Down in the clearing, the tension was thick enough to feel in the air.
Kageyama stood rigid, the cursed flute trembling in his hands. His breathing came shallow and uneven. The moonlight glinted off the dark wood of the Lullaby, casting a faint, sinister gleam across his face.
He looked up — and found Makarov Dreyar watching him silently.
There was no anger in the old man's eyes. No judgment. Only calm, and an almost unbearable kindness.
Kageyama swallowed hard. His throat was dry. "Why… aren't you attacking me?"
Makarov didn't answer right away. He took a step forward — slow, deliberate — his hands clasped behind his back. The faint breeze tugged at his cloak.
"Because," Makarov said softly, "if you truly wanted to do it… you'd have done it already."
Kageyama's eyes widened. He looked down at the flute in his trembling grasp.
"I…" His voice cracked. "I have to… I was told to—"
"By whom?" Makarov interrupted gently. "A guild that abandoned its light long ago? Men who think fear is power?"
Kageyama's lips trembled. He couldn't answer.
Makarov sighed quietly, stepping closer until the young man could feel the calm pulse of his magic. It wasn't oppressive — it was warm, steady, almost fatherly.
"Darkness and light," Makarov began, his voice low and even, "aren't something you're born into, boy. They exist in all of us. But the moment you choose to protect instead of destroy…"
He paused, letting the wind fill the silence.
"…that's when you step into the light."
Kageyama's hands shook harder. His knees buckled as tears pooled at the corners of his eyes.
"I… I can't… I can't do it. I'm not gonna repay them by killing everyone!"
Makarov's expression softened into a gentle smile — the kind that carried both wisdom and sorrow.
"Then you've already made your choice," he said.
The old man placed a hand on Kageyama's shoulder, firm yet reassuring. "It's not too late to start again. You've still got your whole life to decide what kind of man you want to be."
Kageyama's lip quivered. The tension in his body began to fade as the weight of his decision lifted.
But just as his grip on the flute loosened—
A faint, echoing thrum pulsed through the air.
Both of them froze.
The Lullaby began to vibrate in Kageyama's hands, glowing faintly with a sickly purple light.
Makarov stepped back, eyes narrowing. "What in the—"
The demonic whisper followed, low and mocking.
"Tch… pathetic mortal."
The voice slithered through the night like oil, thick and cold, echoing inside Kageyama's skull. He staggered back, clutching the flute in horror.
"What—what was that?!" he gasped.
The Lullaby began to glow violently, its once-dark wood splitting as black veins of magic pulsed through it. A heavy pressure fell over the clearing, thick enough to choke on.
Makarov's brows furrowed. "Throw the flute away!"
But Kageyama couldn't let go — his hands were fused to the flute as if it were alive, its surface writhing under his fingers.
"Foolish human. Did you think you could command me?"
A jagged magic circle burst to life beneath them, etching itself into the ground with blinding purple light. The air screamed as a wave of cursed energy tore outward, bending trees and shattering glass.
Makarov shielded his face, gritting his teeth. "This magic, no, this demonic energy… it's enormous!"
The ground cracked open as the flute twisted and warped in Kageyama's grip, stretching into a grotesque shape — the wood splintering into bone, the mouthpiece splitting open into a gaping maw lined with teeth.
"For centuries, I have waited…" the voice boomed, shaking the earth itself. "A lullaby for the weak… a requiem for the living!"
The wind howled. The light of the moon vanished behind a swirl of black clouds.
Up there, Natsu and the others felt the magic hit like a hammer. Lucy was thrown to the ground, covering her head as debris whipped past.
"What the hell is that?!" Gray shouted over the roar.
Erza's eyes widened, the color draining from her face. "A demon… a demon from the Books of Zeref!"
Natsu's teeth clenched. "That's it… that's the thing!" Flames exploded around his arms, but the sheer pressure of the magic made even him hesitate.
Back in the clearing, Makarov stood firm as the creature began to rise — a towering, skeletal form of bone and black smoke, its head a hollow mask twisted into a silent scream.
Kageyama collapsed to his knees, finally released as the Lullaby's power broke free. He stared up, trembling uncontrollably. "I… I didn't… I didn't mean to—"
Makarov's cloak billowed in the wind, his gaze hardening. "So this… is the real Lullaby."
The creature's hollow eyes burned with eerie purple light as it spread its clawed hands toward the sky. The air rippled around it, every breath charged with deathly energy.
Even from far away, the guild masters within Clover felt it — a power so thick, so ancient, it pressed down on their souls.
Bob's face, usually relaxed, grew pale. "Oh my stars… it's real."
Lucy clung to Erza's arm, heart pounding. "Is that… thing going to play a song?"
Erza's expression didn't waver. "If it does, anyone who hears it… will die."
Lightning split the clouds overhead, illuminating the towering demon for a split second.
The world seemed to hold its breath again.
Then — with a sound like the tearing of reality — Lullaby's scream echoed through the valley.
The ground shook. The trees bowed. Every flame, every flicker of magic nearby trembled and warped.
The air was alive with terror.
"Everyone, get down!" Erza shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos like a whip.
Natsu threw his arms over Lucy, pressing her to the ground as a blast of sound rolled over them like a storm.
Gray gritted his teeth, ice magic forming instinctively around him to shield the group.
Even the guild masters further down the hill struggled to stay standing. Bob's protective barrier flared brightly for a moment before cracking under the pressure, shards of blue light scattering like broken glass.
"Stay low!" Makarov barked, anchoring himself to the ground with raw magic. The air shimmered around him as his barrier rippled against the shockwave. "Don't let the sound magic tear through you!"
The scream went on for several endless seconds, the ground groaning, trees splintering, windows shattering across the town below.
Each vibration felt like a hammer against the chest—pounding, endless, merciless.
Lucy screamed, clutching her ears. "Make it stop! It feels like my head's splitting open!"
Gray reached for her, pulling her close under his ice dome. "Hang on!"
Natsu gritted his teeth, blood trickling from one ear, his flames flickering weakly against the crushing magic. "Tch… that bastard's got lungs!"
Even Erza's armor rattled from the force, her stance barely holding. She dug her sword into the dirt for balance, eyes blazing.
"Hold your ground!" she commanded again, voice hoarse but resolute. "If we can withstand this—then we can fight it!"
And still the roar continued, echoing through the mountains, rippling across the land like the voice of an ancient god announcing its return.
Then—abruptly—it stopped.
The silence that followed was deafening. Even the wind hesitated, as though afraid to move.
Dust drifted through the moonlight. Slowly, the trembling earth began to settle.
Everyone was breathing hard, covered in dirt and debris, but alive.
From the clearing, the monstrous silhouette of Lullaby loomed against the clouds, its hollow eyes glowing like dying stars.
The first scream of the demon had ended— and the world had survived only the opening note.
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By the way, I will drop 1 bonus chapter when this novel attains 10 reviews 😃