Charles clapped his hands, as if dusting them off.
Just as he said, these small fry were no threat at all—the battle had ended in just a minute. Every last member of Iron Forest was now lying unconscious at his feet.
Lucy couldn't help but exclaim, "Amazing! You took down all the enemies so quickly!"
Charles replied modestly, "Not really. If the Fairy Queen standing next to you had full magic reserves, she could've easily done the same."
Erza placed her hands on her hips. "No need to be so modest. I've never seen such a brilliant display in battle."
Charles waved her off. "Let's skip the mutual flattery. I'm guessing taking down these mooks wasn't your only mission?"
Erza quickly caught on. "That's right—we need to find that guy, Erigor, immediately!"
Apparently, Erigor was the leader of Iron Forest. And now, Charles finally recalled the details of this part of the storyline.
Though the ultimate boss of this world was Acnologia, most of the events throughout the series could trace their origin back to Zeref—so blaming him wasn't far from the truth.
This event was no exception. It all began with a magical tool created by Zeref—arguably, a demon created by him.
To resurrect his family, Zeref had broken a forbidden taboo and was cursed by the gods. The curse rendered him immortal and unaging, dooming him to centuries of suffering.
In an attempt to end the curse—his own life—Zeref created a multitude of demons. These demons were essentially living magic, each one incredibly powerful.
Yet none of them could fulfill Zeref's wish. All they did was leave the world scarred with pain and fear.
The demons recorded in the Book of Zeref became known as forbidden, passed down through generations.
Iron Forest had discovered one such demon: a flute-shaped magic tool called Lullaby, and they planned to use it for their own purposes.
But this ragtag group had no sense of secrecy. They'd openly bragged about their plan—Erza had overheard them and brought Natsu and Gray to stop them.
After some twists and turns, they'd tracked the group to Oshibana Station.
That was the situation Charles had walked in on. Lullaby had already been taken by Erigor, and naturally, Erza was anxious to catch him.
She had sent Natsu and Gray ahead, but… with those two, it was hard to be optimistic.
Erza thought for a moment and said, "But first we need to evacuate the civilians outside! I'll handle that. Lucy, Happy—you go after Natsu and the others.
As for you"—she turned to Charles—"thank you for your help. But to avoid misunderstandings, please wait here!"
Charles shrugged. It was clear that Erza didn't fully trust him yet. He didn't mind and sat down to wait.
But it wasn't long before he sensed a vast magical force envelop the entire station.
Moments later, Erza came storming back, dragging one of the groaning grunts behind her.
"Hey! What the hell is your goal?! Wasn't the plan to use the station's broadcast system to activate Lullaby?
Why the hell did Erigor seal the whole station with a wind barrier? How do we get out of here?! Talk!"
Charles pointed at the henchman, who was now rolling his eyes back. "If you were a little gentler, he might've been able to answer before he died."
Charles actually felt bad for the guy. Already heavily injured, now getting "interrogated" by Erza—it was no surprise he couldn't speak.
"Damn it!" Erza snapped, tossing the "useless guy" onto the floor with a painful thud. Even Charles winced at the sound.
Just as Erza was about to find her next "volunteer," a boy with navy blue hair came running out.
"Erza!"
She turned and called, "Gray! Where's Natsu? Isn't he with you?"
The boy was none other than Fairy Tail mage Gray Fullbuster, the Ice-Make wizard and undisputed "second male lead" of the series.
Gray shouted, "We split up! But that's not the point—Iron Forest's target isn't the station. It's the town where the Master is holding the regular meeting!
They're planning to use Lullabythere!"
"So that's it!" Erza's expression immediately darkened.
Gray noticed Charles and asked, "Who's this guy?"
Charles greeted him casually, "Don't worry about me. I'm not an enemy—just here looking for someone."
Erza nodded. "He knows Natsu. He's not with Iron Forest. But there's no time for introductions—we need to find a way through the wind barrier!"
Gray added, "Yeah, I saw it too. But if we try to force our way through, we'll probably get shredded."
Erza seemed to recall something. "One of Iron Forest's members—Kageyama—was the one who unsealed Lullaby on his own. Maybe he can break the wind barrier too!"
"A sealing mage, huh? That might actually work," Gray said, rubbing his chin.
Erza didn't waste another second. She remembered Kageyama had gone after Natsu earlier… and if she didn't get to him in time, he might not be in any condition to lift anything.
Charles also began moving—he had sensed Natsu's magic signature in that direction earlier.
…
They raced through the station's corridors. Soon, they saw walls and floors scorched and cracked by fire.
Through a hole in the wall, they saw a spiky pink-haired figure standing tall, with Kageyama slumped against the wall in front of him.
"Natsu, stop! We still need him!" Erza shouted, afraid he'd finish Kageyama off.
Natsu turned, momentarily confused, but his gaze locked onto someone behind the group—Charles.
"You're…?"
Erza, not trusting the situation, had already drawn her sword and stabbed it into the wall right next to Kageyama's head.
"If you don't want to die, dispel the wind barrier now!"
The enormous sword impaling the wall next to his skull nearly made Kageyama faint on the spot.
But Natsu had already forgotten about everything else—he was staring at Charles. He rubbed his eyes as if afraid it was a hallucination.
Gray noticed Natsu's strange behavior. "Hey, flame-brain, what are you spacing out for?!"
But Natsu couldn't care less. He suddenly lunged forward and practically tackled Charles, wrapping his arms around him.
"Charles! It's really you! Where the hell have you been all these years?! I woke up and you and Igneel were just gone! You know how long I've been searching for you?!
Where's Igneel?! Isn't he with you?!"
Charles chuckled, though he sounded a bit annoyed. "Hey, Natsu, calm down! You're asking way too many questions at once—I don't even know where to start!
And besides, you've still got a job to do. After that, we'll talk properly. I'm not going anywhere."
Natsu jumped back with a huge grin. "Got it! I won't let you disappear again either. Let's deal with this first."
Suddenly, Kageyama screamed. A hand burst out of his chest from behind—he collapsed, revealing a large man standing behind him.
"A phasing magic?" Charles asked aloud.
He'd noticed earlier that a magical signature had been moving through walls and floors during the fight.
Honestly, though Charles remembered the general storyline, he didn't remember trivial details like this.
And after reuniting with Natsu, he'd let his guard down—giving the enemy the perfect opportunity.
As expected of a dark guild—they didn't even hesitate to kill one of their own.
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