Noah shook his head. "I can sense the location of the dark magic, but I don't dare probe it with my own magic. I'm afraid I might trigger it. Dark magic has all sorts of bizarre and nasty effects, and I don't want to risk setting it off on a train full of passengers. We'll wait for the person carrying it to get off, and then we'll make our move."
Erza and the others understood. They suppressed their urge to charge in and waited patiently in their seats.
"By the way, Lucy," Noah asked, realizing he hadn't had a chance to ask her the details, "how many Celestial Spirits do you have contracts with?"
Erza and the others also looked over, curious. The only Celestial Spirit they were familiar with was Noah's own, Crux of the Southern Cross, and Noah only ever used him for research.
"Six," Lucy said, pulling out her keys and laying them on her lap. "Three silver and three gold."
"What's the difference?" Erza asked.
"The silver keys are common; you can buy them in shops," Lucy explained, pointing to them. "This is Horologium the Clock, Lyra the Harp, and Nikora the Canis Minor. But these gold ones... these are the keys to the Zodiac. They're super rare. I have Taurus, Aquarius, and Cancer."
As Erza and the others looked at the keys with interest, Happy, who had been peering at them, suddenly shouted.
"AH—!!"
Everyone jumped. "What is it?!" Lucy yelped. "You nearly gave a heart attack!"
"Lucy, I just rembered!"
"Rembered what?"
"What I was supposed to tell you!" Happy fumbled in his green pack and pulled out another, gleaming gold key, holding it out to her. "This!"
"That's—That's Virgo's key!" Lucy shrieked, grabbing Happy's face and stretching his cheeks. "Why did you just take soone's key?!"
"I 'idn't!" Happy protested, his voice muffled. "She gabe it to ! For you!"
"What?!" Lucy let him go, her expression one of total shock.
"She said that because Duke Everlue was arrested, their contract was dissolved. She ca to our house and specifically asked if you would be her new master!" Happy explained.
On their last mission—the 2-million-Jewel book-destroying job—they had t Duke Everlue's Celestial Spirit, Virgo the Maiden.
Lucy stared at the golden key in Happy's paw, her face lighting up. "Thank you, Happy!" she said, taking it reverently.
"Are you going to make the contract now?" Happy asked. He had been there when Lucy had made her contract with Nikora (Plue), so he knew the process.
Lucy glanced at the train window, gauging the ti to the next stop. "Not just yet," she said, shaking her head. "I need to save my magic in case we have to fight."
"Any movent from our target?" Erza asked Noah, who had been quietly monitoring the other car.
"He's moved to the seat right by the exit door," Noah confird. "He's planning to bolt the second the train stops."
"Then we'll wait at the door in the next car over," Erza decided. "The mont he steps out, we'll grab him."
The others agreed. They got up and followed Noah to the end of the car, sitting near the exit.
Soon, the train began to slow as it approached Kunugi Station.
The mont the doors hissed open, Erza was out on the platform, her eyes scanning. She imdiately spotted a black shadow detaching itself from the next car and speeding away along the ground. "Noah, is that...?"
"Yeah, that's him!" Noah said. "He's more cautious than I thought. He's using magic to get away. Let's go!"
Erza and Gray took off after him.
Lucy, anwhile, was stuck dragging the still-groggy Natsu off the train. "Why do I always get stuck with this...?" she groaned.
"Co on, Lucy, let's go!" Noah called, jogging ahead with Happy flying beside him.
"He just ignored ..." Lucy muttered, but she saw Natsu was finally getting his land-legs back and didn't need as much support.
Erza hadn't gotten far when a new, booming voice echoed from the station's loudspeakers: "All passengers and crew, disembark imdiately. This train now belongs to Eisenwald."
A panic imdiately erupted. Passengers scread and poured out of the train, flooding the platform and blocking Erza's pursuit.
By the ti the platform cleared, Natsu and Lucy had caught up. Natsu was looking much better. No longer blocked by the crowd, they saw their target up ahead. The shadow-man was handing the long, flute-like object to another person—the man from Noah's projection, Erigor.
Their expressions tightened. But before they could move, Erigor suddenly swung his massive scythe, slicing the shadow-man who had delivered the item.
"YEEEEARGH!!"
They could hear his scream from where they stood. They quickened their pace, arriving just as Erigor finished.
"...So, you've co, Fairy Tail," he sneered, his voice cold. As he spoke, dozens of other n, all wearing the Eisenwald insignia, erged from the shadows, fanning out behind him and eyeing the Fairy Tail wizards with murderous intent.
"S-So... so many..." Lucy stamred. Erza, Natsu, and Gray just stared at Erigor.
"You're Erigor," Erza stated.
Two of his n suddenly pointed at her. "Hey... isn't that the red-haired woman? The one we saw at the pub?"
"So, you're the one who leaked our plan," Erigor said.
"What is your goal?" Erza demanded, her voice hard. "Answer , or I won't be rciful."
"Our goal? We're just having so fun," Erigor mocked. "We're not on a job, just bored."
"HAHAHAHA!" His n all cackled behind him.
"That... flute you're holding," Noah said, his voice cutting through the laughter. "That's Lullaby, isn't it? The 'Death lody'."
"What?!"
"Cursed Song?"
Erza and the others looked at Noah, confused. Lucy just looked terrified.
"A 'Death Curse' is a black magic that curses a target with death," Noah explained. "It's one of the forbidden magics. But a 'Cursed Song' is even worse. That flute... it was originally a simple curse item, but it was modified by the Black Wizard Zeref, turning it into a far more terrible 'Magic Flute.' Anyone who hears its lody will be cursed and die. It's a Mass Death-Curse Magic."
The color drained from their faces. They all stared at the flute in Erigor's hand.
"HAHAHA! Thank you for the wonderful explanation!" Erigor cackled, his voice echoing. "Yes! This is Lullaby! And it took us a great deal of effort to get our hands on it."
As he spoke, he began to float into the air.
"He's flying!" Lucy yelped.
"It's Wind Magic!" Happy added.
"It's a pity you arrived so early," Erigor sneered, looking down on them. "But no matter. Once we take over this station, we'll put on a real show for you."
"Take over the station...?" Noah's eyes narrowed. "You're going to broadcast Lullaby over the station's loudspeakers, aren't you?"
"What?!"
"No!"
Erza and Gray were horrified. Erigor just threw his head back and laughed.
"There must be... hundreds, no, thousands of gawkers just outside the station, right?" he mused. "But if we turn up the volu... the whole town will be able to hear it. This lody of death."
Noah expanded his senses. Erigor was right. The passengers had fled, but a massive crowd of curious onlookers had gathered just outside the station exit, held back by a few struggling station guards. An army unit was on its way, but they were still far off.
Noah took a small step back, his hands at his sides. His right fingers twitched, and an invisible, unfelt wave of magic spread out from him, blanketing the area.
"You're planning a massacre?" Erza said, her voice shaking with rage.
"No. It's a 'cleansing'," Erigor said. "A cleansing of all you fools who prattle on about 'rights' when you don't even realize those rights were stripped from you. This world is unfair. I, the Grim Reaper, will punish you all for the cri of your own ignorance. A punishnt... called 'death'!"
"Even if you do this, you won't get your 'rights' back," Noah said, shaking his head. "You're just broken."
"I don't care about 'rights' anymore," Erigor snarled. "I want 'power'. With power, I can erase the past and control the future."
"Definitely broken," Noah confird.
"A pity, flies," Erigor said. "You'll die before the new dark age begins."
As he spoke, one of his n—the one who had brought the flute—sent a tendril of shadow snaking across the floor. It shot past Noah, Erza, and Gray, aiming for the person they all perceived as the weakest: Lucy.
"Look out!" Erza and Gray yelled, spinning.
Noah had already started to raise his hand, but he stopped, seeing soone else was faster.
FWOOSH!
Natsu's flaming arm intercepted the shadow, cutting it in half. "Who do you think you're ssing with?!" he roared.
Erza and Gray turned back, their eyes cold. Erigor, however, just smiled.
"I'll leave the rest to you," he said to his n. "I have a performance to prepare. Show these overconfident flies the dark power of Eisenwald."
With that, he turned and flew deeper into the station building.
"Erigor! Don't run! Noah, stop him!" Erza yelled.
"Relax, Erza," Noah said. "He's not going anywhere. Watch."
THWACK!
Erigor, flying at full speed, slamd face-first into an invisible, solid wall. The sound of the impact was sickening. He peeled off the barrier and crashed in a heap on the ground.
"Ooooh," Lucy winced. "That looked like it hurt."
"Aye!" Happy agreed.
At the point of impact, the air shimred, and a massive, invisible barrier beca visible, sealing the entire station off from the outside world. This was the magic Noah had cast. A trap.
Noah looked at the groaning Erigor and nodded, satisfied with his preparations.
"You... you miserable... FLIES!" Erigor roared, clutching his broken nose as he staggered to his feet.
~~~
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