Fairy Tail: My Magic is a Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck — Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Anti-Man Special Attack Magic

“What?!”

Natsu’s roar practically shook the canvas of the tent. The heavy fabric rippled, almost looking as though it were cringing from the sheer volume of his voice.

“Hey, keep it down in there! You want a stint in solitary confinement?!” a guard snapped from the other side of the flap.

Hearing the threat, Natsu clamped his mouth shut, finally settling down.

Mystogan’s visible eye, however, gleamed slightly at the mention of ‘solitary confinement’. A quiet, isolated room? It sounded incredibly tempting. But causing a scene just to get locked up defeated the entire purpose. He let the thought go.

“To be honest, we were just as spooked when we first heard it,” Macao said, leaning back on his cot with a heavy sigh.

Mystogan hadn’t said a single word to them since he arrived; the news had actually come from the Guild Master during the camp’s supply distribution. At the time, with the exception of Erza and Mira, everyone else’s reaction had been exactly the same as Natsu’s.

It wasn’t that they doubted Mystogan’s ability to annihilate every single one of Phantom Lord’s branch guilds. It was simply that his existence within Fairy Tail was far too elusive. Even the senior members who had been around for years were feeling the sheer weight of his strength this directly for the very first time.

“But if you think about it calmly, it makes perfect sense.” Wakaba clamped his teeth around his unlit pipe, a wry grin spreading across his face.

“Aye! It’s Mystogan, after all!” Happy chimed in, nodding enthusiastically.

Natsu’s fists clenched, his blood boiling as his battle lust flared to life. The overwhelming urge to challenge the masked mage right here and now gnawed at him. Yet, with a visible effort, he forced the impulse down. Chase had been right—starting a brawl inside a Magic Council detention camp would cause a massive headache for the guild. Surprisingly, when it came to Fairy Tail’s reputation, Natsu could actually follow the rules.

Since a fight was off the table, his eyes darted around as a new plan formed. “Hey, Mystogan! You hungry? Let me treat you to some top-tier fire!”

A brilliant, roaring flame ignited in his palm, casting dancing shadows across the tent.

“Are you an idiot? He’s not a Dragon Slayer,” Macao deadpanned.

“You’re the idiot! If he eats, he has to take off his mask, right?!” Natsu shot back without missing a beat.

He was entirely focused on exposing Mystogan’s true face.

“Oh! I see!” Macao slapped his knee in sudden realization.

Wakaba gave a slow, approving thumbs-up. “Didn’t expect you to actually use your brain, Natsu. Good move.”

“Hey, Mystogan, want some fish? It doesn’t have any weird spices on it!” Happy fluttered over, holding out a slightly glowing Galuna Island sea fish. He shoved his greatest treasure toward the masked mage, his massive eyes sparkling with pure anticipation.

He was risking it all for this.

Mystogan sat in absolute silence.

In the corner of the tent, Chase paused mid-pour, the teapot hovering over his cup. The logic was sound, and the execution was straightforward, but…

Leaving aside whether the guy is actually going to eat fire or raw fish, you idiots are literally discussing your master plan to unmask him right to his face. Do you really think this is going to work?

Seeing Mystogan remain completely motionless like a statue, Natsu and Happy lowered their heads in crushing disappointment.

“Heh. A man like him won’t fall for such amateur bait,” Macao scoffed, stepping forward.

“You’re too young, Natsu. When it counts, you have to rely on the methods of adults!” Wakaba added, falling into step beside his drinking buddy. The two exchanged a knowing glance, radiating absolute confidence.

“Brace yourself, Mystogan! Even if you know it’s a trap, no man can resist this killing move!”

“The true face of Fairy Tail’s most mysterious man will be revealed by us!”

Feeling the sudden, intense aura erupting from the two older mages, Mystogan’s brow furrowed beneath his hood. A subtle pressure weighed on him. The only reason he hadn’t immediately put these idiots to sleep was to save Chase some face. If the card mage decided to get involved, this situation would escalate into a nightmare.

“Take this, Mystogan!”

Moving in perfect sync, Macao and Wakaba whipped their arms forward, pulling their secret weapons from behind their backs.

“Anti-Man Special Attack Magic: The Hottest Page of a Beauty Gravure Idol Photobook!!”

The atmosphere in the tent, which had been boiling with tension a second ago, plummeted to freezing. If they had been outside, the sound of a lone crow cawing in the distance would have perfectly punctuated the silence.

Mystogan stared blankly at the glossy centerfold of the bikini-clad model. His eye twitched. He sat there, feeling genuinely stupid for having braced himself for an actual attack.

“Huh? This is your ultimate weapon?” Natsu leaned in, thoroughly unimpressed, perfectly echoing Mystogan’s internal thoughts. “What’s so great about this? It’s way worse than Happy’s fish! Looking at Lucy is better than this!”

He had actually been looking forward to seeing what the two old men had cooked up. And this was it?

“What?! He’s not moved at all!” Macao gasped, staring at Mystogan in utter disbelief.

Forget about the battle-crazed Natsu or the card-obsessed Chase, how could a normal man have absolutely zero reaction? This was a devastating technique that could make even the Guild Master—one of the Ten Wizard Saints—instantly drop his guard!

“Hey! Are you blind under that mask? Look closer! The legs, the waist, the sheer size of those—”

Macao pointed aggressively at the magazine, preparing to break down the finer details. Suddenly, his eyelids grew impossibly heavy. Before the sentence could leave his mouth, he and Wakaba collapsed face-first onto the floor, snoring instantly. A localized wisp of magical mist drifted over, neatly extinguishing the burning pipe that had tumbled from Wakaba’s lips.

“Hahaha! Serves you right! You made him mad!” Natsu pointed and laughed at their misfortune.

A second later, his eyes rolled back, and he hit the floor like a sack of bricks. Happy dropped from mid-air, landing perfectly on Natsu’s spiky hair, fast asleep.

Mystogan moved his hand away from his staves. He looked over at Chase and exhaled a soft sigh. “My apologies. I am simply not accustomed to such a noisy environment.”

“Don’t worry about it. If you hadn’t done it, I was about to use my own sleep magic.” Chase took a sip of his tea, glancing at the pile of snoring guildmates. For the notoriously reclusive Mystogan, tolerating them for this long was already showing an immense amount of restraint.

“You possess sleep magic as well?” Mystogan asked, genuinely curious. He hadn’t seen any cards in Chase’s deck with that particular effect.

“Physical sleep is still sleep.” Chase smirked, raising a fist the size of a cinderblock. He poured a second cup and held it out. “Here. It’s the Council’s special supply black tea. I tested it, it’s actually pretty good.”

“I see. I was ignorant.” Mystogan accepted the teacup, his movements stiff and cautious.

He kept his guard up. If Chase decided to join the unmasking game, things would get extremely difficult.

“You really went all out, huh? I heard Phantom Lord had dozens of branches.”

Mystogan relaxed a fraction. He had been overthinking it. Chase, who already knew his true identity, had absolutely no interest in playing along with Natsu’s games.

“Compared to you defeating Jose, a Wizard Saint, my actions were minor,” Mystogan replied, his tone softening.

“I didn’t do it alone. I had the Master and the whole guild backing me up.” Chase smiled, dropping his usual arrogance.

It was the truth. If he had encountered Jose in some random wasteland for a duel, he would have had to calculate a dozen different variables. He wouldn’t have been able to cut loose and fight with such absolute, reckless certainty.

“Even so… compared to our last meeting, your Magic Power has grown significantly.” Mystogan’s visible eye narrowed, analyzing the sheer density of mana rolling off the younger mage.

“Haha, a mage needs a firm will and strong enemies to break their limits. The Master said that.” Chase chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “Anyway, Mystogan, when did you—”

“I am sleeping now. Good night.”

Mystogan set the teacup down on the crate, spun around, and dove onto his cot. He pulled the heavy blanket completely over his head and, with a flick of his wrist, deployed a triple-layered ‘Mirror Water’ magic circle around the bed. The execution was flawless, leaving zero room for further conversation.

“You guy.” Chase shook his head, amused.

He didn’t press the issue. Walking over to the snoring pile on the floor, he hoisted Natsu, Macao, and Wakaba by their collars and tossed them onto their respective cots like sacks of flour. Turning off the magic lamp, he finally climbed into his own bed, letting the quiet settle over the tent.