Chapter 30 : Pitiful Natsu!

"Hahaha, your voice is too soft, I can't quite catch it."

"Fairy Tail, huh? It sure stands out, doesn't it? Despite being just an ordinary guild, it carries such grandeur, attracting quite the attention." 

"Indeed! You know what they say about Fairy Tail?" 

"They say it's like swatting flies, huhu!"

Kageyama chuckled, patting Natsu's head playfully. "You're quite the troublemaker!"

"Damn you!" Natsu retorted, shooting Kageyama a glare as he stood up, his expression fierce.

"Want to pick a fight, huh?" Kageyama challenged, unfazed.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!" Natsu roared, flames erupting from his fists.

But before he could unleash his fury, the motion sickness hit him, extinguishing the flames.

"Hahaha! What kind of mage are you? That's not how magic works," Kageyama taunted, his shadow morphing into a fist that struck Natsu's jaw.

With a grunt, Natsu was sent flying, crashing onto the floor of the aisle.

"Hahahaha!" Kageyama burst into laughter.

"But... Damn it..." Natsu grumbled, his expression dark. If it weren't for the motion sickness weakening him, he would've taught Kageyama a lesson.

Suddenly, the train came to an abrupt halt.

"What's happening?!"

"Emergency stop?!"

As the train screeched to a halt, the sudden inertia threw everyone off balance.

A three-eyed skeleton flute from Kageyama's belongings fell to the ground.

"We've stopped..." Natsu felt a wave of relief as the train halted, glancing at the fallen flute beside Kageyama.

Kageyama's expression shifted. "Look... see that?!"

"Don't distract me! You're the one who's been moving around so much!" Natsu retorted, rising to his feet with a fiery fist.

"Eh?!"

"Here's a taste of your own medicine!" Natsu's flaming fist connected with Kageyama's face.

"Wow!!"

The impact of Natsu's punch far surpassed Kageyama's previous attack.

Kageyama screamed as he tumbled across the floor, crashing into the carriage partition before finally coming to a stop.

Blood trickled from Kageyama's nostrils.

"Fire Dragon Fist!" Natsu exclaimed, throwing his fists in a demonstration.

"You brat!" Kageyama grimaced, reeling from the heavy punch he took.

*Ding ding!* The sound of an emergency stop echoed, followed by an error message announcement. "We apologize for the inconvenience. Departure now!" 

Natsu's expression shifted upon hearing this. "Damn it!" He hurriedly grabbed his luggage, intent on leaving the bus.

"Don't even think about escaping! How dare you attack Eisenwald! You won't get away with it! You're dead meat!" 

Natsu seethed with anger at the other's words. "You bastard! I'll remember your face! How dare you underestimate Fairy Tail! Next time, we'll settle this outside..."

As the train began to move, Natsu smashed the train window and leaped out.

"Natsu?!" Erza, chasing in a magical quadricycle, was taken aback by Natsu's sudden exit.

"Brake!" 

"Ah ah ah ah!"

*Bang!!* 

Natsu collided with the magical quadricycle, falling to the ground with his legs twitching.

"How are you, Natsu?!" Lucy inquired anxiously.

"Kyros! Happy! Erza! Lucy! You guys are unbelievable! You left me!" Natsu shouted angrily at Kyros and the others.

"Never mind that! What matters is that you're safe!" Erza embraced Natsu tightly.

"It hurts!!" Natsu's face met Erza's armor with a thud.

"How can you say you're fine?! There's some weirdo tailing me, mentioning something about Eisenwald!"

"You blockhead!!" 

Erza scolded, delivering a slap to Natsu's face.

"Ouch!" Natsu cried out, propelled backwards by Erza's blow.

Kyros couldn't help but cover his forehead with his hand, feeling sorry for the unfortunate boy.

Erza, hands on hips, spoke angrily. "We're going after Eisenwald!"

"Who knows?"

"Why won't you listen to me?"

"I have motion sickness, how can I listen to others?"

"He's still on the train. Let's chase him immediately. What are his characteristics?" Erza activated a magic spark plug on her wrist, powering the magical quadricycle with her magic.

Just like the throttle, the greater the output magic power, the faster the speed will be.

"No frills, just a skull flute with three eyes."

Lucy seemed to recall something: "Three-eyed skull flute… Could it be… Lullaby, the cursed melody, the magic of death!"

"What?!"

"Cursed melody?"

"I also recall from the tome that the curse is forbidden magic, true to its name, it's Dark Magic that bestows the curse of death upon its target."

"And the incantation is even more terrifying magic than that!"

At Kuluji Station,

"All passengers and conductors have disembarked; this train now belongs to us, Eisenwald!" Erigor led the Eisenwald group onto the train, expelling all except members of Eisenwald.

"I'm eager to hear that you've succeeded in obtaining it on this train," Erigor said as he sat across from Kageyama.

"Hey, I've unsealed it; here it is," Kageyama said, handing the three-eyed skull flute to Erigor.

"Oh? Is this the forbidden magic, the cursed melody?"

"Whoa, whoa!"

"As expected of Kageyama!"

"The plan is flawless!"

Erigor tilted his head back, revealing a sinister smile, and said, "This flute was originally just a tool for cursing, but the great Zeref has elevated it into a more advanced magic flute."

"Truly, to create such a dreadful thing."

"Anyone who hears the sound of this flute will be cursed to death. This is mass curse-killing magic—the cursed melody!"

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