Chapter 234: LULLABY? A Lullaby?
The next day, when Noah and Erza arrived at the train station, Noah saw Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Lucy already there waiting.
"Why'd that monster Noah have to invite us two, anyway?!"
"You heard him, didn't you? He's afraid you'll destroy the guild hall!"
"Shut up, he was talking about you, you damn exhibitionist! I'm the one who doesn't want to go with you!"
"Then get lost! And just wait for Noah to drag you back! I'd love to see that!"
"This is a public place! Can you two please stop fighting?!" Lucy pleaded, trying to get between them.
They finally stopped throwing punches, only to slam their foreheads together, glaring at each other, neither willing to back down.
"You're all here," Noah said, walking up. "Have you been waiting long?"
Erza, however, walked straight to Lucy. "You must be the Lucy that Noah has mentioned. I'm Erza. It's nice to meet you! Your family has helped Noah a lot, so I'm very grateful."
"Oh, no!" Lucy waved her hands frantically. "I'm Lucy! It's an honor to meet you, Ms. Erza! And really, it's Noah who has helped my family so much."
"This mission might be dangerous," Erza said. "But Noah says you're quite skilled, so it shouldn't be a problem."
"Dangerous?!" Lucy yelped, turning to Noah in a panic. "I thought it was just a 'special' mission!"
"Most 'not ordinary' missions have some danger," Noah said calmly. "But don't worry. The guild always does a preliminary assessment and wouldn't assign a mission to someone who can't handle it. Besides, I'm here. You'll be fine."
Lucy let out a sigh of relief. Nearby, Natsu suddenly put on a serious face.
"I don't know what this is about, but I'll go," he said to Noah. "On one condition."
"A condition?"
"You... you idiot!" Gray blurted out, suddenly looking terrified. "When Noah tells you to go, you just go! No conditions!"
Gray was having flashbacks. In the past, it wasn't just Ultear who "corrected" his stripping habit; Noah did, too. And Noah's "correction" involved a one-sided "spar" in the training grounds that had left him aching for days. He was not going to risk that again.
"Go on," Noah said, looking at Natsu with interest.
"When we get back, you and I are having a real fight! I'm not the same guy I was a few months ago!"
Lucy and Gray were both shocked. "Hey!" Gray shouted. "Are you crazy?! Do you want to die?!"
"It's true, I can feel you've gotten much stronger," Noah said with a smile. "I'm actually looking forward to it. I accept."
"You'd better fight me for real this time!" Natsu yelled excitedly.
"Alright, I'll be serious," Noah nodded. He then turned to Gray with a smile. "Do you want to fight me, too?"
Gray shook his head so fast he left an afterimage.
"ALRIGHT! I'M ALL FIRED UP!" Natsu roared, his head bursting into flames.
After they all boarded and the train started moving, Natsu went completely limp. "Huuuh... huuuuuh..." he groaned, green-faced.
"You're so pathetic," Gray sneered. "Just looking at you is annoying. You should have just run there."
"It must be awful to be like this every time," Lucy said, looking at the miserable Dragon Slayer.
"H... help me..." Natsu pleaded, his eyes fixed on Noah.
"You need to learn to adapt, Natsu," Noah said, shaking his head. "This is a serious weakness. I'll help you with some... 'specialized training' for it when we get back."
Noah's demonic-sounding words made Natsu shudder, which only made his motion sickness worse.
"You look miserable," Erza said, standing up. "I guess I'll have to help you."
She walked over to Natsu... and punched him hard in the stomach. Natsu instantly passed out. Gray and Lucy stared, dumbfounded.
"There, all better," Erza said, looking at Natsu's peaceful, sleeping face with satisfaction before returning to her seat.
"By the way," Lucy said, trying to reset the conversation, "I've only seen Natsu's and Noah's magic. What kind of magic do you use, Erza?"
"Just call me Erza," she said with a smile.
"Erza's magic is super pretty!" Happy answered for her. "Lots of blood comes out! Enemy blood, that is."
"That doesn't sound pretty at all!" Lucy said flatly.
"My magic is nothing special," Erza said. "I think Gray's is much more beautiful."
"Really?" Gray asked. He held out his left palm, tapped it with his right fist, and magic flared. When he pulled his hand away, a perfect, intricate ice sculpture of the Fairy Tail emblem was resting in his palm. "It's Ice-Make magic."
"Wow! But... ice magic doesn't really fit your personality..."
"Shut up!"
Lucy looked at the sleeping Natsu, then at Gray, and suddenly gasped. "Fire! And Ice! That's why you two don't get along! That's so simple! And kind of adorable!"
"You finally noticed," Noah said, nodding. "I've been thinking the same thing. It's only natural for fire and ice to clash."
"Is that really it?" Erza asked, looking confused.
"Who cares about that?!" Gray said, flustered. "Anyway, let's get to the point. Erza, you should tell us what this is about. For you to come back to the guild for help, it must be serious."
"You're right," Erza's expression turned grim. "On my way back from my last job, I stopped at a wizards' pub in Onibas. I overheard a group of strange men. They were talking about how they'd finally found the hiding place of 'LULLABY' but that it was sealed. Then one of them said he'd handle it and would have it unsealed and back to 'Mr. Erigor' within three days."
Hearing the name, Noah's mind clicked. He remembered who Erigor was.
"Lullaby?" Gray repeated.
"A lullaby?" Lucy translated. "Like some kind of sleep magic?"
"I don't know," Erza said. "But if it was sealed, it must be powerful. Noah, do you know it?"
"No. Not by a name alone," Noah said, already searching his Archive. "There are too many similar spells. I'd need more information."
"We don't know what they were talking about," Gray reasoned. "Maybe it was just a job for them. Unsealing something."
"That's what I thought at first, too," Erza said. "But after I left... I remembered who Erigor is. And I changed my mind."
"The ace of the former magic guild Eisenwald. Erigor the 'Shinigami'," Noah said, projecting an image from his Archive into the air. The image showed a man with light blue tattoos, white hair, a black scarf, and a massive scythe, his expression pure evil.
"G-Grim Reaper?!" Lucy yelped.
"That's him," Erza confirmed.
Noah explained to Lucy, "He got that name because he only takes assassination jobs. The Council eventually banned that kind of work, but Eisenwald chose the money. Six years ago, they were kicked out of the Guild League. Now, they're a Dark Guild."
"A Dark Guild?!" Lucy broke out in a cold sweat.
"Lucy, you're leaking!" Happy chirped.
"That's sweat!" she yelled back. "Wait! Just 'kicked out'? Weren't they punished?!"
"Of course," Noah said. "Their guild master was arrested, and the guild was ordered to disband. But... they didn't listen. Most Dark Guilds just ignore those orders and keep operating in the shadows."
Lucy looked horrified. "I'm going home."
"We're still on the train," Happy pointed out.
"I was too careless," Erza growled, clenching her fist. "If I'd recognized his name... I would have crushed them all right there."
"Eeeeeek!" Lucy squeaked, terrified of Erza's expression.
"True, you probably could have handled those guys," Gray said. "But if you're talking about taking on their whole guild... only Noah could do that. That's why you came back for help."
"Huh?! Noah can take on a whole guild?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide.
"A few years ago, he wiped out a ton of Dark Guilds," Erza said, reminiscing. "Most of them were terrified of him and went into hiding. The only ones he left alone were the top-tier ones."
Gray nodded, remembering. The only reason Noah had stopped was because he said he 'wasn't strong enough' for the really big ones yet. Which, Gray realized, meant he intended to finish the job when he was.
"Noah... is he really that strong?" Lucy whispered.
"Knowing those guys, whatever LULLABY is, they're going to use it for something evil," Erza said, her voice hard. "We can't let that happen. We're going to storm the Eisenwald guild."
"Sounds like fun," Gray grinned.
"I definitely shouldn't have come," Lucy moaned, sweating again.
"Do you know where Eisenwald is?" Gray asked.
Erza looked at Noah, who just smiled. "Don't get off at the next stop. I just found something... interesting. There's an object on this very train that's radiating powerful dark magic."
They all tensed. "What? Where?!"
"Calm down," Noah said, holding up a hand. "He seems to have noticed us, but he hasn't noticed that I've noticed him. He just moved to another car, but he didn't jump off. Looks like he's heading for a specific stop. We'll just follow."
"Alright," Erza said, settling back down. "Then Eisenwald can wait. We'll deal with this dark magic item first."
The others nodded. This was a confirmed, immediate threat.
"Noah," Erza asked, "can you find out what that object is?"
~~~
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