The clothes might have been different—he wasn't wearing his heavy uniform coat—but Yukino Agria would never mistake that presence. It was an identity permanently etched into the minds of everyone who had watched the Grand Magic Games today.
The undisputed strongest. Finn.
Of all the people currently walking the streets of Crocus, Yukino had never expected to run into him. Even more surprising, he had specifically called out her name. Compared to the monstrous mages in the Grand Magic Games, she wasn't anyone special. She was just the girl who had lost to Mermaid Heel.
"What are you doing out here all alone?" Finn asked, stepping out of the shadows. "It's getting late. It's dangerous for a cute girl like you to be wandering the back alleys at this hour."
Yukino was undeniably beautiful. Given that she was Sorano's younger sister, her striking features were to be expected. But unlike Sorano's long, wild silver hair and sharp, vindictive aura, Yukino wore her pale hair short, exuding a gentle, tragically soft disposition. Yet beneath that softness lay a hardened resolve; she was an orphan who had survived long enough to become a core member of Sabertooth.
Still, seeing her shivering in a skimpy tank top in the middle of the night instinctively triggered Finn's protective side. He knew she wasn't completely helpless, but as a man, it was only natural to worry about a vulnerable woman in the dark.
(Of course, if Erza, Bisca, Sorano, or Ultear saw him right now, they would likely argue that Yukino was in far more danger standing next to him than any random thug in Crocus.)
"....."
"Ah, um...."
Yukino opened her mouth, but the words caught in her throat. She couldn't tell him to stop worrying and that she was just going back to her hotel, because she didn't have a hotel to go back to anymore. She didn't want to burden this terrifying stranger with her tragic backstory, but she wanted to avoid an awkward silence.
"Well..." Finn scratched the back of his neck, realizing he might have come across a bit too strong. "Sorry for stopping you so abruptly. I just couldn't ignore it when I saw you looking so lost."
"N-No, it's fine. Please, don't worry about me, Finn-sama..." Yukino replied softly, her voice wavering slightly. She didn't blame him for approaching her. "I-It's just that... seeing the way you argued with Master Jiemma before, I assumed you hated Sabertooth. So... it surprised me that you would show concern for me."
It made sense. Jiemma had provoked Finn before, so wasn't it weird for him to be kind to her?
"..." Finn remained silent.
Strangely enough, even though his intentions (for once) were actually quite pure, the way Yukino looked at him made him feel like a predator cornering prey.
No, no, I definitely don't have any impure thoughts right now, Finn mentally reassured himself, firmly ignoring the fact that she was Sorano's little sister.
"So, are you heading somewhere? Do you need an escort?" Finn asked, maintaining a polite, even tone.
Why was he being so incredibly kind? Simply because she was Sorano's sister?
"N-No, I'm... I'm actually heading toward the Fairy Tail lodgings," Yukino confessed, her eyes dropping to the cobblestone.
"Fairy Tail? Why?" Finn was genuinely confused.
He knew the overarching plot of the original story, but he didn't have every single minor interaction memorized. To him, the world was ultimately governed by martial supremacy. The victors were usually whoever managed to leverage the "Power of Nakama" at the critical moment. He didn't look down on the concept of friendship and love—history was written by the victors, after all, and Fairy Tail usually won, so they could say whatever they wanted.
But why would a Sabertooth mage seek out Fairy Tail in the middle of the night?
"I am going to give these to Lucy-sama," Yukino said softly, reaching into her small pouch and pulling out a ring of Golden Zodiac Keys.
"Huh?"
Finn was absolutely dumbfounded. "You want to give away your Celestial Keys? Why?!"
Celestial Spirit Magic was incredibly rare. To wield the Zodiac, a mage had to possess immense magical potential and a deep spiritual affinity. In the current era, thanks to the violent purges created by the Reborn Oración Seis and corrupt Kingdom officials, true Celestial Mages were practically extinct. Aside from Lucy, Yukino, and Sorano, there were almost none left.
The keys Yukino held weren't just standard silver keys. They were the Golden Keys—the absolute apex of the Celestial Spirit World. For a mage to willingly surrender themselves to a rival guild was completely crazy.
"Why would you do that?" Finn pressed, his brow furrowing beneath his mask. "Those keys are priceless. Those spirits signed a contract with you. That means they trust you. Handing them over to someone else just because you lost a single match is completely irresponsible, isn't it?"
Finn specifically thought of Yukino's spirits, Pisces and Libra. Libra was a stunning, tan-skinned dancer, and Pisces... well, Pisces took the form of a beautiful, incredibly busty single mother. (Finn had actually averted his eyes when Pisces was summoned in the arena earlier, not wanting Flare or Sorano to catch him staring.)
His blunt questioning finally broke the dam holding back Yukino's emotions.
"Because I was kicked out!"
"Huh?"
Yukino's knees gave out. She collapsed onto the cobblestones, sobbing openly. "After I lost to Kagura today, Master Jiemma summoned me. He told me I was worthless. He forced me to strip naked in front of the entire guild, and he erased my guild mark!"
The sheer humiliation and degradation of the experience had shattered her spirit. She just wanted to run away, give up her magic, and forget everything.
"Ha?"
Finn's voice dropped an octave. The polite, gentlemanly aura he had been projecting vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, suffocating, absolute rage.
Meanwhile, across the city, the Sabertooth lodgings were buzzing with a tense, aggressive energy.
Yukino's brutal excommunication had shocked some, but the guild quickly rationalized it. Sabertooth was built on absolute supremacy. There was no place for the weak.
"Yeah! This guild is only for the strong!" a random mage cheered, eager to impress the Master.
Some members, like Sting, had to force themselves to believe Jiemma's rhetoric. Sting sat in the corner, a cold dread pooling in his stomach. If he failed again, would Jiemma strip and humiliate him, too? Other members were simply thrilled; Yukino's departure meant a top spot in the guild hierarchy had just opened up.
"Listen to me!" Jiemma roared, sitting on an ornate throne in the center of the massive, rented mansion. He was, as usual, shirtless, a thick fur pelt draped over his shoulder. "I only care about victory! I want Sabertooth to be known as the undisputed champions! We are the absolute apex of this continent!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
The guild erupted into a fanatical roar, swearing to annihilate their opponents tomorrow.
Yet, right at the absolute peak of their arrogant cheering, the ground suddenly trembled.
"Huh? What's happening?"
"Is it an earthquake?"
"Wait... this is way too strong for an earthquake!"
Before anyone could cast a defensive spell, the entire foundation of the massive stone mansion groaned violently. Suddenly, the entire building was physically lifted several dozen feet into the air.
"What the hell is happening?!" Sting screamed, grabbing onto a pillar as gravity completely inverted.
With a deafening crash, the massive mansion was literally flipped upside down and slammed back into the earth. Stone pillars shattered, the roof caved in, and the entire Sabertooth members were violently buried under tons of rubble.
Because they were elite mages, the blunt force trauma wasn't enough to kill them, but the sheer shock and concussive impact left the guild in a state of absolute, bruised confusion.
Jiemma blasted his way out of the rubble, his face twisted in absolute fury. Sting, Rogue, and the other top mages crawled out behind him, coughing on the dust.
Standing in the center of the ruined courtyard, completely unbothered by the destruction, was the man responsible.
"Ah, my apologies," Finn said casually, dusting off his coat. "I thought I saw a piece of trash over here, so I can't help but throw it in the trash can."
"....."
The entire Sabertooth guild stared in stunned silence at the masked leader of Heavenly Blue.