The flow of Magic could be smoother... The material strength still had a lot of room for improvement... The core Dragon Slayer Lacrima should use a combination of multiple attributes... In just an instant, Daphne had a long list of improvement plans for the Dragon Cavalry in her mind.
As a member of Silent Town, Daphne naturally knew Stealth Magic, and her proficiency in it was extremely high; otherwise, how could she use her methods to prevent everyone in the town from dispelling their Stealth status?
With such exquisite Stealth Magic, Daphne had no thought of escaping even as her partner was being overwhelmingly defeated.
She just stood there blankly under the shattered Dragon Cavalry, listening to the sputtering sparks of the artificial dragon's malfunction, and remained speechless for a long time at her years of hard work.
For Daphne, the moment the Dragon Cavalry was easily defeated by Natsu, her dream was shattered along with it, making her question her younger self.
Was that huge, black figure, soaring through the sky, now somewhat blurry in her memory, truly a Dragon?
If it was real, would it be easily defeated by a Dragon Slayer like the Dragon Cavalry? If it was fake, then what was the meaning of all her years of research?
For a moment, Daphne fell into a trance, muttering to herself.
"Do Dragons... truly still exist in this world?"
"They definitely do!"
It was an answer filled with absolute confidence, decisive and firm. The conviction in his tone made Daphne involuntarily look up.
The pink-haired young man stood atop the wreckage of the artificial Dragon, his eyes full of confidence. He touched the white scarf around his neck. "Dragons definitely exist in this world. Igneel and I will surely reunite one day!"
So that's it, he'd also seen a Dragon.
Daphne slowly lowered her head, a strained bitter smile on her lips, and voluntarily lifted the restriction she'd placed on the town residents, allowing the people who'd been forced into Stealth by her to finally return to their normal lives.
Having done all this, Daphne sat down on the spot, ready to accept the punishment she deserved.
Before the residents could gather around, Noah walked over to the bespectacled girl whose dream had been shattered. Earlier, he'd learned the reason for Daphne's obsession from a note exchange with a town resident.
The existence of a suspected black Dragon.
Coincidentally, four hundred years ago, Noah's ancestor, the then King of Edolas, observed Earth Land with the Magic Anima and discovered a terrifying black Dragon, which led to the creation of the Dorma Anim, mimicking its power.
Legend said that Dragons had strong vitality, and long-lived ones could live for eight or nine hundred years, some even a thousand.
Could the black Dragon Daphne saw as a child be the terrifying black Dragon that his ancestor observed four hundred years ago?
Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Noah looked at the bespectacled girl, who'd already given up. "Can you give me your artificial life technology?"
Without any pretense, Noah was so direct because Daphne's fighting spirit had dissipated, and she no longer had any interest in Magic technology research.
Daphne pulled out a thick notebook from her clothes pocket. All her research data from over the years was recorded in it, naturally including the "artificial life" technology Noah requested.
This technology was still in an embryonic state. Due to insufficient specific energy, Daphne had planned to continue developing this technology on the Dragon Cavalry only after capturing a Fire-attribute Dragon Slayer.
Now that the Dragon Cavalry was destroyed, Daphne did not want her hard work to be dormant and sealed away. Since someone was interested in her research, she generously gave the notebook to Noah.
"Thank you."
Although Noah could have simply taken it by force, since the other party was so straightforward, he naturally had to express his thanks verbally.
Gray used his Magic to create ice handcuffs and put them on Daphne. He glanced at the increasingly numerous town residents around them and pointed at the compliant Daphne.
"Noah, what should we do with her?"
According to the Magic Council's regulations, colluding with the Black Magic Cult was a serious crime, at least twenty years.
And what Daphne did to Silent Town was enough for her to spend ten or twenty years in a Kingdom of Fiore prison.
But how to deal with her, Noah still left the choice to the local residents, whether to escort her to the Magic Council or the Kingdom of Fiore, it was all up to them.
"There's someone here! He's badly hurt!"
Lucy's voice came. A humanoid bull with a double-bladed great axe on its back, under Lucy's command, carefully dug out a bloodied man from the ruins.
Natsu and Gray immediately stepped forward to help, and together with Lucy's Gold Key Celestial Spirit, Taurus, they rescued the man.
Getting closer, Noah saw the man's body covered in horrific wounds left by torture instruments, and he also detected traces of erosion from various Magic attributes on him.
Noah remembered from the information given by the residents that the members of the Black Magic Cult, disguised as cultists, did indeed bring such a person.
At the time, it was unclear whether he was friend or foe, but now it was obvious that the man, cruelly tortured like this, was not a member of the Black Magic Cult. The thick scabs on his body all proved he was a victim.
Yet, despite his severe injuries, the man still retained a shred of consciousness, stubbornly refusing to pass out. What tenacious willpower!
Waving away Lucy's bandages, the man grabbed Natsu's clothes, his eyes wide, using every last bit of his strength. "Tell... tell Lahar... the higher-ups... they have their people..."
After struggling to finish his words, the man finally couldn't hold on and fainted.
Having witnessed Natsu punch and shatter an artificial Dragon as tall as a small building, and daring to openly oppose the Black Magic Cult, such a righteous and powerful Mage was worthy of trust.
So the man saw Natsu as hope and entrusted him with important information.
But unfortunately, Natsu didn't understand a single word.
Not only Natsu, but Gray, Lucy, and even Happy were also completely bewildered.
Who was Lahar? And where were these "higher-ups" from? And who were "they"?
And most importantly, who are you?!
Natsu hated riddlers who didn't speak clearly more than anything, but looking at the man's injuries, he still didn't shake him awake.
Although his companions didn't know, Noah understood who the man's words were referring to.
It seemed Lahar's title as the Magic Council's Custody Enforcement Unit Captain wasn't big enough. He was the head of a violent law enforcement department, yet his own guild mates didn't even know who he was.
But it didn't matter, even the high-ranking Council members, Natsu and Gray wouldn't know their names.
When Noah heard Lahar's name, he deduced the man's identity: a member of the Custody Enforcement Unit sent to gather intelligence from Dark Guilds.
How interesting.
Someone from the Dark Guilds had infiltrated the Council's higher echelons, becoming one of the ten most powerful figures in the Magic world.
One Chairman, nine Councilors... nine old geezers who'd held high positions for a long time, and one powerful young man. Which of them could it be?
Noah's lips curled slightly upwards. It's so hard to guess, Siegrain, the youngest Councilor in Council history.
If Lahar knew his superior was problematic, what would he do?
It felt like a good show was about to unfold.
But the top priority was not to let this man die, after all, he was just guessing.
Noah looked at Cheese, the snow cat perched on his shoulder, and grabbed the hamster on its head.