Above the Wise Woods.
A massive dark gold magic circle, dozens of meters wide, slowly rotated. The powerful energy it released supported a rocky fortress as it broke through the clouds and traveled toward the distant horizon.
Six newly refined legs were spread out flat. Looking up from below, they resembled six wings of the rocky fortress. The magical crystals hidden within them emitted a faint glow.
With a wingspan of over a hundred meters, a central plaza reminiscent of the Grand Magic Games' arena, and spacious, undeveloped areas below, this was the beginning of Chase's remodeled Fairy Tail magical weapon. Nirvana.
The tall control tower was located at the rear of New Nirvana. To return to Magnolia as quickly as possible and report to Makarov, this area still had its original battle-damaged aesthetic.
The small magic circles floating around it, used to monitor its operational status, added a touch of magical technology to the otherwise crude environment.
"Even after removing so many parts, you still managed to make this thing fly..."
The high-altitude gale blew Lucy's blonde bangs aside, revealing her beautiful, awe-struck face.
Though she knew Chase was always capable of unexpected things, this guild newbie, well, now a guild old-timer, still felt like the scene before her was surreal.
Fairy Tail truly had its own magical weapon.
And it was such a massive thing.
"The principle behind the flight magic circle is not that complicated. The original Nirvana already had incredibly powerful energy. After being streamlined to its current form, getting it to fly is hardly a challenge," Ur explained with a smile.
She had been spending this time learning about the magic of the current era, so her expression remained fairly calm.
Since mages all had various jobs to return to, no matter how reluctant everyone was, the allied forces had to disband.
After Chase and Jura's battle concluded, everyone said their goodbyes and returned to their respective guilds.
Since it was on the way, and as the master of Sabertooth, she did not need to file any reports, Ur brought Minerva along to hitch a ride on Fairy Tail's "private vehicle."
"That is true, I suppose..." Lucy still found it hard to believe.
"Flying such a massive magical weapon into Magnolia will probably cause quite a commotion."
Erza's eyes flickered. She was thinking of another problem that couldn't be ignored. "I wonder if the mayor and the Council will approve."
"Do not worry. The mayor is easy to deal with. At worst, I will just deposit a few hundred million more Jewels in the compensation fund. This is not a weapon of mass destruction," Chase said calmly.
As for the Council, there was even less to worry about.
Looking at Phantom Lord's Six-Legged Walker and Blue Pegasus's Christina, it was clear that the Council was not overly strict about guilds possessing magical weapons. Or rather, it fell within legal boundaries.
Besides, they still owed Fairy Tail for the Tower of Heaven incident. Their attitude toward the guild had greatly improved. They were no longer constantly suppressing them.
The old master would just have to make the effort to go to the Council and file the proper paperwork.
"That is true," Erza said, nodding. She quickly sorted out the relationships.
"How is it that when Chase says it, a few hundred million Jewels sounds as easy as a few tens of thousands?!"
Lucy's eye twitched. She was again impressed by Chase's wealth.
But then, thinking of the six million Jewels she had earned from the SS-Class quest, she suddenly felt better.
S-Class mages really made a lot of money.
Because of the money, this heiress of the Heartfilia Konzern had, for the first time, seriously developed the desire to become an S-Class mage.
And this kind of resolve, which would have been absolutely impossible before, naturally came from the confidence of defeating Sorano solo and her new Celestial Spirit comrades.
Perhaps even she did not realize it. Influenced by Chase, her mentality, horizons, combat experience, judgment of situations, and other soft skills had undergone a qualitative change.
Erza stepped forward and placed a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Lucy, having the desire to become an S-Class mage is a good thing."
Lucy, her little scheme instantly seen through, shrank her neck and scratched her head with an embarrassed laugh.
If she had to guess, the next thing Erza would say would probably be something like "that kind of goal is still far out of reach for you," right?
Lucy thought to herself.
But this time, Erza's words surprised her. "So, try your best. Aim to be chosen by the master for this year's S-Class trial!"
"I am not... eh? Wait?!"
Having been used to being the weakling for so long, Lucy thought her ears were playing tricks on her. "S-Class trial? Watashi?!"
"You did defeat a member of Oración Seis. Do not make that face," Gray said, overhearing their conversation.
"Wait, even Gray thinks I am qualified?"
"Because if you are chosen, that is one less competitor I have to worry about."
"I appreciate it!!"
Normally, Natsu and Happy would have definitely been involved in this kind of fun, and they would have been the main ones teasing and mocking her.
Unfortunately, one of them was lying on the ground vomiting, while the other was trailing behind Carla, trying to win her favor. They simply did not have the time to bother Lucy.
As for Minerva and the new member Wendy, they were holding hands, whispering to each other.
"Erza is right. With your current strength, you might barely be able to reach the threshold of the S-Class trial."
Remembering their farewells to Ichiya and the others, Chase smiled. "Did not that pretty boy from Blue Pegasus also give you an ultra-magic related to Celestial Spirit magic?"
During this operation to subjugate Oración Seis, Hibiki had witnessed Lucy's power and potential as a Celestial Spirit mage, far surpassing Karen's.
As an ally who had fought alongside her and a member of a brother guild, he had proactively given Lucy a certain magic recorded in his Archive about the stars. Urano Metria.
"His name is Hibiki!"
Though she did not feel any attraction to handsome guys like Hibiki, having received his gift, Lucy still took the trouble to correct Chase.
"And with my current magic power, casting Urano Metria would be quite a stretch. But... Chase, since you said so, I will definitely do my best!"
With that, Lucy clenched her right fist and took a deep breath. A look of longing and hope flickered deep in her beautiful eyes. "I will work hard to become an S-Class mage."
"Then I will look forward to facing you in the trial~" Chase finally revealed his true intention, unable to hold back a chuckle.
"Eh? The S-Class trial involves fighting... fighting you?!" Lucy was startled.
"Though the format of the trial changes every year, there have indeed been several years where the exam questions required defeating an active S-Class mage of the guild," Erza explained seriously.
"In other words, besides Chase, I might also have to face you and Mirajane?!"
Looking at the two monsters standing beside her, Lucy's body sagged, as if all the strength had been drained from her.
Suddenly, she felt that maybe participating in the S-Class trial was not worth it.
"Ahaha! The S-Class qualification exam, huh? I will have to ask Master Makarov about it."
Ur was very interested. She began counting on her fingers, analyzing who Sabertooth's first S-Class mage might be.
"Sabertooth does not need to worry about that at all right now," good disciple Gray poured cold water on her enthusiasm.
At this stage, Sabertooth had just managed to pull itself together after being on the verge of dissolution. It did not even have a few proper mages. The S-Class trial was far off.
"So what? We just need to recruit some strong mages. Since I have decided to do it, I will make Sabertooth the strongest guild in Fiore!"
Ur ripped off her Nirvit tribal coat and put her hands on her hips. "So, do not expect me to go easy on you just because you are from Fairy Tail, Gray~"
"Heh. I cannot pretend I did not hear that," Gray said, a smirk appearing on his lips as he also took off his shirt.
Suddenly jumping from the S-Class trial to the strongest guild in Fiore, the span of your conversation is way too big!
And why do you both need to take off your clothes?!
The little person inside Lucy's mind was complaining like crazy.
In a harmonious and cheerful atmosphere, Nirvana left the dense forests far behind and headed toward its destination.
According to their original assembly route, they would have had to leave the Wise Woods, surrounded by mountains, take a long boat ride to the port city of Hargeon, and then take a train from Hargeon back to Magnolia.
Now, with this practical airborne magical weapon, Nirvana, though its speed was far slower than Blue Pegasus's Christina, it still cut down a trip that would have taken most of the day to just a few hours. Efficiency had greatly improved.
Considering the potential commotion an unregistered magical weapon might cause, Nirvana did not fly directly into the city where Sabertooth was located. Instead, they dropped Ur and Minerva off outside the city walls.
After waving goodbye, Nirvana started up again and soon arrived at the outskirts of Magnolia.
On their home turf, there were far fewer concerns. Chase waved his hand, and the hundred-meter-long rocky fortress into Magnolia from above.
The residents below recognized Chase, standing in a conspicuous position. They all began cursing at him, warning him to be careful not to suddenly drop anything and damage their flowers and plants.
As for what that huge floating thing was or where Chase got it, few people cared. They had long since grown accustomed to such things.
How embarrassing...
Erza and Lucy successfully received the same warm welcome Chase had given Mirajane when he had flown her over town on Rock Giant Soldier. They quietly retreated to a discreet corner, trying their best to lower their presence.
Wendy, who had just decided to join and was greeted by such a spectacle, curled up into a ball, looking cautious and frightened.
In terms of the overall experience, she would have preferred being stuffed in a pink sack and kidnapped to the guild.
Just as the residents of Magnolia were passionately denouncing Chase, a magic circle suddenly lit up on the rocky fortress above.
Then, dense black and white beams of light shot down, landing on every corner of the city.
Aside from this being his personality, Chase had a very important reason for making such a grand entrance with Nirvana.
That's right. He wanted to test Nirvana's good and evil detection mechanism.
The white light, representing good intentions, enveloped the residents below who were screaming their heads off. In contrast, the black light, representing evil intentions, was much less common. It targeted those who were not yelling, those hiding in alleys, and those acting strangely.
"Your magic does not look very reliable. Do you have it backwards?" Carla walked up to Chase and asked.
"The people of Magnolia have always spoken without meaning what they say. You will get used to it," Chase said, avoiding a direct answer.
Lucy wanted to point out that they only talked to him like that.
Under Carla's suspicious gaze, Chase pulled up an image on the control panel connected to a black light beam.
In the image, a sleazy-looking man was reaching for a passerby's wallet. The black light suddenly hitting his body scared him into pulling his hand back. Whistling nonchalantly, he turned and walked away.
The other scenes illuminated by the black light showed similar situations.
"These results prove that the detection magic is not wrong. And it works quite well." Chase pressed the stop button with satisfaction.
The black and white beams filling the sky above Magnolia instantly dissipated.
He had not gone through all the trouble of remodeling Nirvana just to catch thieves. That would be a waste of potential. It would only consume the magical crystals' stored energy.
Therefore, the detection threshold would be adjusted upward. Good intentions needed no special comment. Evil intentions would need to reach the level of violence or arson to trigger the alarm.
Everything needed fine-tuning and testing. the maximum range of the black and white beams, the sensitivity toward Fairy Tail members, the trigger conditions for defensive and protective mechanisms, and so on.
Professional matters required professional people. Chase decided that once Nirvana's paperwork was filed, he would hire a few guild staff members who were familiar with magical weapons to perfect it.
After all, this kind of guild expense could be reimbursed by the Heartfilia Konzern.
As for any safety issues related to the magical core, he could ask Dark Magician to supervise the work. Then there would be nothing to worry about.
Amid the cheers and applause (and curses) of countless onlookers, Nirvana reached the far end of the city and arrived above the large lake behind the guild.
This was the perfect place to store a large magical weapon like Nirvana. It was close to the guild for easy management and did not take up any land space.
The powerful energy released by the flight magic circle stirred up ripples on the calm lake surface.
The six legs plunged straight into the water, taking root in the lakebed like tree roots. This absorption of the earth's power was the energy source for Nirvana's magical crystals.
The large platform above naturally remained above the waterline. From a distance, it looked like a small island in the middle of the lake.
For convenience, one of the legs extended to the shore, only a few meters from the guild's back door.
Macao and the others, who had already been attracted by the commotion, were all crowded on the shore. When they saw Chase and the others walk off Nirvana, they erupted into cheers.
"OOOOH! So this is the magical weapon Chase mentioned to the master on the communication crystal? So cool!"
"Now that is manly! An enormous magical weapon is incredibly manly!"
"Dancing on that under the dark night sky would be a truly wonderful experience!"
"I am going to paint it and hang the picture on the guild wall to commemorate this historic moment."
"Who is this super cute girl? And the cat that looks like Happy?"
"G~ray~sama~"
Um... it seemed something strange had somehow slipped in...
***
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