Chapter 13: There Goes Our Ride…
Dust and wind filled the air as the magic four-wheeler came to a screeching halt.
In front of us stood a very peculiar scene — Erigor, the mighty "Reaper of Eisenwald," face-first in the dirt, his wings tattered, his aura completely snuffed out.
And standing triumphantly atop him was none other than Natsu Dragneel — fist still smoking, grin wide enough to split his face in half.
"HA! Who's flying now, huh!?" Natsu shouted, stomping on Erigor's back for good measure.
Happy hovered above him, cheering, "Aye, sir! You showed that windbag!"
I stepped out of the car, rubbing my temple. "I swear, this guy turns every life-or-death situation into a cartoon."
Lucy gasped, running toward him. "Natsu! You actually beat him?!"
Gray snorted, crossing his arms. "What's that supposed to mean? Of course he did. He's an idiot, not weak."
"HEY!" Natsu yelled, pointing at him. "I heard that, ice brain!"
"Good," Gray shot back.
Before it could escalate into another fistfight, Erza marched up, the commander mode activated. "Enough! We need to secure Erigor and the flute immediately."
Ah, yes… the flute.
My eyes flicked to where it lay on the ground a few meters away — Lullaby. The cursed instrument that everyone thought could end lives with a single melody.Of course, I knew it wasn't real — the real Lullaby was elsewhere, and this one was merely bait. But no one else needed to know that yet.
Lucy and Gray were arguing over who should pick it up, while Natsu was too busy bragging to notice anything else.
Meanwhile, in the background, a very tied-up Kageyama shifted in the back seat of the magic four-wheeler, fidgeting like a nervous squirrel.
I narrowed my eyes. "…He's been awfully quiet."
"Hey, you!" Lucy shouted over her shoulder. "Don't even think about moving!"
Kageyama froze. "O-of course not! Totally not moving! Nope!"
A few seconds passed.
Then I saw it — the faint shimmer of dark magic, the ropes beginning to burn away.
"Oh no," I muttered, expression deadpan.
Erza turned. "What?"
Before I could answer, Kageyama exploded into motion, snapping the last rope thread and leaping from the vehicle like a startled rabbit.
"Freedom!!" he yelled dramatically — because apparently, even villains in this world loved theatrics.
He sprinted toward the ground where the fake Lullaby lay, scooping it up like it was a sacred treasure.
Lucy gasped. "H-hey! He's stealing the flute!"
"Again!?" Gray groaned.
Before any of them could react, Kageyama jumped into the driver's seat of my four-wheeler, slammed the accelerator, and shot off down the road with a triumphant yell.
The sound of my engine roaring away stung more than I'd like to admit.
We all stood there, watching the dust trail fade into the distance.
Then, I exhaled, face blank. "Well… there goes our ride."
Erza blinked. "Our ride? That's what you're worried about?"
"I built that from scratch," I muttered in despair. "Do you know how many hours it takes to enchant the stabilizers on that thing?"
Lucy was still flailing her arms. "How did he even escape the ropes!?"
"I used enchanted bindings!" Gray shouted. "No normal guy could've broken them!"
I raised a hand lazily. "Correction — no normal guy. You forgot this one's a dark guild escape artist. Rookie mistake."
Gray scowled. "You didn't stop him either!"
I shrugged. "I was emotionally processing the fact that he just stole my car."
Erza sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Enough. We have no time for this. He's headed toward Clover Town — to the Guild Masters' conference."
Lucy's eyes widened. "That's where all the masters are meeting! He's going to—"
"Use the Lullaby," I finished. "Yes. A terrible fate indeed."
Happy tilted his head. "So what do we do now?"
I looked at Erza. "You're the driver this time, Titania. Any idea how we're catching up?"
She smirked faintly, summoning a single horse-drawn wagon from her magic storage. "We improvise."
I blinked. "...You're kidding."
"Not at all," she said seriously, already climbing aboard. "Get in."
Lucy groaned. "From a magic-powered ride to this?!"
Gray facepalmed. "This is gonna take forever."
I climbed in last, sighing deeply. "All right, team. New plan — chase the guy who stole my car before he kills all our bosses. Wonderful day, isn't it?"
Natsu punched the air. "Let's go!"
And with that, our ragtag group lurched forward — chasing one dark mage, one cursed flute, and my stolen four-wheeler.
I couldn't help muttering under my breath, "When this is over, I'm billing Fairy Tail for fuel, repairs, and emotional damage."
Lucy heard that and giggled. "You sound like Erza."
Erza glanced back with a raised eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"
Lucy froze. "N-no ma'am!"
I leaned back with a tired smile as the wagon bumped down the path. Just another day in Fairy Tail.