The Strongest Team Sets Out!

The next day, after saying goodbye to Mira, Ed prepared to head to the station to meet up with the others. Before leaving, he said to Mira, "Um... just to be safe, Mira, tell the master that the few of us have formed a team. Let him be mentally prepared. I'm not bragging, but the lot of us together could destroy an entire town without much difficulty."

"Okay, I'll tell the master. Have a safe trip, Ed." Mira nodded and returned to the guild to write Makarov a letter, while Ed set off for the station.

The group gathered at the station. To Ed's surprise, Lucy was in the team too.

"I remember Erza didn't call for you yesterday?" Ed looked at Lucy in confusion.

Lucy had just been about to answer when Erza spoke up. "Since Natsu and Gray are coming this time, I called Lucy to keep them from fighting whenever I'm not watching. You'd only keep adding fuel to the fire."

As she spoke, Erza shot Ed a fierce glare before continuing, "Besides, I heard she's really strong. She can turn into a gorilla or something, and she can even destroy a harbor."

"Ahaha... Natsu did that..." Lucy said weakly.

At that moment, Natsu suddenly challenged Erza. "Erza, I'll help you out this time. In return, accept my duel when we get back!"

"Hmm... It's been a long time since our last fight. You've grown too. Honestly, I'm not certain I can defeat you anymore. Fine. Once this mission is over, I'll accept your challenge." After thinking it over briefly, Erza agreed to Natsu's request.

Seeing that they had talked enough, Ed spoke up. "Then that settles it. Let's get on the train first, then talk about the details. No matter how excited we are, we need to deal with this first." Ed took the lead and boarded the train.

The group took their seats, and as soon as the train departed, Natsu's motion sickness struck. Without a word, Erza grabbed him, landed a blow to his stomach, and knocked him out. Once she had dealt with Natsu, Ed spoke. "Now tell us. What exactly happened that requires all of us to act together?"

"It's the Dark Guild Iron Forest." Erza immediately began explaining the situation. "After the last mission, I heard several people in a tavern in Onibus talking about something that had been sealed away. It seemed to be called Lullaby. Then, as they were leaving, they mentioned the name Erigor."

Erza sounded somewhat self-reproachful. "At the time, I didn't realize that name belonged to the master of the Dark Guild Iron Forest—the Grim Reaper, Erigor. Tch... If only I'd figured it out sooner."

"If it's something a Dark Guild wants, and it was sealed away, it must be something serious. So, are we going to wipe out Iron Forest?" Gray asked calmly from the side, his arms folded.

"Exactly. Our goal is to eliminate them all. I'd be somewhat overwhelmed on my own, so I came to ask for your help."

"You really do need help." Ed looked out the window at the passing scenery as he spoke. "I know about Lullaby. It's magic left behind by the legendary black wizard Zeref. They say it's a death spell—anyone who hears it dies."

"!" Erza exclaimed in shock. "Is that true, Ed?! This is no joking matter." Gray was startled as well. "Then if they get it and use that magic in a town, wouldn't that be a disaster?!"

"Yeah. That's how it is. So we just need to take them down as quickly as possible." Ed turned back and looked at them with a serious expression.

Soon, the train arrived at Onibus Station. Ed and the other four got off, ready to leave the station, when Gray raised a question. "Are those Iron Forest guys still in this town?"

"I don't know. That's what we need to investigate first." Erza spoke as they walked. Then Happy, walking beside them, suddenly asked, "Wait, where's Natsu?"

Ed turned back toward the train cars. "Hiss... Ever since Erza knocked him out, I completely forgot about him. He seems to still be on the train? By now... it should have already left..."

Erza heard that and froze. "Oh no... I got so absorbed in talking that I forgot him. How careless of me."

She immediately rushed to the platform controls and pulled the emergency brake lever. The train, which had only just left the station, stopped at once. Before the staff could protest, Erza pulled out a magic four-wheeled vehicle and called to the others, "What are you waiting for? Get on, we have to catch up!"

They chased after the train along the tracks. Suddenly, an explosion erupted from the stopped train ahead, and one of its cars was destroyed.

"It's Natsu! He seems to be fighting!" Erza increased her magic output and sped toward the train. By then, the platform staff had canceled the emergency stop, and the train began moving again. Suddenly, Natsu leaped out of the damaged car. Ed threw out a kunai, blinked to Natsu's side, then returned to the vehicle with him.

"That was really cruel! You actually forgot me on the train!" Natsu complained indignantly.

"Were you fighting someone just now?" Recalling the explosion he had seen, Ed immediately asked Natsu.

"Yeah, some weird guy on the train came looking for trouble, so I moved around a little. I think he was from Iron... Forest?" Natsu recalled what had happened on the train.

Upon hearing that, Erza slapped him. "You idiot, Iron Forest is our target! Why didn't you capture him?!" Natsu stared blankly after being hit. "? When did you tell me what the target was?"

"Anyway, hurry and catch up." Erza strapped the magic vehicle's power supply ring around her arm and called for everyone to get on, ready to begin the pursuit.

Natsu suddenly remembered something and said, "Come to think of it, the flute that guy was holding was really strange. It had a three-eyed skull on it."

"A three-eyed skull? A flute? There's no mistake—that's Lullaby. Erza, we need to move faster." Hearing Natsu's description and combining it with what they already knew, Ed immediately concluded that Lullaby's seal had been broken. Disaster could strike at any moment.

"The train's next stop is Kunugi Station. Hold on tight, I'm speeding up!" Once everyone was aboard, Erza increased her magic output, and the magic vehicle raced along the tracks after the train.

They soon reached Kunugi Station. Seeing soldiers surrounding the station, they realized they were still too late—the train had already departed for the next stop.

Erza gritted her teeth and increased the magic output again, charging toward the next station, Oshibana Station. After a frantic dash, they finally reached Oshibana. Seeing the stopped train and the station belching thick smoke, Erza jumped out and rushed toward the entrance. Learning that Iron Forest had taken over the station, she immediately led the others inside.

The moment they entered the station hall, they saw dozens of Iron Forest members gathered there. When they saw Erza and the others enter, the white-haired man at the front—bare-chested, with a sinister face and a scythe resting on his shoulder—grinned and greeted them. "So you came after all, flies of Fairy Tail."

Ed looked over the scene. "You're Erigor, right? If you surrender now, you'll suffer a little less." "Hmph, big words. Deal with them." With that, Erigor turned into a gust of wind and vanished.

Watching the enemies stir restlessly, Ed lowered himself slightly, a kunai in his hand. "Then I won't hold back~"

Elsewhere, Makarov received Mira's letter during a routine meeting. In it, Mira informed him that Ed, Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy had formed a team. The moment Makarov got the news, it felt as if the sky had fallen. "Are those brats trying to overturn the Magic Council?!"