A New Life in Fairy Tail

Arriving at the next ship, they found it was also in the middle of assaulting an island stronghold. This time, Noah told Laxus to go up and help while he recovered a bit.

Laxus raised a hand, and a bolt of lightning shot towards the cultists on the shore, knocking out several of them. He had originally wanted to charge straight onto the island, but Noah had specifically warned him before they started.

"You don't know what kind of magic they have set up on that shore. Your strength isn't at the level where you can just ignore all sorts of traps. If you rush in and get caught, you wouldn't want people to have to come and rescue Makarov's grandson, would you?"

To avoid the situation Noah described, Laxus suppressed the urge to charge in and instead remained on the ship, continuously firing long-range magic attacks. But even with ranged attacks, Laxus displayed impressive strength. With each flash of lightning, another enemy fell. The pressure on the main assault force was reduced immensely.

The other soldiers couldn't help but ask who the powerful lightning wizard was, and the name 'Laxus' began to spread. Although some people still mentioned he was Makarov's grandson, more and more were referring to him simply as Laxus. With his excellent hearing, Laxus overheard their words of praise. He became more and more excited, and the power of his magic grew even stronger.

Once Laxus had had his fill of fighting, Noah pulled him back and began to charge his Grand Magic. With the activation of Fairy Law, all the enemies were defeated. They then continued on to the other teams' ships. Laxus would fight first, and then Noah would unleash his Grand Magic.

And so, with Noah's teleportation, they were able to help all seven teams. The battles became easier and easier as they went, since the number of remaining enemies dwindled. Towards the end, Noah was only using Fairy Law to clear out the enemies who were stubbornly holding out inside the buildings; the main assault forces were able to defeat the enemies on the front lines themselves.

After all the enemies had been defeated, Noah and Laxus began to help the last team free the captives. Noah sent a Thought Projection to Hargeon Port to notify the Royal Army and the Magic Council to send more ships to pick up the personnel, while his main body helped treat the wounded. Laxus helped the officials secure the prisoners, untied the captives, and helped them over to Noah for treatment or onto the ships.

Once everything was mostly settled, they prepared to set sail.

Noah saw the happy expression on Laxus's face. "How does it feel to help others? Pretty great, right?"

Laxus's excited expression calmed slightly. He paused, then nodded.

"When you help others with the power you have," Noah continued, "you will naturally earn their gratitude. Look around. How many people are calling you 'Makarov's grandson' now? They're all calling you Laxus. When you have enough of your own strength and achievements, you will no longer be overshadowed by your grandfather's light."

Laxus didn't say anything after hearing this, but simply nodded again.

Noah suddenly remembered something. "I'm going to send you back to the guild first. I still have something to do."

Laxus didn't ask what it was. He just asked, "Can I help?"

"Your abilities aren't suited for this. I need to search the sea one more time to see if there are any strongholds that were missed. I have a feeling there are more than just seven."

"Alright then. My abilities really can't help with that. Send me back."

Noah found the official in charge, informed him of his plans, and then teleported back to Makarov's house with Laxus.

Makarov was surprised to see them. "Aren't you two still helping with the assault on the dark magic cult? Why are you back so soon?"

"Gramps, it's already over. The captives have been rescued. I'm going to search one more time to see if anything was missed, so I brought Laxus back first. You can ask him for the details. I'm leaving now."

Makarov nodded. Noah teleported back to the ship he had just left, leaving Laxus to explain the situation to his grandfather.

Returning to the ship, Noah asked the official for a boat, saying he had a request to find something at sea. The official arranged for a small boat to be lent to him, telling him he could just return it to Hargeon Port when he was done. Noah thanked the official, got in the small boat, and left the fleet.

Looking at the map and navigation tools the official had given him, he began his search. He propelled the boat with his magic while simultaneously casting his detection spell, maintaining a perfect balance between consumption and recovery. He searched the sea like this for two days, but found nothing.

Noah had no choice but to give up. By his estimation, the last stronghold was either hidden by magic or was located much further out to sea. He wouldn't be able to find it for now.

He returned to Hargeon Port, gave back the boat, and teleported to just outside the guild doors. He pushed the doors open and was greeted by the usual lively chaos. The gloomy mood from his fruitless two-day search lifted considerably.

He greeted everyone as he walked towards the counter. He saw Cana, Erza, and the others, and they waved to him. Noah pointed towards the counter, and they understood, nodding back.

When he reached the counter, Makarov was sitting on top as usual. "Did you find anything?" he asked.

"No. I searched for two days and couldn't find any other strongholds. It's possible it's hidden or further out, or maybe it was just my imagination."

"It probably wasn't your imagination. Powerful people often have a special kind of intuition. But if we can't find it now, all we can do is keep an eye out for any news about it in the future."

"I guess that's all we can do. I'm going to go see Cana and the others."

"Go ahead."

Noah walked over to the table where Cana, Erza, Simon, and Kagura were sitting. After sitting down, he asked, "Have you all gotten to know each other?"

Cana replied, "Dad and I got back yesterday. When I saw there were new members our age, of course I had to come and meet them."

"Where did your dad take you this time?"

"We went on a mission to a nearby country. The scenery there was beautiful."

Ever since Cana and Gildarts had reconciled, Gildarts had been taking her with him on his missions for the past two years. He always chose jobs that weren't too difficult, and with his strength, he could easily ensure her safety.

"That sounds nice. Has Gildarts taught you his Crash magic yet?"

"No. Dad says my strength isn't sufficient yet, so I can't learn it. For now, he's just helping me with my foundations, training my magic power and my body every day."

"That's good too. How does it feel, traveling all over with Gildarts now?"

"It's pretty nice," Cana said with a sigh, "but Dad is a little too clingy."

Noah turned his head and saw Gildarts pulling another guild member aside, going on and on about how wonderful his daughter was. He was truly a doting father.