Mystogan

"Click..."

The crisp sound of shattering glass was exceptionally clear in the noisy guild.

Jiang Bai felt as if his neck was a rusty gear, turning inch by inch with extreme stiffness.

"That..."

Jiang Bai swallowed hard, his will to survive reaching its peak in an instant.

"What I mean is... the prettiest girl in the Blue Pegasus Guild is definitely... definitely not even one ten-thousandth as pretty as our Mira!"

As he spoke, he moved at lightning speed to the bar, reaching out to grasp Mira's hand, which was currently "exerting its power."

"Right, Mira?"

Mira's smile grew even sweeter.

She gently placed the nearly broken glass on the bar counter, then tenderly covered Jiang Bai's outstretched hand with her other flawless white hand.

Of course.

Her voice was so soft and sweet it seemed like you could squeeze water from it.

"I believe in you, Xiao Bai."

However, Jiang Bai felt as if he were holding not a delicate hand, but a piece of ancient ice.

The chill traveled up his arm and straight to the top of his head.

"However,"

Mira's fingertips traced light, suggestive circles on the back of his hand.

"If I hear anything like that again, I'll have to... lock you in my room and make you watch me every day until you can't remember what any other girl looks like anymore."

Jiang Bai shuddered.

It sounded like flirting, but combined with Mira's "gentle" gaze, it sounded more like the devil's whisper!

"Haha! You brat! You deserved it!"

Seeing Jiang Bai's embarrassed expression, Makarov, who was standing to the side, burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears almost streamed down his face.

"Serves you right for speaking so recklessly! Now you know you're scared, huh!"

"Shut up, you old geezer!"

Enraged, Jiang Bai pulled his hand back and rushed back to Makarov in order to escape this dangerous situation.

"If this volcano quest doesn't work, I'll go find another one!"

Jiang Bai uttered those words and turned to rush upstairs again.

However, just as he lifted his foot, a sudden and incredibly powerful drowsiness, like an invisible wave, instantly swept through the entire guild hall!

The drowsiness came so suddenly, and so forcefully.

"So... so sleepy..."

"What's wrong... my eyelids... can't hold up..."

"Did I... not sleep well last night?"

The guild members, whether it was Natsu and Gray fooling around, Cana drinking, or even Macao and Wakaba who had just been gloating, were all there.

They only managed a few indistinct murmurs before collapsing one by one, like harvested wheat, softly falling to the ground and instantly falling into a deep sleep.

Behind the bar, Mirajane was about to clean up the broken glass when she suddenly swayed, overwhelmed by sleepiness and unable to stand.

She clung to her last shred of clarity, looked at the only remaining, upright figure, and uttered two words with difficulty.

"Xiao Bai..."

Before she could finish speaking, her consciousness was completely plunged into darkness, and her body went limp, about to fall to the ground.

However, the expected cold ground and pain did not come.

The instant Mirajane lost her balance, Jiang Bai vanished like a ghost, appearing behind the bar the next moment.

He reached out and gently pulled that soft, delicate body into his arms, then carefully laid her face down on the bar counter, where she rested her head on his arm and fell into a deep sleep.

Within seconds, the noisy guild fell into an eerie silence, with only the sound of snoring rising and falling.

Of course, this amount of sleep magic was nothing more than a gentle breeze to Jiang Bai, who possessed immense mental power; it was not worth mentioning at all.

At this moment, apart from Jiang Bai, who was unharmed, only Makarov remained barely conscious in the entire guild.

The old man, a Ten Wizard Saints, was bracing himself against the table with his elbows, his body trembling violently, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and his eyelids feeling like they were filled with lead, desperately trying to close.

Just then, the guild's doors were silently pushed open.

A tall, slender figure slowly walked in.

He was dressed in dark, exotic clothing, his face was wrapped in thick bandages, revealing only a pair of deep-set eyes, and he carried several strange magic wands on his back.

Makarov struggled to lift his head, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure, and with all his might, squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth.

"Is it... Mystogan?"

The visitor did not answer, but simply stood there quietly.

"Hey! Your entrance hasn't changed at all."

Jiang Bai greeted him casually, as if he were meeting an old friend.

He walked to the bar and poured himself a glass of water.

Let's grab a drink sometime.

He paused, then added,

"And don't forget what I asked you to do."

As a transmigrator, Jiang Bai was naturally aware of the true identity of the mysterious S-Class Mage before him—Prince Jellal from the other world "Edolas".

The task he asked Mystogan to do was to notify him in advance when the Anima System was activated again and began to absorb the world's magic on a large scale.

After all, Mirajane's "deceased" sister, Lisanna, is currently living peacefully in the world of Mystogan.

Upon hearing Jiang Bai's words, a barely perceptible ripple flashed in Mystogan's deep eyes.

He nodded slowly, indicating that he understood.

Then, his gaze fell on the table, on the volcano subjugation mission sheet that Jiang Bai and Makarov were pushing back and forth.

He reached out, picked up the mission sheet, and said to Makarov, who was still struggling, "I accept this mission."

"Undo... your sleep spell..."

Makarov spoke haltingly.

Mystogan said nothing more. He turned around and began to count down in a low voice as he walked towards the guild gate.

"Five..."

"Four..."

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One..."

As the last number was counted, he completely disappeared outside the door.

In that instant, the powerful sleep magic that had enveloped the entire guild vanished without a trace, like the receding tide.

"Huff... huff..."

The guild members woke up with a start almost simultaneously.

"Huh? How did I fall asleep?"

"Strange, what just happened?"

"My wine! Who touched my wine!"

Everyone rubbed their eyes in confusion, completely unaware of what had just happened.

Makarov glanced at the empty doorway, then at Jiang Bai who was unharmed, and could only sigh helplessly in the end.

It's that elusive kid again.