The Mask

Meliodas stood at the entrance outside of the council building. He summoned a map and began to look at it. The council building he was placed at was south of Crocus while Magnolia was almost directly east. However, he had lost a lot of research time staying at the prison.

'I was supposed to go to Blue Pegasus, but I got sidetracked.' Meliodas thought. Meliodas looked up into the sky. It was still early in the morning. If he wanted to, he could fly to where Blue Pegasus was before the end of the day.

Meliodas made up his mind and jumped into the air, sprouting wings of darkness from his back and flew north towards Blue Pegasus.

Meliodas soared through the skies of Fiore at a brisk pace but still enjoyed the surrounding scenery as it was all new to him. The cold wind felt great against his face as he had no fresh air in his cell the entire week. Meliodas continued flying through the sky until a small town was in view. He began to descend and as he got closer, could see what he assumed to be Blue Pegasus's guild building.

Meliodas landed in front of the building. The Blue Pegasus guild building was a large, square building with massive pink bricks, with a pair of towers dividing the building into three sections. At the top of the building was a large dome and beneath it, above the entrance, was a banner portraying Blue Pegasus's insignia.

Meliodas approached the door to the guild and opened it. As he opened the door, he was greeted by a fragrant scent of sweet wine. Meliodas looked around the guild. The main hall had red and black checker patterned tiles as the flooring. The room itself had an appearance of an elegant pub. To the side, Meliodas saw an elevated lounge and bar area. Naturally, he immediately went towards the bar but stopped as he was approached by a strange man.

The man was short, shorter than Meliodas, and had a large rectangular face. He had stubble around his mouth and chin and orange wavy hair. He wore a white suit with the Blue Pegasus symbol adorned on his left sleeve.

"Mennn..." The man said with an ostentatious tone and a flamboyant look on his face. Meliodas gave him a look of indifference.

"I think I'm at the wrong guild." Meliodas said. He immediately turned around and began walking back towards the exit.

"Men…" The strange man replied with a sad look on his face.

---

Meliodas returned to the Fairy Tail guild late in the afternoon. As he walked in through the entrance, he was swarmed by a large mob of guild members.

"Meliodas you're back!"

"Welcome back!"

"How was prison?"

"Wait Meliodas was in prison?!"

Meliodas smiled and greeted everyone and realized he had missed the guild more than he thought he did. After escaping the mob, he made his way back over to the bar.

"Welcome back Meliodas!" Mirajane greeted him cheerfully as she poured him a mug of Mikage berry ale.

"Thanks!" Meliodas replied cheerfully before drinking the mug.

"Ah Meliodas! You've returned." A voice called from behind him. Meliodas placed his mug down and turned his head, seeing Makarov approaching him. Makarov climbed up to an empty barstool next to Meliodas and ordered a drink from Mirajane.

"That was quite the scare you gave me last week." Makarov said before engorging himself into his drink. "I never got to ask, but did you find what you were looking for, well at least before you got detained."

"No…" Meliodas replied. "I visited Lamia Scale and they didn't have the information I needed. Before coming back here I went to Blue Pegasus but…" Meliodas stopped talking.

"Hmm...this must be one incredibly rare magic you're looking for…" Makarov commented.

"Meliodas, if you're not busy, why don't you join the Fantasia Parade?" Mirajane offered. "You've been working yourself nonstop lately."

"Fantasia Parade?" Meliodas asked.

"It's our annual festival. All of our mages will perform in a parade. It's always a festive time." Mirajane responded.

"A festival sounds great. But unfortunately, I can't rest. I have to keep searching…" Meliodas said as he slumped over the bar counter. Makrov looked at Meliodas' sorry state and felt slight pity.

"Hmm…" Makarov pondered for a moment and stayed silent. "Alright look, I may know someone who could help you."

Meliodas's eyes widened and he looked over at Makarov.

"How come you didn't mention it before?" Meliodas asked curiously

"Well, this person likes to remain hidden, so I didn't feel that it was appropriate to share...However I feel you two may have something in common."

"Are you referring to Mystogan, Master?" Mirajane asked.

"Yes." Makarov nodded. "Meliodas, I don't think you've met Mystogan. Most people in the guild never got a chance to meet him despite having been here for a while. He is one of the few S rank mages here in Fairy Tail. He has several magic staves on his back and keeps his face covered at all times"

"No, I don't think I have met him." Meliodas replied.

"Now would be a good time to meet him. He may have an answer as to what you are looking for. While you were locked away, he came by the guild and picked up a new mission. Right now, he may be over by Boundary Forest." Makarov said.

"Boundary forest huh?" Meliodas summoned his map with requip and took a look at it. Boundary forest was a good distance east of Magnolia and had no direct railways leading there.

"I'd be careful around there. There are plenty of large and dangerous monsters." Makarov warned.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Meliodas smiled. He quickly gulped down his drink and hopped down from the barstool.

"Good luck Meliodas." Mirajane said.

"Thanks!" Meliodas waved at the two of them and walked out towards the exit.

From outside the guild Meliodas looked in the direction of the east. He jumped up high into the air and sprouted black wings, flying forward at a rapid pace towards. Meliodas quickly left town, flying over vast forests that covered the land. 'Boundary forest should be just past a town called Rose Garden. I'll stop at Rose Garden first and see if Mystogan is there…'

---

Meliodas continued flying east until a large city caught his attention. Meliodas began to descend as he approached the city. It was a bright city that was overflowing with magic. At the exterior of the town, was a ring of floating lights.

Meliodas landed at the eastern part of the city and began to walk through, passing by a massive theme park. 'That looks interesting.' Meliodas thought as he walked by. As he continued walking, he thought about how he could find Mystogan. He thought about the description that Makarov had gave him. Mystogan would certainly stand out in a crowd, but he most likely wouldn't be in a place with a lot of people. 'I should head towards Boundary Forest.' Meliodas thought as he began running through the streets towards the eastern outskirts of the city.

As Meliodas reached the outskirts of the city, his attention was caught as he saw the bodies of several men on the ground. They were unconscious and there were traces of magic lingering in the area. Meliodas followed the path of unconscious bodies when a dagger went flying by his head, and hit a tree next to him. Meliodas turned his head and saw several thuggish figures grinning at him.

"You the one who did this to us?" One of the men asked as he pointed towards a few unconscious bodies on the ground.

"Me?" Meliodas asked back.

"No it wasn't him." Another man stepped up from the group, his body covered in bruises and wounds. "But if we use this kid as bait, we can lure that masked guy back out."

'Masked guy?!' Meliodas thought. 'So was it Mystogan who did this?'

"Good idea." One of the men replied. He kneeled down and put his hands on the ground. A magic circle formed on the ground beneath his hands and several rocks jutted out of the ground from below Meliodas, trapping him in place with only his head sticking out.

"Okay you masked bastard! You better come out now! Or else this kid is gonna die!" The man yelled out. There was a brief moment of silence after he yelled. Suddenly the wind began blowing harder into a large gust and two staves dropped to the ground in front of the group of men.

"Two Layered Magic Circle: Burning Abyss." A voice echoed from around them.