Chapter 443: Your Plan is Too Stupid!
"Sigh."
Noah let out a breath. He hopped down from the Dragon Knight, landed on the ground, and began to mobilize his magic power.
Hum!
The atmosphere began to vibrate violently under the sheer pressure of his magic, sending shockwaves rippling out in all directions.
The earth trembled beneath his feet, pebbles dancing wildly on the cracked ground.
The fleeing King was struck squarely in the back by the invisible shockwave, violently pitching forward. He frantically tried to adjust his balance to keep from falling, but the violently shaking ground offered no solid footing, and he collapsed face-first into the dirt.
But he couldn't care less about the pain of the fall. He scrambled to turn around, looking back in absolute, unadulterated terror.
Behind him, Noah was still continuously elevating his magic power. An oppressive, suffocating aura coalesced around the boy and crashed down upon the King like a physical weight.
"Gah... hgkk..."
Facing Noah's terrifying aura head-on, the King's body instantly froze stiff.
Earlier, sitting inside the Dragon Knight, he had been shielded from the physical pressure; he could only comprehend Noah's power through the mecha's diagnostic readings. But now, facing Noah directly, he finally understood exactly what kind of monster he had been fighting.
Noah's overwhelming presence caused his body to tremble violently against his will. Sweat poured from his brow, while tears and snot involuntarily streamed down his face. His pupils dilated in sheer horror, his teeth chattered uncontrollably, and his face drained of all color, turning ashen pale.
Despite his entire body seizing up in terror, his legs kicked backward subconsciously, desperate to crawl as far away from Noah as possible.
I... I actually... wanted to make an enemy of... someone like this?!
Seeing the King's pathetic state, Noah ramped up his magic output even further, intensifying the oppressive aura. Fine cracks began to spiderweb across the ground beneath his feet.
Upon feeling the pressure suddenly magnify, the King's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he instantly passed out from sheer terror.
Seeing that the King had fainted, Noah reigned in his magic and the suffocating aura.
He patted the Dragon Knight beside him, nodding in great satisfaction. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a Magic Card and directly sealed the kingdom's ultimate magical weapon inside it.
He had already analyzed and learned the vast majority of the magic inscribed on this mecha; the rest he could simply study back home.
More importantly, the material this mecha was forged from was incredibly rare. It possessed the unique property of completely nullifying magic below a certain threshold. Even attacks that surpassed that limit had their destructive power drastically reduced. Such material was incredibly precious. It was the combination of this material and the various defensive enchantments that gave the Dragon Knight its terrifying anti-magic capabilities.
Since the King would obviously never be using this mecha again, Noah felt zero guilt about confiscating it.
He then walked over to the unconscious King. Looking down at the instigator of this entire disaster, Noah shook his head.
Although he was a King, his physical constitution and combat awareness were abysmal, and he clearly lacked any real willpower. All he had was blind ambition.
After being scared completely senseless like this, he would likely spend the rest of his days living in constant, paranoid terror. That would serve as Noah's personal punishment for him.
As for what would ultimately happen to the King, Noah had already promised to let someone else handle it.
But for now, he would let this King fulfill his final purpose.
Noah raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The King instantly vanished into thin air.
Noah then checked his bearings and also teleported away.
When he reappeared, he found himself inside a massive chamber.
Floating right in the center of the room was a giant, radiant sphere, completely surrounded by a dense array of intricate golden magic circles.
Standing in front of the floating sphere were two figures.
"You made it," one of the figures turned to face Noah. It was Mystogan.
"Yeah, I am here to help you finish the final step," Noah said.
At that moment, the second figure turned around, walked up to Noah, and seamlessly merged back into his body. It was his Thought Projection.
"Before we begin, could you bring Lily here? I want to see the one who saved my life one last time," Mystogan requested.
"Sure, let me find him." Noah nodded. Two tiny golden magic circles materialized in front of his eyes as he scanned the area for Lily's magic signature.
He quickly locked onto Lily's coordinates, raised his right hand, and snapped his fingers. Lily was instantly teleported right next to them.
The moment Lily appeared, he instinctively dropped into a defensive stance, his eyes darting around warily. Only after confirming that there were no enemies and that it was just Noah and Mystogan did he slowly lower his guard.
"Did you bring me here? What is going on?" Lily asked, looking at Noah after noticing the fading magic circles and Noah lowering his snapping hand.
"I asked Noah to bring you here," Mystogan said, looking at Lily.
"Prince? You called for me?" Lily looked around the massive chamber, quickly realizing where he was. "This... this is the chamber where Anima was created! Prince, why did you bring me here?"
"I wanted to see my savior one last time," Mystogan said, his gaze fixed seriously on Lily.
"One last time?! Prince, what exactly are you talking about?!" Lily felt a sudden, ominous premonition grip his heart.
"It has been seven years since I arrived in Earth Land. For the past seven years, I have constantly observed that world. Although there is conflict there as well, it is fundamentally an incredibly rich and prosperous world. It will definitely be able to handle it," Mystogan didn't answer Lily's question immediately, instead turning to look at the massive, glowing sphere floating above them.
"Prince, d-don't tell me..." Lily froze for a moment before looking around the room, instantly realizing what Mystogan intended to do.
"Whatever you are planning, this is completely insane!"
"In order to cut off the endless cycle of conflict in this world, this is the only way. I want to create a world where people can truly look each other in the eye and connect. I am going to reverse Anima and drain all the magic from this world!" Mystogan declared, his voice heavy with resolve.
"I was pretty shocked too when I first heard his plan, because it really is quite insane. While Earth Land can easily handle this massive influx of magic power, things won't be so pretty for the people of Edolas. After all, magic is an integral part of life here, especially for the residents of the Royal Capital," Noah chimed in, pausing briefly before continuing.
"However, ironically enough, thanks to the King's tyrannical rule over the past two years, the residents outside the Royal Capital have been forced to drastically reduce their reliance on magic. Therefore, even if magic suddenly vanishes completely, the chaos outside the capital won't actually be that severe.
The Royal Capital, however, is a different story. They are highly dependent on magic. The moment it disappears, the resulting chaos here will be absolute bedlam."
"No one can adapt to such a drastic change in the world instantly. It is only natural that the citizens will panic," Mystogan turned back to Lily, his expression completely serious. "At a time like that, they will need a new leader. A new King for a new world. Someone to unite the anxious masses and guide them toward a happy future.
I had originally planned for you to become that new King, Lily."
"Me?!" Lily was completely stunned.
"As a soldier of the Royal Army, as an Exceed, and as someone capable of dissolving the misunderstandings and prejudices between the races... You would execute me—the ultimate villain who raised a flag of rebellion against the King of Edolas and stole all the world's magic—in front of the panicked masses.
Then, you would quell the chaos, guide the people, and become the King of a new world devoid of magic."
Lily stood frozen, his mind completely blank as he processed Mystogan's words.
He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, biting down hard on his teeth. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he roared furiously at Mystogan:
"Are you out of your mind?! Are you seriously spouting such idiotic nonsense, Prince?!!!"
"See? I told you he would think your plan was stupid," Noah agreed immediately from the side.
Hearing Noah's interjection, Lily paused, suddenly realizing a discrepancy in Mystogan's phrasing. "Prince, you said you originally planned for that?"
"Yes. Since erasing magic would effectively mean the end of this current world, I needed someone who wouldn't be swayed by racial bias and truly understood the value of life to become the King of the new world. And you, Lily, despite being an Exceed, saved my life when I was just a child. You were the absolute perfect candidate," Mystogan explained.
"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard! Why would I ever execute you?! I would absolutely never do such a thing!" Lily yelled furiously before turning to Noah. "Did you convince the Prince to abandon this idiotic plan?"
"You could say that," Noah glanced at the massive sphere before turning back to Lily. "Actually, there was a very critical flaw that forced him to abandon it. If the reversed Anima sucks all the magic power into Earth Land, what do you think will happen to the Exceeds, who naturally possess magic power?"
"What will happen to the Exceeds? D-Don't tell me..." Lily stared at Noah in sheer shock.
Noah nodded. "Since the Exceeds possess magic within their bodies, they naturally fall under the reversed Anima's area of effect. They will be sucked in and transported to Earth Land right alongside the magic."
"Th-That would happen..." Lily's voice trembled with shock.
He finally understood. No wonder Mystogan had said he wanted to see him 'one last time'.
If Anima were reversed, Lily would be transported to Earth Land just like the rest of the Exceeds, essentially meaning he could never return. That truly would have been his final meeting with Mystogan.
"I hadn't considered it either until Noah pointed it out to me," Mystogan sighed helplessly.
He genuinely possessed the resolve to sacrifice himself to make Lily the King of the new world. But after Noah's reminder, he realized his plan was doomed to fail from the very start.
Because reversing Anima wouldn't just send magic to Earth Land; it would send the Exceeds along with it. And since Lily was an Exceed, he wouldn't be exempt. His plan had been physically impossible from the get-go.
"He came to me with this plan about a year ago. When I heard how utterly half-baked it was, I chewed him out right then and there," Noah said, shooting Mystogan an unapologetic glare.
"You want to make your world a better place? That is perfectly fine. But you absolutely do not accomplish that by sacrificing yourself! The spirit of Fairy Tail is to love your comrades and cherish your own life! We have never, ever allowed a member of our guild to treat their own life as disposable!"
Mystogan turned his head away, not daring to meet Noah's eyes. Back when he first shared his plan, Noah had relentlessly chewed him out for a very, very long time.
"He is exactly right! If you are the one plunging Edolas into ruin, then you must take responsibility for it! Not cowardly sacrifice yourself!" Lily shouted at Mystogan, temporarily shelving the implications of the Exceeds being sent to Earth Land.
Being simultaneously berated by both Noah and Lily, Mystogan could only lower his head in shame.
"Since you scrapped the Prince's original plan, what did you two come up with instead?" Lily asked, forcing himself to calm down.
"Just like you said, since he is the one erasing Edolas' magic, he needs to take responsibility for it. If he had the resolve to throw his own life away for Edolas, there is nothing he cannot accomplish," Noah said, looking at Mystogan.
"Does that mean the Prince will become the King of the new world?" Lily asked, a wave of relief washing over him.
"Exactly. He will become the new King. You know full well that the current King cannot possibly remain on the throne after everything he has done. And Mystogan—or Jellal—happens to be the Crown Prince. No matter how you look at it, he is the most legitimate candidate to take the throne. So, we will simply have him become King and guide the panicked masses through this crisis."
Noah finished speaking and turned back to Mystogan. "The throne is not a luxury for you; it is a responsibility. The world is losing its magic because of you, so you must shoulder the burden of leading it. With the spirit of Fairy Tail backing you, I know you will do just fine."
Mystogan nodded firmly.
He already possessed the resolve to sacrifice himself for a better Edolas. Now that he was certain he had to become King, he felt the immense weight of that responsibility settling onto his shoulders.
"If the Prince abandoned his previous plan, how are we going to deal with the chaos caused by reversing Anima? The citizens, especially those in the Royal Capital, will not be easily pacified after losing all their magic," Lily asked, looking between the two.
"While Mystogan's original plan was pretty stupid, his core concept of staging a battle between a villain and a hero was actually a very good idea," Noah replied.
"So a hero defeats a villain? But if the Prince is going to be King, he has to be the hero. So who is going to play the villain?" Lily mused.
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