SkullGreymon's colossal skeletal body looked like the God of Death incarnate, moving without any tactics and driven only by the purest and most primal instinct for destruction.
Every swing of its massive bone claws carried a piercing shriek that tore through the air, effortlessly smashing any dark guild members who failed to dodge into a pulp or snapping the thick wooden posts supporting the mine tunnels to sweep away the enemies hiding behind them.
The sounds of cracking bones mixed with dying screams and collapsing rock were incessant.
"A... a monster!" someone screamed, followed by cries of, "Run! We can't fight this thing!"
The lower-ranking members were already scared out of their wits and crying for their parents as they fled deeper into the mine, but before SkullGreymon they were just weak little ants, so the mine quickly became a tomb they could not escape.
Ace stood on a high rock outside the fortress walls coldly looking down upon the slaughter below, his powerful energy stretching out like invisible tentacles to roughly sense the rapid fading of energy fluctuations and life auras within the mine while SkullGreymon's data energy filled with death and destruction shone as clear as a lighthouse in the dead of night.
"There are quite a few bugs here, but... could it be that the main target isn't here?!" Ace wondered, but suddenly his eyes narrowed as he sensed several stronger magical power fluctuations rapidly gathering in the depths of the mine and rushing toward SkullGreymon.
As expected, a few moments later several angry shouts echoed from deep within the mine as a few figures appeared in a relatively spacious area to block SkullGreymon's path.
One of them was the executive "Fat Rat" whom he had learned about from the previous night's hypnotic interrogation, and he was accompanied by several other mages with considerable magic including some completely shrouded in black robes exuding cold shadow magic.
Others with arms transformed into claws resembling a Magical Beast using Take Over magic, and another waving a staff to summon vicious curse runes in an attempt to weaken SkullGreymon.
"Form a perimeter and trap this monster!" Fat Rat shrieked while his hands quickly formed seals to summon several shadow tentacles from the ground that wound around SkullGreymon's leg bones, while the others also used their own techniques to rain shadow arrows, corrosive black mist, and attacks from bestial claws down on SkullGreymon's massive skeleton.
The attacks struck SkullGreymon's incredibly hard skeleton creating a cacophony of clangs and hisses, but the shadow arrows were deflected and the corrosive black mist only slightly darkened the surface of the bones, so SkullGreymon didn't even bother with these weak attacks.
One of the burly men suddenly trembled as if enveloped by a mysterious power, and in the blink of an eye thick chaotic fur began to grow all over his body making him look as ferocious as a savage beast while his body swelled at an astonishing rate to become even larger and more imposing.
However, when the burly man looked down in astonishment at his own broad hands which he had once been proud of, he was dumbfounded because even though he pressed them with all his might against the ghastly white skeleton before him, no matter how hard he pushed he couldn't leave even the slightest mark on the incredibly hard bone surface.
"These guys are indeed quite strong, that shadow magic and the curses are a bit troublesome, and there's also the one who took over a Magical Beast's power..." Ace watched the battle from the outside thinking.
"Does their guild specialize in recruiting mages with dark and Take Over magic? I think I've heard this rumor before that they were targeting Mirajane's 'Satan Soul' because they wanted to capture her to be some 'Saintess' or 'Perfect Vessel'?"
Just then SkullGreymon was thoroughly enraged by the incessant harassment so it threw its head back to let out a deafening roar, and its massive bone claws carrying the force of a mountain swept forward violently in a move Ace decided to call Tyrant's Bone Claw.
"Dodge!" Fat Rat exclaimed in alarm, but it was too fast so the mage using beast-form Take Over magic was a fraction too slow, and he along with the Magical Beast limbs he had taken over was swatted by the giant bone claw like a fly, instantly exploding into a cloud of blood mist like a bursting watermelon leaving no corpse behind.
At the same time the vertebrae on SkullGreymon's back which resembled missile silos suddenly lit up with a blinding red light, and a massive organic missile called the Zero Cruise Missile shot out trailing a ghastly white flame as if it had a life of its own to automatically lock onto its targets and whistle toward the remaining Fat Rat, the black-robed curse mage, and the others.
"NOOO!!" Fat Rat screamed in terror while desperately casting a shadow shield to defend himself and the black-robed curse mage hurriedly released a dense shadow barrier, but accompanied by a deafening roar the enormous missile exploded violently releasing a destructive force far beyond the scope of ordinary magic.
In an instant an incredibly ferocious shockwave swept through like a savage beast annihilating everything in its path, tearing the once-flat ground into a wasteland where countless large rocks shattered and melted as if it were the apocalypse.
The shadow shields and sturdy barriers meant to withstand the attack were now as fragile as paper shattering with ease, and faced with such terrifying power Skinny Rat and the black-robed curse mage were completely cornered, shrieking in terror before being completely engulfed by the surging tide of the explosion with their bodies blown to smithereens without a single trace left behind.
Having eliminated the troublesome leaders SkullGreymon's desire for destruction only grew stronger, so it strode forward on its massive bone feet charging at the remaining members who were fleeing in despair, shaking the earth with every step as its colossal skeleton ran like the personification of calamity crushing and smashing everything in its path in a truly terrifying scene of doomsday.
Ace watched all this quietly with a calm heart because what he needed was the massive data energy generated by this ultimate destruction and the potential opportunity for evolution it might trigger.
But suddenly several disheveled figures darted out from a hidden crevice on the side of the mine, the lucky few who had seen the situation turning bad and hidden themselves away now fleeing desperately toward the mine's exit with the terror of having survived a catastrophe on their faces.
"Some fish slipped through the net," Ace said with a cold arc forming on his lips, "Garurumon, leave none alive."
Garurumon had been lurking like a ghost, so with a flash of cold light in its eyes it pounced out like a bolt of lightning with speed far surpassing the terrified stragglers.
The battle was clean and decisive.
"Blazing Burn!"
Just then, someone in the crowd suddenly moved!
He opened his mouth, and a torrent of raging flames erupted, forming a massive pillar of fire!
The pillar roared toward Garurumon like a fire dragon.
However, faced with such a terrifying attack, Garurumon showed no intention of retreating.
It stood its ground firmly, its eyes fixed on the pillar of fire that seemed even larger than its own body.
BOOM!
But just then, Garurumon suddenly swung its incredibly sharp claws, striking the raging flames in front of it with fierce momentum!
In an instant, with a loud bang, the once-menacing flames seemed to dissipate as if they had never been there at all.
Seeing this, everyone present was dumbfounded, their mouths agape in utter disbelief!
They could never have imagined that this seemingly powerful and invincible flame would be so easily destroyed by this giant wolf.