Internet Magic in Fairy Tail

Chapter 377: Black Magic Cult, White Magic Cult

With the introduction of [Truth Encyclopedia], the banquet quickly lost its allure. Everyone became engrossed in the new tool, enthusiastically exploring its features.

After Ultear’s previous testing, Nate had made significant improvements to the program. Writing true artificial intelligence in code was a monumental task, so he opted for a more pragmatic shortcut.

Minerva: “[Truth Encyclopedia]? What does that name mean?”

Truth Encyclopedia: “Greetings, Minerva Orlando-san. [Truth Encyclopedia] was created by the great master of the Magic Net, Nate-sama. It contains all the truths of the world.”

Truth Encyclopedia: “The term ‘encyclopedia’ encompasses all disciplines: astronomy, geography, natural sciences, humanities, religion, and beliefs.”

Minerva: “What about knowledge related to magic?”

Truth Encyclopedia: “What aspect of magic would you like to know about?”

Minerva: “I want to know about Nate on the Magic Net.”

Truth Encyclopedia: “Unfortunately, you do not have sufficient faith points to access this information.”

Minerva: “I want to know about Nate.”

Truth Encyclopedia: “All information about the master is classified and cannot be disclosed.”

Minerva rolled her eyes internally. So Nate had hidden his own information? She thought she could unearth something amusing, but alas. Still, this [Truth Encyclopedia] was quite intriguing.

Minerva: “Who is currently the strongest female mage in the world?”

Truth Encyclopedia: “Unfortunately, you do not have sufficient faith points.”

Minerva: “How can I earn faith points?”

Truth Encyclopedia: “By offering sincere prayers to the master of the Magic Net. The great master will respond to your devotion.”

Truth Encyclopedia: “Detailed instructions are as follows…”

The method described by [Truth Encyclopedia] resembled ritual magic—commonly used for praying to and communicating with deities. For instance, certain churches had specific prayer languages for their rituals, while shrine maidens performed ceremonial dances to appease the gods. Regardless of the method, the ultimate goal of ritual magic was to connect with a particular deity.

The approach proposed by [Truth Encyclopedia] fell under the simpler category of spoken prayers.

Minerva quickly memorized the short prayer, clasped her hands together, and closed her eyes as she began to recite:

“Great master of the Magic Net,

You are the embodiment of truth, the observer beyond time,

I pray to you and offer my sincerest faith.”

After finishing the prayer, Minerva felt a faint surge of power forming within her, which was swiftly absorbed by her Magic Net ring.

Then… nothing happened.

Opening her eyes, she glanced at the chat interface curiously.

Minerva: “And then?”

Truth Encyclopedia: “Your faith is neither steadfast nor devout. You have earned only 1 point of faith.”

Minerva: “\ud83d\ude44. I’ve never even been to a church before! This is my first time praying to a god.”

Minerva: “Can 1 point of faith answer my earlier question?”

Truth Encyclopedia: “Answering your question will require 100 faith points. Please continue your efforts.”

So she had to repeat this a hundred times? Minerva couldn’t help but groan as she looked around the banquet hall for Nate.

By then, he had already slipped away without a trace.

…

“Nate-sama, I’d like to request a few days off~.”

Outside the banquet hall, in the corridor, Angel approached Nate with a request. “Once I’ve found my sister, I’ll return to work.”

“I’ll give you a week off. Go ahead.”

“Thank you!”

Angel left, her heart brimming with joy at the thought of reuniting with her sister.

As Nate watched her leave, he couldn’t help but shake his head.

This was all thanks to the handiwork of the Dark Magic Cult.

Angel (Sorano Agria) and Yukino Agria were sisters: one had been captured and sent to the Tower of Heaven to labor, later joining Oración Seis; the other ended up wandering alone.

Similarly, in Rosemary Village, Kagura and Simon were siblings who had also suffered. Simon was captured, along with Erza, who had tried to protect Kagura. The same fate befell the siblings Hoteye and Wally: the older brother joined Oración Seis, while the younger became one of Jellal’s subordinates.

“Tower of Heaven is really a talent factory,” Nate thought.

Adversity breeds hope, and magic reflects the heart. That was why so many oppressed children awakened their magical powers.

“The Dark Magic Cult…”

“Now that the three major dark guilds in Ishgar—Oración Seis, Grimoire Heart, and Tartaros—are disbanded, the Dark Magic Cult is the only dark force still active.”

The Dark Magic Cult was a Zeref-worshiping faction. Over a decade ago, they orchestrated the Tower of Heaven incident in an attempt to resurrect Zeref. Of course, they failed. Later, the Magic Council discovered the scheme and destroyed seven of the towers. After its defeat, the cult went underground.

“Zeref had such a large following, yet he never utilized their faith or ascended to godhood…”

Faith wasn’t easy to harness. Nate, for instance, relied on Magic Net rings to channel people’s faith in him, allowing that power to flow through the network. Lacking such tools, Zeref couldn’t gain any power from faith.

“It’s not so easy to walk the path of godhood,” Nate mused. “Even I have to rely on convenient systems to gather faith.”

He decided not to rely solely on that path. Once he had accumulated enough cursed energy, he would revisit the other two methods of ascending to godhood.

Then his thoughts turned to another organization: the White Magic Cult. Similar to the Dark Magic Cult, they were another faith-driven faction, but Nate had far less information about them—he only knew they were introduced during the 100-Year Quest.

“Magic society runs deep,” Nate muttered, shaking his head. “As long as they don’t stir up trouble, I have no interest in dealing with them.”

At that moment, a message arrived from Precht.

Precht: “We found him.”

Sigma Male: “Who?”

Precht: “The former Chairman, Gran Doma’s soul. He’s not in great shape.”

Nate activated Flying Thunder God and teleported to Precht’s side.

They were at the Hell Core on Cube Island. The facility’s regeneration chambers for demons had been destroyed, leaving pale green liquid scattered about—evidence of the fierce battle earlier that day.

As Nate appeared, he saw three figures: a person (barely), a demon, and a soul.

“Nate-sama!”

The demon was a rabbit-eared girl with a fangirl-like sparkle in her eyes.

“Who are you?” Nate asked, puzzled. “A demon?”

“I’m Lamy, manager of the Hell Core.”

Her adoring gaze was almost comical.

Nate ignored her entirely; she didn’t seem particularly strong.

Precht chuckled. “You’re quite popular with women, I see. Even female demons can’t resist you. This little demon helped me find Gran Doma’s soul.”

Or maybe she just likes handsome men, and an old geezer like you wouldn’t understand, Nate thought.

He turned his attention to Gran Doma’s soul. The former chairman’s eyes were closed, so Nate flicked his fingers, injecting pure magical energy to awaken his consciousness.

“This is…”

Gran Doma’s soul stirred, his eyes opening sluggishly.

“Nate!”

“Good evening, Chairman—or rather, former Chairman,” Nate replied with a sly smile.