Chapter 243: Guild-Wide Brawl
When Noah's group entered, they saw Ultear and Mirajane were already back and sitting at a table. They went over and joined them.
"Is Lullaby completely gone?" Ultear, who had also just returned, had already been briefed and was most concerned about the demon-flute.
"Completely destroyed," Noah confirmed. "I ran several different detection spells just to be sure. Not a trace left."
"That's good. A thing like that is better off destroyed. If it was just sealed again, who knows when someone else might have unsealed it."
Noah nodded. "Destruction is always the best option for something that powerful. But the people who sealed it back then probably didn't have the power to destroy it."
The demons of Zeref were ancient. The magic world back then wasn't as advanced as it was now, and wizards weren't as strong. Sealing was often the only option.
"But it's still strange," Ultear mused, propping her chin on her hand. "If it was that powerful and that well-sealed, how did a weak Dark Guild like Eisenwald even find it?"
Erza and the others nodded. Eisenwald was, frankly, pathetic. Lullaby itself was stronger than their entire guild. They shouldn't have had the means or the intel to get it.
"It means," Noah said quietly, "that there's a problem with the people who guard, or at least know about, these seals."
"A problem in the Magic Council?" Ultear and Sorano's expressions immediately darkened. Both of them had been harmed, directly or indirectly, by Brain, and their opinion of the Council was low.
"It's possible," Noah said. "When an organization gets that big, you're going to get bad apples. The Council had a purge a few years ago, but it's been a while. It's not surprising that new corruption has set in."
"By the way," Ultear said, changing the subject, "most of Eisenwald was arrested, but Erigor escaped."
"He escaped?" Erza and Mira both said, frowning.
"Is he strong?" Sorano asked.
"He's worthy of his 'Ace' title," Erza said confidently. "He's not a threat to us, but he's very dangerous for most normal wizards."
"It's not him I'm worried about," Mirajane said. "I'm worried he might try to take revenge on other members of the guild."
"Don't worry," Noah reassured her. "Our members aren't weak. And besides, they have... insurance."
Mirajane remembered the new protective magic on the guild marks, and her worry faded.
"Alright, enough serious talk," Noah said, pulling out a small mountain of boxes. "I brought back those desserts we bought. Wendy-kun, Yukino-kun, Meredy, these are for you, too."
"Thank you, Brother Noah!" the three girls chimed, happily taking their share.
Noah passed the rest out. Erza immediately took her new-flavor strawberry cheesecake and took a bite, her face melting into pure bliss. Sorano and the others also dug in. The sweet, happy flavor quickly washed away the heavy mood from their earlier conversation.
Noah watched them all, satisfied.
Suddenly, his head turned. A beer bottle was flying straight at their table. Natsu and Gray were at it again, and their fight had escalated into a full-blown, guild-wide brawl.
Noah didn't even flinch as the bottle flew toward them.
BONG!
The bottle hit an invisible wall and clattered harmlessly to the floor. A faint barrier shimmered into existence around their table for a second before fading. Noah had put it up the moment they sat down, precisely to stop this from happening.
As predicted, the guild had descended into chaos. The barrier let them finish their desserts in peace.
"Alright, I'm joining in!" Erza said, her plate now clean. She stood up, cracking her knuckles. "You all need to be taught a lesson!"
"Ara ara, a brawl? It's been a while!" Mirajane's sweet smile turned wicked as she also stood up.
"You can't have this much fun without me!" Sorano yelled, leaping into the fray.
"I guess I could use the exercise," Ultear sighed, getting to her feet and joining them.
"Well..." Noah watched as the four S-Class women joined the fight, instantly escalating the chaos to a new level.
Wendy-kun, Yukino-kun, and Meredy were huddled behind Noah's chair, peering out at the madness. Makarov was at the bar, drinking and watching with a huge, proud smile.
But his smile quickly vanished.
"You know," Noah said, patting Wendy-kun's head, "seeing them all have so much fun... I think I'll join, too. It's been a while since I've really cut loose."
"Huh? Brother Noah, you're going to fight, too?" Wendy-kun asked nervously.
"You should be worried about them," Carla deadpanned from her shoulder. "You know how strong he is."
"Don't worry," Noah said, mussing Wendy-kun's hair. "I'm just going to play."
He stood up, and with a casual wave of his hand, a new, massive barrier sealed off the entire guild hall, locking everyone inside.
"Alright, you brats!" Noah called out. "Let's have some fun!"
Everyone instantly froze and turned to look at him.
"OH YEAH! I'M FIRED UP! HERE I COME, NOAH!" Natsu was the first to react, abandoning Gray and launching himself at Noah with flaming fists.
Noah sidestepped the punch, grabbed Natsu by the collar, and, with a yeet, threw him clear across the room where he slammed into the barrier.
"No magic, Natsu," Noah chided.
The rest of the guild, seeing their chance, all charged him at once.
"GET HIM!"
"TODAY'S THE DAY WE BEAT NOAH!"
"DOGPILE!"
The entire guild swarmed him, burying him under a mountain of bodies.
"Is... is he going to be okay?" Lucy asked, hiding in the corner with Happy and the others.
"Aye!" Happy said. "Natsu's about to get beaten up again."
"That's not what I meant! And Natsu's already been beaten!" Lucy yelped, as Noah erupted from the pile, sending bodies flying.
Natsu, having recovered, charged in again. Noah threw him into the barrier again, this time a little harder.
"This... this is normal?" Lucy asked.
"They've been brawling like this since they were kids," Carla explained. "Especially Natsu and Gray. But Noah's the strongest, so every once in a while, they all get the bright idea to try and take him down."
Just then, a body flew over and crashed at their feet. It was Sorano.
"Ow, ow, ow... dammit, Noah, you hit too hard!"
"Sister, are you okay?!" Yukino-kun asked.
"I'm fine, I'm fine... ugh, that jerk, he doesn't know how to hold back."
As she tried to get up, three more bodies landed on top of her.
"Owww!" Ultear, Erza, and Mirajane all groaned from the pile.
"He really is too strong!" Ultear complained, rubbing her side.
"That bastard wasn't holding back at all," Mira grumbled.
"My training is still... insufficient," Erza lamented.
"GET... OFF... ME!" Sorano shrieked from the bottom.
The three of them scrambled to their feet, apologizing.
"What, you're all done already?" Noah's voice called out. He was standing in the middle of the room, completely untouched, surrounded by a sea of groaning, defeated guild members. He shook his head with a "lonely at the top" sigh.
This, of course, just made everyone angrier, but no one had the strength to get up.
Noah shook his head again, but before he could say anything, a giant hand slammed down from above and flattened him into the floor.
"Ahhh, that's better," Sorano said, instantly feeling vindicated.
"Mhm, I feel much better," Mira agreed, smiling.
"I wish he'd hit him a few more times," Ultear added.
As if hearing her, Makarov's giant hand lifted and slammed down on Noah two more times.
"Is he... okay?" Lucy asked, seeing Noah's body embedded in the floorboards.
"He's fine," Erza said. "His body is incredibly tough. That won't hurt him."
Sure enough, Noah climbed out of the hole, dusting himself off without a scratch. He sighed and began to repair the damage to the guild hall. The others slowly picked themselves up and started to help.
The brawl was over.
"Noah!" Natsu, having recovered, walked over to him.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"You remember what you promised me?"
"Hmm... the duel?"
"Yeah! I want my fight!" Natsu said, his eyes blazing, all his previous exhaustion forgotten.
"Alright," Noah said, looking him over. "But not now. You're a mess. Go home, get a good night's sleep. We'll have our duel tomorrow."
~~~
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