Chapter 393: Breaking the Curse
Having lived and fought alongside Noah for years, everyone present intimately understood the sheer scale of his power.
If Noah confidently stated that the Magic Council lacked the ability to safely handle the serpent's curse, they believed him without a second thought.
"In that case, are you planning to break the curse right now, Noah?" Macao asked, leaning against the wall.
"Yeah. The environment here is perfect—it's quiet, secure, and there's no one to interrupt. I'll start the unsealing process right now. Everyone, step back to the edges of the room," Noah instructed.
Without hesitation, the group quickly shuffled backward, pressing themselves against the walls to give Noah and the massive purple serpent plenty of space.
Once everyone was clear, Noah raised his hand and cast a powerful, multi-layered isolation barrier around the center of the room. Not only would this prevent any external magical fluctuations from interfering with his delicate work, but it would also guarantee that any volatile, malicious energy released during the unsealing wouldn't escape and harm anyone else.
With the safety measures in place, Noah turned his attention to the slumbering beast.
Forming a sword gesture with his right hand, he traced a sharp vertical line in the air.
Instantly, two massive golden magic circles materialized—one directly above the snake and one directly below it. The edges of the two circles seamlessly connected, forming a glowing, cylindrical golden barrier that completely encased the serpent.
Noah's right hand became a blur as he continuously drew complex sigils in the air. Layer upon layer of intricate magical arrays spawned around the purple serpent, spinning rapidly in opposite directions.
Simultaneously, Noah raised his left hand and summoned his Archive screens. Two smaller, incredibly intricate golden glyphs materialized directly in front of his eyes. Through these, he continuously monitored and recorded the snake's vital signs and magical fluctuations, rapidly adjusting the surrounding arrays in real-time to optimize the unsealing process and minimize physical trauma to the serpent's body.
The room was dead silent. Everyone watched with bated breath, entirely unwilling to make even a sound that might distract him.
Despite being encased in a vortex of spinning magic circles, the purple serpent showed absolutely no signs of waking up. Its eyes remained tightly shut, its breathing slow and peaceful.
After several minutes of meticulous calibration, Noah was finally satisfied that the arrays were perfectly aligned with the serpent's unique magical signature.
Condensing an immense volume of pure magic into his index and middle fingers, a blinding, piercing light ignited at his fingertips.
"Release!"
Noah thrust his fingers forward, tapping the absolute center of the primary array.
The sheer density of his magic instantly surged through the interconnected network of glyphs. All of the surrounding magic circles ignited with blinding golden light, unleashing their combined power directly onto the purple serpent.
HIIISSSSS!!!
The moment the unsealing magic struck, the serpent's eyes violently snapped open. It began thrashing wildly, screaming in agony.
Spreading its massive wings, the snake desperately tried to take flight and escape the torment, but it slammed hard into the cylindrical golden barrier and was violently repelled. Realizing it was trapped, the serpent didn't stop. It began violently throwing its massive body against the glowing walls, desperately trying to smash its way out to escape the unbearable pain.
Sizzle...
As the snake violently thrashed against the barrier, the horrific sound of frying meat echoed through the room. Thick, putrid black smoke began violently violently erupting from beneath the serpent's purple scales.
Instead of dissipating, the black smoke gathered thickly at the top of the cylindrical barrier, churning maliciously.
As the dark magic was forcibly expelled, the serpent's physical body began to rapidly deteriorate. Its scales peeled away, and deep, agonizingly painful, festering wounds tore open across its flesh.
Seeing the physical toll the unsealing was taking, Noah narrowed his eyes. His right hand blurred again, aggressively adjusting the output of several specific arrays.
The light radiating from a cluster of healing glyphs intensified brilliantly.
Instantly, the horrific wounds tearing open across the serpent's body began to rapidly stitch themselves back together.
For the next several agonizing minutes, a brutal cycle repeated. The curse violently tore the serpent's flesh apart, and Noah's arrays instantly healed it. Throughout the excruciating process, the volume of black smoke erupting from the snake steadily decreased.
However, the serpent's struggles only grew more violent and frenzied. Its massive reptilian eyes were completely bloodshot, bulging with sheer madness.
It was no longer simply throwing its body against the barrier; it was actively rearing back and violently slamming its head directly into the golden light, fighting with every ounce of its strength to break free.
The onlookers quickly noticed the horrific shift in its behavior. The serpent was no longer acting like an animal trying to escape pain—it was throwing itself against the barrier with absolute, suicidal desperation, completely disregarding the damage it was doing to its own body. It was as if the curse itself had seized control of the beast, violently fighting back against the unsealing.
Despite its frenzied, suicidal charges, the golden barrier remained entirely unyielding, gently but firmly repelling every single strike.
Finally, as the very last wisp of putrid black smoke was violently purged from its body, the serpent's eyes rolled back into its head. Completely drained of strength, it collapsed, plummeting limply toward the floor.
Noah twitched his fingers, utilizing a mild gravity field to catch the massive beast and gently lower it to the ground.
With the curse fully expelled, the thick cloud of black smoke gathered at the top of the barrier suddenly began to churn violently. The malicious energy rapidly condensed, taking the exact physical shape of the purple serpent it had just possessed.
HIIISSSSS!
The phantom black serpent floated in the air, glaring down at Noah with eyes burning with pure, unadulterated hatred and malice.
Locking onto the one who had destroyed it, the curse-phantom violently dove downward, desperately attempting to violently re-enter the unconscious purple serpent's body.
However, before it could even touch the scales, a brilliant golden film erupted from the purple snake's skin, violently repelling the dark phantom.
Sizzle!
The sickening sound of frying meat echoed again, and the black phantom's form became noticeably fainter and more unstable.
It glared venomously at Noah.
Noah simply offered it a cold, mocking smile. With a single, sharp swipe of his fingers, the surrounding arrays flared with absolute, blinding holy light.
HIIISSSSSSS!!!!
The phantom serpent unhinged its jaw in a silent, agonizing scream. Though there was no physical sound, everyone in the room distinctly heard a bloodcurdling, horrifying shriek echo directly inside their minds.
Under the overwhelming purification of the golden light, the curse-phantom rapidly dissolved into nothingness, permanently eradicated.
With the curse completely destroyed, the massive purple serpent lying on the floor began to glow brilliantly. Its massive, reptilian form began to rapidly shrink and warp, slowly transitioning from a snake into a human figure.
Noah's Archive screens spun wildly as he rapidly typed on the holographic keyboard, logging every single fluctuation of the biological and magical transformation.
As the transformation neared completion, Noah's eyes widened slightly as he realized exactly what was happening. Without missing a beat, he instantly pulled a thick, fluffy blanket from his spatial storage and expertly threw it over the glowing figure just a second before the transformation finished, completely covering the now-human girl.
"Awww..."
Two synchronized sighs of profound disappointment echoed from directly behind Noah. He didn't even need to look to know exactly who they belonged to.
Ignoring the perverted old men, Noah maintained the isolation barrier and the purification arrays for another full minute. Only after absolutely confirming through his Archive scans that not a single trace of the curse remained did he finally dispel the magic.
"Is it over?" Ultear's voice asked from behind him.
"It's done. Girls, could you please get her changed into some clean clothes? And make sure you feed her this potion; it's heavily concentrated and will drastically aid her physical recovery," Noah said, turning around and tossing a small vial of shimmering liquid to Ultear.
"Understood," Ultear nodded, catching the vial perfectly.
The other girls quickly moved forward. Carefully keeping her covered with the blanket, they gently lifted the unconscious girl and carried her over to one of the soft beds in the corner of the break room.
Meanwhile, Noah and Laxus each grabbed one of the complaining, lingering old men by the collar—Macao and Wakaba, respectively—and forcibly dragged them out of the room. Makarov followed closely behind them, shaking his head slowly.
"To think it was actually a girl this whole time," Laxus muttered as the door clicked shut behind them.
With his enhanced Dragon Slayer vision, Laxus had easily seen the silhouette of the transformation right before Noah threw the blanket over her. It was undeniably a young woman. He wasn't surprised in the slightest by Noah's lightning-fast reflexes with the blanket.
"What a damn shame..."
"I know, right? You could clearly tell she had an amazing figure from the silhouette."
"Noah, you really couldn't have just thrown that blanket like... two seconds later?"
Macao and Wakaba groaned in unison, their faces twisted in profound, absolute regret that they had missed out on seeing the final result.
Noah rolled his eyes so hard it physically hurt. He had literally just saved their lives, and these ungrateful bastards were complaining.
If they had actually managed to catch a glimpse of the naked girl, the female S-Class mages standing right behind them would have instantly beaten them into bloody pulps. Did they seriously think the women of Fairy Tail were known for their gentle tempers?
"So, what's the actual prognosis?" Makarov asked, walking up to Noah.
Hearing the Guild Master's serious tone, Macao and Wakaba immediately stopped whining and turned their attention back to Noah.
"It's... complicated. It's probably best if we wait until we go back inside so I only have to explain it once," Noah shook his head grimly.
Seeing his deeply serious expression, the group fell silent.
A few minutes later, the door clicked open, and Mirajane stepped out.
"She's been dressed in some clean clothes we borrowed from the guild's spares, and she successfully drank the potion. You can all come back in now," she smiled warmly.
The group quickly filed back into the room.
Noah walked over to the bed. The girl was sleeping soundly.
She had striking, dark purple hair—it seemed the serpent's distinct coloration had been directly inherited from her natural hair color. Her face was incredibly round, soft, and surprisingly childish. Judging from her facial features and the small outline she made under the blanket, she was incredibly petite.
Her complexion was pale, but a healthy, rosy hue was beginning to return to her cheeks, indicating that Noah's restorative potion was already taking effect.
After performing a quick, thorough magical scan of her vitals, Noah stepped back from the bed, moving to the far side of the room so their conversation wouldn't wake her. The others quickly followed.
With a casual wave of his hand, Noah erected a soundproofing ward around their group.
"I'll start with the conclusion: this curse has been active and bonded to her for over a decade. The malicious magic had fused so deeply with her physiology that, on a fundamental level, the curse had become a part of her."
Noah's expression was grave. "When I broke the curse, I did everything mathematically possible to minimize the trauma. But forcibly ripping something that deeply ingrained out of a person is impossible to do without causing some level of damage. Her physical body is going to be incredibly weak for quite some time."
"That being said, physical weakness can be easily treated with potions, rest, and proper nutrition. That's the easy part. The real issue... is the severe damage done to her soul."
"Her soul?" Makarov frowned deeply. Any damage to a person's soul was incredibly dangerous and notoriously difficult to treat.
"The curse she was subjected to was exceptionally violent. It didn't just alter her appearance; it violently and forcefully transfigured her into an entirely different biological species. The strain that puts on a human soul is immense," Noah explained.
"Did you notice how petite she is? Her face still looks like a child's, right? That's because the curse drastically stunted her physical development while she was trapped in that form. Based on her bone age and magical signature, she's actually twenty years old."
"What?! She's twenty?!"
Everyone gasped in shock, immediately turning to look at the tiny girl sleeping on the bed. None of them would have guessed she was a day over twelve or thirteen.
"We can ask her for the exact details when she wakes up. But returning to the state of her soul—because she was forcefully trapped in the body of a serpent for over a decade, her human consciousness was violently suppressed. For years, she has been living in a foggy, semi-conscious state, acting almost entirely on primal reptilian instinct."
"The combination of total mental suppression and the constant erosion from the malicious dark magic has left her soul incredibly fragile and dangerously weak. It is going to take a very long time for her to fully recover."
Noah let out a slow breath. "Honestly, it's a miracle we broke the curse when we did. If she had been trapped like that for a few more years, her human soul would have been completely eroded away. She would have permanently lost the ability to turn back, living out the rest of her days as nothing more than a literal beast."
A heavy, oppressive silence fell over the group as the absolute horror of Noah's words sank in.
Noah had just confirmed that the girl was twenty years old, and had been cursed for over a decade. That meant whoever cast this vile magic had inflicted it upon her when she was just a little child, barely ten years old. And if they hadn't intervened, she would have eventually died as a monster, completely forgetting she was ever human.
"Is there anything we can do to help her soul recover?" Ur asked, her heart breaking as she looked at the girl. She was the same age as her own daughter; the thought of a child suffering such a horrific fate tore at her maternal instincts.
"I'll brew a regimen of specialized soul-nourishing potions for her to drink daily. That will drastically accelerate the healing process," Noah answered. "Furthermore, now that she's back in her human body, her physical form will naturally begin to nurture and protect her soul. As her body regains its strength, her soul will naturally heal alongside it."
"Because her body is entering a state of intense, accelerated recovery, she's going to be incredibly lethargic and sleep a lot over the next few weeks. That's completely normal. Let her rest as much as she needs, and when she is awake, light exercise will help stimulate her recovery."
Noah paused for a moment, his expression darkening slightly. "However, there is one more major issue."
"What is it?" Sorano asked anxiously. Noah had already delivered a barrage of terrible news; they were all terrified of what else could possibly be wrong.
Noah knew they didn't want to hear it, but sugarcoating it wouldn't help anyone. He sighed heavily.
"Remember how I said her human consciousness was completely suppressed, and she operated entirely on animal instinct?"
The group nodded slowly.
"Because of that complete mental suppression, there is a very high probability that she has absolutely zero memory of the last ten years. She won't remember anything that happened while she was a snake."
"Her cognitive memory likely stopped the exact moment she was cursed as a child. Waking up in a body that doesn't feel like her own, surrounded by people she doesn't know, in a world that has aged a decade without her... the psychological shock and trauma could be absolutely devastating."
"So... you're saying that despite being twenty years old physically... mentally, she's still just a terrified little girl who thinks she's ten? And she's going to wake up completely confused and terrified?" Mirajane summarized, her voice trembling slightly.
"Exactly," Noah nodded grimly.
He then turned to Makarov, his expression incredibly serious.
"That's the full assessment of her condition. I want to keep her here at the guild for her medical and psychological treatment until she's stable. Once she's recovered enough, we can figure out what to do next."
"What do you think, Grandpa?"
~~~
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