Hearing Noah's explanation, Lyon and Simon both visibly relaxed. They trusted Noah's judgment, and frankly, they were tired of taking the S-Class Trial.

Seeing their moods lift, Noah sat down and chatted with them. Soon, Sorano, Mirajane, and Erza wandered over, and the other younger members followed, all of them enjoying the post-trial atmosphere.

The party continued late into the night before everyone finally headed home.

The next day, Cana immediately set out on her first S-Class Request. Thanks to the years she had spent accompanying Gildarts, she was already familiar with the process and didn't need another S-Class wizard to escort her.

Noah, in turn, returned to his research. Before he knew it, the last day of the year arrived. The guild celebrated with its traditional, raucous New Year's Eve party, which, as usual, ended with everyone sleeping at the guild hall.

The next morning was the first day of the new year: Year X784.

Noah remembered this year well. This was the year the main story of Fairy Tail truly began. It was the year when one major event after another would erupt. All the preparations he had been making were about to be put to the test.

After taking New Year's Day off, Noah returned to his research at the ruins.

He wasn't there for long, however, before he received an urgent summons. The guild had received a distress signal. More accurately, a passive distress signal.

Noah teleported back to the guild instantly. He found Makarov sitting at the bar, his face grim, staring at the communication lacrima.

"Gramps, you said you got a signal from Gildarts? Where is he?" Noah asked, wasting no time.

Makarov pointed to the lacrima, which was displaying a map. "The signal came from the northern part of Fiore. Zonia, the Sacred Mountain. But he's likely not there anymore. Be careful, Noah. The enemy is strong. Very strong."

Makarov's face was etched with worry. He knew Gildarts's strength. For him to not just send a signal, but to have his passive signal triggered... it meant he had faced a true life-or-death crisis.

He looked at Noah, who simply nodded. "I'll be careful, Gramps. I'm going now."

Noah memorized the coordinates and teleported, leaving Makarov to wait, his face a mask of anxiety.

In an instant, Noah arrived at the Sacred Mountain, Zonia. It was a range of towering, snow-covered peaks. A bitter, freezing wind howled across the landscape, whipping up snow and ice. The harsh climate meant the area was completely uninhabited.

Noah stood on the peak, his senses expanding. Even without magic, the extreme cold had no effect on him. He focused, pushing his senses through the blizzard, and found it: a vile, evil presence, unlike anything he had ever felt before.

He immediately layered himself in protective spells and teleported to the edge of the aura, approaching the rest of the way on foot. As he got closer, the evil became suffocatingly palpable.

He also sensed the lingering remnants of Gildarts's magic. The two of them had clearly met here. And Gildarts had lost, triggering his guild mark's passive distress signal. This would have also activated the mark's emergency teleport and shield. Gildarts was gone. The owner of the evil aura was also gone.

Noah scanned the battlefield and his eyes fell on a spatter of bloodstains on the snow. His expression tightened. Gildarts was injured.

He immediately split off a Thought Projection to document the scene and collect a sample of the evil aura, sealing it in a containment vial. His main body, meanwhile, focused on locating Gildarts.

Thanks to the tracking magic on the guild marks—which was especially strong on Gildarts's—Noah quickly pinpointed his location. The projection finished its work, and Noah re-absorbed it, then teleported.

He arrived to find Gildarts sitting on the ground, his face pale and covered in a cold sweat, trying to bandage his own wounds.

"Gildarts!" Noah rushed over and immediately cast his magic.

"Enchant: Full-Body Attribute Boost!"

"Enchant: Self-Healing Boost!"

He then knelt to examine the wounds.

Gildarts let out a sigh of relief when he saw it was Noah, allowing him to take over. After a quick inspection, Noah's own tension eased. The injuries weren't as bad as they could have been. His left arm, left leg, and the left side of his torso were all wounded, but they were mostly flesh wounds; the bones were intact. The worst was some internal bleeding from the impact.

It was clear Gildarts had already taken one of the advanced potions Noah had given him, as the internal damage was already stabilizing. Noah applied a medicated salve to the external wounds, bandaged them properly, and gave him another potion specifically for his internal injuries.

When he was finished, Noah finally sat back. "What in the world happened?" he asked, his voice serious. "Your passive shield was triggered; the guild got your distress signal. And even with the shield, you're still this badly hurt."

Gildarts's expression turned grim as he recalled the encounter.

"I saw a dragon."

"A dragon?" Noah's mind raced. "All the records in Ishgar say the dragons went extinct 400 years ago. Are you telling me... you saw the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse? Acnologia?"

~~~

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