Chapter 64: Eisenwald
Erza's face was a mask of grim determination. "On my way back from my last job, I stopped by a Mage bar in Onibus. It's a rough place, known for being a hub for... unsavory types. While I was there, a group of Mages caught my attention."
Her voice was low, and the entire train compartment seemed to grow colder.
"They were loud, arrogant, and clearly from a Dark Guild. But what worried me was their conversation. There were four of them, all rather short-tempered, and they were complaining about 'Kageyama' being late. They were trying to unseal a powerful magic, a flute called 'Lullaby,' but they appeared to have met with obstacles."
"Lullaby?" Lucy, her fear momentarily forgotten and replaced by curiosity, couldn't help but guess. "That sounds... nice. Is it some kind of sleeping magic?"
"I don't know," Erza said, shaking her head. "But any magic that needs to be sealed is, by its nature, dangerous. I suspect it's very powerful, and not in a good way."
Happy, who was now perched on Lucy's head, said, "I have no idea what they're talking about. Maybe it's just their job. We get jobs to unseal stuff sometimes, right, Natsu?"
Natsu, however, was in no state to reply, his face a pale green as he slumped against the window.
At that moment, the train's whistle blew, and it began to slow, pulling into Onibus Station. The group packed their luggage—or rather, Ren and Erza did, while Lucy tried to drag a semi-conscious Natsu—and got off the train.
As they stood on the bustling platform, Erza continued, her voice low. "That's right, Happy. I thought so too at first, so I didn't pay it any mind. I was tired and wanted to get home. But on the train, I kept thinking about a name I'd overheard... 'Erigor'."
She stopped and looked at Ren, her expression grave. "And that's when I remembered. The ace of the Dark Guild Eisenwald, 'Shinigami' Erigor."
[Akarin's Note: Eisenwald (German for "Iron Forest") is a Dark Guild. Its ace, Erigor, is known as "Shinigami" (Japanese for "Death God") for his mastery of Wind Magic and his preference for assassination quests.]
"Shi… Shinigami?!!"
Lucy was startled; someone actually had that as a title? This was getting worse and worse.
Erza explained, "He got that name because all the requests he accepted were assassination jobs. The Magic Council strictly forbade Mage Guilds from accepting assassination requests, but Eisenwald disregarded the Council's regulations and chose to prioritize money. So, six years ago, Eisenwald was expelled from the Mage Guild Alliance and is now classified as a Dark Guild."
"A Dark Guild?!!"
Lucy broke out in a cold sweat from fright, her hands starting to tremble. She had only heard about Dark Guilds yesterday, and it was said they were a lawless, amoral bunch. She had assumed that meant they were just rude and destructive, like Natsu but... evil. She never expected them to be actual assassins. Only now did she realize how dangerous Dark Guilds truly were.
Happy, flying near her, tilted his head. "Lucy, you're sweating a lot!! Look, fishy-smelling water!"
"That's sweat!!" she shrieked, wiping her brow.
"Wait a minute!!" Lucy suddenly remembered. "Erza, you said 'expelled.' Didn't they receive any punishment for assassination?! They weren't arrested?"
"Yes," Erza confirmed. "The Eisenwald Guild Master at the time was arrested, and the Guild was ordered to disband. However, the core members, including Erigor, escaped. Like most Dark Guilds, they continued to operate in the shadows despite the dissolution order."
She clenched her armored fist, her gauntlet creaking. "I was too careless. If I had paid attention to the name Erigor at that time, in the bar, I could have..."
"Sacrificed all of them?" Ren finished, his voice calm.
Erza nodded grimly. "Those guys want the Lullaby magic, and they're led by an assassin. They must be planning some despicable scheme. I can't just sit by and watch, and I can't wait for the Council to mobilize. So, we are going to break into Eisenwald."
She stated the main reason for inviting Ren to come along, as if she were announcing they were going to get lunch.
"Break into... Eisenwald?!! An entire guild of assassins?!"
Lucy was somewhat dumbfounded. She knew that when two powerful S-Class Mages like Ren and Erza got together, they would definitely do something extraordinary, but she never expected it to be to eliminate an entire Dark Guild.
"I... I think I'll just go back..." Lucy squeaked, turning to walk back to the train platform. As a small rookie Mage, it was better for her not to get involved in such dangerous, life-threatening matters.
Happy, who had been following her, helpfully reminded her, "The train is leaving, Lucy." He pointed with his paw as their train hissed and began to pull away from the station.
"Oh, so it's to eliminate a Dark Guild," Ren said, his voice sounding almost bored. He stretched his arms over his head. "I thought it was something major."
Lucy couldn't help but retort, her voice cracking. "Isn't eliminating a Dark Guild already a major event?! What's more major than that?! Starting a war?!"
Suddenly!
Whoosh—!!
A column of scorching flame erupted beside them, making Lucy scream and jump.
"Eliminating a Dark Guild?! That sounds very interesting!"
After getting off the train, Natsu had been dizzy and moaning, but at the mention of a fight, he was fully revived. He was now trembling with excitement, his fists wreathed in fire.
"I'm all fired up!" he roared.
Natsu looked at Erza and asked, "Erza, do you know where Eisenwald is? Let's go!"
He was a bit impatient now. There was no reason to deal with those Dark Guild rats; just punch them.
"We'll find out if we investigate in this place," Erza said, pointing toward the center of Onibus.
The group quickly arrived at the Mage bar where Erza had stayed before. In any city, Mage bars were definitely the most informed—and the most dangerous—places.
It was a rough, smoke-filled building. Erza and Ren walked in first, their very presence silencing the rowdy patrons. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy followed timidly behind. Erza walked straight to the bar, her gaze so intense that the bartender nearly dropped the glass he was cleaning.
She didn't need to say a word. Ren simply placed a 100,000 Jewel note on the counter. "Eisenwald. Where are they?"
Five minutes later, the group easily found out the location of the Eisenwald Guild's base. It was in a deserted, mountainous region just outside Oshibana, the next stop after Onibus.
Knowing the location made things easier. Erza, using her S-Class Mage credentials (and another large sum of money from Ren), "borrowed" a magic four-wheeled vehicle.
"Oh... no..." Natsu moaned, his face turning green again as he looked at the magical car.
"Is this the Dark Guild Eisenwald?" Lucy shivered, her voice a small whisper. "It looks a bit... scary!"
The magic four-wheeler (which Natsu was currently hanging out the side of, groaning) was parked on a ridge overlooking a dark, dead forest. In the center of that forest was a large, menacing building that looked like it was made of black iron and gargoyle statues. The thought of potentially confronting an entire Dark Guild of assassins made her legs want to give out.
She regretted it deeply now. Wouldn't it have been better for her to just go to work diligently? Take a simple "find my lost cat" quest? Why was she so curious? Why did she follow them? Now it was too late to regret.
"Okay, Erza, what's the plan?" Ren asked, stepping out of the vehicle. "Do we go in stealthy, or..."
Boom—!!
Before he could finish his sentence, a flash of red and yellow blurred past him. Flames wrapped around Natsu's fist, and he, "all fired up" and desperate to be off the vehicle, had already punched the main gate of the Eisenwald Guild. The massive iron gate exploded with a deafening roar, the shrapnel flying in all directions.
Natsu, engulfed in flames, stood in the smoking crater, roaring aggressively, "You bastards of Eisenwald!! All of you, get out here!!!"
"..."
The group stood in silence, waiting.
The imagined scene of the Eisenwald members erupting in anger and rushing out to fight... did not occur.
At this moment, the Eisenwald Guild was empty. It was eerily silent, devoid of a single person.
"Where are the people?!" Natsu yelled, his voice echoing in the empty courtyard.
"Hey! Where are the people?! Hurry up and get out here!!" Natsu shouted loudly, but no one replied.
Happy spread his wings and flew a circle around the guild hall, peering into the broken windows. He returned a moment later, shaking his head. "No one. The entire guild is empty."
"No one? Is this guild abandoned?" Lucy said, and then her face showed an expression of serious contemplation. "Could it be... that they all went on a picnic?"
"..."
The others were speechless at Lucy's sudden train of thought.
Happy retorted, "Lucy sometimes says the most inexplicable things."
Lucy, realizing her mistake, clapped her hands and said happily, "Well, it looks like they're all gone! I don't know when they left, so... does that mean we don't have to fight? That's great! We can go back, right?"
She was still young, and she didn't want to lose her life here. Not having to fight was the best outcome for her.
However, Ren's single sentence shattered her beautiful dream.
"No," Ren said, walking past Natsu and into the ruined guild hall. He knelt by a long table, which was still covered in half-eaten plates of food. "They left not long ago."
"How... how long?" Erza asked, her hand on her sword.
Ren looked at a smoldering fireplace, then at a half-full mug of ale. "About an hour and twenty-three minutes ago. And they left together, in a hurry. And there should be quite a few of them, at least fifty people."
Lucy's eyes widened. "Ren, how can you possibly know all that?"
Ren pointed to the food scraps on the table and floor. "It's easy to tell. The number of utensils and plates tells me there were at least fifty. The food itself... this bread is still warm."
He touched the side of a metal mug. "This ale is still cold, the condensation is fresh. And the fire in that hearth... the embers are still bright. They left in a hurry. They didn't even bother to put it out."
After receiving so many characters, the most useful things to him, besides the characters' own abilities, were the experiences they possessed. Observation Haki, superhuman senses, battlefield analysis... it all blended together. This greatly helped Ren when doing missions.
Erza's face was serious as she processed his words. "An hour ago? That's not too long ago." She turned, her scarlet hair whipping around.
"Let's go. We'll chase them immediately!"
[Akarin Note:
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