Chapter 392: The Curse
One was a little girl several years younger than him, and the other was a rival he constantly butted heads with. Yet, both of them had flying, talking cats who actively helped them out.
As a fellow Dragon Slayer, he had absolutely nothing. How could he not be desperate?
"Pfft—hahaha!" Sorano couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Well, he's probably going to be disappointed," she added. "If cats like Happy and Carla were that easy to find, we would have found one ages ago."
After all, Happy and Carla belonged to the Exceed race from another world. Only a very small number of them had ever made it to Earth Land, making finding one incredibly difficult.
Hearing Sorano's words, Noah fell silent for a moment.
He suddenly realized that finding a cat like Happy or Carla for Gajeel might not actually be all that difficult.
Over the past few years, the Anima portals opening up from Edolas had been growing steadily stronger and more frequent. Whenever S-Class mages like Ultear or Laxus went out on missions, they often ended up having to forcefully close them.
According to their recent mission reports, sealing those Anima portals was requiring more and more magical power.
It seemed that in the near future, they would need to take a trip to the parallel world to resolve the issue at its source.
"What are you thinking about?" Sorano asked, noticing Noah staring blankly into space after her comment.
"Oh, nothing. Just remembered something else. It's not important right now," Noah shook his head with a dismissive smile.
The trip to Edolas wasn't an immediate emergency; it could wait a little longer.
"Alright then," Sorano didn't pry any further.
At that exact moment, Makarov leaped onto the bar counter, a massive grin plastered across his face as he shouted to the guild hall, "Today, we feast!"
"YEAAAAHHH!!!"
The entire guild erupted into deafening cheers.
"This is to celebrate our alliance's absolute victory over the Oración Seis! Go wild, brats! Drink and be merry!" Makarov roared with laughter, instantly setting the chaotic tone for the night.
"WOOOO! I'M ALL FIRED UP!" Natsu was the first to answer the call. He slammed one foot onto a chair and the other onto a table, tilting his head back and spewing a massive pillar of roaring flames into the ceiling.
"Let's go down and join them!" Noah smiled, turning to Sorano.
"Yeah!" Sorano beamed.
The two of them descended the stairs from the second floor.
As soon as their feet hit the first floor, they were hit by a wall of chaotic noise.
"Another mug of beer over here!"
"Coming right up!"
The guild's waitstaff was running frantically between tables, completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of food and drink orders.
"Gray-sama, you haven't been looking at other women, have you?" Juvia asked, her face suddenly turning terrifyingly dark as she glared at the Ice Mage.
"W-What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Gray sweatdropped, completely at a loss for how to handle her sudden, intense jealousy.
Suddenly, a heavy, aggressive guitar riff blasted through the hall. A group of rowdy guild members had already stormed the stage, jumping and singing wildly. Mirajane had somehow acquired an electric guitar and was absolutely shredding a hardcore rock song center stage.
Elfman stood next to her, gripping a microphone and continuously screaming "MANLY!" completely off-beat. The surrounding guild members didn't care about the rhythm at all, simply headbanging and moshing wildly.
Back at the tables, Juvia's terrifying aura vanished, replaced by a radiant smile as she eagerly poured Gray another drink. Gray stared at the cup, entirely unsure if he should drink it or run.
Standing directly behind them, Bisca and Alzack watched the duo with incredibly envious expressions. They both desperately wished they could sit that closely and interact that casually with each other.
As if sharing a telepathic link, Alzack and Bisca suddenly glanced at each other. Their faces instantly flushed beet red, and they quickly snapped their heads away, refusing to make eye contact.
The rest of the guild cheered loudly, aggressively hyping up Gray and Juvia's dynamic.
On the other side of the hall, Natsu had apparently done something to completely enrage Lucy, because she was currently chasing him around the entire guild with murderous intent.
Natsu cackled loudly as he sprinted away, expertly dodging the stray mugs and plates Lucy furiously hurled at the back of his head.
Stepping off the stairs, Sorano quickly spotted Ultear and the other girls and happily ran over to join their corner of the party. Cana was already there, drinking heavily while chatting with Erza and the others.
Wendy and the younger girls had fully shaken off their earlier melancholy. Back to their usual bright selves, they happily chatted and laughed with the rest of the guild.
Behind the bar, Laxus was casually sorting through some guild paperwork while chatting with the Thunder Legion.
Seeing everyone so incredibly happy, a brilliant, genuine smile naturally spread across Noah's face.
Catching Noah's eye, Laxus raised his glass in a silent toast before downing the liquor. Noah smiled, nodded back, and seamlessly swiped a freshly poured beer off a passing waitress's tray, downing it in one go.
Looking around for some trouble to get into, Noah's eyes locked onto a large group of the guild's most notorious heavy drinkers.
His grin widened into something decidedly wicked as he strolled over to their tables.
"Drinking without me? Room for one more?"
Seeing Noah approach, the faces of the seasoned drinkers instantly went pale.
The horrifying memory of him effortlessly drinking them all under the table wasn't exactly ancient history. The mere sight of him holding a mug struck fear into their livers.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me you guys are scared? Terrified of getting drank under the table again?" Noah taunted, his bright smile dripping with provocation.
"WHAT?!"
"I was just having an off day last time! You only got lucky!"
"I'll show you the true drinking power of Fairy Tail right here, right now!"
Instantly enraged by the taunt, the guild members threw their caution to the wind and roared their acceptances.
"Alright! It's a deal! Let's settle this right now!" Noah shouted immediately, slamming his mug down before they could even think about backing out.
The drinkers instantly realized they had fallen for the bait, but with their pride on the line, there was no backing down. They grabbed their mugs, desperately convincing themselves that last time really was just a fluke. This time, they would definitely drink Noah under the table!
Fast forward.
The outcome was exactly the same as last time. When Noah finally stood up, he was surrounded by a literal carpet of passed-out, groaning guildmates.
"Your alcohol tolerance is truly pathetic," Noah chuckled, shaking his head at the sea of defeated drinkers.
"Noah... you... just you wait... next time... I'll definitely... outdrink you..." one of them slurred from the floor.
The moment the words left his mouth, his head slumped sideways and he passed out completely.
"Honestly, you knew they couldn't beat you, yet you provoked them anyway. And drinking that much is terrible for your health. Here, drink some of this hangover soup," Mirajane scolded him gently, walking over with a steaming bowl.
She carefully handed the bowl to him.
"Thanks!" Noah accepted it and downed it in one smooth gulp.
The soup was the absolute perfect temperature—clearly, Mirajane had deliberately cooled it down just enough so he could drink it comfortably.
"Their misery brings me joy," Noah grinned cheekily. "Besides, with my physical constitution, even doing this a hundred times wouldn't cause any real problems."
"You really are..." Mirajane sighed fondly, accepting the empty bowl and gently poking him in the shoulder.
"By the way, where's Grandpa?" Noah asked, looking around and noticing Makarov's absence.
"Master got a little too rowdy earlier. Laxus had to drag him into the break room so he could rest," Mirajane giggled.
"I see..." Noah pondered for a moment before turning back to her. "Mira, could you do me a favor? Go grab Ultear, the S-Class mages, Macao, and Wakaba, and bring them to the break room. There's something important I need to discuss with all of you."
"Understood," Mirajane nodded. She carried the empty bowl back to the bar before setting off to gather the requested members.
Noah headed straight for the break room.
As soon as he pushed the door open, he heard Laxus lecturing the old man sitting in the armchair.
"Gramps, you seriously need to watch your health! I know you're happy, but you have to pace yourself! You nearly injured your back out there! You have to be more careful at your age!"
"I know, I know. I'll be careful," Makarov waved him off dismissively.
Seeing Makarov's completely unbothered expression, Laxus knew his words had gone in one ear and out the other. The Lightning Dragon Slayer sighed heavily, making a mental note to keep a much closer eye on the stubborn old man.
Catching sight of Noah entering the room, Laxus turned to him. "What's up? Need something?"
"Yeah, there's something I need to talk about. But I'll wait until everyone gets here," Noah nodded.
He then walked over to Makarov. "Grandpa, I know you're overjoyed seeing the guild so happy, and that makes you happy too. But you really do need to take care of your health. The healthier you are, the longer you live. And the longer you live, the more years you get to spend watching this guild smile."
"Alright, alright, I understand. I'll be more mindful," Makarov quickly agreed, seeing Noah tag-teaming him with Laxus.
Hoping to change the subject, Makarov asked, "So, what did you need to talk about? You said you're waiting for the others?"
Noah knew exactly what the old man was doing, but decided not to press the health issue further. "Yeah. I have something to discuss with the senior members. And speak of the devil, here they are."
The door opened again, and Mirajane walked in, followed closely by Ultear, Erza, and the other S-Class mages, as well as Macao and Wakaba.
"What's this all about? Why did you call us in here? Weren't Ultear and the heavy hitters enough?" Wakaba asked, taking a puff of his pipe as he walked in.
"They definitely need to know, but I felt you two should be in the loop as well," Noah explained. "After all, I'm not always at the guild. Having more people aware of this situation will make it easier to handle things when I'm away."
Hearing that, the mood in the room instantly shifted to dead serious. Seeing their tense expressions and realizing they were probably expecting a major threat, Noah quickly clarified.
"It's nothing dangerous. I just need you guys to help keep an eye on someone, assuming she stays at the guild."
"...?"
Everyone stared at him in utter confusion.
Without another word, Noah snapped his fingers.
A massive, purple-scaled serpent instantly materialized on the floor behind Noah. The giant snake's eyes were tightly shut, clearly in a state of deep, magically induced slumber.
"Wait, isn't that the giant snake that belonged to Cobra of the Oración Seis? Why did you bring that thing back?" Ultear asked, immediately recognizing the beast.
"Oh! So that's where it went! I was actually looking for that snake after the battle, but I couldn't find it anywhere! You had already stashed it away!" Sorano gasped in realization.
"Why were you looking for it?" Noah asked curiously.
"It seemed incredibly intelligent and highly attuned to magic. I was just curious and wanted to study it," Sorano answered matter-of-factly.
"You're right about it being intelligent. And that's exactly why I called you all here," Noah nodded, turning back to the group.
"There are deep traces of a curse lingering on this serpent... Is that why you brought it back, Noah?" Makarov asked. He had been carefully inspecting the sleeping snake ever since it appeared, and his sharp eyes quickly noticed the unnatural magical signature clinging to its scales.
"Spot on, Grandpa. This snake is under a powerful curse. And after analyzing the magical structure... I can confirm that it used to be a human," Noah stated.
"A HUMAN?!"
Ultear, Erza, and the others gasped in sheer shock, their eyes darting back to the massive purple serpent.
None of them could have ever guessed that the terrifying beast they fought was actually a person.
"Wait, if that's the case, why didn't you just break the curse back then—oh, never mind. I understand," Erza started to ask, but quickly answered her own question.
Right after defeating the Oración Seis, they had immediately dealt with Roubaul's passing. Knowing the truth, Noah was likely in no emotional state to deal with complex curse-breaking at the time. After Roubaul faded, they had spent the rest of the day grieving and processing. Dealing with the snake simply had to be postponed until they were back in a safe, stable environment.
"Yeah. I wasn't in the right headspace to deal with something this delicate," Noah nodded, confirming Erza's thoughts. "Plus, breaking a curse of this magnitude requires absolute focus and a quiet, controlled environment. That's why I waited until we got back to start the process."
"But why didn't you just hand it over to the Magic Council?" Laxus asked, crossing his arms. He had been listening to Noah's mission report earlier, so he knew the context. They had literally handed over a thousand dark mages and the Oración Seis to Lahar. Handing over the snake would have been incredibly easy.
Noah shook his head, looking down at the purple serpent.
"I couldn't. For one, transforming a human into a snake is a highly specific and bizarre curse; I still haven't figured out the caster's motive. But more importantly, this curse has been active for several years. The malicious magic has completely intertwined with her physical body and life force. It's an incredibly potent, high-level curse. If someone attempts to break it without the necessary skill, the backlash will instantly kill her."
Noah looked back up at Laxus. "As far as I know, there isn't a single person currently stationed at the Magic Council with the precise expertise required to safely unravel a curse this deeply rooted. If I handed her over, she likely would have died during their attempts to restore her. That's why I brought her here."
"I see. That is indeed a terrifyingly complex curse. But to turn a person into a snake... what purpose could that possibly serve?" Makarov muttered, rubbing his chin as he stared deeply at the sleeping serpent.
Seeing the Guild Master agree with Noah's assessment, the rest of the group nodded, fully accepting the decision.
~~~
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