Return to Onibas (Part 2)
A little later.
On the train.
While the esteemed gentlemen and ladies discussed just how deeply they’d gotten themselves into trouble, or rather, how enthusiastically they were trying to get there, I was thinking.
There was a lot to consider.
For example, when should I acquire Lullaby?
I could intercept it from Kageyama right here on the train after eliminating its previous owner.
On the one hand, that would save me a tremendous amount of trouble.
I could quietly absorb the flute afterward, perform the complete ritual, and minimize the risk.
On the other hand, the guild wouldn’t understand such a move.
If I had the opportunity to safely dispose of the artifact and hand it over to the proper authorities, refusing to do so would look extremely suspicious.
What if I simply didn’t mention the flute?
Kageyama wouldn’t be able to tell anyone where the artifact had gone, and its disappearance would remain a mystery.
Unfortunately, despite their eccentricity, the local mages weren’t idiots, except for a few particularly severe cases.
They’d quickly connect the disappearance of the artifact with a mysterious new mage suddenly becoming much stronger, especially if that mage’s power happened to be particularly dark and sinister.
What about waiting six months until the commotion died down and then absorbing it?
That wasn’t an option either.
I remembered that, eventually, the demon inside the flute awakened completely and nearly wiped out the entire team.
If that thing appeared in the center of Magnolia, especially from my basement…
No.
That couldn’t happen.
So what remained?
I needed to arrange things so that the demon awakened early, preferably in Onibas, when Elsa’s entire team would be trapped behind an air barrier and Elsa herself would already be severely exhausted.
What could awaken animated Death Magic?
I could assume that proximity to death might work.
And I happened to have Erigor available.
But what if that wasn’t enough?
What had I learned from the theory I’d read?
I’d glanced through something about magical resonance.
Could that work?
The death of a sufficiently powerful mage, followed by a little Dark Magic from me.
I couldn’t use that element properly in spells, but the raw output of my abilities would be enough.
Wouldn’t that be a suitable alarm clock for an already nearly awakened demon?
Yep.
Then the creature would appear in the center of the city.
I would be the only mage outside the barrier.
And behind me would be a populated city.
I didn’t have enough power to defeat that creature on my own, even if that wasn’t entirely true.
Then I could use my “last trump card”.
Absorption Magic.
I wasn’t particularly happy about the prospect of confronting a genuine demon inside my own inner world.
But after so many years trapped beneath a seal, it had been severely weakened.
I thought I could manage it.
All right.
The plan was becoming clear.
Then I should give Natsu a chance to encounter the shadow mage and see the flute.
Or I could simply tell him about it while presenting myself as a well-read person.
Hmm.
Why not?
Then something strange happened.
Incredible.
She actually did it!
I was pulled from my thoughts by strange sounds.
What surprised me was a scene that had almost completely repeated what happened in the anime.
Elsa had knocked Natsu unconscious so he wouldn’t suffer during the train ride and placed his head in her lap.
Lucy had been forced to move and was now sitting to my right.
Gray was on my left.
Hmm.
I had thought that moment had been added purely as a joke, but no.
It really happened.
I returned to my thoughts.
On the one hand, Natsu was rather fortunate right now.
He was in a pretty comfortable position.
On the other hand, the way he’d earned that position…
A metal gauntlet to the chest must have hurt.
In any case, the Dragon Slayer was currently more concerned with recovering his breathing than fighting his own stomach.
Meanwhile, the Valkyrie was enthusiastically telling us something, accompanying her words with expressive gestures.
Ouch.
Now a steel fist to the back of his head…
No, perhaps I shouldn’t envy the pink-haired man after all.
Though I suspected that Elsa’s “accidental” blows to the head of the man who had spoken so boldly about her weren’t quite so accidental.
He was getting hit far too often.
Gray had even gone pale.
Hmm.
Why is Lucy so nervous?
Ah, I see.
They finally explained the situation to her, and she was beginning to understand.
She was even trembling.
Or was that not Lucy?
Was that strange plush snowman-looking toy that seemed to be on LSD?
Wait.
Don’t tell me that’s one of her lesser spirits?
Yeah.
Definitely a crazy world.
“Sephiroth, what do you think?” Lucy looked at me with some hope.
Sorry, but you’re about to feel even more uncomfortable.
“Well, the Frozen Forest itself isn’t much of a problem.
But I kept wondering where I’d heard the name Lullaby before.
The only thing that comes to mind is Zeref’s flute, which, according to legend, kills everyone who hears it.
But it was supposedly lost centuries ago, and it’s unlikely the Frozen Forest could have found it without outside help.”
“Z-Zeref’s?” Heartfilia answered with a nervous laugh.
“No, probably not.
Just a coincidence.
A murderous maniac who got his hands on a weapon of mass destruction…
Brrr.”
“In any case, we should eliminate the Frozen Forest threat first, then determine why they wanted Lullaby and what it actually is,” Elsa concluded grimly.
“It’s going to be fun,” Fullbuster said cheerfully.
“Yep!”
Of course.
There was no going anywhere without the cat.
“I wish I hadn’t come,” the blonde muttered.
Apparently, she had no desire whatsoever to walk into hell.
Heh.
So there really were people in this guild with common sense.
Although…
Not necessarily.
I lightly put an arm around the girl to calm her.
“Don’t worry.
Some of Fairy Tail’s strongest mages are here.
I don’t think a second-rate Dark Guild can oppose us.”
“Easy for you to say, Mr.
A-rank,” Lucy grumbled.
She didn’t move away.
“Sweet cou…”
The cat stopped under my kind and forgiving stare.
“Sephiroth scary…”
The loyal friend of delirium hurried somewhere farther away.
I noticed the strange look Elsa threw at me.
There was a short stop afterward.
Vendors passed through the train cars a few times, offering snacks.
Lucy was about to buy something for the group, but I beat her to it.
I remembered that she’d soon start having money problems, if she hadn’t already, while five thousand jewels wouldn’t make much difference to me.
The miser inside me was strangled by tentacles that suddenly appeared.
While we ate, the conversation shifted to who used which type of magic.
The cat’s description of Elsa’s abilities amused me.
Rivers of enemy blood, huh?
Actually, it made sense.
In the anime, a blow from a large sword to an unarmored body only knocks someone unconscious.
Here, however, this was a real world.
I shouldn’t keep assuming that everything would perfectly follow canon.
Maybe I should forget about Lullaby?
The risk really was considerable.
No.
This power was worth the risk.
Otherwise, there would have been no point in involving myself with Fairy Tail and magic in the first place.
I could have lived quietly somewhere far away.
I was pulled from my thoughts again, this time by Titania herself.
“What kind of magic do you use?”
She stared at me so intently that it felt like an interrogation where the investigator had been having a particularly bad day.
“Requip and a little alchemy as a hobby.
Want some cake?”
The most reliable way to improve Titania’s mood was to offer her something tasty.
It was also the perfect way to escape a dangerous topic.
So why was Gray looking at me like that now?
And Lucy too…
Damn.
It felt like I was trying to feed a tiger rather than having a conversation with a pretty girl.
Elsa gave me a suspicious look too, but her love of pastries won out, and she accepted the cake.
Good.
We eventually reached the lovely town of Euryala, where we got off the train, conveniently “forgetting” Natsu inside.
Yeah.
Definitely not his day.
Heh.
We weren’t allowed to enjoy the silence and peace for long.
“Where’s Natsu?” the cat asked, comfortably sitting on one of the suitcases in the Valkyrie’s cart.
A little later.
I wondered whether our actions could be classified as terrorism or whether this was still merely large-scale hooliganism.
Though could an attack on station employees, deliberate property damage, an emergency stop, and theft of a Magic Car really be called hooliganism?
I considered the question while sitting in the car, which was moving at a respectable eighty kilometers per hour after the train.
Gray tried to climb onto the roof, but he was stopped in time.
There was nothing for him to do up there except give himself a concussion trying to fight the Dragon Slayer.
Ah, there’s the train.
It’s already speeding up again.
And where is Natsu?
Yep.
The boy calmly climbed out and jumped from the railway embankment.
Apparently, the fact that I’d jammed the emergency brake lever had given him an extra couple of minutes to beat Kageyama senseless and make a proper escape.
Funny how such a small thing could change what happened afterward.
Elsa almost ran him over with the car, but managed to brake.
As a result, everyone inside was thrown forward, accompanied by heartfelt words for the driver.
During the chaos, I had the opportunity to appreciate Lucy’s assets while she climbed out from the pile of bodies.
Completely by accident, of course.
Everything was going according to plan.
Natsu explained about the flute, received a warm expression of gratitude from the warrior, and was put into the Magic Car.
Now we were racing toward Onibas.
The Dark Guild had seized the local station and planned to put on a concert.
In the anime, of course, they ignored that plan and immediately went after the guild masters.
But here, they might decide to test their weapon on easier targets first.
“I have an idea.
I’ll see you at the station.”
With those words, I jumped out of the vehicle as we approached the city.
There was no need for me to find out exactly what had happened.
While the other Fairies were making their way to the station, I’d have time to carry out one little plan.
But first, I had to get onto the station grounds.
Hmm.
No guards?
Had they all gone to the main entrance to meet the delegation?
Stupid.
I walked in without any trouble, simply following the tracks.
The entire Frozen Forest stood on the platform, while Erigor himself sat on the roof of the train like a king on his throne.
All right.
Now stop breathing and eliminate every scent.
Who knew how he might detect me?
And then I sensed it.
The flute.
It felt so close.
So familiar.
Death Magic brought to life through Life Magic, with a small amount of Darkness added to unite opposing elements within a single object.
Genuine Master-level work.
And Lullaby was calling to me.
Sensing…
Kinship?
Yes.
Something inside me was responding to the flute.
A magic I’d never known I possessed.
Life and Death.
There it was.
A distraction in the form of Elsa and the rest of the team.
Erigor was speaking from his throne, casually waving his scythe, while some badly beaten guy, Kageyama perhaps, sneered toward Natsu.
Perfect.
This was where the pickpocketing skill I’d learned from that thief would come in handy.
I crept toward the Air Mage, who was busy telling the “pitiful flies” on the other side of the train just how stupid and worthless we were.
A little effort let me stick to the side of the carriage.
I could see his back.
After that, everything went exactly as planned.
The flute practically jumped into my hands.
A little assistance from a tendril created by the Symbiote didn’t count.
The man didn’t even notice he’d lost the artifact.
Who keeps something like that inside his shirt anyway?
Now, time to get out before I ended up trapped with everyone else.
Phew.
I made it.
A little longer and I’d have had to dig a tunnel.
Now everyone was in place.
The Fairies were trapped behind the air vortex.
Strange thing.
It let sound through perfectly, but it was impossible to pass through.
“Well, that’s it, flies.
Enjoy your stay.
I think I’ll fly now.”
“What, buddy?
Going to put on a concert by request?
And didn’t you lose your musical instrument?”
I stepped out from behind the building, spinning Lullaby in my hands.
It was almost awake.
It only needed one final push.
The Air Mage frantically reached for his chest, only to find it empty.
“You…
How did you…”
“Hard childhood.
Toys nailed to the ceiling.
You know how it is…”
I slipped the flute into my coat pocket.
“Sephiroth…
Demon of Onibas.
You know, I’ve already heard rumors about you in certain circles.”
He was carefully keeping me talking.
Preparing an attack?
Apparently not.
Had he simply decided to chat?
Fine.
If he wasn’t doing anything yet, I could use the time to finish preparing.
“I even wanted to offer you a place among us.
Think of what we could accomplish together.”
Ah.
Come to the dark side.
We have cookies.
“Sorry, but I’m already with the Fairies.
It’s more fun with them.”
“Imagine that.
I’ve killed only a few dozen people, and even then strictly on orders, and they called me a criminal.
Yet you already have the blood of several hundred on your hands, and you’re the good guy.
Or don’t your new friends know about your very recent past?”
Was he trying to make me angry?
Or was there something else going on?
“Everything was self-defense,” I said with a grin.
“I’m actually quite peaceful.
You could even call me a positive person.
I’m always trying to put something somewhere, preferably something valuable into a pocket.”
Perfect.
The preparation was complete.
A small flask filled with poisoned gas flew from my pocket directly in front of Erigor and shattered, releasing its contents along with glass fragments and pieces of nails.
The Air Mage didn’t react in time.
A couple of pieces struck his arm and thigh.
“Bastard…”
“Don’t tell me you expected a fair, face-to-face fight, birdie.
Although no, you’re from the Frozen Forest, so I suppose you’re a frozen bear?
No, no.
More like a shivering lumberjack.”
The taunts were childish, but more than enough for an already enraged mage.
While he drew a deep breath, I summoned a second flask and detonated it on the other side.
For symmetry.
“That’s it.
Die!”
A cutting wave was sent toward me while protective vortices formed around him.
There.
He was pulling all the air toward himself.
Time.
Three more flasks appeared beside Erigor and exploded almost at point-blank range.
“Useless.
This defense cannot be penetrated.
Just don’t move, and I promise you a quick death.”
“As soon as possible.
But you know what?”
Time for a stone face and a mysterious smile.
“What?”
Who the hell stopped to talk during a fight?
Fine.
It worked in my favor.
Forty seconds passed.
“You’re already dead.”
I gave him the sweet smile that had earned me the nickname Demon.
“What…
khh…”
The Air Mage clutched his throat and began falling rapidly toward the square.
He hit the ground without his protection.
It was a long way down.
An Air Mage suffocating to death.
There was something ironic about it.
Now it was time for the second act.
A light pulse of magic traveled toward the flute.