Chapter 103: The Ultimate Wand Body
Once everyone had gathered, and Erza's luggage was stored in George's backpack, there was no need to find staff to handle it separately. The four humans and two cats boarded the train together.
Gray and Natsu sat in one row, with Happy in the middle, while Lucy and Erza sat in another row, with George in the middle.
However, as soon as the train started moving, Natsu's condition immediately worsened. Gone was the lively energy he had shown earlier, replaced by a pained expression as if he were carsick.
"What's wrong with him?"
George asked, surprised.
He could understand motion sickness in cars or boats, but this was the first time he had heard of someone getting sick on a train.
Especially with Natsu's extraordinary physical abilities, this shouldn't be happening.
Even ordinary people don't get motion sickness on trains.
"Natsu gets sick on all forms of transportation. Any vehicle makes him feel this way. You'll get used to it!"
Happy explained, pulling a dried fish from his bag and chewing on it.
As Natsu's partner, he was used to it.
"By the way, George, do you want one?"
He offered a piece to George, but George politely declined.
Although his body was that of a cat, his soul was human, and he didn't share Happy's enthusiasm for dried fish.
"Motion sickness on all vehicles? That doesn't make sense."
Though he couldn't figure it out, George pulled out his wand and cast a Levitation Charm on Natsu.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
Under the effect of the charm, Natsu slowly floated up from his seat, neither touching the seat nor the floor, hovering in mid-air.
In this state, Natsu immediately regained his energy and even let out a small flame from his mouth.
"Haha, I'm back to normal! Thanks, George!"
"As long as it works."
George nodded. His magic was infinite, and with the amplification from his super wand, a single Levitation Charm could last for half an hour without issue. A few more casts would keep Natsu floating until they reached their destination.
Natsu was one of the main fighters for this mission, so George naturally wanted to ensure he remained in good condition.
Otherwise, what would they do if they encountered enemies? He couldn't possibly step in to fight.
"Erza, we're already on our way. Can you tell us what's going on?"
Gray took the initiative to ask Erza.
Until now, they still didn't know what the trouble Erza had mentioned was or who their enemies would be.
Erza nodded and began to explain.
A few days ago, she had just finished a mission and was on her way back to the guild. While passing by a mage gathering at a tavern in Onibus, she overheard a conversation between several mages from the Black Steel Forest guild.
The conversation revolved around the Black Steel Forest guild finding the legendary Cursed Flute. They planned to unseal it and use its powerful curse-killing abilities for some grand scheme.
"The Cursed Flute!"
Upon hearing Erza's explanation, George's eyes lit up.
He had read about the "Cursed Flute" in a library book that introduced magical artifacts.
Legend had it that the Cursed Flute was originally a magical tool used to cast curse-killing spells. After being modified by the most evil dark mage, Zeref, it evolved into a magical flute.
Anyone who heard the sound of the flute would immediately be killed by a death curse, and its range of attack was vast.
What interested George wasn't the curse-killing power of the flute. While it was indeed powerful, it was unlikely he could claim it for himself given his current strength. Moreover, using it to kill a large number of people would undoubtedly make him a target for every mage in the kingdom.
What caught his attention was that the book not only described the flute but also included a picture of it. It was a thick wooden flute with a skull-shaped head.
In other words, with a bit of carving, it could become an excellent wand body.
He had always felt that the body of his super wand didn't match the core. If he could use a section of the Cursed Flute as the wand's body, he believed the resulting wand's power would increase several times over.
Especially for curses like the Severing Charm, which had a dark magical nature.
"George, do you know about the Cursed Flute?"
Erza noticed the change in George's expression and asked.
George nodded without hiding anything.
"I read about it in a library book that introduced magical artifacts. The Cursed Flute's lullaby is..."
"If it's something so dangerous, we can't just ignore it."
After hearing George's explanation, Erza's expression turned serious.
The Black Steel Forest was a dark mage guild, and its members took on illegal missions like assassinations. They weren't the kind-hearted type. Whatever they planned to do with the Cursed Flute was certainly not good and could potentially harm many people.
"I didn't realize it at the time, or I would have immediately confronted those Black Steel Forest mages and forced them to reveal their plans!"
"So, what do we do now?"
Lucy asked nervously.
She felt that this mission was becoming increasingly dangerous and was starting to regret coming.
"We'll head straight to the Black Steel Forest guild headquarters. We'll storm their base, defeat all their mages, and take the Cursed Flute."
Erza laid out her straightforward and bold plan.
Originally, she had planned to go to the Black Steel Forest alone, but she felt it was too risky to take on an entire guild by herself.
Her main concern was that someone might sneak away with the Cursed Flute during the fight, so she decided to return and bring Natsu and Gray along.
"Sounds fun!"
Gray showed no fear, while Natsu was so excited that flames shot out from his nostrils.
"Defeating all of them? That's awesome!"
"I want to go home..."
Lucy's face was drenched in sweat.
A few people storming an entire guild, especially a dark mage guild known for assassinations, was terrifying.
George, however, felt relatively calm. He believed that Erza, as an S-class mage, wouldn't act recklessly. If she dared to storm their base, she must have some confidence.
In Erza's plan, she, Natsu, and Gray alone were enough to take on the Black Steel Forest. Now, with Lucy and him added, their chances of success should be even greater.
He wouldn't comment on Lucy's abilities yet, but at the very least, he wasn't just a support mage. When it came down to it, his magic and psychic abilities were nothing to scoff at.
As the train headed toward Onibus, where the Black Steel Forest was located, Makarov, who was attending the guild masters' meeting in Crocus, received a magical letter from Mirajane.
"Master Makarov, Master Makarov, Miss Mirajane has sent you a letter!"
A blue magical messenger bird delivered the letter to Makarov, who was busy boasting about his guild's mages to the other guild masters.
Makarov infused the envelope with magic, and a small magical circle slowly appeared on it.
(End of Chapter)