As she spoke, Erza leapt back into the magic-powered vehicle and slipped the SE spark plug onto her wrist.
While climbing into the car, Lucy looked confused. "Chase them? But we don't even know where they went. How are we supposed to catch up?"
Erza explained, "With so many people moving together, they're bound to draw attention. Someone in town must've seen them. If we ask around, we should be able to figure out their direction."
"Another vehicle ride? No, no, no! Can't we just run there?! If I have to ride again, I'm gonna die!"
The moment Natsu heard they were riding again, his face turned pale. He'd already been on two vehicles today. It was the first time in his life he'd endured this much misery in one day—and apparently, it wasn't over yet.
"Cut the whining!"
Kaien booted Natsu into the vehicle with one swift kick and hopped in himself.
Vrooooom!!
Erza slammed the gas. The magic vehicle fishtailed with a screeching drift.
"KYAAAH!!"
Lucy, not seated properly, ended up landing squarely on Kaien's face.
She froze in embarrassment, realizing exactly where she'd sat.
"You've got a big butt."
Kaien rubbed his face, feeling like he had just touched something… dangerous.
"AHHHH! That's sexual harassment!!"
Under Erza's surging magic, the vehicle shot forward like a rocket. Before long, they arrived at Karuki Town.
Just as they rolled into town, they found the streets abuzz with gossip.
"Did you hear? Something happened at the train station!"
"What happened?"
"Someone hijacked a train!"
"A train?! Who would do that?"
"I heard it was a nearby dark guild. They're called Eisenwald." …
"Eisenwald?!"
Erza and Lucy's faces changed the moment they heard the name—that was exactly who they were looking for.
"Let's go—head to the station!"
Erza spun the wheel, speeding straight toward the train station.
When they arrived, the station was already surrounded by the military. Civilians were shouting and protesting, voicing their outrage.
"A man with a huge scythe burst in with a group and kicked us off the train!"
"I left my tools—more important than my wife—on that train!" …
"They hijacked a train?! Why?! I mean, stealing money or ships I can understand, but a train? Trains only run on tracks! Even if they got away, what's the point?!"
Lucy couldn't wrap her head around it. If they hijacked a train, all authorities had to do was reroute or block the tracks ahead—the train would be forced to stop.
And now that the military was involved, there was no doubt defenses would be set up at the next stop.
Happy tilted his head. "Maybe they're in a hurry for something?"
Lucy let out a breath of relief. "The army's already on it. They'll be caught sooner or later. Looks like we don't have to get involved."
At least that meant she didn't have to fight terrifying dark guild mages.
"No," Erza said firmly. "I've got a really bad feeling about this. They're a dark guild—not idiots or fools. Making such a bold, public move means they're up to something big. And I think it's related to that sealed magic."
Even though it sounded unrelated, her instincts told her otherwise.
"But the train left almost an hour ago. No matter what they're trying to do, we can't catch up now, right?"
"…"
It was true. Trains were extremely fast—much faster than magic-powered vehicles. Even at full speed, the distance between them would only keep growing.
Were they… too late? The thought left her unwilling to accept it.
At that moment, Kaien stepped out of the vehicle and walked toward the train tracks.
"Kaien? Where are you going?"
Lucy asked in confusion.
Standing in the middle of the tracks, Kaien cracked his knuckles. "To chase them, of course."
He had a nagging feeling about Eisenwald ever since Erza first mentioned them, but he couldn't place it. When he heard they hijacked a train, it finally clicked—he remembered this arc.
Lullaby—a group-targeting curse magic. A death song.
They had hijacked the train to pass through the canyon and reach the site of the regional council meeting.
Their plan: use Lullaby's curse to assassinate every guild master attending the summit.
As the full scope of the plot came rushing back to him, Kaien was furious.
He hadn't been with Fairy Tail long, but Master Makarov had treated him with warmth—like a real father.
In this world, where Kaien had no one else, Makarov was the closest thing he had to family.
And now these bastards were planning to hurt him?
He didn't care whether they'd succeed or not. The mere fact they wanted to… meant they had to die.
"Chase them?! How? They left over an hour ago—and by train."
Trains were the fastest mode of transport. After an hour, they'd be at least a hundred kilometers ahead.
"Of course we run."
"Run?!"
Everyone stared at him like he'd gone insane. If he'd said fly, that might've made sense. But run? What the hell?
"Full Integration: Toji Fushiguro!"
Kaien didn't bother explaining. He activated one of his character takeovers.
His gray windbreaker shifted into a black t-shirt. His pants turned gray, with a black cloth belt around his waist. His feet now wore flat-soled grandpa-style shoes.
His body bulged slightly with muscle. His face and hair changed as well.
This was Kaien's form under the Heavenly Restriction: Toji the Tyrant state.
His voice now had a gravelly, deep tone—the kind only middle-aged men had—and his eyes carried the arrogance of someone who believed the world belonged to him.
"Erza, you guys can take your time. I'll handle Eisenwald myself."
"Kaien, you're transforming this early? Will you last long enough?"
Erza understood Kaien's magic better than most. They'd fought side by side before. When he transformed, his power surged massively.
But Kaien had one obvious weakness—the one thing all men feared.
He lacked… endurance.
His transformation burned through magic at a staggering rate. Sure, it gave him incredible power, but it didn't last long. In fact, during their last mission together, Kaien had collapsed and slept for three full days.
"Don't worry. I've got enough time."
His magical power had only increased by one star since half a year ago—but in raw magic reserves, he'd multiplied nearly tenfold. He still couldn't maintain it for long, but for taking down Eisenwald?
Plenty.
BOOM—!!
Kaien stomped his foot on the rail. The wooden planks beneath cracked and splintered.
The next second, he had already vanished—appearing hundreds of meters away in an instant.