"Meteor?!"
"Help! We're going to die..."
The bandits stared wide-eyed at the massive snowball in the sky, their terrified expressions reflected off the nearby ice. They tried to flee, but it was too late—there was nowhere to run. Though the stone piles here were only a few dozen meters high, jumping down recklessly would also mean certain death.
And so, they could only stand frozen in fear, helplessly watching the enormous snowball plummet toward them.
Nothing is more terrifying than watching danger descend upon you, knowing there's absolutely nothing you can do but wait for death.
"Boom!"
When the snowball hit the ground...
Accompanied by a massive explosion…
The sole pile of stones that could be called a mountain by the lake was leveled in an instant.
In mere moments, the entire bandit hideout was obliterated.
For a brief moment, the world fell silent.
One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds…
But the quiet didn't last long. Soon, a pair of sturdy hands emerged from the snow.
Before long, several figures staggered out of the snowdrift, utterly disheveled...
Among them was the scar-faced leader of the bandits.
"You're not dead yet?!"
"How surprising..."
"Did you have some sort of life-saving tool?"
Ian stood on the snow, watching the battered bandit leader and his crew with curiosity.
"Cough, cough..."
"Damn it, the magical item I used for protection is ruined."
The bandit leader had no time to respond to Ian. Instead, he silently stared at the shattered magical amulet in his hand, feeling a deep sense of loss. No one knew how much money he'd spent on that magic tool—it was easily the profits of a year or two.
"You're all staying here today. You'll die!"
The bandit leader growled as he looked up at Ian and the others, his voice cold.
"Just you?"
Ian responded with a touch of disdain in his eyes.
"Haha! Yes, me!"
"Let me show you my true power..."
The bandit leader pulled a horn from his chest, handling it carefully.
He inhaled deeply, then blew into the horn with all his might. "Woooo!!"
A dark magic circle expanded from the horn, and a piercing wail echoed from it.
"Roar!!"
As the sound waves spread...
The sky was suddenly filled with the furious roars of dragons!
Several wyverns, their mouths wide open and claws extended, swooped down from the sky, heading straight for Ian, Erza, and Gray on the ground.
"Hahaha..."
"All of you, die!!"
The bandit leader's eyes sparkled with excitement as he watched.
It seemed he was completely consumed by his own rage.
However, the scene he imagined—where Ian and the others would be terrified, panicking, and fleeing from the wyverns—never came to pass.
Ian and his companions stood still, unshaken by the approaching dragons.
"Are you frozen in fear from my power?!"
The bandit leader asked in confusion.
"Are we finally in position?!"
"These are wyverns, right?!"
"In that case, it's time for me to get started…"
"Fire Dragon's... Roar!!!"
Before the bandit leader could fully comprehend the situation, a loud rumbling erupted from the snow, and a young boy with short pink hair, wearing a white scarf resembling dragon scales, burst out of the snow near him.
"Who is this kid? Is he one of us?"
The sight drew puzzled looks from the surrounding bandits.
Before they could react, the pink-haired boy opened his mouth wide like a dragon and inhaled deeply, conjuring a red magic circle emblazoned with a dragon's head. He then unleashed a torrent of blazing flames toward the nearest wyvern.
"Boom!!"
Amid the explosion, the nearest wyvern let out an ear-piercing shriek before collapsing, knocked out cold.
"Haha! A wyvern is still a dragon—it can't escape my Dragon Slayer magic."
The pink-haired boy grinned excitedly as he looked at the defeated wyvern.
"He just breathed fire?!"
"Where did this monster come from?"
"A wyvern was defeated? How is that possible…"
The remaining bandits stared in shock and disbelief.
"Ice-Make: Holy Sword!!"
Just as the bandits struggled to process what was happening, Gray summoned a giant, razor-sharp sword of ice and swiftly sliced a wyvern clean in half.
"Requip! Heaven's Wheel Armor!!"
"Heaven's Wheel Dance!!"
Erza, wasting no time, stood atop a glowing magic circle that appeared beneath her feet. In an instant, her winter coat was replaced by a finely crafted suit of armor.
Around her, countless flying swords materialized, swirling in the air and, with a wave of her hand, shot toward the wyverns. One after another, the wyverns fell to the ground, lifeless.
In the blink of an eye, all that remained were the bandits.
"Who... who are you people?!"
For the first time, the bandit leader realized the magnitude of his mistake. He knew now that he had kicked a hornet's nest, and in a trembling voice, he asked the question.
"Us?"
"We're the very mages from Fairy Tail that you've been impersonating!"
Ian revealed the Fairy Tail emblem on his arm and shouted furiously.
"We're in trouble, boss…"
"These people are the real deal!"
Seeing Ian's guild mark, the bandits began to panic.
"Fairy Tail? Impossible!"
The bandit leader stared in disbelief, eyes wide.
"Why would it be impossible?"
Ian sneered at the bandit leader.
"Aren't you based in the west?"
"This is the east, thousands of miles from your guild!"
The bandit leader questioned, his voice filled with doubt.
"So what?"
"The entire continent of Ishgar is Fairy Tail's turf."
"Besides, we've been here before!"
"Who do you think defeated Deliora?!"
Ian said, disdain dripping from his voice.
"You defeated Deliora?"
"The rumors were true?"
The bandit leader was dumbstruck, finally realizing that the mage's tale he once dismissed was true.
In that moment, the bandit leader admitted to himself that he had greatly underestimated the world outside his small corner.
"This is the end for you!"
Ian said no more. With a slight raise of his hand, a surge of gravity magic descended, pinning the bandits to the ground.
Those who impersonated Fairy Tail deserved severe punishment...
"Haha! I took down a wyvern with one hit! I really do have the strength of an S-Class Mage!"
Natsu, looking at the wyvern's roasted corpse beneath him, grinned with satisfaction.
"Idiot! It's because Ian lent us his magic power."
Erza sighed, shaking her head at Natsu's misplaced pride.
Unlike Natsu, she had noticed that Ian had enchanted them with additional magic, boosting their strength.
Otherwise, while she might have managed, there was no way Natsu and Gray could have defeated the wyverns so easily.
"The mission is complete. We can head back to the village now."
On the other side, Ian glanced at the pile of magical beast corpses and spoke softly.
"By the way, don't you all feel like we've forgotten something important?"
Meanwhile, Gray, who had subconsciously removed his clothes while casting his magic, furrowed his brow, noticing that no one had reminded him this time.
"Ah! Speaking of which, has anyone seen Cana?"
Ian suddenly remembered, his expression shifting to one of realization as he asked.
"..."
Everyone fell silent.
On the train.
A now-sober Cana looked around at the empty carriage, equally silent.
---
For those who were wondering where Cana was, there she is XD