Natsu and Gray tore through their opponents, crushing everything in their path.
Though they were "deadly rivals" in the guild, competing and arguing for years, when they worked together, their coordination was as seamless as a well-rehearsed band.
"Fire" and "ice" played solos in wildly different styles, yet blended into each other's rhythms, achieving a level of harmony beyond compare.
Every guard in the way of the ice-and-fire duo fell.
Of course, Gray and Natsu held back. The guards were ordinary people, and even the usually reckless Natsu knew to show some restraint.
They had dealt with most of the guards, but still hadn't seen Erza. Gray was puzzled. Erza had only gotten a little ahead of them, so how had they already lost sight of her completely?
Natsu simply shouted at the empty surroundings:
"Erza! Where'd you run off to?!"
His powerful voice echoed through the tower, but no one answered.
Suddenly, the sound of a guitar playing a lively tune came from a shadowy corner, and a figure slowly appeared.
Gray warily looked over. It was a long-haired man in heavy makeup and rock-star clothes, holding a guitar. His glossy black hair was especially striking.
"Yo ho!"
"Welcome to the Tower of Heaven, Fairy Tail!"
"I am Vidaldus, the 'Eagle' of the Trinity Raven. Stay here and enjoy my music!"
The Trinity Raven belonged to the dark guild Skull Guild. It was an assassination squad specializing in assassination missions, made up of three powerful mages with the codenames "Eagle," "Owl," and "Ikaruga."
During a certain war, the Trinity Raven had been hired by one side to assassinate all the opposing side's officers, thereby turning the tide. They were a powerful magical assassination unit.
But clearly, Gray, a member of a legitimate guild, had never heard of the Trinity