Grim Reaper

On the train, while Natsu was struggling against his motion sickness, a figure appeared beside him.

"Are you traveling alone, kid? Mind if I sit here?" Without waiting for Natsu's approval, he sat down across from him.

He said in a mocking tone, "My, my, you look like you're having a hard time."

"Fairy Tail, a legal guild. How impressive."

"I heard your guild has a War God named Ye, known as the strongest creature on land. I'm a fan of his. When I saw the reports about him, I was really shocked. Since you're in the same guild, could you introduce me to him? I want his autograph."

Seeing that Natsu did not answer,

he continued, "If not, could you at least tell me about him? There hasn't been any news about him for the past two years."

Natsu still did not answer. He only kept gasping, trying to suppress the nausea from his motion sickness.

Oh, right. I saw Mirajane in a magazine too. She's a very beautiful girl. We don't have anyone like her in our guild. I really want to meet her.

Seeing that Natsu still ignored him,

he furiously kicked Natsu in the face and snarled like a madman, "Why are you ignoring me? Just because you're a legal guild, you think you're so great? Are you looking down on us from Iron Forest?!"

After being attacked, Natsu forced down his nausea and said, "What the hell do you want?"

"Oh? You finally decided to speak? Fairy Tail really is something else. Are all legal guilds as arrogant as you? Do you know what we call people from Fairy Tail?"

"Flies! Annoying flies!"

"Ah! You looking for a fight?"

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Before he could cast the spell, a wave of nausea surged up from his motion sickness. Natsu instantly went limp, the flames on his hands going out as he dry-heaved.

"HAHAHAHA! What kind of magic is that? Is that how you people use magic? Take a look at mine!" Kageyama used Shadow Magic to form a fist and launched it at Natsu's chin, sending him flying.

"HAHAHAHA! Did you see that, bastard? I gave that punch a name: Fly Fist!"

Suddenly, a stop signal from Onibus reached the train. The conductor immediately brought it to a halt.

The sudden braking sent the people and objects in the carriage hurtling forward from inertia. A three-eyed skull flute fell from Kageyama's bag.

A moment later, the train came to a complete stop. Once Natsu felt that it was no longer moving, he instantly revived at full strength, and flames blazed from both hands.

"You bastard, that really hurt!"

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist! Die!"

With a single blow to Kageyama's cheek, Kageyama bounced up and down a few times before flying into another carriage.

"Dear passengers, we apologize. Due to having just received incorrect information, the train will now resume its journey to its destination."

The moment Natsu heard that the train was about to start again, he immediately jumped out the window.

At that moment, Ye and the others, riding in the magic four-wheeler, finally spotted the stopped train. They accelerated forward, but as they passed it, a black shadow suddenly shot out in front of them. They had no time to brake, and the four-wheeler crashed heavily into it.

That black shadow was Natsu, who had jumped out the window.

After the four-wheeler stopped,

"Did we hit something? It wasn't a person, was it?"

"Let's get out and take a look."

As the smoke cleared, they found Natsu lying on the ground, with his soul already drifting from his mouth.

"Natsu! It's Natsu!"

Erza asked worriedly, "Why are you sleeping in a place like this? Do you know how worried we were?" She then grabbed Natsu and pulled him into her chest.

Bam!

"So hard!"

Lucy looked at Erza, completely powerless to complain. "Wasn't that because you ran him over? A normal person would already be dead."

"Since Natsu is fine, let's hurry up and go. The sooner we deal with this, the sooner I can stop worrying."

Natsu slowly said, "What do you mean, fine? On the train, I got tangled up with some guy called... um... Iron... something Forest."

The moment Erza heard Iron Forest, she slapped Natsu flying. "Idiot! Iron Forest is our target! Did you even listen to what I said on the train?!"

Lucy complained, "Didn't you knock him unconscious on the train? How was he supposed to hear you?"

Erza asked Natsu whether he had seen anything.

"I think... um... I saw a three-eyed skull flute."

Gray frowned. "What kind of twisted taste is that? You can tell at a glance they're not decent people."

Lucy complained, "Says the guy who strips whenever he feels like it."

Hearing Natsu's description, Lucy seemed to realize what it was. "A three-eyed skull..."

Lucy shouted, "Lullaby! The Song of Death! It's Death Magic."

Erza asked, "Did you remember something, Lucy?"

"Yes! I think I saw this magic in an ancient book. It's an extremely terrifying mass-killing spell. As long as someone blows the flute, everyone who hears it can be killed."

"What kind of dangerous magic is that? I have no idea how Erigor got hold of it, or what his purpose is."

"Damn it, the train has already left. Let's keep chasing it."

Seeing that he had to ride in a vehicle again, Natsu desperately did not want to get in. But under Erza's threatening gaze, he could only climb into the car and head for their destination.

The group rushed without stopping and arrived at Kurogi Train Station.

The moment they got out, they found the place in chaos. The station had already been surrounded by the army, but no one had been killed. Ye and the others approached a soldier and asked,

"We are mages from Fairy Tail. What happened up ahead?"

The soldier said rudely, "This area is under our control. Unrelated personnel, leave!"

Erza immediately lost her temper at his rude attitude.

"What?!"

Ye stepped forward and said sternly, "Answer what she asked. Understand?"

The soldier replied unhappily, "Huh? Who are you?"

When he turned around and saw Ye's fiery red hair and ruby-red eyes, he remembered what his captain had once told him.

"If you encounter anyone from Fairy Tail during a mission, be careful. There is one person among them whom you absolutely must not provoke. He is a hero of the Kingdom of Fiore, and the object of our soldiers' faith. You must show him the utmost respect. Understand?"

The man before him matched his captain's description exactly.

The soldier asked in disbelief, "Are you Lord Ye?"

"That's right. It's me."

After confirming that it was Ye, the soldier hurriedly said, "My apologies, I didn't recognize you sooner. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Answer her question."

"Yes! Understood, sir!"

"A group of people just hijacked Kurogi Train Station. Their leader appears to be named Erigor."

Erza said seriously, "So it really is him. What exactly does he want by taking over the station?"

"We want to go in and take a look."

"Of course, sir. This way, please!"

Lucy asked curiously, "Ye, why are those soldiers so respectful toward you?"

"Oh, that? Because I once protected them."

Lucy asked doubtfully, "Protected them?"

At that time, Lucy had not paid much attention to the world of magic, so she did not know about Ye's contributions.

"Enough. Let's go in and meet this Erigor."

When Ye and the others entered the station, they found many soldiers lying on the ground. Before long, they reached the train platform, where a large number of Iron Forest mages had gathered.

"So you finally came. You made us wait quite a while. Kageyama, are the people you encountered on the train here?"

"Yes. That's the one with the scarf."

"We've been waiting for you, Fairy Tail."

Ye looked at the enemy group and said, "So you're the rat's head? You really do look awful. Like some edgy punk."

"Bastard, what did you say?"

"Who are you to talk about Brother Erigor like that? Haven't you heard of the Grim Reaper's name?"

Ye picked his nose and said, "Any stray cat or dog can call themselves the Grim Reaper these days."

"You brat, I'll crush you and show you why they call me the Grim Reaper!"

"I'm so scared."

Erza quickly said, "Ye, stop wasting time with them. Take them out!"

"Requip: Heavenly Wheel Armor!"

When the Iron Forest mages saw a female mage requip, they widened their eyes excitedly.

"What a fast requip!"

"Heavenly Wheel: Circle Sword!"

"Ah! Ahhh!!"

One move took down most of the Iron Forest mages.

"I'm all fired up too!"

"Take this! Dragon's Roar!"

"Ice-Make: Hammer Soldier!"

Boom!!!

Seeing her companions show off their strength, Lucy said in surprise, "They're so strong! The three of them can wipe out everyone by themselves."

Seeing his companions fighting Iron Forest, Ye walked toward Erigor.

"Now it's your turn and mine."

"Take this, brat!"

"Storm Wave!"

A tornado swept toward Ye. Without even looking at it, Ye casually waved his hand and shattered Erigor's magic.

Erigor said in disbelief, "Impossible! My magic was destroyed so easily! You little brat, who the hell are you?!"

"My name never changes, and neither does where I sit. I am Ye of Fairy Tail!"

At that moment, a fat Iron Forest mage stared at Ye, seemingly deep in thought.

"What is it, Karaka?"

Karaka shook his head. "No, it's nothing. I just feel like I've seen that person somewhere before."

Erigor looked at Karaka. "Fairy Tail only has a few notable people, and those ones are all famous and easy to recognize. This one... um... But now that you mention it, he does seem familiar."

Kageyama pointed at Ye, trembling. "It... it's him."

"Kageyama, you know him?!"

"War God Ye!"

The moment Erigor heard the name War God Ye, his body trembled as though struck by lightning.

"Why is someone like him here? No, I have to run. I can't stay here."

With that, he activated his Wind Magic.

"Wind Demon Wall!"

A tornado surrounded the entire station. Erigor flew into the air and muttered, "I hope this can hold them back for a while. Damn Fairy Tail, to think they sent someone like this. I need to carry out the plan quickly." With that, Erigor flew toward the direction of the meeting.