Ch 19 : Strongest Candidate

"What's wrong, Master?"

Watching the usual lively chaos in the guild, Mirajane suddenly noticed Makarov looking unusually tired and asked.

"It's nothing... just a little drowsy. It's that guy." Makarov lifted his eyes toward the entrance.

Just then, a strange melody began to play.

A wave of drowsiness swept over everyone in the guild.

One by one, they collapsed, including Erza.

The only one left standing was Makarov himself.

A figure walked into Fairy Tail, carrying a nearly two-meter-long peculiar flute.

Every inch of his body was wrapped tightly, concealing his appearance.

There was no need to ask—this kind of dramatic entrance could only belong to one of Fairy Tail's three strongest candidates, Mystogan, a master of illusion and sleep magic.

Without a word, Mystogan walked straight to the mission board, casually tore down a quest notice, and placed it in front of Makarov.

"I'm leaving." His cold, succinct voice broke the silence.

"Hey, aren't you going to undo the sleep spell?" Makarov looked at Mystogan.

"Five, four, three, two, one." Mystogan didn't answer directly.

As he counted down while walking out of the guild, the moment his figure disappeared beyond the doors, everyone suddenly woke up.

"That... that feeling, was it Mystogan?"

"That bastard..."

"His magic is still as powerful as ever."

"Mystogan?" Having only recently joined Fairy Tail, Lucy looked at everyone in confusion.

Elfman wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "One of Fairy Tail's strongest candidates for the title of strongest man."

"For some unknown reason, he refuses to let anyone see his face. Every time he takes a mission, he puts everyone to sleep just like that."

"What the hell? That's way too weird!"

"That's why, other than the Master, no one knows what Mystogan looks like."

"No, no! I know, and so does Noel."

A wild and unruly voice suddenly echoed from the second floor.

Everyone turned to look—leaning against the railing was a man with spiky yellow hair, wearing headphones.

A lightning-shaped tattoo ran across his face, and he had a long cloak draped over his shoulders.

His face bore an arrogant and unrestrained expression as he gazed down at the guild members below.

"Laxus! You're here!"

"That's rare."

"He's the third strongest candidate, alongside Noel and Mystogan." Gray explained to Lucy.

Laxus rested his chin on his hand, speaking casually. "Mystogan's just too shy. You guys shouldn't make such a big deal out of it." Then, he turned his head toward the other side of the second floor. "Right, Noel?"

Noel walked over to the railing, smiling. "That's right. Mystogan has his reasons for not showing his face, but I can guarantee he's not ugly."

Hearing Laxus's voice, Natsu—who had just been knocked out by Erza—suddenly sprang to his feet. "Laxus! Fight me!"

"Weren't you just taken down by Erza?" Gray scoffed.

"Exactly, exactly! You couldn't even handle Erza. There's no way you're beating me." Laxus smirked coldly at Natsu.

Erza's face darkened instantly. She gritted her teeth and glared at Laxus. "What do you mean by that?"

"Hey, hey, calm down, Erza." Gray broke out in a cold sweat, realizing that his mockery of Natsu had unintentionally sparked a bigger conflict.

"Heh..." Ignoring Erza, who was now radiating a dark aura, Laxus raised both his hands as if he were a king overlooking his subjects. "What I mean is—I'm the strongest."

"Get down here, you bastard!" Natsu shouted, unwilling to accept it.

"If you've got the guts, come up here." Laxus shot Natsu a provoking glance.

"Just what I wanted!" Unable to resist the taunt, Natsu charged straight for the stairs leading to the second floor—only to be slammed into the ground by Makarov's giant hand.

"No going upstairs." Without even looking, Makarov stated firmly, "You're not ready yet."

"Heh, getting mad now?" Laxus sneered, glancing at Makarov.

"Laxus, cut it out." Noel frowned, speaking up. "You know Natsu can't handle provocation."

"I won't give up my title as Fairy Tail's strongest to anyone." Laxus turned his gaze to Noel. "Whether it's you or Mystogan, I'm the strongest. If you disagree, how about we fight, Noel? I've always been curious about the strength of a Wizard Saint."

"I'll pass." Noel rejected the offer without hesitation. "I have no interest in being 'the strongest,' nor do I have any intention of competing with you."

"Hmph." Laxus scoffed in dissatisfaction but didn't press the issue further.

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Late at night, only Noel, Mira, and Lucy remained in the guild.

Seizing the opportunity, Lucy asked Noel and Mira, "Earlier, the master said no one is allowed on the second floor. What does that mean?"

"Hmm, for you, Lucy, it might still be a bit too early to know," Noel scratched his cheek and explained. "The mission board on the second floor contains jobs far more dangerous than the ones on the first floor—those are S-Class missions."

"S-Class?"

Mira took over, offering a more detailed explanation. "They're jobs where a single mistake could mean death. But in return, the rewards are extremely high. Only wizards officially recognized by the guild master can take on S-Class jobs. Right now, there are only six S-Class wizards in Fairy Tail, including Noel, Erza, Laxus, and Mystogan. You shouldn't set S-Class as your goal so lightly—no matter how many lives you have, they won't be enough to survive those missions."

A bitter smile formed on Mira's face.

Back then, she had become an S-Class wizard and thought she could easily handle S-Class missions. But because of her carelessness, Lisanna had lost her life on one of those jobs—forever.

Noel reached out and gently held Mira's hand, his gaze filled with quiet comfort.

Mira forced a smile in return and tightened her grip around Noel's wrist.

His hand wasn't particularly warm, always a bit cooler than most people's, yet at that moment, it made her heart feel at ease.

"It certainly seems that way," Lucy murmured thoughtfully.

"Alright, it's getting late. We should head home." Noel said to Lucy and Mira.

"Yeah."

As they walked side by side on the way back—since Noel's place wasn't far from Mira's, she would sometimes go to wake him up in the morning—Mira noticed Noel suddenly stop in his tracks.

"What is it, Noel?" she asked curiously.

"Ah, it's nothing." Noel shook his head. (What's Happy doing out this late at night? Oh well, it's probably nothing serious—Happy wouldn't get lost, after all.) Noel thought to himself after briefly spotting Happy's silhouette flash through the sky.

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