"Hahaha! Your voice is too weak; I can barely hear you."
"Fairy Tail... it's so flashy, isn't it? As a proper guild, it's grand and popular."
"Yeah! Do you know what we call Fairy Tail?"
"Fly, fly, and swat the fly! Hehehe!"
Kageyama taunted, patting Natsu on the head.
"Idiot!" Natsu stood up, glaring at Kageyama.
"Oh, are you looking for a fight?"
"Ahhhhhhh!!"
Flames ignited on Natsu's fists as he let out a furious roar.
But his motion sickness kicked in, and the fire on his hands faded.
"Hahaha! What kind of magic is that? Is that how magic works?"
The shadow beneath Kageyama's feet morphed into a fist, landing a solid blow on Natsu's jaw.
With a groan, Natsu was thrown back, landing in the aisle.
"Hahahaha!" Kageyama laughed.
"Damn it..." Natsu grimaced, weakened by the motion sickness; if only he had the strength, he'd teach this guy a lesson.
Suddenly, the train braked hard.
"Whoa! What's happening?"
"An emergency stop?"
The sudden jolt left everyone on the train off-balance.
A three-eyed skeleton flute fell from Kageyama's bag onto the ground.
"It stopped..." Feeling the train come to a halt, Natsu's body relaxed, and he noticed the skeleton flute lying nearby.
Kageyama's face shifted. "Hey... you saw it!"
"Quit making noise! You're the one who moved around so much!" Natsu got up, flames once again lighting up his fists.
"Huh?!"
"This one's for you!" Natsu punched Kageyama square in the face.
"Ahhh!!"
This punch was much stronger than Kageyama's shadow attack.
Kageyama screamed, rolling across the floor and smashing into the carriage partition before coming to a stop, blood dripping from his nose.
"Flying Fist!" Natsu said, swinging his fists in demonstration.
"You brat!" Kageyama glared, furious from the hit.
[Attention! The emergency stop was a false alarm! The train will now continue. We apologize for the inconvenience!]
Natsu's face changed. "Damn it!" He rushed to grab his luggage, attempting to get off the train.
"Don't even think of escaping! How dare you attack an Eisenwald member! I won't let you go, pest!"
Natsu was enraged. "Idiot! I'll remember your face! How dare you look down on Fairy Tail—next time, let's have our showdown somewhere open..."
The train resumed moving, so Natsu smashed the window and leapt out.
"Natsu?!"
Erza, who had been following in her magic vehicle, looked surprised to see Natsu jump from the train. She quickly braked.
"Ahhhhh!!"
*Crash!!*
Natsu collided directly with the magic vehicle, landing on the ground with his legs twitching.
"Natsu, are you okay?!" Lucy asked.
"Su Yan! 'Happy'! Erza! Lucy! You guys left me behind!" Natsu yelled at his friends.
"None of that matters! What matters is that you're safe!" Erza pulled him into a hug.
"It's too tight!" Natsu's face squished into Erza's armor.
"How can I be fine?! I was stuck with some weirdo talking about Eisenwald!"
"You fool!"
Erza shouted, slapping Natsu across the face.
"Ow!" Natsu yelped as he was sent flying from Erza's slap.
Su Yan covered her forehead, sighing at Natsu's misfortune.
Erza placed her hands on her hips, scolding, "We're going after Eisenwald!"
"How should I know where they are?"
"Why don't you ever listen to me?"
"I get motion sickness! It's hard to pay attention to what people are saying."
"He's still on the train. Let's go after him immediately. Any defining traits?"
Erza placed a magic spark plug on her wrist to fuel the magic vehicle, increasing its speed as she channeled more magic power.
"No real features, but he had a three-eyed skull flute."
Lucy's eyes widened. "A three-eyed skull flute… No way… Could it be… that flute is Lullaby, the cursed song, the magic of death?!"
"What?!"
"Cursed song?"
"I read about it somewhere. The curse is forbidden magic. Just as its name suggests, it's a Dark Magic that places the curse of death on its target."
"And that spell is even more terrifying than it sounds!"
**Kuluji Station**
"All passengers and drivers, disembark! This train belongs to Eisenwald now!" Erigor led the Eisenwald members into the train, forcing everyone else out.
"I was getting impatient waiting for you to get back on this train," Erigor said, settling down across from Kageyama.
"Hey, I've unsealed it. Here it is." Kageyama handed the three-eyed skull flute to Erigor.
"Oh? Is this the forbidden magic, the cursed song?"
"Woohoo!"
"As expected of little Kaga!"
"The plan is flawless!"
Erigor tilted his head back, flashing a sinister smile. "This flute was originally just a tool for executing curses, but the great Zeref made it evolve into a more powerful magic instrument."
"Really, to create something this horrifying."
"Anyone who hears the sound of this flute will be cursed to death. This is mass curse magic—the cursed song!"