Chapter 10: Ch 10 : Pursuit
"Noel, how's your body?" A concerned female voice reached his ears.
Noel opened his eyes and saw Erza, her body covered in numerous scratches.
"Erza!" Noel exclaimed in surprise. "What happened? How did you get so many injuries?"
"It's nothing, just some superficial wounds caused by Eligor's ambush," Erza said, frowning. "But things have gotten a bit dire. We were all deceived. The true target of Eisenwald is that city up ahead called Kuroba, where the Guild Master is holding the regular meeting. They're planning to blow the Lullaby flute there! And right now, we're trapped inside the station by Eligor's Wind Wall magic and can't break out."
Noel nodded, understanding the situation.
Erza's strength was undoubtedly formidable, but the nature of her Requip magic made her best suited for combat against individuals or small creatures.
In terms of destructive power, she lagged far behind Natsu and Gray.
It was no surprise she struggled against the Wind Wall.
After channeling his Holy Light magic to heal Erza's wounds, Noel checked his body's condition once more. (Looks like I should be fine for the time being.)
After confirming his condition was stable, Noel spoke to Erza. "Erza, leave the Wind Wall to me. By the way, where's Natsu?" Noel counted the group—Erza, Gray, Lucy—but Natsu and Happy were missing.
"Natsu! Right, I forgot about him!" Erza exclaimed, frustrated as she tapped her head. "In that case, let's regroup with Natsu first," she said decisively.
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"You've made a complete mess again! How are you going to compensate me? Oh well, this feels better now anyway!" Natsu folded his arms, standing in front of Kageyama after punching him away. "I won, Baldy!"
Kageyama: "I told you, my name is Kageyama!"
"Alright, as promised, tell me where Eligor is!" Natsu demanded.
Defeated, Kageyama smirked mockingly. "You idiot! Boss Eligor is no longer at this station."
"What?!" Natsu shouted in shock.
At that moment, Erza, following the sound of the explosion, spoke up. "Natsu, that's enough. We've fallen for Eligor's trick. We don't have time to waste here anymore."
Although still confused, Natsu stopped as Erza quickly explained the situation to him.
"Eligor's target is the Guild Master?!" Natsu exclaimed in disbelief after hearing the explanation.
"Yes, we need to hurry. Now that everyone's here, let's break through the Wind Wall first," Noel instructed the group after confirming their numbers.
Just as Kageyama opened his mouth to speak, a yellow-brown magic circle suddenly appeared on his chest. A hand reached out from it.
"Ugh... why?" Kageyama groaned in pain before collapsing.
A trembling member of Eisenwald peeked halfway out from the wall, visibly shocked by what he'd just done.
"Kageyama!" Erza cried out in alarm.
The Eisenwald member who had attacked Kageyama trembled, staring at his own hand in disbelief over what he'd just done.
Natsu stood frozen at the sight, but fury soon surged through him.
To him, a guild was like a family, where all members were supposed to be as one.
Even though Kageyama wasn't from their guild and was an enemy, such betrayal enraged Natsu completely.
"Aren't you comrades?!" Natsu clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking.
Flames of bright orange erupted all over his body, reflecting his uncontrollable rage. "Aren't you from the same guild?! You bastard!" He swung his fist, landing a heavy punch on the Eisenwald member's face, sending him flying.
"Is this how your guild operates?!" Natsu shouted furiously.
"Hang in there," Gray said as he propped up Kageyama's body.
Noel walked over, his hands glowing with white light. "Leave it to me." Under the radiance of the light, Kageyama's condition visibly improved, though he remained unconscious.
"He's fine now. He's just passed out and will recover soon. Now we need to deal with the Wind Wall." Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Noel spoke to the group.
At that moment, Natsu, under everyone's puzzled gaze, hoisted Kageyama onto his shoulder.
"What are you doing, Natsu?" Gray asked in confusion.
In a low voice, Natsu said, "If he dies after fighting me, I'd feel guilty."
Noel and Erza exchanged glances, nodding with smiles but remaining silent.
Standing before the Wind Wall, Noel stretched out his arms, interlocking his fingers, palms facing outward.
The flickering white light quickly gathered in his hands.
"[Holy Light Magic — Sword of Light]."
A massive beam of light shot from Noel's hands like an unbridled wild horse, crashing heavily into the Wind Wall.
Riiiiip!
The sound was like paper being torn apart.
The beam effortlessly pierced through the Wind Wall, and the scattering light shattered it completely.
"We're out. Let's hurry and catch up," Erza said as they exited the station.
"It's impossible. There's no way we'll catch up now. Cough, cough," Kageyama, who had regained consciousness at some point, managed a weak smile from where he lay. "We've... won."
Silence fell over the group. They all knew Kageyama was right. No matter how fast a magical four-wheeled vehicle was, it couldn't outrun Eligor, who flew using wind magic.
Gray, however, seemed to notice something and frowned. "Where's Natsu?"
"Huh? Happy's gone too?" Lucy looked around, realizing that even Happy was nowhere to be seen.
Noel smiled and said, "Don't worry. Happy took Natsu to chase after him. With Happy's maximum speed, Natsu should be able to intercept Eligor."
Erza nodded, summoning a magical four-wheeled vehicle. "Is that so? Then let's head over there too."
Just as Erza was about to get on the vehicle, Noel stepped forward first, fastening the power output chain of the vehicle to his hand.
"Noel!" Erza's tone carried a mix of surprise and reproach. "What are you doing? I can handle this myself."
But Noel shook his head. "No, you can't. You already used too much magic power on the way here. After arriving at the station, you immediately fought without resting. Your magic is nearly depleted. If you keep pushing yourself, fainting would be a minor issue—if your soul gets harmed, that would be serious! Plus, my condition has stabilized now. I promise I'll be fine." He spoke firmly, locking his sky-blue eyes with Erza's.
"Alright then, but you must not get hurt," Erza finally relented after a moment of eye contact, yielding with a sigh.
Noel smiled. "Hop on, or Natsu will hog all the glory."
The magical vehicle roared as it sped toward Kuroba City.
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