"Other Dragon Slayers?!"
In Fairy Tail, there were only four known Dragon Slayers: Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, and Laxus. During their seven-year disappearance, not a single new Dragon Slayer had ever been reported. Yet now, Finn casually dropped the bombshell that there were more.
How the hell was Natsu supposed to stay calm?!
"TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM! OR BETTER YET, DO YOU KNOW WHERE IGNEEL IS?!"
Natsu was completely unhinged. Flames licked at his scarf as he lunged forward, practically ready to vault over and shake the answers out of Finn.
Before his boots even left the floor, Erza's armored fist slammed brutally into the back of his head, driving his face directly into the floor.
"Ow! What the hell, Erza?!" Natsu complained, his voice muffled by the stone.
"Stay down and calm yourself," Erza hissed, glaring daggers at him. "Do you want to drive us further into debt? Or do I need to cut you in half right here?"
Shiver!
Natsu instantly went stiff, recognizing the absolute threat in Erza's eyes. If he caused any more trouble for the White Devil, Erza wouldn't hesitate to mount his head on a pike.
While Natsu was grounded, Wendy—the youngest, most timid member of the guild—stepped forward. Her small hands gripped the edges of her dress, her pigtails trembling.
"P-Please..." she whimpered, looking up at Finn with massive, teary eyes. "Chief Hoen... i-if you know anything about Grandeeney... please, tell me..."
She was desperate for any scrap of information about the sky dragon she considered her mother.
"Don't be naive, Wendy," Carla, the white Exceed, scolded, flying up beside her partner. "Do you honestly think a ruthless extortionist like him is just going to hand over classified information out of the goodness of his heart?"
"Carla?!" Wendy gasped, hurt by the harsh truth.
But Carla wasn't finished. She crossed her tiny arms and glared directly at Finn. "You want to be paid, right? Fine! What do you want? I will give you anything, as long as the information about Grandeeney is completely accurate!"
Wendy was Carla's precious partner. There was absolutely no way the cat would let her down.
"Carla!" Wendy cried, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Do you actually have any money, little cat?" Finn asked, resting his chin on his hand.
"..." Carla sweat-dropped.
"I-I might not have it right now!" Wendy interjected, clenching her small fists tightly in front of her chest. "B-But I will work incredibly hard to pay you back!"
"Me too!" Carla nodded firmly.
"We all will!" the rest of the guild chorused, moved by the little girl's determination. For their family, they would do anything.
"...Don't make this so melodramatic," Finn sighed, rolling his eyes. "I don't know of any living dragons." He lied without a single twitch of his facial muscles. "But I do know that these new Dragon Slayers are different from you."
"What kind of difference~?"
Lucy leaned forward again. Refusing to give up her 'Femme Fatale' act, she arched her back, deliberately pressing her massive, sweat-slicked cleavage together. She batted her eyelashes, absolutely convinced her sultry charm would eventually crack his icy exterior.
"..."
There were several incredibly vulgar things Finn wanted to say to this shameless woman. While she was undeniably stupid, he had to admit, her body was spectacularly lewd. Under different circumstances, he wouldn't mind entertaining her. But right now, he needed to maintain his terrifying, cold-blooded image. If he showed even a sliver of weakness towards her breasts, his authority would crumble.
"Aren't you tired of standing in that posture, you shameless bimbo?" Finn deadpanned.
"S-Shameless bimbo?!" Lucy gasped, her face flushing beet-red as she frantically covered her chest.
"He's not wrong, Lucy. You are acting pretty slutty," Happy nodded sagely, munching on a fish he pulled from nowhere.
"Shut the hell up, you stupid cat!" Lucy shrieked, karate-chopping Happy over the head.
"Can you please tell us the information?" Mavis interrupted, floating back down to the desk. "If you want, we can draft a separate contract for this intelligence, and we will add the cost to our total debt."
"N-No, First Master!" Wendy protested, frantically waving her hands. "Finding Grandeeney is my personal problem! I-I can use my magic records as a guarantee! If Chief Hoen wants to know how my magic works, I'll tell him everything!"
"My magic isn't very strong, but I will offer it too!" Carla added.
"What are you saying, child?" Mavis smiled softly, floating over to pat Wendy's head. "You joined Fairy Tail. You are part of our family now. Your burdens are our burdens, okay?"
"First Master..." Wendy sniffled, deeply moved.
While the guild engaged in a touching, tear-jerking family drama, Finn just rolled his eyes. They loved preaching about how "everyone in the guild is family." But Finn knew human nature. Even within a family, there was always a hierarchy. Some were treated with more favoritism than others.
"Ten million Jewels," Finn stated coldly, shattering the heartwarming moment.
"That's expensive!" Gray shouted.
"Take it or leave it," Finn shrugged. "This is highly classified intelligence regarding long-lost magic and mythological beasts. Did you think it would be cheap? If you don't want to know your enemy's secrets, then the Salamander and the little girl are just going to get slaughtered in the arena."
"Fine. We accept the terms," Makarov groaned, rubbing his temples. He was just as desperate for the intelligence as the kids were.
"Good," Finn smirked. "Let's start with the First Generation of Dragon Slayers. That includes Natsu Dragneel, Gajeel Redfox, and Wendy Marvell. Why are they called the 'First Generation'? Because they learned their magic directly from actual, living dragons, whom they imprint upon as parental figures."
"Because Igneel is real!" Natsu yelled from the floor, his face still pressed against the floor.
"Let's move on to the Second Generation," Finn continued seamlessly, completely ignoring Natsu.
"He said Igneel is real!" Natsu protested again.
"Please proceed," Mavis nodded to Finn, knowing it was a waste of time to argue with Natsu about the existence of dragons.
"The Second Generation consists of mages like President Makarov's grandson, Laxus Dreyar, and a certain criminal," Finn explained, leaning back. "These mages were not taught by dragons. Instead, they had volatile Dragon Lacrimas surgically implanted directly into their bodies."
"Implanted into their bodies?" Erza repeated, disturbed by the thought.
Makarov frowned deeply. How did Finn know about Laxus's lacrima? That was a highly guarded family secret. Was there a spy in the guild? Or had one of the members who abandoned Fairy Tail over the last seven years sold them out? Makarov sighed inwardly; he didn't even want to think about it.
"It is an excruciatingly painful, incredibly dangerous surgical procedure," Finn warned. "Unless you have a master surgeon on hand, attempting it is essentially suicide."
Gulp!
"Are you... Also a Second Generation Dragon Slayer?" Erza asked cautiously.
"No, I am not," Finn replied flatly. "But think about it logically. If Second Generation slayers rely on implanted Dragon Lacrimas... where exactly do you think those Lacrimas came from? They didn't fall from the sky. They were harvested from real, flesh-and-blood dragons."
"....." Everyone.
"But let's not dwell on that. If you want a deep dive into dragon biology, you'll have to pay an additional fee," Finn completely ignored their deep reaction.
"...Please, continue," Makarov gritted his teeth.
"The final category is the Twin Dragon Slayers of Sabertooth. The Shadow Dragon Slayer, Rogue Cheney, and the Light Dragon Slayer, Sting Eucliffe. They are known as the Third Generation."
"Third Generation?" Natsu finally lifted his head off the floor.
"Yes. They represent a combination of the previous two methods," Finn explained. "They were raised and taught by real dragons... and they also have Dragon Lacrimas implanted inside their bodies."
"Umm... but how did they get the Lacrimas if they were raised by dragons?" Wendy asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Finn looked directly at the little girl, his eyes cold and unfeeling. "Because to complete their training, they either murdered the dragons who raised them, or... as their dragons lay dying, they were ordered to carve the Lacrimas out of their mentors' corpses and implant them into themselves."
"....."
The entire guild was utterly paralyzed with horror.
Natsu and Wendy stared at Finn, their minds completely failing to process the horrific revelation. The thought of murdering a dragon—let alone the one that raised you—was sickening. While they desperately hoped Sabertooth's slayers had inherited the lacrimas peacefully, they both silently vowed to confront Sting and Rogue at the Grand Magic Games to demand the truth.
"So... does that make the Third Generation fundamentally stronger than the previous ones?" Gray asked nervously, breaking the suffocating silence.
Finn shifted his gaze to Gray. "Between you and the pink-haired idiot on the floor... who is stronger?"
"Me!" Natsu and Gray roared simultaneously.
"I CAN KICK YOUR ASS ANY DAY, ICE-PRINCESS!"
"TRY IT, YOU WALKING MATCHSTICK!"
"So, you're exactly tied," Finn concluded.
"..." Natsu and Gray both shut their mouths, glaring at each other. They hated to admit it, but their strength was practically identical.
"In the end, power depends entirely on the individual," Finn explained. "Dragon Slayer magic might be inherently powerful, but if the user lacks the physical stamina, mental resolve, or raw magical capacity to utilize it, they are nothing. You will be fighting the Third Generation in the arena soon enough. You can judge their strength for yourselves. Now, that concludes the intelligence briefing. You all may leave."
There was absolutely no reason to explain the Fourth or Fifth Generations of Dragon Slayers to them. It would just complicate everything and trouble him.
As the Fairy Tail members began to slowly file out of the office, their minds heavy with debt and terrifying revelations, Erza suddenly stopped and raised her hand.
"Wait. Before we leave, may I ask you one final question?"
"One more. No follow-ups," Finn sighed, marveling at his own generosity.
"Will you be participating in the Grand Magic Games?"
The moment the question left Erza's lips, the entire guild froze in their tracks. Every single pair of eyes snapped back, locking onto Finn.