A New Life in Fairy Tail

Chapter 316: Lahar

An explosion from Etherion, a magic capable of wiping out an entire country, could never be considered a minor event. Yet, looking at Noah and the others, it was clear they were perfectly fine."Well, about that... I sent it up into the sky," Noah said to Makarov with a smile.

"Tell me the details when you get back." Seeing that Noah and the team were safe, Makarov didn't press the issue immediately. He planned to ask for a full explanation once they returned to the guild.

"Gramps, we got everyone out of the Tower of Heaven. We're planning to hand them all over to the Council," Noah said, turning his lacrima to show the ground covered with unconscious people.

Makarov nodded. "That works."

"Then I'll contact Grandpa Yajima now."

"Go ahead."

Ending the call with Makarov, Noah initiated a connection with Yajima.

"Ah, Noah. How is the situation on your end?" Yajima asked upon seeing Noah's call.

Noah gave a brief summary of the events, then pointed to the crowd of people brought from the tower. "We plan to hand all these people over to the Council for processing."

Yajima looked at the captives and nodded. "Alright. How do you plan to bring them over? Should I notify the Council's army to go receive them?"

"No need for the trouble, Grandpa Yajima. Just have the Council clear a large enough open space, and I'll bring them all over directly."

Yajima was momentarily stunned by the simplicity of Noah's method. He knew Noah could use Teleportation, but moving so many people at once was another matter. He wondered if Noah planned to transport them all at once or in batches. However, he didn't pry; since Noah proposed it, Yajima trusted he could do it.

After ending the call, Yajima tracked down the Council's Custody Enforcement Unit. These squads were currently busy trying to maintain order amidst the chaos at the Council headquarters. Yajima found their commander and instructed him to clear a sufficiently large open space and set up a security perimeter around it.

Although the commander found the request strange, an order from Councilor Yajima was not to be ignored. He dispatched a squad to secure a large plaza near the Council.

Once everything was ready, Yajima contacted Noah with the exact coordinates.

Receiving the location, Noah looked at Ultear and the others. They nodded, indicating they were ready.

Noah clapped his hands together. Immense magic power surged from his body, and two golden magic circles appeared before his eyes. Using his magic to lock onto the coordinates Yajima provided, a massive golden magic circle expanded beneath his feet, covering everyone on the deserted island.

Simultaneously, a colossal golden magic circle materialized in the secured plaza near the Council.

In a flash, Noah, his team, and the entire crowd of unconscious captives vanished from the island and reappeared perfectly in the plaza.

HUMMM!

Noah slowly retracted the surging magic power used for the spell. However, the residual magical pressure still pushed against the atmosphere, creating gusts of wind that swept in all directions.

"Enemy attack!"

The commander of the Custody Enforcement Unit guarding the perimeter shouted in alarm. Instantly, all the troops raised their magic staffs, aiming them squarely at Noah's group in the center of the plaza.

"Don't worry, they aren't enemies. Lower your weapons," Yajima told the commander.

Hearing Councilor Yajima's assurance and seeing that Noah's group showed no hostile intent, the commander ordered, "Stand down."

PHEW...

The soldiers let out a collective sigh of relief, their hands trembling as they lowered their staffs. The gale containing that residual, terrifying magic power had placed an unparalleled pressure on their minds and bodies. They had only raised their weapons out of sheer trained reflex. Knowing they didn't have to fight someone capable of emitting such monstrous magic made them all sigh in profound relief.

"Noah, you made it," Yajima said, walking toward them.

Internally, Yajima was deeply shaken. Noah hadn't brought them in batches; he had transported everyone in a single massive jump. The difficulty between the two methods was worlds apart. For every additional person, the required magic and complexity increased exponentially. Not to mention the vast distance from the Tower of Heaven to the Council. It was a true testament to Noah's overwhelming strength.

"Yes, Grandpa Yajima, we're here. Everyone from the Tower of Heaven is on the ground here, except for one person who managed to escape," Noah said with a smile, pointing at the unconscious crowd.

"What?! These people are all from the Tower of Heaven?" The commander tensed up again.

"Relax, they have all been sealed by me. There won't be any problems," Noah reassured the commander with a smile.

"That's good to hear," the commander said, his expression softening considerably.

"By the way, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before. What is your name?" Noah asked, looking closely at the commander's familiar features.

"Hello, my name is Lahar. I am the vice-captain of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit."

"Lahar? Is your father's name Harris?" Noah asked.

"Yes. Do you know my father?" Lahar nodded, looking at Noah earnestly.

"Of course. We worked quite well together in the past, and he mentioned you to me. He used to constantly boast about having an incredible son. Seeing you now, I realize he wasn't exaggerating. You really are quite impressive."

Noah looked at Lahar, noting his glasses and his long hair tied back. To become the vice-captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit at his age was no small feat.

"Oh, my name is Noah. You might have heard it from your father," Noah added.

"So it's you! My father indeed mentioned you often. He has nothing but the utmost admiration for you." Lahar's eyes widened in realization.

Years ago, his father had frequently assisted Noah, handling the aftermath and cleanup of the dark guilds Noah decimated. Thanks to those achievements, his father's rank had skyrocketed. Lahar was naturally very grateful to Noah. However, he had never met him in person, and since Noah hadn't gone on any recent crusades against dark guilds, Lahar never found the opportunity.

Being able to meet him now made Lahar visibly happy.

"So you are Harris's son," Yajima noted, looking at Lahar.

Lahar quickly turned to Yajima. "Councilor Yajima knows my father as well?"

Yajima nodded. Back when Noah was making huge waves wiping out numerous dark guilds in succession, there was a massive amount of subsequent paperwork and processing. While Harris's ground-level assistance was crucial, Yajima's help from within the Council was equally indispensable. Through that coordination, Yajima and Harris had become well acquainted. However, Yajima hadn't realized until today that Lahar was his son.

"Let's catch up later. Let's get these people processed first," Noah said, pointing to the ground.

Lahar remembered his duties and immediately began directing his subordinates to take the captives into custody. Noah assisted them in the handover, while Ultear and the others stepped aside to rest. Yajima joined them to chat and ask for more details about the mission.

After a long and busy period, all the captives were finally secured. Lahar couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

The crowd consisted mostly of Black Magic Cult members and numerous brainwashed victims. Sorting them out required a great deal of effort. Furthermore, with the massive incident at the Council today—resulting in the destruction of numerous buildings—the entire institution was on the verge of shutting down. Though Lahar hadn't heard of any fatalities yet, many were injured.

All of this chaos stemmed from the Tower of Heaven. Receiving a massive batch of prisoners directly from that very tower naturally put him under immense pressure. Now that it was handled, he finally relaxed.

"Is everything sorted?" Noah asked, approaching Lahar.

Noah had just finished removing his seals from the captives as the unit detained them. After speaking with Ultear, Yajima, and the rest about the tower's details, he had come over to check on Lahar.

"It's all sorted. Thank you so much for this," Lahar said with deep gratitude.

The Council had made a catastrophic error by firing a weapon of mass destruction like Etherion, causing immense damage to its own infrastructure and reputation. The captives Noah delivered would not only allow them to properly investigate the Tower of Heaven but also help the Council regain some of its lost prestige. For this, Lahar was incredibly thankful.

"It's no problem. I had the ability to get it done, so I did. If the Council falls apart, it wouldn't be very good for us either," Noah said with a smile.

After all, the Magic Council was the core institution maintaining peace and stability across the continent's magical world. Noah had no desire to see it destroyed.

In fact, Noah fully intended to hand over all the credit for capturing these cultists to the Council. Lahar, standing right in front of him, was the perfect candidate to receive that credit, especially considering Noah's past partnership with his father.

~~~

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