Chapter 545 - 545: Don't Worry, Magic Can Help You Achieve Whatever You Want

"With us moving this fast, how is the magic consumption holding up?" Makarov asked Noah.

"The magical engine the First Master and I built is incredibly efficient. Even if we maintain this speed indefinitely, we have more than enough magic to spare. You don't need to worry, Grandpa," Noah smiled, pointing to the magical gauge on the holographic display.

Makarov followed his finger. Seeing that the remaining magic capacity was still completely full and showed no signs of depleting, he nodded in satisfaction.

"The engine's capacity is massive, and its recovery rate is absurdly fast. We poured a lot of effort into designing it; it's more than enough to handle our current situation," Noah added.

The engine utilized the combined theoretical knowledge extracted from the Devil's Heart and Fairy Heart. Naturally, it was overwhelmingly powerful. Precht's original Devil's Heart hadn't just powered the airship; it had simultaneously sustained his unnaturally long life and his immense combat power without ever breaking a sweat.

Now, the clean engine Noah and Mavis had built—purged of all dark magic and unethical components—was arguably even more efficient than its predecessor. And since it no longer needed to actively sustain a human's lifespan or constantly empower a mage, powering the ship was essentially a walk in the park.

"Furthermore, the ship is still fully capable of launching attacks at this speed. Moving this fast won't hinder our offensive capabilities," Noah informed the crowd.

"We can still attack while moving like this?!" Lucy gasped in disbelief. The scenery outside was passing by so fast she could barely process it; how could they possibly aim and fire a weapon?

"Of course. We have a flying warship now; high-speed aerial dogfights are a very real possibility. Don't forget, one of our primary enemies is Acnologia, and he can fly. If we ever encounter him again, since not all of us can take to the sky, this ship will be our primary platform," Noah explained.

Hearing his reasoning, Lucy and the others nodded solemnly.

"But... isn't Acnologia faster than this? Can the airship actually keep up with him in a race?" Mirajane asked from the side.

Having the ability to fly when using her Satan Soul, Mirajane had a decent grasp of aerial dynamics. She had witnessed Acnologia's terrifying descent upon Tenrou Island. Based on her calculations, the airship's current speed absolutely could not outrun the Black Dragon.

"This isn't our absolute top speed. The ship can go much faster," Noah replied calmly. "By utilizing our speed in tandem with heavy suppressing fire to disrupt his flight path, we can absolutely engage Acnologia in an aerial dogfight."

"It can go even faster?! Noah! Let's try it right now!" Natsu immediately sprinted over, practically vibrating with excitement.

"Do you guys really want to see it?" Noah asked, looking around the lounge.

"Yes!"

"Mhm!"

The guild members nodded enthusiastically, their faces flushed with excitement.

"Alright then. Everyone, find a seat and hold on tight. Don't fall over," Noah instructed.

Since they had broken the sound barrier, Noah had maintained a steady cruising speed, allowing everyone to walk around the lounge freely. Hearing his warning, the members immediately scrambled, grabbing onto the reinforced sofas and handrails, securely bracing their bodies.

Once everyone was secured, Noah's fingers danced across the holographic screens.

Instantly, an incredibly dense, solid golden barrier materialized around the exterior of the airship before fading into near-invisibility, though a faint, shimmering golden aura remained.

Simultaneously, massive, hyper-complex magical arrays deployed beneath the hull and directly behind the primary thrusters. Even the interior bulkheads glowed with a faint, pulsing magical light.

"Initiating maximum overdrive!" Noah laughed, slamming the throttle lever all the way forward.

The airship's velocity skyrocketed. Mach 1... Mach 2... Mach 9... Mach 10!

Finally, the ship's speed stabilized exactly at Mach 10—ten times the speed of sound—and ceased accelerating.

Inside the lounge, the guild members didn't feel a single jolt of acceleration. The only indication that their speed had drastically changed was the massive holographic speedometer floating in the center of the room, its numbers climbing rapidly before locking in.

Once the speed stabilized at Mach 10, everyone immediately looked out the windows.

The scenery that had previously been a fast-moving blur was now completely indecipherable. Anything relatively close to the ship was a smeared streak of color. They could only clearly distinguish the topography of the landmasses extremely far away on the horizon.

"This is insane! We're so fast!" Natsu roared, sprinting laps around the lounge, completely unable to contain his joy.

Even when he was a child, his foster father, Igneel, had taken him flying. But even riding on the back of the Fire Dragon King, he had never experienced speed like this or seen the world from this perspective. To experience it now, aboard his own guild's airship, was intoxicating.

"Aye!" Happy cheered, flying alongside him. Happy could fly under his own power, but trying to reach Mach 10 would physically tear him apart. Experiencing this velocity firsthand was incredibly beneficial for his understanding of aerodynamics and his own Aera magic.

The rest of the guild was equally mesmerized. Most of them had completely forgotten to cheer; they were utterly captivated by the impossible view outside the window.

Virtually no human in Earthland had ever traveled at this speed or at this altitude. It was an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Those with cameras were frantically snapping photos, desperate to preserve the memory. Those without cameras simply stared, burning the images into their minds so they would never forget.

They were fully immersing themselves in the sensation of hurtling through the stratosphere alongside their family.

Even Noah wore a wide, exhilarated grin. While he was personally capable of flying at Mach 10 using his own magic, piloting a massive warship at this speed was an entirely different, incredibly thrilling experience. The adrenaline surge made him instinctively want to push the throttle even further.

But he quickly restrained himself. Mach 10 was the absolute structural limit of the airship; pushing it any further would tear the vessel apart.

"How is the ship holding up?" Makarov asked quietly, leaning in close to Noah.

Seeing the ship flying at such an apocalyptic speed genuinely terrified the old man. Even though he trusted Noah's preparations, he couldn't help but worry. He had never traveled this fast or been this high up; his instincts were screaming at him to be cautious.

"Everything is perfectly fine, Grandpa. All telemetry and structural integrity metrics are reading normal," Noah reassured him, keeping his eyes on the diagnostics. "We've hit the absolute maximum speed under abnormal conditions. The ship is designed to sustain this velocity without suffering structural degradation. I specifically engineered it this way; if we have to engage in a high-speed, high-altitude dogfight, the ship can't just fall apart the second we hit top speed. I reinforced the hull to its absolute limits to ensure it could handle this."

Hearing Noah's calm assessment and seeing that the critical metrics on the screen were well within safe parameters, Makarov finally exhaled a long breath of relief. If Noah was confident, then everything was fine. Makarov turned his attention back to the window, allowing himself to enjoy the breathtaking view.

Noah sensed Makarov's anxiety fading and smiled softly.

If it were just Noah flying alone, his small physical profile combined with his personal defensive magic allowed him to easily shatter the sound barrier several times over. But accelerating a massive, bulky airship past the speed of sound was an entirely different beast.

Given its colossal size and incredibly un-aerodynamic shape, the sheer atmospheric drag alone should have been impossible to overcome.

However, Earthland possessed the ultimate cheat code: Magic.

With magic, the impossible became trivial.

Air resistance? Not a problem. Specialized aerodynamic enchantments seamlessly parted the air, virtually eliminating drag.

Structural instability at high speeds? Not a problem. Structural reinforcement arrays hardened the ship's frame to a degree that could easily withstand the immense pressure of Mach 10.

Lethal G-forces and inertial whiplash? Not a problem. Internal gravity dampeners and spatial anchors completely neutralized the physical strain, allowing the crew to walk around as comfortably as if they were standing on solid ground.

To make this flying brick defy every known law of aerodynamics and cruise at Mach 10, Noah had layered the ship in thousands of incredibly complex runic arrays. Without his peerless magical engineering, surviving a flight at this speed would be impossible. The technological gap between the original Devil's Heart airship and the newly christened Fairy was unimaginably vast.

Naturally, Noah had also completely rebuilt the ship's physical skeleton using ultra-grade alchemical alloys, providing a flawless foundation for his intricate magical arrays.

"Where exactly are we right now?" Ultear asked, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.

"We are currently cruising over the vast, open ocean south of the Fiore Kingdom. I'm just flying us in massive circles," Noah replied.

He hadn't flown over the mainland. While he seriously doubted any nation possessed the radar capabilities to track a stealth ship moving at Mach 10, he wasn't going to take unnecessary risks. Circling over the unpopulated ocean was the safest way to test the top speed without accidentally triggering an international incident.

"I see," Ultear nodded, returning her gaze to the window, utterly captivated by the view.

After cruising at Mach 10 for a while, the initial shock and adrenaline began to fade, though everyone's faces remained flushed with excitement. It was an experience they would cherish forever.

"I think it's time we head back," Makarov said, checking the time once the crowd had calmed down.

Noah nodded. He slowly eased the throttle back, gradually reducing their speed before banking the ship to turn back toward Magnolia.

While magic allowed the ship to fly at Mach 10 without turning its crew into paste, it was ultimately a flying fortress, not an acrobatic fighter jet. It wasn't designed for complex, high-speed aerial maneuvers or prolonged stunt flying. Now that everyone had experienced the absolute top speed and enjoyed the breathtaking view, it was time to go home.

The guild members overheard Makarov and didn't object. They simply pressed closer to the glass, soaking in every last second of the view. They knew Noah wouldn't push the ship to Mach 10 casually, and getting the entire guild together for a joyride like this would be rare. They wanted to burn the memory into their minds while it lasted.

~~~

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