Chapter 269: Aria
"Mhm. Not bad. Gray defeated the Water Element. It was a good fight," Noah said with a smile.
"Whoa! Gray beat the Water Element!"
"Nice! Now there's only the Wind Element left!"
"Everyone inside, keep going!"
Hearing that another of the Element 4 had been defeated, the guild cheered.
They had been told the mission needed to be completed within ten minutes. Although they were confident, they were still worried, constantly checking on Noah and the magic circle in the sky. Knowing three of the Element 4 were down was a huge relief.
"Gray did well. As expected of my junior disciple," Lyon said with a grin.
"Now you can relax and focus on your own fight," Simon chuckled.
"Shut up!" Lyon blushed slightly. "But I can't lose to Gray! Ice-Make: Eagle!"
He pushed his hands forward, and a flock of ice eagles burst from a magic circle, shredding a large group of Shades.
Seeing this, Simon smiled and thrust his own hands forward. "Darkness Cyclone!"
A small black tornado spun from his palms, expanding rapidly as it tore through the air, sucking in and crushing the surrounding Shades.
The sky was momentarily cleared, giving the guild members a brief respite. But soon, more Shades filled the gap, and they resumed their battle.
After a while, however, people started to notice something.
"Wait... hasn't it been more than ten minutes?"
"Yeah... but the spell hasn't fired."
"Noah! What's going on? This suspense is killing me! When will it end?!" a member asked.
It had been well over ten minutes since Noah's warning, but the giant was still drawing the circle.
"I said ten minutes if all four Elements were active," Noah explained. "The Element 4 are the power source for the giant and the spell. With three of them down, the giant's movements and the drawing speed have slowed significantly. The spell's activation has been delayed."
"Oh, I see! But still... staring at that giant magic circle is bad for my heart. It's stressful."
"Someone is about to engage the final Element," Noah said with a smile. "The circle will stop soon."
"That's good. The sooner it stops, the sooner we can relax."
"Gray!"
"Elfman? And Mira?"
Gray turned to see Elfman and Mirajane running toward him.
"Is she one of the Element 4? Why is she smiling like that while unconscious?" Elfman asked, looking at the blissfully smiling Juvia on the ground.
"I don't know. Maybe she's having a good dream," Gray said. "Oh, Mira, can you check on her? She was acting weird during the fight."
Mirajane nodded and knelt to examine Juvia. "She's fine. Just fainted. By the way, do you know how many Elements are left? Elfman beat the Earth Element."
"Before we fought, she said two had already been defeated. With her, that makes three."
"So only one left?" Mirajane looked up at the still-moving giant.
"Mira, did you run into any?"
"Unfortunately, no," Mirajane shook her head. "I only found regular members. After I dealt with them, I heard Elfman fighting and joined him. Then we heard you."
"Then we need to find the last one fast," Gray said. "Let's check which directions we came from and search a new area."
"Right."
They compared their routes and chose a new path. As they ran, Mirajane began to calculate.
"Natsu fought the Fire Element before, so he probably went after him again. Elfman beat Sol of the Earth, and Gray beat Juvia of the Water. That leaves the Wind Element, Aria of the Heavens. He's the strongest of the four."
"The strongest?" Gray asked.
"Yes. It's said he keeps his eyes closed to suppress his immense magic power. He's the most dangerous."
"Seriously?" Gray and Elfman looked shocked.
"However..." Mirajane's tone turned disdainful. "If he can't even control his own magic without closing his eyes, as Noah would say, his potential is limited. Look at our Master, or Phantom's Master, or Noah. None of them have to suppress their power like that.
"I remember hearing that Noah had trouble controlling his magic when he first started learning, but he trained and fixed it. He hasn't had issues since."
"Remember Noah's fight with Gildarts? The light giant he created?"
"Of course."
"Do you think Noah's magic power was strong then?"
"Insanely strong," Gray and Elfman agreed. Gray, a Maker Magic user himself, knew that even at his best, he could maybe create ten of those giant arms. He couldn't even imagine creating a hundred-armed, hundred-meter-tall giant.
"If Noah, with that much power, doesn't need to suppress it, then this Aria claiming he has to suppress his is just proof of his incompetence," Mirajane scoffed.
"Still, if he opens his eyes, it will be trouble. His power will increase. We need to find him and take him down before he does."
"Right."
Natsu was running through the corridors with Happy.
"Happy! I've got a great idea!"
"What is it?"
"If we take out Jose, this whole war ends, right?"
"What are you saying?!" Happy nearly fell out of the air. He stabilized himself and looked at Natsu seriously. "Jose's magic is on par with the Master's! You can't beat him!"
"But someone has to beat him!"
"Judging by Noah's earlier actions, he's probably planning to do it himself. Or maybe Ultear and Erza will handle it."
"No! If I beat Jose, it proves I've gotten stronger! Then I'll beat Ultear and Erza, and finally Noah! And then I'll be the strongest in the guild!"
"Natsu, wake up! It's still daytime! Stop dreaming!" Happy groaned.
"Hahaha!" Natsu ignored him, lost in his fantasy of punching Ultear, kicking Erza, and stepping on Noah.
Happy sighed and kept flying.
They arrived in a massive, empty room.
Suddenly, a gust of wind attacked from behind. Natsu reacted instantly, shoving Happy out of the way and dodging to the side.
The wind missed Natsu and swirled in front of him, forming a tornado. A voice echoed from within.
"How sorrowful..."
"Huh?"
The tornado dissipated, revealing a tall man with tanned skin. His eyes were covered by a white blindfold. He wore a large green coat and a matching hat.
"Wings of fire, rotting and falling... Ah... what remains is the corpse of a dragon..." The man chanted in a heavy, mournful voice.
"Huh?!" Natsu glared at him. He didn't understand what the guy was saying, but he knew it wasn't anything good.
"Natsu! That's one of the Element 4!" Happy warned.
"My name is Aria... the pinnacle of the Element 4... I have come to hunt the dragon!"
Tears streamed from beneath Aria's blindfold as he spoke in a sorrowful tone.
"Hah? A wind wizard? I've had enough trouble with wind guys lately," Natsu said, clenching his fists.
"Erigor is nothing compared to him! They're on different levels! Be careful, Natsu!" Happy warned.
"I know," Natsu said, not taking his eyes off Aria.
He could feel the pressure coming from the man. He didn't dare look away to answer Happy.
~~~
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