After listening to Noel's explanation, Erza floored the accelerator, racing after the train ahead.
"Erza, you're going way too fast! Even if you can drive this fast, your magic won't last at this rate," Gray shouted from his position on the roof of the vehicle.
"We don't have time to worry about that! That's group death curse magic we're talking about. Who knows what Eisenwald might do with it?" Erza replied grimly.
She didn't dare let her thoughts wander any further. Images of mass death and devastation filled her mind.
"But what if you run out of magic before we get there?" Gray asked through clenched teeth.
"Then I've still got you guys, don't I?" Erza said confidently.
Noel, riding inside the car, overheard the entire conversation.
Natsu, however, definitely didn't.
He was lying on the floor, completely wiped out from the wild ride.
Erza was driving so fast, Natsu couldn't take it anymore.
"I think I had something I wanted to tell Lucy..." Happy muttered, suddenly remembering something.
"Huh? Me?" Lucy asked, confused.
"Yeah... can't remember exactly what it was, but it had something to do with you," Happy said, deep in thought.
"Ugh, I feel sick…" Natsu groaned from the floor.
"Don't puke in the car!" Noel snapped.
"Wait—maybe that's what I wanted to say!" Happy exclaimed, as if struck by inspiration.
"Oh that?!" Lucy shouted in fury.
Trying not to throw up, Natsu staggered to his feet and leaned out the window to get some air.
"You'll fall out like that, Natsu!" Noel hurried to grab his legs before he slipped out entirely.
"Let me down!" Natsu groaned, still halfway out the window.
"This is dangerous..." Noel sighed, out of breath.
Meanwhile, Happy continued mumbling to himself, "Lucy… fish… tasty…"
While all this chaos was still going on in the back, the group arrived at Oshibana Station.
A station worker stood at the entrance with a magic loudspeaker, shouting:
> "Please understand! Due to a derailment incident, the train is currently unable to enter the station!"
Outside the station, a thick crowd had formed—mostly people preparing to travel.
"Derailment? Are you serious?" someone in the crowd exclaimed.
"I heard a group of robbers took over the station," another speculated.
No one seemed to believe the official explanation. Many people tried to push their way into the station, but the staff held them back, keeping the situation under control.
By the time Noel's group arrived, thick black smoke was already rising from within the station.
Something terrible had clearly happened.
"What's going on inside?" Erza grabbed a staff member and demanded an answer.
"W-Who are you?" the confused man stammered, unsure how to respond to this armored woman.
When the man didn't reply fast enough, Erza punched him out cold.
Then she grabbed another staff member—who also failed to answer—and down he went with another punch.
Watching this unfold, Noel's mouth twitched.
Yep… that's Erza, all right.
"She's probably just looking for someone who'll give her a straight answer," Lucy said, glancing at the unconscious bodies on the floor.
"That's just Erza for you," Happy added with a sigh.
Gray nodded in agreement, though by now he'd somehow ended up completely shirtless.
Natsu, still nauseous, was barely hanging on.
"Eisenwald is inside. Let's move," Erza declared.
No one knew exactly how she knew that—but she was already on the move.
Oshibana Station was significantly larger than the previous ones—likely because it was part of a more prosperous city.
"I heard that a military unit already went in to break through, but it didn't end well," Erza explained while running.
Before long, they began to see bodies of soldiers lying on the stairs.
Shields and spears were scattered everywhere, many broken and discarded on the floor.
"Looks like they had a battle with Eisenwald," Noel observed grimly.
"No way…" Lucy's face paled. "That was an entire unit!"
"Don't forget, we're dealing with an entire guild—all of them mages.
For a standard military squad, there's no way they could win," Erza said, dead serious.
But if the military had already engaged the enemy here…
Then Eisenwald had to be close.
Ahead was the main hall of the station—a large, open room.
Just as they prepared to begin their search…
"Heheheh… I knew you pests from Fairy Tail would show up,"
came a voice from above.
Floating in midair was Erigor.
"That's a lot of people…" Noel remarked.
"This many?!" Lucy gasped.
She hadn't expected there to be this many enemies.
Setting Natsu down, Lucy began trying to wake him.
"Natsu, Natsu! Get up, we need you!"
He was still lying on the ground, drooling—clearly not recovered from the wild car ride.
In the crowd, Kageyama spotted Natsu.
He was seething with rage.
"You damn pests… All because of you, I got beat senseless by Master Erigor…" Kageyama muttered, glaring at Natsu.
"What are you planning to do with Lullaby?" Erza demanded.
"What's inside the station?" Erigor asked playfully as he landed atop a loudspeaker column. His landing was light, but the air around him was turbulent with wind.
"He uses wind magic… just like Noel!" Happy noted from the side.
But the moment Noel saw the speaker system, he understood what was going on.
"You don't mean to broadcast Lullaby from here, do you?"
"There are thousands of curious onlookers gathered around this station…
I'm just going to crank up the volume. Maybe the entire city can hear the melody of death," Erigor said calmly—as if he were describing something mundane.
"Are you insane?" Noel asked.
"I call it purification... This world is unjust, and it needs light.
So I—the Grim Reaper—will bring judgment."
Erigor's tone grew more fanatical, and his expression more twisted.
"Oh? You call yourself a god of death now?" Noel's expression changed subtly.
"Of course. Haven't you heard my title?" Erigor grinned.
Clearly, he didn't expect anyone to question his self-proclaimed status.
"You know… I absolutely hate gods," Noel said quietly—but with an unmistakable pressure in his voice.
"What's with Noel…?" Lucy asked, sensing his sudden shift in demeanor.
"This guy's screwed," Gray whispered. "He actually dared to call himself a god."
"Yeah," Happy chimed in. "Noel really hates gods."
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