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Inside the guild, apart from Gildarts, who had not returned for many years, all the high-level combatants gathered in the Guild Master's office, and even one of the guild's founders was present.
Noah understood that Makarov must have something very important to announce to them.
Makarov also stopped with the small talk, sat up straight, his expression solemn. "What I'm about to tell you—you must not be afraid."
The old man's attitude made Noah realize the seriousness of the situation. He no longer acted flippantly, pulled out a chair from the desk and sat down, replying with a serious expression. "We are Fairy Tail. We will not be afraid."
Makarov nodded, then recounted, in detail, the news he had learned from Warrod.
"The four founders of our guild were actually students of the Black Wizard before they established the guild."
Upon hearing this, everyone present, except Warrod, leaned back in their seats in shock. No wonder their Fairy Tail was the most destructive among the legal guilds—turns out the foundation was crooked from the start.
Noah took a deep breath, leaned forward slightly, his expression even more solemn as he looked at Makarov. "Which Black Wizard is it?"
Makarov was stunned, not expecting Noah to ask a question whose answer even ordinary people knew. "It's not 'which one'—it's the Black Wizard who pioneered dark magic and created demons."
"So that's it, it's him."
Noah nodded, then his expression returned to normal. He picked up the tea set from Makarov's desk and poured himself a cup of tea. "Oh dear, my butt hasn't even warmed up since I got back. I haven't even had a sip of water, and you called us up for such a trivial matter."
Now it was Makarov who was confused.
What do you mean 'such a matter'? That's the legendary founder of dark magic!
The fact that the four students of the Black Wizard founded Fairy Tail—if this were to get out, it would undoubtedly cause a huge uproar.
At that time, not to mention the Dark Guilds, even the Magic Council, which had always had issues with Fairy Tail behind the scenes, would surely seize this opportunity to suppress their guild.
Makarov looked at the others. Whether it was the calm Erza and Mystogan, or Laxus and Mira, their faces were solemn, all realizing the seriousness of the situation.
Why was this kid Noah suddenly so unconcerned?
After drinking a cup of tea, Noah slowly exhaled, leaning back in his chair relaxedly, and chuckled. "Old man, you don't know yet, but I actually met the Black Wizard you're talking about two days ago."
"What?! You've already met Zeref!"
Makarov's mouth instantly fell open, but he quickly reacted, thinking Noah was joking with him. "You brat, at a time like this, you're still making fun of me."
"Hey, I'm telling the truth and you don't believe me."
Believe? I'll believe you when pigs fly!
Not only Makarov, but even Mystogan was a little fed up with his brother's casualness.
Moreover, Erza and Mira were traveling with Noah this time. If they had met the Black Wizard, they should have known, but their current expressions showed only confusion at Noah's words.
Noah chuckled lightly, looking at the old tree-man who was touching and examining everything in the office. "Senior Warrod, is the Black Wizard in your memory a handsome, melancholic black-haired youth?"
Warrod was using magic to revive Makarov's dead potted plants. Hearing Noah's question, he turned around somewhat surprised. "So, little Noah, you really did meet Teacher. A melancholic youth wearing a black robe wrapped in white cloth—that's how he appears in my memory."
Such an outfit hasn't changed in a hundred years... Noah couldn't help but inwardly mock Zeref's fashion sense.
Listening to the conversation between the old and young, Erza and Mira finally understood who Noah meant when he said he met the Black Wizard.
That mysterious youth, Spriggan!
But how did Noah figure it out? They had only met once and barely exchanged a few words.
Seemingly sensing their confusion, Noah said matter-of-factly, "Instantly reverting Keyes, a Necromancer Devil, back to his original form, and casually erasing its consciousness—who do you think in this world can do that so easily?"
There was only one answer: the creator of the Demons from the Books of Zeref.
The Black Wizard Zeref.
So Spriggan was the Black Wizard. Erza finally understood why Noah had a strange expression when he was holding the Book of Necromancy at the time.
Seeing that the others were confused, Mira quickly gave a general account of the mysterious youth they encountered during the operation to capture the Necromancer Devil.
"In that case, you and that theater troupe were really lucky. I haven't even met Teacher up close."
Warrod's tone was somewhat complex.
Back when he imparted magic and resolved doubts for the original four-person group, Zeref always did so remotely using magic, which meant that apart from Mavis, who persuaded Zeref to teach them, the other three had never personally met their teacher.
With everything out in the open, the atmosphere eased considerably.
But Makarov was still worried, mainly because if this matter were to be exposed, it would be a big problem.
"Old man, I'm going to criticize you for a couple of things here."
Noah, defying convention, began to lecture Makarov. "A mere Magic Council—what's it worth? Look at the Tower of Heaven incident last time. Which of those arrogant Council members wasn't respectful to you?"
"Maintaining order in the magic world—it sounds nice, but ultimately it relies on strength."
"And what we at Fairy Tail lack least is strength."
"Leaving aside everything else, just your and Senior Warrod's Ten Wizard Saints titles—who would dare to cause us trouble, except for those who are blind?"
Makarov twitched his lips. "We are a legal guild after all. Suppressing rumors with force wouldn't look good, would it?"
What rumors? Isn't it the truth?
Noah felt that Makarov was good in every way, except that once it involved the guild, once it involved the "children" he cared about, the old man became a bit unclear about priorities.
The Magic Council had stood firm in Ishgar for several hundred years, and it was deeply ingrained in people's minds, so taking a hard line would indeed look bad.
Noah knew Makarov was unwilling to let the name "Fairy Tail" be tarnished.
"How about this, old man—I have people in all three of the Balam Alliance Dark Guilds. Just give the word."
"On Monday and Tuesday, Oración Seis can come out and cause trouble. On Wednesday and Thursday, Tartaros demons will appear. On Friday and Saturday, Grimoire Heart executives will attack."
"Finally, on Sunday, we at Fairy Tail will emerge as saviors to clean up... no, to expel the chaotic dark forces, ensuring those people are grateful to our guild."
"This way, even if our secret of being the purest Dark Guild is exposed, others will only think it's some ill-intentioned fellow slandering us."
"At that time, we at Fairy Tail will be able to grow stronger and create new glory."
The more Noah spoke, the more excited he became, but the more peculiar the expressions of the others became, as if they were seeing him for the first time. How could he dare to utter such words?
What growing stronger and creating new glory?
Ultimately, wasn't it just collusion between good and evil, working hand in glove?
How could this guy be so devious...?
Erza couldn't stand it anymore. She stood up and patted Noah's shoulder. "That's enough, Noah. Don't say anymore. We already understand what you mean."
"Oh? So what do you all think of my plan?"
Noah continued, completely oblivious to Erza's increasingly dangerous gaze. "Then, we'll find an opportunity to completely take down Tartaros and Grimoire Heart, making them our guild's secret vassals..."
"Vassals, my foot!"
"Die!"
Erza didn't care if it was the Guild Master's office. She directly pulled out her Flame Empress Sword from her storage space and chased after Noah, slashing fiercely.
The others also cracked their knuckles, surrounding and intercepting him.
To be honest, Makarov and Laxus had wanted to beat up Noah for a long time.
And the reason Mystogan and Mira joined in was simply because they were annoyed with Noah, who had become such a "scoundrel."
For a time, the fourth floor of the guild was in chaos.
Warrod sat on the sofa, happily watching this scene, his gaze returning to the group photo of the original four-person team.
Mavis, and Yuri, do you see?
Our guild is still so joyful. The juniors have inherited your original intention very well.
If anyone wants to destroy Fairy Tail, to destroy our efforts, I will never allow it. Even if it's a former companion, I will show no mercy.
You must have known I would do this, right?
But why did you still become Hades... Precht.