Chapter 421: Preparing for Action
"That King is a complete bastard!" Natsu spat angrily as soon as they settled into their hotel room.
"Yeah. Full of lies, too. Claiming they 'generated' that magic power from Anima when they blatantly stole it from our world!" Gray agreed, his voice tight with anger.
"So, what's our move? Are we going to sneak in?" Sorano asked. She recalled how Noah had effortlessly infiltrated Phantom Lord, even slipping right beside Jose unnoticed. Infiltrating the Royal Castle shouldn't be too difficult for him, though doing it with such a large group might pose a challenge.
However, Noah didn't answer. Instead, he was staring intently off to the side.
Following his gaze, Sorano saw he was staring at Carla. Faint golden magic circles glowed over his eyes—a sure sign he was using his magic for deep observation.
Carla sat at the table, a piece of paper in front of her. She was deep in thought, occasionally jotting things down with a pen, completely oblivious to the attention she was drawing.
Seeing Noah's intense focus, the rest of the group quieted down and watched Carla work.
After a few minutes, Carla finally finished writing. She looked up, and only then did she notice the absolute silence in the room and everyone staring at her. Startled, she jumped slightly. "What are you all doing?"
"Nothing. We just saw Noah staring at you, so we decided to stare at you too," Sorano answered truthfully.
The others nodded in agreement.
"Huh? Why were you staring at me, Noah?" Carla asked, turning to him.
Noah had already dispelled his observational magic the moment Carla looked up. Hearing her question, he shook his head with a slight smile. "I'll tell you why after you tell us what you were just doing."
"Yeah, Carla, what were you doing? I saw you writing something on that paper. What is it?" Wendy asked.
"Not writing, drawing. I found a way we can get close to the King," Carla said, holding up the piece of paper for everyone to see.
The group gasped in surprise.
Drawn on the paper was a simple, yet clear map.
"The castle has a secret escape tunnel that leads from the city straight into the underground levels of the castle," Carla explained, pointing to the lines on the map. "There's an entrance to a mine shaft at the edge of the city. That shaft connects to the castle's basement. We can use it to get inside without being seen."
"That's amazing! How did you know about this?" Wendy asked, delighted by the discovery.
"It's... information. It just kept appearing in my head in fragments," Carla explained, looking a bit confused herself. "Ever since we arrived in Edolas, pieces of geographical information have been slowly surfacing in my mind."
"I don't have anything like that happening to me," Happy mumbled dejectedly. No secret maps or sudden influxes of information had appeared in his head at all.
"I assume this has something to do with why you were observing her so closely?" Ultear asked Noah.
The others turned back to Noah, realizing his observation must have revealed something significant.
"Mhm. Do you remember what I told you a while back, Carla? About how you likely possessed another innate magic besides Aera?" Noah asked her.
"Yes, I remember you saying that... Wait, are you saying this information appearing in my head is because of that magic? Are you certain?" Carla stared at him in shock, recalling their past conversation.
"I'm absolutely certain. While you were deep in thought, drawing that map, I detected extremely faint fluctuations of magic power emanating from you. If I hadn't been actively observing you with specialized spells, I wouldn't have noticed it at all," Noah stated firmly.
"It's true. I couldn't sense any magic coming from you," Laxus confirmed, backing Noah up. The others nodded as well; none of them had detected any magical activity from Carla. Only Noah, with his specialized observational magic, had caught it.
"Is that so..." Carla muttered, closing her eyes and focusing inward. After several minutes of intense concentration, guided by Noah's absolute certainty, she finally detected a faint, dormant magical presence alongside her familiar Aera magic.
"There really is a second magic..." Carla opened her eyes, looking stunned. "But I have no idea how to control it. In fact, if Noah hadn't been so certain, I never would have found it."
"That's because your body and magical capacity have only recently grown enough to even support it," Noah explained. "Apart from when you were born—when you suddenly received an influx of knowledge—you haven't experienced anything like this since, correct?"
Carla nodded. Before arriving in Edolas, she hadn't experienced any sudden bursts of information since her 'birth.'
"That initial burst was an involuntary activation. Since then, your body and magical reserves weren't developed enough to sustain the magic, so it lay dormant. Now, you've grown strong enough to meet the minimum requirements for its activation. Coupled with the environmental stimuli of returning to Edolas, the magic activated subconsciously," Noah elaborated.
"So, what kind of magic does Carla have? Magic that feeds you information?" Meredy asked, highly curious.
"Yeah! I want magic like that! Then I'd always know how to solve problems!" Natsu cheered excitedly.
"Don't be stupid. There's no way you could handle magic like that. You don't have the brain cells," Gray shot him down instantly.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Natsu roared, instantly riled up. He lunged at Gray, who eagerly readied his fists.
BAM! BAM!
Erza swiftly struck them both down, burying their heads into the floorboards. "Listen quietly to Noah's explanation. Stop interrupting."
With the two troublemakers subdued, Noah continued. "Magic that sporadically feeds the user information is typically related to information gathering or processing. It could be magic that analyzes a scene and synthesizes the data to reveal hidden details. It could be magic that deduces past or future events based on present clues. Many different types of magic can produce similar effects."
Noah paused for a moment before dropping the bombshell. "However, based on the specific nature of the information you've been receiving, we have to consider a very special, extremely rare category of magic: Precognition Magic."
"Precognition Magic?" Yukino repeated, awestruck.
"Yes. Magic that grants the user glimpses of events yet to happen, providing them with knowledge they have no other way of knowing in the present."
"Doesn't that fit Carla's situation perfectly? She knew things about Edolas when she was just a baby, things she couldn't possibly have learned normally. Does that mean her second magic is Precognition?!" Wendy asked excitedly.
"That's my primary hypothesis. But to be absolutely certain, we'll need Carla to learn how to actively trigger it, or find someone who understands her specific situation better," Noah said cautiously.
While he was almost entirely certain her magic was Precognition, he didn't want to state it as absolute fact. Allowing Carla to explore and understand the magic herself would be far more beneficial for her mastery of it.
"My magic... might be Precognition... That means the information I've been getting... are visions of the future..." Although Noah hadn't confirmed it with absolute certainty, his reasoning was solid enough to convince Carla. She fell deep into thought, analyzing her past 'visions' through this new lens.
Beside her, Happy let out a massive sigh of relief. He had been terrified that he was somehow defective for not receiving the same 'information' as Carla. Knowing it was due to her unique, innate magic put his insecurities to rest.
"If it's from the future, then that means the information is definitely correct! Let's follow that secret route right into the castle and send that King flying!" Natsu yelled, popping his head out of the floorboards.
"The flame-brain is right for once. Since there's a hidden route we can use to sneak in, that's our best option," Gray agreed, also extricating himself from the floor.
"Noah, what's the plan? Should we rely solely on your illusion magic to walk right through the front gates? Or should we use Carla's secret route? Or perhaps combine both: stay cloaked while using the hidden passage?" Ultear asked, outlining their options.
"Yeah! Let's combine them! That would be the safest approach," Sorano agreed enthusiastically.
"Mhm. That works for me. Let's assign roles," Noah nodded.
Everyone turned to him, their expressions turning serious as they prepared for their assignments.
"Lisanna. Getting you safely back to Edolas was your main objective. You won't be participating in the upcoming battle," Noah said, looking at Lisanna.
"Why?! I'm a member of Fairy Tail too!" Lisanna protested vehemently.
"Of course you are. And that's exactly why I have a crucial mission for you," Noah replied calmly. "When we infiltrate the castle tonight, it's highly likely we'll end up in a full-scale battle with the Royal Army. When that happens, chaos will inevitably spill out into the city streets. I need you to help maintain order in the city. Keep the civilians indoors and prevent panic from causing unnecessary casualties. Cana will be assisting you."
Noah looked at Cana, who nodded firmly. "Understood. Lisanna and I will handle the city. The faster you guys win, the less pressure we'll face."
Hearing Noah's explanation, Lisanna finally calmed down. She wasn't being sidelined; she was being entrusted with protecting the innocent bystanders. She nodded her acceptance.
Having secured the rearguard, Noah turned his attention to the corner of the room. "Gajeel."
"Heh." Gajeel grinned viciously.
"Your target is the massive Lacrima floating above the Royal City—the one formed from the absorbed Earth Land magic power. Dragon Slayer Magic is uniquely capable of interacting with Lacrima, reverting it back to its original state as pure magic power. Since they want to be our enemies, I want them to watch their precious stolen prize vanish right before their eyes. It will break their morale."
Noah paused before continuing, "Furthermore, despite being a highly critical asset, that floating island has surprisingly lax static defenses. That means they're likely relying on highly mobile, elite forces to guard it. This is your chance to go wild. I promised to help you find a cat, and this is where you'll do it. Whether you succeed or not is up to you."
"Are you saying...?" Gajeel's eyes widened in realization, his grin turning feral. "Gehehe... Then let me go wild!"
Noah then turned his gaze toward Wendy and her group. Meredy instantly spoke up, anticipating his words. "You need Carla to guide you, but we are a team! You can't separate us! And you can't leave us behind either; we can fight too!"
Wendy and Yukino nodded vigorously. They absolutely refused to be separated from Carla, and they firmly believed their combined strength would be a significant asset.
"I do need Carla to guide us. However, when the time comes, I'll need you three to head to a different location. It's an equally crucial objective," Noah told them.
"What location? Can't you tell us now?" Meredy asked, curious.
"I'll tell you when the time is right," Noah shook his head gently.
Finally, his gaze swept over Laxus, Ultear, Erza, and the rest of the core combatants.
"We, of course, will form the main infiltration team. If things go south, we'll be the ones engaging the Royal Army directly. We'll need everyone," Ultear stated confidently. Mirajane and Sorano nodded in agreement beside her.
"Thanks to this world's Erza, I've been feeling incredibly unsettled since we arrived. I fully intend to fight her and demand an explanation for her actions," Erza said, her eyes flashing with a dangerous intensity.
"C-Can I join Cana and Lisanna's team? I-I feel like they might need more help..." Earth Land Lucy raised a trembling hand.
"No way! We're on the same team! We're sticking together for the infiltration!" Natsu grinned at her, clapping her on the back. Gray nodded approvingly.
"Uwaaah..." Lucy wept comically. The thought of infiltrating an enemy stronghold was terrifying, but she knew better than to argue with Natsu's logic.
"I can't wait to see what kind of power this Royal Army has. To dare provoke Fairy Tail... they need to learn exactly what happens when you anger us," Laxus growled, arcs of lightning beginning to dance across his broad shoulders, his fighting spirit reaching a boiling point.
"Alright, that's the general plan. If there are no further questions, get some rest and make sure you're at peak condition. We move out tonight."
~~~
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