Chapter 159: Awaken Zeref?
Noah had anticipated this, however. In his memory, Grimoire Heart's actions were all to obtain the so-called "Keys to Zeref," which they believed could be used to awaken the most powerful dark wizard of all time. Then they could usher in a new magical era, a "Great Magic World" ruled by chaos and darkness, where those without magic could not survive. That such a psychotic reason was their motivation was something few people could have guessed.
In reality, Zeref was never dead, nor was he asleep.
In his attempt to resurrect his younger brother, Natsu, who had died at a young age from a dragon's flame, he had researched the forbidden arts. Ultimately, he was cursed by Ankhseram, the god who presides over life and death, with a contradictory curse: the more he respected life, the more life would die around him. To suppress this, he could only learn to despise life and stay far away from people. Because of this, he became immortal; even if he killed himself, he would be revived.
Possessing the emotions of a normal person, he was tormented by the guilt of taking countless lives, and at the same time, disgusted with himself for feeling a sense of fulfillment from his endless magical research. After a long time, he came to wish for his own death. So he began to delve into the highest of magical taboos—the creation of life. He created demons that could kill him, the demons that would later be known as the Books of Zeref. He called these demons "Etherious," as they were life forms created from the very Ethernano that formed magic.
Unfortunately, none of the demons could kill him.
Then, with one last hope, Zeref created Natsu—Etherious Natsu Dragneel, or "E.N.D." To say "created" wasn't quite right; he had taken the well-preserved body of his younger brother and modified it, resurrecting him while simultaneously creating the strongest Etherious.
After that, he entrusted Natsu to the Fire Dragon King, Igneel. Igneel, along with four other dragons, taught Natsu and four other children Dragon Slayer magic. Finally, the five children passed through the Eclipse Gate—the very gate guarded for generations by the royal family of Fiore—opened by Layla Heartfilia, and traveled 400 years to the present era. Zeref then began his 400-year-long period of wandering. He had always been awake, at most living in seclusion. He had never been "asleep."
Zeref himself wanted to die. The idea that Grimoire Heart wanted to "awaken" him and have him help them create a "Great Magic World" was a complete joke.
Having wiped out so many dark guilds without finding any important information, Noah decided to stop for the time being. At most, he would see if the Council turned up any news later, but he didn't hold out much hope. The Council's day-to-day strength wasn't that great; it was very difficult for them to get intel on top-tier dark guilds unless they assembled the ace wizards from various guilds or the Ten Wizard Saints.
Noah returned to the guild, found Makarov, and reported his results.
"You didn't find any important information related to Grimoire Heart? I learned from the Council that they investigated Meredy's destroyed hometown again, but they also found nothing. There's been no other news."
Noah nodded. This was not unexpected. Because of Grimoire Heart's bizarre motive for the attack, combined with the fact that their base of operations was an airship, it was almost impossible to find any important clues. He didn't feel disappointed and instead asked, "Have any of our guild members run into them?"
"No. They haven't come to retaliate, and none of our members have seen them," Makarov said, shaking his head. He had been constantly worried about retaliation, but so far, there had been no movement at all.
"Just in case, I'm preparing to expand the guild and add defensive measures. The entire city of Magnolia should have its defenses increased as well. We already have a 'Gildarts Shift,' so adding a few more defenses shouldn't be a problem. For that, I'll need you to help communicate with the mayor, Gramps."
Noah had been wanting to create defensive measures for the guild for a long time. After all, if Phantom Lord could have a mobile guild, Fairy Tail couldn't be inferior. Even if it wasn't mobile, it needed powerful protections. After all, comrades were the most important thing. But he hadn't proposed it before because he felt his knowledge was insufficient, and he was afraid Makarov would disagree. Now, using the threat of Grimoire Heart, he could bring it up, and Makarov would surely agree for the safety of the guild members.
Sure enough, Makarov only considered it for a moment before agreeing. He told Noah to prepare a proposal, and he would then go and discuss it with the mayor. "But there's no rush. The New Year is in two days. You can give it to me after that."
Noah nodded. He had started preparing a reconstruction plan for the guild a long time ago, but with his continuous studies, he had made so many changes and revisions that it was now a complete mess. He would need to go back and reorganize it.
Having finished his important business with Makarov, Noah walked over to where Erza, Ultear, and Sorano were sitting. They were keeping Meredy company, and Yukino, Wendy, Carla, Kagura, and Lisanna were also there, chatting together. Noah greeted them to let them know he was back. He looked carefully at Meredy and saw that her spirits were much better than before. The companionship of the others was clearly having a good effect.
Without joining their conversation, he went straight home and began to design the reconstruction plan for the guild and the city. Aside from his necessary training, Noah spent about two weeks at home planning, only taking a break to participate in the guild's New Year's celebration. Thanks to his earlier designs, and with his now vast knowledge, he was finally able to complete the corresponding plan. After checking it over, he gave it to Makarov.
Upon receiving the design, Makarov asked the other guild members for their opinions. Everyone gave their own ideas. Natsu wanted a battle arena built inside the guild. Someone else wanted a swimming pool. Noah and Makarov received a lot of suggestions, though many of them weren't very practical.
After a round of discussions and revisions, they finally finalized the guild's reconstruction plan.
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