A New Life in Fairy Tail

Chapter 362: Demon of the Dance

Natsu and Lucy raised their eyes simultaneously, watching Erza and her partner take to the air.To put it accurately, the man was currently being spun by Erza like a high-speed top.

"Dancing requires overwhelming momentum!" Erza declared with intense focus, forcefully whipping the man around in circles on the spot.

"The world is spinning... No, it's spinning way too fast... I'm gonna barf..." The man's desperate wails cut through the music, echoing clearly into the ears of the team below.

"Your momentum is still lacking!" Erza countered, accelerating her spins even further.

"Wow, so that's how Erza dances!" Lucy sweated, staring in absolute awe.

Noah, now I completely understand why the underworld circles call her the Demon of the Dance, Happy's voice chimed in through the Telepathy link.

I know, right? Dancing like that, it's a miracle she hasn't launched him out a window, Lucy added with an internal facepalm.

Should we... step in and save him? Natsu asked.

Just leave them be... Gray replied, his expression completely blank as he stared up at the roaring vortex that was Erza.

Noah simply wore a knowing look. Having shared a dance with Erza in the past, he had personally experienced that terrifying momentum before she finally learned to temper her pace.

"Would you grant me the honor of a dance?"

Just then, a male guest stepped up to Lucy. Even with the masquerade mask obscuring his upper features, it was clear he was exceptionally handsome.

Lucy blinked in surprise before nodding slightly. "Oh, sure."

The two walked over to one of the vacant, floating platforms.

Now it's Lucy's turn. That handsome guy looks incredibly suspicious, Happy reported through the link.

Lucy's partner, huh? Gray muttered.

"Let's head over and screen him," Natsu proposed.

Noah nodded in agreement. But just as the trio prepared to move, two female guests whose less-than-stellar features were glaringly obvious despite their masks suddenly burst from the crowd, charging straight toward them.

Noah's brow twitched. Stepping back dynamically, he smoothly inserted himself behind Natsu and Gray, leaving the two boys completely exposed. In an instant, the two women swiped forward, each latching onto Natsu and Gray's wrists with an iron grip.

"Since you handsome gentlemen were staring at us so intensely!"

"It would be terribly rude of us not to grant you a dance!"

Trading lines with practiced coordination, the two women forcefully dragged Natsu and Gray right into the thick of the moving crowd, launching into a frantic routine.

"Whoa! What do you think you're doing?!" Natsu screamed in panic as his body was whipped around against his will.

"We weren't staring at you at all!" Gray roared, equally helpless as he was spun across the floor.

"So, in the end, I'm the only one left holding the line?" Noah watched the retreating backs of his two comrades as they drifted further and further into the sea of guests. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he yelled after them, "Keep it up, boys! Make sure to show them your best moves!"

"Noah, you absolute bastard!"

"Curse you!"

Their distant curses faded into the music. Noah turned back with a pleasant smile, ignoring their plight as he calmly resumed his sweep of the ballroom.

"If you are available, would you care to join me for a waltz?"

A female guest stepped into his path, her elegant poise and striking features evident even behind her ornate mask.

"Oh, an invitation for me?" Noah smiled warmly.

"You possess the aura of an exceptionally powerful Mage. It would be my absolute pleasure to share a dance with you," she replied with a sophisticated smile.

"The pleasure is mine," Noah accepted, gesturing toward an open platform.

Emergency! Noah just got picked up by a massive beauty! Happy's voice blasted through the link.

What?! Erza's sharp, territorial voice instantly echoed in everyone's minds.

Lucy hurriedly chimed in, Erza, stay calm! Maintain your position! She was genuinely terrified that Erza might abandon her partner mid-air and drop down to crush the woman.

Don't worry, Erza. It's just a standard dance to maintain our cover. You should be able to see my platform from your vantage point, Noah's calm voice broadcasted into the link.

Hearing his reassurance, Erza quickly scanned the surrounding airspace. Spotting Noah's platform drifting a short distance away, she let out a silent sigh of relief.

"The spinning... it's getting even faster..." Erza's partner groaned miserably. His knees were officially buckling from the sheer G-force.

Meanwhile, Noah's partner attempted to subtly probe him for information several times throughout the waltz, but Noah smoothly deflected every question with practiced ease.

"I thoroughly enjoyed our dance. Excellet company," Noah said politely as the final notes of the song drifted away. Bowing gracefully, he turned and melted back into the crowd.

The woman reached out, intending to call him back, but Noah vanished from her sight in the blink of an eye. Stamping her foot in frustration, she let out an unamused huff and turned to hunt for her next partner.

Man, I didn't realize I was this charming even with a mask on, Noah joked in the Telepathy link.

Hmph. A passable performance, Erza replied.

Noah had intentionally broadcasted his entire conversation with the woman into the mental link for the team to hear, keeping Erza's temper perfectly in check.

By the way, Erza, your partner looks like he's on the verge of meeting his ancestors. It's probably time to let him go, Noah noted, standing directly beneath her levitating platform as he looked up at the thoroughly destroyed guest.

"Hmph. His momentum was entirely inadequate." Erza brought the platform back down to the floor and released her grip.

The second his feet hit solid ground, the man stumbled off the platform, slapping both hands over his mouth as he bolted frantically toward the ballroom exits.

"Haha..." Lucy giggled, stepping up to join Noah. Having finished her dance with the handsome guest, she had quickly scurried over to regroup.

"Noah, you traitor! You stepped back on purpose earlier, didn't you?!" Natsu and Gray marched over with clenched fists, steam practically piping from their ears.

"I simply saw how passionate those ladies were and decided to let my dear comrades experience their hospitality," Noah grinned.

"Why you—" Natsu lunged forward to throw a punch, but Lucy quickly stepped in between them to hold him back.

"Alright, break it up. We need to focus on the observation detail," Lucy said, before turning to Noah. "Have you spotted anything anomalous?"

"Nothing definitive yet. Let's separate and find new partners. A large group standing huddled together like this stands out too much in a ballroom," Noah instructed.

"Right," the group agreed, dispersing back into the crowd to find new partners.

Noah, however, cast a minor spell to suppress his magical presence, blending seamlessly into the background as he circled the perimeter of the hall. With swift, silent gestures, he systematically laid down a localized runic barrier.

The gala had been underway for a considerable amount of time, meaning their target, Velveno, had undoubtedly breached the interior. The deployment of this runic net ensured that once the trap snapped shut, the thief would have nowhere left to run.

With his preparations finalized, Noah deactivated the stealth spell and smoothly paired up with a new partner to resume dancing. To ensure Erza wouldn't misunderstand, he kept his mental link open, allowing her to hear his casual small talk. From his position, he could see Erza's platform ascending once more, spinning her latest unfortunate partner like a motorized top.

As several more songs drifted by, the team rotated through multiple partners.

Countess Aceto is making her grand entrance, Happy's voice suddenly alerted everyone through the link.

Noah and the team immediately locked their eyes onto the elevated grand balcony. Clad in a stunning, white off-the-shoulder gown, Aceto was slowly descending the marble staircase alongside Count Balsamico.

"OHHH!!!"

The male guests in the hall were instantly captivated by her sheer beauty. Many flushed bright red with excitement, immediately abandoning their current partners to swarm toward the base of the staircase. The rest of the dancing couples similarly ground to a halt, drawing closer to catch a glimpse of the hosts.

"Hehehe! My dearest Aceto's beauty is simply too overwhelming. It seems none of these gentlemen even dare step forward to offer an invitation," Count Balsamico chuckled, highly amused by the crowd's stunned hesitation.

"Excuse me... would you care to share a dance?"

Aceto scanned the crowd. Finding no one brave enough to cross the floor, her eyes locked directly onto Erza's striking silhouette.

"I would be honored," Erza accepted. Stepping forward, a sudden flash of her Requip Magic enveloped her body. In the blink of an eye, her evening gown was replaced by a sharp, exquisitely tailored formal knight's attire, matching Aceto's bridal white gown perfectly.

"Beautiful," Aceto smiled, placing her hand in Erza's as they stepped onto a central levitating platform. The entire ballroom watched in rapt attention as Erza and Aceto ascended into the air, moving with seamless elegance.

"Wait a minute... why is Erza the one dancing with the bachelorette?" Lucy asked, completely bewildered.

"Who cares?" Natsu muttered, completely unconcerned by the romance as he aggressively emptied a nearby buffet table.

Just then, a highly refined, striking beauty glided through the crowd, stopping directly in front of Gray. "Would you grant me the honor of this dance, gentle sir?"

"Uh, sure," Gray nodded, accepting her hand as they stepped onto an adjacent platform.

Hey, it's almost midnight, Happy's voice alerted them through the link.

Right on cue, the resonant echoing of a massive clock tower began to reverberate through the palace. The guests paused, raising their heads toward the colossal timepiece mounted high on the central wall.

"It is finally time," Count Balsamico and Aceto murmured simultaneously.

What's starting? Erza asked Aceto as they glided through a turn.

"The unveiling ceremony for the heirloom ring. Every seven years, the vault doors beneath the clock tower open automatically to showcase our family treasure to the public," Aceto explained.

Directly beneath the massive clock face, a mechanical vault door slid open. A velvet-lined display case slid smoothly along a set of tracks, presenting a spectacular ring set with a massive, radiant purple gemstone that shimmered brilliantly under the spotlights.

"The man who manages to claim this ring shall earn the exclusive right to ask for my daughter's hand in marriage! That is the ironclad tradition of the Balsamico house!" the Count proclaimed loudly to the gathering.

Seeing the target finally manifest, Noah subtly flicked his fingers behind his back. Instantly, a localized runic barrier snapped into existence directly around the display case. Unless they managed to pinpoint Velveno first, absolutely no one would be able to touch that ring.

Suddenly, a sharp ping echoed from the surveillance grid. Noah's Thought Projection and Happy immediately shifted the feed to a hidden alcove near the edge of the ballroom, where a pair of feet could be seen shifting erratically behind a heavy velvet curtain.

"What's that?" Happy asked, tilting his head.

"Let's check it out." Noah's Thought Projection placed a hand on Happy's shoulder, activating his spatial magic. In a single frame, the two vanished from the monitoring room and reappeared right in front of the hidden alcove.

~~~

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