Brandish turned out to be even more gifted than Noah had expected.
Once she began training, her growth was immediate. Whether it was magical control, theory, or even stamina exercises (reluctantly, of course), she picked things up quickly. She absorbed every bit of knowledge Noah gave her like a sponge.
After spending a few more days at the Heartfilia estate and making sure Brandish was on the right track, Noah decided it was time to return to Fairy Tail. He promised to come back in a week to check on their progress.
He had originally planned to teleport straight back… but paused.
It was already the year X776 the present-day year of Fairy Tail canon. That meant many of the children who would grow into important figures in the future were now only a few years old. If fate allowed it, maybe he could find one or two promising kids on the road and bring them back.
So, instead of teleporting, Noah began walking.
He didn't waste the time. As he traveled, his magic circle flickered constantly in his palm as he studied spells and refined the magical knowledge he'd gained. His focus was split between the path ahead and the glow of research in his hand.
Days passed like this. He wandered from village to village, checking each one. Most were quiet and peaceful, the kind of serenity that left no magical traces not even the ripple of a dark guild nearby.
Until, one day, the wind changed.
The faint scent of burning drifted into his nose acrid, sharp, unmistakably recent.
Noah's eyes narrowed.
He dashed forward, cutting through the woods, and what greeted him on the other side stopped him in his tracks.
A village, burned to the ground.
Charred ruins stretched as far as he could see. Flames had raged here recently. The fields had been reduced to blackened earth. What should have been fertile farmland was now covered in drifting ash. A bitter wind blew through the remains, carrying smoke and a suffocating stench of scorched wood and flesh.
At the entrance to the village, only stumps remained of the trees that once lined the path each one burnt down to its core.
Noah didn't hesitate. He stepped into the ashes.
The ground beneath his boots was soft, too soft each footfall sank into layers of cinders. The roads were littered with debris: broken tiles, collapsed beams, twisted metal. Blast marks scarred the dirt and walls, telling the silent story of battle.
Most homes were completely destroyed. Some still had a wall or two standing, barely. Within the wreckage, Noah spotted signs of life that had once been there charred tables, melted cups, and walls etched with the scorch patterns of powerful magic.
He turned a corner… and stopped.
There, lying in the open, were bodies. Blackened and curled from the fire. Some on the street. Others barely visible within collapsed buildings.
Noah clenched his fists but forced himself to stay focused.
He raised his hand, and a glowing detection circle bloomed into the air. Magic spread outward in all directions quiet, fast, and thorough.
At first, there was nothing.
He sighed quietly, having assumed as much. This village looked like it had been hit over a day ago. The odds of survivors were nearly zero.
But then
A flicker.
Faint life energy. Weak, barely readable, but definitely there on the east side of the village.
Noah's heart jumped.
He immediately vanished from where he stood, using Instant Movement to teleport straight to the source. His detection magic surged again, narrowing in.
There beneath a pile of collapsed beams.
He moved quickly, using light gravity magic to gently shift the rubble without causing a further collapse. The ruined home had been buried almost completely, but as he cleared a narrow path through what used to be the front entrance, he stepped into a protected area.
Broken furniture lay everywhere. Most of it had escaped the fire, likely shielded by the falling walls outside. The house was dark, dusty, but intact enough to walk through.
He passed through the remnants of a living room and stepped into a small open courtyard.
In the center… was a well.
But no bucket.
His eyes narrowed. The detection magic pulsed again the life was coming from inside the well.
Noah rushed to the edge and peered down. The well wasn't deep maybe a few meters. At the bottom, nestled inside an old wooden bucket, was a small girl.
She had light blue hair, matching her thin pajamas. Her eyes were closed. Her body was curled tightly in pain, small limbs trembling. The bucket had likely been used to lower her in for safety or perhaps she'd climbed in herself, hoping to hide.
Noah acted fast. A wave of gravity magic lifted the bucket from the well as gently as if it were filled with feathers.
He caught it and immediately knelt beside her.
Her skin was ice-cold to the touch. Pale. She had a fever. Her breathing was shallow and quick. He pressed a hand to her forehead burning. She was dehydrated, starving, and clearly hadn't eaten in days.
Noah didn't hesitate. He pulled out a vial of healing potion from his coat and gently helped her drink it. Her throat twitched, and she swallowed. Slowly, the color began to return to her cheeks. The trembling eased.
Without a word, Noah removed his thick coat and wrapped her up in it. Then he reached into his magic storage and summoned a portable bed soft, warm, clean.
He laid her gently atop it, careful not to disturb her fevered rest.
And then, quietly, he sat beside her.
The magic circle in Noah's hand continued to scan the entire village, pulsing faintly with each sweep. He even expanded the range outward, scanning through the surrounding fields and forest.
But the result was the same.
There was no other life.
It seemed that the only survivor of this tragedy was the little girl lying before him.
Thanks to the medicine, her condition had improved. Her breathing had stabilized, and a little color had returned to her cheeks. Her eyelids fluttered slightly… then slowly lifted.
She blinked, confused. Her soft brown eyes, though beautiful, were clouded with dizziness and fatigue. Clearly, she hadn't fully come to her senses yet.
After a few seconds, her gaze sharpened, and she started taking in her surroundings. She noticed the unfamiliar coat wrapped around her. She saw the comfortable bed beneath her, something far too clean and luxurious to belong to a ruined village.
Her small body stiffened.
Noah, sitting quietly beside the bed, gave her a reassuring smile and spoke gently.
"How do you feel? Are you in any pain?"
The little girl flinched and instinctively curled away from him.
"Who… who are you?"
Her voice was soft and nervous, laced with fear.
"I'm Noah," he said, keeping his voice calm. "A wizard from Fairy Tail."
He raised his right hand and showed her the guild emblem on the back of it the unmistakable mark of Fairy Tail.
"And you?" he asked gently. "What's your name?"
"…My name is Yukino."
Noah blinked.
That name rang a bell.
Yukino Agria she would one day become a Celestial Spirit Mage, a member of Sabertooth. Though Sabertooth had a rather grim reputation during a certain era, Yukino herself had always been someone kindhearted and sincere.
But none of that mattered right now.
What mattered was this moment this child, her trauma, and what had happened to this village.
"I saw the village was destroyed, so I came to check. You were the only one left. Can you tell me what happened here?"
No sooner had he asked than Yukino's eyes widened in horror.
Her mouth opened and then came the sobs.
She cried. Hard.
Noah didn't stop her.
It was better this way. After something so traumatic, holding it all in could cause serious damage later. Letting it out was the first step toward healing.
He reached out and gently patted her back. Her small frame shook with every sob. He waited patiently until the storm of emotions settled.
When her cries had softened into sniffles and hiccups, Noah asked again, more softly this time.
"Yukino… can you tell me what happened?"
She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of the coat, her voice shaky.
"I… I don't know everything," she whispered. "I remember… someone broke into our house. They grabbed my sister. My father tried to fight them. My mom she hid me. She put me in the house and told me to be quiet."
Noah listened carefully, his expression calm and serious.
"I was so scared. I was cold. I was hungry. I could hear fighting. Yelling. But I… I got sleepy, and then everything went quiet. I didn't know what to do… so I stayed in the well until…"
"…until I found you," Noah said gently.
Yukino nodded.
Noah pressed a bit further, asking for anything she could remember about the people who attacked what they looked like, what they wore. Bit by bit, he pieced things together.
From her description, one thing became clear:
They were likely part of the Black Magic Cult he had confronted two years ago.
So they've recovered... and returned?
That was troubling.
Even more so if they were targeting children with magic potential.
Noah carried Yukino with him as he searched once more not just the village ruins, but the surrounding land as well. He used advanced detection spells, expanded the range, and even retraced his steps several times.
Nothing.
The village was well and truly lost.
Finally, standing at the edge of the ruins with Yukino held safely in his arms, Noah looked down at her pale, tired face and said softly:
"Let's get you somewhere safe first."
"…Where are we going?" Yukino asked, her voice small.
Noah smiled, eyes warm.
"To Fairy Tail."
....
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