Chapter 488: Consider This My Way of Praising You
When Noah finally stopped throwing punches, Precht was utterly unrecognizable. His face was a swollen, bruised mess, his body was covered in severe lacerations and burns, and his pristine dark robes had been reduced to pathetic, blood-soaked rags.
Precht swayed dangerously in the air, his magic flickering erratically as if he were on the verge of losing consciousness entirely.
"I... someone like me... actually lost... to Makarov's child...?!"
Precht forced his swollen, bloodied eyes open just a fraction. He stared at Noah—who was floating casually in front of him, entirely uninjured and not even breathing heavily. His eyes swam with absolute, world-shattering disbelief.
Who was he?
He was the Second Master of Fairy Tail. The absolute ruler of Grimoire Heart, the strongest dark guild in history. The man who had walked the deepest, darkest paths of the magical abyss. The genius who danced freely with magic itself, closer to the One Magic than anyone else alive.
And yet, here he was, suffering a crushing, humiliating defeat at the hands of a mere twenty-year-old brat—the third generation of the guild he had left behind.
No! He absolutely refused to accept this reality!
"You've lost," Noah stated calmly, looking at the battered dark mage.
"NO! IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE!" Precht roared, his voice cracking with manic fury as a final, desperate surge of purple magic erupted from his broken body.
"Until I reach the absolute pinnacle of magic... the Demon shall never sleep!"
Precht forced his eyes wide open. Blood vessels ruptured across his sclera, turning his eyes entirely red. He gritted his teeth, a terrifying, unhinged madness consuming his features.
He thrust both hands forward, unleashing a massive, devastating purple beam straight at Noah.
Without waiting to see if it hit, Precht rapidly repositioned his hands, stacking them diagonally in front of his chest. A terrifyingly dense, dark-purple sphere of raw magical energy materialized between his palms.
"Grimoire... Law..."
The catastrophic magical pressure radiating from his hands was so intense that it warped the atmosphere, sending a chilling wave of dread washing over the Fairy Tail mages watching from afar.
Makarov's face darkened instantly, but he forced himself to stay put. He could see Noah already reacting.
"Starlight..."
Precht's massive purple beam slammed directly into Noah—only to be perfectly intercepted by a shimmering golden barrier that materialized inches from his body.
Simultaneously, Noah's voice echoed from behind the shield.
At his command, both the purple beam and Noah's golden barrier dissolved into streams of pure magical energy. These streams rapidly funneled into a massive, highly complex golden magic circle that flared to life in front of Noah.
Noah extended his right hand, pouring an ocean of his own magic into the array.
Instantly, thousands of tiny, golden specks of starlight materialized in the surrounding air. They swarmed into the golden sphere at the center of Noah's array, causing the sphere to expand at a terrifying speed.
At the exact same time, tiny purple specks of light began violently bleeding out of the dark-purple sphere in Precht's hands. The moment they hit the air, they transmuted into golden starlight and were forcefully sucked into Noah's expanding golden sphere.
"W-WHAT?! My magic... is being siphoned away?!"
Precht gasped in absolute horror. Desperate, he tried to violently pump more magic into his ultimate spell.
However, the harder he pushed, the faster the purple specks bled from his hands, making it completely impossible for him to stabilize and complete Grimoire Law.
"It's... it's too late!" Precht ground his teeth, his face contorting into a mask of pure, unadulterated despair and fury.
Noah's golden sphere had stopped absorbing the ambient starlight. It had already expanded to nearly ten meters in diameter, hovering just inches from Precht's face.
The apocalyptic magical pressure radiating from the golden sun was suffocating. Noah's spell was perfectly complete, while Precht's was hopelessly stalled. And at this point, aborting Grimoire Law to cast a defensive spell was physically impossible; the backlash alone would kill him.
"Detonate!"
Noah's voice rang out. The massive golden sphere rippled slightly. A colossal, apocalyptic torrent of pure, destructive light erupted from the center, forming a catastrophic beam that blasted forward at point-blank range.
"DAMMIT AAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!"
Precht's furious, impotent scream was instantly drowned out by the roaring blast. The golden torrent completely engulfed him, tearing through the sky and shooting straight toward the distant horizon.
The sheer, catastrophic kinetic force of the golden beam ripped a massive, clear path through the clouds, entirely blowing away the overcast sky above Tenrou Island.
Only when the golden sphere finally exhausted its accumulated magic did the beam gradually thin out and fade, dissolving into the distant stratosphere.
Warm sunlight poured down through the massive, artificial hole in the clouds, bathing Noah in a radiant, divine golden glow.
As the blinding light faded, Precht's silhouette reappeared in front of Noah. He wasn't floating anymore; he was plummeting limply toward the ocean.
Noah casually waved a hand. Precht's descent halted instantly, and his unconscious body was gently levitated back up to float in front of Noah.
Taking a quick look, Noah grimaced. Precht was in an absolutely horrific state.
Blood flowed freely from countless deep lacerations across his body, drenching what little remained of his shredded clothes. His internal organs had suffered catastrophic trauma, and more importantly, he was completely, deeply unconscious.
Noah sighed and shook his head. He quickly cast a high-tier healing spell over Precht, stabilizing his internal injuries and stopping the severe bleeding so he wouldn't die.
He then pulled a pristine, unused towel from his spatial pocket, wrapped it securely around the unconscious Dark Guild Master to preserve his modesty, and slowly levitated both of them back down to where Makarov and the others were waiting.
"It's over, Grandpa," Noah smiled gently as he touched down.
"Mhm."
Makarov nodded slowly. He looked at the unconscious, battered body of his former mentor floating beside Noah, his expression an incredibly complex mixture of relief, sorrow, and deep resignation.
"WE WON!" Wendy cheered, jumping up and down.
"Mhm! We did it!" Yukino agreed enthusiastically, a bright smile on her face.
"Of course we did!" Sorano preened confidently.
Meredy stared at the unconscious Precht for a long moment. Tears silently spilled down her cheeks. Wendy and Yukino immediately turned around and pulled her into a tight, comforting hug.
"YEAAAAAH! WE WON!"
The rest of the Fairy Tail mages erupted into thunderous cheers and applause. Laughter and joyous shouts echoed across the barren battlefield.
They had successfully defended their holy ground and completely crushed Grimoire Heart, the strongest pillar of the Balam Alliance. It was a monumental, historic victory, and they had every right to celebrate.
"So this is the Second Master, huh? He truly was an unbelievable monster," Laxus muttered, walking over to inspect Precht's battered state.
"However, it was his profound misfortune to run into an even bigger monster. A complete freak of nature who I'm still not entirely convinced is actually human," Laxus smirked, shooting a side-eye at Noah.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Noah waved him off casually, completely unfazed. He had heard Laxus call him a monster so many times he was practically immune to it.
"To think someone that strong existed. It's a real shame I didn't get to fight him," Gildarts sighed, strolling over to look at the unconscious Guild Master.
Despite his words, Gildarts didn't look particularly disappointed. Precht had invaded their sacred island with a massive army; ending the threat as quickly and efficiently as possible was the only correct tactical choice. Besides, if Gildarts ever felt the itch for a truly apocalyptic brawl, he could just challenge Noah. He really wasn't missing out on much.
"It is a bit of a shame. But simply watching him fight Noah has been incredibly educational," Ur agreed, walking over to join the group.
"To think he possessed such overwhelming strength and physical vitality at his age," Ultear marveled, staring at Precht in awe.
"Exactly. It's unbelievable that he could fight Noah in pure close-quarters combat for that long. Even relying heavily on physical enhancement magic, his base physical constitution must be incredibly high. It's hard to believe he's actually older than the Master," Mirajane noted in genuine amazement.
"For the record, he's well over 110 years old. Fairy Tail was founded nearly a century ago, and he was one of the founding members. He might even be over 120. To maintain that level of physical prowess at his age... he's an absolute freak of nature," Laxus clarified, fully utilizing his knowledge of the guild's history.
"WHAT?! That old man is over a hundred years old?! You can't tell at all!" Sorano gasped, quickly leaning in to examine Precht's face more closely.
Despite the severe bruising and swelling, his fundamental bone structure was clear. While his hair and beard were stark white, his skin and muscle tone didn't resemble an ancient, frail elder. He looked roughly the same physical age as Makarov, perhaps even slightly younger.
"I clearly need to train harder. If I had to face him alone, I would have been completely crushed," Erza muttered, her brow furrowed in deep self-reflection.
"Erza, aside from the Master, Gildarts, Ur, and Noah, literally no one here could have held him off," Cana pointed out dryly.
"I am aware of that. But what if none of them are present during the next crisis? We must be prepared to face enemies of this caliber on our own," Erza replied, her tone deadly serious.
Cana was instantly silenced. She couldn't guarantee a scenario like that would never happen, and Erza was absolutely right.
"Then all you have to do is keep training and pushing your limits until you can face enemies like him," Noah smiled encouragingly.
Erza nodded firmly, her resolve hardened.
"So, what are we going to do with him?" Laxus asked, pointing at the unconscious Precht and bringing the conversation to the most pressing issue.
The entire group fell silent, their eyes shifting toward Makarov and Mavis, who had both been standing quietly nearby.
Out of everyone present, those two had the deepest, most complex emotional ties to Precht.
Mavis had adventured with him, fought alongside him, founded Fairy Tail with him, and eventually passed the title of Guild Master to him. Furthermore, she was only able to maintain her current ethereal state due to his decades of tireless magical research.
Makarov had literally grown up under Precht's wing. Precht was the man who had raised him, taught him magic, and eventually entrusted the entire guild to his care. He was practically a father figure.
To everyone else, Precht was just a name in a history book. Even Gildarts, the oldest active member besides Makarov, had joined the guild after Precht had left. The younger generation had zero emotional attachment to him. Especially after he had led a massive army of dark mages to slaughter them on their own sacred ground, any lingering respect for his title as 'Second Master' had been completely vaporized.
"I am no longer the Master of Fairy Tail. You are. The decision is yours to make, Makarov. Whatever you decide, I will support you," Mavis said gently, shaking her head.
Makarov stared at the unconscious Precht. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. After a long, heavy silence, he finally let out a deep, shuddering sigh.
"I... I will let him go. After all... he taught me so much," Makarov said quietly, his voice thick with emotion.
No one was surprised by Makarov's choice. It was a deeply human decision, and entirely in character for the compassionate old man.
"That's perfectly fine. If we can beat him once, we can easily beat him again," Noah smiled reassuringly. The rest of the group nodded in agreement, offering no objections.
"Everyone..." Makarov looked at his guildmates, his eyes welling up with profound gratitude.
"However, as compensation for invading our home and ruining our exam, I will be confiscating his airship. We'll modify it and use it as Fairy Tail's official transport. Without that airship, he's never going to recover from this," Noah added casually.
"Whoa! We're actually getting our own airship?! YES! We can take it for a joyride! Where should we go first?!" Sorano's eyes sparkled with sheer excitement, her mind already racing with travel plans.
Mirajane and Cana immediately joined the excited discussion, throwing out destination ideas.
"Having our own airship will definitely be a massive asset," Laxus agreed with a smirk. Confiscating the enemy's prized possession as war spoils was perfectly justified.
"Mhm! We should fly it to neighboring countries and try all their local desserts..." Erza nodded enthusiastically, happily jumping into Sorano's planning session.
"Blue Pegasus has their famous magic bomber, Christina. Having an airship of our own will be great. Given Grimoire Heart's resources, this ship's specs are probably top-tier," Ultear mused, analyzing the tactical benefits.
"Oh, it's definitely vastly superior to Blue Pegasus's ship. Actually, do you guys know why Precht was so ridiculously strong?" Noah asked, gesturing to the unconscious man.
"Is it related to the airship?" Ultear guessed, noticing Noah's specific phrasing.
"Spot on. Jellal actually told me about Precht's ultimate weakness earlier. It's hidden deep within that airship. He actually wanted to destroy it himself, but I stopped him," Noah nodded.
"What weakness?" Sorano and the girls instantly stopped their travel planning and leaned in curiously.
"Hidden inside the lowest level of that airship is the culmination of decades of Precht's darkest magical research. It's a massive, artificial magical reactor known as the Devil's Heart.
"That mechanical 'Heart' is the true source of Precht's unfathomable magic power and his unnaturally long lifespan," Noah revealed the guild's darkest secret.
He paused, letting the information sink in before continuing. "If that Heart is destroyed, Precht instantly loses his overwhelming magic reserves and his extended lifespan. His physical condition will rapidly deteriorate, matching his true, biological age. His power will plummet, and his remaining lifespan will drastically shorten.
"By confiscating the airship, we are inherently confiscating the Devil's Heart. That's why I said he'll never recover from this. We're essentially crippling him permanently."
"No wonder he named the guild Grimoire Heart. It literally translates to 'The Devil's Heart.' It makes perfect sense now," Erza nodded in realization.
"Wait, so you knew exactly what his critical weakness was, and you still actively stopped Jellal from destroying it just so you could fight him at his absolute peak?" Sorano stared at Noah, laughing in disbelief. "I knew it! You just wanted a good punching bag, didn't you?!"
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