Chapter 236: The Knight
"You won't be able to do anything unless you break this barrier," Noah said, completely ignoring Erigor's murderous stare. "And the station's broadcast room? It's on the outside."
"Kageyama!" Erigor roared at the shadow-magic user, the one whose ears he had just sliced. "Break this barrier! I need to get out and continue the plan!"
"On it!" Kageyama yelled, scrambling to the edge of the barrier and beginning his work.
"Should we stop him?" Erza asked Noah.
"No, let him try," Noah said with a grin. Then, he leaned in and whispered to his team, "I actually put up three barriers. I really want to see the look on his face when he breaks the first one and finds two more."
"Wow, that's so mean!" Lucy blurted out.
Natsu and Gray instantly leaped away from her in panic.
"Lucy, you're so brave!" Happy said, his eyes wide with admiration. "I'm in awe!"
"Uh, what did you just say?" Lucy asked, freezing as she saw Noah's smiling face turn toward her. She quickly backpedaled. "I-I mean, you're so smart! So thorough! That's what I meant!"
"Of course," Noah said, nodding, satisfied.
"Noah is always thorough," Erza agreed earnestly.
Erigor, unaware of the whispering, glared at them. "Breaking it is one way," he sneered. "Or, I could just kill you and the barrier will disappear."
"You guess?" Noah replied.
Erza and the others could practically see the veins throbbing on Erigor's forehead. "You damn flies! You'll pay for this!"
"Oh, by the way," Noah said, holding up a hand. "That thing doesn't belong with you. I'll hold onto it."
He flicked his wrist, and the Lullaby flute vanished from Erigor's hand and appeared in his own.
"Is that... Lullaby?" Erza asked, as the team gathered to look at it. It was a wooden flute, topped with a three-eyed skull.
"It's terrifying," Lucy shivered.
"I agree," Erza said, her eyes narrowed. "I can feel the evil magic coming off it."
"GIVE THAT BACK!" Erigor screamed. He was stunned—he hadn't even seen Noah move. But his shock quickly turned to rage.
"Come and get it," Noah replied, not even looking up as he studied the flute.
"You! All of you! Get them! Get Lullaby back!" Erigor ordered.
"Relax, chief," one of his men said, leering at Erza and Lucy. "It's just a few of 'em. How tough can they be? So what if the barrier is strong? Kageyama will have it down in no time. Besides... those two girls are real lookers."
"It'd be a shame to kill them," another added.
"Yeah, let's capture 'em! We can sell 'em!"
"Hold on, hold on! Not before we get a little 'Fairy stripping show'—"
The man's words were cut off as he was suddenly crushed by an overwhelming killing intent, as if a savage beast had just fixed its eyes on him. He and the men around him froze, a cold sweat breaking out over their bodies as their hearts hammered in their chests.
A moment later, the pressure vanished, as if it had just been their imagination. Erigor, however, knew it was real. He stared hard at Noah. This one... he's strong. That pressure just now... it came from him.
"Being this cute is such a bother!" Lucy sighed, striking a pose.
"Lucy, snap out of it! This is no time to be dreaming!" Happy yelled.
"Natsu, Gray," Noah said, finally looking up, his eyes cold. "You know what to do."
"Of course," Natsu growled. "No one insults Fairy Tail and gets away with it."
"Time to shut them up," Gray added, his magic already chilling the air.
Noah nodded and went back to studying the flute, though he kept a part of his attention on the fight.
"You're all scum," Erza said, her voice low and dangerous. "Insult Fairy Tail again, and I can't guarantee you'll see tomorrow's sun." A sword materialized in her hand.
"She summoned a sword!" Lucy gasped.
"It's magic, duh," Happy said.
"Big deal! We've got magic swordsmen, too! Get 'em, boys!"
The Eisenwald members charged.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Natsu's flaming arms sent the first wave of enemies flying.
"Ice-Make: Ice Arrows!" Gray's volley of ice lances took out another group.
Erza was a blur. She dashed forward, her blade flashing, and three men fell. She spun, and three more went down. She leaped over a counter-attack, cutting down two more in mid-air.
"Tch! Try some of my long-range magic!" one of the men shouted, taking aim at her from the back of the group.
Erza's senses were too sharp. In an instant, her sword vanished, replaced by a long spear. She hurled it, impaling the man's weapon and pinning him to the wall.
"It's a spear now!" Lucy shouted.
Erza landed, the spear vanishing as dual swords appeared in her hands, and she cut down the men around her.
"Now it's two swords?!" an enemy stammered.
The swords disappeared, replaced by a massive battle-axe. She swung it in a wide arc, sending another group of enemies flying.
"H-How is she... requipping so fast?!"
The Eisenwald members began to panic. Erza was cutting through them like they were paper, and Natsu and Gray weren't far behind. Fire and ice danced across the station as the two of them worked in perfect, destructive harmony.
"Requip?" Lucy asked.
"It's like your Celestial Spirit magic," Happy explained. "She summons weapons she has stored in a separate dimension. 'Requip' is just what she calls changing them out."
"That's so cool!"
"Pfft, this is just the beginning," Happy said proudly. "Her real magic... is 'The Knight'!"
"Wait... Erza?" one of the men muttered, the name suddenly sounding familiar.
"Still so many left..." Erza said, frowning at the remaining enemies. "This is taking too long. Time to end this."
In a flash of light, her clothes were gone, replaced by a suit of shining steel armor with four massive, metallic wings. A halo of swords spun into existence behind her.
"WOW!" Lucy's eyes were sparkling.
"See?" Happy beamed. "Most magic knights just change their weapons. But Erza... she changes her weapons and her armor, which all have different abilities. That's her magic: The Knight!"
"So... so cool!" Lucy was in full-on fan-girl mode.
"Erza... no... it can't be!" The man from before finally remembered, his face draining of all color. "She... she's... Titania, Queen of the Fairies!!"
"Dance, my blades!" Erza commanded. "Blumenblatt!"
The swords behind her shot out, flying in a complex, circular pattern. They slashed through a dozen men in a single, beautiful, and terrifying attack. One of the stronger-looking men, enraged, charged at her. "You bitch! I'll kill y—"
He was cut off as Erza appeared behind him, her twin blades already sheathed. The man collapsed, defeated.
"She... she one-shot Piatto?! You've gotta be kidding me!"
"She's amazing!" Lucy cheered.
"One left," Erza said, turning to the man who had recognized her. He was frozen in terror. She dispatched him with a single, non-lethal strike.
While Erza was dominating, Natsu and Gray were finishing up.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu's punch sent one man flying back into three others. He ducked an attack from behind and, igniting his foot, snapped back with a "Fire Dragon's Talon!" He then planted his hands on the ground, spinning his body in a fiery tornado.
"Ice-Make: Battle Axe!" Gray's ice-axe cleaved through a group of enemies. "Ice-Make: Swords!" He wove through the remaining few, a blur of ice and steel.
Seeing Erza in her Heaven's Wheel Armor, Natsu and Gray knew it was time to wrap it up.
"Fire Dragon's ROAR!" Natsu unleashed a massive torrent of flame, engulfing the largest remaining group.
"Ice-Make: Ice Cannon!" Gray formed a massive bazooka of ice on his shoulder and fired a devastating shell of snow and ice, blasting the last of the enemies and slamming them hard against Noah's invisible barrier.
In less than a minute, it was over. The only Eisenwald members left standing were Erigor and Kageyama, who was still frantically trying to break the barrier.
Erigor, who had been watching the slaughter with a blank expression, was now the only one left.
"What's wrong?" Gray taunted, walking up to stand with Erza and Natsu. "Too scared to move?"
~~~
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