, and the titanium clanged through the airspace. Everyone watched in awe as Grander fell downwards, slamming against the ground and dust blew.

Craig looked back at the dust, his eyes narrow with hostility. "…" Nothing was said, and he expected his adversary to be standing. With past experience fighting Grander, Craig knew that his titanium body would hold out against his wild animal strength and brutality. And as the dust cleared, Grander was seen standing up, his face only having the superficial cuts gained, and the punch marks barely visible.

"Should've known you'd be this hard to get rid of." Craig growled, turning back towards him. His feet spread apart as he readied for Grander, whose fingers were lined with titanium blades.

"I could say the same about you." Without anymore hesitation, Grander charged right in, and went to slice Craig. Craig scoffed at him and bared his sharp teeth once more. He brought his titanium armbands forward, and used them as blockers for the slicing attacks. The attacks actually bounced off of Craig's armbands, slicing and leaving cut marks on the buildings.

Natsu gasped. "No way. Those things that he has on are titanium too?"

"Which means he has an actual defense." Erza stated.

Cana was in awe to say the least. This was what Craig was also hiding from her. He had an immense amount of experience in battle that she didn't know, which was how he came prepared. If he fought against Grander before, who knows what else he's fought in the past? Personally, she didn't wanna find out, since this was the same guy who pisses her off to no end.

Craig kept blocking and deflected the shots and slashes. He used his titanium armbands throughout the whole way, while getting forced back by Grander's offensive play. Grander's ongoing slashing left even more marks on the buildings as they were deflecting off of Craig's choice of defense, leaving Craig to only make one final block, bringing them both to a stalemate.

Craig growled at the man, and wasted no time in using his legs and kicked viciously in the lower abdomen, making Grander lose momentum. "Smash!" Craig drove another fist forward, right in the forehead once again, making the man grunt as he skidded back this time.

Grander looked back, but much to his, and everyone's, surprise, they saw Craig standing up, with his two swords already sheathed, and the shocking part was that he had the double-bladed sword with the gold middle bit into.

It was a phenomenon to say the least. Everyone behind him, exclude Cana, never saw this type of sword arts. Erza especially was shocked. "He can use…four swords?" She was left as speechless as everyone else. "Just how talented is this guy?"

Craig rushed on in, lunging with deep sprints with his swords crossed. Grander drew back his arm, the fingers and arm alike becoming titanium blades. "Now you're just making me mad." He thrust forward, meeting with Craig's mouth blade. The stalemate was swift and clear, and Grander couldn't seem to get an advantage in the shredding. "So I remember, these swords."

"Yeah, now it's coming back." Craig crossed and slashed his two swords in hand, and the slash marks were across Grander's abdomen in a cross formation, making him grunt. The defensive man had no time to waste, and Craig appeared with his head sideways and swords crossed.

"Devil's Cross!"

He slashed his mouth blade up, and his swords slashed in opposite arcs, like that of a church cross. The intersecting attacks left more superficial cuts on Grander, leaving him to fall backwards. Craig kept still and waited for Grander to make an offensive play.

"You remember these swords. All three were handcrafted and refined by the best blacksmith in the Pergrande Kingdom. Your slashing offenses won't break these, and elements won't wear them down." Craig informed.

Grander got up, having his eyes covered by the shadows. The pressure in the air shifted, and it felt like Craig and everyone felt their own skin cutting. They actually saw the air currents around Grander shredding into nothing, and the ground beneath him also had thick slash marks. Now things were getting very serious.

"Do you feel that?" Happy asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid this Magic Power is the most I've sensed before." Erza said. "…it's even greater than Master Makarov, and he's one of the Wizard Saints."

Cana's eyes narrowed. "I don't think that matters when this guy isn't from Fiore."

Grander advanced onwards, lunging after Craig with the ground beneath cut into as he advanced, leaving a cut up trail following him. Craig's predatory eyes showed no mercy as he crossed his two swords in hand, blocking Grander's foot as it sharpened to a bladed point. The tip and the swords met with an echo, and the deflected stab raced up on either side of Craig and Grander, slicing up the several buildings in two.

Everyone watched in sheer awe as Craig lost momentum, and hurriedly fell back and went into a skid underneath Grander so as to crouch up from behind. The titanium man turned his head back and swung his arm around. Clanging against Craig's right side of the mouth blade.

Craig got a foot behind himself and pivoted outwards, spinning away until he stood in front of a really tall building on the side of the streets. He looked forward, seeing Grander advance onto him. He hurriedly turned his head and crossed his swords.

"Clasp Blade!"

His wrists were together and he had the fingertips pointed at him. The fingertips and palms collided with the swords, and another echo went through the area. It seemed as though nothing had happened, but Craig was barely holding his ground anymore; if anything, it looked like he was skidding back a few inches.

Long glints went in lines up against several of the buildings behind Craig, including the one going straight up and slicing the tall building into shambles. The whole structure was completely collapsing on itself slowly, despite being a 70-foot-tall building. Small cuts were also seen on Craig's cheeks and arms.

Craig was having trouble, and he fell short as Grander lifted his knee. "Nice try." Grander let out a grunt as he kicked Craig in the leg, the sharp bladed tip piercing into his leg and Craig fell backwards, crashing into the wall of the several falling buildings. Altogether, the entire structure of the buildings all around completely fell apart, and dust and debris fell down.

The earth rumbled, and the structures collapsing echoed through the entire city that was sliced up. Cana and everyone's eyes were wide with sheer awe at the level of destruction that the one attack could accomplish, and they all felt hope drain as debris and sections of the building fell down on Craig.

After a full minute, it all settled, and a huge section of debris was before everyone. Grander stood with a disciplined face. "Are you done? Because I am."

A long silence fell, save the small bits of debris still rolling around and crumbling. Grander turned away as he thought the battle was over. He took a couple steps away, but stopped when some shifting was heard. He didn't look back until the shifting grew into a roar and heard some heavy grunting. To everyone's shock and disbelief, a massive piece of the corner of a building, still intact with furniture and all, was up from the earth.

Craig was at the very bottom, snarling as his fangs and veins were seen popping out. His muscles were seen as he had some blood running down his arms and forehead. He looked like he was gonna fall and get crushed, but he was actually holding up extremely well, despite the immense pain from using his strength to hold up the intact large fragment of a building.

Natsu's eyes bulged out of his head. "NO WAY!"

"He's that strong?" Erza herself couldn't believe what she was seeing. "What raw strength, but you can't tell from that muscle mass. It's all so compressed."

Cana's mouth gaped. "Oh man, he's even stronger than Elfman for crying out loud!"

However, Grander didn't show any surprise. "Well, you're as persistent as ever, I'll give credit there. But now what are you gonna do?"

His taunt only made Craig growl even more, his sharp teeth almost gritting. "Isn't it obvious, you metalheaded dunce?" As he raised his head, a dark shadow loomed over his face, making his sea blue eyes look more monstrous than before. "I'm gonna avenge my friends by ending your life."

Grander looked unfazed, but the permanent bruise made him cringe. He was far too cocky last time, and so this time around, he wasn't gonna take any chances. "We'll see who dies."

"Try this!" With his raw prowess, Craig mustered up as much momentum as he possibly could and threw the enormous piece of building at Grander. Natsu and Happy's eyes nearly bulged out of their heads as they saw Craig actually throw the debris. Shore and Velvea were just as baffled, and Cana and Erza had no words to describe the pure force he had used.

As the building piece went sailing at Grander, the man crossed his arms, his fingers loose as they became sharp titanium blades once again. "It doesn't matter what you throw at me. I can slice a mountain in two, I can split this city into shambles; this will be no different.

Using the building thrown as cover, Craig used the brief relief he had and drew all of his blades once more; two swords, and the double-bladed one once more. He readied himself once Grander took the bait.

"Dice Splicer!"

Grander's titanium hands crossed like an X formation, and the building piece glinted and was completely cut into diced styles. The fashion being like Gildarts's Disassembly Magic. Natsu and everyone saw that he didn't even move his feet to attack, which startled them greatly.

Just then, slashing was heard, and Grander's eyes narrowed. Moments later, as the diced debris kept falling, it was smashed and sliced even more, revealing Craig with his blades lunging through as an opening, taking Grander by surprise.

"Blood Sickle!"

Grander's arms became titanium blades. The debris fell, and the earth quaked as Craig began to slash and parry every blow Grander could possibly throw. This time, the surprise worked in Craig's favor as he was the one driving Grander back, barely blocking the sharp blades, and every spark and shredding clash was like bun bullets going in rapid fire. They were so fast and so sharp; so perceptive that even Erza wouldn't believe how skilled Craig was on offense. His style was extremely accurate with points, and highly vicious and personality.

Finally, Craig crossed his swords, forcing Grander to cross and harden his arms, but that left him with slash marks that made him grunt in annoyance. Another opportunity was at hand, and Craig took a step back and began to lung ahead, spinning towards him. Grander's eyes widened.

"Spiral Dragon Slice!"

Craig spiraled past Grander, planting his feet after spiraling like a drill past him. He was in a slashed motion, and Grander had a few curved cuts that were all over his body and clothes, but were still superficial.

The titanium man stumbled back from the damage, but that was all Craig needed. He turned around and pointed one sword at him. "Humming Pointer!" He jabbed the tip of his one sword behind Grander, making a small cut into the man's black, impaling him by just a little.

Grander got his momentum falling forward and didn't fall completely, rather he found his feet and glared back at Craig. Craig wasn't smirking, but was filled with vicious force. There was a hidden level of calm, and it only fueled his rage even more.

Grander's entire body turned around. His one step forward made the ground cut into various slice marks, which was a bad sign as his power was still going on strong. "You're just making this harder for yourself. Take this why don't ya."

His knuckles jutted out razor sharp blades of titanium, almost like curved claws, and thick ridged appeared all over his arms, like jagged, spiked, and curved armor. "Titanium Gauntlet!" With no hesitation behind his advance, Grander let out a grunt as he slashed at Craig, and in return Craig used the swords he had in his hands and the right side of his mouth blade to stop the one arm.

However, he realized that Grander still had a second arm.

'Oh crap!' He realized he wasn't gonna be able to dodge, and Grander's right arm with sharp titanium jutting out raked Craig, cutting into him and making red spill. The vicious person that was Craig had to hold in a harsh grunt of pain as he lost balance.

Grander advanced. "No matter how you saw it, it takes up all of your skill to keep one arm from shredding up your body." He had the left fist back again. "Too bad, even the most skilled swordsman can't defeat me."

Craig gagged blood as he bellowed a scream, though his teeth were still clenching his gold handle of the two blades. Grander drove the left gauntlet in deeper, cutting and piercing Craig's abdomen. As Craig flew back, red spilled from Grander's titanium with Craig's blood on it.

Getting his footing, Craig skidded backwards to a halt. His legs were shaking, the product of damage and near-collapse. His sea-green t-shirt was stained in red with slash marks all around. With his forehead and edges of his mouth bleeding as well, it looked as though he was gonna keel over.

His eyes showed defiance, and he was still left standing. He glared at Grander, whom was surprised. "I'm not as weak as last time. A year can change a person."

Grander got over his surprise and scoffed, retracting his gauntlets. "So it would seem to be the case." He crossed his arms and fingers again. "But still…" He lunged ahead, in which Craig readied with his swords. "There's no place in the world for people like you!"

Craig tilted his head and intercepted the blade with the mouth blade, but Grander used the one hand. With his free hand, he slashed, swatting away Craig's two swords that were sent spinning in the air. To his horror, as the swords flung out, that left him to get a vicious, sharp uppercut by Grander, the slicing and cutting starting at the chin. The recoil was enough to make Craig lose some strength, enough to make the double blade flung out of his mouth as well.

'Oh crap!' Craig's eyes were wide as time seemed to have slowed down. Grander raised a leg high, and the sides and the tip of the boots became sharp and pure titanium. He kicked forward, and the sharp boot tip pierced Craig's abdomen again, making him scream in pain as more of his blood spilled.

"Craig!" Cana shouted, but was left unable to do anything as she watched him tumble backwards, crashing into a pile of wall remains, barely intact. His back hit the debris mound, and he slid down and grunted in pain. His legs couldn't seem to move, and all of his blades pierced the ground right on his sides. His whole sea green shirt was stained in red, and he looked as though he was torn to ribbons.

Grander advanced forward, his footsteps echoing through Craig's ears. The tall man stopped when he was five feet ahead of Craig, and glowered down at him with a dark look in his eyes. Grander, for the most part, looked secretly thrilled for this moment.

"Why do you continue to waste my time?" He asked, pitying Craig as he could hardly stand up. "You're at a disadvantage, and you have been from the start. Why do you continue resisting me?"

Craig panted as he was in pain, but grunted as he continued to get up. His body had suffered a lot of abdominal blood loss and cuts, far more than what the average human should endure, and yet here he was, defying all odds.

"Because." He stated in between pants. "Because…I have those who I stood up for, those who gave their lives and wills, those who went against the world itself. I'd sooner have the whole world as my enemy than forget those faces that brought me here. Falling before you would be a crime itself." His words were so crisp and strong, and it was clear they were true and resolute.

To everyone, they weren't sure what to make of his words. All they could do was just stare in awe as he stood up and plucked his swords from the earth in which they impaled. His breath hitched and he gagged, but he never faltered as his predatory gaze was aimed for Grander.

"Then say hello to them in hell." Bringing his arms around, they were coated in titanium blades at the elbows, sides, and fingers. "Solace Decimator!"

In a single swipe in opposite arcs overlapping the other, a long slashed echoed. Craig's eyes saw the air pressure coming at him was shredded apart, and everyone looked in horror as Craig only stood there, and moments passed before it all happened.

All around, the buildings before their eyes, as far as the eye went across the horizon…they, along with the debris, and Craig, who had his arms up…it all sundered. Craig spilled red in the arms, and in the abdomen. The buildings across the entire area became shredded, diced bits, even the ground was shredded with immense crevices all around. The buildings toppled down, and the debris behind Craig toppled into dust.

Dust even shredded into diced bits, and didn't surrounded Grander as it did Craig. A dust storm raged and all of Solidaster sounded like it was an earthquake that happened. The damage was undeniably extreme, leveling the whole south end of Solidaster; houses and buildings were leveled down, and a while three minutes was nothing but shredded toppling.

"He destroyed half of Solidaster in just a strong swing of his arms!" Velvea shouted in sheer horror.

"He leveled the entire area…this Magic level is beyond anything I've ever seen." Erza commented. "Is this really the full power of foreign countries such as Bosco?"

"Craig…" Cana looked in horror as everything came down before her. A part of her was saying the heck, as if Craig had it coming to him, but did he really have to go out this way? Another part of her hurt because Craig saved her butt on more than several occasions…which always ended in bickering.

After the insanity, Grander turned around, his stone gaze glared them down, but to their small relief, he looked more than a little tired. He obviously used up a lot of his Magic Power, so using anymore of his tricks could be harmful to himself.

"Now, I'll be taking the heiress now." He began t=walking towards them, and Velvea shuddered and collapsed to her knees at Grander's raw strength. "I refuse to have Bosco's slavery tarnished, so I'll use you and be on my way. Time to fix what the monster back there broke."

Everyone couldn't move; cuts were all over their faces and bodies. Even if they could, Grander would literally cut them down. He had the stern look that couldn't even be broken by Makarov or Laxus.

A sudden blow to the back made Grander grunt as he fell forward. The man fell forward with a thud, and his body shook in small amounts of pain that added up from Craig's assaults from before. Everyone's eyes dilated at the intense site that left them unable to breath.

Grander looked back, and to his horror and disbelief, Craig was standing tall as the dust blew past him. Craig had all of his swords sheathed and tucked behind his jacket still wrapped around his waist. The rest of his body, however, was dried up red. Cuts and dirt were scattered all over his body. It was hard to tell if he was even alive.

A dark shadow was over his sea blue eyes. All of them were paralyzed in sheer horror at Craig as he had the eyes that were more fearsome than a demon; fearsome than your worst nightmare; fearsome than Erza's herself. This was the look of a predatory monster, who's seen the evils and wicked in the world and embraced it with a cold heart. The eyes, despite the color, saw red, and were bloodshot. And yet Craig stood tall and mighty, glaring solemnly at Grander.

"After all of those cuts, and blood loss, you're still in one piece?! Do you have some superhuman pain threshold or something?!" Grander shouted out in disbelief.

"I've been all over this crazy world. I've experienced physical and mental pain that would've killed a normal man a long time ago." Craig stated in a low, growling tone. "I was punctured in the neck, yet it only felt like a sting. I was pierced right into my legs, and the abdomen holds the marks of many foes, including you." He proceeded forward, red dripping from his fingers.

"I know your weakness, Grander. The more you use your Magic, and the more power you exert, the less dense and the less sharp your attacks get." His eyes narrowed. "In the end, you're nothing but loose paper when you're all dried up."

Grander growled lowly and glared at Craig. He had his fingers become sharp titanium blades once more. "Alright, this time you're gonna wish you stayed dead. Dice Splicer!" He crossed his arms and hands in an X formation, and Craig immediately brought his arms up, using the titanium and heavy wristbands on his arms to deflect the slicing attack. He kept his gaze ahead as the ground and residue of debris was diced up even more.

"Sorry, but I'm not stupid." He retorted, though despite was he said, blood dripped from the sides of his mouth and forehead still.

Grander rushed on in, and let out a battlecry as he went in and kicked Craig like he did before. An axe kick swung down, but Craig used his muscle to grab and hold the pant leg. Of course this action still led to a struggle between the two exhausted warriors. Grander used his left arm and attempted to slash at Craig while the distance was still close. Craig, naturally, used his head and sank his sharp teeth into Grander's wrist, restraining his left arm now, while holding back his pant leg.

A long intimidating struggle was between the two, but in the end Craig still had his feet on the ground, and pressed forward, leaving Grander to slowly fall backwards. As Grander fell back, Craig clenched a bloody fist and hurried into Grander, letting his hold onto him go and drew a fist forward.

"Time for you to pay for the treachery you've caused! Smash!" Craig bashed his fist with intense might, driving it right into Grander's bruise. The immense pain bellowed and Grander screamed as Craig added insult to injury and drove the fist downwards, sending Grander into the earth. The ground quaked, and Craig stepped back as his fist looked as though the bones inside were bruised.

The dust cleared, and Grander's leg shot out at him. Craig, once again, grabbed the top and bottom of the boot, and grunted as he skidded back a few feet. Grander growled down at Craig, but was left to only get thrown to the ground as Craig let out a cry as he turned his body and turned the boot, making Grander fall to the side and tumble towards a building that wasn't shredded up.

Craig grabbed his swords one last time; the two in hand, and the one in his mouth. This was a sign that he was gonna throw everything at Grander with all he's got.

Grander rushed out at Craig, and both closed in on the other. Grander's arms were covered in the titanium, sharp gauntlets. With a vicious and dark battlecry, he and Craig met.

"Titanium Gauntlet!"

All anyone saw was a flash, and white filled the air. They all had wide eyes as they looked ahead with all. After the flash ended, Grander and Craig were pass the other, and Craig was in a slashed pose, as was Grander.

A strong wind blew past them, and everyone saw Grander retract his gauntlets, and Craig's shoulders and ribs spilled more red that stained his sea green shirt, yet Craig had shadows over his eyes, so it was hard to tell if he was still alive.

His slow movement caught everyone, and Grander looked back with slight anger. Despite the cross blow, Craig was still standing.

Craig did an intriguing movement. While he had his swords in hand, he got out all of the sheaths at once, and held them close to each other. With his arms crossed, and sheaths and swords being held by barely a finger each, Craig slowly pressed his fingers inward, slowly sheathing the swords and mouth blade ends with his arms still crossed.

"You…" Grander turned around, angrily glaring at Craig. "This next blow, I'll finish you, and slavery shall…" He noticed that he could barely move, and it seemed like a delayed reaction, but he felt a stinging sensation starting from the gut and traveling up to his head, and two other stinging sensations went from the gut and slanted up over the pectorals.

Craig's eyes widened. "900 Demon Caliber – Bloodlust Blitz!"

His swords sheathed, and the clang was so loud that it traveled all over Solidaster. It was like a gunshot almost. At that instant, three giant gashes erupted on Grander. His blood spilled everywhere, and he gagged in pain as long gashes left blood running from the cuts over his pectorals and running up the neck and head. They were more than superficial; these were deep. Grander had a straight line of red running down from the middle of his forehead and going down, and he sank to his knees.

"This can't…be…"

Craig turned around and put his swords away, tuck being his jacket once more. His eyes glared at Grander. "Believe it pal. This is over." His fists clenched harder as his body seemed to have gotten more tense by the second. "You messed up big time! You killed so many slaves, and now it's your turn to end up in their shoes!"

He ran ahead, time slowing down. "One year ago, a rebellion took place, and we all fought for the sake of freedom!" His bruised fist clenched so hard that blood stopped circulating through it. "And on that warzone, many of my friends died! If I had never set into Bosco, then they would've been alive…but now they're truly free! AND THEY DON'T REGRET A SINGLE THING!"

A wave of faces came to Craig as he let out a scream of pure might as he drove his damaged fist forward, right into the permanent bruise. Grander felt everything in his body going numb, and he couldn't even scream as it was like a meteor was striking his bruise. He felt the bones all around shatter as Craig punched harder, driving his fist deeper as more faces of the salves with smiles on their faces were seen…the last two were of Al and Nina.

With a monstrous roar, Craig followed through with his punch, and Grander gagged a wave of red as he shot back, smashing through a huge, thick building. The entire building, and the ones behind it, all toppled over as a huge shockwave rippled through the area. The whole ground shook violently as Craig's Smash, literally smashed Grander right through a whole block of buildings still barely intact.

Everyone couldn't help but gape their mouths at the site. It was pure power as Craig huffed and got to a knee. Their eye went to the open area that Craig left. The dust settled, and in a huge crater a far ways away, they saw Grander devoid of pupils. The most noticeable damage was not just the three huge gashes on him, but the thick, black abdominal wound, dented inwards by Craig, far deeper than the one he got before.

He fell to his knees and his head was positioned to look up at the sky as a bird chirped overhead. 'I don't know how…but he's done it…that man…has no bounds on freedom.' With those final thoughts, Grander fell forward with a thud, dead.

Shore's eyes were wide, shaking even. "I don't believe this. Grander…has fallen."

"No way." Natsu muttered, barely able to breathe. "Grander's…dead?"

"That level of power. That was raw determination beyond any limitation." Erza muttered.

Velvea had her mouth covered. "…he won." She sounded shocked, yet happy. "Grander's gone…he won!"

Cana was at a loss for words. The man Craig took down was beyond any level of Magic she'd sensed, and his strength was immense…but she just witnessed Craig defying all odds, and his bloody mess of a body was proof that his monstrous demeanor and pain tolerance can't be trumped.

Craig just stared out at the fallen Grander, and panted. To his surprise, he felt his lips forming a grin, smiling that now Grander was finally dead, his friends could rest in peace.

Grander screamed in pain as Craig roared like a monster, his huge and powerful punch. A great shockwave bellowed and the ground shattered from the force that a bloody Craig provided, His shirt was all torn up, revealing his damaged abdominal region and deep gashes.

Grander gagged blood as that marked the victory, and Grander could only choke as the cliff shattered, and he fell backwards into the sea, where the rocks were. Below all of the rocks shattered, making strong waves as Grander seemingly sank.

Craig looked down at the sea swaying, disregarding his bloodied hands. He heard nothing but wind and sea as his jacket shifted while tied to his waist. The battle was won. The war itself was won.

Up ahead, blue sky seemed to have been rolling in slowly. Still overhead, dark skies plagued the atmosphere, and Craig turned around to look at the carnage before him. Black skies were still above, and fires were far away and settling. The rebellious slaves all hollered as they chased of the scurrying forces, scared now that Grander was gone.

Amongst the debris on the ground some ways away, Craig caught sight of his friends. Without even a remote concern for himself, he rushed to them as they laid on their backs.

"Al! Nina!" He shouted to them. He saw how pale and sickly they were. They looked like serious wounds from Grander; from protecting Craig. He saw how they were barely holding on, and they weakly looked at him in amazement.

"Craig, buddy…" Al muttered, unable to move as his back was unrepairable from Grander slicing into it. "That was amazing."

"You did it, Craig." Nina muttered, a smile on her face.

Craig shook his head. "No, we did it, but…" He swallowed hard, seeing their fatal wounds. "Just hang in there, okay? I'll go and…" Before he could move anywhere else, he was stopped when two weak clutches grabbed his bloodied arms. Craig gasped as he turned back around, finding Al and Nina, one arm each, holding onto Craig.

Both of them smiled as their eyes mist. Both of them shook their heads at him. Craig felt his heart sank as his strength was fading. He sank to his knees as he could only see his two friends smiling at him, their eyes ready to fall tears.

The longer they stared, the more mist Craig was starting to get. "Al…Nina…"

Nina gave her huge smile. "Craig, you lost everything, and you don't know why, but it's fine."

"Your beginning was bad man…but you made it count as you went along, right?" Al coughed some blood as he and Nina held their grip tight on Craig's hands. "You've gone far buddy." A tear happily fell. "And now look, we won…we won."

Nina sniffled as she looked up, seeing the dark sky clear out, and sunlight began to brighten up their spots. "We did it…we won." Tears ran down her small cheeks as she never felt so happy in her life. She turned towards a teary Craig, and her little smile grew.

"Craig…it's okay. We knew this would happen." She said. "I'm so happy, I got to see the sun again. Isn't it beautiful?"

Craig and everyone saw the sunlight starting to pierce more of the dark clouds, brightening up more of the area around them.

"I'd never thought I'd live to see the sun again." Al sniffled in happiness. "It's so beautiful." He turned towards Craig, his grip starting to loosen. "Buddy, you're a true friend, don't forget that. We wouldn't have wanted this any other way."

"Grander's gone…we're free at last." Nina cried out more tears of joy. "Craig, Al, I'm so happy!"

"I am too!" Al streamed and sniffled tears with Nina, and Craig quivered as his friends were seeing happiness in their final moments. With everything he had, he smiled proudly, despite the immense pain flowing through his heart. If he was to see them for the last time, it should be with smiles.

Al and Nina opened their eyes one last time, both having smiles at Craig, who had tears of sadness and joy running down his cheeks.

"Craig, you lost everything…but you were everything to us…" Al choked a little as he was starting to get hazy. "We never felt so much hope before. You're a true friend."

"Craig…" Nina's eyes started to close. "Thank you…for letting us see the light of the world again…thank you…Craig…thank you…"

With those words, Nina and Al slowly closed theirs eyes, dying with smiles on their faces. Craig's heart stopped, but the tears never stopped flowing. With a big smile, he curled over and placed his head on the ground, sobbing madly while being happy that he made their lives hopeful.

A little while after, Craig was seen, crying tears down his face as he sent two wooden coffins out to sea, the smaller one being Nina. Both of them had crosses on them and the two coffins were linked side-by-side, sailing off towards sea with blue skies and sunshine ahead.

As they went off, an image of a happy Al and a cheerful and smiling Nina were seen, and Craig continued to cry in pain and happiness.

Craig fell over. 'Al…Nina…I hope you're still smiling up there…' He fell over onto his side, thudding as everyone rushed over to his aid.

A few days passed, and Solidaster was still recovering from the damage Grander had done. Fortunately for everyone, every building and house had a basement of cellar, so everyone evacuated down there, so thankfully no casualties happened. Grander's three subordinates were all take in by the Rune Knights, and his corpse was left in Solidaster after word of his origins arose.

Inside the infirmary of the shell-shaped castle, Shire turned towards the nurse. "What's his condition?"

The nurse flipped a few pages on her clipboard. "Well, Sentoro will be fine. He was lucky that his cuts and gashes were minor. He'll live." She flipped some more pages and turned her attention towards Craig, who was napping and covered in bandages all over. "As for him, it's nothing short of pure astonishment. A normal man wouldn't have survived those wounds. He's got immense durability to hold up like this."

Shore looked back and stared at Craig as his sea green shirt was replenished, as was his clothing in general. He only took a few steps forward and stopped. He grinned as Craig crossed his arms as he slept against the headboard, covered in bandages from head to toe.

"Young man, you've done it. You secured our safety." He said to a sleeping Craig. "I am in your debt."

"…one more syllable…I bite your arm…" He sleep talked.

Velvea giggled as she smiled. "My, he sure is aggressive even when asleep."

Cana and the recovered Fairy Tail Mages were right beside her. Cana gave a weird look at Craig. "Yeah, that's why I call him Cranky. He hates everything."

Natsu cracked his knuckled. "Whatever, he can hate me all he wants, but I still got a bone to pick with him." He was silenced when a fist conked the back of his head. "Ow! What, Erza?" He whined.

Erza put her hands to her hips. "Don't even think about it, Natsu. If it wasn't for him, we'd be dead right now." She turned ahead to see Craig napping still, turning over to the side. She herself couldn't deny that she wanted to test Craig, but seeing as how he defeated an opponent that she couldn't and had swords used as well, asking him to fight when his style is so unorthodox; she couldn't tell if he was a real swordsman or not. Whatever the case, challenging him wouldn't do any good for either party. He was an ally…for now.

"I still say I can kick his butt." Natsu said beneath his breath.

Happy floated right next to him. "Oh, and can you avoid getting punched, bit, and sliced by that guy?"

"S-shut up, Happy!"

Cana giggled at the scene, and her attention turned towards Craig, and she twisted her face in curiousness of his rather…unsettling demeanor.

Later on, evening came, and the mages, and a now awake Craig, enjoyed a nice meal prepared by the staff. Naturally, Natsu was stuffing his face, eating meat off of every bone in his hands.

"Man this is really good!" He muttered as he chewed.

Happy naturally indulged in the finest fish that were fresh from the sea, and of course Cana was drinking up the finest wine.

"Aw yeah, now that's what I call a well-deserved filler!" She hollered out, slamming a wine glass on the table.

Erza was enjoying her meal with etiquette, enjoying the fresh strawberry cheesecake that hit the spot. On the other hand, at the far end of the table, Craig, and his behavior was no different from before. He was sinking his fangs into the food on his plate. He was devouring food and taking it in like he hasn't eaten in days, mostly because he hasn't even in days.

He tore off a thick piece of meat with his incisors. He lifted his head and chomped on the meat as he lifted it up and down into his mouth, like some primordial beast. Everyone present just stared at his audacity of absolute zero manners. Even Natsu looked like a saint compared to him.

Sentoro sat down, a shadow over his eyes. "This fool has the nerve to eat like a wild animal in front of us all."

Velvea had a nervous smile. "Now Sentoro, let's be patient. He may have…mannerism issues, but he did save all of our lives."

Shore nodded in agreement to his daughter. "Yes, it's because of him that we can proceed with heading to Bosco tomorrow." He turned towards Craig, seeing him swallow. "Young man, we would like to thank you."

Craig turned towards him, applying a napkin to his face. "You're welcome. I was just glad I got to end that tyrant for good."

"And because of you, we can now use Grander as evidence and assure Bosco overrules their slavery."

Later, in the evening, in the bath, it looked more like a hot spring. There was a boy's side, and a girl's side.

Natsu relaxed as he sank into the soothing bath waters. "Ah, now this is more like it! I feel like loyalty! Haha!"

"It's pronounced royalty, Natsu." Happy corrected, floating on his back.

"Whatever, this still rocks!"

Shore was in the bath as well, a towel wrapped around him. "These baths were custom made to even replenish Magic levels. Still, I can't thank you all enough."

Close to the small waterfall that went into the bath, Craig was seen far from the group, looking relaxed, but still wanting to be given the cold shoulder. Even in the bath, he had the bandages on, since his wounds were that bitter.

Natsu looked at Craig discerningly. "What's his deal? Even when relaxed he can look cranky."

Happy looked just as worried. "Beats me. He hasn't said much to us. Maybe he's just tired."

Craig just kept his eyes shut as he heard nothing, nothing but the drip drops and waterfalls in the bath. The big battle he had left plenty of wounds on him, and the more he felt the sting, the more agitated he seemed to get, but he was too tired to growl or anything. He devoured a huge meal, and he just felt like napping once more.

On the girl's side, the three girls relaxed. Cana and Erza were laying back in the bath.

"Now I don't ever wanna get out." Cana mused.

"This certainly is relaxing." Erza said. "This job certainly pushed us to our limits."

Velvea was seen with her back turned, scrubbing her arm. "You all did amazing. I honestly thought things were gonna go bad, but them miracles happened." Her smile increased. "We still owe you all for your hard work."

Cana had her arms over her head as she looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah…but that last miracle wasn't by us." Her eyes narrowed. "Cranky got the credit there. He knew what he was doing."

Erza frowned as well. "Still, I was amazed that you ran into him before. He's that strong?"

"I honestly have no idea how strong he is. He's an unholy bringer." Cana turned her head away. "And no matter what, the very thought of him pisses me off. Seriously, does he ever show respect?"

Erza looked at the bath water. "His character aside, we do owe him."

Cana looked at her. "Speaking of owing. What about the reward?"

"Shore said we'll get the reward in full. Apparently Craig said he wanted nothing to do with the cash. After Velvea leaves tomorrow, that's when we depart."

"Too bad, and I really wanted to soak some sun on those beaches." A mischievous smirk arose on her lips. "And I bet you wanted to enjoy a nice vacation with Natsu, am I right?"

Erza grew red in embarrassment. "W-what?! Don't be silly Cana! We came here for the job, nothing more!" However, she couldn't deny that picturing her and Natsu on the beach together was something she wanted to enjoy. She looked away, huffing with an even bigger blush.

Velvea chuckled at the amusement before her.

In the guest section of the living quarters, Erza's team all shared an expansive room with windows that looked up to the night sky. They all looked up, smiling at the nighttime stars from the open windows.

"I think I see a fish up there!" Happy said, pointed at a random star.

Natsu crossed his arms while sitting on his bed. "Don't be crazy. That's more like a…uh…"

"See? You're just as clueless as me!"

"Oh, like your guess makes any sense at all!"

Cana sat in her bed, a hand to her own cheek. "I don't mind sharing quarters with you guys…" She frowned as she looked at the far end of the room. "But with him? Just one night on the train is bad enough."

On the far side, in a spare bed, Craig had his head against the headboard as he bared his teeth at Cana. "Look at me any longer, and I'll give you nightmares."

"I'm surprised children don't cry when they see the look on your face."

"Well I'm sad that for those poor souls who fall to the floor in drinking contests against you. Why would they drink against you, Brownie?"

"Because they're daring, and they don't make me want to choke them, Cranky!"

Erza decided to intervene. "Alright, that's enough you two. We should try and at least hold off until tomorrow."

Craig snapped his jaws at Erza, but that was all. "Fine, but after that, I'm getting the heck out of here, away from you bunch."

Later on, Craig was the only one up. He still stared tiredly around, and he watched as Natsu snored, Happy was sprawled across his pal's belly, Erza was sleeping soundly, and Cana looked sober and sleeping soundly.

Darkness loomed about him, and he took in the picture of Cana once more before turning his attention to the ceiling. He closed his eyes, and soon fell asleep, readying for a less than enthusiastic night.

The three-year-old tenderly accepted the small piece of bread from the brunette girl that was the same age as him. He looked a little confused, but he didn't wanna seem too rude.

"Hi." He replied back. He looked at the small piece of bread, and back at her.

"Go on, don't be shy. It's for you." The little girl insisted. Her mother looked down at the boy and her own daughter, a smile on her face as she saw her little girl being polite.

The little boy looked back down at the piece of fresh bread. "Thank you." He muffled, and then he opened his mouth. The little girl and her mother looked with surprise as they saw the small yet sharp baby teeth his mouth had. They watched as he bit into the bread fast. They watched as he ate it all in no time.

The mother was a little shocked. "My, what an appetite. You must have quite the stomach, little guy."

The daughter tilted her head. "Are you still hungry?"

The boy looked away, reluctance on his face. "…maybe."

The little brunette smiled wider. "You don't need to be shy! We got plenty, right Mama?"

Her mother looked at the food in the brown grocery bags in her hands. She looked a little ponderous, since it was only enough to last a week for two people, but when she looked down at her daughter and the less-than-dirt boy, a small sense of generosity cam over her.

"I guess so." She said.

The small boy looked up at the girl's mom, some small sense of curiosity coming across him. She was like a saint, an image of an angel almost. He looked up at her and the small girl, with the latter looking more than happy, almost like a smaller angelic being in front of him.

"What's your name?" The girl asked.

The three-year-old looked at her, blinking as he sat on the bench. "…Craig. What's yours?"

The brunette showed no reluctance, unlike him. "Cana!"

Craig jerked back up from his sleep, his eyes wide and hazy. He looked around swiftly, seeing as how everything wasn't as before. He noticed that he wasn't sitting on a bench, and was on the same bed he fell asleep in. He saw that the morning sky was beginning to show daybreak arising.

"What the…" He looked over at the beds along the windows, seeing everyone sleeping soundly. His eyes were still rather hazy. "Was that…a dream?" His vision cleared, seeing Cana sleeping soundly in her bed. "Or…no, it can't be. It's gotta be…a memory?"

He saw Cana shift in her bed as birds chirped outside and fluttered off. Craig sat his head against the headboard, recalling the memory. In it, he remembered being young, very young, and that's when he met the little girl and her mom. The name rings a bell indefinitely, and he looked at Cana once more.

"Cana Alberona."

Morning came, and everyone was on the shore. The guards all escorted Velvea onto the ship, but she decided to talk to them once more.

She bowed to the Fairy Tail Mages. "We still thank you for all that you've done. None of this would've been possible without your arrival." She looked over, seeing the guards proceed with Grander's corpse away. "And now we have the evidence to win this argument and liberate Bosco for good."

Natsu put his arms over his head. "No sweat! Glad we could help!"

Erza nodded. "There's no need to thank us. We were doing our job."

Shore looked around. "Speaking of which, whatever happened to that one fellow, the one with great aggression?"

Happy shrugged. "Beats me. He was gone by the time we woke up. I guess he had his fill on sharing space."

"Too bad. I really wanted to thank him for finally ending this nightmare." Velvea smiled. "But if you see him, give him my regards!"

With that, everyone watched on as the ship sailed off, and the Fairy Tail Mages waved her farewells. Not long after, they left Solidaster and were back on the rocky trail that led up to the mountains.

They walked on, but Cana didn't seem worried as the sun was over her head. "Well that was a hoot."

"Yeah no kidding! Those guys were insanely strong!" Natsu commented. "But we sure showed them!"

"I can't wait to get back to the guild! Everyone's gonna be so jealous!" Happy commented.

"It was quite an adventure." Erza looked at Natsu. "And Solidaster was nice. Perhaps we can go there once it's fully repaired."

Natsu smiled at her. "Yeah, I'd like that!"

Erza smiled at him sincerely. Her amusement was cut short when a sudden figure appeared out of nowhere, silent as a grave. Erza turned forward, and everyone stopped in their tracks when the sudden appearance was by none other than the one who saved their hides.

"It's you!" Natsu said to Craig. "So you decided to try and fight me after all!"

"In your dreams pal." Craig scoffed, unamused. "I just showed up as I was heading out as well. Decided to give you all a last appearance before heading off." Of course Craig had his reasons, and he looked at Cana with slight scrutinizing, but his eyes hid that feature very well.

"Lady Velvea sends her regards. Thank you for what happened." Erza said.

"Don't mention it. I only came around because of all the commotion going about. Decided to snoop my nose in and I struck gold, or in this case titanium. Trust me, if I wasn't here, you'd be dead."

Cana put hands to her hips. "Still, thanks anyway, but I have to ask you something."

"Brownie, I swear, you're gonna give me a headache if you keep throwing questions at me." Craig said, irritated.

The brunette ignored his snarky comment with a huff. "Well then I'll just ask it anyway. Just who do you belong to?"

Craig's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Your skills with that four-blade technique. It's clear that you were taught." Erza noted. "Do you belong to another guild? Or do you have an apprenticeship from someone skilled?"

Craig rolled his eyes and groaned. "I already told Brownie this; pay attention, you morons." His showed his teeth. "I was given tips and advice from someone. I've always been alone. End of story."

"Then have you considered joining a guild?" Natsu asked, raising a brow.

Craig turned his back, his feet making the loose ground shift. A low silence fell as he looked up at the sky. "I know what you guys are. You're all just a bunch of people who ban together and call yourself kin. Well here's a mind-blower." He looked over his shoulder. "I don't give a damn about your so-called family. That's the last thing I need is to be held down by those who care."

Natsu clenched his fists. "What'd you say?! You'd insult Fairy Tail like that?!" He was cut off by Erza, who had an arm out, but even he felt the level of agitation from her.

"You'd be wise to keep your mouth shut." Erza said.

Craig turned back towards her. "The truth hurts, doesn't it? But last I checked, you were at the mercy of someone who was shredding circles around you. If anything, you'd best know to keep your own mouth shut around me."

A serious tension was between the group, and an eager silence fell. The more Erza looked into his eyes, the more vicious and predatory they seemed. He clearly was as Cana described. Everything about him was unorthodox.

Finally, Cana stepped in. "Well then, since you're obviously despicable 24/7, why not learn to at least be friendly." Her eyes narrowed as she gave a cocky smirk. "Maybe the next time we meet each other, if I somehow miraculously save you, you have to join us. Deal?"

Craig saw where this was going. This led back to awhile ago, when he saved her. Of course that led to deals and adulations that just made him mad. But since this was Cana, someone whose pushed his buttons, he might as well see where his limits go with her, since this may be the last time.

"Alright, just try and save me. Otherwise if we run into the other again, I'll be sure to save you since you're so hopeless." He turned around. "I hope you drink into a comma. Later, Brownie!" With that, he sped off elsewhere.

Cana fumed. "I hope you get cut wielding those things, Cranky!"

As Craig left, the images and memory of last night came back, and the more he remembered the little girl's face, the more it made him think of Cana. It was clear in his mind that the two were probably the same, but he couldn't be fully sure.

He took his leave and looked over his shoulder one last time, getting a long look of Cana one more time before he went away into the mountains.

There you have Craig and his usual aggressive demeanor. Did my best as always in the fights, and some emotional flashbacks as before. That's a wrap for the Solidaster Arc, was it good? You guys are getting a grasp of Craig and his violence, and why he dislikes guilds. More reasons and backstory will come. Reviews, opinions, and comments are appreciated guys, thanks for reading another chapter!