Simulation: Starting from Under One Person

Erza still didn't agree, so Fang Rui used his final trick: "I can make a request within the guild..."

Erza's expression was rather unpleasant. If bribery doesn't work, she'll resort to threats. I suspect you're up to no good!

"how?"

"You can work with us, but you must follow instructions and not act alone."

"No problem," Fang Rui said. "As an assistant, I'm a professional."

"Tell me about your mission..."

Erza recounts the details of the mission...

“A spell song…” Lucy seemed to be thinking.

"The Dark Guild..." Gray's expression turned serious. Was it possible to encounter the entire guild...?

It looks like it's going to be a tough battle.

"Lalabai...a lullaby, huh?" Fang Rui scoffed. "This name...is a bit morbid!"

After speaking, Fang Rui figured there was no need to pretend to be ignorant. After all, as a scholar, it was normal for him to have a broad knowledge base. So he directly provided the information: "I've heard of this thing... It's a demon created by Zeref. Its magic is a wide-range 'curse-killing' spell, but the casting animation is too long, and the sound is too unpleasant..."

"It wasn't very powerful either, so Zeref threw it away."

In fact, Zeref discarded quite a few demons; in fact, he discarded all the demons that couldn't kill him.

"It shouldn't be too difficult to solve."

Recalling the scene where Erza and the others took down the demon in a combo attack, Fang Rui nodded slightly; dealing with it was indeed quite simple.

"Is that so..." Erza did not relax because of Fang Rui's explanation.

Analyzing Fang Rui's words, we can conclude that the person who thought Lala Bhai was not powerful enough was the legendary dark mage Zeref.

Can an ordinary person be compared to Jelf?

The answer... is, of course, NO!

Therefore, Erza became even more anxious, as she needed to find the "Dark Guild" as soon as possible.

However, the problem she faced was that she lacked understanding of the "Dark Guild" Iron Forest and found it difficult to guess what Iron Forest's purpose was.

then……

The group began to discuss, letting their imaginations run wild.

"Perhaps it's the guild leader's regular meeting."

As the speculations grew increasingly outrageous, Fang Rui revealed Tie Zhisen's true intentions.

"Regular gatherings..." Erza frowned and thought for a moment, then nodded slightly a few times. "That is indeed very possible."

"Iron Forest used to be a legitimate guild, but after violating the rules of legitimate mage guilds, it was expelled from the guild alliance. It's perfectly reasonable for them to want revenge against the guild alliance now..."

"So... shall we just go to the place where they regularly gather and wait for them to come to us?" Gray asked.

"While it is very likely, there is no guarantee that this guess is correct."

Erza said, "We need to find a way to verify this, like asking someone from the Iron Forest..."

'Just asking...'

Fang Rui added in his mind: In a physical way.

Chapter 302 Target Discovered

Where should we look for them?

This is a crucial question: where can we be 100% certain of finding members of the "Dark Guild" Iron Forest?

"The guild headquarters of the Iron Forest".

With a few exceptions, both legitimate mage guilds and dark mage guilds will have staff stationed at their headquarters to prevent clients from being unable to find anyone when they come to the guild to post a mission. This is especially true for the Iron Forest guild, a dark guild whose main business is assassination.

There should be people staying behind!

Even if there are no people left behind, we can still look for clues, which is better than wandering aimlessly like this!

If they're lucky, most of the Iron Forest members will still be at the guild headquarters, allowing them to directly address the root of the problem.

As the group discussed the situation, the train gradually slowed down, and they left the carriage while talking.

"Do you know where the Iron Forest is?" Gray once again pinpointed the crux of the problem.

Fang Rui's gaze fell on Natsu, who was lying on the seat. He remembered a member of the Iron Forest, someone who was responsible for breaking the seal on Ralaba... what was his name again? He was also on the train.

And you'll run into Natsu, and after provoking him, you'll get beaten up by Natsu.

therefore……

Should we tell Erza, or not?

As he was thinking this, Erza had already left the carriage to retrieve her luggage.

Since Erza has already left, I won't tell her.

After all, living demons are more valuable for research...

With that thought in mind, Fang Rui turned and left, a strand of hair falling and getting stuck in the gap of the seat.

Dragging a cart full of suitcases, Erza stepped off the platform and looked at the town, which was neither too lively nor too deserted.

"A little investigation here will tell you."

There's a reason why we chose this place as our first stop.

Fang Rui wasn't sure whether Erza had encountered members of the Iron Forest here or whether the area was well-informed, but he knew he should give a heads-up...

He tapped Lucy's shoulder lightly with his index finger a few times, drawing Lucy's attention, and then said, "Have you noticed that someone is missing?"

Upon hearing this, Happy stopped instantly. Without even looking around, he knew who was missing...

After all, this happens frequently.

"Natsu~" Happy turned around and looked at the train platform, but did not see the train as he hoped.

After being reminded by Happy, Lucy looked left and right, but couldn't find Natsu. She immediately panicked and exclaimed, "Oh no! Natsu is gone!"

Erza and Gray froze upon hearing this, their eyes widening and cold sweat pouring down their backs.

………………

Meanwhile, inside a train speeding along the edge of a cliff.

Natsu slumped in his chair, panting heavily, his hands clasped in front of his chest as if he were in a stomachache.

There was no one else in the entire carriage except him; only the sound of the rolling wheels echoed inside.

Suddenly, the carriage door opened, and a person walked into the carriage.

After entering the carriage, the person looked around, then locked his gaze on Natsu, revealing a strange smile.

Approaching Natsu, he asked in a strange tone, "Little brother, is this seat taken?"

The person who received no response smiled more broadly, sat down opposite Natsu, leaned back slightly, and supported himself on the chair with one hand.

"You look like you're in a lot of pain, are you alright?"

Natsu remained silent, maintaining his "wanting to go to the toilet to relieve himself but having to hold it in" demeanor.

The person who received no response grew increasingly strange, and their tone became increasingly sarcastic.

"Fairy Tail, a proper guild... I'm so envious!"

Someone leaned forward, resting their arms on their thighs, their fingers interlaced and clenched, their facial expression somewhat comical.

At the same time, at Onibas Station.

"I was so focused on the Iron Forest that I forgot about Natsu on the train! And that guy gets carsick easily!"

"It's my fault! Anyway, just beat me up first!"

"Alright, alright, alright," Lucy comforted Erza, who was blaming herself.

Soon, Erza overcame her feelings of guilt and began to look for ways to make amends.

"That's exactly what happened!! Stop the train right now!!"

Erza chose a "lucky" train station employee without explaining why, leaving the employee completely bewildered with a single sentence.

"What...what happened?"

Lucy, who witnessed the whole thing, remarked, "People from Fairy Tail are all like this after all..."

To put it nicely, the members of Fairy Tail have very distinct personalities.

To put it bluntly, it's a problem or flaw in their personality.

“Hey!! I’m very serious,” Gray retorted.

"How is an exhibitionist serious?!" Lucy retorted.

While the two were talking, Erza's conversation with the train station employee made no progress whatsoever.

"We're all doing this for our comrades, I hope you can understand!" Erza's tone remained firm, her mind unchanged.

"Please stop being unreasonable! I can't possibly stop the train for a passenger who missed their stop!" The train station employee's tone was somewhat flustered and angry.

This was the first time he had ever seen such an unreasonable passenger.

With the conversation making no progress, Erza immediately gave up on trying to persuade the other person and instead turned her attention to a lever on the wall, namely the emergency stop signal.

Once pulled down, it sends a signal to a moving train, which will then stop.

"Happy!"

"Love!" The Harpy, who understood instantly, flapped its wings, flew over the obstruction of the train station staff, and pulled down the lever.

The sharp ringing of the bell echoed throughout the station and spread rapidly along the devices installed on both sides of the tracks.

"What...what happened?"

"An accident?"

There was some commotion among the crowd near the station.