The train compartment was small and crowded.
Even if Ankh wanted to summon his Celestial Spirit, Ophiuchus, it would cause too much of a scene.
Having a giant snake or even a tall woman suddenly appear would definitely draw unwanted attention.
Ankh scratched his head and grinned. "Don't worry, I have another idea. I can get you to where we're going without you feeling sick, and no one will even notice."
Natsu lifted his head weakly, his eyes glassy.
"Really...?"
Ankh smiled, sat down next to Natsu, and then—gently—punched him!
THUD!
The whole train car shook.
Passengers looked up from their seats, confused.
'Did we just hit a bump? Was that a small earthquake?'
Natsu was now completely knocked out, slumped against the seat with a bit of drool at the corner of his mouth.
He looked very peaceful as he was fast asleep.
Lucy wiped cold sweat from her forehead.
'Ankh-san methods are... always so direct.'
Gray looked worried. "Is he going to be okay?"
Ankh patted Natsu's shoulder reassuringly. "He'll be fine. Natsu is tough. He can take a hit."
At most, he might have a cracked rib or two.
With Natsu's amazing healing ability, he'd be back to normal in less than two days.
Erza looked at the peacefully sleeping Natsu with admiration. "As expected of my brother. You always find a solution."
Ankh waved his hand modestly. "It was nothing."
Gray then turned to Erza, his expression serious. "Alright, Erza. Now can you tell us what this mission is really about? Why did you call us here?"
Erza put down her playful smile and explained carefully. "This time, our enemies are from a Dark Guild called Eisenwald. They are bad people who use dark magic. They are planning to use a very dangerous magic called 'Lullaby' to do something terrible."
"Forbidden Magic? Lullaby?" Lucy suddenly remembered something from a few days ago.
Her eyes widened. "Wait! When Natsu and I were walking back to the guild the other day, a group of strange people showed up. They said they were from Eisenwald!"
Gray nodded, adding to the story. "I ran into them that day too. I helped Natsu fight them off. Those guys mentioned 'Lullaby' as well. So we're definitely on the right track."
Erza thought for a moment. "I see... so you've already met some of Eisenwald's members..."
She began to explain how she first found out about their evil plan.
But Ankh's mind had already started to wander.
He knew this part of the story. He didn't need to listen to it again.
Talking was a waste of time.
According to what Ankh remembered, the leader of this group, a man named Erigor, would soon try to take over this very train.
He was planning to meet up with one of his men, a guy named Kageyama, who was coming back with the Lullaby flute.
That meant the person carrying the dangerous magic flute was on this train right now.
A small, cold smile appeared on Ankh's lips.
He had no intention of waiting for everything to happen like in the original story, dealing with all the trouble that would come later.
It was better to strike first and take care of the problem now!
Just then, the group finished their serious talk.
They brought out their lunch boxes and started eating happily in their seats.
Erza, with a few beads of sweat on her forehead and her eyes squeezed shut, reluctantly pushed her precious strawberry cake toward Ankh.
Ankh looked at her big, unhappy eyes and almost laughed.
He quickly pushed the cake back, showing her he didn't want it.
Erza let out a huge sigh of relief. She cut a big piece of the strawberry cake and put it in her mouth.
Immediately, her beautiful eyes curved into happy crescent moons.
Don't think that just because Erza is called the "Titania" and is very strong, she doesn't like girly things.
In fact, Erza loves pretty and sweet things even more than most girls.
Ankh smiled and shook his head.
At the same time, he thought to himself: 'Seram, can you help me? I need to find a male mage. He uses shadow magic, I think. And he's carrying a magic flute called Lullaby.'
A voice, only Ankh could hear, answered in his mind.
[Understood.]
In his thoughts, Seram's voice went quiet for only two seconds before speaking again.
[Walk straight ahead. He is in the second car from this one.]
"Got it," Ankh said quietly.
He stood up immediately and spoke to the others. "I found him."
Lucy was confused. "Found... who?"
Ankh pointed straight ahead down the aisle of the train.
"The Eisenwald member. The one with the Lullaby flute. He's right up there."
"Wha—? How?!" Lucy's eyes were wide with shock.
How did he find him so fast? They hadn't even moved!
After a moment of surprise, Gray just shrugged, like it was no big deal.
"If it's Ankh, I'm not surprised. He can do things like that."
Erza nodded in agreement, without a single doubt.
Ankh was one of the most important and powerful member of Fairy Tail.
Everyone's trust in him was absolute.
Seeing that the other two weren't questioning it, Lucy swallowed her confusion and asked nervously.
"So... what do we do now?"
Ankh's smile was cold. "What else? We go and kill him."
Hearing him say it so calmly, Lucy shivered.
'Kill.... him? ' He made it sound so simple... and brutal.
Sensing Lucy's fear, Gray explained in a calm voice. "Ankh was badly hurt by people in a Dark Guild when he was very young. He hates anyone who works in the darkness. He doesn't show them any mercy."
Ankh started walking toward the front of the train.
He spoke to the three behind him without looking back. "If you can, try to stop the train from the outside. Get all the regular passengers off."
"Otherwise," he added, his voice casual but serious, "it will be easy for innocent people to get hurt in the fight."
Lucy broke out in a cold sweat again. "Stop the train?! But how... that's impossible..."
"No problem," Erza said immediately, her voice confident.
She looked at Gray. "What about you, Gray? Can you do it?"
Gray nodded easily. "It's a simple job. I can handle it."
While the two of them discussed stopping a moving train like it was a normal task, Lucy stood to the side, trembling, too afraid to say another word...
The mages of Fairy Tail were unbelievably strong.
And not just their magic—their attitudes were incredibly tough, too!
And so, the five of them—well, four, since Natsu was still unconscious—split up.
They each headed toward their goal.
Ankh walked slowly and calmly through the train car.
The Fairy Tail guild emblem on his forearm was clearly visible for everyone to see.
The other passengers stared.
"That person... is from Fairy Tail?"
"Wait, that black coat... those red eyes... Is that who I think it is?"
Within seconds of seeing Ankh, the passengers who knew about the world of mages had figured out who he was.
"That's definitely... the 'Grim Reaper' of Fairy Tail! That unbelievably powerful mage!"
These people grew nervous.
They only relaxed and let out a sigh of relief after Ankh had walked past them.
Even though Fairy Tail was a good guild, normal people couldn't help but feel scared when face-to-face with such a powerful and intimidating person.
Besides, Ankh's good reputation was mostly within his guild.
Outside, many people knew him as someone not to be messed with.
Ankh reached the next car.
His eyes quickly found his target: a man with messy, spiky hair that looked like it hadn't been combed in days.
Ankh looked at him and spoke, his voice calm and clear.
"You. The little rat from the Eisenwald. I finally found you."
The man's head snapped up.
Fear flashed across his face.
The game was up.
The hunt was on, and he was the prey.