Noblesse's Fairy Tail

Chapter 26: - Eara

Hey guys, sorry for the late update, but I'll definitely try to speed things up from now on. Work kept me really busy. I know a lot of you feel like I nerfed the FT characters by a long shot, but in reality, I am going at this logically. The noblesse characters are still stronger and more experienced than the FT characters at this point in the arc. The previous arc gave me a chance/reason to power up Natsu and the others instead of going for the Nakama power route that FT usually takes. Regardless, I promise to find a balance between the 2 worlds.

Chapter 26: - Eara

Age X785

The town of Magnolia. A bustling town in the eastern side of Fiore. Traders, Mages, healers, merchants and people from far and beyond come and go everyday like a well-tuned piece of machinery. Nothing had changed, and nothing ever will. The blacksmith's anvil clanged with a new sword being forged or some armor being shaped into form, the voice of travelers announcing their stock of goods to onlookers echoed throughout the entire town, the general store announcing their daily items on sale, petty fights breaking out at the bar on the other side of town and the list went on. Except....

The town's most prominent landmark. A town is defined first and foremost by the guild it houses, and Magnolia in particular stood out even today thanks to the name of Fairy Tail. Trade routes and the position a town holds within the council are often decided by the magical might of the guild it hosted, and Fairy Tail in particular was exceptional. Their mages were easily one of the most strongest beings in the continent. They were the town's pride and joy.

Now, they were the epitome of misery and suffering. The loss felt by the guild remained not just within the confines of the dingy walls of the guild but spread outward like a plague. With Erza and Mira gone, it was as if the guild lost two of its foundation pillars. Most of their members went their own ways, with their own goals. None were wiser than the other about them. Fairy Tail soon lost its position amongst the council, and the save for Yajima of the council, the rest were all too happy to demote Fairy Tail down to the bottom. With none of the core members left in the guild, the jobs for mages in the guild dropped like flies, and soon, the only thing not in shambles was the building itself.

Today was one such day, and Lucy heartfilia walked around the tables of her guild, clearing up anything left from visitors the previous day and offering drinks to the ones still present. The day was already done, and most (atleast the few members that remained) had returned home. There wasn't a lot of work to do anyways, considering their guild's current situation. Her own jobs weren't enough to pay for her 70000 jewels per month rent, so she took to doing odd jobs here and there, apart from also helping out at her own guild. Taking the place of Mira, she tried her best to stop things from falling apart. Out of the core members of Fairy Tail, only Natsu (who only ever visited occasionally), Levy, Gajeel, Cana, the Raijinshu (who again, were only visible every now and then), Macao, Wakaba and Romero remained. She could still recount the day the world she knew split apart. Now matter how much she pleaded or begged, nothing would change the minds of the rest that chose to leave.

"I....I won't let it end like this...! I'm gonna live through to see us all under one roof, laughing and enjoying each other's company again.....I promise!". The last thing she remembered seeing was Gray's ice cold eyes, focused and razor sharp. She shivered. That was one year back. It didn't help that halfway through the year, their master, who was just a broken old man after losing two of his precious 'brats', decided he'd had enough, and left for places unknown.

Just about done, she thought to herself. She put away the rest of the trays, washed up, grabbed her things, to return to the solitary confines of her room. She had once glance at the guild, which was empty and silent. Just then, she heard soft knocks at the door.