Chapter 24

"Why are you the one driving?" Mira asked as everyone else piled into the 6-seater magic car that Erza carried around in her Re-Quip Space.

"Because I have more magic power than you," Erza responded as she focused completely on speeding down alongside the train tracks.

"That is not true!" Mira huffed, clearly offended by Erza's comment.

I just sighed and shook my head at their arguing…

After we realised that we'd left Nozomi behind, we'd tried to talk to one of the people in charge of the train station to get them to stop the train. Of course, they refused…

… So, I just walked past them and pulled the lever down anyway.

What were they doing to do, stop me? They were normal humans, and we were mages. They couldn't do anything to stop me, and they knew that. They just had to be able to tell the boss 'we tried,' and I understood that so, unlike Erza, I didn't even try to convince the driver.

After that, Erza pulled her Magic Car out of her Re-Quip Space and we piled in, with her taking the driver's seat and chasing after the train. She knew the train would probably start moving again pretty quickly once they got word of things

"This thing's suspension sucks," I groaned as the ride was very rough. "I know we're following the train and all, but come on, this is gonna be murder on our backs… And Gray, why are you sitting on the roof?"

"I'm the scout who can launch an attack quickly, just in case," he explained.

Huh, that made sense…

As Erza and Mira continued their arguing, suddenly the sound of glass shattering was heard as Nozomi jumped out the window.

"Nozomi!?" Lucy exclaimed as she blatantly ruined the window to escape the train without hesitation.

"Meteor!"

I leapt out of the window without hesitation, using the high movement speed of Meteor to manoeuvre in front of Gray and catch Nozomi.

"Ah, thanks!" She said happily as Erza quickly stopped the car and I set her down on the ground. "Hey, wait!" She scowled. "How come all of you left me behind!?"

"Meh, we forgot, sorry," Mira shrugged, a bit more careless than the others were.

"We're really sorry," Lucy added, though she seemed a bit more playful about it.

Of course, Erza was the most sincere. "I'm so sorry, Nozomi. Please hit me!"

Nozomi blinked and grinned widely. "Well, if you insist-!"

"Nozomi, not the time," I told her. "You can punch her after the mission is done."

"So, it's fine later!?" Lucy exclaimed.

"Well regardless, I'm glad you're safe," Erza smiled at her.

"How am I safe!?" She huffed. "Some guy with weird hair kept harassing me on the train, he even tried to touch my boobs!"

My blood ran cold when I heard that… That was something I hadn't thought about, it had slipped my mind that Kageyama had some perverse tendencies, despite the fact I had a perfect memory now… I hadn't thought he'd try to touch Nozomi that way, I was still seeing this as a child friendly anime world. But clearly, I really needed to adjust my thinking, or it might hurt those around me.

That was my blunder, I felt like an idiot for not considering that possibility. I would make sure that Nozomi nor any of the other girls would end up in a situation like that again.

"What was the name again?" She muttered. "It was… Ei-sen-wald…"

Everyone stared at her, and I quickly lashed out with my hand, catching Erza's punch.

"Wha- Ash?" Erza was surprised- not only that I'd moved to stop her punch, but also that I'd been able to block her punch.

"Not the time, Erza," I repeated. "Remember, Nozomi was unconscious during the train ride, she didn't hear a single thing we said when we were talking about Lullaby and Eisenwald."

"Ah-!" Erza's eyes widened and she pulled back. "You're right… I'm sorry, Nozomi, that was thoughtless of me."

"It's fine, I'll just punch you later," Nozomi told her.

"What did he look like?" Mira asked her.

"His hair kinda looked like a pineapple," Nozomi said. "Also, he had this weird flute with a skull on the end. It had three eyes."

"That's Lullaby's Flute," I told the others. "No doubt about it."

"Darn it!" Erza cursed. "Everyone back in the car, we're chasing after the train."

I got in the Driver's seat. "I'll drive," I told Erza. "You're an S-Class, we'll need your strength more than we'll need mine during the upcoming fights, so you conserve your strength, got it?"

She looked as though she wanted to protest, but the look on my face must have convinced her because she nodded and climbed into the bed, right beside Mira.

"Can't you get rid of the armour, tin can? It's painful to be sitting with you," Mira grumbled.

"You're free to walk the rest of the way," Erza told her.

"D- Do I really have to get in there?" Nozomi gulped fearfully. "I just got off the train and…"

"Nozomi, if you want to stop taking the train everywhere, learn Wind Magic and pick up on how to fly," I told her.

"Ugh…" She groaned but finally climbed into the car, sitting beside Lucy.

"Hold onto something," I told them before I began to pump my magic into the car, and it began to speed down beside the train tracks, leading us to Kunugi Station, where Eisenwald currently resided.

"Woah!" Mira was surprised by how fast the car was moving. "Hey, make sure you don't overdo it, we don't want you passing out!"

"I'll be fine," I responded… The amount of magical energy I had access to was crazy thanks to my Flugel Bloodline, so it was hardly a drop in the bucket for me.

"Shouldn't we head straight for the Guild Master's meeting?" Lucy asked. "Since we know that's what Lullaby's goal is, to target the guild masters?"

"And what if Eisenwald decide they want to take the music on a test drive in Kunugi or another town?" I asked her.

Lucy gasped. "I… I didn't think of that…" She murmured.

"You'll learn in the future," Mira told her. "You can never be too careful when it comes to Dark Mages, they come in all shapes and sizes. Some people are labelled Dark Mages despite not doing anything wrong, simply because of misunderstandings. And others? Others are scum who will kill people just for a laugh."

Lucy gave a firm nod, "I'll remember that."

As we drove beside the train tracks, the attention of the others were taken by roadblocks being set up by the local military soldiers, preventing anyone from entering Kunugi. They hadn't yet set it up on the side we were travelling on, so we made it past without a problem.

"They took over the train station!" Lucy exclaimed. "Why would they want to take over the train station? If it were a horse-drawn carriage or a boat I'd get it, but a train?"

"A train may not be as beneficial since it can only run on the rails, but it's got speed," Gray explained to her as he removed his coat and began to take off his shirt too.

"Well, with the militaries active, they might be captured by the time we get there."

"Unlikely," I cut in. "The military are better suited for handling ordinary criminals, not mages and especially not Dark Mages. Against Eisenwald, they don't stand a chance…"

My eyes narrowed as we approached Kunugi… But there was no train present.

"They've gone further than I thought," I told them. "Probably to Oshibana, that's the closest station to the Guild Master meeting if I remember correctly…"

"Then we need to hurry," Erza said. "I'll take over-!"

"The hell you will," I told her. "I'm going as fast as I can already, the S.E. plug is inflating too, right? You focus on preparing for a fight, I'll focus on driving. You and Mira are the S-Class Mages, I'm the lowest rank here besides Lucy. If I'm taken out of the fight, it's not as big of a deal as if you or Mira are taken out."

"Don't say that, you're our comrade too," Mira, surprisingly, was the one to speak up. "No matter the differences, Fairy Tail supports our family first and foremost."

"I'll remember that, Mira," I promised her with a smile… Couldn't forget it, even if I wanted to. "But I'm still the one who's going to keep driving, you're both more important for this fight."

Both of them looked reluctant but backed down at my request.

My smile faded as we approached Oshibana… And smoke was rising from the station.

"What's with the smoke?" Lucy asked, gulping.

"Eisenwald, no doubt," I frowned. "They must want to take Lullaby on a little test drive."

"We have to hurry!" Erza exclaimed.

With out arrival at the town, we all jumped out and quickly made our way towards the front of the station, I carried Nozomi on my back. I used an application of 'Star Dragon's Steps' to make my movements as gentle as possible for her.

As we approached the station, the mutters of people rang throughout the area.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please stay back, it's dangerous here," a train conductor said. "A train was derailed by accident, so no one is allowed to go inside the station."

"Derailment?"

"No, I heard it's a Dark Guild!"

"They're trying to cover up that a Dark Guild is involved in order to prevent panic," I murmured. "Their hearts are in the right place, but they should tell them so the people will run in this situation. The ignorance of the common populace at place…"

"Let's go," Erza told us as we pushed through the crowd. "We have no time to listen to them."

I let out a sigh as we finally broke through the crowd and walked up the steps to the train station.

"Who're you?" One of the men at the entrance asked wearily.

I reached out and grabbed Erza's shoulder, stopping her from attacking… It was no wonder she was brought to the council; she was attacking everyone!

"We're Fairy Tail Wizards," I told him. "We're tracking the Dark Guild Eisenwald, and we know they're here. We're here to help."

His eyes lit up. "I- Y- Yes, wonderful! Please hurry inside, we don't know how long the military can last in there! They went in, but they haven't come out yet, and nor has Eisenwald!"

"Jeez, does Erza only appreciate people who answer immediately?" Lucy murmured, seeing how prone to violence Erza was.

"You know her better now," Gray gulped as he looked away from the scene. "Ash must be a brave man, to get between Erza and her answers…"

With our answers obtained, we made our way into Oshibana Station…

As we walked through the halls, the bodies of various military personnel were strewn about, bruises and blood on their bodies… But none of them were dead, they were all merely unconscious.

"They got lucky," I sighed. "Eisenwald were clearly playing around and didn't take them seriously, otherwise we'd be seeing a very different scene right now."

"Let's hurry," Mira cut in. "The longer we take, the more lives are at risk. The platform is this way, let's hurry!"

Mira took the lead and we all followed after her, making our way straight to the station platform…

And we were met with the entire Eisenwald Guild, Eligor sitting on the train above them as the rest of the guild stared at us with dark looks on their faces, eager to tear us apart.

"I knew you'd come, Fairy Tail," Eligor taunted with a smirk, his scythe tapping against his shoulder. "We've been waiting for you."

"You're Eligor, aren't you?" Erza asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Hey…" One of them murmured, "I recognise her, that's the armour girl from the other day, when we were in that bar?"

"Fuck," the guy beside him cursed, "she's the one who leaked our plan!"

"You flies…" Kageyama snarled, and I noticed the bandages on the side of his head… That was right, Eligor cut his ears for accidentally letting Nozomi see Lullaby. "It's because of you…!"

"Hey, calm down, Kage-chan," the one wearing an Egyptian headdress said with an amused smirk.

"Ugh…" Nozomi groaned out, finally recovering as she slowly stumbled off my back. "This voice… It's that creep, right…?"

"Yep," I murmured to her quietly.

"We already know what you intend to do," Erza told him, "you want to test out Lullaby on this town, don't you?"

Hm? She didn't bring up the guild master conference… Ah, of course. If she let on that she knew their plan, they'd immediately put their guard way up. By not bringing it up, they'd still feel in control, get overconfident.

Eligor chuckled. "Well, well, colour me surprised, you figured it out!" He laughed mockingly, as did his guild members before he floated up into the air with Wind Magic. "But you gotta question, how are we gonna do that? Don't train stations have something special?"

"Something special? In a train station?" Mira murmured.

"A broadcasting system," I answered. "Speakers."

"Ding, ding! Correct!" Eligor laughed as he playfully whacked the speakers on a pole nearby.

"What-!?" Erza stared in dumb shock as she heard that… She knew they were planning to kill a lot of people, but… If they broadcasted it…

"There are hundreds… Nah, thousands of people gathered outside right now," Eligor smirked. "If we broadcast it loud enough, maybe the entire town will hear… The Melody of Death…"

I frowned and bit my lip… Truthfully, I wanted to attack Eligor right now… But in doing so, Kageyama would just slip away with Lullaby, there was no doubt… Plus, even if I stopped Kageyama, Lullaby would take on his demon form and play his song right here, for countless innocents to die.

I frowned as all of us got ready for a fight. There was no choice, I'd have to play along for now, and then I'd chase down Eligor after getting through his wind wall…

I just had to do my part and be patient.