"What?!"
Kageyama's face paled instantly as he witnessed his Shadow Magic—attacks that usually left veteran mages scrambling—get flicked away by a mere child's finger.
"Shadow Magic: Swift Shadow!"
Realizing he had encountered a genuine monster, Kageyama didn't hesitate. He wasn't a fool; he was a professional assassin. He carried the cursed flute Lullaby, whose seal had finally been broken. He couldn't afford to play games here.
Once he delivered Lullaby to their leader, Erigor, they would systematically eliminate every legal guild master in the kingdom. Then, Eisenwald would reign supreme in the underworld.
He dissolved into a blur of darkness and leaped out of the high-speed train window.
"He ran away!" Goku blinked, tilting his head.
Normally, Goku wouldn't chase an opponent who had lost the will to fight. However, Erza had specifically mentioned needing to capture Eisenwald mages to find their headquarters. He grabbed the still-groggy Natsu and vanished from the carriage.
...
The Chase in the Wilderness
Kageyama hit the ground rolling and immediately activated his stealth magic. 'That kid was too strong. Legal guilds aren't all useless talkers after all,' he thought, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw no one behind him. He remained invisible, hidden against the backdrop of the rugged terrain.
But as he turned to flee, two figures materialized directly in his path. Goku and Natsu had arrived via ki sensing.
'He can't see me... He can't see me...' Kageyama froze, holding his breath, his heart hammering against his ribs. He knew the boy had some form of teleportation, but as long as he stayed perfectly still and invisible, he should be safe.
"Dammit! Where did that guy go? I'm gonna make him taste my fist!" Natsu roared. The moment his feet hit solid ground, his motion sickness vanished, replaced by a volcanic rage. Being stepped on while helpless was a humiliation he intended to repay with interest.
"He's right there," Goku said, pointing directly at the empty air where Kageyama stood. "He's using some kind of invisibility magic."
"Crap!" Kageyama realized the ruse was up and bolted at full speed.
"Goku, stay back! This one's mine!" Natsu intercepted Goku, his cheeks puffing out as he funneled magic into his lungs. He slammed his hands beside his mouth: "Fire Dragon's Roar!!"
A crimson magic circle erupted, and a torrent of Draconic flames incinerated everything in a hundred-meter path. The heat was so intense the air itself distorted.
"ARGH!" Kageyama's invisibility was forcibly burned away as he was sent tumbling, his clothes charred and his body suffering from severe burns. He finally understood that the mage he had "easily" defeated on the train was actually a terrifying powerhouse.
"Natsu, we definitely have to spar later!" Goku's eyes sparkled at the raw power of the Fire Dragon Slayer.
Natsu grinned, waving him off. "I'm not in the habit of bullying kids, Goku! You just started learning Giant Magic. I'm going after Erza first—wait until you're older, then we'll go all out!"
Goku felt a bit disappointed, but he cheered up quickly. There were still plenty of "experts" waiting at the Eisenwald base, and Erza was still on the menu for later.
"Apparate!"
Goku grabbed Natsu with one hand and the scorched Kageyama with the other, appearing back at Onibus Station in a crack of displaced air.
...
The Secret of Lullaby
Erza wasted no time. She grabbed Kageyama by the collar and began a swift interrogation. "Tell me! Where is your guild headquarters?!"
"In the... forest... twenty kilometers east of the city," Kageyama wheezed, his voice laced with deception.
Goku's eyes took on a strange, penetrating glow. He reached out and used Legilimency. "The guild is in the forest, but there's no one there. Erigor killed your Master and everyone who opposed him. He's waiting at Kunugi Station with his loyalists. He plans to use that flute to assassinate all the Guild Masters gathered at the conference in Clover Town. He only told you the forest location to trick us so he could escape and deliver the flute."
"WHAT?!"
Kageyama's eyes bulged in horror. He couldn't comprehend how this boy had just read his innermost thoughts. Erza and the others were equally stunned—not just by Goku's "Mind-Reading Magic," but by the sheer scale of Erigor's plot.
*Clatter.*
A flute carved from bone, featuring a three-eyed skull, fell from Kageyama's pocket.
"The Cursed Flute... Lullaby," Lucy whispered, her face turning pale as memories of her research surfaced. "I've read about this! It was a cursed item used for 'Death Magic.' It was later modified by the Black Wizard, Zeref, evolving into something much more sinister. It plays a 'Song of Death'—anyone who hears the melody has their soul instantly ripped from their body!"
The group shivered. If Erigor had reached the Masters' conference in Clover, the foundation of the legal magical world would have been decapitated in a single afternoon.
"Change of plans!" Erza declared, handing Kageyama over to the station staff to be dealt with by the authorities. "We aren't going to the forest. We're going to Kunugi Station to intercept Erigor and secure that flute!"
"But the next train isn't for three hours!" Lucy cried, checking the schedule in despair.
"Three hours is too long. Erigor might have scouts here; if he hears we caught Kageyama, he'll vanish," Erza pointed to a SE (Self-Explaining) Magic Four-Wheeler parked nearby. "We'll take that. I'll drive!"
"Erza, wait!" Gray frowned. "Kunugi Station is far. Driving a Magic Vehicle at high speed will drain your magic reserves. You won't be able to fight when we get there!"
Erza didn't care; her sense of duty overrode her logic. She began dragging them toward the car, but Goku stepped forward and opened his storage box. He pulled out four sleek, polished broomsticks and laid them on the cobblestones.
"You don't need the car," Goku said with a grin. "We can just fly there on these. They're Nimbus 2000s!"