"It's been a while since we last heard from him," Makarov explained, his brow furrowed. "We used to stay in regular contact, but then he suddenly went silent. I've sent people to look for him, but there's been no news."
"If he kept in touch regularly, then something must have happened to Grandpa Rob," Noah said firmly. "I'll go find him. Master, please give me his address."
Makarov's expression tightened. Without hesitation, he gave Noah the location of Rob's home. Noah immediately gathered his things and set out.
He split off a Thought Projection, infusing it with half his magic power and combat strength, and sent it to guard Rosemary Village. The main body rushed toward Rob's home, hoping to find some clue before it was too late.
Teleporting to the area, Noah's eyes narrowed. In the distance, flames roared skyward and thick black smoke billowed over the rooftops. His heart sank, and he sprinted toward the blaze.
As he drew closer, he saw masked figures dragging away villagers. Their presence was unmistakable a black magic cult.
Several cultists had just seized a group of people when Noah appeared. With a few swift blasts of magic, he dropped them to the ground in seconds.
Not wasting time, Noah unleashed his detection spell. The result was grim there were cult members scattered all across the village. He clasped his hands together, and a vast golden magic circle flared into existence above, spanning the entire settlement. The surviving villagers stared upward in shock at the radiant symbol.
"Fairy Law!"
Blinding light erupted from Noah, flooding the village. In an instant, the brilliance engulfed every shadow, searing through the air before drawing back into his body.
When the glow faded, the cultists throughout the village stood frozen, then collapsed one after another. Noah had deliberately held back, leaving them alive but gravely injured and unconscious, unable to resist.
He left their fate to the villagers. Whether the cultists survived until the Magic Council arrived would depend entirely on whether anyone chose to help them.
Raising his guild emblem, Noah contacted Makarov. "Master, Grandpa Rob's home was just attacked by a black magic cult. Please alert the Kingdom Army and the Magic Council. I'm going to find him now."
Makarov's face hardened, and his reply came without delay. "Understood."
Cutting the connection, Noah broke into a run, silently cursing how much magic the instant version of Fairy Law consumed especially when cast over so many targets at once.
By the time he reached Rob's house, his magic reserves had recovered somewhat. The sight made his stomach twist the door was splintered, the interior wrecked, and everything had been ransacked.
Inside, there was no one. Stepping back outside, Noah spotted a barely conscious cultist lying in the street. He gave the man a quick healing burst just to keep him alive, then hauled him up by the collar and slapped him awake.
"Where did you take the people you captured?" Noah demanded.
The man spat blood and snarled, "We won't let you go! Just you wait "
Noah's eyes narrowed. He tightened his grip and struck him again, alternating between blows and bursts of healing until the man's face was swollen beyond recognition and several teeth had fallen out.
Finally, the cultist broke, trembling as he raised a shaky hand and pointed toward the shoreline. Without another word, Noah let him drop and dashed in that direction.
His detection magic swept ahead in pulses. If there was no large gathering, he would teleport forward, scan again, and repeat. Soon, the smell of saltwater filled the air, and the sea came into view.
From a distance, he saw a cluster of boats moored at the shore. Cultists were herding their captives aboard. Noah's eyes scanned the scene there was no sign of Rob among the prisoners still on land. That could only mean he had already been taken onto one of the boats.
Slipping under the shade of a tree, Noah crouched low and unleashed another detection scan. The results were as bad as he'd expected there were dozens of black magic cultists in the area.
Noah sighed inwardly. Looks like this is going to be exhausting… fortunately, I've almost recovered.
Taking a deep breath, he clasped his hands together. A massive golden magic circle blossomed across the sky, even larger than the one before. Beads of sweat the size of pearls formed along his brow as his magic power surged.
"Fairy Law!"
Brilliant light swept across the heavens and earth, washing over the entire shoreline. Within seconds, the glow faded and every single member of the black magic cult collapsed, gravely injured and unconscious.
Noah had no intention of killing them. He needed these cultists alive for questioning to uncover their backers, the location of their base, and the fate of their previous captives.
He stayed hidden behind the tree for several minutes, focusing on recovery. Once his strength had returned to about seventy percent, he stepped out and sprinted toward the docks.
Reaching the shore, Noah freed the bound villagers and instructed them to tie up the unconscious cultists. Some grumbled at being ordered around by someone so young until Noah casually fired a magic light bullet into the ground, blasting a massive crater nearby. That silenced all doubts.
Boarding one ship after another, Noah searched for more captives and for Rob.
At last, on one of the boats, he found him. Rob's body was covered in cuts and bruises, and his eyes were clouded with exhaustion.
Noah rushed forward, taking out healing medicine and beginning treatment on the spot.
When Rob saw who it was, his lips curved into a faint, weary smile. "It's you, Noah… thank you for saving me."
"Don't mention it, Grandpa Rob," Noah said warmly. "When I didn't hear from you as usual, I came to check on you… though I forgot to call first."
He took out a magic crystal and contacted Makarov. Seeing Rob sitting beside Noah, Makarov finally allowed himself to relax. He informed Noah that the Kingdom Army and the Magic Council were already on their way and told him to hold his position for now.
So Noah escorted Rob back to shore to rest before boarding the remaining ships to rescue others.
By the time the Kingdom Army and the Magic Council arrived, Noah had already cleared every vessel and freed every prisoner.
After briefing their commanders, Noah handed the captives and cultists over to them.
Just then, a warning reached him from his Thought Projection Rosemary Village was under attack.
He immediately turned to the army and council leaders. "You need to send a force to Rosemary Village. It's been hit by the black magic cult as well."
"Rosemary Village? That's quite a distance from here. Are you sure they've been attacked too?" one commander asked.
"Yes. My allies are already defending it. Send reinforcements quickly I'll head there first."
Not wanting to reveal the existence of his Thought Projection, Noah gave no further explanation. With a curt farewell, he teleported toward Rosemary Village.
Meanwhile, at Rosemary Village, Noah's Thought Projection scanned the area. He saw no cultists in sight and assumed they hadn't arrived yet. He extended his detection magic outward, but nothing turned up.
Widening the search radius, he finally picked up movement a large force of magic users was charging toward the village from ten kilometers away.
The Thought Projection raced to the village chief's home, pounding on the door while calling urgently,
"Village Chief! Open up, quickly!"
The village chief heard the familiar voice and stepped outside, blinking in surprise when he saw Noah standing there.
"It's you," the chief said. "What's got you in such a rush?"
"Village Chief, listen carefully," Noah said, his tone sharp with urgency. "Get everyone to safety immediately. A black magic cult is on their way here, and they've already attacked other villages!"