Fairy Tail: Becoming stronger by spending money.

Take on, Escanor!

The next moment, Caesar's body swelled, and the clothes on his body were torn apart.

"come!"

As the first flame rose, Caesar's exposed skin quickly ignited.

The flame of the sun!

Caesar looked at Deliora, who still had his feet stuck in the ice, and said calmly, "Holy Sword, Escanor."

The blade fell gently, as if nothing had happened.

But the next moment, Gray and the others were horrified to see a massive gash tear through Deliora's body, nearly splitting the beast in half!

The splattered blood turned Deliora's roar into a shriek of agony.

Deliora stared at the human before him in disbelief.

When did insects become this powerful?!

"The sun has no mercy."

Caesar raised a thick finger, and at its tip, a fireball as dazzling as the sun formed. As Caesar gently threw it, the fireball fell onto Deliora.

"Boom!"

"Ouch! Ouch!"

In an instant, the solid ice encasing Deliora completely melted! At the same time, a torrent of blazing flames surged in, engulfing Deliora entirely.

Under the intense fire, Deliora screamed in agony, and his body charred and blackened in mere moments.

The once solid earth became overwhelmed, transforming into a boiling sea of lava.

The searing heat continued to rise as Deliora's legs were gradually swallowed by magma. He struggled in vain. Eventually, his movements ceased and his head drooped.

"So boring."

Caesar shook his head, released Escanor's Take Over, and turned to Ur.

Although Deliora was not technically dead, it was clear that under Ur's Absolute Ice, Deliora's life force had been almost entirely drained.

So when Caesar confronted Deliora, who once appeared terrifying, he found the beast's base strength had weakened to that of a typical S-class monster.

Caesar understood the situation, but others did not.

Even Ur only knew she had been constantly sapping Deliora's life force. She had no idea how little remained. Her last memory was of Deliora tearing off her legs with overwhelming force.

To see Caesar effortlessly defeat Deliora shocked even Ur.

Let alone Gray.

The monster from his childhood, the focus of his hatred, was effortlessly destroyed by Caesar. The gap in power was enough to make Gray question everything.

The only one not overwhelmed was Natsu.

Staring at the flames surrounding Deliora, he swallowed hard, a gleam of greed in his eyes. "Does it taste good? I wanna try it."

"Whatever."

Caesar waved his hand indifferently.

Natsu let out an excited cheer, ran forward, opened his mouth, and inhaled deeply, sucking the sunfire into his mouth.

"Hiss... ha... ha ha! It's so hot—but tastes amazing!"

Natsu looked like someone eating molten dumplings—hissing, in pain, but too delighted to stop. He rolled the fire in his mouth, then swallowed with a satisfied sigh.

Caesar was a bit shocked seeing Natsu devour the sunfire.

Then he shook his head with a wry smile. He was the protagonist after all—nothing surprising.

Soon, the sunfire faded, and Deliora was reduced to a charred corpse. A hot wind blew by, and the remains turned to ash and scattered.

"It's over..."

Ur, supported by Gray, looked at the ashes of Deliora and said, "But... wasn't that a bit much?"

Caesar glanced at the lava-covered terrain cooling down and shrugged. "It doesn't matter. This place was abandoned long ago. Nobody cares how much more it's destroyed."

"True."

Ur sighed and looked at Caesar. "Thank you for saving my life."

She didn't say much, but she fully understood what Caesar had done to bring her back.

This was something only they could know. It could never be shared.

To everyone else, her resurrection would simply be explained as her still being alive and restored by Caesar's alchemy.

Otherwise, the Magic Council would never let this go.

"Any plans for the future?"

Caesar asked.

Hearing the question, Gray immediately jumped in. "Ur, come to our guild! I still need your guidance!"

Ur chuckled and gently ruffled Gray's hair. "You've already found your own path. You're a real man now. You don't need my guidance anymore."

Seeing Gray's worried look, Ur smiled. "But right now, I don't have anywhere else to go. Gray, you've grown up. Does your guild still accept new members?"

"Of course! Absolutely we do!"

Gray lit up. "Our Master is super easygoing. You have to come to Fairy Tail, Ur!"

Ur smiled at him and then looked to Caesar.

Caesar nodded. "You're welcome to join."

The group left the ruined land, boarded a train, and returned to Magnolia.

The commotion caused by the battle drew attention from many—especially the Magic Council.

And also from Gray's senior, Leon.

According to the story's timeline, Leon was currently gathering people persecuted by Deliora, forming a cult to revive the beast and defeat it, hoping to surpass Ur.

But when news of Deliora's destruction reached Leon, he panicked.

Deliora was already destroyed!

How did they know?

Because even though Deliora was burned to ash, the charred remains of its feet sank into the lava and survived.

Rumor had it the Magic Council retrieved the feet to study them.

As a result, Leon's cult fell apart before it even began.

With Deliora gone, what purpose did they serve?

They might as well go home and farm.

Oh, and send thanks to the man who destroyed Deliora!

"Caesar, Gray, Fairy Tail..."

Leon slumped on his throne, glancing at the few remaining cult members. "You think... such powerful people really exist in a guild?"

Of course, none of this was Caesar's concern. He was waiting for someone—a woman.

Three days later, a girl with long black hair, side bangs, a white top, and a yellow belt around her waist arrived at the ruins.

She activated the Arc of Time, and in its glow, a familiar face appeared in her crystal ball.

"Ur."