"Phantom Lord, huh? What a pain!" Makarov grumbled, his brow furrowed. "Is Jose really crazy enough to risk being labeled a dark guild just to declare war on us?"
"You might worry about that, but others don't share your concerns," Kira replied. "And if we do end up fighting, what about that deal with the local guild alliance to take on the Oración Seis?"
Makarov rubbed his temples, clearly frustrated. "If it comes to that, it'll just be the other four guilds handling it."
"Against the Oración Seis, there aren't many wizards in Fiore's guilds who can actually hold their own," Kira added.
Just as Kira was about to discuss the alliance's timing and roster with Makarov, a sudden wave of drowsiness hit him.
The stronger the wizard, the wider their sensory range. Both Kira and Makarov instantly picked up on the anomaly.
"This feeling… President?" Kira glanced at Makarov.
Makarov nodded. "It's him."
With a flick of his wrist, Makarov cast a purification spell on himself, banishing the sleepiness in an instant.
But no sooner had he cleared his head than a heavy, powerful magical presence approached from outside the guild. The rowdy crowd inside was suddenly overwhelmed by an irresistible urge to sleep.
"What the—?!"
"So sleepy!"
Thud! Crash! Bang!
From the weaker background characters to powerhouses like Natsu and Gray, and even S-Class wizards like Erza and Mirajane, everyone succumbed, collapsing one by one into a deep slumber.
"Ugh, every single time! Casting sleep magic from a mile away—talk about shy!" Kira quipped.
Mystogan appeared, wrapped up so tightly he was practically a mystery. A black headscarf covered his short blue hair, a dark green mask hid all but his eyes, and bandages wrapped his hands and feet. A massive blue-black cloak draped over his shoulders added to his enigmatic aura.
The flip-flops on his feet, though, clashed hilariously with his vibe.
In Fairy Tail, it seemed like every powerful guy had a thing for cloaks. Mystogan's was a thin, tattered blue-black one that looked like a rag. Kira rocked an old-school, jet-black traveler's cloak that screamed durability. Laxus had the most cloaks—black, white, thin, thick, you name it. As for Kira, his white robe embroidered with gold thread, sometimes adorned with a dazzling pendant at the collar, screamed "rich guy energy."
Mystogan strolled over to the mission board, scanned it briefly, and grabbed a request before heading to the bar where Makarov stood. "I'll be back soon…" he said in a low, deliberately gravelly voice—obviously fake.
"Hey! Undo the sleep magic!" Makarov barked.
Before Mystogan could respond, Kira jumped in with a grin. "Yo, Mystogan! Long time no see! How's that staff I gave you working out?"
Checking in on customer satisfaction was just part of being a top-notch craftsman and supplier, after all.
Maybe because he grew up with few friends, Mystogan was usually cold and distant. But even he had to show some respect to Kira—especially since, as Kira casually mentioned, the staff Mystogan carried was one of his creations.
Mystogan hailed from Edolas, a world unlike Earthland. In Edolas, magic was scarce—humans had no innate magical power and couldn't cast spells, relying instead on magical tools. How those tools were made without magic was something even Kira didn't fully understand.
To secure a steady supply of magic for Edolas, the human kingdom's king launched a plan using the "Anima" spell, a time-space magic that turned magic-rich areas of Earthland into magic crystals and siphoned them to Edolas.
This process didn't just transfer buildings or landscapes—sometimes entire towns, people included, were pulled across, causing massive destruction in Earthland.
Mystogan was Jellal's Edolas counterpart, a prince of the human kingdom. He'd come to Earthland to stop his father, the king, from continuing this plan.
Since Mystogan had no natural magic, he relied entirely on his staff to cast spells.
Originally, he'd used a magical tool from Edolas, but during his S-Class promotion exam, Kira accidentally broke it. To make up for it, Kira crafted him a new one.
Making a staff was Kira' specialty. A magic crystal to absorb and store ambient magic, a magic circle to convert that energy into spells, a trigger synchronized with the user, and a sturdy outer shell—usually made of flexible or magic-conducting wood. That's how you build a top-tier magic staff.
"It suits me," Mystogan replied curtly, which was about as chatty as he got in the guild outside of taking missions.
Answering politely when asked a question was just princely manners—especially since his sleep magic didn't work on Kira.
"Five… four… three… two… one…"
Mystogan counted down as he walked. The moment he stepped out the guild's door, he hit "one" and vanished into a faint mist.
The guild snapped awake.
"That… that was Mystogan?!"
"That jerk!"
"Same old ridiculously strong sleep magic!"
"Mystogan?" Lucy, the newbie, was clueless about the guy, but someone quickly filled her in.
"He's one of the candidates for Fairy Tail's strongest guy. For some reason, he doesn't want anyone seeing his face, so he puts everyone to sleep when he comes to pick a mission."
"What?! That's so weird!" Lucy exclaimed.
"So, aside from the President, no one's ever seen Mystogan's face…"
"Not true. I've seen it," Laxus called out, leaning against the second-floor railing. His tacky headphones—ones he'd worn since he was a kid—dangled from his ears as he smirked down at the group below.
"Hey, Laxus! You're here too?" Kira greeted him warmly.
Kira and Laxus went way back, their bond forged through years of brawls, though things had cooled off a bit in the last two years.
The reason? It traced back to when Kira opened his magic shop.
Ever since Kira joined Fairy Tail, his talent and strength had been the talk of the guild. That didn't sit well with Laxus, the arrogant, self-proclaimed future guild master. Picture this: you're the boss's grandson, with a solid background and decent skills, set to inherit the guild in a decade or two. Then some guy shows up who's stronger, more talented, better-looking, and basically the definition of a genius. Who could stomach that?
Fueled by the Lightning Dragon Slayer lacrima in his body, Laxus didn't even take Kira seriously. Cocky as ever, he challenged Kira—and got thoroughly humbled.
Back then, Kira was young and new to Fairy Tail, eager to establish himself as a powerhouse genius. Laxus's challenge was the perfect opportunity.
Being young and reckless, Kira didn't hold back, giving the guild master's grandson a beatdown. Luckily, Fairy Tail was a place where fighting was just another Tuesday, and Makarov was chill enough not to hold it against him. In any other guild, Kira might've been kicked out.