Chapter 4
One hour later
Erigor stood In the center of the train car, the rest of the guild standing around him. The last of the passengers had been thrown off the train, I had made sure not to kill them, I try to avoid it unless I have to. Old habits I guess.
"You let a fly get away?" Erigor snapped at Kage.
"It's just one guy, he can't possibly stop us." Erigor snarled and sent a gust of air magic at Kage slicing one of his ears. Kage howled in pain and dropped to his knees.
"And you," Erigor turned his glare to me. I held his gaze.
"What's your excuse,"
"He jumped out the window of a moving train. Your orders were to clear the train, not fight every member of the Fairy Tail along the way. As far as I'm concerned we did what you asked." Erigor stared me down, nobody else dared interfere. This isn't the first time I've challenged Erigor, I'd never interfere with his plans but sometimes he can be too hot headed. And we both know a fight between us would drain us both.
"Watch it boy," he growled but turned away nonetheless.
"The original plan was to play the flute at Oshibana station, luring all the mages there." Erigor glared at Kage again.
"But the plans have changed, we won't have time before the fly's arrive in force. You will all distract them while I raise a magic wind wall, once they are trapped inside I will fly to clover town and off those elderly twats." The whole guild cheered at those words, Erigor allowed their excitement for a bit.
"Yes, soon power will be within our grasp and we will claim it. Careon, as much as I'm betting you're eager to fight at Oshibana you're needed with me. Those fossils can still put up a fight if they grow wise of what we're up to." I nodded an affirmation. I was a little put out, I was looking forward to seeing how I stacked up against whatever Fairy Fail had to throw at me.
Before long the train arrived at Oshibana. We all exited the train. I had raised my hood and secured my gas mask before leaving. Civilians gawked at us apparently not recognizing the immediate danger they were in. Erigor flew above the crowd and brandished his scythe.
"Oshibana station is now property of the Eisenwald guild!" He shouted. With that we cheered and rushed the station. Pandemonium broke out as people screamed trying to get away from the Eisenwald members. As soon as we entered the station we started going door to door dragging people out and throwing them out of the station. Our actions granted us quite the angry mob outside the station. I wasn't long before the army showed up.
"Erigor we got company!" shouted Rayule.
"The army's at our door." Erigor laughed at the response our actions have garnered.
"It's not like their Rune Knights, take them down." With the order given Kageyama, Rayule and Karacka rushed off to meet the army. I elected to stay with Erigor, my talents were not needed just yet, the army doesn't employ mages, usually if there's an unruly mage they can subdue him through numbers, otherwise they would call on the magic council to send the Rune Knights, a much more specialized and effective order at taking down dark mages. But the army? Just civilians with spears.
"Our time is soon," Erigor said to me
"The fly's will be here any minute." After a few minutes those that went to fight the army returned.
"All set boss. The way is clear." said Kage.
"Good, I'll go give our fairy flies a warm welcome." Erigor strolled out of the station to wait on the steps.
"Do you think we can pull it off?" Karacka asked after Erigor was out of earshot.
"Of course we can, when has Erigor ever led us astray."Rayule said through a grin. It was clear everyone was ready for a fight. Minutes passed as we waited, finally we heard raised voices from outside.
"Erigor you evil bastard! Playing lullaby over the loudspeakers, are you insane?" we heard a man's voice shout. Suddenly the doors burst open, Erigor flew up to the large loudspeaker that we surrounded. The members of Fairy Tail rushed in after him. There was a blonde girl, from the keys on her waist I gather she's a celestial spirit mage. Although she seems far more powerful than any holder I've encountered, in fact had I not seen the keys I would have thought her not to be one. Next was a black haired bow. Other than the chilling glare he's been giving us I didn't think much of him. Then there's the queen herself, Titania. Her red hair flowed around her armor, the pinnacle of beauty and skill. I hope nobody takes her lightly. On the ground next to her was…
"Is that the guy that jumped out the train?" I whispered to Kage who in turn glared at the pink haired guy.
"Good, I've been meaning for a little payback." he growled. And finally was Radiance, he was quite unmistakable, he practically glowed. He was wearing a long hooded robe and wore a kitsune mask. The power stored in him was chaotic, Ethernano that entered his body would suddenly start moving violently, smashing against each other leaving a visible glow.
"I think I'll leave the rest to you guys, I'm gonna go play the flute. Careon, with me" Erigor called out. Radiance's eyes tracked me, I could sense his confusion, his hesitancy.
Eisenwald began their charge and Fairy Tail was suddenly thrown into the heat of battle. I ran over to Erigor and leapt into the air, I let his wind magic carry us through the window and into the next block of the station.
"Quickly we must set up the wind wall before they break through our distraction, I'll be weak after I set it up, you will protect me on the way to clover." He explained after we landed. I could hear shouting and screaming coming from the other room. Bright flashes of light shone through the windows, a testament to large scale magic attacks. I ran after Erigor as we made our way to the secondary exit.
"I robbed you of this battle, but the rewards of our victory are too much to risk." Erigor called to me as we ran. I could see his point. If Erigor gets taken down before he's able to play the flute then this is all for nothing. We ran out of the station and I watched as Erigor erected the wind wall. It was truly an impressive feat of magic. Encasing the entirety of the station was a tornado of wind. The whole city suffered high speed winds that blew loose items into the air. Things could still enter the wind wall and get inside the station but anyone who tried to leave likely wouldn't survive the attempt. I waited for Erigor to catch his breath before we ran out of the city. We ran across the tracks towards the clover, I kept my hood up and mask on expecting trouble. We ran for maybe an hour before Erigor stopped. The town was in sight but still a little ways away. Erigor flexed his hand causing a gust of wind to swirl around him.
"I think I've regained enough power to fly the rest of the way." Erigor said aloud.
My senses heightened as I detected two power sources heading straight for us. I spun around as I shouted
"Behind us! Fifty yards closing fa-" before I could finish my sentence they were already on top of us. Taking up all of my vision was a white majestic pegasus. Sitting on top was Radiance, he wielded a katana in hand and it was poised to strike. I lept to the side narrowly avoiding the tip of his blade. A flyby cavalry attack? What type of mage is this? I looked to my side to see Erigor locked in battle with the pink haired boy from earlier. Apparently the boy was quite capable because Erigor seemed to be getting annoyed. I focused my attention back on Radiance who was dismounting the pegasus. He whispered some words to the flying horse and it took off into the sky. Radiance then turned towards me and began walking, sword held loosely at his side.
"How'd you manage to break through the wind wall?" I asked, trying to phish for some information before the fight. Radiance said nothing, just continued his walk towards me. I grit my teeth. If he wants to fight then I'll make this quick. I filled my mask with two potions, stone skin and increased strength. My skin took on a gray rock like hue as the potion took effect. I charged at Radiance, cracking the tracks beneath my feet as I propelled myself forward and at shocking speeds. I threw a punch straight at the center of his mask. Right before my fist connected I felt resistance. He had raised his sword at the last moment halting me in place. Because of stone skin my hand wasn't split open, but still even holding me in place takes incredible strength. Suddenly I was on the defensive, Radiance was sending blow after blow at me. I blocked them with my arms hoping to wear him out. This turned out to be a bad plan, his strikes were so accurate that he was hitting the same few places again and again. He's chipping away at my armor. I changed tactics and dodged instead. This only seemed to make him go faster. Before long I was backpedaling trying to avoid his fierce strikes. I increased the dosage of strength I was giving myself. My muscles bulged beneath my cloak as I started fighting in earnest. We were engaged in an extreme dance of weaving and slashing, punching and kicking. Radiance no longer having the strength advantage allowed the balance of battle to tip. I now struck at him, his sword barley holding back the strength of each hit. Radiance' foot slipped on the train track leaving me with an opening. Using all my force I punched at his face. Again the sword was there to block the hit but it was too late. I punched the sword into his face, cracking the mask and causing him to stumble back. Not wasting a single opportunity I landed a strong kick into his gut, launching him down the tracks. I took a second to catch my breath as Radiance struggled to his feet.
"Who are you?" Radiance asked. I was taken aback. That was a woman's voice, Radiance is apparently a she. Well I guess nobody outside her guild has really heard her talk, everyone thought she was mute.
"The Plague Master of Eisenwald" I said confidently. She stared back at me through that mask of hers. It was a little unsettling.
"Who are you really?" She asked, still not attacking. What's going on here? Is she stalling? If she got past the wind wall then others must have gotten through too. That's it we must be on a time limit. I let ethernano run freely through my body.
"Pestilence" I let my death fog engulf the area, I wasn't worried about Erigor as he could just move the fog around him. I felt the train tracks rot away, birds that had flown through the fog died in the air. But they didn't stop flying.
"Go, my children," I whispered. The rotten birds changed course and dove straight towards Radiance. To her credit she shot out beams of light pelting the birds with focused lasers before they got close. But the birds were already dead. She hit a couple with headshots, leaving nothing but a stump and those fell but the others kept coming. She raised her sword ready to defend herself from the dive bombing birds. Just then she lost her footing, as she glanced down she noticed the rotted wood of the train track coiling around her ankle and tugging her off balance. She looked back up just in time to get hit by a dozen birds. Each one slicing her as it passed. They left deep cuts in her clothing, some of them stained red. The birds circled around for another pass. Radiance planted her sword in the ground and placed the tips of her fingers together.
"Radiant Bloom" A blinding white light spread from her, its pure nature vaporizing the birds and the fog as it went. I was stunned, not even Erigor could dispel fog that quickly let alone the undead. Radiance struggled to her feet. Her black hair now hanging around the cracked mask. And then she was on me, this time mixed in with her strikes were blasts of energy from her palm, I couldn't avoid all of them and they hurt way more than the sword. Each flash seared the skin beneath my coat as it burned holes through the material.
"Radiant Halberd" Radiance cocked her arm back and materialized a massive glowing halberd, its glow illuminated the rocky canyon tops. She sent the halberd at me at speeds I could not have predicted. I twisted my body to avoid the deadly strike but it was already too late. Just a glancing blow across my chest was enough to tear through the light armor the gas canisters provided and cut deep into my chest. Radiance didn't let up as a second later she was again pounding me with strikes. She made for a downward slash with her katana which I was prepared to block. Only it was a feint and she brought the hilt of the sword crashing into my mask sending me flying back. I crashed into the ground and rolled to a stop. Bits and pieces of my gas rig layed scattered around me. I ripped the mask off my face and let it fall to the ground. I sucked in air. I looked for Erigor and found him standing off with that pink haired guy who I'm sure now is Salamander. He seemed to be in a rage as I could feel the searing heat from his flames from here. Erigor was encased in storm mail so he was taking the fight seriously as well.
"Who are you," Radiance asked again. I hadn't looked up at her, I wasn't defeated, not yet.
"Why are you so interested?" I replied, if she wanted to talk I'd use the opportunity to stall for time. My words seemed to make her think because she didn't respond immediately. I tried thinking of a plan of attack. I doubt she can throw many more halberds. This fight hasn't been easy on her either. I looked up to take in her appearance, she had ditched the robe revealing a slender woman wearing a form fitting combat suit protected by various armor plates. A cunning design, the shape of it all would make it inconspicuous under a flowing robe. Her eyes remained hidden behind her kitsune mask. However I didn't need to see her face to read her emotions, and she was… scared. She was truly horrified, fear mixed with guilt. I was confused not expecting to feel these emotions coming from her.
"Careon what are you doing! Finish her off!" Erigor shouted at me. It seemed that Salamander was winning the fight as the winds of his storm mail were reversing direction towards the salamander's inferno. I faced Radiance ready to continue the fight. She hadn't moved, I could still see her mind clouded in indecision.
"Please don't I don't want to do this," she pleaded. Was this an opening? Is she giving up?
I pressed my advantage. I clapped my hands together.
"Vortex of Despair" I spread my hands apart. In Between my hands grew a black hole.
What was left of Erigor's storm mail was quickly sucked in. Radiance clutched her chest and fell to her knees.
"Your emotions, your feelings of despair, hate, fear are all amplified by this spell. All while it drains your life. Your insecurities will burn you out." I felt the vortex increase to a strength that I rarely see. Radiance lay on the ground seizing trapped in her mind. Through her pained struggles she managed to rip the mask off her face. My heart stopped. I dropped the spell immediately, I stood there stunned as radiance struggled to her knees. Her black hair fell around her round face. A spitting image of Tinka. Or at least what Tinka would look like ten years later.
"What is this? Some sort of Illusion magic. This is a trick." I was growing angry.
"How dare you wear her face, I spat out." I walked over to where this… imposter sat on the ground. She was bleeding from an open wound on her cheek and was wincing from moving different parts of her body.
"It's not a trick, it's really me, Careon." She said as she searched my eyes.
I could sense the sincerity coming from her, but after all this time, there's now way she's Radiance. I would have found her if she was in the most famous guild in Fiore.
"Careon, kill her now!" Erigor screamed.
"I'm sorry Careon, I wasn't there to protect you. To save you from people like this."
My mind was spinning, I picked up one of Radiance's fallen swords.
"I have to follow orders, I have to find Tinka." I spoke slowly trying to make sense of how I've been living my life and how that can guide me now.
Radiance smiled through her tears.
"You did it, you found me." It didn't even occur to me that Salamander had bested Erigor.
"You can't be, I thought you were dead." I held her sword tightly, fighting away tears.
"Get away from her," The threat was punctuated by the sound of a sword being unsheathed. I spun around to face my new enemy holding the sword at the ready. I was met with the vicious looking redhead Erza, backed by the salamander, a black haired boy, and the blonde spirit mage. I can't take them all, not in my state. At least not forever. I lowered my stance and planted my feet preparing for what could be my last battle.
"Erza stop, it's him." Radiance called from behind me. Erza furrowed her brow, seeming thrown off by what Radiance said. But as she looked back and forth between us something dawned on her.
"No freaking way, your brother is the Plague Master?" The black haired boy asked, looking just as shocked as I felt.
"What!" Shrieked the blonde.
"What's a plan master?" Asked salamander who was the only one who appeared not to be following.
"Plague not plan, Natsu weren't you paying attention? The plague master is one of Fiore's deadliest assassin's." The blonde exclaimed.
"Assassin huh?" Natsu's face darkened.
"Hold on, nobody is fighting." Radiance stumbled as she stood up. She held out her hand.
"My sword please," I focused on Erza's eyes who still had her sword drawn on me. She sighed and lowered hers. I relaxed now that I was no longer in immediate danger. But that could change. Reluctantly I handed over the sword.
"So you're Careon," Erza stated, trying to get the conversation moving again. I ignored her as I looked Radiance up and down.
"Is it really you?" I could barely speak.
"I was taken somewhere far away. It's where I met Erza. I can tell you more when we are alone." She said, eyeing the people around us.
"Hate to crash your family reunion but we've got a job to finish" A voice I recognized shouted from behind us. It was Kage and he had the flute. He had stolen the Magicmobile
and was now speeding down the tracks towards Clover.
"Dammit! We should have been paying attention to him" Erza shouted.
"He got away with the flute. We need to go after him." stressed the black haired guy.
"Gray's right we have to go after him, look I don't know why you're doing what you're doing but gramps has been there for me ever since I escaped. Will you help?" Tinka asked
"Help? Didn't you just say he's an assassin!" shouted Natsu.
"Not everyone's past is the same Natsu." Tinka reprimanded without taking her eyes off me. Erza thought over Tinka's words then nodded.
"If you want to come with your skills would be greatly appreciated." She said
"What, you too Erza? Natsu's right, this guy could be dangerous." Gray challenged.
"He is dangerous," Erza said firmly.
"But it's up to him how he wants to use that power." She finished.
I looked at Erigor passed out on the tracks, I was willing to bet that the rest of the guild probably hadn't fared much better. I knew the guild was a means to an end but still, I'd miss some of them.
"I'll do it," I said firmly.
"If you're coming then we need to move now, Kageyama already has a headstart on us." Erza said.
"Then let's go then!" Natsu began to run in the direction of Clover.
"We got to get there before that bastard plays the flute!" Gray called as he ran after Natsu.
The blonde followed them as well as a blue cat. I did a double take to make sure I saw that right.
"Let's go, we might still be able to catch him," Erza called out to me. We took off running together, chasing after the rest of the group.
We ran in silence. I could tell Erza and Tinka wanted to speak but the severity of my actions were now becoming evident. If Kageyama took out the guild masters there would be chaos. This is something that I had known from the start but it never really felt like something that was my problem. Now my actions are directly affecting Tinka so I have to make amends. But how do I stop Kage? He's my friend. The concept is a bit foreign, I know I'd feel terrible if I had to kill him but will he let me end it any other way?
"Don't worry, we'll stop him." Tinka said. Unfortunately that didn't set me at ease.
We eventually reached close to where the meeting hall was.
"Does anyone see him?" asked Lucy, I had picked up her name along the way.
I reached out and sensed mages not far from us, one was definitely Kage the other was a being so powerful and so purely bright that I got a sharp pain in my head from focussing too hard on it.
"Over there," I pointed off to my left.
"He's with… something" The group ran off in the direction I pointed out but before we could make it to Kage we were stopped. A fat bald man wearing what looked like a leotard blocked our bath.
"Master Bob?" Tinka asked, surprised.
"Good to see you again hun now shush," We all looked on as Kageyama held the flute ready to play in front of the mana beast who I picked up was Makarov the fairy's guild master.
"What's the matter with you? Hurry up and do it." commanded Makarov. I couldn't get any sort of reading on this man; it's like gazing into the sun and trying to make out what's just passed it.
"This is bad," said Erza as she gripped her sword.
"Be quiet, this is where it gets interesting." Another man had showed up while I was so focused on Makarov.
"Now..." Makarov commanded again. Kageyama froze and the forest dared not breathe. I could feel the intense weight of his words, this was no man.
"Nothing will change," Makarov said in a softer voice. Kageyama stood transfixed on the man, sweat running down his face.
"Weak people will always be weak. But not everything weak is evil. Humans basically start out weak." Those words caught me off guard. Since I was child the weak died whether they be target or guild member. Often by my hand. It's not that weakness is evil, not in a literal sense, just that weakness means death.
"Guilds exist because it's frightening to be alone, that's why we have friends. We band together and march in step in order to live strong!" Ugh he keeps saying things that I know to be true but I don't recall Erigor ever mentioning that friends would make you stronger. Kage is my friend, we trained together and that made us stronger right?
"A lot of people are clumsy and bump into walls, they may be taking a roundabout way of doing things. But if they keep on walking and trust in tomorrow, strength will naturally well up. And if you laugh and decide to live strong, you'll never need that flute again. Right?" Kageyama stumbled back, I could already tell he was defeated. I fell to my knees. My guild is gone and I am alone. How do I walk forward? I thought of the long hours I put in to hone my skills. What if tomorrow holds only more darkness for me. I fell into myself losing myself to this cycle of thoughts.
"You're not alone," Tinka sat behind me wrapping her arms around me. Her voice, her words were the line she threw to me so I could pull myself out of despair. She was right, I wasn't alone. Things have drastically changed but I'm not alone. I found her.
"And who is this young man?" Makarov had walked up to us.
"Master this is…" I held up my hand, stopping Tinka from introducing me.
"I am Careon, you know me as the Plague Master of Eisenwald." I didn't intend on hiding who I was, if this man was to be my judge and executioner then it's probably what I deserve.
"Hold your head up child." Makarov spoke kindly to me.
"It is a shame when a child grows up without their parents, and a tragedy when a child's parent is abusive. In Fairy Tail there is love, you only need to seek it out." With that Makarov walked away to region the others.
"What was that?" I asked aloud.
"I think that was your invitation to the guild," said Tinka. I sat there watching the back of Makarov wishing I could just get a glimpse of what he's thinking.
"You should take him up on it, I'll be there for one and there's plenty of people that you could meet." Tinka had moved to sit beside me wrapping her arms around her legs.
"I'm not sure. It's such a sudden change, not to mention I'm wanted across Fiore and wouldn't people notice?" I wanted to join initially, seeing everyone around me being so cheerful and free is a better change from Eisenwald. But i'm not sure if now is the best time to join a new guild with my name still floating around.
"Master accepts all types of people into Fairy Tail. You wouldn't be the first or second or even likely the last with a criminal history. And it's a change you'll like I promise. I sighed to myself promising her I'd think about the invitation. Truly I was torn, I never actually believed I'd see Tinka again, if anything I was hoping for news of her death, some type of closure that would put my nights at ease.
"Ha ha ha, All you wizards are cowards!" a shrill voice rang through the night. We all spun shocked to see the flute speaking from its position on the ground where Kage had dropped it.
"I can't stand it anymore! I myself will feast…" Smoke had begun to curl out of the flute's mouth obscuring our sight of it. I rose high into the sky as it began to take form.
"Upon all of your souls!" A demon standing one hundred feet tall stood snarling down at us. Its body made of wood, Its arms were as thick as the thickest trees in Lorent forest.
On its head sat two twisted wooden horns large enough to pierce a building. Its face was gnarled and twisted with a devil's smirk.
"What?" Erza was stunned staring up at the beast, her hand quivered by the hilt of her sword.
"It's a monster!" Lucy, Gray and Natsu shouted unhelpfully.
"He says he's gonna eat souls! Do they taste good or something?" Natsu shouted
"How should I know!" Gray shouted back
"I don't understand what happened! How did a monster come from a flute?" Lucy asked.
"That monster is Lullaby itself! In other words it's living magic. That is what Zeref's magic is." one of the guild masters answered. Living magic? I gaped, staring up at the thing, it towered over us, I could tell that its power was off the charts. This thing was more than a threat to clover, who knew when the magic council could get rune knights here? I doubt Erigor knew this might happen, there's no way he'd try to handle such a powerful creature.
"Now which of your souls should I eat first?" Lullaby asked. It looked down at us like we were a meal served on a platter.
"I've made my decision. I will eat all your souls together!" Lullaby screamed. Raw ethernano began to gather in its mouth as it prepared. I didn't have time to think, I was already in motion readying my magic. Erza swapped armours in a flash, she had requipped into her heaven's wheel armor and was charging with grit determination. Faster than I had ever seen a swordswoman move she sliced deep through the leg of Lullaby. Natsu climbed Lullaby's body, his body heat leaving scorch marks on the living wood. When he reached the shoulders he propelled himself upwards and kicked the demon in the face sending it stumbling backwards.
"Amazing!"
"He kicked something that big?"
"Is the guy really supposed to be a wizard?" the rest of the guildmaster's commented as they watched the opening blows.
"Know your place runt!" Lullaby shouted at Natsu as it sent mana projectiles down at him. Natsu managed to dodge but the projectiles were on course to hit the guild masters.
"Ice make shield" Gray was suddenly in front of the guild masters and had constructed a massive ice shield to block the attack.
"He's fast!"
"He can perform maker magic that fast in an instant?" the guild masters were flabbergasted. I saw my opening and apparently so did Tinka. We charged in together.
"Pestilence" I opened a magic circle over Lullaby's head and my toxic fog enveloped its upper torso.
"Ack! What is this! I can't breathe!" I felt the power draw as usual but at a rate I wasn't used to, for some reason the effects of my spell were being amplified against Lullaby. I wasn't about to lose an advantage and poured more power into the spell to compensate. Lullaby raised an arm to try and swipe away the fog, the other was preoccupied trying to smash Erza.
"Radiant Halberd" A white halberd leaving a trail of crackling energy flew past me lighting up the whole area. It struck Lullaby's shoulder and exploded with a massive shockwave that bent trees with its force. The halberd itself passed through the shoulder and continued on its way into the night sky. The weight of the arm was too much with most of the shoulder being a hole. A loud creaking noise was the prelude to Lullaby's arm splintering at the joint and ripping free. It fell with a crash that kicked dust and debris twenty feet in the air.
"Erza move!" I shouted. The fog now consumed Lullaby's head, torso and waist. I was going lightheaded from pouring so much into a single attack. Erza wordlessly understood and retreated a safe distance away.
"You fools! You think you have won?" Lullaby took one mighty step towards us. We all stumbled as the force shook the ground."
"I will kill you all, then I will kill every single man woman and.."
"Spark" Lullaby was cut off by an earthshaking explosion. All I remember was the heat. When I came to I was laying feet away and parts of my clothes were smoking. Everyone stared in awe at the massive mushroom cloud that obscured everything above Lullaby's burned knees. We all waited with baited breath for what had become of our enemy. The smoke lifted and we were able to get our first glimpse through the haze.
"No way," said Erza in astonishment.
"The arm was one impressive feat but this is unprecedented," said Bob.
"Are those two the real monsters here?" asked another guild master.
I stood uneasily, still panting from controlling that much power in one go. But even I had to agree, something was off about that attack. I looked on as the smoke fully cleared, It wasn't obstructing anything. Everything above Lullaby's knees was gone. Completely obliterated in the blast. The shins and feet which I first mistook for scorched were rotted all the way through. Scattered fires gave the whole scene an eerie look.
"Incredible," Kage breathed from the ground, he was quickly looking between me, the fairy's and the remainder of Lullaby.
"They made such quick work of Zeref's demon."
"That's unbelievable!" The guild masters seemed to still be stunned, with the exception of Makarov who was celebrating the performance of his guild members.
The guild masters cheered as I collapsed to my knees. That last attack had taken everything out of me.
"You work well in a team" Erza had come over to talk.
"Yeah? Never really worked in one." I responded. It was a weird feeling, working together, saving people, hero shit. But looking out at the destruction before us and knowing what was just avoided I feel like I made the right decision. Speaking of which.
"The meeting hall!" Shouted one guild master.
"It's been reduced to rubble!" Shouted another.
"Arrest them!" Shouted a third.
"Yea lets get em'" Natsu pounded his fists together looking for a fight.
"They're talking about us, you idiot, let's go!" Makarov had grabbed Natsu by the arm and was dragging him behind as he ran. I looked around confused on what I should be doing. A hand grabbed my arm, I looked up to see Tinka smiling at me.
"This isn't uncommon for a Fairy Tail job but we really should run." She said all of this with a smile, like fighting a giant demon, blowing up half a building and then running away from the impending army was just a Fairy Tail Tuesday. It was her carefree confidence that gave me the courage to get up and chase after her.