A New Life in Fairy Tail

Chapter 366: Subjugating Oración Seis

Not only had Noah mastered a brand-new magic simply by observing an opponent, but he had actively rewritten and improved its core mechanics. Lucy had witnessed this entire conceptual progression with her own eyes, allowing her to truly grasp just how terrifying his magical aptitude was."Noah is naturally amazing!" Happy chimed in, nodding his head in absolute agreement.

"Erza, would you mind helping me test the operational efficiency of my refined version?" Noah asked, turning to the scarlet-haired Mage.

"Of course. What parameters do you need me to set?" Erza asked, stepping forward with a firm nod.

"Mmm, just stand right there and stay perfectly still," Noah replied.

Erza rooted her feet to the floor, maintaining a relaxed posture. Instantly, a massive golden magic circle materialized beneath Noah's feet, revolving with incredible speed as runic characters hummed to life.

It took barely any time at all—less than thirty seconds—before the golden matrix dissipated, and Noah looked up with a smile. "Excellent. Let's run a test simulation. Requip!"

A sudden flash of spatial magic enveloped Noah's hand, manifesting a flawless replica of the standard longsword Erza utilized most frequently in combat. He pointed the blade forward, his eyes locking onto hers. "Let's trade a few strikes and see how it parses your sword techniques!"

"Hmph, challenge accepted!"

A fierce, competitive fire instantly flared in Erza's eyes. Noah had never formally dedicated himself to mastering traditional weaponry or martial arts, so his sudden desire to test his bladesmanship against her was entirely a byproduct of his optimized Magic Mimicry.

Hearing the exchange, the surrounding guild members immediately scrambled backward, clearing a wide perimeter in the center of the hall to grant them a proper sparring ring.

"Requip!"

With a familiar flash, an identical longsword manifested in Erza's hand. The two Mages locked eyes for a fraction of a second, and then, moving with explosive velocity, they lunged forward.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sharp, continuous ring of colliding steel reverberated through the hall as their blades wove an intricate dance of strikes and parries.

"Noah's sword forms and directional transitions are an exact mirror of Erza's," Mirajane noted, observing the high-speed exchange from the sidelines.

"Naturally. The optimized magic Noah developed doesn't just copy the raw spell profile, it parses the target's underlying combat memory. I recall Noah mentioning that it translates the opponent's experience into a localized muscle instinct," Sorano clarified, watching the flashing steel.

"Wait, look closer... Noah's transitions are becoming far too fluid. He isn't blindly letting raw instinct drive his movements anymore," Mirajane pointed out, her eyes widening slightly as she tracked the fight.

The rest of the onlookers adjusted their focus and realized she was entirely correct. Noah's fluid parries and sudden, shifting angles were looking increasingly natural and calculated. His blade work was no longer restricted by a rigid, mirrored reflex; he was actively adapting the forms on the fly.

The intense sparring session carried on for several more minutes until Erza executed a heavy, sweeping strike, borrowing the kinetic recoil to leap cleanly backward to reset her stance. Noah smoothly lowered his blade in response, terminating the simulation.

"You've systematically absorbed my personal sword arts..."

Erza's expression was deeply complex as she stared at the sword in Noah's hand. She had dedicated countless years of grueling, everyday training to temper her martial precision, yet within a matter of minutes, Noah had mapped and assimilated a massive portion of her lifelong craft.

"I was only able to process the techniques that rapidly by anchoring my movements to the muscle memory parsed from your active profile," Noah said gently, stepping forward to reassure her, as he picked up on her slight dejection. "But I don't actively specialize in the path of the sword. Even if I replicate every single form in your current repertoire, I am strictly locked into your current baseline capacity. Pushing the techniques past your present ceiling is completely impossible for me."

"Because these forms belong exclusively to you, Erza. They were engineered by you, for you, to perfectly match your specific anatomical builds and combat psychology—not mine. I can never unleash the true, conceptual majesty of these sword arts because I am not you. Furthermore, you will continue to evolve and forge ahead, whereas anyone who tries to lean on your style will remain trapped inside your current framework. Attempting a breakthrough from a copied foundation is infinitely more difficult than starting from raw scratch."

Erza's true dominance didn't stem from her vast arsenal of armor sets; it resided in her razor-sharp combat intellect, which allowed her to swap attributes dynamically mid-stride, combined with her unyielding dedication to her martial craft. Her soul-forged bladesmanship was an ephemeral quality that no copycat could ever truly steal.

Hearing his breakdown, Erza drew a deep breath, her turbulent emotions settling back into a calm, resolute focus. "I understand. It seems my mental discipline still requires refinement if a simple demonstration can sway my resolve."

"You shouldn't judge yourself too harshly, Erza. Anyone would feel a wave of acute discomfort if someone managed to map and replicate a craft they had spent a lifetime perfecting right in front of their eyes," Mirajane said softly, offering a comforting smile to her rival.

She then turned her gaze toward Noah, a playful glint in her eyes. "Noah, you mastered Take Over Magic ages ago. If you parsed my active profile and absorbed my muscle memory, wouldn't you be able to instantly command my entire combat repertoire?"

"In theory, yes. But my magic channels aren't configured to house demonic souls, so even if I process your experience, I lack the physical compatibility to actually manifest your specific Satan Soul profiles," Noah chuckled, shaking his head.

"Hmph. Still, just thinking about it makes me a little annoyed," Sorano huffed, crossing her arms.

Her current Angel Magic had been thoroughly redesigned and optimized by Noah before he taught it to her, meaning he already understood its underlying mechanics perfectly. If he chose to parse her active profile, he would instantly assimilate every nuanced trick and conceptual command strategy she had developed.

"Is there really a problem? Since I designed the core structure of your magic to begin with, the muscle memory would only serve to optimize my fluid execution. If I were to copy a completely foreign magic system that I haven't studied, it would still demand a significant investment of time and academic processing to permanently assimilate the profile," Noah explained, throwing his hands up defensively.

"It's just the principle of the thing," Sorano muttered, locking a deeply unamused, narrowed gaze onto him. Noah felt an involuntary chill run down his spine under her stare.

"By the way... are those the names and structural hierarchies of the prominent Dark Guilds? What's going on over here?" Noah asked, adroitly steering the conversation away from his person as he pointed toward a massive, illuminated chart hovering in the air nearby.

"It looks like a comprehensive tactical layout of the underworld networks," Mirajane noted, smoothly following his transition. Sorano shot Noah a final, warning glare before turning her attention to the floating diagram.

"Ah... I drew that," Reedus said from the side, holding a sketching canvas in his left hand and a glowing brush in his right.

"What prompted you to map this out, Reedus?" Erza asked, her composure fully restored as she inspected the intricate lines.

"Because the latest intelligence flowing in from multiple sectors indicates that their underworld networks have experienced a sudden, massive spike in mobilization," Laxus explained, stepping out from behind the bar counter to join the group. "Given the current climate, reinforcing the operational cooperation between the legal guilds is no longer optional."

"What does this massive, central ring represent?" Lucy asked, pointing a manicured finger toward the largest circle anchoring the entire chart.

"Juvia can answer that. That represents the absolute pinnacle of underworld authority—the Balam Alliance," Juvia stated, stepping up to Gray's side. "The alliance is anchored by three colossal Dark Guilds that dictate the laws of the underworld. Each of them commands multiple subservient branch guilds, effectively governing the dark sectors of the continent."

"Ah! Look over here, Eisenwald is listed right beneath one of them!" Lucy gasped, picking out a familiar name among the branches.

"Mmm. Erigor's rogue guild," Erza nodded, her eyes hardening slightly.

"So their entire operation was actually a minor branch running beneath the banner of Oración Seis?" Gray muttered, analyzing the structural connections.

"The Ghoul Spirit cell that the Thunder Legion systematically dismantled a while back also operated directly under Oración Seis's jurisdiction," Laxus added, looking over the group.

"Back when Juvia and Gajeel were still with Phantom Lord, we personally crushed several rogue cells during our territory sweeps, and every single one of them traced their lineage right back to Oración Seis's network!" Juvia cheered, a radiant, happy smile breaking across her face.

"Please don't recount structural underworld purges with such a cheerful expression," Gray sweatdropped.

"Wait, Gray... where did your clothes go?" Sorano asked, suddenly noticing that Gray's formal suit had completely vanished into thin air, leaving him standing in nothing but his boxer shorts.

"HUH?! My gear!" Gray panicked, instantly spinning around to frantically scour the floor for his missing layers.

"Gray-sama is so bold and daring!" Juvia swooned, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on his bare back as a heavy blush mounted her cheeks.

"Ugh... I just hope we don't accidentally draw the ire of that main guild," Lucy whimpered, a wave of familiar anxiety seizing her.

"Too late for that," Noah remarked casually.

Lucy's face briefly lit up with hope, thinking he was going to offer comfort, until Noah added with a calm smile, "As a prominent legal guild, a direct structural conflict with their network is a mathematical certainty. There's no use stressing over the inevitable."

"AAAH! That is exactly why I'm stressing out!!!" Lucy screamed, comically clutching her head.

"Lucy, you're leaking an immense amount of fluids!" Happy yelled, pointing at her.

"It's sweat! It's nervous sweat, you stupid cat!" Lucy roared, snatching the Exceed and aggressively kneading his face.

"There's no need to inflate their reputation... rumor has it their entire primary roster consists of only five individual members," a nearby guild member murmured, debating the chart.

"How can a top-tier guild operate with such a pathetic headcount?" another asked, tilting his head.

"Look at it from the inverse perspective," Mirajane countered, her voice dropping into a calm, serious cadence that instantly chilled the room. "If a group consisting of mere five individuals can command enough raw terror to stand as one of the three pillars governing the entire continent's underworld... just imagine what kind of monstrous power those five must possess."

The gossiping members froze, the sudden weight of her words striking them like a physical blow.

"W-Wow... the more we talk about this, the more terrifying it gets!" Heavy drops of sweat began pouring down Lucy's brow.

"And that exact guild—Oración Seis—is the target we are officially tasked to subjugate!"

A booming voice resonated from the entrance of the guildhall as the heavy front doors swung open. Makarov stepped through the threshold, accompanied by Ultear.

"Ah, welcome back, Master, Ultear!" Mirajane greeted them with her customary gentle smile.

"Wait, hold on! That is absolutely not the proper response to that entrance line!" Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs. Her brain was currently reeling from the massive, catastrophic bombshell that had just been dropped into the room.

"Master, please clarify the parameters of this development," Erza requested, her posture instantly shifting into professional military readiness as she faced Makarov.

"During the recent regular assembly of the Magic Council and regional Guild Masters, the sudden surge in Oración Seis's mobilization was officially brought to the floor as an emergency agenda item. Because their actions can no longer be ignored by the authorities, the council determined that a coordinated strike execution must be deployed to eliminate their network," Makarov explained, his expression dead serious.

"Gramps... don't tell me you pulled the short straw during the task assignment again," Gray noted, rubbing his temples.

"Is Fairy Tail expected to spearhead a direct assault against a pillar of the Balam Alliance?" Juvia asked, her face filling with genuine shock. Having personally dismantled their branch networks in the past, she possessed a clear understanding of the staggering weight behind that name.

"I didn't anticipate the Master's luck being quite that abysmal during the lottery. There were dozens of capable legal guilds packed into that hall, yet his hand went straight for the target assignment mark..." Ultear sighed, shaking her head.

Makarov shot a sharp glare her way. He certainly hadn't desired to claim the primary execution warrant, but his luck had simply plummeted to the bedrock during the draw. In hindsight, I should have had Ultear pull the slip instead; her probability metrics are significantly better than mine.

Shaking his head to clear the useless regrets, Makarov focused his attention back on his children, his voice turning firm and authoritative. "Because our adversary's collective destructive capacity is light-years beyond a standard rogue cell, launching a solo assault would be an act of sheer folly. It would leave Fairy Tail completely exposed to a concentrated, catastrophic retaliatory strike from the remaining pillars of the Balam Alliance. To safeguard our parameters, the Council has sanctioned the formation of an official Joint Coalition Force."

"A Coalition Force?" the crowd echoed in surprise.

"Precisely. A unified strike team. The operational roster will be composed of elite Mages handpicked from three distinct legal guilds: Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, and Lamia Scale. Together, we shall systematically dismantle Oración Seis," Ultear finalized, stepping up to lay down the parameters.

~~~

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