"Ugh... Cana..."
The Fairy Tail B dugout collectively groaned, their hopes completely evaporating after witnessing Jura's monstrous score.
"She's dead drunk," Gajeel muttered, rubbing his temples.
"Even if she was completely sober, she'd be hard-pressed to put out a four-figure score," Laxus noted objectively. "If she hits the high three figures, she might secure fourth place."
Why only fourth? Because Finn hadn't stepped up to the plate yet. No one in the stadium believed Cana could surpass Jura, let alone the masked monster of Heavenly Blue. If she wasn't so heavily intoxicated, her guildmates might have held out hope that she could rival Orga for third place, but given her current state, it seemed impossible.
"And now, for our second-to-last contestant! From Fairy Tail Team B, Cana Alberona!" Chapati Lola announced. "It must be incredibly intimidating to follow a Wizard Saint... but give it your best shot anyway!"
The crowd offered polite, scattered applause. They were clearly just waiting for Finn's turn.
"Hic!"
Cana swayed slightly, offering the crowd a highly confident, lopsided grin. She tossed her coat aside and rolled up the sleeve of her top, fully exposing the Fairy Tail mark on her right arm. But right beneath it, a complex, incredibly intricate glowing tattoo began to pulse with blinding golden light.
"Now... time for the sucker punch!" Cana grinned ferociously.
For those who recognized the glowing crest, their jaws practically hit the floor.
"Ah?!"
"That mark...!"
"Y-You didn't..."
Makarov choked, spinning around to stare at Mavis's astral projection in absolute horror.
Mavis just smiled brightly, holding up a peace sign. "I lent her the magic so we could win~! Te-he~!"
"..."
Makarov's face drained of all color. He knew exactly how much collateral damage that specific spell could cause! Oh, God... please don't let this put us further into debt... Makarov prayed silently.
"GATHER TO ME!!"
Cana ignored her Guild Master's silent pleas, pouring every single ounce of her magical energy into her right arm. The sky above the arena suddenly parted as an incredibly massive, complex magical circle materialized.
"River of light that guides the fairies! Shine! Break the evil fangs of those who would threaten us!"
Cana swung her arm down with devastating force.
"FAIRY GLITTER!"
A blinding pillar of concentrated holy light blasted down from the heavens, violently smashing into the MPF device!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
"..."
When the deafening roar of the explosion finally faded and the blinding light cleared, the stadium was left staring at the smoking, completely obliterated ruins of the MPF machine.
Above the wreckage, a holographic display flickered: 9999.
She had instantly maxed out the machine's counter.
"W-What just happened?!" Chapati Lola shrieked. "She completely destroyed the MPF?! She maxed out the score! Just what is this guild made of?! First Titania, and now this?!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!"
The stadium erupted into absolute bedlam, cheering wildly for Fairy Tail's unexpected trump card. Yet, amidst the deafening roar, a single, calm footstep echoed sharply, causing the noise to awkwardly die down.
Tap.
"Ah..."
The crowd collectively remembered. There was still one man left.
"Should you bring out a replacement machine, or should I just hit the scrap metal?" Finn asked, stepping up to the plate.
"Ah, um..." Mato sweated profusely, rushing out onto the field. "P-Please, Finn-san, can you try not to completely destroy the arena this time, pumpkin?"
The kingdom was already drowning in repair bills from yesterday. Mato deeply regretted telling Finn he didn't have to worry about collateral damage.
"But it won't be fair if I don't give it my best shot, will it?" Finn asked smoothly. "As the organizers, you should have prepared equipment capable of handling the participants."
"...." Mato had absolutely no counter-argument.
"Don't worry," Finn sighed. "I will use a less destructive spell."
"Thank you very much, pumpkin!" Mato bowed deeply. But as he ran to fetch a replacement MPF, a terrifying thought crossed his mind. Can a 'less destructive' spell even match Fairy Glitter's score?
Finn turned his attention to Cana and casually tossed her wine bottle back to her.
"Keep it. Think of it as a reward for a good show," Cana said brazenly, catching the bottle with a smirk.
"...I really don't need your trash." Finn rolled his eyes.
"Are you sure about that?" Cana challenged, her eyes gleaming with competitive curiosity. "Do you really think you can beat my score without using that Dragon Extinction slash?"
She didn't doubt he was strong, but she genuinely wondered where his ceiling was.
"You'll see soon enough."
A brand-new MPF machine was rolled into the center of the arena. Every eye in the stadium was locked onto Finn.
"It's his turn..."
"I wonder if he can match Fairy Glitter."
"Hey, don't be stupid! Fairy Glitter is one of the Three Great Magics! Nothing beats it!"
Up in the Fairy Tail stands, the guild was clinging to their confidence in Cana, but their stomachs were tied in knots. Finn has always pulled off the impossible.
"First Master..." Makarov looked at Mavis nervously.
"I'm sorry, Makarov. I can't read his magical limits at all," Mavis admitted, her tone unusually serious. However, a small, knowing smile tugged at her lips. "But I know for a fact he won't defeat us entirely."
Mavis's confidence stemmed from a very simple truth: she had seen exactly how closely Finn and Cana interacted!
Finn stood before the machine. He didn't take a stance. He didn't roar. He simply spoke a single word.
"Night."
Instantly, the bright afternoon sun was completely blotted out. A veil of absolute, suffocating darkness swallowed the Domus Flau.
"Huh?! What's happening?!"
"D-Did he just turn off the sun?!"
"What the hell is this magic?!"
To casually alter the cycle of day and night across an entire city? The scale of the spell was horrifying!
Yet, before the panic could fully set in, Finn spoke again.
"Light."
In the pitch-black arena, countless tiny, beautiful, floating orbs of light materialized around him. They looked like harmless, glowing fireflies dancing in the dark.
"Meteor Stream."
Without a single sound, the tiny orbs fired.
There was no deafening explosion. There was no concussive shockwave. There was only a terrifying, absolute silence as dozens of blindingly fast, needle-thin lasers pierced straight through the MPF machine.
The spell didn't just break the machine; it erased the matter it touched. The lasers ignored physical hardness, heat resistance, and magical shielding entirely. They couldn't be blocked, refracted, or reflected. They simply passed cleanly through the reinforced steel, leaving perfectly smooth, glowing holes in their wake.
The machine sparked, sputtered, and died.
Above it, the holographic display flickered one final time.
9999.
"...."
Unlike the wild cheers that followed Cana's flashy nuke, the stadium fell into a dead, terrified silence.
Finn's magic was too quiet. It was too absolute. It didn't rely on blunt force; it relied on physics-defying, unstoppable penetration. The sheer, effortless lethality of it made everyone's blood run cold. They all realized simultaneously that if Finn had aimed those lights at the audience, not a single shield in Fiore could have stopped them from turning them into Swiss cheese.
As the artificial darkness lifted and the afternoon sun returned, Finn casually manifested a crystal glass from his spatial inventory, then took Cana's wine bottle, took a polite sip, and lowered the glass.
This is definitely the correct path for my magic, Finn thought, satisfied with the absolute piercing properties of the light.
"Thanks for the drink," Finn said, handing the bottle back.
"O-Oh..." Cana blinked, snapping out of her daze.
She took the bottle back, her competitive drive flaring into overdrive. She ground her teeth, her cheeks flushing as she made a silent, ferocious vow. One day, I am going to peel that smug mask off, pin him down, and make him scream my name for mercy, she swore to herself.
Finn noticed the intense, predatory shift in Cana's gaze, but he didn't mind.
As he stood in the center of the silent arena, matching the highest possible score without even breaking a sweat, he came to a quiet realization. Aside from the apocalyptic endgame bosses—Acnologia, the Five Dragon Gods, and Zeref holding the infinite Fairy Heart—he was practically untouchable in Earthland.