A New Life in Fairy Tail

"W-Where..." Natsu's voice trembled violently as he forced the words out.

"The Sacred Mountain, Zonia. Because of him, my mission ended in failure. Damn it!" Gildarts spat, his tone laced with deep, lingering frustration.

Hearing the location, Natsu immediately spun on his heel, ready to bolt out the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Gildarts called out.

"Isn't it obvious?! I'm going to Zonia to ask him where Igneel is!" Natsu declared with absolute, burning conviction.

"He's not there anymore. That Black Dragon is flying all over the continent... or rather, it's constantly roaming the entire world," Gildarts stated, his heavy gaze fixed on the Dragon Slayer.

"Even so, there might be some clues left behind!" Natsu roared back stubbornly.

"Natsu, listen to me," Gildarts commanded, his voice dropping to a low, incredibly serious octave as he sat back in his chair.

Hearing that uncharacteristic tone, Natsu finally froze and fell silent.

"Before I left for the One-Hundred-Year Quest, Noah placed a specialized protective spell on me. It was an automated contingency—the moment I was in mortal danger, the magic would trigger, generating a massive defensive shield before instantly teleporting me away from the area."

Hearing this, Natsu's eyes widened as the sheer gravity of the situation began to dawn on him.

Beside them, Cana felt a sudden jolt of panic. Isn't that the automated defense array Noah embedded in our guild marks? she thought. For Gildarts to specifically bring it up... what exactly happened?

"In a mere fraction of a second, before that protective spell could even fully deploy, my left arm, my left leg, and my internal organs sustained critical damage. Thank god the magic managed to block a portion of the blast even without fully activating. Otherwise... my left arm and left leg would have been completely obliterated."

Gildarts' grim confession left the three listeners staring at him with wide, utterly horrified eyes.

"Old man, then you..." Cana snapped out of her shock, rushing to her father's side with a panicked, heartbroken expression as she checked him over.

"I'm fully healed now," Gildarts smiled warmly at his daughter, patting her hand to reassure her. He then turned his heavy gaze back to Natsu. "I don't know what kind of dragon your Igneel is... but that Black Dragon is, without a single doubt, the absolute enemy of humanity. Furthermore, humanity cannot defeat it."

"I... I can defeat it! Because I'm a Dragon Slayer!" Natsu snarled, his face contorting into a mask of desperate rage. "As long as I have my magic... a Black Dragon is nothing!"

"If you truly believe that, I won't stop you," Gildarts replied, his voice eerily calm.

"Dragon Slayer Magic is indeed highly effective against the vast majority of dragons. However, against that specific Black Dragon—Acnologia—your magic is practically useless."

Noah's voice suddenly echoed from the doorway. He had arrived a while ago and quietly listened to their entire exchange.

Stepping into the room, all eyes turned to him.

"I was the one who treated Gildarts' injuries," Noah explained, locking eyes with Natsu. "The automated defense array didn't trigger in time to perfectly shield him, but it absorbed just enough of the impact to keep him in one piece before teleporting him out of the blast zone."

Noah paused, letting the reality sink in before continuing. "Do you realize when this happened? It was the beginning of the year. It took Gildarts several months of intense recovery just to heal his wounds. After that, he spent several more months hiding in the wilderness just to ensure the Black Dragon wasn't tracking his scent. That is why he only returned today."

Natsu, Cana, and Happy stared in profound disbelief.

Just hearing Noah lay out the timeline made the sheer, suffocating terror of the encounter painfully clear. They had absolutely no idea Gildarts had been pushed to the absolute brink of death.

"Yeah. I lived completely off the grid for months. I didn't dare set foot near Magnolia until I was absolutely certain that monster wasn't hunting me," Gildarts nodded, confirming Noah's account.

"Old man..." Cana gripped Gildarts' arm tightly with both hands. Gildarts gently patted her hands, offering her a comforting smile.

Natsu's face twisted into an agonizing scowl, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned entirely white. He simply couldn't accept what he was hearing. A dragon that actively slaughtered humans? And a monster so terrifying that even Gildarts—the strongest man he knew—was utterly powerless against it?

"Damn it!" Natsu roared. Unable to process the overwhelming flood of emotions, he spun around, bolted out of the house, and sprinted blindly down the street.

"Natsu!" Happy cried out in distress.

"Happy," Gildarts called out, drawing the Exceed's attention. "You need to be there to support Natsu."

"Natsu probably can't accept this reality right now. He needs his best friend by his side. Hurry and go after him," Noah agreed.

"Aye!" Happy saluted with teary eyes, unfurling his wings and blasting out the door to chase his partner.

Once the Exceed was gone, Noah turned to Gildarts. "Was it really a good idea to dump all that on him right now? It's a massive blow to his worldview. His adoptive father is a dragon, and he's spent his whole life searching for him."

Gildarts shook his head with a heavy sigh. "He was going to have to learn the truth eventually. I believe he's strong enough to think it through. Just like there are good and evil humans, there are naturally good and evil dragons."

"That's fair. Giving Natsu time to mentally prepare is probably for the best. After all, he's inevitably going to face that Black Dragon one day," Noah noted calmly.

"Do you know something I don't?" Gildarts asked, his eyes narrowing slightly. He replayed Noah's words in his head; it sounded like Noah was operating on information he wasn't privy to.

"You just said it yourself. The Black Dragon is the enemy of humanity. If it decides to launch a full-scale assault on humanity, Natsu—as a Dragon Slayer—won't be able to hide from it. And when that day comes, as his comrades, we'll obviously stand and fight beside him. That's why I said he will eventually face it," Noah explained, shrugging casually.

"So you believe the Black Dragon is going to actively attack human civilization?" Gildarts asked, his tone darkening.

"It's better to be prepared for the worst, isn't it? Building our strength and making preparations now is far better than being completely blindsided when disaster strikes. Knowing a threat of that magnitude exists and choosing to ignore it is just throwing our lives away," Noah smiled knowingly.

Gildarts studied Noah's face for a long moment. He had a gut feeling that Noah was holding back some crucial details, but if the younger mage wasn't volunteering them, Gildarts wasn't going to pry. The takeaway was simple: they would likely have to fight Acnologia in the future.

Gildarts' mind instantly shifted to how he could elevate his own power. During his encounter on Zonia, he hadn't even been able to react before he was maimed. If he ever faced the Black Dragon again, he refused to be that helpless. His wilderness training clearly hadn't been enough. Glancing at Noah, Gildarts realized that if he wanted to reach a higher echelon of power, he was going to need Noah's help.

"Dad..." Cana gripped his arm again, her eyes practically overflowing with worry.

"Don't worry about me, Cana-chan. Your old man is incredibly strong, remember?" Gildarts thumped his chest proudly. Seeing that her expression was still tight with anxiety, he gently pulled his daughter into a warm hug. "You just have to trust me. For your sake, I promise I will never let something like that happen again."

Cana silently nodded, burying her face into his chest.

"I'm going to head back and prep the lab. Make sure you come over as soon as you're done here," Noah instructed, not wanting to interrupt the tender family moment any longer.

Gildarts gave a curt nod.

Noah slipped out of the house and teleported back to his own estate, immediately adjusting his medical arrays and diagnostic Lacrima to await Gildarts' arrival.

It didn't take long before Gildarts strolled into the vicinity of Noah's property. Noah proactively stepped outside and escorted him in. If he let the famously clumsy man wander the halls by himself, Noah was terrified he would accidentally pulverize the entire estate.

Once they were in the subterranean laboratory, Noah ran a comprehensive, full-body magical diagnostic on the older mage. The scan took quite a while, but eventually, the glowing holographic arrays chimed in completion.

"Looks perfect. There are absolutely no lingering aftereffects from your injuries, and I'm not detecting any residual trace of the Black Dragon's magical signature on you," Noah confirmed, shutting down the screens.

Gildarts let out a massive breath, his entire posture relaxing. His mood instantly skyrocketed.

"I heard from Cana that you're currently living with Ultear and those three other girls. Not bad, kid! Not bad at all!" Gildarts grinned, giving Noah a sleazy thumbs-up. "Want me to pass down some of my legendary experience? Back in my prime, I had women wrapped around both arms!" Gildarts boasted, a deeply nostalgic look washing over his face.

"I'll pass. Your 'experience' doesn't apply to me," Noah deadpanned, waving him off.

Ever since Gildarts had finally accepted his role as Cana's father, he had completely abandoned his wild, playboy lifestyle to be a proper role model. However, his past as a wandering romantic was completely incompatible with Noah, who was actually aiming for stable, long-term commitment.

"Your loss," Gildarts clicked his tongue, looking at Noah as if he were throwing away a gold mine.

Rolling his eyes, Noah completely ignored the bait and seamlessly changed the subject, filling Gildarts in on the Edolas Lisanna situation and the impending dimensional invasion.

"So that's what's been going on. Mirajane's sister from an alternate dimension accidentally crossed over," Gildarts muttered, piecing the intel together. "Hmm... do you need me to come with you guys?"

Noah shook his head. "Having you stationed at the guildhall is the greatest help you can provide. When I cross over to the other world, I need an absolute powerhouse to stay behind and protect Earth Land Magnolia."

"Works for me. I wasn't planning on leaving town anytime soon anyway," Gildarts agreed. He fully intended to spend the next few months relaxing at the guild and actively seeking Noah's help to shatter his current limits. Since Noah was the only person in Fairy Tail capable of pushing him higher, sticking around was the perfect plan.

"That's a huge relief. Knowing you're guarding the guild gives me complete peace of mind," Noah smiled.

"Alright, I'm heading home. If you need anything, just drop by my place," Gildarts said, standing up and immediately marching straight toward the solid reinforced wall of the laboratory.

Noah instantaneously teleported directly in front of him, slamming a hand onto his chest to stop him. "I'll escort you back. If I let you walk yourself out, rebuilding the estate will waste far too much of my time."

"Hahaha..." Gildarts laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ignoring the laugh, Noah grabbed Gildarts' shoulder. With a flash of Spatial Magic, he instantaneously teleported them straight into Gildarts' living room, dropped him off, and warped right back to the lab.

For the rest of the afternoon, Noah buried himself in his workshop, heavily modifying several pieces of equipment to optimize his Archive data-collection arrays for the upcoming trip to Edolas.

That evening, when Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, and Sorano returned home, it happened to be Wendy and the younger girls' turn to cook dinner.

Taking advantage of the free time, Noah pulled the four S-Class women into his private study and finally debriefed them on the Black Dragon.

Originally, only Noah, Makarov, and Gildarts were supposed to know about Acnologia. But since Gildarts had already spilled the secret to Natsu, Noah decided there was no reason to hide the looming apocalypse from his inner circle of elite mages.

"Are you serious?! Dragons actually still exist?!" Sorano gasped, her eyes wide. Since her own magic heavily involved mythical summons, she had naturally researched legendary fantasy creatures. According to every historical text, dragons had gone entirely extinct centuries ago. To hear that one was still flying around was mind-bending.

"So that's the true reason Gildarts failed his mission," Erza realized, her expression hardening with absolute grim seriousness.

"Based on what you're saying, we will inevitably have to fight this Black Dragon," Ultear said, locking eyes with Noah. Her tone was dangerously intense. "But if even Gildarts was utterly powerless against it, we are nowhere near strong enough to survive. What exactly is your plan?"

Hearing Ultear's grounded, terrifyingly pragmatic question, Mirajane, Erza, and Sorano all turned to Noah, waiting for his answer.

"You're right. As I am right now, I am absolutely not a match for the Black Dragon," Noah admitted plainly. "However, I am more than confident in my ability to safely teleport all of us away if it ever attacks. And... as long as I have a few more years to grow, I am absolutely certain I will surpass it." Noah stated with unshakable, commanding confidence.

His magical reserves and processing capabilities were scaling exponentially, while the Black Dragon's power had remained stagnant for centuries. It was only a matter of time before he eclipsed the beast entirely.

Hearing the absolute certainty in his voice, the four women collectively let out a massive sigh of relief. Bright smiles of pride and deep affection bloomed across their faces. None of them had any foolish objections to retreating from an unwinnable fight. Survival was paramount. Furthermore, if Noah said he would surpass the monster in a few years, they believed him unconditionally. The man they loved had never once broken a promise or spoken empty words.

"Well then, since that heavy conversation is out of the way, we should head out. Wendy and the girls are probably waiting for us to eat," Mirajane smiled warmly.

The group nodded in agreement and filtered out of the study. Seeing that Wendy's squad had just finished plating the massive feast, they quickly jumped in to help set the table, enjoying a wonderfully warm and chaotic dinner together.

The next morning, as Noah and the girls were walking through town toward the guildhall, Noah happened to glance down a narrow alleyway.

Gajeel was crouched in the dirt. He was currently holding a scruffy little stray cat up to the light, inspecting it with absolute, deadpan seriousness. After a moment, he shook his head in disappointment, gently placed the kitten back on the ground, and immediately scooped up a different stray to inspect.

"Noah? What are you looking at?" Sorano asked, pausing when she noticed Noah had stopped walking.

Ultear and the others stopped as well, following his gaze.

"Nothing. Let's keep moving," Noah quickly shook his head, physically steering them away from the alley.

Considering Wendy—who had her own Exceed—was walking right beside them, openly exposing Gajeel's incredibly embarrassing, desperate quest to find his own flying cat was just too cruel.

Keeping the Iron Dragon Slayer's secret safe, Noah quickly caught up with the girls, and the group continued their cheerful walk to Fairy Tail.

~~~

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