Chapter 554 - 554: Year X786, The Western Continent

Seeing that everyone had a magical camera in hand, Noah began explaining the new features and modifications he had made.

Next, he dispatched several Thought Projections to upgrade everyone's guild marks, significantly enhancing their personal Archive capacities.

Once the upgrades were complete, he guided them through binding their cameras to their guild marks and had them test the new features.

Following Noah's instructions, they successfully bound their cameras. Using the Archive interface on their guild marks, they curiously commanded the cameras to float around in the air, taking pictures of the scenery and themselves.

No matter which direction the camera was pointed, the retractable holographic screen always faced the user, allowing them to perfectly preview the shot before taking it.

"This is amazing!" Sorano cheered, having a blast as she directed her camera to take a rapid succession of photos and immediately reviewed them in her mind.

"It really is incredibly convenient. So much better than the old models," Lucy and the other photography aides agreed. With their superior photography skills, they quickly grasped the endless creative possibilities this new system offered.

"Glad you like it. Are there any features that need tweaking or optimization?" Noah asked.

"Well, I think it would be better if..." Lucy and the others offered a few minor suggestions based on their experience. Noah dismantled a camera right then and there, adjusting the runic matrices to accommodate their requests.

Meanwhile, Noah's Thought Projections continued rapidly upgrading the rest of the guild's marks.

Once the final adjustments were made, Lucy and the committee couldn't find a single flaw to critique. Noah then applied the finalized blueprint to the rest of the cameras.

By the time everything was sorted out, Mavis's mental stamina had reached its safety threshold.

Checking the map, Noah manually piloted the airship and landed in a clearing near the closest city.

Armed with their newly upgraded cameras, the guild members eagerly rushed off the ship like children with a new toy, snapping photos non-stop as they headed into the city for lunch.

From that point on, their journey fell into a comfortable, rhythmic routine.

Mavis would activate her tracking spell twice a day—once in the morning and once in the afternoon. When her bio-rhythms hit the safety threshold, she would drop the spell, and Noah would land near a city so everyone could eat, explore, and rest before returning to the ship for the night.

Through continuous use, Mavis's mental endurance steadily improved, allowing her to maintain the spell for longer periods. After Noah analyzed her progress, her schedule was adjusted: she would cast the spell for three hours in the morning and five hours in the afternoon, totaling eight hours of continental sweeping per day.

As Mavis's casting windows expanded, the airship's daily flight time increased, allowing them to cover significantly more ground.

Since the primary objective of this expedition was to find Mavis's child, the airship's schedule revolved entirely around her tracking spell. However, Noah hadn't forgotten the secondary objective—tourism. Therefore, he always ensured the Fairy docked near major cities.

These metropolitan hubs were rich in culture, history, and famous landmarks, offering the guild a genuine taste of foreign nations. The members took full advantage of this, capturing thousands of photos of the incredible sights, their friends, and themselves.

Whenever they entered a new country, Noah would visit the local Magic Council branch to officially accept the backlog of subjugation quests assigned to Fairy Tail.

Upon returning to the ship, he would pin the flyers to the lounge's request board for the guild to choose from.

After consulting with Makarov and Laxus, a strict protocol was established: all quests had to be undertaken by mixed squads, and depending on the difficulty, one or two S-Class mages would act as escorts and supervisors.

Noah's Thought Projections, who acted as the designated chauffeurs to teleport the teams to their targets, were explicitly excluded from the combat roster.

These were highly dangerous anomaly hunts, many of them officially ranked as S-Class. Given the fast-paced nature of their travel, they needed to complete these missions quickly and safely, hence the mandatory S-Class supervision.

The S-Class escorts were guaranteed a flat twenty percent cut of the reward, regardless of whether they actively participated in the fight.

The primary strike teams were expected to attempt the subjugation themselves. If they succeeded, they kept the remaining eighty percent. If they failed or were overwhelmed, the S-Class escorts would step in to clean up, taking a larger cut of the bounty based on their contribution.

No one objected to this system. In fact, they welcomed it. Gaining combat experience against high-tier foreign monsters under the protective safety net of a veteran was incredibly beneficial. Not to mention, even eighty percent of an S-Class bounty was a massive payout.

The guild enthusiastically formed squads, and Noah's clones teleported them out to hunt.

Because the Fairy was on a strict schedule to sweep Ishgar, they couldn't linger in one country for too long. If there were still unfinished quests by the time they reached the border, the S-Class mages—or Noah's clones—would step in and instantly annihilate the targets with a single, overwhelming magical bombardment.

Before crossing into the next country, Noah would submit the completed reports to the local Council branch, collect the massive bounties, distribute the funds, and resume their journey.

While managing all of this, Noah never neglected his own training and research.

His clone on Tenrou Island continued to analyze Acnologia's flesh. His clone in Magnolia researched advanced magical theory. His clone in Crocus studied the dragon graveyard beneath the capital, and his clone in the Celestial Spirit Realm delved deeper into celestial magic.

His main body, however, focused purely on physical conditioning. He would cast an immense Gravity Magic spell on himself, disembark, and literally run across the continent, keeping pace with the supersonic airship flying high above.

This grueling exercise wasn't just for physical endurance; it was an incredibly precise test of magical control. Because the extreme gravity made his body unfathomably heavy, every single step would normally shatter the ground and bury him in a crater.

To prevent this, he had to instantaneously release a perfectly calibrated counter-spell the exact millisecond his foot touched the earth, and dissipate it the instant he lifted his foot for the next stride.

He wasn't leaping; he was sprinting step by step, moving at a frequency fast enough to match the airship. The sheer, hyper-speed multitasking required to manage the gravity and the counter-spells pushed his magical control to its absolute limits.

Seeing Noah's insane training method, several battle-hungry guild members wanted to try it.

Natsu, desperate to surpass the S-Class mages, was the most eager. Noah happily obliged, casting a gravity spell on him (since the guild already had a gravity room, the members were somewhat accustomed to it).

Natsu's steps instantly became incredibly heavy, but he stubbornly managed to keep pace with the ship for a short while. However, despite burning through his magic and stamina, he eventually exhausted himself and fell behind. Noah smoothly teleported him back to the ship to rest.

Laxus, seeing Noah's routine, also dropped down to run. Noah didn't hold back, slapping a massive gravity well onto the Lightning Dragon Slayer. Being vastly stronger than Natsu, Laxus kept pace for a significantly longer time before his stamina finally gave out and he returned to the ship.

Several other members who hadn't taken quests decided to join in. Noah generously applied gravity spells tailored to their individual limits, treating it as excellent practice for his own magical output control. Once they collapsed from exhaustion, he teleported them back to the Fairy.

And so, using the airship as their mobile base of operations, the guild traveled across Ishgar. They trained relentlessly, completed highly dangerous quests, explored foreign cities, and enjoyed the breathtaking sights of the world.

Meanwhile, Mavis continuously cast her tracking spell, searching desperately for her lost child.

Time flew by. Months passed in the blink of an eye, and the calendar rolled over to the year X786.

Noah and the guild had completed their grand tour of Ishgar, and Mavis had meticulously scanned every single inch of the Eastern Continent.

Tragically, there had been absolutely zero resonance.

They had finally returned to the Fiore Kingdom and were currently cruising back toward Magnolia.

"First Master... just because we couldn't find him in Ishgar doesn't mean we won't find him somewhere else. We'll just have to search the other continents," Ultear comforted Mavis softly, noticing her profound disappointment.

After months of continuous scanning without a single blip, Mavis was undeniably heartbroken, even though she had mentally prepared herself for this outcome.

"She's right! We'll keep looking, and we will definitely find him!" Sorano pumped her fist, offering a determined smile.

"Everyone in the guild is here to help you. We won't give up," Mirajane added gently.

"If he isn't in Ishgar, we'll search the rest of the world. We will find him," Erza stated with absolute certainty.

"Yeah! We've got your back, First Master!" The rest of the guild chimed in, offering their unwavering support.

"Thank you, everyone," Mavis smiled, her spirits lifting significantly at their encouragement. Her despair faded, replaced by renewed determination.

"We're approaching Magnolia. Prepare for landing," Noah called out, seeing the familiar city on the horizon. The lounge instantly erupted into cheers.

"Let's head back and get some rest. We've been traveling for months; everyone is exhausted," Mavis noted, looking around. While the guild was still incredibly energetic, the underlying fatigue of months of non-stop travel and combat was visible on their faces.

"We'll disembark, take tomorrow off to rest, and then host a massive welcome-back banquet at the guildhall the day after," Noah announced as he guided the Fairy down to its designated parking spot behind the guild.

"YEAAAAHHH!" The guild roared in agreement.

Once the ramp lowered, everyone grabbed their luggage and the smaller souvenirs they had collected along the way, leaving the massive bulk of their purchases in the ship's cargo holds to be sorted out later.

The citizens of Magnolia, seeing the colossal airship return, eagerly rushed over to welcome them back and ask about their travels. The mages, desperate for their own beds, politely brushed them off and hurried home.

Noah was the last to leave. He activated the Fairy's absolute defensive wards, then walked home with Ultear, Erza, and the girls. They took long, hot baths and collapsed into their comfortable beds, sleeping incredibly soundly.

The next day, fully refreshed, Noah and the girls arrived at the guildhall. The building was already packed and buzzing with chaotic noise as everyone excitedly swapped stories and showed off their souvenirs.

Noah joined in the fun. Once everyone had arrived, he walked up to the bar and stood next to Makarov.

"To celebrate our triumphant return... LET'S START THE BANQUET!" Noah roared, catching Makarov's approving nod.

"WOOOOOO!!!"

The guildhall instantly erupted into a massive, chaotic party. Barrels of ale were cracked open, tables were shoved aside for brawling, and the music blared.

Once the party was in full swing, Noah quietly stepped closer to Makarov.

"Grandpa, I'm planning to make a trip to the Western Continent," Noah said softly, ensuring no one else overheard.

"The Western Continent?" Makarov frowned, setting his mug down. "Didn't we hypothesize that Zeref might have built a militarized empire over there? It's incredibly dangerous. Why do you suddenly want to go there now?"

"If Zeref actually built an empire, we need to gather intelligence and prepare ourselves. Since the expedition is over and we don't have any immediate, pressing crises to handle, this is the perfect window to cross the ocean and scout the situation," Noah explained, his eyes serious.

Having just completed a grueling, months-long scan of Ishgar, Mavis wouldn't be attempting a second sweep anytime soon. She needed to be tethered to the Fairy's engine to sustain the spell. While Noah had designed the ship so it could be piloted by a single person—meaning Mavis could theoretically fly off on her own to search—she had explicitly stated she didn't want to. She loved traveling with the guild and preferred to conduct her search during their group vacations.

She had told Noah she wouldn't attempt another sweep for at least half a month.

Noah wanted to use this downtime to scout the Western Continent. Ideally, he wanted to personally locate Mavis's child—August—while he was there. Though, how exactly he was going to explain the situation to the old man was something he still needed to figure out.

"Isn't it too dangerous? If that really is Zeref's territory..." Makarov worried. He knew perfectly well how terrifying the Black Wizard's reputation was. After the events on Tenrou Island, Makarov would never underestimate Zeref's power.

"Actually, I think this is the absolute safest time for Noah to go," Mavis interjected, stepping up beside them with a thoughtful expression.

Makarov turned to her, waiting for an explanation.

"Think about Zeref's mental state when we saw him on Tenrou Island. Based on his behavior, he had been wandering the world alone, actively isolating himself to suppress the Ankhseram Curse and protect innocent lives," Mavis analyzed quietly.

"Then, Acnologia arrived. From the perspective of the outside world, Tenrou Island was completely obliterated. Zeref likely believes the exact same thing.

"He stood there and watched an island filled with life—filled with people he had briefly interacted with—be violently annihilated by a dragon. Given his fragile, empathetic mental state at the time, witnessing that absolute destruction would have crushed him. He likely fell into deep despair and resumed his solitary wandering, isolating himself in some desolate wasteland far away from humanity."

As someone who bore the exact same Ankhseram Curse, Mavis intimately understood the agonizing psychological torment Zeref endured. If she had been in his shoes, watching an island of people die, she would have done the exact same thing.

Based on his mental state on Tenrou Island, she was almost certain Zeref was nowhere near his supposed empire.

~~~

Get early access to 50+ advanced chapters on Patreon!

https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn