Chapter 222: The Dragon Graveyard
Hearing Makarov's worries, Noah could only shake his head inwardly. He knew that a confrontation between Fairy Tail and the Black Dragon was inevitable. The guild was already home to three Dragon Slayers, and Acnologia hated two things above all else: dragons and Dragon Slayers.
No matter what, they had to prepare. Fortunately, Noah had started those preparations long ago. But now, after sensing the lingering aura Acnologia had left behind, Noah felt he needed to intensify his efforts.
After giving Makarov the full report, Noah left a Thought Projection at the guild to handle the daily administrative tasks—namely, the mountain of apology letters that had piled up. Ever since Noah had taken over writing the reports, Makarov's mood and health had improved significantly. He still got angry when he saw the repair bills, but he was far less stressed. He now spent most of his time sitting at the bar, sipping his drink, and smiling as he watched his children brawl.
Noah was happy to let him relax. Makarov wasn't young, and the constant stress wasn't good for him. Noah had taken over many of the guild's responsibilities, roping in Ultear, Erza, and the other S-Class wizards to help. He made sure Laxus, as Makarov's grandson, pulled his weight, much to Laxus's annoyance.
Noah's goal wasn't just to get the work done; it was to ensure all the S-Class wizards understood the inner workings of the guild. They were its leadership, after all. But most of the time, Noah's projection handled the bulk of it. Thanks to his Archive magic, the administrative work was quick and easy, a simple diversion from his real research.
However, after Gildarts's encounter, Noah decided to leave the projection in charge indefinitely. His main body had to return to the ruins to continue studying the skeletons of the dragons and Dragon Slayers.
He was also ready to investigate the other, more famous dragon graveyard: the one located deep beneath the capital of Fiore, Crocus.
That graveyard was filled with the bones of dragons slain by Acnologia. It would provide Noah with a massive number of new samples to analyze, helping him better understand the dragon race.
Noah traveled to the outskirts of Crocus. He stood in an empty field and expanded his magic senses, probing deep into the earth.
Not far down, he found a vast network of tunnels and caverns sprawling beneath the capital. This was the city's hidden underground, the "Palace of the Fallen," where criminals were left to roam. But this wasn't what he was looking for. He pushed his senses deeper.
Far beneath the Palace of the Fallen, he finally found it: an immense, hollow cavern, filled to the brim with colossal skeletons.
A smile spread across Noah's face. This was it.
He teleported into the cavern. The sheer scale of it was breathtaking. Piles of bones were heaped everywhere. A single rib was larger than a full-grown man. A cold, eerie wind whistled through the massive skeletal remains. A normal person would have been terrified.
Noah, however, was ecstatic. These were the bones of dragons. There was no telling how many were here. It was a research treasure trove.
He scouted the cavern, selected a stable location that wouldn't disturb the remains, and set it up as his new base. He cast numerous protective barriers around the entire graveyard to keep it hidden, and then set up a separate barrier around his base to contain his experiments and protect his equipment.
Once everything was in place, he set out his tools and began his research.
He wouldn't abandon the first ruin, of course. He simply split his focus, sending one Thought Projection to continue the work at the Dragon Slayer site, while another began the research here in the Dragon Graveyard.
His main body, meanwhile, would be free to focus entirely on his own training, pushing his power to its absolute limit. In the end, his own strength was what mattered most.
Life returned to its normal rhythm. The guild members trained and took on jobs. The reputations of the S-Class wizards—Laxus, Ultear, Erza, and the others—grew rapidly. They were the ones who could complete the high-difficulty S-Class requests that no one else could, and their names became famous.
Noah's name was also well-known, as he'd become S-Class at such a young age and had completed many S-Class missions. However, very few people knew that he had also completed SS-Class and even Ten-Year Requests. Those missions were so high-level that their details were kept quiet. Besides, he had only done one or two, as they were too time-consuming.
Now, he was so focused on his research that he rarely took jobs at all, so his public presence had faded. His name was no longer as famous as the other active S-Class wizards.
Meanwhile, the younger generation—Natsu, Gray, Lyon, Simon, Elfman, Loke, and the others—were also starting to make names for themselves across the Kingdom of Fiore.
It was just that... their reputations were a bit... complicated.
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