"Ohhh! Here it is! This is what a true wizard battle looks like!" Droy's voice booms from the judges' platform, hyping up the crowd.
In the heart of the arena, Erza senses something off and reacts instantly. "This isn't Kagura's spell, is it?"
Mystogan answers with action, not words. "Six-Layer Magic Circle: Miroku!"
Erza tries to dodge, but it's too late. This Miroku spell is clearly tougher to handle than Kagura's, and though she doesn't yet know its effect, she's already caught in its trap. Frozen in place, she can only watch as a beam of light descends upon her.
Her dark eyes lock onto Mystogan, filled with disbelief. She doesn't speak, but her gaze says it all, and Mystogan knows exactly what's running through her mind:
"How can five staves create a six-layer magic circle?!"
"You said my magic counters yours?!"
"Is it too late to surrender now?"
"I didn't expect you, of all people, to pull a trick like this!"
"You look so honest, but you're secretly this sneaky?!"
"This has to be something you learned from Ki—cough—I mean, who taught you such a dirty move?!"
"No surprise, anyone named Jellal is bad news!"
And so on.
As if sensing her thoughts—maybe it's the bond between guildmates—Mystogan gives a slight nod, silently acknowledging her unspoken accusations.
Erza: "…"
"Whoa! After 30 minutes of intense close-quarters combat, Erza's finally shown a flaw, and Mystogan seizes it with one move!" Droy chimes in, reclaiming the spotlight. "This is a brand-new spell we've never seen before! What does it do? Even I'm dying to find out!"
It's not just Droy—the entire crowd is captivated by this move. Mystogan's strength has always been a mystery. No one's seen him go all out, and even now, battling Erza, he seems to be holding his own with ease.
In the stands, Lucy speaks up. "You know, we've only seen Droy fight once, but his strength seems about on par with Kira, right?"
Natsu tilts his head. "So what?"
"Well, if we assume Edolas and Earth Land counterparts have similar power levels, then Mystogan's true strength should be close to Jellal's. That would put him at the level of one of the Ten Wizard Saints!"
Natsu nods, half-getting it. "Okay, but so what? Back at the Tower of Heaven, Erza held her own against Jellal just fine!"
"No!" Lucy corrects him. "Erza said she was at a disadvantage in that fight."
She continues, "Plus, Erza fights with armor and swords—her style is direct and deadly. Mystogan, on the other hand, uses magic, relying on illusions or spells to incapacitate opponents without killing them."
"So, in a match like this, where the rule is 'no lethal attacks,' Erza's limited in what she can do compared to Mystogan."
Lucy breaks it down simply:
Since: Kira ≈ Droy
Therefore: Erza < Jellal ≈ Mystogan
Given: Restricted Erza << Full-Power Erza
And: Restricted Mystogan <= Full-Power Mystogan
Conclusion: Restricted Erza << Restricted Mystogan
"Got it!" Natsu exclaims, finally catching on. "But the match is almost over, so why bring this up now?"
Lucy pauses for two seconds before muttering, "No reason… it just clicked for me…"
Kira, overhearing their conversation, nods to himself. Lucy's analysis of the two fighters' strengths is pretty spot-on. Her only misstep is overlooking that neither Jellal nor Erza went all out during their Tower of Heaven clash. It doesn't change the outcome much, but as any high school teacher would say, the process matters for partial credit. If Lucy included that detail in an essay on "Erza vs. Mystogan Power Rankings," she'd score even higher.
"Speaking of which," Kira muses, "today we've seen Maple Dance, Penglai Strike, and now Kagura's spell, plus this new Miroku. Mystogan's got way more moves than I expected."
In Kira' memory of the Fairy Tail manga, Mystogan only fought twice, with a limited moveset: Skyscraper, broken by Laxus in seconds; Mirror Water, useful for reflecting magic a few times; and Kagura, all flash and no substance, so costly it got Mystogan written out of the story—and it never even worked.
With so few battles and the fact that Mystogan has no innate magic power in his body, Kira always thought his S-Class rank was a bit inflated, maybe even weaker than Erza.
If you roughly divide Fairy Tail's power levels from 1 to 10, it'd look something like this:
- Cannon Fodder: Random nobodies, a dime a dozen.
- Named Side Characters: Think of the background guild members who compete in the Grand Magic Games.
- Fairy Tail Mid-Tier: Like the Thunder God Tribe.
- Top Guild Elites: Think Lyon, Kagura, or Pascal.
- S-Class Wizards: Saber Tooth's five strongest, stronger members of the Six Demons or Seven Kin.
- Ten Wizard Saints: Like the Nine Demon Gates.
- Top-Tier Saints: Zero, Hades, or Mard Geer's level.
- Spriggan 12: No explanation needed.
- Twin Walls: Irene and August.
- Ceiling: Acnologia and Zeref.
Initially, Kira pegged Jellal at 6.5 (mid-tier Saint), Erza at 6 (barely Saint-level), and Mystogan at 5 (S-Class). But now, seeing this, Mystogan's combat power is at least Saint-level—maybe even higher. As for Kira himself, he places his strength between 7.5 and 8, floating between top-tier Saint and Spriggan level.
This isn't overestimating the Spriggans. Sure, they're prodigies, but Fairy Tail's main crew had seven years less training time due to the Tenrou Island incident. Their raw talent is comparable, if not superior. For instance, the youngest Spriggan, Brandish, is about Lucy's age, and Kira estimates her strength caps at 6.
If Fairy Tail's core team hadn't been frozen for seven years, eight years later, they'd mop the floor with the Spriggan 12. Lucy alone, who showed the potential to open three Celestial Gates during the Tartaros arc, could probably manage four gates with seven more years of training—and maybe take down more than one Spriggan.
Back in the arena, Mystogan—now re-evaluated as above a 6—lands his ultimate move on Erza. Trapped and unable to move, she's hit dead-on by Miroku!
A black beam descends like a devouring void, sapping all the energy from its target.
This isn't like Aria's magic-draining spell from Phantom Lord. Miroku only depletes a wizard's magic power, stamina, and mental energy—recoverable with rest, but it leaves the victim unable to fight for a while.
"What is this magic?" Erza's eyes widen as she feels her magic and strength drain rapidly. An overwhelming, unstoppable exhaustion floods her body, and for the first time, her iron will feels fragile.
In less than three seconds, Erza's strength gives out. Her legs buckle, and she starts to collapse. In a desperate move, she jams her bone staff into the ground, gripping it with both hands to stay upright, but she still slumps to her knees.
"I can't believe you had a spell like this. I let my guard down!" Her eyelids droop, exhaustion overwhelming her. Looking at the approaching figure, she sighs, "I never imagined you and I would have a day like this…"
Mystogan stows his staves and glances skyward, pausing before saying, "It's a rare chance, so I'll indulge myself just this once."
"Ha… I lose."
Amid gasps and cheers from the crowd, Mystogan politely helps Erza to her feet and supports her as they leave the arena.
Droy grabs the mic, shouting, "Unbelievable! What did I just witness?! The undefeated 'Fairy Queen' Erza has finally met her match! The winner of this match is the mysterious man himself—Mystogan!!!"
"WOOOOH!!!"
"That was incredible, Mystogan! I knew you were something special with that look!"
"Cloaked guys are just too cool!"
"No way! Erza losing? This can't be happening!"
"Erza lost? That's a first, right?"
As Mystogan quietly takes a seat in the advancement zone next to Kira, the latter's eyes gleam. "You really surprised me, Mystogan!"
Mystogan: Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this…?