Chapter 414: Leaving Fairy Tail
"You bastard, what are you dawdling for?! It is incredibly dangerous!" Edolas Lucy shouted, storming up to Edolas Levy with an angry, panicked expression.
"Shut up! Why don't you try doing it yourself for once?!" Edolas Levy yelled back, not backing down in the slightest.
"Why is the guild shaking so much?!" Edolas Lucy screamed.
"That is because you are too fat!" Edolas Levy retorted loudly.
"What did you just say?! You bastard!"
"You wanna go, bastard?!"
Edolas Lucy and Edolas Levy aggressively pressed their foreheads together, glaring furiously at each other without yielding a single inch.
Seeing the two of them acting like this, Noah felt a profound sense of familiarity. He turned his head, glancing at Natsu and Gray, and then at Erza and Mirajane, and it suddenly dawned on him.
Wasn't this just a female version of Natsu and Gray? Or Erza and Mirajane back in the old days? It was that classic love-hate relationship where screaming and bickering was simply their aggressive way of showing mutual trust and acknowledgment.
"..." Meredy groaned, climbing up from the floor and rubbing her forehead.
"Are you okay? Experiencing minor spatial turbulence can cause some slight vertigo. You will be fine after a little rest," Noah said to her softly.
"Yeah," Meredy nodded, reaching out to pull Wendy up beside her.
Everyone gradually picked themselves up from the floorboards. The intense screaming match between Edolas Lucy and Edolas Levy also temporarily came to an end. Edolas Levy marched over to the group, with Edolas Lucy following right on her heels.
"How exactly did you do that just now?" Edolas Levy asked, crossing her arms as she looked at Noah.
The rest of the guild turned to look as well. The Edolas members knew Noah had actively helped them escape, so they were extremely curious about what exactly he had done.
Noah naturally knew she was asking how he had managed to drastically increase the casting speed of the machine powering the teleportation matrix.
"Well, I have also studied the creation and application of magical items. Although I am not a master at it, I understand the general architectural principles," Noah explained casually. "You didn't take any measures to conceal your actions while operating the terminal, so I got a clear, complete understanding of the machine's internal structure just by watching. I also happen to use teleportation magic quite frequently, so I am very familiar with the spell matrix.
"The activation of teleportation magic is actually nearly instantaneous. The reason your machine was booting up so slowly was simply a bottleneck; it required a massive transmission of magic power, meaning you had to wait for the core to charge up. So, I just linked directly into a few of the machine's external magic input nodes and provided the extra magic power it needed. Once the reactor received sufficient fuel, it naturally operated at its maximum intended speed."
After hearing his casual breakdown, Edolas Levy's mouth fell wide open. She was completely at a loss for words.
Noah's explanation made it sound as easy as plugging in a cord, but executing it was unfathomably difficult.
It had taken less than three minutes from the moment she initiated the sequence to when Noah stepped in. In those brief minutes, Noah had not only completely reverse-engineered the machine's internal structure but had also flawlessly spliced his own magic directly into its core nodes, feeding it raw energy without causing a catastrophic overload or disrupting the spell's delicate activation sequence.
Was that really something a human brain could accomplish in a matter of seconds?!
When she had first learned to operate that terminal and the teleportation spell, it had taken her months of grueling study. Even on normal days, she had to spend countless hours painstakingly inspecting and maintaining the relays before she could confidently say she understood the system. Yet Noah, seeing this machine for the absolute first time, was able to flawlessly accelerate its operation within minutes. Was that genuinely possible? Even if he claimed to be familiar with spatial magic, his processing speed was simply terrifying.
Seeing the look of absolute shock on Edolas Levy's face, Edolas Lucy knew that what Noah had just described was absolutely not as effortless as he made it sound. On the contrary, it had to be insanely high-level magic, otherwise, their genius mechanic wouldn't be making a face like she had just seen a ghost.
"Are all the mages in your world as incredibly overpowered as him? Or is this just how magic works in the alternate dimension?! So incredible!" Edolas Levy, having finally digested Noah's words, looked at the Earth Land strike team with boundless curiosity.
"No, absolutely do not treat him as a standard benchmark for mages," Sorano said, hastily waving her hands and shaking her head. "Even among the mages in our world, he is at the absolute apex. The vast majority of people do not possess even a fraction of his strength. He is a literal, undisputed monster."
"Hey, how can you call me a monster to my face?" Noah rolled his eyes directly at Sorano.
"Hmph! 'Monster' is a compliment! Since your strength exists on a completely different dimension compared to the rest of us, of course we have to call you a monster!" Sorano stuck her tongue out at Noah and puffed out her cheeks indignantly.
Beside them, Ultear, Laxus, and the others couldn't help but nod in total agreement. In the outside world, they were terrifyingly strong S-Class mages who were often called monsters themselves. But standing next to Noah, they clearly didn't deserve such a terrifying title.
Noah just rolled his eyes at the group again; he was entirely used to them acting like this.
"I am definitely going to beat you one day, Noah!" Natsu shouted loudly, pumping his flaming fist.
"Alright, I will be waiting for that day!" Noah couldn't help but laugh seeing Natsu's fiery, battle-crazed enthusiasm.
"Hell yeah! Let's go train right now so I can kick Noah's ass!" Hearing Noah's response, Natsu became even more hyped. He immediately spun around, intending to sprint outside and start punching mountains.
"Hey, where the hell do you think you are going? This is absolutely not the time for a training arc!" Gray called out, grabbing the back of Natsu's scarf to stop him.
"Huh? Oh, right!" Natsu blinked, finally remembering that they weren't in Earth Land right now, nor did they have the luxury of free time.
"I don't even want to know how that empty brain of yours works. Who the hell thinks about going out to train in the middle of a high-stakes cross-dimensional infiltration mission? Are you literally stupid?" Gray insulted him bluntly.
"What did you just call me, stripper?!" Hearing this, Natsu violently charged straight at him. The two slammed their foreheads together and were a split second away from throwing fire and ice.
BAM! BAM!
Erza swiftly delivered a brutal, merciless punch to both of their heads, slamming them directly into the floorboards.
"This is not what we need to be doing right now. Stop messing around," Erza scolded them, throwing Gray's exact words right back at him with lethal authority.
Natsu and Gray lay twitching face-down on the floor, completely unresponsive. It looked like they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.
Noah and the others couldn't help but smile, entirely unfazed by the daily chaos.
A flash of genuine envy crossed Edolas Lucy and Edolas Levy's eyes as they watched the scene unfold. Even though they bickered and fought frequently to cope with the stress, they never had the luxury of acting this completely, wonderfully carefree.
"Thank you so much for saving Lisanna. Truly, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!"
At that moment, Edolas Mirajane and Edolas Elfman walked over, bowing deeply to Noah and the strike team, their voices overflowing with profound, heavy gratitude.
"We just happened to be in the right place at the right time. It was Lisanna's good luck," Noah smiled warmly. "Besides, Lisanna has helped us out a lot back in our guild too. Everyone really loves having her around."
"No matter what, you saved our sister, and we owe you everything for that. If it weren't for you, we truly would have lost her forever," Edolas Mirajane shook her head, speaking with absolute sincerity.
"You are finally reunited now, and that is all that matters. There is no need for any more thanks," Noah told Edolas Mirajane gently.
Edolas Mirajane nodded softly, keeping her immense gratitude tucked deep within her heart.
"Alright everyone, let's get ready to move out," Lisanna stepped forward, addressing Noah and the strike team.
"Move out? Where exactly are you guys planning on going?" Edolas Lucy asked in complete confusion.
"To the Royal Capital. According to what you told us, the magic in this world is constantly bleeding out. The King ordered the disbandment of all guilds, banned the use of magic, and has been relentlessly slaughtering your members. Given all that, the Anima attack on our guild was undoubtedly ordered by the King as well. We absolutely have to go to the Royal Capital to settle this once and for all," Noah stated, a dangerous smile touching his lips.
Laxus, Gajeel, Erza, and the rest stood firmly behind Noah, their magical auras flaring slightly to signal that they shared the exact same, highly aggressive mindset.
The Edolas members recoiled in shock. They hadn't realized that Noah's group had been dead serious earlier when they said they were going to attack the kingdom directly!
Although Edolas Mirajane and Edolas Elfman looked deeply worried, they didn't voice a single objection. Clearly, Lisanna had already briefed them. She had told them she was going to act as a guide for Noah's team, and Edolas Mirajane simply couldn't argue against it. Because Noah had saved Lisanna, they had built a profound, unbreakable bond over the past two years. When it came to guiding and supporting their saviors, they couldn't think of a single reason to refuse.
"Little me, I am so incredibly sorry to say this, but for your own good, I really think you all need to abandon this suicidal idea," Edolas Wendy pleaded, looking at Earth Land Wendy who was standing bravely behind Noah.
"Why is that?" Wendy asked, tilting her head.
"Because anyone who dares to draw a blade against the King of Edolas loses their life! He is an overwhelmingly, terrifyingly powerful King," Edolas Wendy explained, her voice trembling.
"Just like we mentioned earlier... because magic is finite, the King wants to completely monopolize it, so he ordered all guilds to be purged."
"Every single guild that tried to resist was completely annihilated without exception. We are the absolute last one standing."
"And obviously, we didn't escape unscathed either..."
"We lost half of our family..."
"Even the Master was... Damn it!"
As the Edolas members spoke, the crushing weight of their trauma resurfaced, and many of them couldn't hold back their tears.
"Just surviving and running away takes absolutely everything we have."
"So please, it is best if you don't go anywhere near the Capital. Just find a way to return to your own world," the Edolas guild members pleaded desperately, trying to save Noah's team from a massacre.
"Ah, you really don't need to worry about that. We are extremely confident in our combat capabilities, so our safety is fully guaranteed," Noah replied with a fearless smile.
"Besides, the enemy already fired a shot at our guild. Do you seriously think we are just going to walk away without getting our revenge? You have to understand, if their spell had succeeded, we would have all been dead. We are going to pay them back a hundredfold!" Laxus added, his voice dropping into a deadly, electric growl.
"Exactly. They attacked Fairy Tail. There is zero chance we are leaving without our payback!" Ultear and the rest chorused fiercely.
"You guys..." The Edolas members were utterly stunned, completely overwhelmed by the terrifying, unyielding determination radiating from the Earth Land mages.
Revenge? That word hadn't even crossed their minds in years. Just running and hiding from the Royal Army exhausted every ounce of their energy; the very concept of actively storming the castle to seek revenge was completely unimaginable to them.
"Thank you all for your concern, but we just want to get a direct understanding of the situation at the source. Once Lisanna guides us to the Royal Capital, I will teleport her right back here to safety. I am highly skilled at spatial magic, so sending one person back across the continent will be effortless," Noah told them reassuringly.
Hearing Noah's promise, Edolas Mirajane and Edolas Elfman unconsciously breathed massive sighs of relief. They couldn't stop Lisanna from guiding Noah's group, but knowing she wouldn't be dragged into the actual war zone made them visibly relax.
"Noah..." Lisanna said, a bit anxiously, wanting to stay and fight.
Noah raised a hand, smoothly cutting her off. "You finally get to reunite with your sister and brother. You are not joining us in the vanguard for this operation. You know full well how strong we are, so you have absolutely nothing to worry about."
Hearing Noah say this with such finality, Lisanna paused and recalled just how terrifyingly overpowered the Earth Land strike team actually was.
During their daily training sessions, she had frequently watched them spar in the arena. She was intimately aware of Mirajane's demonic strength, as they often trained together. The other S-Class mages—Laxus, Erza, Ultear—were all walking natural disasters entirely on par with Mirajane, and some were arguably even more destructive. The rest of the team were elite fighters, and above them all stood Noah, who was practically a god among mages.
Realistically, the Royal Army was the one that needed to be worried.
When the Edolas members saw Lisanna immediately drop her protests after Noah's reassurance, they became incredibly curious. Just how absurdly strong was this Earth Land team to make Lisanna feel so perfectly secure about them attacking an entire nation?
"Oh, by the way, I noticed that the magic power stored in your teleportation reactor is running dangerously low. Let me help you out with that before we leave."
While inspecting the machine earlier, Noah had noticed its reserves were practically bleeding dry, holding barely enough energy for one final emergency warp.
Stepping forward, Noah raised his right hand. A colossal, suffocating wave of magical energy instantly began violently gathering directly above his palm. The surrounding atmosphere physically vibrated under the sheer, crushing pressure of his magic, causing the Edolas members to gasp in terror and involuntarily stagger backward to escape the heavy aura.
VMMMMM!
As the immense magic power condensed, a brilliant, blinding golden light ignited above his palm like a miniature sun, forcing everyone in the guild to aggressively shield their eyes. The golden light completely flooded the hall before swiftly solidifying. Everyone slowly lowered their hands, blinking away the spots in their vision.
Floating gracefully just above Noah's palm was a perfectly cut, solid golden crystal, radiating a soft, pulsing glow of pure, concentrated energy.
"This is a Lacrima crystal I condensed using my own magic. It contains a massive reserve of raw magic power. It should comfortably keep your relocation machine running for quite a long time," Noah said, grasping the golden crystal and tossing it toward Edolas Lucy and Edolas Levy.
The two stared at the heavy crystal. The blinding aura on its surface had subsided, making it look like a standard, albeit highly pure, Lacrima.
"Then I will gladly take it! Thank you!" Edolas Levy didn't hesitate for a second. She immediately snatched it out of the air, spun around, and bolted straight back to her terminal to plug it in. She knew better than anyone how desperately the guild was starving for magic. If a literal monster was offering them free, ultra-dense energy, she was obviously going to accept it with a massive grin.
"Hey, wait!" Edolas Lucy tried to stop her, but she was a second too late. Levy had already sprinted off with the crystal.
"It is totally fine. We are all Fairy Tail, so we look out for each other. Don't worry about it," Noah told Edolas Lucy with a dismissive wave.
"That doesn't feel right at all. How about you name a price? We can pay you for it, just treat it as us officially buying magic power from you," Edolas Lucy said, looking genuinely embarrassed to accept such a massive handout.
"Well, I suppose that works. We plan on traveling to the Royal Capital on foot to do a bit of recon and sightseeing along the way. How about you act as our local guide and cover our food and lodging until we reach the Capital?" Noah suggested after pondering it, seeing Edolas Lucy's stubborn, serious expression.
The Earth Land team didn't have a single piece of Edolas currency. Even though Lisanna and Mystogan were natives, they had been gone for years and were entirely broke in this dimension. Edolas Lucy clearly acted as a central leader figure within this Fairy Tail, and everyone trusted her. Having her arrange their travel logistics made perfect sense. Furthermore, Noah was entirely confident that the ultra-dense magic crystal he had just synthesized was worth vastly more than the cost of a few meals and inn rooms.
Edolas Lucy was just about to negotiate when Edolas Levy's ecstatic shriek echoed from across the hall:
"THIS IS INCREDIBLE! There is an astronomical amount of magic packed into this single crystal! It is enough to fully power the guild's teleportation drive dozens of times over!"
"Seriously?!" Edolas Lucy whipped her head around, staring at the mechanic in pure shock.
"Absolutely! My diagnostics are never wrong!" Edolas Levy proclaimed proudly. She then turned her awe-struck gaze back to Noah. "To casually condense a Lacrima with this much raw, terrifying magic power in a matter of seconds... I officially believe you guys have the firepower to take on the Royal Army. It seems them calling you a monster is entirely justified."
Noah just rolled his eyes at her and turned away, deciding not to entertain the comment.
"Alright! I've got your food and lodging completely covered for the entire trip! I will personally make sure you guys get to experience all the best things this world has to offer!" Edolas Lucy declared loudly, slamming her fist against her chest with a confident grin.
With this absolute abundance of magic power, the guild could evade the Royal Army's pursuit effortlessly. Plus, they could finally recharge their magical weapons, allowing them to complete their combat requests and defend themselves much more effectively.
"Excellent. Thank you," Noah smiled in satisfaction as the deal was struck.
Although Mystogan and Lisanna were locals, they had both been away for years and were severely out of touch with the current political climate. Having Edolas Lucy—a hardened survivor who had successfully evaded the Royal Army for years—traveling with them would be incredibly beneficial for gathering up-to-date tactical intel on the kingdom, the Royal Army's movements, and any underground rumors.
"Thank you so much!" Earth Land Lucy beamed, looking at her counterpart.
"Think of it as a fair, equivalent exchange between us," Edolas Lucy waved her hand casually.
"Even if it is a trade, I still want to properly thank you," Earth Land Lucy replied earnestly. After all, acting as a guide for a strike team marching straight into a war against the Royal Army was infinitely more dangerous than simply running and hiding in the woods.
"Do you need some time to pack your gear?" Noah asked Edolas Lucy.
"No need. I am packed and ready to head out right now," Edolas Lucy answered sharply, adjusting her whip.
"Then let's get moving." Noah glanced at Laxus and the rest of the team, who all nodded in silent readiness.
After Edolas Lucy and Lisanna finalized their emergency contact methods and safehouse rendezvous points with the rest of the Edolas guild, they bid their heartfelt farewells. Turning toward the doors, the guides stepped out of the guildhall alongside Noah's strike team, beginning their march toward the Royal Capital.
~~~
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