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(Clover Town)

This town, known for its abundance of trees, was especially famous during this time of year. That's because the regular Guild Masters' meeting was being held here. It sounds important—and it should be—but the reality is that many Guild Masters treat this event as an opportunity to gather, drink, and eat together while boasting about who has the strongest mages, their guild's achievements, and even who has gotten into the most trouble with the Magic Council. And when it comes to destruction? No surprise—Fairy Tail is the undisputed champion.

Makarov was sitting at a table, drinking. His expression and glazed-over eyes showed that the alcohol was already hitting him, but he was still in a good mood. Around him were many men and women, most of them middle-aged or older—all Guild Masters gathered from across the country in Clover.

"Ara, Makarov~ When are you going to bring those kids you brag so much about?~"

An obese man with makeup approached Makarov with a smile. He wore a red dress and a gold necklace. His most distinct feature was the small pair of wings on his back, which looked tiny on his frame. This was Bob, the Guild Master of Blue Pegasus.

"Oh Bob~" Makarov smiled, but didn't respond, knowing full well Bob might have ulterior motives. It wasn't rare for a mage to switch guilds—though there were exceptions, like in Fairy Tail, where a core member would hardly ever leave. Being the strongest guild at the moment helped with that, too.

"Makarov-chan, I heard that your children have been misbehaving~" Bob continued.

"Makarov, I heard that too... I don't know how you manage to put up with the Council's constant complaints," said another voice—this one rough and raspy.

A man wearing sunglasses and a black wizard hat with metal spikes at its base stepped forward. He wore a tight black T-shirt and, most notably, a red collar with metal spikes—similar to something a dog would wear. A not-so-subtle nod to his guild, Quatro Cerberus. He was Goldmine, the Guild Master.

"Haha, yeah, they're a bunch of troublemakers!"

"That's not something to laugh about," Goldmine scolded him. Not many knew this, but both Bob and Goldmine had once been members of Fairy Tail, before leaving to form their own guilds. It was undeniable—Fairy Tail might have a bad reputation, but it had produced many renowned mages.

"Well, I just hope they behave a little more..." Makarov's smile faded. "You all know Fairy Tail's philosophy—we never suppress our mages. Sure, they get on my nerves sometimes, but I wouldn't want them to change who they are..."

"Master Makarov... Master Makarov...!"

A small blue bird flew through the door carrying a letter. Makarov received it curiously, then ran his finger over it, activating the registration magic.

A holographic image of Mirajane appeared above the letter, catching everyone's attention.

"Look, everyone! It's our poster girl. Isn't she a beauty?!"

Playing along, the Guild Masters cheered. Of course, they all knew about Mirajane—she was the hottest model.

"Master, I have some news... I'm not sure if it's good or bad..."

"What happened?" Makarov frowned, wondering to himself.

"Master... Erza came back..." Mirajane was forcing a smile.

"Well, she had to return eventually..." Makarov shrugged and started drinking again. A lot of his kids feared Erza—but that was only because of her personality. She wasn't a bad girl herself. Sure, she'd punch you if you made her even a little mad, but...

"Well, master... as soon as she arrived, the first thing she did was scold everyone."

"Ahaha, sounds like Titania!" laughed Goldmine.

"Good thing the queen's always around to keep things under control~" Bob placed a hand on his cheek.

"But then she casually picked Allen up and tried to carry him away on her shoulders."

"Pffff—WHAT?!" Makarov spat out his drink and stared at Mirajane.

"Allen?" Goldmine rubbed his chin, clearly not recalling that name. The same confusion appeared on the faces of the other Guild Masters.

"Yes, master... but then Allen broke free and carried her like a princess before walking out of the guild."

There was a trace of frustration in Mira's voice, but no one noticed. After all, everyone knew Titania—an S-Class mage and currently the strongest woman in Fairy Tail.

"What is she saying?!" Makarov gripped the letter tightly.

"Master, apparently the two of them fought in Onibas Town and Erza lost... or at least that's what she said. But Allen claimed the fight wasn't finished, so it was technically a draw... the point is, she needed help with something and took him with her—or maybe the other way around. I'm not sure..."

"Wait, Mira, that's way too much information."

Makarov felt his fears coming true. A fight in a city?! Was that place even still standing after they were done? And even then, Makarov knew Allen was strong—but defeating Erza?

Even if he didn't win, the fact that he fought her on equal terms was absurd. And why would Erza need help from someone like that? Were they planning a coup?

The more he thought about it, the worse Makarov's mental scenarios became.

...

(Kunugi Station)

After a thirty-minute ride, they arrived at Kunugi at high speed. But the train that Eisenwald had stolen had already departed for Oshibana Town.

"You have to do something! These guys kicked everyone off the train—and even killed one of the engineers!"

A key detail about Kunugi: it was located inside a canyon. Erza stopped the vehicle near the edge of the cliff, where they saw a large group of angry and frightened people yelling at the engineers and a few armored soldiers.

Allen looked out the vehicle's window and scanned the soldiers. Their armor had some magical resistance, and their weapons had enhanced sharpness and penetration. But compared to Erza's gear, it looked like beginner-level equipment. That wasn't surprising—Erza, as an S-Class mage, earned millions per mission. But she spent most of it on new armor and weapons, which were extremely expensive. She also had to maintain them properly.

---

Artoria – Not to mention Erza— even that pink-haired boy could wipe out an entire regiment if they're this weak...

MJ – Strangely, they're the ones in charge of this country's security.

Gwen – Well, in a world of magic, it's natural for mages to take center stage—for better or worse.

Annie – In that case, shouldn't they have mages in their ranks?

Rias – I doubt many mages would be interested. From what we've seen, being independent lets you earn as much as you want—if you've got the power. Life in the military just forces you into a fixed salary and constant orders...

Rick – The world's built for mages. It is what it is. It's like Naruto, where samurai are barely more than a joke—hahaha!

---

"We have to hurry!"

Erza accelerated toward Oshibana Town. Now that they knew where the enemy was heading, it was just a matter of catching up.

Allen leaned his head out the window. "Erza, want to switch?"

Thanks to the Auris Arcanum, Allen could see how much magic Erza was burning through—which irritated him even more. The vehicle was so inefficient, it was wasting most of her magical energy.

Erza smiled at him with deep and meaningful eyes. "Don't worry. Even if I collapse from magic depletion, you're still here..."

Allen sighed. "You place too much faith in me..."

"Hey, Erza, I'm here too—" Natsu tried to protest, but ended up vomiting out the other window.

"Idiot..." Gray grunted with his arms crossed—until something suddenly startled him. "Wait... why am I wearing clothes?!"

"Why does that surprise you?!" Lucy yelled, annoyed.

Allen, leaning against the window next to Lucy, answered without much interest. "I'm not in the habit of looking at half-naked bastards, so I glued your clothes to your body. It'll only last half a day, but that's good enough."

Gray stared in disbelief, then tried to strip—but realized he couldn't. It was like the clothes had fused with his body. He should have been happy, but instead, he started to go pale—like a lion losing its mane or a hairless wolf... but in reverse.

"Good for you, Gray! Now you don't have to worry about being called a sick degenerate," Happy teased with a grin.

"Shut up, Happy!" Gray growled, sweat on his brow.

Happy ignored him and looked at Allen. "Aye... but what happens if he needs to go to the bathroom?"

"..." Allen didn't reply—just gave a faint smile, making Gray immediately regret coming along.

"I wonder what they're planning to do with the Lullaby..." Lucy asked nervously. No matter where they used it, it'd be a terrifying scene.

Allen placed a hand on Lucy's head to calm her, then looked at Gray.

"Is there anything important in Oshibana Town?"

"It's a pretty big place—comparable to Magnolia, I'd say... Don't tell me those bastards want to use it in the city?!" Gray pounded furiously on the door frame.

Erza, who also heard, sped up—something that would increase magic consumption, but that was the least of their concerns right now.

Interrupting, Allen spoke seriously, "What is the next place after Oshibana Town?

"Huh? There's Clover Town..." Gray snapped out of his rage upon hearing Allen's words. After a moment of thought, he went pale. "Don't tell me...!"

"Damn it, the regular meeting!" Erza shouted furiously.

Natsu even snapped out of his dizziness for a moment, "I won't forgive anyone who tries to hurt the old man!"

Lucy grabbed Allen's hand, and he returned the gesture with a reassuring smile.

If this was part of the original fate, there was nothing to worry about. But with Lucifer's hand meddling, there was now a 50% chance of a bad ending—unless Allen intervened, of course.

"I won't let them..."

Those were her only words—cold, dry, and serious. For no apparent reason, they sent chills down everyone's spine. It was the first time Allen had shown an emotion close to anger in front of them.

...

Upon arriving at Oshibana Town, a place comparable in size to Magnolia, they immediately headed to the train station, where a crowd had already gathered outside.

Erza jumped out of the vehicle and marched up to a station worker.

"What's the situation?!" Erza demanded impatiently.

"Huh?"

Receiving no response, Erza punched the worker in the stomach and asked the same to another. Still getting no answer, she hit them all until someone finally said that the entire Eisenwald dark guild was inside the train station.

Allen walked up to a door and pushed it open, easily breaking the lock before walking in.

> [Allen, I can't feel the flute anymore. Somehow, it's hiding itself...]

"...?" Allen frowned.

Since Allen's magical power could not be felt, what would Lullaby be cautious of? 'Could this be due to the reduction of half of the Plot Armor? Is this that unknown fourth rule?'

Erza left the last station worker behind and followed Allen. Natsu and Gray, now recovered, were preparing to face an entire guild.

"I'm fired up!" Natsu said, slamming his fists together.

"I've suffered so much during this trip—I need to take it out on someone!" Gray declared.

"Everyone seems so motivated..." Lucy muttered.

She was the least excited about fighting, but now that she had chosen the path of a mage, she had to get used to these kinds of situations. So she ran and caught up with Allen.

...

Upon reaching the platform, Allen's group encountered around fifty people, among them, Kageyama, and who had to be Erigor.

"Oh, so it's true. Titania has arrived!" a man laughed with arrogance and mockery.

Just from their expressions, their cruel and evil nature was clear. They were all dark mages, though only four could be considered elite mages.

Leading the dark guild was someone who could easily be identified as Erigor due to his appearance. He was tall and slim, yet slightly muscular, with spiky gray hair that pointed upward but fell over the left side of his face. His eyes were dark, arrogant, and cruel—he had no eyebrows. His face was long, with a simple tattoo below his eyes.

His upper body was tattooed with dark blue symbols. Erigor wore a ripped Japanese-style outfit that resembled the lower part of a Shinigami's shihakusho from Bleach. Around his neck, he had a black scarf, and he wore traditional geta sandals on his feet. His look was completed with black gloves and bandages around his forearms.

"Bastard, I won't let you hurt the old man!" Natsu shouted.

"Oh? So you figured that much out? Seems even a bunch of Magic Council puppets have some brains!" Erigor sneered.

"You're just mad because you got kicked out for all the horrible stuff you did!" Lucy snapped, angered by how irrational Erigor was.

"Nonsense! I did hold a grudge against the Guild Masters League—but that was just temporary. I realized it wasn't me who was wrong... I simply had no power, power can do everything, with it black can be dyed white and make everything I did be forgiven!"

"This guy is crazy," Lucy said, grinding her teeth.

Allen watched and listened carefully, quickly understanding the type of person Erigor was. A man who thought the world owed him something, who hated the government and the Magic Council for expelling him—arrogant, and thus, easy to read.

'He's not hard to deal with…'

Allen's real concern now was who had the Lullaby. Logically, it should be in Erigor's possession. But if the artifact required the user to die to activate, Allen wasn't sure Erigor, being the main villain, would be willing to sacrifice himself.

"Enough talking, Erigor!" Erza stepped forward.

"I don't care about your reasons—we won't let you carry out a massacre!"

Erigor chuckled and swung his scythe before floating up into the air.

"That's wind magic!" Happy immediately recognized it.

"Buzz all you want—this day marks the end of the old system! We'll reshape the world!" Erigor declared as he started flying away.

Allen was about to stop him but hesitated.

'The way he talks… It's suspicious.'

Esdeath – For someone willing to die, he sure has a lot of ambition to rule.

The Emperor – That man isn't willing to die. He shouldn't have the flute. It wouldn't make sense. Still, the choice is yours...

Angela (Gilgamesh) – Allen, that man doesn't have the flute...

"Tsk." Allen let Erigor go for now and focused on the other three elite mages. Among them, Kageyama was the main candidate for holding the Lullaby.

"I, the great Rayule, will teach you some manners, Fairy Tail!"

A man with a pharaoh-style helmet launched some black ribbon-like constructs created from his magic to climb up to the second floor.

Allen grabbed Gray by the shirt and hurled him directly at the guy. "Take him down, Gray!"

"Hey, what the hell?! That's so irrational!" Gray shouted as he was thrown toward a stunned Rayule.

"Ahh!"

Gray crashed into Rayure and they both hit a wall.

"Damn!" Kageyama created a shadow and quickly dove into it to escape.

"Ahh!" Natsu yelled as Allen threw him in after the shadow as well. Natsu crashed into Kageyama and they both entered the shadow.

Allen turned to the third and final elite Eisenwald mage—who, along with the rest of the guild, looked terrified of him.

This was Karacka, an obese man with green hair and red clothes, wearing a necklace made of large gold rings. His most notable feature: he had no nose.

"No!" Karacka sank into the ground. But unlike Virgo's magic, his magic does not dig at high speed—it pierces through it.

"Earth magic?" Erza noted calmly. She had remained composed since Allen took the lead, so she approved of his methods, which in her eyes were effective.

"Lucy, Erza—can you two handle everyone here?"

"Of course..." Erza nodded.

Lucy, a little nervous, gathered her courage and nodded too, "Leave it to me!"

Allen smiled and left Timcampy with Lucy, just in case—then disappeared...

"Who is that guy?!"

"I didn't even notice him until he acted!"

"He made me feel like I was going to die!"

The rest of the dark guild wasn't particularly impressive, but they had numbers. So, emboldened, they dared to stand against Erza. Big mistake...

...

(A couple of minutes later)

Somewhere else, Karacka emerged from a wall, sweating heavily. He had been fleeing with his "Earth Magic" through walls and floors, never daring to stop. The fear he'd felt when looking into Allen's eyes had given him a sense of danger like never before.

"Who... what was that guy?!"

"You shouldn't have stopped running..."

Allen's voice came from the end of the hallway, paralyzing Karacka. His footsteps echoed clearly as he approached.

"Impossible—how did you find me?!" Karacka wasn't the strongest member of Eisenwald, but his infiltration skills, thanks to his earth magic, made him perfect for assassination missions. Yet Allen had found him like he had a tracker on his head.

"I'm not the best person to judge others..." Allen didn't answer the question. Instead, he began to speak with a cold tone.

"But even someone like me has limits..."

"...!!!" Karacka was paralyzed with fear. He didn't understand why. There was no magical pressure, no visible power—yet he was terrified. He knew he had to run, had to escape to the ends of the world... but he couldn't. It felt like facing a predator and realizing that if you turned your back, you were dead.

"I'll give you one chance. Who has the flute?"

"I... I don't know..."

Allen stopped walking, and the dark mage instantly regretted his words. He used his earth magic to create wall after wall between them.

"Wrong answer..." Allen had several active missions—one of which stated his companions were in danger. So Allen showed no mercy.

He stomped the ground, launching himself forward as the walls, ceiling, and floor were shattered by the shockwave.

In an instant, his fist hit Karacka's chest—and the world seemed to freeze. All around, the remnants of the earth magic were obliterated. The dark mage had lost the ability to think, unable to understand what had just happened. But had he been able to think, he would've realized: whether he turned his back or not, the outcome wouldn't have changed.

"..." Allen scanned the dark wizard's body and understood that he did not have the flute of death.

At that moment, a massive wall of wind enclosed the entire train station, trapping everyone inside.

Allen disappeared again, leaving Karacka collapsed on the floor.

...

At the entrance of the station, Erza was trying to cross the wall of wind, but couldn't. After taking down the rest of the Eisenwald guild, she had chased Erigor, but he took advantage of a moment of carelessness and trapped her.

"Damn it!"

Erza was frustrated. She had underestimated how much magic she'd used just getting here.

"Right when we had him!" Lucy hugged Tim tightly. But he started to squirm. "What's wrong, Tim?"

Lucy got bitten and let him go. He flew off behind her, where Allen was standing. The girl's eyes lit up.

"Allen!"

Lucy's shout made the redhead turn. She smiled too. "Here's the situation. Got any ideas?"

Allen walked between the two girls and approached the wall of wind that had managed to repel even Erza.

"Be careful," Lucy said.

Allen's eyes gleamed as he reached the massive wall of wind. With Auris, he could see Erigor on the other side, mocking them.

"What an unpleasant guy…"

Allen raised his hand and touched the wall of wind. "Finite Incantatem…"

The wind barrier—comparable to a tornado in both pressure and speed—suddenly stopped and vanished. Lucy and Erza were stunned, but not as much as Erigor, whose jaw dropped in disbelief.

"What?!"

"Didn't you get it?" Allen appeared in front of Erigor, pulling back his fist. "One-Man Army… x30 Strength!"

Erigor wanted to react, he wanted to defend himself but something appeared in front of him that prevented him, it was something he knew very well, something that had caused too many people, it was "Death".

The punch Erigor received caused a shockwave that swept through Oshibana. Had it been closer to the ground, it would've torn buildings from their foundations and destroyed much of Oshibana Town.

Lucy stared in shock at Allen's figure standing on the sky. She knew he was strong—he'd proven that already—but every time she saw him fight, it felt like she hadn't even scratched the surface of what this mysterious mage could do.

Erza crossed her arms with a smile on her face. "I wouldn't expect anything less from the man who defeated me…"

...

Far from the train station, lying on the ground, Erigor coughed up blood, his body was mangled, and it was absurd that he was still alive. "T-This is i-impossible… It c-can't end like t-this!"

Erigor pulled the Death Flute from his pocket. "If I go down… I'm taking e-everyone with ME!"

Allen, who hadn't taken his eyes off Erigor, widened them. He had misread him. Not just him—Gilgamesh, even The Emperor had been wrong. The flute had always been to Erigor.

"Stop!" Allen propelled himself toward Erigor, breaking the speed of sound—but he was a step too late.

===

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