Clover Town - Near Guild Masters Conference Hall
The sky was bruised purple with dusk as Team Erza raced toward Clover's conference hall.
Erza led, eyes sharp and unyielding.
Natsu sprinted beside her, fists lit with orange fire, his breath practically smoke.
Gray and Lucy followed close. Lucy was worried—about the Guild Masters, about *Lullaby*, and about the haunting quiet of Shinra, who walked calmly at the rear.
"You okay back there?" she called.
Shinra didn't look up. "Yes. I'm just thinking about the wind."
Natsu glanced back, confused. "What wind?"
"That one."
He pointed upward—just as a **howling gust** blasted from the mountain pass, swirling with razor-sharp force.
From the sky descended a cloaked figure with a jagged scythe, surrounded by Eisenwald followers.
**Erigor. The Reaper of Wind.**
---
"You're too late, Fairy Tail!" Erigor snarled, wind spiraling around him like a living beast. "The Guild Masters will die to *Lullaby's* tune! No one can reach them now!"
He raised his staff—summoning his signature move, **Wind Wall**, sealing off the path forward.
Lucy gasped. "He's sealing the building with air—!"
"Now die," Erigor finished, launching a compressed gust of wind like a blade.
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu leapt up, striking it down midair—but was pushed back several feet by the sheer force.
Erigor landed with a sharp laugh. "Pathetic."
Natsu charged again. "Let's see you laugh after I smash that flute!"
But Shinra raised a hand.
"Natsu," he said softly, "Stand down."
---
The others blinked. Natsu stopped mid-lunge.
"What?"
"You've already shown your fire," Shinra said, stepping forward slowly. "Let me try something different."
Erza narrowed her eyes, studying him carefully.
Erigor scoffed. "You think you can stop *me*? I'm a storm incarnate!"
"Not really," Shinra replied. "You're just loud."
Before Erigor could react, Shinra vanished. *Teleportation.* His **Limitless Technique** activated mid-air as he reappeared directly in front of the Reaper, fingers glowing blue with *Cursed Technique.*
"Curse Technique: Blue."
The very **air imploded**. A vacuum exploded around Erigor's chest, dragging him forward, crashing his body into Shinra's glowing hand.
**Crack.**
A burst of cursed energy shattered the Wind Wall behind him like paper.
Shinra caught Erigor's scythe mid-spin, twisted it calmly, and let it fall to the ground. The air returned to stillness.
Erigor coughed once, knees hitting the ground.
"You—what—what did you—"
"You confuse sound with strength," Shinra said coldly. "But I'm not here to play your games."
He turned away before Erigor even hit the dirt.
---
Lucy blinked. "He… ended that fight in less than ten seconds."
Gray whistled low. "Remind me never to piss him off."
Natsu stood completely still, flames at his hands flickering out.
Erza stepped forward, her armor clinking.
"I thought I told you to act with the team," she said.
"I did," Shinra replied softly. "I acted so no one else had to."
There was no arrogance in his tone—only quiet reasoning.
That, somehow, made it harder to argue with.
---
Suddenly, the **Lullaby flute**, now glowing with cursed symbols, floated midair. Its power began to surge.
"The seal I placed earlier was temporary," Shinra said, brows furrowed. "It was never about the music. The flute itself *wants to sing*."
An echoing, horrific scream began to rise as **Lullaby's demonic form began to emerge**—a hulking, corpse-like beast with the flute in its ribcage.
The Guild Masters screamed.
"We're too late!" Lucy yelled.
But Shinra calmly **stepped forward again**, raising a single finger.
"Domain Expansion—Infinite Void."
The world around them shifted. For one breathless moment, time and space halted. Lullaby's cursed song fractured under the weight of infinite information and sensory overload.
The demon screamed once—and then fell completely silent, eyes rolled back.
Shinra lowered his hand.
No destruction. No flash.
Just… silence.
---
The spell broke.
The Masters stared at Shinra with speechless expression. Meanwhile Makarov, stood among them with a awe and proud smile.
"Natsu," he said finally, "are you okay?"
Natsu stared at Shinra, then grinned slowly.
"Damn. You stole my big moment."
Shinra glanced over.
"You'll get the next one."
Natsu laughed.
"Only if you don't blink and end it first."
---
Later That Night —
Back at the GuildMaster's Villa, the team shared a quiet meal. Shinra sat across from Lucy, Mira (who'd caught up with the group), and Erza.
"Today you were impressive," Mira said softly, her voice thoughtful.
"You saved a lot of people," Lucy added.
Shinra shrugged. "I just didn't want to hear that cursed melody again."
Mira leaned forward. "So you *have* heard it before?"
There was a pause.
Erza looked at him.
He didn't answer. Instead, he smiled.
"In another life."
And he stood up, walking toward the balcony alone.
Erza and Mira exchanged glances—both curious. Both just a little more drawn to the quiet calm behind Shinra's mysterious power.