The next day, on a desolate mountain road far from Magnolia, a magic carriage moved steadily into the distance.
A magic carriage functioned much like a normal one, except it relied on the driver's magic power. The more magic infused into it, the faster it traveled.
"Ugh…"
Inside the carriage, Natsu Dragneel looked half-dead. His face was pale as he leaned forward, dry-heaving again and again. His eyes had rolled back, completely stripped of his usual energy.
There were two rows of seats inside. On one side sat Lucien, flipping through books about strange figures and legends that he had borrowed from Levy McGarden before they left, using them to pass the time.
Beside him, Lucy Heartfilia sighed in frustration.
"Natsu, even motion sickness medicine isn't working?"
"Aye!" Happy raised his paw with a grin. "Natsu gets motion sickness from any vehicle. He's never getting over it!"
"If he doesn't fix that flaw, it might actually get him killed someday."
Lucien turned a page calmly without looking up.
"This idiot tried training to overcome it before. He's just too stupid. After all these years, nothing's changed."
Nearby, Gray Fullbuster sat shirtless with his arms crossed, staring at Natsu with clear disdain.
"Is there really no other way? What about magic?"
Happy shook his head. "Aye, it's useless. It's a side effect of being a Dragon Slayer."
"How long until we get there?" Lucy asked.
Lucien didn't bother looking up from his book.
"Ask Erza."
From the front, Erza Scarlet answered, her tone firm.
"A day, as long as nothing delays us."
Lucy glanced at Natsu again, pity rising in her chest. At this rate, he might not even be able to stand when they arrived.
"S-stop the carriage…"
Natsu's voice was weak, his face drained of all color.
Before anyone could react, Gray clenched his fist and slammed it straight into Natsu's head.
Bang.
The carriage shook violently, and silence filled the space.
Gray blew lightly on his fist as if nothing unusual had happened.
"Fastest solution. Don't worry, I've done this plenty of times."
Lucien nodded in agreement.
"Effective."
Lucy stared at the two of them in horror.
"Are you both insane?!"
"Aye, you'll get used to it," Happy said while hugging his grilled fish.
Outside, Erza's voice cut through the chaos.
"Our target is a Dark Guild known as Eisenwald. Recently, they've been using something called Lullaby to cause damage across multiple regions. A legal guild must put a stop to them."
Lucy blinked, confused.
"What does that even mean?"
Gray frowned slightly. "Sounds like the name of a magic item."
"I heard about it while returning to the guild once," Erza added. "It's said that something dangerous is sealed within it."
"Sealing magic?" Lucy tilted her head.
"Not sure," Erza replied, her expression growing colder. "But whatever it is, it involves a larger scheme. Dark Guilds don't hesitate to drag innocent people into their plans. That alone makes them unforgivable."
Lucy hesitated. She had never seen the darker side of the world before. No bloodshed, no cruelty. To her, it all still felt distant.
"Is it really that bad?"
Happy made a creepy face at her.
"Oh, it's bad."
Erza continued, "We're heading to Oshibana Station. Intelligence says Eisenwald members were spotted there recently. I'll increase our speed, so hold on."
The carriage suddenly surged forward, kicking up dust as it sped into the distance.
---
At Oshibana Station, a train came to a stop.
"Arriving at Oshibana Station. Stop duration, five minutes."
Passengers poured out steadily.
Among them was a woman in a blue dress and short heels, her purple diamond-shaped eyes calmly scanning her surroundings. After a brief pause, she blended into the crowd and disappeared around a corner.
That "woman" was none other than Lucien.
His target was clear, Erigor.
And more importantly, the mages of Eisenwald.
As soon as Lucien stepped out of the station, several armed mages appeared, surrounding the crowd with malicious grins. Like livestock, the civilians were herded into a nearby waiting area.
Inside, Lucien immediately spotted a man standing above the rest.
Short white hair, bandaged hands, tattoos beneath his eyes, and a yellow-black coat. In his grip rested a massive scythe.
Erigor.
The Guild Master of Eisenwald.
The room was filled with hundreds of mages, their weapons aimed at terrified civilians.
Lucien didn't hesitate.
A massive Rocket Launcher materialized on his shoulder, expanding rapidly until it reached an absurd length of ten meters.
Without warning, he fired.
Boom.
The missile tore through the air, heading straight for Erigor.
Lucien didn't care about the civilians or the surrounding mages. Their survival meant nothing. If they died, they were simply unlucky.
He didn't waste time killing ordinary people, their souls were far inferior compared to mages. Hunting them was inefficient.
Mages, however, were valuable.
And now, every mage in Fairy Tail's world had unknowingly become prey in Lucien's eyes.
A massive explosion erupted.
Flames and smoke swallowed the station as a mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
Lucien calmly lit a cigarette, the launcher resting on his shoulder as he watched the destruction unfold.
A violent gust of wind suddenly tore through the smoke.
Erigor emerged, battered and furious, wind swirling around his body like blades.
Wind Magic.
He wasn't dead, but the damage was obvious.
Lucien raised his right hand, white soul mist wrapping around it. With a grasping motion, countless drifting souls, confused, screaming, or silent, were forcibly pulled toward him.
Every victim from the explosion.
Every mage and civilian caught in the blast.
Only Lucien and Erigor remained alive in the immediate area.
"Who are you?" Erigor demanded, blood dripping from his mouth.
Lucien ignored him.
Instead, he compressed the collected souls and forced them into his weapons. The Rocket Launcher pulsed, while a massive Gatling gun appeared beside him, its barrel already spinning.
Then it began.
"Da da da da da…"
A storm of bullets erupted.
This time, Lucien coated them with Armament Haki. Each shot tore through the air with explosive force, flooding toward Erigor like an unstoppable torrent.
"You're courting death!"
"Storm Armor!"
Wind surged around Erigor, forming a protective barrier. But against Lucien's relentless firepower, it barely held.
Lucien stood unmoving, his long hair whipping wildly, his blue dress fluttering violently under the pressure of the blasts.
Then he fired the Rocket Launcher again.
Boom.
The explosion ripped through the sky.
Erigor screamed as he was blasted away, crashing into the ground and carving a deep trench before coming to a stop. He barely had time to react before scrambling backward in panic.
The battlefield was completely shattered.
Under the relentless bombardment and Haki-infused bullets, even Erigor felt fear creeping into his chest.