Despite the turmoil in his heart, Noel still felt that his judgment was correct.
So, he continued to focus his investigation on celestial spirits.
But after going through countless records, he hadn't found a single useful clue—it was proving far too difficult.
Then another thought crossed his mind: Loke's strength was undeniable—he was powerful, extremely powerful.
Therefore, whoever once possessed Loke's key must also have been a very capable Celestial Spirit Mage, at least of upper-mid tier strength.
That meant such a mage would very likely have appeared in newspapers or magazines. Yet since Loke was now unbound, perhaps his former master had already passed away.
Noel shifted his attention toward those publications. After a long search, one article suddenly caught his eye.
"Celestial Spirit Mage Karen Lilica dies during a mission. The whereabouts of her Zodiac keys remain unknown."
Noel remembered Karen vaguely—she had been a mage from Blue Pegasus.
She was quite famous in her time, a well-known Celestial Spirit Mage who had been featured in many newspapers.
He skimmed through additional records on her. The documents were detailed, even mentioning that she had once possessed two Zodiac keys: Leo and Aries.
That explained it. If Loke was one of the Zodiac spirits, his immense power made sense.
With this much information, Noel felt a small sense of accomplishment. But then came the question—where had Loke gone?
He thought back to the book he had read earlier, and a grim thought struck him.
Could it be… Loke was about to vanish? That he had chosen to quietly disappear on his own? That was far too cruel.
Needing confirmation, Noel decided to use his connections.
Soon he contacted Ichiya.
"Master Ichiya, hello!" Noel greeted.
"What brings you to me?" Ichiya asked in surprise. "Don't tell me Erza sent you?"
"No, Erza is out on a mission. She's busy. I came to ask about something else." Noel awkwardly explained.
"I see…" Ichiya sounded disappointed.
"I was hoping to gather some information," Noel pressed on.
"Your guild, Blue Pegasus—did you once have a mage named Karen?" Noel decided to cut straight to the point.
"You mean… Karen?" Even carefree Ichiya's face immediately darkened at the mention of her name.
"For that… you'd better ask the Master. He knows more than I do." Ichiya passed the lacrima to Master Bob.
"My, my! Is this really Mond's child? You've grown so much!" Bob exclaimed sentimentally.
"Master Bob, I'd like to ask about Karen." Noel said, unable to hide his urgency.
"Go ahead," Bob replied. The past was the past, after all.
"I remember Karen being a very famous Celestial Spirit Mage… She died during a mission. Could you tell me what really happened?"
"That child… At the time, she accepted a mission despite being unable to use her magic. That's why…" Bob's voice grew sorrowful.
"Unable to use magic? Can you explain why?" Noel asked curiously.
"That… I cannot say. I gave my word." Bob answered, clearly conflicted.
"Then at least… her grave. Could you tell me where it is?" Noel asked his final question.
Bob wrote the location down on a slip of paper. Noel only glanced at it and said nothing.
With this much information gathered, Noel could already piece together the truth of the matter.
By the time he left the library, night had fallen. The moon shone brightly as ever, yet the stars seemed dim, stripped of their brilliance.
It felt like an omen. Especially that star which should have been the brightest in the sky—it flickered weakly tonight.
Noel sprinted through the darkness. Please, I have to make it in time. Even if I can't stop Loke from disappearing, at the very least… let me see him one last time.
Just then, a dazzling pillar of magical light erupted into the sky. Noel didn't know who had released it, but he could feel its tremendous power.
What caught his attention even more was the direction it came from—the same place where Karen's grave lay. Could this really be a coincidence?
When Noel finally arrived at the gravesite, he found Lucy collapsed on the ground, drained from expending a tremendous amount of magic.
That massive surge of magical energy earlier must have been hers. Who would have thought Lucy harbored such power within her?
"Noel… why are you here?" Lucy asked weakly, surprised.
"I'd been investigating in the library for quite a while. Then I confirmed things at Blue Pegasus, so it took me some time to get here." Noel explained.
"But what about Loke? He's safe, isn't he?" Noel asked anxiously.
"He's safe." Lucy tightly gripped the Leo key in her hand.
That must be Loke's key. Clearly, she had worked hard to reclaim it.
"I'm so tired… Could you take me home?" Lucy asked before slumping over completely.
Noel couldn't blame her. After releasing so much magic, of course she would be exhausted.
"I'll take you home," Noel whispered softly, careful not to wake her.
He carried her back to her place, laying her gently on her bed. Even in sleep, Lucy clutched the Leo key tightly.
"This isn't your fault… Even so, this burden isn't yours to bear alone." Noel murmured quietly before closing her door behind him. He couldn't help but feel he hadn't done much to help at all.
The next day – Fairy Tail
"What?! You're saying Loke is a Celestial Spirit?" Natsu stared at Lucy in disbelief.
"That's right. I am a spirit." A flash of light appeared beside Lucy, and Loke materialized.
"You came out on your own?" Lucy asked helplessly.
"I just couldn't wait to see you!" Loke replied with a grin.
"You…" Lucy sighed, exasperated. Already he was back to his shamelessly flirtatious self.
"But actually, I came to give you all this." Loke pulled several tickets from his pocket and handed them to Lucy and her friends.
"Whoa! A resort hotel trip!" Happy was the first to leap forward in excitement.
"Let's go right away!" Natsu shouted, already packed and waiting at the door in an instant.
But Erza was the most over-the-top of all—she had conjured an entire cart stacked with luggage.
How in the world had she produced that cart so suddenly?
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