Chapter 366: The Courtyard Brawl

"Take the fight to the courtyard. Several of the antique items in this living room are worth more than your combined bounties."

"...."

Macbeth, Erik, Sawyer, Erigor, and Sorano stared at Finn in utter silence.

While Finn genuinely wanted to test his new attack dogs against Fairy Tail’s finest, he absolutely refused to let them destroy his curated furniture. Fortunately, his sprawling seaside mansion featured an expansive, reinforced courtyard specifically designed for intense magical combat training. It was the perfect arena for this impromptu brawl.

"Are you seriously sure you want us to fight them?" Cana scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. Her skimpy bikini top barely contained her generous chest, her tanned skin flushed with unwarranted confidence. "They look incredibly weak, you know."

"..."

The Reborn Oracion Seis exchanged deadpan looks.

Were they weak? Absolutely not. If they were weak, they wouldn’t have been the core members of one of the most terrifying Dark Guilds in history. Brain, their original master, had specifically handpicked and adopted them because of their overwhelming, monstrous talent.

So, why did they look like a pathetic, trembling mess right now?

Because immediately after being beaten within an inch of their lives, brutally subjugated, and forced to witness a holy calamity, Finn had ordered them to report to his mansion in Hargeon. Even though Finn had generously healed their fatal wounds, their magical reserves were practically empty. They were entirely exhausted, having been forced to sprint across the continent just to meet his demanding deadline.

"Just hurry up and fight us so we can get this over with," Sawyer groaned, not even bothering to defend his pride.

"Yeah... I just want to rest..." Sorano whispered.

She practically collapsed onto the cool stone floor of the courtyard, her lush, voluptuous body entirely devoid of energy. The remnants of her torn white dress clung lewdly to her sweat-drenched curves, her heavy breasts rising and falling with shallow, exhausted breaths.

"You just lay there and rest. We will handle this," Macbeth said softly, stepping in front of her.

Erik, Sawyer, and Erigor silently formed a protective barricade around the fallen woman. They all knew the horrifying reality of her situation. In her desperate bid to summon the Seraphim, Sorano had completely burned through her own life force. Finn had bluntly stated that she only had a month left to live. How could they possibly let her fight?

If she exerted even a fraction of her remaining magic, she might drop dead right here.

With their backs against the wall, the four men silently agreed to unleash every single drop of their remaining power to end this battle as quickly as possible.

"...Do you honestly think they can defeat us looking like that?" Cana sneered, highly offended by their dismissive attitude.

"If you can somehow defeat them in their current, exhausted state, you might actually have a shot at becoming an S-Rank Mage," Finn stated casually.

"...Seriously?" Cana’s eyes widened.

"I’m completely serious." Finn sank into a plush, outdoor sofa, casually bringing a forkful of his late-night dinner to his mouth. He watched the brewing tension with absolute calm. "I won’t force you to fight if you’re scared, but walking away means they win by default."

"....."

Elfman and Cana exchanged a tense look.

"It’s fine. I will crush all of them by myself."

Mirajane stepped forward, her sweet smile completely vanishing. A terrifying, oppressive wave of dark magic swept over the courtyard, announcing the true, terrifying might of an S-Rank Fairy Tail Mage.

"Don’t be crazy, Mira! I’m fighting with you," Cana quickly interjected.

Hearing Finn imply that defeating these bruised strangers was an S-Rank feat ignited a fierce ambition inside Cana. She hadn’t even had a drop of alcohol yet, meaning her mind was perfectly clear, and her magic was sharp. She wasn’t going to miss this chance.

"I will join you too, Nee-chan."

Elfman, who had been hesitating, finally stepped up. He wasn’t particularly eager to fight, but he knew exactly what happened when his older sister truly let loose. He needed to be there to stop Mirajane in case she went completely berserk and slaughtered this group of seemingly innocent, battered strangers just because Finn Hoen wanted some sick entertainment.

This Councilman is far too overbearing, Elfman thought, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He deeply regretted letting his protective instincts drag him to this mansion.

Mirajane opened her mouth to argue that she didn’t need their help, but Erik cut her off.

"Is that all of you?" the Poison Dragon Slayer mocked, his sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight.

"...."

Mirajane’s eyes narrowed into dangerous, demonic slits. She looked ready to tear him apart limb by limb.

"You aren’t going to join them?" Finn asked, looking at Lisanna, who had quietly remained by his side.

"I’m fine right here," Lisanna answered calmly. "That’s their decision to fight, and I won’t to get involved."

"I thought you were the type who would blindly stick to your siblings no matter what happened."

"...Are you trying to tease me?" Lisanna pouted, crossing her arms.

While she loved her siblings dearly, she was her own person. She couldn’t just blindly follow them into every single reckless brawl, just like how she couldn’t physically stop them from barging into Finn’s house today, but thinking of what had happened earlier, she knew that she had to stop it in the future.

Today’s mistake, she wouldn’t do it again.

"Who knows?"

"I won’t let something like this happen again."

"Words are completely useless to me."

"Then I will just have to show you."

Finn glanced at Lisanna, then shifted his gaze toward Flare, who was standing quietly in the shadows. He reached out and lightly trailed a finger down Flare’s arm. The crimson-haired woman instantly let out a soft, breathy gasp, a deeply perverted, euphoric smile spreading across her flushed face.

"Let’s see how this goes," Finn murmured.

Lisanna caught the intimate exchange, her stomach doing a strange flip. She didn’t fully understand their dynamic, but looking at Flare’s heavily blushing face and heaving chest... it was obvious the woman was completely, helplessly obsessed with Finn.

"Come on, then! I will give you the first move. Bring me absolutely everything you have," Mirajane ordered, glaring daggers at the Dark Guild mages.

Sawyer, Erik, Macbeth, and Erigor exchanged a silent, knowing look.

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Erik asked, his voice dripping with condescension.

"What? Are you scared?" Mirajane mocked.

Erik was entirely speechless. Scared of her? No. He was terrified of the monster eating dinner on the sofa!

Subconsciously, Erik shot a desperate glance at Finn. Seeing the White Devil give a slow, approving nod, Erik knew he had absolute permission to go all out. Furthermore, Finn possessed the miraculous power to reattach severed limbs and revive the dead. There was absolutely zero reason to hold back!

In that exact moment, Erik dropped into a wide stance and took a massive, violently deep breath. His chest forcefully expanded to an impossible size.

"That stance...?!"

The Fairy Tail mages instantly recognized the movement. They lived with a Dragon Slayer; they knew exactly what was coming!

"Get away!" Mirajane screamed, trying to physically shove Elfman and Cana out of the blast zone.

But somehow, their bodies refused to respond. They felt incredibly heavy, their movements agonizingly slow, as if they were trying to sprint through thick mud.

"Poison Dragon’s Roar!"

Erik unleashed a massive, hyper-concentrated stream of deadly, corrosive purple venom directly from his mouth. The toxic blast slammed violently into Mirajane, Elfman, and Cana, swallowing them entirely.

"Ugh!"

Elfman and Cana immediately collapsed to their knees. The potent poison rapidly flooded their veins, paralyzing their nervous systems. Combined with Sawyer’s subtle, wide-area Slow Magic, they were completely incapacitated in seconds.

"SATAN SOUL: SITRI!"

A massive pillar of dark energy erupted from the toxic cloud. Mirajane instantly triggered her most aggressive demonic transformation, manifesting powerful, searing flames around her body that aggressively burned away the encroaching poison gas.

"Tsk. A flame user?" Erik clicked his tongue, finding her immensely troublesome.

"There is no need to rush. Take it slowly. We have the sheer numbers," Macbeth commanded smoothly. "And... I highly suggest we avoid causing her any permanent physical damage."

Macbeth was a highly pragmatic man. Seeing how Finn operated, he knew there was an extremely high probability that the beautiful, volatile She-Devil would eventually end up as one of Finn’s bedmates. It was best not to damage the boss’s future property.

"I completely agree!"

Sawyer, Erigor, and Erik all nodded vigorously, perfectly understanding Macbeth’s underlying logic.

"Stop talking and fight me, you cowards!" Mirajane roared, glaring at them with literal demonic fury.

"Let’s begin."

Ignoring her fierce provocation entirely, Macbeth activated his Reflector magic. In an instant, the ambient light violently distorted around them. Macbeth, Erik, Sawyer, and Erigor completely vanished from sight, turning entirely invisible, prepared to slowly break the She-Devil down.

It was just when the battle was about to start, Finn said, "Okay, stop. That’s enough."

"....." Everyone.