Natsu knew Kira didn't care much about them taking an S-Class mission without permission. His scolding was more about Natsu's overconfidence, which nearly got his teammates hurt.
Kira cared deeply about his guildmates.
This time, Natsu had messed up. He thought he could handle anything, but he got careless, didn't dodge the enemy's massive attack, and ended up with both himself and Happy badly injured.
But Natsu wasn't one to dodge responsibility. If he screwed up, he'd own it, train harder, and make sure it didn't happen again. Thinking this way lifted his spirits, and he even started looking forward to the training Kira mentioned. "Alright, Kira, when we get back, let's have a real fight!"
"Heh, don't worry," Kira chuckled, seeing Natsu shake off his guilt over Happy's injuries. "You'll get your chance to fight when we're back."
If Kira remembered the original story's timeline correctly, they might soon be facing off against Phantom Lord.
"And Lucy, you're joining us!" Kira added.
"Huh? Me?" Lucy blinked, caught off guard by being called out again.
"Even though Natsu's the main reason you guys got hurt, you're his teammate, Lucy. You didn't contribute much in that fight, and that's a stain on Fairy Tail's pride!" Kira said, tossing out a flimsy excuse.
"Since you're a team, you'll train together. And…" Kira leaned in close to Lucy, his face darkening, "you didn't think you'd get away with taking an S-Class mission without consequences, did you?"
"Uh… well… haha…" Lucy gave an awkward laugh, looking away nervously.
"Get kicked out of the guild or face my devilish training. Pick one!"
Was there even a choice?
"Fine, training it is!" Lucy sighed.
"Oh yeah! Devilish training? Sounds awesome! I'm fired up!" Natsu shouted, practically bouncing with excitement.
Lucy let out a weary sigh at Natsu's over-the-top enthusiasm.
Then she walked over to the stone prison encasing Chloe, studying it curiously. "This stone magic is incredible. It can handle an elemental enemy and seal them? I've never heard of magic like this."
"Is this the demon?" Natsu joined her, tapping the stone cage. "Kira's magic is always so wild. It's not surprising he can pull this off."
"Exactly!" Happy chimed in. "Sealing magic is like healing magic—both are ancient, lost arts!"
"Healing magic? Oh, right! That's what he used to patch you guys up!" Lucy said, catching on. "Now that I think about it, Word Magic feels like a combination of all kinds of magic!"
"It can create things, apply status effects, heal, and seal…" Lucy listed off the abilities she'd seen Kira use.
Kira approached, overhearing her. "Pretty much. Word Magic uses the true names of all things, including magic itself. Every spell has its own true name, so with Word Magic, I can basically use any kind of magic."
"Of course, it's incredibly demanding," he continued. "As far as I know, I'm the only one who can use it. In terms of versatility, the only thing that might come close is Copy Magic."
Lucy's curiosity piqued. "Copy Magic? What's that?"
"It's a magic that can instantly copy and nullify any other magic," Kira explained.
"What?! It can copy any magic? Even my Dragon Slayer Magic?" Natsu asked, wide-eyed.
"Probably…" Kira admitted, though he wasn't entirely sure.
"But the stronger the magic, the stricter its conditions and the more obvious its weaknesses. Copy Magic can't replicate Holder-type magic. For example, Celestial Spirit Magic requires specific keys, and there's no such thing as two identical keys in the world."
Lucy nodded, understanding. "Even if it can't copy Holder-type magic, being able to use all Ability-type magic is still insane!"
"Yeah," Kira agreed.
Suddenly, Lucy thought of something. "You said stronger magic has bigger flaws. So, what's the drawback of Word Magic?"
"Well…" Kira paused before answering. "Like I said, Word Magic demands a ton from its user: massive magical power, extensive knowledge of magic, and practical experience. You need all three, or it's useless."
In truth, there was another catch: Word Magic required speaking the true name of the spell. But Kira wasn't about to reveal that. It was too big a weakness—if an enemy figured it out, they could counter him easily. In the magic world, shouting spell names during a fight was common, so no one would suspect it was a requirement. They'd probably just think Kira was showing off. But in reality, he had to say the names.
To cover this weakness, he'd learned other types of magic, creating a mix of "name-shouting Word Magic" and "regular magic" to keep opponents guessing—a tactic straight out of military strategy.
While Kira was lost in thought, Natsu brought the conversation back to the mission. "So, what now? This must be the demon the tavern guy mentioned. Does this mean we've completed the job?"
Lucy frowned at the stone prison. "What do we do with her… this demon?"
Happy suggested, "Why don't we take her back to the tavern guy and ask him?"
Their discussion snapped Kira back to attention. He frowned. "I thought your mission was just to repel magical beasts, but you ended up fighting a demon. Sounds like your client isn't so simple."
"The tavern guy said he's a descendant of some tribe," Natsu said.
"It's the Aisnyu tribe, Natsu!" Happy corrected.
"Yeah, that's it! He said they're a clan that serves a god or something."
Serving a god? That lined up with Kira's earlier suspicions.
"Alright, let's go meet this tavern guy," Kira decided with a clap of his hands. "I've got some questions for him too."
"What about the demon?" Lucy asked.
"We'll bring her along. It's part of reporting the mission's success. Can't just leave her here."
Kira waved his hand, pulling out his "Snow Magic Vehicle." Designed for snowy terrain, it looked like a wheelless magic four-wheeler, kind of like a sled, but powered by a magical crystal engine instead of reindeer. Naturally, it was another of Kira's creations, complete with balance magic.
"Let's go!" Kira said, moving the stone prison onto the vehicle and settling comfortably into a seat lined with mink fur. "Lead the way! And tell me about this Aisnyu tribe tavern guy while we're at it."
---
The battlefield was a chaotic mix of ice and snow, littered with swords, wolf corpses, ice sculptures, and drifts of snow. The stark contrast of red blood and white snow was striking, but no one had time to admire the scene.
"Looks like the enemy's gone," Erza said after cautiously waiting for any sign of further attack. Her sword, dripping with wolf blood, gave her the air of an unstoppable warrior queen.
Gray approached, shirtless as usual after a fight, his toned muscles on full display. He caught his breath and, seeing no more threats, grabbed his coat from the ground and threw it on. "They attack out of nowhere and then just leave? What kind of weird enemies are these?"
"Not entirely without clues," Erza said. "From what she said earlier, it seems she's been occupying this place for a while. And that cold, dark magical energy…"
"She's a demon," Gray said with certainty. "No mistake about it. That sinister, shadowy feeling is unique to demons. That snow-controlling woman is definitely one."
"A demon, huh? I wonder what they're up to, lurking out here…" Erza mused.
"Them?" Gray glanced at the fallen wolves, thinking Erza meant them.
Sensing his confusion, Erza clarified, "Not the wolves. She's got other allies—probably demons too."
"How do you know she has allies?"
"She was trying to drive us away but left suddenly. Something must've happened," Erza explained, sheathing her sword and swapping her armor for her usual set. "In a place this remote, an incident likely means her allies ran into trouble."
"Trouble? You mean Kira or Loki's group?"
"Or maybe Natsu, who got here first," Erza said, turning in a new direction. "Let's move."
Gray hurried to keep up. "Hold on, this isn't the way we were going before! Where are we headed?"
Erza replied, "It was faint, but I sensed a magical fluctuation from that direction right before she left. I'm guessing a fight broke out. Whoever caused it, we should check it out."
Magical fluctuation? Gray thought. I didn't notice anything. Was I too busy fighting, or is Erza's perception just that sharp? Probably the latter…