Chapter 389: A Miracle Granted Only to Those Who Believe in the Light
Noah descended the steps of the Audience Chamber and began wandering the ancient city.
The architecture was entirely composed of earth and stone, with nearly every building featuring a distinct, sharply pointed roof. Countless structures were severely damaged or crumbling, and practically every building he peaked inside was completely empty.
After a thorough sweep, Noah didn't find a single item of historical or magical value worth salvaging.
As the sun began to set and six o'clock approached, Noah returned to the central platform of the Audience Chamber, finding that everyone else had already gathered.
Ultear, Mirajane, Lucy, and Wendy had formed a small circle, excitedly sharing the photos they had taken with their Magic Cameras. Meanwhile, Jura and Gray were engaged in quiet conversation with a few of the Nirvit villagers, with Hoteye occasionally chiming in respectfully.
Seeing Noah return, everyone turned their attention back to him.
"Did everyone get a good look around?" Noah asked.
The group nodded in unison.
"Alright. In that case, it's time to destroy this place. It's time to destroy the magic known as Nirvana."
Hearing this, a fleeting look of pity crossed Lucy's face. "It honestly feels like a bit of a shame to just destroy a whole ancient city like this."
"It is not a shame, young lady. Destroying this place is our greatest wish. This city has endured far too much tragedy," Roubaul smiled warmly, comforting the young celestial mage.
Hearing the genuine relief in the ancient spirit's voice, Lucy nodded understandingly and didn't voice any further protests.
"Destroy it?! Do you need my help?!" Natsu suddenly perked up, his eyes practically glowing with excitement.
"No, I don't. It requires a very specific technique to destroy something of this scale," Noah rolled his eyes. "And honestly, the fact that you get this excited at the mere mention of the word 'destroy' just proves you don't pay nearly enough out-of-pocket for your collateral damage."
Noah ignored Natsu's pouting and snapped his fingers. A localized zero-gravity field enveloped the entire Alliance, gently lifting them off the platform and suspending them high in the air above the city.
"Just keeping you all airborne so you don't panic when the ground collapses beneath you," Noah explained casually.
Instantly, six identical magical clones of Noah separated from his body. The moment they fully materialized, they vanished via Spatial Magic, teleporting to the six gargantuan stone legs supporting the city.
"3... 2... 1..."
The moment Noah finished his countdown, the entire moving metropolis shuddered violently, as if its central engine had just been completely cut off. The colossal earthen plate and its six massive pillars began to plummet out of the sky.
"Gravity Magic!"
Noah slammed his right foot down on the stone platform. A staggeringly massive magic circle instantly expanded across the sky, blanketing the entire radius of the falling city.
Under the absolute suppression of Noah's gravity manipulation, the free-falling metropolis instantly decelerated. Guided perfectly by Noah, the colossal structure descended gently and safely back into the massive crater it had emerged from, touching down with barely a tremor.
A moment later, the six magical clones reappeared beside Noah, each one levitating a massive, intricately carved Lacrima crystal behind them.
Noah casually swiped his hand, sealing all six ancient power cores into magic cards and storing them away.
"Is that it? Is it over?" Sorano asked curiously as the floating group slowly drifted down to hover beside Noah.
"Not quite. If we're going to destroy Nirvana, we need to be thorough. All I did just now was sever its power source," Noah shook his head.
A terrifying, overwhelming surge of magical power suddenly erupted from Noah's body. The sheer density of his magic compressed the surrounding air, generating gale-force winds that physically pushed the floating Alliance members further back.
Noah raised his right leg, infusing it with an ocean of condensed magic, and stomped down hard on the ancient stone platform.
The stone didn't simply shatter. Instead, blindingly bright, pure white cracks instantly spider-webbed outward from the point of impact. The glowing fissures raced across the platform, down the central tower, and spread like wildfire across the entire sprawling metropolis and its six massive pillars.
"Crash!"
With a single, sharp command, Noah unleashed his Crush Magic at maximum output.
In an instant, the entire ancient city, the towering pillars, and every last stone were engulfed in a blinding white light. The massive structures violently fractured into millions of perfectly identical, cube-shaped blocks.
The cubes then violently splintered into even smaller cubes, shrinking exponentially until the entire metropolis was reduced to nothing more than microscopic dust.
Noah deactivated his gravity hold on the ground and floated back up to join the stunned Alliance high above.
"That... is unbelievable..." Lucy gasped, covering her mouth in sheer awe.
The rest of the group shared her absolute shock.
An entire ancient metropolis had vanished in the blink of an eye. Reduced to fine dust, the remains of the Country of Peace were simply blown away by the passing wind, scattering harmlessly across the Worth Woodsea.
"There we go. Now Nirvana is truly, permanently destroyed," Noah smiled warmly at the group.
Roubaul and the Nirvit villagers stared at the empty space where their cursed city had once stood. They remained completely silent for a long time. Some of the villagers tightly embraced each other, weeping softly. A single, quiet tear rolled down Roubaul's weathered cheek.
The Alliance respectfully maintained their silence, giving the ancient spirits the time they needed to finally release centuries of pent-up sorrow and guilt.
After several long minutes, the Nirvit finally managed to compose themselves.
"I deeply apologize for keeping you all waiting," Roubaul said softly, wiping his eyes.
The Alliance members quickly shook their heads, silently assuring him that it was perfectly fine.
"Since the Oración Seis have been captured, and Nirvana has been completely destroyed, I'll go ahead and contact the Magic Council so they can come and haul away this massive pile of dark mages," Noah announced.
"THE MAGIC COUNCIL?!"
The moment Natsu and Gray heard the dreaded words, they shrieked in absolute terror, scrambled behind the nearest tree, and began trembling violently.
"Are you guys seriously that scared of them?!" Lucy deadpanned, staring at the two terrified powerhouses.
"Aye!" Happy raised his paw solemnly, not hiding his own fear.
"They're just traumatized. They've been violently reprimanded, fined, and threatened by the Council far too many times," Sorano giggled from the side.
"Just exactly how many times have they been reprimanded to end up like that?" Lucy asked, genuinely bewildered.
"Honestly? Even they probably lost count years ago," Sorano shrugged helplessly.
The rest of the group couldn't help but burst into laughter at the Fairy Tail mages' legendary fear of authority.
"Mr. Noah, I believe contacting the Council is the most appropriate course of action," Jura nodded in agreement.
With no objections, Noah initiated a magical communication link with the Council while simultaneously guiding the floating Alliance back down to solid ground.
Upon receiving the report, the Magic Council immediately dispatched a massive containment unit to their coordinates.
While they waited for the Council forces to arrive, Noah sat down and began thoroughly examining the talking magic staff he had confiscated from Brain.
Intricate golden magic circles spun continuously in front of Noah's eyes, perfectly syncing with several glyphs he had manifested over the staff. His Archive screens hovered nearby, rapidly logging and decoding the bizarre magical data radiating from the artifact.
While Noah wasn't entirely sure how a piece of wood had gained sentience, the unique structural data he was extracting would be incredibly useful for his personal magical research.
After a considerable amount of time, Noah finally finished backing up all the viable data.
Right on cue, the Magic Council's detention forces arrived at the scene. And the man leading them was a familiar face.
"Oh, it's you. Doranbalt didn't come this time?" Noah asked, glancing over the rows of rune knights before addressing the stern-faced captain leading the unit.
"He's currently occupied with another highly classified assignment. He won't be joining us today," the captain replied smoothly. Noticing the confused looks from the Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus mages, he adjusted his glasses and formally introduced himself.
"I am the Captain of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit of the newly reformed Magic Council. My name is Lahar. Noah and I are old acquaintances."
Hearing the introduction, Jura and the others nodded in understanding.
"Newly reformed Magic Council?" Gray gasped, peeking out from behind his tree.
"Wait, they're already back up and running?" Lucy asked in surprise.
The last time they had handed criminals over to the Council—after the Tower of Heaven incident—the entire governing body had been in absolute shambles, practically paralyzed by internal corruption and the destruction of Era. They hadn't expected the Council to rebuild and restructure this quickly.
"Yes. It required an agonizing amount of grueling work, but we have finally managed to reorganize and officially resume full operations," Lahar sighed, a brief flash of sheer exhaustion crossing his usually stoic face.
The restructuring period had been an absolute nightmare. The remaining loyal officers had worked around the clock with barely any sleep, practically driving themselves to the brink of collapse just to keep the magical world from devolving into anarchy.
Thankfully, the worst was behind them. The Council was functioning smoothly once more, and their workload had finally returned to somewhat manageable levels.
When the Council received the report that an alliance between Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, and Lamia Scale had successfully defeated the Oración Seis, they deliberately dispatched Lahar to handle the custody transfer, knowing he had a positive working history with Fairy Tail.
"Having the Council fully operational again is definitely a good thing," Noah nodded.
Despite their occasional bureaucratic incompetence, having a centralized governing body to maintain order and enforce the law was essential for the stability of the magical world.
"The unconscious mages over there are the members of the various dark guilds operating under the Oración Seis's umbrella. You can start loading them up," Noah said, pointing to the massive pile of unconscious bodies resting peacefully inside his containment barrier.
"Understood. Secure the prisoners!" Lahar barked over his shoulder.
As the Rune Knights marched forward, Noah casually snapped his fingers, dispelling the containment barrier to grant them access.
The Rune Knights efficiently began slapping Magic Sealing Cuffs onto the unconscious dark mages and dragging them toward the massive fleet of prison carriages. However, as they worked, they couldn't hide their absolute shock.
There were nearly a thousand dark mages lying here, and they had supposedly been completely wiped out by an alliance of less than twenty people.
The knights knew perfectly well that the villagers in traditional clothing standing off to the side were non-combatants. The only actual mages present were the small group casually chatting with their captain.
The sheer difference in combat power was unfathomable. The knights had never encountered mages this terrifyingly strong within their own ranks.
Thankfully, Lahar had anticipated a massive haul and brought an unusually large fleet of prison carriages. They had just enough space to securely lock away every single dark mage.
With the foot soldiers handled, Lahar turned his attention to the real prize: the ultimate targets of this joint operation.
"Where are the Oración Seis?" Lahar asked, his tone turning dead serious.
"Right here."
Noah jerked his thumb over his shoulder. Instantly, four of the Oración Seis generals floated up from the ground and drifted to a stop directly in front of Lahar.
Lahar flinched, instinctively taking a step back and dropping into a defensive stance.
The Rune Knights behind him immediately panicked, raising their magical staves and aiming them squarely at the floating dark mages.
"Relax, you don't need to be so tense. They're completely sealed. They pose zero threat," Noah waved his hand dismissively.
Trusting Noah's judgment, Lahar raised a hand, signaling his men to stand down. The Rune Knights slowly lowered their weapons, staring at the legendary dark mages with morbid curiosity.
The four generals hadn't just had their magic permanently sealed by Noah; he had also placed a strict silence ward on them.
Unable to move or speak, all Cobra, Racer, Midnight, and Brain could do was furiously glare at the Rune Knights who were now openly gawking at them like animals in a zoo. The absolute humiliation boiled in their veins, but they were entirely powerless to stop it.
"Wait... the Oración Seis. Why are there only four of them here?" Lahar asked, quickly counting the floating bodies.
"The fifth one is right over there," Noah pointed at Hoteye, who was standing quietly next to Jura.
"..."
Lahar's eyes widened in alarm. That man was one of the Oración Seis?!
Why wasn't he magically bound and gagged like the others?
The Rune Knights instantly tensed up again, raising their staves and aiming directly at Richard.
"Stand down," Lahar ordered sharply, forcing his men to lower their weapons once more.
Having worked with Noah before, Lahar knew the young mage didn't do things without a calculated reason. He turned to Noah, silently waiting for an explanation.
"His code name was Hoteye, but his real name is Richard," Noah explained calmly. "During our battle, he experienced a profound awakening and genuinely realized the absolute horror of his past actions. Because of his sincere repentance, I merely sealed his magic, allowing him the freedom to walk and speak."
"I see..." Lahar frowned, a deeply troubled look crossing his face.
Hearing Noah defend the man, Lahar was terrified that Noah was about to officially request leniency or ask for Richard to be let go.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to make your job difficult. Please, take Richard into custody," Noah smiled, instantly reading the conflict on Lahar's face.
Lahar let out a massive, silent sigh of relief.
If Noah had actually asked for a pardon, Lahar would have been caught in an agonizing moral dilemma. Noah had helped him immensely in the past, and refusing a direct favor from him would have been incredibly difficult. But the Oración Seis were perpetrators of unspeakable atrocities; letting one walk free was a gross violation of absolute justice.
Since Noah wasn't pushing for a pardon, Lahar's conscience was clear.
"W-Wait! Hold on a moment!"
Jura suddenly stepped forward, unable to stay silent.
After Richard's awakening, Jura had spent a considerable amount of time talking with him. The two had genuinely connected, and Jura had come to deeply respect the man's newfound resolve. Hearing that Richard was being hauled off to a high-security prison didn't sit right with him.
"It is quite alright, Jura-dono," Richard smiled gently, placing a hand on the Wizard Saint's arm.
"Richard-dono..." Jura looked at him, his brow furrowed in distress.
"Even if my heart has finally awakened to the light, that does not simply erase the terrible sins I have committed in the past. I wish to start over properly. I must pay for my crimes," Richard said, his tone incredibly peaceful. "Only then... when I finally find my little brother... I can look him in the eye with pride. Oh yes."
Jura stared at Richard for a long moment. Finally, a warm, resolute smile spread across his face.
"Very well. In that case, I swear to you that I will take up the mantle and search for your brother in your stead."
"Truly?!" Richard gasped, his eyes widening in absolute shock.
"Please, tell me your brother's name," Jura requested firmly, his promise absolute.
"His name... his name is Wally. Wally Buchanan," Richard answered, his voice trembling with raw emotion.
"Oh, Wally? I know him," Noah chimed in casually.
"WHAT?!"
Both Jura and Richard violently whipped their heads around, staring at Noah in utter disbelief.
Noah turned toward the Fairy Tail group. "You guys know Wally too."
"We do?" Erza blinked, racking her brain.
Seeing that they weren't connecting the dots, Noah offered a hint. "Tower of Heaven. The guy whose head was practically a perfect block."
"Blockhead?!"
The memory instantly clicked for Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy.
Looking back at Richard—who, despite being massive, shared the exact same uniquely blocky facial structure—they all nodded in unison. The resemblance was uncanny; they were undeniably brothers.
"Wally was deceived and manipulated into doing some terrible things in the past. He is currently serving his sentence in a Council prison," Noah explained, turning his attention to Lahar. "However, I recall hearing that due to his exceptional behavior and genuine remorse, his sentence was significantly reduced. Is that correct?"
After handing the Tower of Heaven cultists over to the Council, Noah had kept tabs on their processing. The fanatical members of the dark cult who committed atrocities willingly were given maximum sentences. But those who had been enslaved and manipulated since childhood were offered rehabilitation and reduced sentences once they recognized the error of their ways.
"Yes, your information is entirely correct," Lahar nodded, confirming Noah's statement. "Once Wally Buchanan realized he had been manipulated, he was incredibly cooperative and proactive in his rehabilitation, desperately hoping for an early release. Taking his history of enslavement and manipulation into account, the Council granted him a substantial sentence reduction."
Lahar even offered a rare, small smile. "I've actually spoken with him. He mentioned that his greatest dream upon release is to travel the world with his friends—the ones who were deceived alongside him—so they can finally experience the true beauty of the world they missed out on."
Noah tapped the air, bringing up his Archive screens. With a few quick swipes, he pulled up a high-resolution mugshot of Wally—a photo Noah had taken specifically for documentation purposes when they captured the Tower of Heaven cultists.
"Here," Noah said, projecting the image directly in front of Richard.
"Oooh... OOOOOOHHHH!!!!"
Staring at the face of the brother he hadn't seen in over a decade, and hearing that Wally was not only alive but actively working toward a bright future, Richard completely broke down.
He had spent years committing unspeakable horrors, desperately hoarding wealth just for the faintest hope of finding a single clue about his brother. He had found absolutely nothing.
Yet, the very day he finally rejected the darkness and embraced the light, the news he had sacrificed everything for was simply handed to him.
"This is it... this is the truth..." Richard's legs gave out, and he fell heavily to his knees.
He buried his face in his massive hands, tears pouring through his fingers as he sobbed uncontrollably.
"A miracle... a true miracle... granted only to those who truly believe in the light..."
His voice was hoarse and broken, thick with overwhelming gratitude. "Thank you... thank you so much... thank you!"
The clearing fell completely silent. Everyone watched with profound respect as Richard wept, finally releasing decades of accumulated despair and guilt.
After several minutes, Richard finally managed to compose himself. He stood up slowly, wiped his tears, and voluntarily held his hands out toward Lahar.
Lahar gestured sharply, and two Rune Knights stepped forward, securing the Magic Sealing Cuffs tightly around Richard's wrists.
Noah snapped his fingers, permanently dispelling the personal magical seal he had placed on Richard earlier.
"Once Richard is processed, could you pull some strings and arrange for him to visit his brother occasionally? I truly believe he's committed to reforming himself," Noah asked Lahar.
"Yes. I can certainly arrange that," Lahar nodded firmly. It was a perfectly reasonable request, and one he was more than happy to fulfill.
"Thank you... thank you both so much!" Richard bowed deeply to Noah and Lahar, his voice trembling with gratitude.
Watching the scene unfold, warm smiles spread across the faces of the Alliance members. Seeing a man who had sunk so deep into the abyss finally find redemption and genuine happiness was incredibly moving.
"Richard-dono. When the time comes, I will certainly come to visit you," Jura promised warmly.
"Thank you... thank you..."
Completely overwhelmed by the sheer kindness he was being shown, Richard couldn't form any other words. Still bowing and thanking everyone profusely, he was gently led away by the Rune Knights and secured inside one of the prison carriages.
"It's just so sad..." Lucy murmured softly, watching the heavy iron doors of the carriage slam shut.
"Aye..." Happy agreed, his ears drooping sadly.
"There's no getting around it," Gray sighed softly.
"Exactly. If you commit a crime, you have to face the consequences," Noah stated firmly, his tone gentle but absolute.
Noah had confirmed Richard's genuine repentance, and the absolute best he could do was ensure the man got the chance to see his brother again. He firmly believed that for the sake of his own future and his brother's, Richard would serve his time and eventually return to society as a good man.
~~~
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