The eruption of cheers and celebratory chaos that followed the imprinting of his Fairy Tail mark was, to Katsuki, both predictable and utterly insufferable. Natsu immediately tried to drag him into a headlock for a "welcoming brawl," Gray started stripping (again), Cana was already proposing a drinking contest in his honor, and Lucy was trying, with little success, to inject some semblance of order into the proceedings. The entire guild hall devolved into its usual state of joyous, property-damaging pandemonium, the initial reason for the celebration – his guild mark – quickly becoming just another excuse for Fairy Tail to be Fairy Tail.
Katsuki endured it for about ten minutes, his scowl deepening with every misplaced celebratory firework (Natsu) and every overly enthusiastic clap on the back. This was not his scene. He hadn't agreed to join a damn frat party. The orange mark on the back of his right hand felt strange, a constant, visible reminder of his new, bewildering affiliation.
"Alright, that's enough, you damn lunatics!" he finally roared, a small, controlled explosion punctuating his words, making a nearby stack of tankards rattle. "I'm outta here! You want to party? Fine! Just try not to burn the whole damn place down before I get back with enough Jewel to pay for my actual gear!"
He pushed his way through the throng, ignoring their protests and Natsu's renewed attempts to engage him in combat. He made a quick stop at the bar, where Mirajane, amidst the chaos, was somehow still managing to serve drinks with an unruffled smile.
"Oi, Mira!" he barked over the din. "My cash. Need some of it."
Mirajane, anticipating his needs, had already separated a portion of his earnings. "For your rent, Bakugo-san? And perhaps a celebratory… something for yourself?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.
"Just the rent," he grunted, taking the offered notes. He wasn't about to waste his hard-earned Jewel on their idiotic festivities. He had a five-million-Jewel armor to think about.
With his money secured, he made his escape, leaving the raucous celebration behind him. The cool night air of Magnolia was a welcome relief after the overheated, noisy guild hall. He walked back to his apartment, the orange mark on his hand feeling like a brand, both alien and strangely… anchoring.
He found his landlady, the kindly old woman, still tending her night-blooming flower stall. He paid her for the next month's rent, the transaction simple and blessedly quiet. She smiled at him, her old eyes crinkling at the corners, and wished him a good night, seemingly unfazed by his usual fierce demeanor or the faint scent of smoke and residual explosive energy that always seemed to cling to him.
Back in the solitude of his small apartment, Katsuki finally allowed himself to relax, just a fraction. He looked at the orange Fairy Tail mark on his hand again, tracing its outline with a finger. It was… there. A fact. He still didn't know what to make of it, what to make of this whole 'family' bullshit. But he'd said he'd try. And Katsuki Bakugo, for all his flaws, was a man of his (grudgingly given) word.
He collapsed onto his bed, not even bothering to change out of his work clothes. The events of the past few days – the near-death experience, the new powers, the demolition job, the pest control, the dark guild annihilation, and now, this… this mark – replayed in his mind. It was a lot. Too much.
But as exhaustion finally claimed him, a new thought, a spark of his old, relentless drive, cut through the weariness. Tomorrow. Tomorrow was a new day. And tomorrow, he wouldn't just be relying on his Quirk, or just his 'Explode' magic. Tomorrow, he would start using both. Integrating them, synergizing them, pushing his power to yet another new, terrifying level. The prospect of it, the sheer, unadulterated potential, was enough to bring a faint, predatory smirk to his lips even as he drifted off into a deep, much-needed sleep. The Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight, now a marked member of Fairy Tail, was just getting started. And the world of Fiore had better brace itself.
---
The first sliver of dawn was just beginning to bleed across the eastern sky when Katsuki found himself, once again, standing before the closed doors of the Fairy Tail guild hall. He'd woken early, his body thrumming with a restless energy, the deep sleep having fully restored his physical strength and, more importantly, his insatiable drive. The orange mark on the back of his hand felt like a familiar weight now, a silent declaration.
He didn't have to wait long. Mirajane, as punctual and serene as ever, arrived with her keys, her gentle smile a stark contrast to Katsuki's barely contained intensity.
"Good morning, Bakugo-san," she greeted him, her voice soft in the pre-dawn quiet. "Another early start for our newest official member, I see. Eager to put that new mark to good use?" There was a playful tease in her tone.
Katsuki just grunted, his scowl firmly in place, though it lacked its usual venom. "Got gear to pay for. And I'm not wasting daylight." He followed her into the still-dim guild hall.
As Mirajane began her morning rituals behind the bar, Katsuki made a beeline for the Request Board. His eyes, sharp and focused, scanned the parchments with a new, almost terrifying single-mindedness. He wasn't just looking for a challenge anymore; he was looking for profit. Big profit. The five-million-Jewel armor from Heart Kreuz was his singular obsession, and he was determined to acquire it as swiftly as possible.
His gaze bypassed the mundane, the moderate, the merely interesting. He sought out the high-danger, high-reward subjugation quests, the ones that promised substantial payouts for significant risk. His mind was already calculating, assessing, planning a campaign of relentless, efficient monster eradication. He was going to use both his Quirk and his 'Explode' magic today, synergizing them, pushing his limits in a controlled manner this time, aiming for maximum destructive efficiency with minimal self-inflicted damage.
One by one, he began to pluck parchments from the board. A 'Crimson-Horned Behemoth' terrorizing a mountain pass. A nest of 'Voidfang Serpents' in the Shadowfen. A rogue 'Glacier Colossus' threatening a northern port. Each request was a significant undertaking on its own, usually reserved for a team of experienced mages or an S-Class individual. Katsuki took them all.
He continued, his hand a blur, snatching requests with a ruthless efficiency that would have made a seasoned bounty hunter proud. Ancient Chimeras, a pack of Shadow Stalkers, a rampaging Earth Titan, a flock of Storm Rocs, a brood of Crystal Scorpions, a rogue Desert Wurm, and finally, a particularly nasty-looking contract for a 'Kraken-Class Deep Lurker' that had been sinking ships off the coast.
He ended up with a thick stack of ten parchments in his hand. He walked over to the bar, where Mirajane was watching him with an expression of slowly dawning awe, her usual serene composure slightly ruffled by the sheer audacity of his selections.
He slapped the stack of requests down on the counter. "These," he stated, his voice flat, devoid of any arrogance, just pure, unadulterated intent. "All of 'em. Calculate the total payout."
Mirajane carefully picked up the stack, her eyes widening as she read through the descriptions and the listed rewards. These weren't just challenging jobs; these were some of the most dangerous and lucrative solo contracts currently available on the entire board. To take on one or two would be ambitious. To take on ten simultaneously was… unprecedented.
She began to meticulously tally the rewards, her fingers flying across a small abacus she kept for such calculations, her expression growing more astonished with each addition. Finally, she looked up at Katsuki, her blue eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief and something akin to fearful respect.
"Bakugo-san…" she began, her voice a little breathless. "The combined reward for these ten subjugation requests, assuming successful completion of all of them, totals… five million, one hundred thousand Jewel."
Katsuki let out a slow, deliberate sigh. Five point one million. It was just over his target for the armor. It was an insane amount of work, a gauntlet of incredibly dangerous encounters, likely spanning multiple days and pushing him to his absolute limits, even with his combined powers. But the thought of acquiring his ultimate gear, of finally being properly outfitted to unleash his full potential without worrying about his clothes disintegrating or his body shattering, was a powerful motivator.
"Good," he said, his voice a low growl of satisfaction. "That'll cover it." He met Mirajane's gaze, his crimson eyes blazing with a fierce, almost terrifying resolve. "Stamp 'em. All of 'em."
Mirajane hesitated for only a fraction of a second. She saw the unwavering determination in his eyes, the sheer, indomitable will. This wasn't reckless bravado, not entirely. This was Katsuki Bakugo setting an almost impossible goal and then calmly, terrifyingly, preparing to achieve it through sheer, overwhelming force and effort.
With a steady hand, though her heart was pounding, she took her guild stamp and, one by one, pressed the official Fairy Tail seal onto each of the ten high-stakes request parchments. The series of sharp thuds echoed in the quiet guild hall, each one a commitment to a new level of insane, glorious battle.
She handed the thick stack of approved requests back to him. "The locations are spread across half of Fiore, Bakugo-san. This… this will be an extraordinary undertaking. Please… be careful. Even for you." There was genuine concern in her voice, a plea beneath the professional demeanor.
Katsuki just grunted, taking the stack. "Careful's for extras." He was already turning towards the door, the weight of the ten requests in his hand a physical manifestation of the monumental task ahead. He paused at the threshold, his orange Fairy Tail mark on his right hand almost seeming to glow in the dim morning light.
"Don't wait up," he said, without looking back.
And then, he was gone, launching himself into the sky with a roar of combined Quirk and 'Explode' magic, a fiery orange-and-azure comet streaking towards the horizon, towards the first of his ten targets. The Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight was on the hunt, not just for monsters, but for his ultimate armor. And the entirety of Fairy Tail, once they heard of his latest, most audacious endeavor, would be holding its collective breath. This was either going to be his most spectacular triumph, or his most catastrophic failure. There would be no in-between.
---
The moment Katsuki cleared the rooftops of Magnolia, he shifted his propulsion method. The raw, combined roar of his Quirk and 'Explode' magic was for the initial launch, the declaration of intent. For sustained, high-speed travel across the vast distances his ten-contract itinerary demanded, he needed efficiency and stealth.
"Explode: Frictionless Mode – Full Integration!" he barked to himself, the name an internal designation for this evolved technique.
He wasn't just using his Quirk for the micro-explosions now. He was seamlessly blending it with his 'Explode' magic, the azure energy providing a cleaner, more potent, and more sustainable fuel for the continuous, skin-tight detonations. The shimmering aura around him intensified, a mesmerizing, almost invisible dance of orange and blue sparks, the propulsive hum so perfectly tuned it was practically inaudible. His speed was terrifying, a silent, multi-hued blur against the brightening sky, leaving no trail but the faintest distortion in the air. This was peak aerial maneuverability, a perfect synergy of his two distinct power sources.
His first three targets were strategically clustered in the rugged, northern Dragon's Spine mountain range: the Crimson-Horned Behemoth, the nest of Voidfang Serpents, and the flock of Storm Rocs. A three-birds-one-stone approach, as he'd mentally dubbed it. Maximum efficiency for maximum profit.
He arrived over the designated pass for the Crimson-Horned Behemoth with the silence and suddenness of a striking hawk. The creature was aptly named – a colossal, bison-like beast with a hide like granite and a pair of massive, blood-red horns that crackled with raw, untamed magical energy. It was currently attempting to demolish a stone watchtower that guarded the pass.
Katsuki didn't waste time on theatrics. From his high, unseen vantage point, he initiated his attack. "Explode: Incinerate – Frictionless AP Shot!"
A thin, almost invisible beam, glowing with an intense azure light at its core and wrapped in that tell-tale frictionless shimmer, lanced downwards with impossible speed. It struck the Behemoth directly between its massive shoulder blades. There was no grand explosion, just a sound like tearing silk, and the Behemoth let out a single, choked bellow before its legs buckled. The beam had punched clean through its incredibly thick hide, its dense muscle, and its spine, severing it instantly. The colossal creature crashed to the ground, lifeless, its crimson horns dimming.
Katsuki descended, landing lightly beside the fallen giant. He quickly, efficiently, severed the tip of one of its crimson horns with a small, precise Quirk-blast – his proof of subjugation. It was surprisingly heavy, still warm to the touch. He stowed it, then, without a backward glance, shot back into the sky, his Frictionless Mode propelling him towards the Shadowfen, lair of the Voidfang Serpents.
The Shadowfen was a treacherous, mist-shrouded swamp, its dark waters hiding untold dangers. The Voidfang Serpents were enormous, black-scaled constrictors, their fangs dripping with a potent neurotoxin that could paralyze a grown man in seconds. Their nest was said to be in a tangle of ancient, gnarled mangrove roots at the heart of the swamp.
Katsuki approached low and fast, his Frictionless Mode allowing him to skim just above the murky water without creating a ripple. He located the nest – a writhing mass of at least a dozen of the shadowy reptiles. He didn't give them a chance to react.
"Explode: Cluster Style – Incinerate Barrage!"
This was a new combination. He unleashed a furious volley of kicks, each one launching not just a concussive Quirk-blast, but a searing projectile of his azure 'Explode' magic. The swamp around the nest erupted in a series of blue-white flashes and a cacophony of hissing steam as the Incinerate Kicks struck home. The Voidfang Serpents, caught in the open, were instantly immolated, their black scales charring and their bodies vaporizing in the intense heat. The nest itself was reduced to a smoking, boiling patch of water.
He spotted a few larger, venom-slick fangs floating amidst the debris. He swooped down, snatched them with a quick, heat-shielded hand, and was gone before the steam had even fully cleared. Two down.
The Storm Rocs were next, nesting high in the storm-lashed peaks that gave the Dragon's Spine its name. These were colossal birds of prey, their feathers the color of thunderclouds, their cries like rolling thunder, and their wingbeats capable of summoning localized tempests.
Katsuki ascended into the turbulent, electrically charged air, his Frictionless Mode cutting through the gale-force winds with ease. He found the Rocs circling their aerie, their forms immense against the dark, swirling clouds. He didn't engage them in an aerial dogfight. He had a better idea.
He flew above them, then, with a focused effort, began to channel both his Quirk and his 'Explode' magic into a massive, wide-area attack, but one designed for incapacitation rather than outright annihilation, drawing on his earlier Grumble Bug experiment.
"Explode: Quirk & Magic Fusion – Overload Pulse Grenade!"
He cupped his hands, creating a rapidly expanding sphere of chaotic, fluctuating energy – a volatile mix of his Quirk's concussive force and his magic's raw power, specifically tuned to disrupt electrical and magical energies. He hurled it down into the midst of the circling Storm Rocs.
The sphere detonated not with a bang, but with a deafening, high-frequency shriek and an intense pulse of disruptive energy that washed over the Rocs. Their storm-calling abilities sputtered and died. Their massive wings faltered as their own bio-electrical systems were momentarily scrambled. They began to plummet from the sky, disoriented and powerless, crashing heavily onto the rocky slopes below, stunned but not critically injured.
Katsuki descended, collected a few of their largest, distinctively patterned storm-feathers, and then, with a final, satisfied glance at the temporarily grounded (and very confused) flock, he reactivated his Frictionless Mode.
Three targets down in remarkably short order. His combined powers, his refined control, and his ruthless efficiency were proving to be a devastating combination. He was a blur, a force of nature, systematically working his way through his list. The five million Jewel target felt a little closer now, and the Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight was just hitting his stride. The remaining seven contracts, spread across Fiore, didn't stand a chance.
---
As Katsuki streaked across the sky, a silent, multi-hued missile propelled by his perfectly integrated Frictionless Mode, a bizarre and unwelcome thought wormed its way into his hyper-focused mind. The azure flames of his Incinerate magic, the incredible speed and maneuverability of his current flight method, the way he was systematically taking down high-level threats with technologically-sounding attack names… it was all starting to feel vaguely… familiar.
"Fuck," he muttered under his breath, the sound lost in the near-silent rush of his passage. "I'm slowly becoming… that damn Pre-Quirk Era comic book hero… Iron Man!"
The realization hit him with the force of a rogue explosion. Deku, that obsessive nerd, and Kaminari, that charge-dolt, were both obsessed with those ancient comics. He'd overheard their idiotic ramblings about billionaire playboy philanthropists in flying suits of armor, about repulsor rays and unibeams. He'd always dismissed it as childish fantasy, irrelevant in a world of actual Quirks.
But now… The blue flames, so similar to the 'repulsor' effects often depicted. The incredibly fast, near-silent flight. The way he was developing increasingly complex and named 'super moves'… It was an uncomfortable parallel. He, Katsuki Bakugo, the Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight, was inadvertently cosplaying as some antique comic character. The thought was infuriating, almost more so than the monsters he was hunting.
"Shit!" he snarled, shaking his head violently as if to dislodge the unwelcome comparison. "Deku and that Charge-Dolt, and their stupid goddamn comics… Fuck, I got no time for that!"
He pushed the thought aside with a surge of renewed, aggressive focus. He had a schedule to keep, a five-million-Jewel armor to earn. He wasn't some tech-bro in a fancy suit; he was raw, inherent power, forged in battle and fury. The fact that his power was now manifesting in ways that coincidentally resembled some old-world fiction was just… a stupid, irritating coincidence. Nothing more.
He checked his mental map, his internal GPS locking onto the next two targets on his list, strategically chosen for their relative proximity: the rogue Glacier Colossus near the northern port of Hargeon, and the Ancient Chimeras lairing in the foothills of the nearby Icefang Mountains. Another efficient two-for-one.
He arrived over the ice-choked waters near Hargeon, the air biting cold. The Glacier Colossus was an immense, slow-moving behemoth of living ice and snow, its fists like battering rams, already causing chaos among the fishing fleets and threatening to smash the harbor defenses.
Katsuki didn't even slow down. He needed something overwhelming, something that could take down a creature of that sheer size and elemental resilience in one decisive blow, while also serving as a suitably impressive follow-up to his earlier, more precise takedowns. He needed a new Super Move, one that combined the devastating rotational power of his Howitzer Impact with the searing heat of his Incinerate magic and the propulsive force of his Quirk-enhanced Turbo Cluster.
He began to spin, high above the Colossus, gathering both his Quirk's explosive sweat and his 'Explode' magic's azure energy. He wasn't just rotating; he was incorporating bursts from his palms and feet, a nitrous-like boost to his rotational speed, creating a terrifying vortex of orange and blue destructive power.
"Explode: Incinerate – Howitzer Impact – Nitrous Turbo Cluster!" he roared, the name a mouthful but perfectly describing the terrifying synergy he was unleashing.
He became a living meteor of dual-colored flame and concussive force, hurtling down towards the Glacier Colossus with incredible velocity. The impact was apocalyptic. A blinding flash of intermingled orange and azure light enveloped the Colossus, followed by a shockwave that cracked the sea ice for miles and sent a tidal wave surging towards the distant port (which, thankfully, was far enough away to only experience minor flooding).
The Glacier Colossus, a creature born of ice and cold, stood no chance against such a focused inferno. It didn't just melt; it vaporized. The intense heat of the Incinerate magic, combined with the sheer kinetic force of the multi-stage explosive impact, turned the colossal ice-form into a colossal cloud of steam and shattered ice crystals that momentarily blotted out the sun. When the maelstrom subsided, there was nothing left of the Colossus but a roiling patch of superheated seawater and a lingering scent of ozone.
Katsuki, panting slightly from the exertion but grinning like a maniac, hovered above the scene. That had been… satisfying. He quickly located a large, unmelted core fragment of the Colossus – a chunk of ancient, magically imbued ice that resisted even his inferno – and snatched it for proof.
Without pausing, he shot towards the Icefang Mountains, the lair of the Ancient Chimeras. These were said to be horrific, multi-headed beasts, combining the traits of lions, goats, and serpents, each head capable of wielding different elemental attacks.
He found them in a vast, ice-walled cavern. Three of them, snarling and spitting fire, ice, and venom. He didn't give them a chance to coordinate their attacks. He simply unleashed another "Explode: Incinerate – Howitzer Impact – Nitrous Turbo Cluster" directly into the center of their formation.
The cavern became an echo chamber of roaring explosions and shattering ice. The Chimeras, caught in the vortex of azure and orange destruction, were torn apart, their elemental attacks snuffed out before they could even be properly launched. Their roars of fury turned into choked death cries.
When the dust and steam settled, Katsuki landed amidst the mangled remains. He collected a mismatched assortment of fangs, horns, and scales – enough to prove the demise of three distinct Chimeras – and was airborne again in seconds.
Five targets down. Five more to go. He was making incredible time, his new Super Move proving to be devastatingly effective against larger, more resilient threats. The Iron Man comparison still gnawed at the back of his mind, an irritating itch he couldn't quite scratch, but the sheer, undeniable thrill of his evolving power, the satisfying thud of monster parts being collected, and the ever-nearing prospect of his ultimate armor, were powerful distractions. He was a force of nature, a one-man army, and the remaining monsters on his list were about to learn that firsthand.
---
The satisfaction of his new, devastating Super Move was a potent fuel, but Katsuki, ever the innovator, ever pushing for more, immediately sought to refine his travel method further. The frictionless sheath was incredibly fast, but he craved even greater velocity, a way to bridge the vast distances between his remaining targets with even more terrifying speed.
As he streaked away from the ravaged Icefang Mountains, he focused, experimenting with his Quirk and magic in a new configuration. He already used blasts from his palms and feet for his Turbo Cluster. What if he added a third point of propulsion? His back.
He concentrated, willing his nitroglycerin-like sweat to exude from the pores across his shoulder blades and upper back, then igniting it with precisely controlled bursts of his 'Explode' magic, ensuring the blasts were angled correctly for forward thrust. The sensation was new, a powerful shove from behind that augmented the output from his limbs. The micro-explosions of his Frictionless Mode still enveloped him, but now, he had an additional, primary thruster.
His speed increased dramatically, the landscape below becoming an almost incomprehensible blur. The G-forces pressed him harder, a sensation he reveled in. He was no longer just a rocket; he was a multi-stage intercontinental ballistic missile of pure, explosive fury.
His next cluster of targets lay in the vast, sun-scorched badlands of the southern deserts: a pack of Shadow Stalkers, a rampaging Earth Titan, a brood of Crystal Scorpions, and a rogue Desert Wurm. Four distinct, dangerous threats, all conveniently (for him) located within a relatively compact geographical area. This was good. He could chain these kills, minimizing travel time, maximizing his destructive output before exhaustion even thought about setting in.
He arrived over the desolate, rocky canyons where the Shadow Stalkers were said to roam with the suddenness of a thunderclap, his new tri-point propulsion system eating up the miles. These creatures were described as large, nocturnal predators, capable of melding with the shadows, their attacks swift and silent.
Katsuki descended into a deep, shadowy ravine, his senses on high alert. He didn't need to see them; he could feel their predatory intent, the subtle disturbances in the air. He spotted a flicker of movement, a deeper patch of black against the already dark rock face – one of the Stalkers, preparing to ambush.
He shot towards it, not with a wide-area attack, but with a new, focused, close-quarters technique designed for overwhelming, instantaneous obliteration. He wouldn't give it a chance to use its stealth. He closed the distance in a nanosecond, his hand already crackling with a terrifying concentration of both Quirk-fueled explosive sweat and his azure Incinerate magic, but not in the rotational pattern of a Howitzer. This was different. A single, devastating point of impact, designed to detonate with the force of a small bomb the instant it made contact.
"Explode: Incinerate – First Impact!" he roared, the name as brutally direct as the attack itself.
His palm, wreathed in a blinding fusion of orange and blue energy, slammed into the Shadow Stalker's flank. There was no build-up, no spin-up. Just a single, catastrophic KABOOM! The sound was immense, a deafening, concussive crack that echoed through the canyons like the wrath of a god. The Shadow Stalker didn't just die; it ceased to exist, vaporized in an instant, the rock wall behind it blackened and cratered from the sheer, focused force of the detonation.
Katsuki stood amidst the ringing silence, a faint trail of orange and blue smoke curling from his palm. The First Impact. It was brutal. It was efficient. It was perfect for taking out single, tough targets with overwhelming, instantaneous force. He could already feel the other Shadow Stalkers in the vicinity recoiling in terror, their shadowy forms flickering as they sensed the utter annihilation of their packmate.
He grinned, a feral, terrifying expression. "Alright, you hiding little shits! Saw that, did ya? There's plenty more where that came from!"
He didn't even bother to look for a specific trophy from the first Stalker; its utter vaporization was proof enough. He launched himself deeper into the ravine, a hunter possessed, ready to unleash his First Impact upon the remaining shadowy predators. This four-monster cluster was about to become a rapidly shrinking list. The Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight was operating at peak, multi-powered efficiency, and the badlands were about to become a canvas for his destructive artistry.
---
The remaining Shadow Stalkers, their stealthy tactics rendered useless by the sheer, overwhelming terror inspired by the First Impact's obliteration of their packmate, attempted to scatter. They darted through the labyrinthine canyons, their shadowy forms flitting between rocks and crevices, hoping to evade the incandescent wrath that had descended upon them.
Katsuki, however, was relentless. He tracked them with predatory focus, his enhanced speed, now augmented by the back-thruster, allowing him to close any distance with contemptuous ease. For the second Stalker, which he cornered in a narrow box canyon, he decided to showcase another evolution of his rapidly expanding arsenal.
He had already proven the lethal efficiency of his Frictionless AP Shot: Machine Gun. Now, he would imbue it with the searing heat of his Incinerate magic.
"Explode: Frictionless AP Shot: Machine Gun – Incinerator!" he bellowed, the name a clear declaration of its enhanced destructive properties.
He unleashed the attack. The familiar, near-silent hiss of the frictionless projectiles filled the air, but this time, each invisible streak of kinetic force was visibly trailed by a thin, searing line of pure azure flame. It was a beautiful and terrifying sight – a hailstorm of miniature blue comets, each one carrying both armor-piercing power and incinerating heat.
The cornered Shadow Stalker shrieked, a sound that was quickly cut short as the Incinerator barrage tore into it. Its shadowy hide offered no resistance to the frictionless projectiles, and the intense azure flames instantly set its ethereal form alight, consuming it in a flash of sapphire fire. It dissolved into cinders and fading violet smoke before it even hit the ground.
Katsuki lowered his hands, a grimly satisfied smirk on his face. The Incinerator variant of his AP Shot Machine Gun was… devastatingly effective. It combined the best of both worlds: the silent, armor-ignoring penetration of the frictionless projectiles with the undeniable destructive heat of his 'Explode' magic. Another versatile tool, perfect for dealing with multiple or evasive targets that needed to be not just pierced, but utterly consumed.
He quickly located a few charred, obsidian-like claws amidst the smoking remains – recognizable trophies from the Shadow Stalker. Two down in this cluster. The Earth Titan was next on his hit list, its rumored location a vast, open plain of cracked earth a few miles further into the badlands.
Without pausing to admire his handiwork, Katsuki reactivated his tri-point, frictionless flight. He was a blur of orange and blue energy, streaking across the desolate landscape, leaving behind only the faint scent of ozone and the lingering echoes of his destructive power. The efficiency of his hunt was almost machine-like, his focus absolute. The five-million-Jewel armor felt closer with every annihilated foe.
---
As Katsuki soared above the cracked, desolate plains where the Earth Titan was said to roam, a new, even more audacious idea began to form in his mind. He had already unleashed his "Explode: Incinerate – Howitzer Impact – Nitrous Turbo Cluster" with devastating effect against the Glacier Colossus and the Chimeras. But what if he took it a step further? What if he didn't just launch it as a projectile, but became the projectile itself, a living, spinning meteor of tri-phasic destructive energy, diving from an extreme altitude? A true, all-in, kamikaze-style attack, but one he intended to survive through sheer, overwhelming power and the resilience of his increasingly inhuman constitution.
The thought was insane. It was reckless. It was potentially even more self-destructive than the Oppenheimer Smash if he miscalculated.
And it was utterly, irresistibly appealing to the Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" A wild, unhinged peel of laughter ripped from his throat, echoing across the empty badlands. "An attack from the SKY! A goddamn suicide dive of pure, explosive glory! YES!"
He spotted his target – the Earth Titan. It was a colossal golem of rock, dust, and jagged crystals, easily fifty meters tall, its slow, ponderous movements shaking the very ground. It was currently pulverizing a small, rocky mesa with its enormous stone fists, seemingly oblivious to the incandescent doom preparing to descend upon it.
Katsuki ascended, higher and higher, until the Earth Titan was a mere speck below, until the air grew thin and bitingly cold despite the desert sun. He pushed his frictionless flight to its absolute limit, then angled himself directly downwards, a tiny, distant point of light against the vast blue canvas of the sky.
He began to spin, drawing upon every ounce of his Quirk's explosive sweat, every particle of his 'Explode' magic's azure Incinerate energy, and the combined propulsive force of his palms, feet, and now, his back thrusters. The orange and blue energies swirled around him, creating a terrifying, tri-colored vortex, the sound a rising, deafening shriek of tortured air and contained power.
"EXPLODE: FRICTIONLESS: HOWITZER IMPACT – INCINERATE – TURBO CLUSTER – KAMIKAAAAAAZEEEEEEE!" he screamed into the heavens, his voice a distorted roar of exultation and madness as he plummeted towards the earth like a vengeful asteroid.
He was a spinning, incandescent drill of pure destruction, the frictionless sheath around him barely containing the colossal energies he was wielding. The Earth Titan finally seemed to notice the screaming, tri-colored doom descending upon it, its massive stone head tilting upwards, its crystalline eyes widening in what might have been primitive terror.
It had no time to react.
Katsuki, the living Kamikaze Howitzer, struck the Earth Titan dead center.
The impact was beyond catastrophic. It was a world-shattering event. A blinding, hemispherical dome of intermingled orange, blue, and white light erupted, instantly vaporizing the Earth Titan and a significant portion of the surrounding plain. The shockwave was immense, a visible ripple that tore across the desert, pulverizing rock formations miles away and sending a colossal mushroom cloud of dust, steam, and incandescent debris tens of thousands of feet into the atmosphere. The sound was a continuous, rolling thunder, a sound that would be heard for hundreds of miles, a sound that spoke of power beyond mortal comprehension.
In the heart of that man-made cataclysm, for a terrifying, eternal moment, there was only light and unimaginable force.
When the primary blast wave finally began to subside, and the colossal dust cloud started to slowly, ponderously dissipate, the landscape was… changed. A new, massive, glass-lined crater, miles wide, now dominated the badlands, its center still glowing with an infernal, residual heat. Of the Earth Titan, there was not a single recognizable fragment. Of the rocky mesa it had been pulverizing, there was only molten slag.
And in the very center of that vast, smoking crater, lying in a shallow depression of fused earth, was Katsuki Bakugo.
He was, remarkably, alive. Conscious, even, though just barely. His clothes, even the sturdy work attire, were gone, blasted away by the sheer force and heat, leaving him bare save for a few clinging, charred threads. His skin was scorched, blistered, every muscle screaming, every bone feeling like it had been individually tenderized. He was bleeding from a dozen minor cuts, and his ears were ringing so loudly he could barely hear his own ragged, desperate gasps for air.
The recoil from the Kamikaze Howitzer, even with the frictionless sheath and his own incredible resilience, had been monumental. He had pushed himself to the very edge of oblivion, and perhaps a little beyond.
But as he lay there, staring up at the smoke-choked sky, a bloody, broken, but undeniably triumphant grin stretched across his face.
"Hah… hah…
Fucking… worth it…" he wheezed, each word a monumental effort. He'd done it. He'd unleashed an attack of such ludicrous, over-the-top destructive power, and he had survived.
He didn't know how he was going to get up. He didn't know how he was going to collect a trophy from a creature that had been atomized. He didn't even know how he was going to get back to civilization in his current, naked, and utterly wrecked state.
But in that moment, none of it mattered. He, Katsuki Bakugo, the Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight, had just dropped a personalized meteor strike on an unsuspecting Titan. And it had been glorious. The Crystal Scorpions and the Desert Wurm, wherever they were, had better be saying their prayers. Assuming they hadn't already been vaporized as collateral damage.
---
The sheer, exhilarating recklessness of the Kamikaze Howitzer had left Katsuki battered, naked, and lying in the center of a self-made apocalypse, but his spirit was soaring. The pain was a distant, irrelevant buzz compared to the incandescent triumph of having unleashed such a monumental attack and walked (or rather, crawled) away from it.
He lay there for what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a few minutes, his body slowly, painfully beginning to knit itself back together, the residual effects of Wendy and Porlyusica's earlier intensive healing, combined with his own monstrous resilience and the lingering thrum of his Quirk and magic, already starting to work. He could feel energy, faint but definite, beginning to seep back into his limbs.
His next target, the brood of Crystal Scorpions, was supposedly nearby, or at least, it had been nearby before he'd reshaped several square miles of the badlands. He pushed himself up onto his elbows, his muscles screaming in protest, and scanned the horizon. The dust was still settling, but through the haze, he could see a series of jagged, crystalline formations a few miles to the east – a likely habitat for such creatures, and miraculously, seemingly outside the main blast radius of his Kamikaze.
He needed to get there. Flying in his current state, naked and still severely weakened, was a daunting prospect. But the thought of those five million Jewels, of his ultimate armor, was a powerful motivator. He needed proof of subjugation.
With a monumental effort of will, he forced himself to his feet, swaying precariously. He focused, drawing on the dregs of his Quirk, igniting small, controlled blasts from his palms and feet. It was a sputtering, uneven flight, nothing like his usual effortless grace, but it got him airborne. He moved slowly, a battered, naked comet, towards the crystalline spires.
He found the Crystal Scorpions nestled within a vast, glittering geode cave. They were enormous, their carapaces made of razor-sharp, translucent crystal, their pincers capable of crushing rock, their tails tipped with venomous, crystal shards. There were at least twenty of them, their multifaceted eyes glowing with an eerie inner light.
Katsuki, still regenerating, knew he couldn't sustain another full-blown, two-handed Kamikaze Howitzer, nor did he have the energy for a prolonged engagement. He needed something quick, devastating, and focused. He also realized his previous Super Move name was a damn mouthful. Time for an upgrade, and a variation.
He descended into the geode cave, drawing the immediate, aggressive attention of the scorpion brood. As they scuttled towards him, their crystalline bodies clattering, he focused all his remaining Quirk and Incinerate magic into his right hand, shaping it not into a spinning vortex, but into a single, hyper-condensed point of impact, a one-handed, even more focused version of his ultimate attack.
"Point-Blank Kamikaze Howitzer!" he roared, the name shorter, punchier, deadlier.
He met the charge of the largest scorpion, its crystalline armor shimmering, and slammed his incandescent, one-handed payload directly into its multifaceted face.
The result was, if possible, even more concentratedly violent than the area-of-effect version. There wasn't a wide dome of destruction, but a blinding, focused beam of pure, annihilating energy that erupted from his fist, punching through the lead scorpion and continuing onwards, coring through two more scorpions directly behind it before finally expending its force against the far wall of the geode cave, which promptly shattered into a billion glittering fragments.
The three scorpions caught in the direct path of the Point-Blank Kamikaze Howitzer were simply gone, reduced to fine crystal dust and superheated steam. The shockwave from the focused blast, contained within the cave, was immense, sending the remaining scorpions flying, their crystalline bodies cracking and shattering on impact with the walls and floor.
Katsuki stood amidst the glittering ruin, his right arm throbbing, feeling like it had been dipped in magma, but a savage grin was plastered across his face. The one-handed version was more controlled, more precise, and arguably even more lethal against a single target or a tight formation. And less draining than the full, spinning catastrophe.
The remaining Crystal Scorpions, those that hadn't been directly hit or shattered by the shockwave, were either dead or dying, their crystalline forms fractured and dull. He quickly gathered a handful of their largest, most ornate crystal tail-stingers – easily recognizable proof.
That made eight confirmations. Eight high-level subjugation contracts completed in a single, unbelievably violent spree. Two more to go: the rogue Desert Wurm, and then, the final, most dangerous target, the Kraken-Class Deep Lurker off the coast.
He was battered, bruised, naked as the day he was born (or rather, arrived in this world), and running on fumes and sheer, indomitable willpower. But he was eight-tenths of the way to his five-million-Jewel armor. The thought was a potent balm against his myriad aches and pains.
He took a deep, shuddering breath, drawing on the last reserves of his energy. He still needed to get to the Desert Wurm's reported location. He looked down at his own bare skin, then around the glittering, ruined cave. An idea, born of desperation and a distinct lack of alternatives, sparked in his mind. He might be naked, but he wasn't entirely without resources. This cave was full of large, relatively flat crystal shards…
---
The thought of flying across the desert completely naked, even for a short distance, was an affront to what little dignity Katsuki had left after his self-inflicted super-attacks. He scanned the glittering wreckage of the geode cave, his eyes landing on several large, relatively flat shards of the scorpions' crystalline carapaces. They were surprisingly lightweight, yet incredibly strong.
"Fuck it," he muttered, his voice a raw rasp. "Improvise. Adapt. Over-fucking-come."
He spent a few precious minutes selecting the best pieces, his movements stiff and pained. Using smaller, still-sharp crystal fragments as crude cutting tools, and a few strands of sinew he managed to salvage from one of the less-disintegrated scorpion legs (a grim task he tried not to dwell on), he fashioned a makeshift, and frankly ridiculous-looking, loincloth and a pair of rudimentary shoulder pauldrons out of the translucent, razor-edged crystal shards. It offered minimal protection and was probably incredibly uncomfortable, but it was better than nothing. It also made him look like some kind of savage, post-apocalyptic crystal warrior, which, he had to admit, had a certain terrifying aesthetic.
Thus, ridiculously and painfully re-attired, he launched himself back into the sky, his flight even more erratic and sputtering than before, but driven by sheer, unyielding determination. The Desert Wurm was his next target, said to burrow beneath the deepest, most desolate dunes.
He found its hunting ground easily enough – a vast, unnaturally smooth bowl in the sand, the tell-tale sign of a massive creature moving beneath the surface. He hovered, conserving his energy, waiting for the opportune moment. It came when the enormous, segmented body of the Desert Wurm – a creature easily a hundred meters long, its maw a gaping, circular pit filled with grinding, rock-like teeth – breached the surface, sensing his presence.
Katsuki knew he couldn't rely on another focused, single-point attack against a creature of this sheer length and subterranean mobility. He needed something with a wider area of effect, something that could crush and obliterate. He needed another Kamikaze Howitzer, but different. A compression.
He gathered his remaining Quirk and Incinerate magic, channeling it not into a spinning vortex or a single fist, but into both his outstretched hands, holding them wide apart. He then began to bring his hands together, slowly, inexorably, like the jaws of some celestial vise, the space between them crackling with an almost unbearable concentration of orange and azure energy.
"Kamikaze Howitzer – CLAP!" he roared, his voice cracking with the strain.
As the Desert Wurm reared its massive head, preparing to strike, Katsuki slammed his incandescent palms together with all his remaining might, directly above the creature's exposed midsection.
The result was not an explosion outwards, but an implosion inwards, followed by an immediate, catastrophic outward shockwave. The air itself seemed to fold in on itself between his hands, crushing everything in its path with unimaginable force, then erupting in a devastating, bi-directional wave of pure annihilation.
The Desert Wurm was caught directly in the compression zone. Its segmented body, tough as ancient stone, buckled and shattered as if squeezed by an invisible giant. The subsequent shockwave then tore it apart, sending chunks of its armored hide and internal organs flying in all directions. The very sand beneath it was slammed downwards, creating a deep, instantaneously formed trench, then blasted outwards, creating a new ring of dunes around the impact site.
Katsuki was thrown backwards by the recoil, even from the air, his makeshift crystal loincloth threatening to disintegrate. He landed heavily on a distant dune, every bone in his body screaming, his vision swimming. That… that had been intense. The 'Clap' variation was perfect for crushing, for dealing with targets that needed to be squeezed out of existence.
He lay there for a long moment, gasping for air, the taste of sand and ozone in his mouth. He was almost completely spent. But he'd done it. Nine down. Only the Kraken-Class Deep Lurker remained.
He painfully pushed himself up. He needed proof. He stumbled towards the epicenter of the 'Clap,' scanning the gory, sand-strewn battlefield. He found a massive, undamaged section of the Wurm's primary grinding tooth – a piece of biological machinery the size of a small boulder. It would have to do.
He could barely lift it, his strength almost entirely gone. He somehow managed to secure it with more crystal shards and sinew, creating a crude sling he could drag.
Nine confirmations. Nine trophies of escalatingly brutal encounters. He was a wreck, clad in sharpened garbage, dragging a giant monster tooth across a desolate desert. But he was one step away from his five million Jewel goal. The Kraken awaited. And then, sweet, glorious, indestructible armor. The thought, and only that thought, gave him the strength to take another agonizing step towards the distant coast.
---
Dragging the colossal Desert Wurm tooth behind him like some prehistoric hunter, his body a canvas of fresh burns, cuts, and bruises, all barely covered by his ludicrous crystal-shard attire, Katsuki finally, painfully, acknowledged the limits of his current endurance. He was a hair's breadth from collapsing again. The thought of taking on a Kraken-Class Deep Lurker in his present state, no matter how tantalizingly close the five-million-Jewel mark was, was suicidal even by his extreme standards.
"Fuck…" he rasped, his voice raw and weak, the desert sun beating down on his exposed, battered skin. He dropped the rope made of crystal and sinew, the massive tooth thudding onto the sand. He swayed, his vision blurring. "This is… stupid."
He needed a tactical retreat. A temporary one. He needed to cash in his current earnings, get some proper clothes (because this crystal-couture was not only agonizingly uncomfortable but also offered zero protection and was probably about to fall apart), and, most importantly, rest. Even a few hours of deep sleep would make a world of difference.
"Guild… first," he decided, the words a painful effort. "Rewards… clothes… then… then that damn squid."
With a monumental effort of will, he focused the last vestiges of his Quirk and magic. His flight was a sputtering, wobbling, dangerously low-altitude affair, more a series of desperate, painful hops than true flight. He didn't even attempt his Frictionless Mode; he barely had the energy to produce basic propulsive blasts. He left the Wurm tooth where it lay; he'd figure out how to retrieve that behemoth later, or just describe its utter annihilation to Mirajane. The other eight trophies were still, somehow, secured about his person in various makeshift pouches and ties he'd made from scorpion sinew and fabric scraps from his previous outfits.
The journey back to Magnolia felt like an eternity. He had to stop multiple times, collapsing onto the sand to gasp for breath, his body screaming in protest. He looked like a survivor of some forgotten apocalypse, a wild, half-naked savage emerging from the desert.
When he finally, miraculously, stumbled into the outskirts of Magnolia, he was a sight that would haunt the dreams of the local children for weeks. His crystal loincloth was askew, revealing more than it covered, his skin was a patchwork of grime, blood, and healing burns, and his eyes burned with a feverish, exhausted light. He ignored the shocked stares, the pointed fingers, the whispered gasps of horror and amazement. He had one goal: the Fairy Tail guild hall.
He practically fell through the doors, collapsing onto the floor just inside the entrance, sending a cloud of desert sand billowing around him. The usual midday din of the guild immediately ceased, replaced by a stunned, horrified silence as every eye fixed on the battered, barely-clad, and clearly near-death figure sprawled on their floorboards.
"Bakugo?!" Natsu was the first to react, rushing forward, his usual desire to fight instantly replaced by shocked concern.
"Oh, dear heavens! What happened to you?!" Lucy cried, her hands flying to her mouth.
Even Gajeel, who had been eyeing Katsuki with predatory interest since hearing about him, looked momentarily taken aback by the sheer, brutalized state of the newcomer.
Katsuki just lay there, gasping, too weak to even swear. He managed to push himself up onto one elbow, his crimson eyes, though glazed with exhaustion, still holding a spark of indomitable will. He fumbled with the makeshift pouches, spilling out a collection of gruesome, high-level monster trophies – the Crimson Behemoth's horn tip, the Voidfang Serpent fangs, the Storm Roc feathers, the Glacier Colossus ice core, the Chimera parts, the Shadow Stalker claws, the Earth Titan… well, he'd have to describe that one, and the Crystal Scorpion stingers.
"Eight…" he wheezed, his voice barely audible. "Rewards… Clothes… Then… Kraken…"
And with that, having delivered his report and his immediate, desperate needs, Katsuki Bakugo's eyes rolled back in his head, and he promptly passed out again, face down in a cloud of his own accumulated desert dust and monster remnants, leaving the entirety of Fairy Tail to stare in stunned, horrified silence at the sheer, unbelievable, self-destructive tenacity of their newest, most explosive, and currently most naked, guildmate. The five-million-Jewel armor was going to cost him more than just money. It was costing him pieces of himself, one brutal, near-fatal encounter at a time.
---
The familiar scent of antiseptic and medicinal herbs, the soft feel of clean sheets, the dull, pervasive ache of a body pushed far beyond its breaking point – these were becoming distressingly routine sensations for Katsuki Bakugo. He blinked his eyes open, the light in the Fairy Tail infirmary dim and soothing. He was, once again, swaddled in infirmary pajamas.
He pushed himself up, wincing. His muscles were screaming, but it was the protest of overuse and extreme strain, not the sharp agony of shattered bones or torn ligaments. Wendy and Porlyusica, or perhaps just Wendy this time, had clearly worked their magic again. He felt… depleted, but fundamentally whole.
A wry, humorless thought drifted through his mind. "So this is what Deku must've kept waking up to after every major battle back then, huh? Who would've thought… the damn nerd had this kind of shitty routine down." The shared experience, however unwelcome, brought a strange, almost imperceptible softening to his usual contempt for his childhood rival. He was beginning to understand, on a visceral level, the physical toll of wielding overwhelming power irresponsibly.
Mirajane entered the room, her smile gentle, carrying a tray with a steaming bowl of soup and a cup of what smelled like restorative tea. "Awake again, Bakugo-san? You gave us all quite a scare this time. Arriving dressed in… well, let's just call it 'innovative desert fashion' and then collapsing certainly made an impression."
Katsuki scowled, a flush rising on his cheeks at the reminder of his crystal-shard attire. "Yeah, well, that damn Kamikaze Howitzer doesn't leave much room for wardrobe choices." He took the offered soup, his stomach rumbling. "How long was I out?"
"Just under a day this time," Mirajane said, her tone light, but her eyes held a lingering concern. "Wendy-chan was able to stabilize you quickly. Your regenerative capabilities are truly astounding, but even you have limits, it seems."
Katsuki grunted, focusing on the soup. It was hot, savory, and exactly what his depleted body needed. He ate in silence for a few moments, then, with a sigh of resignation, he addressed the elephant in the room, or rather, the giant monster tooth in the desert.
"Oi, Mira," he began, not looking at her. "The trophies I brought back… there were eight, right?"
"Yes," she confirmed. "The Behemoth horn, serpent fangs, Roc feathers, Colossus core, Chimera parts, Stalker claws, and Scorpion stingers. And you mentioned an Earth Titan, though its… remains were apparently rather comprehensively scattered." Her lips twitched slightly.
Katsuki nodded. "Yeah. Vaporized the bastard." He took another spoonful of soup. "The ninth one… the Desert Wurm… its tooth was too damn big to carry back in my state. Left it out in the badlands, where I… uh… clapped it." He still felt a grim satisfaction at that particular annihilation. "It's a massive son of a bitch, can't miss it. If someone's heading out that way, maybe they can verify. Or I'll drag the damn thing back myself when I'm not about to fall apart."
Mirajane smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about the Wurm tooth right now, Bakugo-san. Your description, and the sheer… geological alterations… you tend to leave in your wake, are usually verification enough for the council when it comes to your subjugations." She paused. "The rewards for the eight confirmed kills have been added to your account. It's a very significant sum."
Katsuki just nodded, his mind already calculating. Eight high-level bounties. It would be a huge chunk towards his five-million-Jewel goal. But the Kraken still remained. The final, most dangerous hurdle.
He finished his soup, feeling a measure of strength returning. He looked at Mirajane, his crimson eyes holding a familiar, stubborn glint. "How much more… for the five million?"
Mirajane did a quick mental calculation. "After the eight bounties… you are very close, Bakugo-san. You need approximately… four hundred thousand Jewel more to reach your five million target for Heart Kreuz."
Four hundred thousand. It was still a lot, but compared to the mountain he'd been facing, it felt… achievable. The Kraken-Class Deep Lurker, the final contract on his insane ten-job spree, was listed with a reward that would easily cover that, and then some.
He stood up, wincing only slightly. He was still sore, still battered, but the thought of that final confrontation, of finally earning his ultimate armor, was a potent motivator.
"Alright," he said, his voice regaining some of its old, aggressive edge. "Get me some damn clothes. Something that won't fall apart if I breathe on it. Then… it's squid-hunting time."
Mirajane sighed, a sound of fond exasperation. "Of course, Bakugo-san. I believe I have another set of sturdy work clothes that might survive your… enthusiasm, at least for one more mission." She knew better than to try and stop him now. The Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight, it seemed, was on the verge of achieving his ridiculously expensive goal, one near-death experience at a time. And the Kraken of the coastal depths had no idea what was about to swim its way.
---
Katsuki was already mentally preparing for the Kraken hunt, envisioning the crushing depths and the colossal tentacles, when a practical, almost niggling thought surfaced. He paused, his hand already reaching for the sturdy work clothes Mirajane was fetching.
"Oi, Mira," he called out, his brow furrowed in concentration. "That total you gave me… the one that's about four hundred K short of the five mil… does that include the cash from the jobs before this ten-rampage bullshit?" He remembered the Gravefang Wolves, the Rock-Scaled Wyrm, the Shadow Panther, the Vulcans, the Land Sharks, and even that damn Grumble Bug extermination and the Valerius mine demolition. They hadn't paid as much individually as these latest high-tier hunts, but it all added up. He'd been entrusting her with his earnings for a while now.
Mirajane, who was just returning with a neatly folded set of dark, durable-looking trousers and a tunic, paused. She blinked, then a soft blush touched her cheeks, a rare sign of a minor oversight on her part.
"Oh, my goodness, Bakugo-san!" she exclaimed, her usual serene composure momentarily flustered. "You are absolutely right! My apologies. In the… ah… excitement and concern over your recent, rather dramatic series of endeavors, I was only calculating the rewards from this latest batch of ten contracts."
She quickly set the clothes down and hurried back to the bar, fetching her ledger and abacus. The guild hall was relatively quiet, it being mid-morning, but a few nearby members, including a very interested Gajeel who was nursing a mug of what looked suspiciously like iron filings, perked up their ears at the mention of Bakugo's accumulated finances.
Mirajane's fingers flew across the abacus again, her lips moving silently as she cross-referenced her detailed notes. Katsuki waited, tapping his foot impatiently, though a flicker of hope ignited within him. If his earlier earnings were significant, he might be even closer to his goal than he thought. Or, knowing his luck, he might have already overshot it and could have saved himself a few near-death experiences. The thought was… irritating.
Finally, Mirajane looked up, her expression a mixture of apology and surprise. "Well, Bakugo-san," she began, a sheepish but genuine smile on her face. "It seems my earlier calculations were indeed… incomplete. After factoring in all your previous successful subjugations, demolitions, and even that rather charming Grumble Bug relocation…" (Katsuki scowled at 'charming.') "…the grand total of Jewel I am currently holding in your account is…"
She paused for dramatic effect, her eyes twinkling.
"…Five million, three hundred and seventy-five thousand Jewel."
Katsuki stared at her, his jaw slackening almost imperceptibly. Five million, three hundred and seventy-five thousand. He had… he had overshot it. By nearly four hundred thousand Jewel. He had already earned enough for his ridiculously expensive, volcanic-core-resistant armor, before even tackling the Kraken.
A complex series of emotions warred across his face: shock, disbelief, a surge of triumphant satisfaction, quickly followed by a wave of profound, explosive irritation. He could have stopped after the Crystal Scorpions. He could have avoided the agonizing, naked trek across the desert dragging a giant Wurm tooth. He could have skipped the last, body-wrecking Kamikaze Howitzer Clap.
"You mean…" he began, his voice dangerously low, his crimson eyes narrowing into slits, "…I went through all that extra bullshit… the crystal loincloth… the Wurm-tooth dragging… almost dying another three goddamn times… FOR NOTHING?!"
Mirajane winced, her smile becoming slightly more apologetic. "Well, not for nothing, Bakugo-san. You did successfully complete nine extremely dangerous contracts, ensuring the safety of many, and you've certainly padded your savings account quite handsomely beyond the initial five million." She tried to put a positive spin on it. "Think of it as… a very impressive bonus. Or perhaps, funds for… future contingencies? Or maybe a second, even more ludicrously powerful suit of armor?"
Katsuki just stared at her, a vein throbbing visibly in his temple. He looked down at his still-aching body, remembering the sheer agony, the desperation. He thought of himself, clad in sharpened garbage, dragging a monster part across an endless desert. All for… a bonus.
A strangled sound, somewhere between a growl and a sob of pure frustration, escaped his lips. Then, he threw his head back and let out a roar that rattled the infirmary windows and probably half the glasses in the main hall.
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"
The Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight, conqueror of monsters, annihilator of dark guilds, master of cataclysmic super moves, had just been defeated by… an accounting error. The irony was so thick, so infuriatingly, beautifully, tragically Bakugo, that it was almost… perfect.
He was still going to hunt that damn Kraken, though. Not for the money, anymore. But because it was on his list. And because, after this revelation, he really, really needed to blow something up. Something big. Something wet. And something that thoroughly deserved the full, unadulterated, and now slightly-less-financially-motivated, wrath of Katsuki Bakugo.
---
The sheer, mind-numbing frustration of Mirajane's accounting revelation, combined with the lingering exhaustion from his nine-contract rampage, was enough to send Katsuki spiraling back into unconsciousness. He didn't even make it to the clothes Mirajane had offered. One moment he was roaring his existential fury at the universe and its poor bookkeeping, the next, he was slumped against the infirmary wall, out cold again, his body finally enforcing the rest his stubborn mind had tried to override.
Mirajane, with a sigh that was a mixture of fond exasperation and genuine concern, gently maneuvered him back onto the bed, tucking him in. "Oh, Dynamight-san," she murmured, shaking her head. "You truly are one of a kind. Perhaps a nice, long, uninterrupted sleep will help you… process this latest development." She made a mental note to triple-check all future financial statements involving him.
When Katsuki woke again, it was late afternoon. The fiery rage had subsided, replaced by a dull, throbbing headache and a lingering sense of profound irritation. He felt rested, though. Truly rested this time. The multiple near-death experiences and subsequent magical healings, followed by nearly two full days of deep sleep, had left him feeling… surprisingly good. His power, both Quirk and magic, felt settled, integrated, thrumming beneath his skin like a well-tuned engine, ready to be unleashed but not quite so desperate for an outlet.
He sat up, stretched, and this time, he calmly got dressed in the sturdy work clothes Mirajane had left for him. He felt… different. Still angry, still himself, but the frantic, almost manic edge to his energy had softened, replaced by a more focused, if still incredibly intense, determination.
He found Mirajane in the main hall, which was in its usual state of early evening chaos. She smiled at him, a hint of apology still in her eyes. "Feeling better, Bakugo-san?"
"Yeah," he grunted. He didn't mention the accounting error. It was done. Dwelling on it would just piss him off more. He had a new focus. "That Kraken. Still on the list."
Mirajane nodded. "The request for the Kraken-Class Deep Lurker is still active. It's been terrorizing the coastal shipping lanes near Port Rune."
Katsuki just nodded. "Right. Calamari time." He wasn't doing it for the money anymore, not primarily. He was doing it because it was the last of the ten. Because he'd said he would. And because, yes, a very large, very powerful, very tentacled sea monster sounded like an excellent way to vent some residual frustration about… clerical errors.
He headed for the door, but this time, his preparation for flight was different. He wasn't going all-out with his Frictionless Mode or his tri-point thrusters immediately. He might have rested, but he was going to be smarter now. Full power was for when the enemy was in range, not for burning himself out on the commute.
He crouched, and with a familiar, satisfying roar, launched himself into the sky using his standard, Quirk-powered "Explosive Speed: Turbo Cluster." The orange-yellow blasts were powerful, controlled, a comfortable and reliable method of travel. He wasn't showing off; he was conserving energy, a new and surprising display of tactical patience.
As he arced towards the distant coast, towards Port Rune and the monster-infested waters beyond, a grim smirk touched Katsuki's lips. He had his five million (and then some) for the armor. He was rested. He was focused. And there was a very large, very unfortunate squid out there that was about to experience the full, meticulously applied wrath of a Fairy Tail mage who had finally, finally, had a good night's (or rather, two days') sleep. This wasn't just a hunt anymore. This was pest control on a colossal, deeply personal scale. And the Kraken had no idea how thoroughly its day was about to be ruined by a certain Great Explosion Murder God with a newfound appreciation for fiscal accuracy and a very big, very explosive chip on his shoulder.
---
The coastal waters near Port Rune were choppy, the sky overcast, lending an ominous air to Katsuki's final hunt. He spotted his target easily enough – the Kraken-Class Deep Lurker was immense, a swirling vortex of colossal, sucker-lined tentacles and a single, baleful, bus-sized eye that broke the surface, surveying the waves with ancient, predatory intelligence. It was currently in the process of dragging a small merchant vessel towards the depths, the sailors' terrified cries barely audible over the roar of the wind and waves.
Katsuki, having arrived with his controlled, Quirk-powered Turbo Cluster, now descended like a wrathful orange comet. He wasn't playing games. This was the last one.
He plunged into the churning sea, his 'Explode' magic instantly forming a superheated, propulsive aura around him, allowing him to move through the water with the speed and agility of a torpedo. He shot directly towards the Kraken's massive, central eye.
"Point-Blank Kamikaze Impact!" he roared, the name slightly modified again, reflecting the direct, non-spinning nature of this underwater assault. He channeled a devastating fusion of his Quirk and Incinerate magic into his fist.
His incandescent punch struck the Kraken's colossal eye with the force of an underwater nuke. A blinding flash of intermingled orange and azure light erupted beneath the waves, followed by a shockwave that sent a geyser of water hundreds of feet into the air and momentarily stunned the ocean for miles. The Kraken's eye imploded, and the creature let out a silent, sub-aquatic scream of unimaginable agony, its massive body convulsing.
But it was still alive, its remaining tentacles thrashing wildly, blindly, creating a maelstrom. Katsuki, undeterred, activated his frictionless sheath.
"Explode: Frictionless AP Shot: Machine Gun – Incinerator!"
Even underwater, the technique was devastating. A torrent of azure-trailed, frictionless projectiles tore through the water, riddling the Kraken's thrashing tentacles, severing them, cauterizing the wounds instantly with their incinerating heat. He moved around the dying behemoth, a whirlwind of silent, deadly blue streaks, systematically dismantling it piece by piece.
Finally, with a last, shuddering tremor, the Kraken-Class Deep Lurker went still, its ruined, tentacle-less mass beginning to sink into the dark depths. The terrified sailors on the nearby merchant ship, who had witnessed the unbelievable underwater battle, stared in stunned, grateful silence.
Katsuki surfaced, panting, the taste of salt and ozone in his mouth. He located a massive, still-twitching section of one of the Kraken's primary tentacles – a piece easily ten meters long and thick as a tree trunk – and, with considerable effort, blasted it free. This was his proof. The tenth and final trophy.
His return flight to Magnolia was less about speed and more about a grim, weary satisfaction. He was dragging a colossal tentacle segment behind him, a bizarre, dripping banner of his victory.
He landed outside the Fairy Tail guild hall, the massive tentacle thudding onto the street with a wet slap, drawing immediate, horrified attention. He strode into the guild, ignoring the gasps and murmurs, and dumped the tentacle (or as much of it as could fit through the door) and the final, waterlogged job slip in front of a visibly impressed, if slightly green-around-the-gills, Mirajane.
"Kraken's calamari now," he grunted. "That's all ten. Add it to the damn pile."
Mirajane, after a moment to compose herself from the sight (and smell) of the colossal tentacle, quickly processed the final reward. "Congratulations, Bakugo-san. Ten high-level subjugations in… well, a remarkably short, if eventful, period. Your account is now significantly overfunded." She smiled. "Heart Kreuz will be very pleased. And very busy."
Katsuki just nodded, a profound weariness settling over him now that the relentless drive had finally reached its conclusion. He leaned against the bar, the adrenaline finally ebbing. A thought, a loose end, surfaced.
"Oi, Mira," he said, his voice tired. "That Earth Titan I vaporized… and that giant Wurm tooth I left out in the badlands… did the Council, or whoever the hell approves these things, actually buy it? Or did they just take my word for it because I tend to leave… noticeable alterations to the local geography?" He was curious about the bureaucracy of this world, about how his often-unconventional (and evidence-destroying) methods were perceived by the higher-ups who sanctioned these jobs. He didn't want any damn pencil-pusher questioning his work, especially now that his armor fund was secure.