The dark green mask completely covered the black-robed man's face, revealing only a pair of eyes as still as an ancient well, as he looked at Noah, who'd stopped him, with a hint of surprise.
Evidently, the black-robed man also remembered the white-haired youth he'd met by chance at Oshibana Train Station.
He hadn't expected that youth to also be a member of Fairy Tail.
Yet, he was unaffected by his Magic.
Although puzzled, the black-robed man remained silent, bypassed Noah, and walked toward the guild hall.
In Noah's eyes, the mysterious person who'd suddenly attacked the guild possessed such powerful Sleep Magic that even S-Class Mages like Erza and Mirajane fell into slumber one after another without any warning, and other companions also succumbed, falling asleep in quick succession.
Yet, he alone was overlooked.
Indeed, from the moment his companions fell asleep until now, Noah hadn't detected any Magic fluctuations targeting him. Even Macao's five-year-old son wasn't spared, yet this living, breathing person was ignored.
This was a complete disregard for him.
These invaders were too rude!
Unwilling to speak, afraid to show his face, he was clearly someone unsavory, and his black robe perfectly fit the image of a dark force.
Seeing the mysterious person bypass him without a word or any intention of communicating, Noah couldn't be bothered to waste words with him. Once he was defeated, the Sleep Magic affecting everyone would naturally be dispelled.
He threw a swift hook punch from the side at the mysterious person, but it was blocked by the staff he raised, which didn't surprise Noah in the slightest.
After all, if a strong person capable of silently taking down even Erza and Mirajane couldn't react, it would be a laughingstock.
Noah turned his fist into a palm and seized the black-robed man's staff tightly. Judging by the several other staves on his back, this guy should be a Holder Magic user.
As long as he disarmed all five of his staves, he'd be at his mercy.
Sensing Noah's intention, the black-robed man finally dropped his aloof, mysterious demeanor, and a hoarse voice rang out:
"Stop, I..."
"'I' nothing! I can tell that's not your real voice!!"
Even his voice was disguised—this guy was definitely not a good person. What normal person would act like this?
Noah gripped the staff tightly with his left hand, his strength so great that the black-robed man found it impossible to budge. His right hand, clenched into a fist, shot toward the black-robed man's chest.
Erza and Mirajane were down, and the Guild Master wasn't here, so he had to take things a bit more seriously.
Now, one side was eager to explain, but the other was no longer interested in listening.
Looking at the faintly glowing fist, the black-robed man felt helpless. From the strength Noah displayed while wrestling for the staff, he knew he couldn't take this punch head-on.
Reluctantly, he released his grip on the staff, flashed backward, and simultaneously drew another staff from his back. A powerful, heavy Magic instantly erupted from the Lacrima embedded at its tip.
"Sleep Magic: Illusory Dreamland"
A thick mist rapidly spread, a Sleep Magic even more potent than the one that'd taken down the entire guild earlier. In a few seconds, it engulfed Noah, then submerged the entire guild hall.
"My apologies, please sleep for a while."
With absolute confidence in his Magic, the black-robed man reinserted the staff into his back, turned, and ignored the sleeping mist as he walked toward the guild's job board, leaving only a low murmur.
Within the mist, the figure carrying the staff revealed a hint of curiosity in his eyes, both for himself and for the black-robed man.
Without making a sound, Noah quietly followed behind the black-robed man, who remained completely unaware.
He took down a decently rewarded job from the job board, and the black-robed man habitually walked toward the bar counter. Seeing the empty counter, he realized the old man wasn't there.
In that case, he'd leave a note for the old man.
He found a piece of paper behind the bar, and just as the black-robed man was annoyed about not finding a pen, one was suddenly offered to him.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
The pen tip paused on the white paper. The black-robed man suddenly realized something and turned his head, surprised to find Noah, who should have been asleep, cheerfully standing beside him.
The black-robed man was so surprised that he didn't even notice he'd exposed his true voice. "You weren't affected by my Magic!"
"Oh, so those mists really were Magic then? I thought they were just special effects."
Noah's nonchalant remark filled the black-robed man's masked face with astonishment.
His Sleep Magic was completely ineffective—how did he do it?!
After this encounter with Sleep Magic, Noah finally realized that the black-robed man hadn't ignored him before. Rather, he was completely immune to the effects of Sleep Magic for some unknown reason.
Returning the staff to the black-robed man, Noah already knew his identity from his previous actions. "My name is Noah, and you must be Mystogan, the one everyone calls 'the guild's most mysterious Mage.'"
"You have to use Magic to avoid everyone just to pick up a job at the guild. I don't think you're mysterious—you just have communication issues."
Mystogan remained silent, put away the job form and staff, then quickly wrote a message on the paper and handed it to Noah.
"Please give this note to the Guild Master."
It was a dry, terse sentence, but this was Mystogan's almost non-existent communication within the guild, apart from handing over jobs to Makarov.
"Hey, Mystogan, dispel the Magic before you leave!"
Watching Mystogan's retreating back, Noah thought this person was too reclusive. He regretted not pulling off his mask earlier to see how unspeakably ugly he was to cover himself so thoroughly.
Five... four... three... two... one...
Mystogan counted down softly as he walked, reaching the last number just as he exited the guild's main door.
With a whoosh, his figure transformed into a faint mist and vanished.
In the hall, the group of people, who'd been sleeping haphazardly, slowly opened their eyes.
"This feeling... Mystogan was here again!"
"Still powerful Sleep Magic—he really hasn't changed at all."
"That bastard, does he have to make everyone fall asleep every time...?"
"Mystogan? Who's that?"
As a new member, Lucy was completely unaware of the person everyone was talking about, but Mirajane quickly enlightened her.
Mystogan, one of the guild's new generation S-Class Mages, and also one of the candidates for Fairy Tail's strongest man.
But for some reason, Mystogan didn't want anyone to see his face, so whenever he came to the guild, he would use Magic to make everyone fall asleep.
No one knew what he looked like except Guild Master Makarov.
"That's not right—I've seen that guy's face too."
On the second floor of the guild, Laxus leaned against the railing, looking down at everyone with a hint of triumph in his tone.
"Laxus, you're here too! Accept my challenge!" Natsu stood in the center of the hall, shouting up to the second floor.
Non-S-Class Mages were not allowed on the second floor—this was a guild rule.
Normally, Laxus would surely tease Natsu, staging a childish farce of "Come up if you dare" and "Come down if you dare."
But today, Laxus was clearly interested in someone else.
"You're no fun, Noah."
"I thought you'd have a big fight with Mystogan, but I didn't expect it to end so abruptly. You know, that guy has always refused to settle things with me."
Only then did the people in the hall notice Noah sitting by the bar.
Some companions with good memory remembered that before they fell asleep, Noah should've been sitting at a table with Erza and the others, but when everyone woke up from their slumber, Noah was at the bar.
Combining this with Laxus's words... could it be that Noah wasn't affected by the Sleep Magic, and even had a brief exchange with Mystogan?!