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"This is Ref."
Noah naturally wouldn't reveal Zeref's full name in public.
The formidable "evil reputation" of the Black Wizard in Ishgar once had the effect of making children stop crying, which shows how "deeply ingrained" Zeref was in the hearts of the people on this continent.
However, the name Ref... Zeref twitched his lips. Ref it is, then. He knew what his reputation was like, and as long as it didn't cause trouble for Mavis's guild, he didn't care.
While everyone was gathered around Mavis and her darling husband, Warrod wiped away his tears and returned to his usual cheerful self. As if remembering something, the old tree man pulled a letter from his pocket and handed it to Noah.
"Oh, Noah, this letter arrived at the guild this morning. It's for you. But I saw that it had magic attached to it, so I kept it separate."
Noah took the letter with some surprise.
The envelope was ordinary, but the wax seal had a familiar Magic Power fluctuation. Tearing open the envelope, what was revealed inside was a pile of shredded letter paper.
Warrod's expression changed. "I didn't do anything! I just helped you receive the letter, that's all. This has nothing to do with me."
Noah was speechless—he hadn't said anything. But he already knew who the letter was from.
As Noah lightly tapped his finger, a surge of Magic Power was instantly activated from the shredded paper, restoring the fragments into a complete sheet of paper as if time was flowing backward.
"This is... Lost Magic: Arc of Time."
Warrod recognized the magic attached to the letter. He remembered the Council's warrant for a young girl a while ago—that mage named Ultear used this magic.
Such rare magic was known by only a few people, let alone mastered.
So this kid actually has dealings with a wanted criminal?
"What is your relationship with Ultear?"
"I guess you could say friends. Gray is her junior, and Gildarts and her mother are good friends."
Noah said, providing information about Ultear, while picking up the complete letter and quickly scanning its contents.
The content was concise yet urgent.
It turned out that Grimoire Heart had stationed intelligence personnel in Hargeon Port, who witnessed Makarov taking a group of people out to sea, and upon their return, a young man with black hair and a black robe was among them.
The young man perfectly matched the description of the Black Wizard, the person Grimoire Heart's Hades was looking for.
The intelligence personnel immediately reported the situation to Hades.
Hades concluded that Makarov had taken Zeref, so he gathered all the guild's subordinates, activated the Sky Battle Ship, and intended to destroy Fairy Tail and seize Zeref.
Grimoire Heart's main force had already sailed at full speed toward Magnolia, and they'd summoned their affiliated Dark Guilds to depart together. According to Ultear's calculations, the Dark Guild army would arrive in Magnolia in three days.
After reading the letter, Noah had only one thought: this guy named Hades seemed absolutely determined to get Zeref.
Noah handed the letter to Makarov and Warrod beside him. The old tree man frowned slightly, but Makarov's eyes instantly sharpened, full of fighting spirit.
"How dare they make a move against our Fairy Tail..."
"Good! Let them come!"
The usually steady Guild Master suddenly became warlike, which made everyone around curious. Erza quickly focused on Noah next to the old Guild Master and immediately asked,
"What happened, Noah?"
Noticing the change, Mavis also looked over.
Noah glanced around at everyone and briefly recounted the contents of Ultear's letter.
"Grimoire Heart?"
"Their goal is to destroy our guild and take Brother Ref?"
"How brave is this guy named Hades?"
"How dare he try to steal a man from the First Master! Brothers, we can't tolerate this!"
"..."
The hall, which had just been filled with joy, instantly filled with anger, especially upon hearing that the opponent's target was Zeref. Although everyone didn't fully understand Zeref's identity yet, it didn't stop him from being a comrade.
Panic and tension did not appear. Instead, everyone's anger was ignited.
However, not everyone felt this way. Lucy, looking a little worried, hugged Happy, who'd just returned to the guild. "Although the main enemy is Grimoire Heart, its subordinate guilds are numerous enough to form a large army."
Lucy wasn't worried that her guild couldn't defeat the Dark Alliance—she was only concerned about the safety of the town residents.
After all, from the news Ultear sent, the members of Grimoire Heart's subordinate guilds combined already exceeded three hundred people.
This number might not sound like much, not even a fraction of the Fiore Kingdom's army.
But that was an allied army composed entirely of mages, an existence far superior to ordinary armies in every way.
"Don't worry, Lucy."
Natsu clapped Lucy's shoulder forcefully, almost knocking off her bra strap. "Forget about a mere Grimoire Heart—even if Tartaros came, I'd still fight them the same way!"
"It's a good chance to let them taste the power of my new strength."
New strength?
Lucy thought Natsu had learned new magic on Tenrou Island and said helplessly, "Natsu, you don't seem to understand what I mean..."
"Hehe, it's you, Lucy, who doesn't understand."
Natsu's fists instantly ignited with scorching white flames. The moment they appeared, Lucy felt a temperature from Natsu she'd never experienced before.
Like a volcano!
Lucy understood. Natsu had truly gained new strength—otherwise, how could there be such a significant improvement?
Since Natsu was so powerful, then what about the others who returned from Tenrou Island...?
Lucy subconsciously looked at Makarov, whose eyes were filled with burning fighting spirit. She seemed to understand why the usually steady Guild Master had suddenly become a fervent warrior.
The new strength gained on Tenrou Island must be terrifyingly powerful.
Lucy suddenly felt very tempted and whispered to Natsu in a low voice, "Natsu, about your new strength, can I...?"
"Oh, you mean Magical Power."
Natsu blurted out carelessly, "Go find Noah—the Tenrou Jade he guards can help you gain Magical Power."
Natsu's straightforwardness left Lucy at a loss.
She just wanted to subtly satisfy her curiosity, but Natsu directly revealed it, and she couldn't stop him. Shouldn't such confidential information be kept secret...?
To Lucy's surprise, after Natsu's revelation, Noah actually pulled out the Tenrou Jade in front of everyone.
"Everyone, I have good news."
"This stone is a treasure from a sacred place called the Tenrou Jade, and it can bestow upon you a power even greater than magic—Magical Power."
"As long as your talent is strong enough, an A-rank becoming an S-rank is not a dream!"
With Noah's open declaration, and Gray and Cana's exaggerated promotion, as well as Gildarts' endorsement, the guild members all stared at the Tenrou Jade in Noah's hand with hungry eyes.
As for the Grimoire Heart army arriving in three days?
It was worth noting, but not that much.