The Guild's Most Mysterious Mage

The dark green mask concealed the black-robed man's face completely, leaving only a pair of calm, unruffled eyes. He looked at Noah, who had blocked his way, with mild surprise.

Clearly, the black-robed man also remembered the white-haired boy he'd briefly met at Lupinus Station.

He hadn't expected that boy to be a member of Fairy Tail, too.

But the boy hadn't been affected by his magic.

Though puzzled, the black-robed man remained silent. He walked around Noah and headed into the guild hall.

In Noah's eyes, this mysterious intruder had suddenly attacked the guild. His sleep magic was strong enough to knock out S-Class Mages like Erza and Mira one after another without warning. The rest of their companions had also fallen victim, dropping off to sleep in quick succession.

Yet he alone had been ignored.

That was right. From the moment his companions fell asleep until now, Noah hadn't sensed a single trace of magic directed at him. The intruder hadn't spared even Macao's five-year-old son, yet he'd acted as if Noah wasn't even there.

He was being completely disregarded.

The intruder had no manners at all!

He wouldn't speak and wouldn't show his face. He had to be someone with something to hide. That black robe made him look exactly like a member of some dark guild.

Seeing the mysterious man walk around him without a word, clearly uninterested in talking, Noah couldn't be bothered to waste his breath. Once he knocked the man out, the sleep magic affecting everyone would naturally be dispelled.

Noah pivoted and threw a swift hook at the mysterious man, but the man blocked it with the staff he raised. Noah wasn't surprised in the least.

After all, someone who could silently knock out even Erza and Mira had to be powerful. It would be laughable if he couldn't react in time.

Noah turned his fist into an open hand and seized the staff in the black-robed man's grasp. Judging by the other staffs on his back, the guy was probably a holder-type Mage.

If Noah disarmed him of all five staffs, he could do whatever he wanted with him.

Sensing Noah's intention, the black-robed man finally dropped his aloof, mysterious act. A hoarse voice rang out:

"Stop, I—"

"Save it! I can tell that isn't your real voice!"

If he even used a fake voice to speak, he was definitely up to no good. What kind of normal person did that?

Noah clung to the staff with his left hand, gripping it so tightly the black-robed man couldn't budge it. With his right hand, he punched toward the man's chest. Erza and Mira were down, and the Guild Master wasn't here, so Noah would have to put in a little extra effort himself.

One side wanted to explain, but the other couldn't be bothered to listen.

Watching the faint glow around Noah's fist, the black-robed man felt helpless. Judging by the strength Noah had shown while fighting for the staff, he knew he couldn't take that punch head-on.

Reluctantly releasing the staff, the black-robed man dodged backward and drew another one from his back. A powerful, weighty surge of magic erupted from the Magic Crystal embedded in its tip.

"Sleep Magic: Dreamland"

Thick fog spread rapidly. This sleep magic was even stronger than the one that had knocked out the entire guild earlier. In seconds, it swallowed Noah, then engulfed the entire guild hall.

"Sorry, but you'll have to sleep for a while."

Absolutely confident in his magic, the black-robed man slipped the staff back onto his back and turned away, ignoring the sleeping fog as he headed toward the guild's job board. Only a quiet murmur lingered behind him.

In the fog, the figure holding the staff looked curious—both about himself and the black-robed man.

Without making a sound, Noah followed behind the black-robed man, who remained completely unaware of him.

After taking a reasonably well-paid job off the board, the black-robed man made his way to the bar out of habit. Seeing it empty, he realized the old man wasn't there.

In that case, he'd leave a note for the old man.

The black-robed man found a slip of paper behind the bar. Just as he started to fret over not finding a pen, one suddenly appeared beside him.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

The black-robed man's pen paused above the blank page. Suddenly realizing something, he turned in surprise and saw Noah, who should have been asleep, standing beside him with a cheerful grin.

The black-robed man was so startled that he didn't even notice his real voice had slipped out. "You weren't affected by my magic!"

"Oh, so that fog really was magic. I thought it was just special effects."

Noah's casual reply left the black-robed man astonished beneath his mask.

The sleep magic had no effect at all. How had he done that?!

Only after experiencing this sleep magic did Noah finally realize that the black-robed man hadn't ignored him earlier. For some unknown reason, Noah was completely immune to the effects of sleep magic.

Handing the staff back to the black-robed man, Noah had already figured out who he was from his actions. "I'm Noah. You're Mystogan, the one everyone calls 'the guild's most mysterious Mage,' right?"

"You have to use magic to avoid everyone just to come back to the guild and take a job. I don't think you're mysterious. You just have trouble communicating."

Mystogan remained silent. He put away the job slip and staff, quickly wrote a message on the paper, then handed it to Noah.

"Please give this note to the Guild Master."

It was a stiff, bare-bones sentence, but aside from reporting his completed jobs to Makarov, it was about all Mystogan ever said to anyone in the guild.

"Hey, Mystogan, lift the spell before you leave!"

Watching Mystogan walk away, Noah thought the guy was far too withdrawn. If only he'd yanked off his mask earlier to see what he looked like that made him hide his face so completely.

Five... four... three... two... one...

Mystogan counted down quietly as he walked. By the time he stepped out of the guild, he had reached the final number.

With a whoosh, his figure dissolved into faint wisps of smoke and vanished.

The guild members, sprawled around the hall, slowly opened their eyes.

"That feeling... Mystogan's been here again!"

"Still using powerful sleep magic. He really hasn't changed at all."

"That bastard. Does he have to put everyone to sleep every time...?"

"Mystogan? Who's that?"

Lucy, a new member, had no idea who everyone was talking about, but Mira quickly explained.

Mystogan was one of the guild's new generation of S-Class Mages, and one of the candidates for the title of Fairy Tail's strongest man.

But for some reason, Mystogan didn't want anyone to see his face, so he used magic to put everyone to sleep whenever he came to the guild.

No one knew what he looked like except Guild Master Makarov.

"That's not true. I've seen his face, too."

On the guild's second floor, Laxus leaned against the railing and looked down at everyone, sounding rather smug.

"Laxus, you're here too? Come down and accept my challenge!" Natsu shouted at him from the middle of the hall.

Only S-Class Mages were allowed on the second floor. That was a guild rule.

Usually, Laxus would have used the opportunity to tease Natsu, putting on some childish farce of "If you've got the guts, come up here!" and "If you've got the guts, come down here!"

But today, Laxus was clearly more interested in someone else.

"What a letdown, Noah."

"I thought you'd have a big fight with Mystogan, but you wrapped things up just like that. That guy's always refused to settle things with me."

Only then did everyone in the hall notice Noah sitting beside the bar.

Some of the more observant members remembered that before they fell asleep, Noah had been sitting at a table with Erza and the others. But when everyone woke up, Noah was at the bar.

And judging by what Laxus had said... could it be that Noah hadn't been affected by the sleep magic and had even had a brief fight with Mystogan?!