As the piercing and unsettling flute melody came to an end, thick purple-black smoke burst out from the skull flute, writhing as if it were alive while hovering in the air.
"Haha, I'm finally free!"
"You foolish humans!"
A deep, arrogant, and malevolent voice echoed across the sky.
In an instant, sand and debris were thrown into the air as a massive purple-black magic circle, over five hundred meters wide, spread out like a curtain covering the heavens. Strange runes rotated slowly within it, radiating a terrifying pressure.
A bolt of lightning struck down violently, forcing Lucien and Erigor to step back and observe.
The aura was suffocating, heavy, and sinister, like something gnawing in the dark. It made the air itself feel corrupted.
"Boom..."
The enormous magic circle solidified, releasing a blinding light. Lucien didn't even flinch.
"ROAR!"
With a thunderous explosion, a monstrous figure emerged. It stood over fifty meters tall, its body resembling a twisted, barkless tree. Three glowing eyes burned with a chilling purple light, and its presence alone stirred a violent storm.
"There's no doubt, this is a demon from Zeref's book, living dark magic," Erigor muttered, yet there was no fear in his voice.
To him, Lucien was absolute. That belief had already crossed into blind faith.
The demon lowered its massive head, its cold eyes locking onto them as a grotesque grin stretched across its face.
"Was it you who released me? Then offer your souls as payment!"
Arrogant, self-absorbed, and completely ignorant of what stood before it.
Lucien responded without a word.
A massive Gatling gun extended in his grasp, growing to nearly twenty meters in length. A cigarette hung loosely from his lips, his expression indifferent, almost bored. His long hair swayed in the wind, and there was a cruel elegance to him, like a predator savoring the moment before slaughter.
The barrel began to spin.
With a metallic click, half-meter-long bullets wrapped in golden lightning tore through the air, screaming forward in a relentless storm.
Da da da da!
Flames burst continuously from the muzzle as thousands of rounds poured out every minute.
At first, the bullets seemed insignificant against the demon's towering body. Then the sheer volume took effect.
The demon was forced backward, its massive frame riddled with holes as chunks of its body were shredded apart.
"Insignificant insect!"
It roared, crushing a nearby hill as it tried to steady itself.
Lucien exhaled a stream of smoke. A rocket launcher appeared on his shoulder, then expanded rapidly until it matched the demon's size, its dark barrel resembling a void.
Even Erigor, standing at a distance, felt cold sweat run down his back. He realized Lucien hadn't even used his full strength against him before.
Boom!
A massive shell streaked forward, trailing fire.
A violent explosion followed, forming a towering mushroom cloud of flames and black smoke. The shockwave tore through the land, flattening hills and shaking the earth across tens of kilometers.
Lucien hovered in the air, the Gatling still roaring in his left hand while the launcher fired again.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Five consecutive explosions erupted, each one larger than the last. The sky was swallowed by smoke and dust.
When everything cleared, a gigantic crater stretched across the ground, spanning tens of thousands of meters.
Lucien glanced down, unimpressed.
"All that noise for nothing. Weak."
The demon lay mangled, barely holding together.
Its earlier aura had been overwhelming, but now it was nothing more than a broken shell.
"YOU DARE!"
Half its body shattered, the demon forced its magic to surge. Flesh regenerated as a massive magic circle formed inside its open mouth. A pitch-black beam erupted, tearing through everything in its path as it shot toward Lucien.
Lucien didn't move.
His body hardened instantly, reinforced with Armament Haki. His skin turned crystal-like, reflecting the incoming destruction.
The beam struck.
A deafening explosion shook the sky, the resulting shockwave nearly sending Erigor flying.
"Haha!"
"Foolish human! You should have accepted your fate!"
The demon laughed wildly, convinced of victory.
Then the laughter stopped.
The smoke dispersed.
Lucien stood there, completely intact.
The crystal layer faded, revealing his unharmed body. A faint, nearly invisible bloody chain flickered across his skin before disappearing.
"That's it?"
His voice carried clear disdain.
If he were at full power, this thing wouldn't even qualify as prey.
Lucien vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared above the demon.
He raised his hand and pressed downward.
A massive dragon-shaped force, over a hundred meters long, crashed from the sky. The air itself roared as the demon was slammed into the ground, its body collapsing under the overwhelming force.
It couldn't resist.
It couldn't even scream properly.
Its massive form disintegrated piece by piece, breaking into fragments of light before vanishing completely.
Lucien reached out.
The demon's soul, still conscious, was ripped from the void. It struggled, begged, and screamed, but Lucien ignored it.
He forced it into the Gatling.
The weapon pulsed slightly, its power increasing just a fraction.
Lucien smirked.
"Now it's worth something."
The wind swept through his long hair as he stared toward the distant horizon. The small wolf-tooth club and frying pan hanging from his earrings swayed gently.
His presence was cold, domineering, filled with overwhelming Haki.
"It's time to hunt."
Before Fairy Tail's clash with Phantom Lord, Lucien intended to gather strength, and if possible, collect useful subordinates.
Erigor would remain behind to monitor Fairy Tail.
Lucien had no interest in missing what was coming.
Meanwhile, in Kuroba Town, Erza and the others finally arrived after rushing without rest.
But nothing had happened.
"Master, did Iron Forest not show up?" Erza asked, breathing heavily. Even in armor, her chest rose and fell with exhaustion.
"They didn't come," Makarov replied, blinking in confusion.
Lucy stood beside them, equally tired, drawing far too much attention from the surrounding guild masters.
"That's strange…" Erza frowned.
Far away, in an unknown location, a grand and imposing castle stood tall.
Inside, atop a massive blue magic circle, nine figures of different ages stood together, each radiating immense power.
"Dark Guilds continue to spread."
"Should we begin a full-scale purge?"
"And how exactly would we proceed?"
"If something like Zeref's magic resurfaces again, it will become a serious problem."
"How is such forbidden magic so easily obtained?"
"Perhaps the fault lies within management as well."
The discussion continued.
They were the Magic Council, the governing authority of the magical world.
Their duty was to oversee guilds, eliminate dark organizations, and maintain order.
And now, their attention was fixed on one thing.
Not Iron Forest itself.
But the demon they had tried to use.
Lullaby.
Because anything connected to Zeref was never a small matter.