Jackal stood before them, arms spread wide, a cruel grin on his face. "Move not an inch," he taunted. "One step and both bombs detonate—sending you all skyward. Ahahaha!"
Tears glistened in Carla's eyes as she clung to her grandfather. "It's… it's over… we'll all die…"
Lucy's voice cracked. "No! We can't think like that—Grandfather's life is worth more!"
Jackal's laughter echoed down the street. "Decide quickly, Fairy Tail—who will live?"
Lucy swallowed hard. She opened her mouth to choose… when suddenly Natsu burst through the smoke, his fist slamming into Jackal's neck.
"Ah!" Jackal went flying, landing hard in the river.
Lucy and Wendy raced forward, hearts pounding. The two glowing orbs winked out as Jackal lost control—and the mines under their feet vanished.
A nearby passerby woman collapsed in tears. "I… I thought—"
"Shh," Lucy soothed. "You're safe now. We'll get you somewhere secure." Happy and Carla helped the shaken stranger away.
Michelo knelt beside his granddaughter. "You're both unharmed—thank goodness."
Before relief could settle, Jackal rose from the water, his grin widening. "Impressive—but I'm far from finished."
Natsu's elbow glowed with the rune-like pattern—the mark of Jackal's cursed "bomb touch." He paid it no mind, drawing both hands into roaring flames.
"Burn it all!" he declared—and a wave of searing heat burst from his arms. The river hissed and boiled, stone cracked, and water vanished in steam.
Lucy shielded her eyes. "He's… he's evaporating the river!"
Jackal's eyes flickered with alarm. "What?! Impossible—my curse is magic, and yet…"
Natsu stepped forward, fist blazing, and punched Jackal full in the jaw.
Jackal staggered back. The rune on Natsu's fist flickered—and then burned away entirely.
"No… not possible!" Jackal shrieked, clutching at his face. Pain twisted his features as his flesh melted back, revealing a monstrous jackal-demon form.
"Look out!" Wendy screamed as Jackal's huge maw opened in a bestial roar.
He swung a massive fist. "Boom!"—the shockwave shattered nearby buildings, sending Lucy and Wendy tumbling.
Natsu glared, fire flaring up his arms. "You dare slaughter innocents? You think you're above humanity?!"
Jackal howled and charged again. Natsu met him blow for blow—but each strike from Jackal's demon-forged muscles rocked the earth.
Then Natsu's eyes blazed brighter still. Flames roared from his mouth: "Draconic Flame!" A torrent of molten fire engulfed Jackal, carving a deep crater in stone.
Jackal's shriek echoed as the inferno consumed him, then faded—leaving him slumped, defeated, at the crater's center.
Lucy and Wendy crept forward. Wendy breathed, "He… he's gone?"
Natsu stood amid molten rock, singed but victorious. He turned to Jackal's fallen form. "Never again will you defile human lives!"
Lucy let out a shaky laugh. "Um… maybe just a little less town-destroying next time?"
Natsu grinned sheepishly, flames still flickering in his hair. "No promises!"