Chapter 445: This Is My Gift to You All
"What miraculous magic," Lily could not help but sigh in admiration as he looked at the Noah standing in front of him, as well as the Noah on the screen.
This was a type of magic that would never appear in Edolas, a world that relied heavily on magical items, and the vast majority of Exceeds only knew Aera magic.
"Once you go to the world on the other side, you will see even more, even more wondrous magic," Mystogan said, looking at Lily.
"Mhm, I am looking forward to it," Lily nodded, though his eyes were filled with reluctance to part.
"The citizens in the city are already starting to panic. Mystogan, it is time for you to make your entrance," Noah said, turning back to Mystogan after seeing on the screen that the floating islands were continuously dropping and the visible bands of magical light were ascending into the sky, causing chaos among the populace.
Although Cana and Lisanna, along with some Royal Army soldiers, were maintaining order, more and more people were panicking over the unfolding situation, including a large number of soldiers.
Seeing that the unrest was about to escalate, Noah prompted him.
"Right, I understand," Mystogan replied earnestly.
"Do your best!" Noah encouraged Mystogan.
"I will!" Mystogan nodded heavily, then turned and left.
"Lily, you should go with him. Right now, there are many people who do not recognize Mystogan; having you there will make things much more convenient. I will stay here and continue maintaining the magic's operation," Noah said to Lily.
"That makes sense," Lily replied. He then hurriedly chased after Mystogan, who had already walked quite a distance.
Noah stayed behind, continuing to maintain the magic to ensure the floating islands fell into unpopulated areas.
Beside Noah's Thought Projection, who was maintaining the magic on the battlefield, a person with messy, scattered white hair suddenly appeared, sprawled on the ground.
"Who is this?" Meredy, who had just rested for a bit and was planning to rejoin the battle, asked Noah upon seeing the man.
"This is the King of Edolas." Noah stopped his sustained magic, hoisted the King up from the ground, and used magic to amplify his voice:
"Your King has already been defeated by us!"
Noah's voice echoed across the entire battlefield, causing everyone to involuntarily look in his direction.
"It really is the King!"
"The King is in their hands!"
"What do we do?!"
"Hurry and save the King!"
"But the King even deployed Dorma Anim and was still defeated by them. Can we really beat them?"
Once the surrounding people got a clear look at the face of the man in Noah's hands and confirmed it was indeed the King, an uproar erupted immediately.
The members of the Edolas Fairy Tail were thrilled; with the King defeated, they all felt a wave of relief.
Meanwhile, the Royal Army soldiers felt as if the sky had fallen, plunging into absolute chaos.
Some wanted to rescue the King, while others feared the overwhelming martial prowess of Noah's group. The two sides instantly fell into a heated dispute.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Fairy Tail members from both worlds retreated back to Noah's side. Edo-Lucy looked at the King in Noah's grasp and spoke with a very complicated tone:
"I cannot believe you guys actually succeeded."
"Wasn't that a given?" Sorano smiled confidently.
"What are you going to do with him? Hand him over to Mystogan?" Ultear asked, looking at the King in Noah's hands.
"Yeah, that was the agreement," Noah nodded.
The Edolas Fairy Tail members nearby looked at the unconscious King with incredibly complex expressions. They deeply hated this man; he was the one who had made them suffer so much and caused countless tragedies. But they also did not know how to handle him. Hearing that Noah and his group had already decided on his fate, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Save the King!"
"Hand the King over!"
It seemed the Royal Army soldiers had come to an agreement. They shouted as they charged toward Noah's group.
However, it was obvious they were split into two factions. Those charging at the front were emotionally agitated and highly aggressive. Those lagging behind wore expressions of reluctance, moving sluggishly behind the vanguard.
Seeing that the enemy still wanted to fight, Natsu and the others stepped forward to meet them.
The Edolas Fairy Tail members, in particular, were riding high on emotion. They actively launched attacks against the Royal Army soldiers, completely devoid of their previous fear.
Noah remained by the King's side, keeping watch over him.
"Wh-What is going on?!"
"Our weapons suddenly stopped working!"
"Ours too!"
"What do we do?!"
After fighting for a short while, the Edolas Fairy Tail members and the Royal Army soldiers suddenly realized that the power of the magical items in their hands was rapidly dropping, until they eventually became completely useless.
Immediately after, visible magical power surged from the nearby ground, drifting toward the sky. The floating islands above gradually tilted and began plummeting downward.
"Retreat! If we cannot use our weapons, we cannot fight at all!"
The Royal Army soldiers in the back, who had not wanted to fight in the first place, were the first to react, turning around and fleeing.
Hearing their shouts, the soldiers at the front froze for a moment before also turning to run for their lives.
"The Royal Army ran away," Lucy could not help but say as she watched them flee.
"We finally won," Gray sighed deeply. He then looked behind him, shook his head, and said, "But their current situation does not look too good."
Laxus and the others also looked over, only to see the Edolas Fairy Tail members wearing expressions of sheer agony. Some clutched their heads, others slumped onto the ground in despair, and a few were yelling at the top of their lungs.
"It is all over!"
"The magic is gone... We cannot use magic..."
"What are we going to do..."
"What will become of our guild..."
"How can there be a mage guild without magic?!"
Voices of despair echoed everywhere. Lucy could not help but call out:
"Everyone! Calm down! It is going to be alright!"
"How could it possibly be alright?! All the magic in this world has vanished! What is going to happen to our mage guild?!" Edo-Lucy shouted at Lucy, tears in her eyes, leaving Lucy stunned in place.
"We are doomed... We won the battle, but we lost to the world..."
"Juvia... our greatest fear... the depletion of magic..."
"Waaah! The magic is gone! The magic has vanished!"
"It is no use anymore!"
"The world is finished!"
The panicked voices of the Edolas Fairy Tail members rang out all around.
"It is not like you are creatures that require magic to survive. Whether the magic disappears or not has no real effect on you," Noah shook his head from the sidelines, speaking to Edo-Lucy.
"But we are a mage guild..." Edo-Lucy tried to retort, but Noah interrupted her before she could finish:
"Your focus is entirely wrong. The core isn't being a 'mage', it is the 'guild'! Even if you have magic, if you do not have comrades, can you still call yourselves a guild? Can you still be Fairy Tail? Conversely, even without magic, as long as your comrades are there, you are still a guild, and you are still Fairy Tail!"
Hearing Noah's words, Edo-Lucy froze, and the cathartic screams of the others noticeably dwindled.
Laxus and the others nodded silently, completely agreeing with Noah's sentiment.
"Everyone, panicking now won't help anything. Let's head to the Royal Capital first and confirm things with our own eyes." After contemplating Noah's words, Edo-Lucy forced down her turbulent emotions and addressed the Edolas Fairy Tail.
"Confirm? Confirm what?" Edo-Natsu asked.
"Our... future," Edo-Lucy replied with a very serious expression.
"I will send you all over, then. We happen to have some business there as well," Noah offered.
"Then we are counting on you," Edo-Lucy did not stand on ceremony; what they needed most right now was time.
Noah nodded and snapped his fingers. The Fairy Tail members from both worlds, along with the Edolas Fairy Tail guild building not too far away, vanished from their spot simultaneously.
"The Royal Capital has become like this..."
When Edo-Lucy and the others regained their senses, they found themselves at the entrance to the Royal Capital.
Before they could even sigh, the scene before them left them completely dumbfounded.
The magic lamps lining the streets had gone out one by one. Equipment powered by magic had ceased operation.
Magic power surged from the earth toward the sky, forming visible bands of light.
The city, which should have been peaceful, was now filled with incredibly panicked people.
"The floating islands are falling from the sky!"
"The Fire Lacrima cracked! We cannot cook!"
"Ours too!"
"What is happening?!"
"No way!"
"Everything is ruined!"
"The world is over!"
"Mommy, I am so scared!"
"It is okay, it is okay..."
Similar voices echoed all around them.
"Everyone!" Lisanna's voice called out from nearby. The group turned to see Cana and Lisanna running toward them.
"How are things inside the city right now?" Edo-Lucy hurriedly asked the approaching Lisanna.
"There is chaos everywhere. Everyone is absolutely terrified by the sudden situation," Lisanna quickly replied.
Hearing this, Edo-Lucy gritted her teeth.
"It is time for you three to execute the plan we discussed earlier," Noah said, turning to Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus.
"Oh yeah! I am all fired up!" Natsu said with a face full of excitement.
"Villains, huh? Hehe!" Gajeel flashed a terrifying grin.
Laxus merely let out a sigh.
"Doesn't this sound pretty fun? Too bad my image doesn't suit the role," Sorano said with a look of regret.
"Alright, I will send you over to prepare first." Noah raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Natsu, Gajeel, Laxus, and the King beside Noah all vanished into the distance.
"By the way, I have some gifts for everyone." Noah then clapped his hands, drawing the attention of the Edolas Fairy Tail members, who were filled with panic at the sight of the chaotic Royal Capital.
"Gifts? At a time like this?" Edo-Lucy could not help but question. Wasn't the timing a bit inappropriate?
"Yes, exactly at a time like this," Noah nodded earnestly. He pulled out several Magic Cards from his coat, releasing a massive amount of books and various devices.
"Some of these books contain introductions to machines driven without magic, along with various other types of information for operations that do not require magic. These devices are the actual physical prototypes. I will go ahead and place them inside your guild building for you."
With that, Noah levitated the items and sent them floating into their guild hall.
"And there is this." Noah took out another Magic Card, releasing a massive vehicle.
The front section resembled the cab of a normal vehicle, just much larger. However, the rest of it was highly unique—a very long, massive rectangular container supported by numerous large wheels underneath.
"This is a vehicle I custom-made for you all. Inside, you will find many things I prepared for you: weapons, armor, and other supplies, none of which require magic to function. As for the power source, it runs on common materials found in your world. The specific instructions are in the books I just gave you; you will understand once you read them. Oh, right, I should also remodel your guild building."
Noah pulled out yet another Magic Card, extracting a massive quantity of materials. Magic surged from his body, and the Fairy Tail guild building was instantly lifted into the air. The various materials began to assemble themselves underneath the structure.
The members of the Edolas Fairy Tail stared blankly at the endless stream of items Noah produced.
"You must have prepared all this well in advance, right?" Edo-Lucy finally snapped out of her daze, looking at Noah.
"Of course. Since I knew the magic in your world was constantly disappearing, isn't it only natural to prepare some non-magical gifts? Oh, right, Lisanna, these are gifts for you."
While remodeling the guild building, Noah pulled out one more Magic Card. From it, he produced a pair of gauntlets, a longsword, and a set of light armor.
"The gauntlets are made from a special material; they are incredibly durable and lightweight, yet also very flexible. Since you have been practicing close-quarters combat with Mirajane for quite some time, they will come in handy. The longsword is also crafted from a special material—sturdy, sharp, and light. The light armor provides powerful defense while remaining so light you will barely feel it when you wear it. The effectiveness of all these items relies purely on the unique properties of the materials themselves; they require absolutely no magic," Noah explained to Lisanna.
"Thank you!" Lisanna accepted the items Noah handed her with a heart full of joy.
"Alright, the remodeling is complete."
By this time, Noah had finished modifying the Fairy Tail guild building.
A massive, sturdy chassis had been installed underneath the entire structure, supported by four equally gigantic wheels. At the front was a large cab ready to pull it.
"With this, you will be able to move your entire guild together. Oh, and the power source for the cab does not require magic either; I have placed the relevant manuals inside," Noah told Edo-Lucy and the others.
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