The road back from Oshibana felt longer than usual.
Team Natsu rode in the battered magic vehicle—Gray and Erza taking shifts in controlling it, Natsu half-asleep in the back, and Lucy clinging to her seat to keep her sanity. The night sky was dark, moonlight glinting over the road. Their bodies still ached. Their clothes were torn. The exhaustion stung their bones.
They had handed Eisenwald over to the Rune Knights, given statement after statement, filled out procedure after procedure… and then spent hours helping clean the damage in the station hall.
It was past midnight when they were finally released.
Lucy groaned, "I… can't feel my legs anymore…"
From the passenger seat, Gray stretched. "Quit whining. We're almost there."
"YOU destroyed most of the hall too!" Lucy shot back.
Gray coughed. "Listen, technically Natsu's flame blast was—"
"Don't blame me! The bad guys were in the way!" Natsu barked.
Erza sat at the wheel again—her expression calmer, but the twitch of her eyebrow betrayed that she still hadn't forgotten their real reason for rushing home.
Kai had lullaby.
They passed over Kunugi Station's outskirts—the place they had last seen him fighting Erigor.
Only… the place was devastated.
Trees broken. Earth carved up. Craters everywhere.
Gray whistled low. "Yup. Kai fought here."
Lucy swallowed. "He's… okay, right?"
Erza didn't answer. Because she wasn't sure either.
The vehicle sped across the final bridge toward Magnolia.
# **Back at the Guild**
They barely stepped into the guild when all eyes turned to them.
Whispers spread.
"They look dead beat…" "Must've been a rough mission." "Is Natsu sleepwalking?"
Mira hurried over, concerned. "You all look exhausted! Are you okay? How did the mission—"
Erza cut her off immediately. "Mira. Did Kai return?"
Mira blinked, then slowly shook her head.
"No… Kai hasn't come back since yesterday."
Team Natsu froze.
Lucy paled. "H-He's still not back…?"
Natsu scratched his head. "So… he didn't get here before us?"
Gray frowned. "That means he wasn't hiding here to avoid getting yelled at."
Erza stood motionless, thinking.
If Kai didn't return immediately… If he didn't brag… If there were no incidents with Lullaby anywhere…
Then where was he? Had something happened to him?
Seeing their rising panic, Mira placed a gentle hand on Erza's shoulder.
"Hey. Calm down, okay? You should rest and clean up first. Maybe Master will return soon and Kai will show up too if not then master can deal with it."
Erza nodded reluctantly. "You're right. We should recover."
Lucy was the first to collapse face-first onto the table. Natsu fell asleep standing. Gray dragged himself toward the bathhouse. Even Erza moved slower than usual.
Hours passed.
**Makarov Returns**
The guild doors creaked open.
"HOH-HOHH! I'm back!"
Master Makarov waddled in joyfully, greeting a few kids he had been playing cards with earlier.
He froze when every guild member turned to him—then pointed at a corner table where four exhausted mages sat looking like they'd fought an entire army.
"What happened to them…?" he muttered.
Mira jogged over. "Master! Something happened."
Makarov's eyebrow rose. "Their mission went well, didn't it?"
"Yes but—Kai… stole the Lullaby during the mission. And he's still not back."
Makarov dropped dead-weight onto the floor, his hat bouncing off his head.
"HE DID *WHAT*?!"
Everyone watched the old man twitch dramatically.
He jumped back up with steam blasting from his ears— "That brat I Thought That At Last Once I Can Return Without Some Bad News! I'll wring his—"
Then he suddenly froze in place sighing.
His expression softened.
He sighed and sat heavily on a chair.
"Ah just forget it what was i expecting from kai to not grab a artifact in front of him. He wouldn't do anything reckless. Not with something dangerous."
Erza looked sharply at him. "Master, it's a cursed artifact."
"Yes," Makarov said calmly. "Which is why he's the BEST person to handle it. Kai is one of the kingdom's appointed magical research experts. That boy was given a seat because his entire magic revolves around dangerous and unstable artifacts."
Lucy's jaw dropped.
"H-He has a government job?!"
Makarov laughed. "Indeed. A very specialized one."
"He still doesn't act like it but still what should we do until then…" Gray muttered.
"We wait," Makarov said firmly. "He'll come back."
And so they waited.
**Two Hours Later**
The guild's mood brightened. People were drinking, laughing, teasing Team Natsu. Even Natsu had regained energy, pestering Erza about their promised fight.
"It'll have to wait," Erza repeated. "Kai must answer for what he's done."
Lucy nodded. "Right. He owes us a HUGE explanation."
Gray leaned back in his chair. "If he doesn't show up soon, I'll go look for him."
Happy fluttered by with a fish. "He might be asleep somewhere!"
And then—
"**Well what is it my cuties, I'm already here.**"
They jumped.
Natsu fell backward. Gray choked on his drink. Lucy fell off the bench with a squeal.
Erza turned slowly.
Kai stood beside their table, stretching casually, hair still messy from battle, bandages peeking from beneath his cloak—smirking.
"Well? Why's everyone acting like I'm a ghost? Hey, Red, what's with the look? I know I'm pretty but—wai—"
He didn't finish.
**SHING!!**
Erza summoned her sword mid-step and lunged.
Kai yelped and rolled aside.
"WHOA—HEY—STOP!!"
But Erza wasn't having it.
Another sword appeared in her hand—she swung down.
Kai sprang back onto another table.
Erza shouted, "NATSU , GRAY , LUCY ,BLOCK HIM!"
Gray clapped his hands together—
**"Ice-Make: WALL!!"**
A rectangular wall of ice erupted around Kai, forming a cage.
"Oi—come on! Seriously?!"
Natsu charged in with a flaming fist.
As natsu reached Kai he slapped his hand aside and grabbed Natsu's wrist and spun him effortlessly toward Erza—
"RETURN TO SENDER!"
Erza sidestepped Natsu, furious.
Lucy swung her whip. Happy flew circles above yelling encouragement.
Kai grabbed Lucy's whip and threw her at gray before dodging erza by flipping off the ice wall—grabbing a support beam—springing upward and shooting a his wrappings towards the rafters on the roof and pulled himself up.
And finally— He landed upside-down on the guild roof, hanging by his foot wraps.
"NOW THEN! WHAT'S WITH THIS *SUPER WARM WELCOME*?!"
The guild was chaos again. Tables overturned, chairs broken, dust floating through the air.
Kai hung upside down from the rafters, looking down at the redhead with the kind of wary amusement that said *he knew he was about to be murdered.*
Erza pointed her sword straight up, her tone cold and dangerous. "**Get. Down. Now.**"
Kai blinked, eyes darting left and right as if checking for exits. "…Is this about the flute? Come on, nothing happened! Hear me out! I just took it to study—"
"DOWN!"
Her shout made the floorboards tremble.
Seeing she wasn't going to listen, Kai sighed in defeat. "Yeah… thought so."
Erza's armor shimmered into view—**Heaven's Wheel Armor**—as countless blades surrounded her in a storm of silver. She shot upward, wings of metal gleaming under the light.
Kai's eye twitched. "Here we go again…"
He vanished into the roof into a pool of shadow just before her swords struck. They tore into the rafters instead, splintering the wood into dust.
"Coward!" Erza growled, floating there and scanning the roof.
The shadow beneath a log flickered and she quickly rushed there bout to attack the log until—something small was thrown out.
**—Flash!**
A *stun grenade* burst with a crack of light and smoke.
"Guh!" Erza hissed, eyes snapping shut as the flash blinded her.
Kai jumped out of the shadow, flipped mid-air, grabbed her legs and—without ceremony—*threw her down*.
"Sorry, Red, you started this!"
Erza would've slammed into the ground, but an ice ramp suddenly formed beneath her.
Gray skidded in, one hand on the floor. "Ice-Make: Slide!"
Erza slid across it, regaining balance. When she looked up, Kai was gone again.
"Where—?"
Before anyone could answer, Natsu spun at Happy's warning— "KAI'S BEHIND YOU!"
The shadow monk appeared right behind Natsu, calm as ever.
Natsu kicked backward on instinct, flames bursting from his heel— but Kai sidestepped neatly, grabbed the leg, smiling and slammed his elbow into Natsu's jaw.
**"Echo Strike!"**
The sound of the hit *echoed*, and Natsu who was knocked back tried to stand only to be knocked over again—first from the blow, second from the aftershock that rippled through his body.
"Gah—! You cheap—!"
Before he could finish, Kai was already gone again.
Erza sensed movement behind her and summons a hammer smashing it straight into the ground right where kai had appeared from shadows.
The floor exploded—and Kai was thrown out of it like a cork from a bottle ,he was unable to move before the strike hit the shadow.
But as kai tried to get up erza had reached him her gauntlet flashed forward, punching him in the face. Kai barely got his forearms up to block, but the blow still threw him across the guild floor.
He skidded back, boots carving lines into the wood.
"Ow. Yep, should've stayed in bed."
A fireball came his way—Natsu roaring back to his feet—and Kai barely ducked before Gray followed up with a barrage of icy fists rising from the floor hitting him straight in the chest ,as he was thrown back a magic circle appears below him slowing down his fall
*" Shadow Monk Arts: Feather Fall "*.
Kai groaned, leaping backward finally landing on a empty table, cloak fluttering like smoke as he groaned tired.
"Can't we do this later?! I'm still recovering from my injuries!"
But his words went unheard. Gray froze the floor beneath him, Natsu charged in again, and Erza soared overhead, ready to finish it.
Kai finally exhaled in irritation. "That's it."
A golden magic circle appeared above him, glowing like a halo.
His wraps unwound themselves, swirling upward before spinning around him rapidly—forming a dome of rotating fabric and energy.
"**Shadow Monk Arts: Vishnu's Embrace!**"
The trio's attacks hit the dome—ice shattered, flames dispersed, blades deflected.
A burst of force exploded outward, knocking Erza, Natsu, and Gray back in one sweep.
When the circle vanished, Kai stood at its center, eyes sharp, muscles tensed, heat radiating from him slightly huffing, he took a deep breath crouching slightly as he looks up sharply.
"**Shadow Monk Arts: Body Strengthening!**"
His foot slammed into the ground, shaking the entire guild as everyone stared in shock some even falling down like mira , cana, makao, wakaba , lucy. In a blink, he was in front of Erza—so fast the air cracked around him.
She swung instinctively. He didn't even look—his fist had already inside her guard, aimed for her lung.
But before it could connect—
**"ENOUGH!!"**
A colossal shadow loomed overhead.
Makarov's **Titan Fist** came crashing down like divine punishment, flattening all four of them into the floor with one swing.
The guild *shook.* A few mugs fell off shelves. Silence followed.
From under the giant fist, four groans rose in unison.
"Guh—Master—" "Not again…" "Why…my spine…" "Can I just…sleep here…?"
Makarov huffed, shrinking back to normal size. His glare could've cracked stone.
"ARE YOU IDIOTS TRYING TO DESTROY THE GUILD AGAIN?!"
Kai peeled himself off the ground, dusting off debris, looking completely unbothered despite the bruises as he began to stretch with sounds of bones clicking back in place.
"Chill out, old man. We were just playing around. Sorry about the damage—I'll fix it later."
Makarov's eye twitched at *that* word. "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR 'LATER,' KAI! And don't try to cover for them—this mess is all of your fault but mostly YOUR fault! You, especially, stealing and lying to your friends!"
Kai raised both hands in mock surrender. "Whoa, harsh. I didn't lie, technically—"
Erza, Natsu, and Gray had also dragged themselves up, bowing in apology to Makarov.
He sighed, rubbing his temples. "I told you all to not to do anything . Kai took Lullaby, yes—but we already knew he would. The boy studies dangerous magic and artifacts for a living that's his magic and job . At least let him *explain* before you start tearing down the guild!"
The group froze, guilt replacing anger.
Kai popped his neck, chuckling quietly. "Thanks, old man. They really need to learn patience."
Every head turned toward him. Including Makarov's. "*No You need to learn restraint."
"Fair," Kai said with a grin. "Alright, so—here's the story."
He reached into his pouch, pulling out a folded blueprint covered in notes and scribbles.
"I took it from that shadow guy—Kageyama—after I knocked him out. Figured it'd cause trouble later, so I kept it to study.
Erza crossed her arms, glaring. "You *lied* to us. Even after I told you not to touch it."
Kai met her gaze calmly. "I didn't lie. You never asked where Lullaby was. You just heard what Blondie—"
"**It's Lucy!**" she yelled.
"—said, and left. You asked where the dark mages went, and I told you. I did my part. You told me not to touch it, and I said I will think about it later. Then I thought about what you said and decided to ignore it."
Erza's face turned crimson. "Y–YOU—!"
Gray, Lucy, and Natsu all turned on him next. "Why didn't you tell us?" Gray demanded. "We fought half a guild because of that thing!"
Lucy added, pouting, "Yeah! I fought Kageyama because I thought it was *my fault* he escaped!"
Kai blinked at them, deadpan. "Uh, that's called character development, Blondie."
"LUCY!!"
He shrugged. "Besides, if I told you I had it, you wouldn't have gone after Eisenwald, right? They still needed to be stopped. And you were motivated! I just… made sure the real threat was gone. You were never in danger. I mean, I did break Erigor's spine, so—"
He chuckled to himself. "Guess you could say I left them a snake without a fangs. Wait… no, a *worm.* Better imagery."
Nobody laughed.
Kai sighed. "Tough crowd you should improve your sense of humor you look constipated."
Makarov pinched the bridge of his nose. "Kai. Where is Lullaby now? We need to return it to the Council."
Kai whistled, eyes glancing away. "Well… about that…"
The room fell quiet again.
"What do you mean *about that*?" Erza asked slowly.
Kai rubbed the back of his head. "It… doesn't exist anymore."
Makarov's jaw dropped. "…What?"
"Well, it kind of turned into a monster hell bent on killing," Kai said as if discussing the weather. "So....I killed it. The flute shattered in half. But don't worry—I salvaged the material."
He pulled out something from his pouch.
A flute—sleek, polished, beautifully carved from pale wood and engraved with faint runes.
Everyone tensed instantly, ready for another explosion.
Kai just smiled. "Relax. It's harmless. Actually—more than that. Watch."
He lifted it to his lips and played a single note.
The sound wasn't dark or heavy. It was soft. Warm.
A breeze rolled through the guild hall—gentle, comforting. The tension in their muscles faded. The bruises on Natsu's arms shimmered faintly and healed. Lucy blinked, surprised, feeling lighter.
Kai lowered the flute, smirking. "I reversed the formula and the magic core and even the entire design so it actually sounds like a flute instead of a awful whistle. Took a while—and involved killing the demon inside purifying core with pure ethernano —but hey, now it generates magical song that soothes instead of kills although it lost its overall power since it doesn't have a demon powering it anymore so it uses the magic of user."
The guild stared at him in stunned silence.
Erza's sword dropped with a *clink.*
Gray muttered, "You… weaponized a cursed artifact into a healing tool."
"Yep," Kai said proudly. "Tinkerer Magic at its finest you should have seen my other spell i used to kill it I used the spear i borrowed from red , thanks red."
Erza growls "You stole it not borrowed ".
Makarov exhaled a long, long sigh—half frustration, half reluctant admiration. "That boy's going to give me wrinkles I can't magic away…"
Kai only grinned wider. "Come on, admit it, old man—pretty cool, right?"
And though no one said it aloud, not even Erza could completely deny it. Because somehow—despite his recklessness—Kai Sunviel had turned death tool itself into something gentle.