Chapter 448: You Are Doing It Wrong
The surrounding citizens all wore radiant smiles on their faces, and many were shouting and screaming to vent their emotions.
Too many things had happened tonight. First, massive explosions echoed from the castle in the center of the Royal Capital, jolting the sleeping citizens awake. The continuous, terrifying blasts lasted for a long time, filling the citizens with dread.
Then, they discovered that the magical tools in their homes had suddenly stopped working. Upon stepping outside, they saw floating islands falling from the sky. They learned that the world's magic was vanishing, and even their King had been defeated and tied up.
Faced with such sudden, cataclysmic events, everyone was deeply lost and terrified.
Hadn't the King just promised them ten years' worth of magic power and told them not to worry? How could the magic vanish in the blink of an eye, and the King himself be taken captive?
And then, the Great Demon King Dragneel appeared. Not only did he claim to be the one stealing their magic, but his destructive power was absolutely horrifying. Furthermore, he was accompanied by two servants whose destructive capabilities were just as terrifying.
Facing enemies with such apocalyptic power, the citizens felt completely helpless.
Thankfully, a man claiming to be Prince Jellal stepped forward. After a grueling battle, he had finally defeated the Great Demon King Dragneel.
The citizens' anxiety and excitement instantly erupted all at once, leading them to scream and cheer to vent their overwhelming emotions.
"It is time."
As the most powerful mage present, Noah could already feel the suction force radiating from the sky, growing from a weak pull to a steady draw.
Now that easily accessible magic sources like magical items, floating islands, and the earth itself had been mostly drained, the reversed Anima had begun to lock onto living creatures that possessed magic power within their bodies.
"Is it time? So it is time to say goodbye to this world," Ultear sighed emotionally upon hearing Noah's words.
"Time really flew by. To think we have to say goodbye so soon," Erza echoed the sentiment.
"We were only here for a few days, and now we are leaving," Cana added from the side.
Mirajane quickly walked over to the Edolas Fairy Tail members, grabbed Lisanna's hands, and began giving her final instructions and warm regards.
At that moment, the magic power within Noah and the Earth Land mages was drawn out by Anima's pull, surfacing on their bodies. Consequently, their bodies began to emit a faint, fluorescent glow. This happened to the mages as well as the Exceeds.
"This is a weird feeling," Lucy murmured, feeling an invisible force gently pulling her upward, its strength slowly increasing.
"It is starting, it is starting! How fascinating!" Sorano continuously examined her glowing body, her voice filled with excitement.
"Wah!" Meredy and the younger girls let out small gasps of surprise.
"What is happening?! What is going on?!"
"The Demon King's body..."
The citizens of the Royal Capital also noticed Natsu and his 'servants' beginning to glow. The victorious cheers instantly died down, replaced once again by panic. Too many terrible things had happened tonight; they desperately hoped this was a good sign and not another disaster.
Very quickly, they realized it was indeed a good thing.
Because the Demon King and his servants suddenly wore expressions of intense agony. Their bodies lifted off the ground and began floating toward the sky.
Noah and his group's bodies also began to float, slowly drifting upward. However, Noah maintained his concealment magic, ensuring only those he permitted could see them.
"You guys..." Edo-Lucy looked up at Noah and the floating Earth Land mages, unable to help but speak.
"The magic really is going to disappear..." Edo-Gray said, looking deeply dejected.
"Don't make a face like that! So what if the magic is gone? Does that mean a guild can no longer exist?! Just like Noah said earlier—as long as there are comrades, the guild exists!" Gray tapped his chest right over his Fairy Tail mark, then extended his fist toward his Edolas counterpart, speaking with absolute seriousness.
Edo-Gray's previously lost and confused feelings instantly lightened significantly. He nodded heavily, bumping his fist against Gray's.
Swish!
Another Noah appeared in the sky. The Noah on the ground floated up to him and seamlessly merged with his main body.
"Is everything done?" Ultear asked the Noah beside her.
"Yeah. All the floating islands have safely landed on the ground. I have helped Mystogan with everything I could; the rest is up to him," Noah nodded.
"Waaaahhh!"
"Yaaaargh!"
"Ghk!"
In the sky, Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus let out pained groans. One clutched his throat, another pressed his temples, both Natsu and Gajeel acting out extreme agony.
Laxus, however... although he also wore a 'pained' expression, his acting skills and body language were completely outclassed by the other two.
"Laxus, you are doing it wrong. You have to look like you are in much more pain," Noah couldn't help but critique upon seeing Laxus's stiff performance.
"How am I supposed to do that?" Laxus muttered quietly. He truly didn't know how to act like he was in excruciating pain.
"Can't you just copy those two? Look how well they are doing."
Hearing Noah's words, Laxus's mouth twitched. He genuinely could not bring himself to mimic Natsu and Gajeel's exaggerated movements and expressions.
"Cover your face with one hand and grab your neck with the other. Tilt your head back so the people below can't see your face clearly. Then, occasionally twitch your body to make it look like you are convulsing. That is all you need to do," Noah instructed, essentially directing Laxus's acting.
Laxus's mouth twitched again, but he ultimately followed Noah's directions.
Seeing Laxus strike the pose as instructed, Noah nodded in satisfaction.
"OOOOHHHHH!!!"
"The Demon King is leaving this world!"
"The Prince saved us!"
"Prince!"
"Long live the Prince!"
The surrounding citizens watched as Natsu and his 'servants' flew higher and higher. They couldn't help but erupt into loud cheers. The Demon King who had brought them such immense pressure and destruction had been defeated and was flying into the sky with such agonized expressions. It had to be the Prince's doing! Everyone simultaneously reached the same conclusion.
Filled with immense gratitude, they looked at Mystogan, who stood before them with his back turned.
But they couldn't see the deeply sorrowful expression on Mystogan's face. The members of Fairy Tail were leaving this world. He could never return to that loud, chaotic, and wonderfully rowdy guild ever again. Everyone had helped him so much, yet he felt he hadn't been able to do anything for them in return.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself for this long ago, the sorrow still welled up in his heart.
Noah noticed Mystogan's sad expression, then glanced at Lily, who was standing on the castle balcony in the distance. With a snap of his fingers, Lily was instantly teleported into the air right in front of Mystogan.
Lily was initially startled, but upon seeing Mystogan below and Noah's group floating nearby, he instantly calmed down.
Mystogan was also startled by Lily's sudden appearance, but realizing the citizens behind him couldn't see the Exceed, he understood what Noah had done and nodded gratefully toward him.
"Prince, you do not need to adapt to all these changes immediately. Just take it slowly," Lily said to Mystogan, also realizing the citizens couldn't see him. "Even if it is as slow as learning to walk, humanity can take that firm first step forward toward the future."
Tears welled up in Mystogan's eyes. He nodded slightly, indicating he understood.
Thanks to Lily's words, his expression softened, and the corners of his mouth curved upward slightly.
"Goodbye, Edo-Lucy! Goodbye! The other Fairy Tail!" Lucy shouted loudly to her counterpart and the rest of the Edolas guild.
Edo-Lucy stared intently at the floating Lucy, tears streaming from her eyes. Her expression was a mix of deep sorrow and overwhelming emotion.
"Alright, you guys can stop acting now," Noah said to Natsu and the others. He had already cast a concealment spell on them, making them invisible to the citizens below.
Laxus and Gajeel both let out a sigh of relief and immediately dropped their exaggerated poses.
"You better do your best, me! Wait, no, I mean you..." Natsu shouted loudly at Edo-Natsu on the ground after stopping his performance.
Noah rolled his eyes. If he hadn't already concealed them with magic, Natsu's shout alone would have caused Mystogan a massive amount of trouble.
"Yeah, me too... wait, I mean you..." Edo-Natsu shouted back at Natsu. However, his voice simply blended into the surrounding cheers and didn't attract any attention.
"What are those two babbling about?" Edo-Lucy muttered, looking back at Edo-Natsu.
"Goodbye, everyone!" Happy shouted loudly toward the ground.
"What are you saying? We can never see them again," Carla said helplessly from the side.
Happy froze, suddenly realizing the truth of her words. Tears burst from his eyes as he waved frantically and bawled, "Waaaah! Goodbyyye!"
"So pathetic. Stop crying..." Carla turned her head away and scolded, though tears were also brimming in her own eyes.
Wendy gently hugged Carla from behind. Wendy, Meredy, and Yukino also had tears in their eyes.
Even so, they all looked down at the Fairy Tail members below, continuously waving goodbye.
Sorano gently hugged Yukino, staying quietly by her side.
Meanwhile, for Mirajane, the time to part had finally come. If she didn't let go of Lisanna's hand now, she would end up dragging Lisanna into the sky with her.
"I have already said everything I needed to say. But most importantly, get along well with your family, and do not make them worry. Live a happy and healthy life together with everyone in Fairy Tail!" Mirajane was already floating in the air. After speaking to Lisanna, she finally let go of her hand.
"I know! You too! The other big sis Mira!" Lisanna shouted loudly, tears streaming endlessly down her face.
"Take care!" Edo-Mirajane called out to Mirajane.
"Mhm, goodbye!" Mirajane replied. The three siblings of the Edolas Strauss family waved continuously, watching her gradually float higher into the sky.
The guild mark on Lisanna's body slowly faded away due to the disappearance of magic. Since she had already taken out the items stored within it earlier, nothing unexpected happened. She pressed her hands tightly over her mouth, watching Mirajane's retreating figure through tear-blurred eyes.
"Goodbye, Mystogan. Do your best. Carry the spirit of the guild with you, and live on strongly!" Noah's voice echoed directly into the minds of Mystogan and the Earth Land Fairy Tail members. They were already too high up for normal voices to reach; only Noah's Telepathy could bridge the distance.
"Goodbye, Prince / Mystogan!" Everyone chorused in their minds, their voices transmitted into Mystogan's mind via Noah's Telepathy.
"I will. Goodbye, Lily, Noah, Natsu, Laxus, Gray, Gajeel..." Mystogan looked up at the figures high in the sky, reciting their names one by one before finally saying, "And my family, Fairy Tail. Goodbye, everyone!"
Noah and the others continued to wave at Mystogan as he grew smaller and smaller below, until his figure became nothing but a tiny speck.
Finally, in a flash of brilliant light, Noah and the others vanished from the sky. And all the remaining magic in the world of Edolas left alongside them.
The sky returned to complete tranquility.
At that moment, the sun peeked over the horizon. The warm rays of the morning sun shone down on everyone present, instantly lifting their spirits.
Mystogan looked around, then stepped atop a nearby collapsed house and turned to face the citizens below.
The citizens looked at the man who dared to step forward and battle the Demon King—no, they looked at their Prince. Thanks to his actions, everyone had fully accepted Mystogan as their true Prince.
"The Demon King Dragneel has been defeated by me! Even without magic, we humans can still live on!" Mystogan declared loudly to the crowd.
"OOOHHHHH!!!"
The citizens below erupted into thunderous cheers once more. Hearing Mystogan's absolutely certain words, their eyes filled with a radiant light of hope.
Meanwhile, high in the sky above the outskirts of Magnolia, layers of magical fluctuations rippled outward. A spatial void tore open, and Noah's group emerged from within.
"WAAAAAHHH!!!"
The moment they appeared, they immediately began to plummet. Lucy was so startled she instantly screamed.
Snap!
Noah snapped his fingers, and everyone instantly froze mid-air. The pouring rain around them was also deflected by an invisible barrier.
Realizing it was raining heavily, Noah used his magic to rapidly grow the trees on the ground below, shaping them into a massive canopy. He then floated everyone down beneath it to take shelter from the rain.
"Oh yeah! We are back!" Natsu shouted excitedly the moment his feet touched the ground, looking around eagerly.
The others also wore expressions of profound relief. This was the world where they were born and lived; returning brought an undeniable sense of security and peace.
"AHHH!!!" Natsu suddenly screamed, drawing everyone's attention.
He pointed a shaking finger at the sky. Everyone followed his gaze, only to discover that the sky outside the wooden canopy was absolutely swarming with Exceeds.
"This place is amazing! The air is bursting with magic!"
"It seems everyone who got turned into a Lacrima completely forgot about that fact!"
"This place is so different from Edolas!"
The Exceeds chattered excitedly all at once, their faces and voices filled with elation.
"Why... why are the Exceeds in Earth Land?!" Carla shouted loudly, her face pale with shock.
Natsu and the others stared wide-eyed, their jaws dropping as they looked at the swarm of Exceeds in the sky, unable to recover from their shock for a long time.
"It is actually not that surprising. We, who possess magic within our bodies, were sucked back by the reversed Anima. The Exceeds, who naturally possess magic themselves, were naturally sucked in as well," Ultear explained from the side.
"Are you kidding me?! These guys are incredibly dangerous! They should have been sent back to Edolas!" Carla shouted, pointing at the airborne Exceeds.
She certainly hadn't forgotten the terrible treatment she, Wendy, and the others had received when they visited Extalia. If Noah and Sorano hadn't been there, given the attitude of the Exceeds at the time, Meredy and the other young girls would have undoubtedly suffered abuse.
While Carla didn't want her homeland to be destroyed, she had absolutely no goodwill toward Exceeds with that kind of arrogant mindset. She absolutely did not want a flock of such problematic creatures running amok in Earth Land.
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