I'm currently balancing my university studies with writing, and things can get pretty tight. If you enjoy my work, even a $1 donation on Patreon makes a massive difference in helping me cover my education expenses.
Also, I'm going to create a new fanfic, so there are a few voting polls to decide on the story will continue. I would appreciate it if you can go to my Patreon and cast your vote. The more feedback, the better.
If you're able to help out, you can find the link at the bottom of this chapter. Thank you for making it possible for me to keep writing!
********
While Kira was getting ready to train Erza back at the guild, Akira had already left Magnolia far behind. His first destination was the Magic Council.
He didn't believe for a second that those old politicians in the Council were completely unaware of what was actually happening at the Tower of Paradise. Especially that man, Crawford Seam. Akira was willing to bet his entire fortune that the Council's Chairman had a hand in this mess. After all, without someone high up meddling behind the scenes, it made no sense for so many dark forces to suddenly focus their eyes on Fairy Tail.
Moving like a ghost across the landscape, Akira kept his magic power completely locked down. His stylish black and gold robe fluttered in the wind as he flew across from one mountain ridge to another, heading straight toward the Council's headquarters.
From below, one could only see a thin line of black smoke shooting across the sky. It looked like a dark shooting star or a passing storm cloud, moving too fast for the human eye to track.
This was a unique flying spell Akira had created, using Voldemort's flight spell in Harry Potter from his memories as a reference. The concept was simple but dangerous: the user makes their body completely weightless, transforming into a shroud of dark smoke that can glide effortlessly with the wind.
Normally, this spell would be almost impossible to pull off safely. It requires perfect magic control, as any tiny mistake could cause the user's body to scatter into the wind and disappear forever. However, Akira had the help of [Great Sage]. With the skill of managing the difficult calculations and keeping his form perfectly stable, flying like this was as easy as breathing for him.
Thanks to this magic, Akira crossed the massive distance in record time. Within a few hours, the grand, white towers of the Magic Council building appeared on the horizon, standing high on top of a mountain.
Akira slowed his speed and began his descent. He guided the black smoke toward the deep, rocky valleys below the fortress, blending into the natural shadows to avoid the eyes of the guards.
He knew the entire area was protected by powerful detection barriers that could sense foreign magic instantly. But Akira wasn't worried. He drew a few runes in mid-air that completely isolated his magic power and then used his favourite spell, Kyōka Suigetsu, to hide himself from all the guards as he swaggered inside the Magic Council like he was the boss.
Walking past the massive, marble pillars of the main entrance, Akira couldn't help but look around at the busy Rune Knights rushing back and forth. Under the absolute hypnosis of Kyōka Suigetsu, none of them noticed Akira as he walked right past them. To their senses, the corridor was completely empty.
Akira bypassed the Grand Central Hall and headed straight for the upper levels, where the high-ranking officials kept their private offices. His destination was the topmost floor—the personal quarters and private archive of Chairman Crawford Seam.
As he walked up the winding stone stairs, he finally arrived at his destination. The guards standing outside the heavy, golden-trimmed doors of the Chairman's office stood perfectly still, their eyes staring blankly straight ahead. They were completely unaware as a young man looked at them coldly as he began to listen to their stories.
Originally, Akira's unique skill could only read the surface-level thoughts, but after Akira's repeated experimentation, he finally managed to upgrade his unique skill to the level where he could read the memories of any person he desired.
As Akira briefly scanned their stories, he had an annoyed expression as he found that these two guards knew nothing about Crawford. Although Akira knew that Crawford was very good at keeping up appearances, he never knew that he was this good. Usually, those who tried to keep secrets would sometimes leave out some traces, especially with people who have regular contact with him, like guards or secretaries. But this guy, Crawford, is actually quite capable of hiding all of his tracks, even with his people.
"Tsk. What a waste of time," Akira muttered under his mask. If even his personal guards knew nothing, it meant Crawford was incredibly careful. He never brought his dirty business to work.
But Akira didn't give up. If there were no clues in the guards' minds, the proof had to be hidden inside the office. Akira refused to believe he wouldn't be able to find any clues about Crawford's dirty deals.
He walked past the guards and placed his hand on the heavy door. It was locked with a magic alarm tied to Crawford's own power. Touching it normally would alert the whole building.
'Great Sage, copy Crawford's magic and open the door,' Akira thought.
< Report. Analyzing lock... Complete. Copying magic signature. >
The door clicked and opened silently. Akira stepped inside the large, fancy office and shut the door behind him.
The room was filled with expensive books and nice furniture. It looked perfectly clean, like the office of a good leader.
Akira walked up to the big desk. "Great Sage, scan the room. Find any hidden rooms, secret safes, or hidden magic."
< Scanning area... Found a hidden magic barrier behind the large painting on the left wall. >
Akira smiled coldly under his mask. He walked over to the painting, ready to see what the Chairman was trying so hard to hide.
He slid the large painting aside, revealing a small steel vault built into the wall. The surface of the metal hummed with a faint green light—the hidden magic barrier Great Sage had warned him about.
"Can you break it without triggering the alarm?" Akira asked in his mind.
< Report. The barrier can be safely dismantled by reversing the magic flow. Time required: 5 seconds. >
"Do it," Akira commanded.
A tiny spark of blue energy left Akira's fingertips and touched the vault. The green light flickered, turned blue, and then faded away into nothingness. With a soft click, the vault door popped open.
Akira pulled the heavy door wide and looked inside. He expected to find stacks of gold, secret letters, or contracts with dark guilds. Instead, the safe was completely empty except for a single, thick book bound in dark leather.
He reached inside and pulled the book out. The cover felt strange to the touch, almost like smooth stone, and golden runes were carved neatly into the center. Akira cleared the dust away to read the ancient title.
'Super Archive Magic.'
Akira's eyes widened slightly under his mask. He was already familiar with standard Archive Magic—a rare caster ability that allowed a mage to store, download, and transfer information like a living computer. But according to the historical records he had gathered, this book contained a completely lost form of that magic.
Unlike the standard version, which only handled basic data and communications, Super Archive Magic allowed the caster to access, monitor, and manipulate the magic sensory networks of the entire world, including the Magic Council's most classified databases. And what's more, Akira knew for a fact that this exact magic was Crawford's own specialized, hidden ability.
Suddenly, everything clicked in his mind.
Now he understood why the Chairman was able to hide his tracks so perfectly. Crawford didn't need to leave paper letters, contracts, or secret physical files that his guards might stumble upon. He could delete incriminating records, alter Council data, and monitor everyone else's communications using the global network directly from his own brain. He was using the Council's own surveillance system to shield the dark guilds and keep the Tower of Paradise hidden from the world.
"So this is your trump card," Akira whispered, a cold smile forming under his mask. "You thought you were the only one who could control the flow of information."
He didn't hesitate for a second. Holding the heavy tome in both hands, he communicated directly with his unique skill.
'Great Sage, scan the book and analyze the spell data. Copy everything.' Akira gave the order as his eyes began to glow golden.
*******
Patreon Link: patreon.com/Nauty_Manu