Chapter 508: The Lingering Instincts of Acnologia's Flesh
"Are you okay?" Mirajane couldn't help but ask, her voice trembling slightly as she watched Noah stare intently at his arm.
"I'm fine. Please, don't worry about me. I would never joke around with my own body or my life," Noah reassured them, looking up to meet their anxious gazes.
Hearing his calm, confident tone, the Fairy Tail mages finally relaxed. They slumped back onto the grass, resting and mentally preparing for the upcoming celestial banquet.
Seeing that everyone had settled down, Noah focused back on his arm. He slightly parted the opaque golden magical barrier concealing the wound, creating a small viewing window so he could observe the physical state of his flesh directly.
Beneath the golden light, vicious streaks of dark-blue magic were constantly flashing and writhing, locked in a brutal, microscopic war with his own golden magic.
Noah's eyes narrowed. The analytical arrays spinning in front of his pupils accelerated, projecting highly detailed, microscopic data regarding the ongoing conflict within his arm directly into his mind.
His entire right arm, from the shoulder down to the bone marrow, was completely saturated with his own golden magic. His upper arm and bicep were particularly dense with it, acting as an impenetrable firewall to prevent Acnologia's corruption from spreading into his torso.
In his forearm and hand, however, the battle was raging fiercely. His golden magic seeped out from his bones, actively engaging and neutralizing the dark-blue magic generated by the shredded chunks of Acnologia's flesh that were physically fused with his own muscle tissue.
Let's see what happens if I cut off its air supply, Noah thought.
He noticed that Acnologia's flesh seemed to be passively absorbing ambient ethernano from the surrounding air to fuel its dark-blue magic. Hoping to starve it out, Noah manipulated his golden magic to form a vacuum-sealed layer completely encasing the corrupted flesh, cutting off its access to the outside atmosphere.
Almost immediately, Noah's expression tightened.
The moment the corrupted flesh lost access to the ambient air, it instinctively shifted its behavior. It began actively eroding and consuming Noah's golden magic to fuel itself!
Although the consumption rate was incredibly slow—so slow he wouldn't have noticed it without his hyper-focused analytical arrays—it was undeniably happening.
Noah instantly dispelled the vacuum seal, exposing the flesh back to the air.
He observed it closely for a few more minutes, finally understanding the mechanics of the corruption.
Acnologia's flesh had always possessed the ability to consume his magic. However, because absorbing ambient ethernano from the air was significantly easier, the flesh naturally prioritized the path of least resistance. The erosion of Noah's magic while exposed to the air was so minimal it was practically nonexistent. But the moment he cut off its primary food source, the flesh violently escalated its consumption of his own magic to survive.
Realizing this, Noah completely abandoned the idea of starving the flesh. He allowed it to freely absorb the ambient magic of the Celestial Spirit World to generate its dark-blue corruption, relying entirely on his own golden magic to act as an active, neutralizing counter-force.
This discovery triggered a terrifying realization in Noah's mind.
Dragon Slayers can consume magic of a different element to temporarily boost their power and attain Dual-Element Modes.
In the original timeline, Natsu eventually consumed Laxus's lightning to achieve the Lightning Fire Dragon Mode. Other Dragon Slayers performed similar feats, absorbing foreign elements to unlock new, devastating forms.
While consuming foreign magic was incredibly agonizing and placed a massive strain on the Slayer's body, the resulting power boost was astronomical. Furthermore, as the Slayer grew stronger and repeatedly used the form, their body would eventually adapt to the foreign element, mitigating the physical toll.
Acnologia wasn't just a Dragon Slayer. He was a human who had overused Dragon Slayer Magic until he completely, physically transformed into a Dragon, ultimately slaughtering the rest of his kind to become the undisputed Dragon King.
Naturally, Acnologia possessed this innate consumption ability. But given his status, his version of the ability was likely evolved to a terrifying, absolute extreme.
Over the past four hundred years, Acnologia had slaughtered an untold number of Dragons. He had undoubtedly bathed in their blood and devoured their flesh, exposing his body to every conceivable elemental magic in existence.
Is that why? Noah hypothesized, his eyes wide. Is that why Acnologia possesses near-absolute immunity to all magic? By continuously devouring Dragons of every element, his body evolved to naturally consume, assimilate, and eventually completely resist every form of magic he encountered.
In the original timeline, even when Acnologia was trapped within the Ravines of Time—a dimension of pure, chaotic temporal magic—he didn't die. He simply devoured the dimension's magic until he broke free.
And now, it seemed the lingering instincts within his severed flesh possessed a fraction of that same terrifying, adaptive consumption ability.
Noah decided to test his theory. He cast several minor, highly concentrated offensive spells directly onto the corrupted flesh.
Exactly as he suspected. The flesh naturally resisted and dispersed the vast majority of the magical energy, mimicking Acnologia's absolute magic immunity.
However, Noah noted that the flesh's ability to resist magic was significantly stronger than its ability to consume it.
This made perfect biological sense. When Acnologia consumed magic, he did so through his mouth and digestive system; his internal organs had evolved specifically for that purpose. The flesh fused to Noah's arm was merely external muscle and scale tissue. Its primary biological function was defense, not consumption.
Having confirmed this terrifying adaptive trait, Noah knew he had to be incredibly careful.
He absolutely could not try to magically "smother" or aggressively purge the flesh using prolonged exposure to his own magic. While the severed flesh couldn't actively swallow his spells like the true Acnologia could, prolonged exposure might allow the flesh to slowly adapt and develop a resistance to Noah's specific magical signature. If that happened, the corruption could rapidly escalate into something uncontrollable.
As long as he didn't provoke it, the flesh preferred the easy meal: the ambient ethernano of the Celestial Spirit World.
Because Tenrou Island's barrier was currently hoarding a massive amount of ambient magic from the starry void, the air inside the dome was incredibly rich in ethernano, keeping the corrupted flesh docile and well-fed.
The flesh absorbed the ambient magic, converted it into dark-blue draconic corruption, and attempted to spread up Noah's arm. Noah simply used his golden magic as a brute-force battering ram to constantly neutralize the advancing corruption.
Overall, the quality of Acnologia's magic was absurdly high. For every 'unit' of dark-blue corruption the flesh generated, Noah had to expend several 'units' of his own golden magic just to neutralize it.
However, since the corrupted mass was relatively small, and Noah was constantly replenishing his reserves by siphoning magic from Tenrou Island and drinking potions, he was easily maintaining the deadlock.
I have more than enough magic to just forcefully push the corrupted flesh out of my body from the inside out, Noah concluded. I don't need to surgically amputate it like Laxus suggested. But... this is a perfect opportunity to study it.
Deciding to endure the pain for a bit longer, Noah opened an Archive screen beside him with his left hand. He began meticulously recording his observations, constantly analyzing the microscopic interactions between his magic and the draconic flesh, entirely absorbed in his research.
"Alright, that's enough for now."
Ultear's gentle voice suddenly broke through his intense concentration.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Noah blinked, tearing his eyes away from his arm and looking at her in slight confusion.
"Loke just sent a telepathic message. The banquet is ready. They're just waiting for us to arrive," Mirajane smiled warmly from his other side. "Lucy needs to temporarily adjust the island's barrier so we can step out into the Celestial Spirit World, so we thought we should wake you up."
"Ah, I see."
Noah finally snapped fully back to reality. He checked the time and realized several hours had already passed. He had been so entirely captivated by studying the Dragon King's biology that he completely lost track of time.
It was understandable. This was the flesh of the absolute strongest entity in the world. From a purely academic standpoint, the existence of a biological organism capable of completely ignoring the fundamental laws of magic was a priceless, unparalleled treasure trove of data.
But a banquet was a banquet. The research could wait.
Noah closed his Archive screens and looked around. The rest of the guild was already on their feet, stretching their limbs and chatting excitedly, clearly eager to start the feast.
"WOOHOO! BANQUET TIME! I'M GONNA EAT A WHOLE COW!" Natsu roared, sprinting back and forth in hyperactive circles.
"Didn't he just say he was so hungry he couldn't move? Where the hell did he get the energy to run around like that?" Gray groaned, rubbing his temples.
"I don't know. It's probably just pure, primal instinct," Lucy sighed, shaking her head.
"The instinct of a total idiot," Carla added dryly.
"Aye! That's Natsu for you!" Happy cheered proudly.
Seeing their usual, chaotic banter return, a genuine, relaxed smile spread across Noah's face.
"Your arm..." Sorano spoke up, pointing hesitantly at the golden glow concealing his right arm. Her eyes were filled with lingering anxiety.
Even though Noah had assured them it was fine, she couldn't stop worrying. Ultear, Erza, and the other girls also looked at his arm, their expressions tight with concern.
"Ah, this? I was actually planning to get rid of the corruption right now. It wouldn't be very polite to show up to a banquet looking like a horror movie prop," Noah smiled gently.
He had noticed that during his entire research session, Ultear and the girls hadn't moved from his side. They had simply sat there, watching him with quiet, pained expressions. While he appreciated their respect for his eccentricities, he didn't want to cause them any more unnecessary stress. His research session was over anyway.
"Really?!" Sorano gasped, her eyes lighting up instantly.
Ultear, Erza, and Mirajane also perked up, looking at him with immense relief.
"Of course. I've recovered a significant amount of my magic, and I've already collected enough preliminary data. I can just forcefully purge Acnologia's flesh right now and heal myself. I can conduct more detailed experiments on the severed samples later," Noah reassured them.
"Thank goodness!" Mirajane breathed a heavy sigh of relief, offering a radiant smile.
"Purging that corruption immediately is the smartest choice. Leaving it attached is far too dangerous," Erza nodded firmly in approval.
"Mhm!" Sorano nodded vigorously, a bright, happy smile finally replacing her anxious frown. Ultear also smiled warmly, clearly relieved.
"Oh? Are you finally going to amputate that nasty chunk of meat?" Laxus strolled over, having overheard the conversation. A mischievous smirk played on his lips. "Need me to lend a hand? Just say the word, and I'll gladly do the honors. I promise I'll make a clean cut."
"Piss off. I wouldn't let you anywhere near me with a blade," Noah rolled his eyes, swatting at Laxus with his good hand. "If your hand 'slipped' and you accidentally chopped off half my arm, I'd be the one suffering for no reason."
Laxus was obviously joking. Even if Noah actually needed an amputation, he could easily do it himself. Alternatively, he could have Erza do it with precision swordplay, or have Wendy and Meredy stand by with immediate healing. Laxus was just looking for an excuse to mess with him.
"Besides, my method is significantly better than yours," Noah added.
"What method?" Laxus asked, raising an eyebrow.
Hearing the commotion, the rest of the guild gathered around curiously.
"Everyone, step back a bit. Give me some room to breathe," Noah instructed, waving his left hand to clear a small circle. He then pointed to his glowing right arm.
"It's actually very simple. I've been using my magic as a barrier to completely isolate Acnologia's flesh and prevent it from spreading, right? Well, all I have to do is exponentially increase my magical output.
"By flooding my arm with a massive surge of highly concentrated magic, I can literally push the corrupted flesh outward from the inside. I'll forcefully separate it from my own healthy tissue at a microscopic level. If it's fused too tightly, I'll just use my magic as a scalpel to sever the connections."
Hearing Noah's explanation, the guild fell silent.
His method sounded incredibly simple in theory, but everyone present understood the absurd, mind-boggling difficulty of executing it in practice.
Laxus's suggestion—just chopping off the entire infected chunk of the arm—was crude, bloody, and guaranteed to remove healthy flesh alongside the corruption, but it was fast and easy.
Noah's method required a level of magical micromanagement and precision that defied human comprehension. He was talking about using raw magic to surgically dissect foreign, hyper-resistant tissue from his own body at a cellular level, while simultaneously fighting off the corruption's invasive properties. Almost no mage in existence possessed that level of absolute control.
"That... actually makes a lot of sense," Laxus nodded slowly, an expression of nostalgic realization crossing his face.