As soon as Shane accepted the request, the Book of Heroic Spirits began to flip pages with a soft rustle.
[Trial: Shadow of the Church]
[Description: A hero's epic is often accompanied by the great deed of slaying monsters. But when facing a being branded with the name "demon," different people will make different choices. "Evil" takes countless forms—beyond the surface, what can you see?]
[Objective: Follow your will and deal with the "demon" entrenched in the village's vicinity.]
"Just as I thought!"
Staring at the lines of text appearing one after another, Shane felt his confidence settle.
Exactly as he'd predicted, anything involving "demons" would trigger a corresponding trial from the Book of Heroic Spirits.
That kind of targeted specificity made him suspect something deeper:
In this world of magic, "demons" as a category likely hid a major secret.
…
The mission site was deep in the most remote border mountains of the Kingdom of Fiore, far enough that the journey alone would take time.
And after the painful lesson of leaving without a word—and getting "educated" by Erza for it—Shane had learned his lesson.
Even though he didn't need to prepare anything special, he still decided to go home first.
"The job's far. I might be gone for several days."
Standing in the front yard, Shane waved as he spoke to Erza, who was practicing sword swings.
"I understand."
Erza paused, but her brow knit slightly.
"If we're apart that long… won't it slow down the training progress of your special magic?"
She meant the thing where staying close to her sped up Lancer's vision progress.
"It will, a little—but things are different now. It'll be fine."
Shane shrugged, signaling her not to worry.
Truthfully, he had a vague, unpleasant premonition about the upcoming third vision.
It made him less eager to push progress the way he had before.
At the very least, he wanted to use the new authority he'd just obtained to perform a normal summon first—test his theory about "visions materializing"—and only then decide what to do next.
Is it because of that black-mud incident? Erza, sharp as ever, read something in his eyes.
She had her guesses, but she didn't press. She simply nodded.
"Okay."
"In any case, stay home and recover properly."
After a brief farewell, Shane didn't delay. His dragon wings unfurled, and he shot into the sky.
…
Even with Lancer's terrifying mobility, it still took Shane most of the day to finally locate the village—so remote it might not even appear on the map—just as the sun was about to set.
"Haa…"
Hovering high above, he looked down.
The village was ruined—almost excessively so.
Most houses were low, old, and shabby. The roads were muddy. The whole place gave off a dead, exhausted air.
And yet in the center stood a church that had been renovated to look brand-new—almost lavishly pretty.
It was completely out of place among the poverty, and the contrast was glaring.
"That's where the 'demon' is supposed to appear, right?"
Shane's gaze fixed on the church.
But strangely, no matter how he watched, he couldn't find anything unusual—no eerie magic fluctuations, no strange aura.
"No demon presence at all? Bad intel? Or is it good at hiding?"
With doubts in mind, Shane descended to the village entrance and decided to find the client first.
But the moment he stepped into the village, he felt something off.
There were very few people. Occasionally, a poorly dressed villager would appear by the roadside.
When they saw Shane—well-dressed, clearly an outsider—they showed no curiosity, no welcome.
Instead, they stared at him with wariness, rejection… even hostility.
"Looks like the locals aren't exactly 'simple and honest,' huh."
Shane raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
He wasn't here to make friends or do charity. He was here for work and a trial.
Ignoring the sharp gazes, he walked straight up to an old farmer carrying a hoe and held up the request slip.
"Sir, who posted this demon-extermination request?"
The farmer stopped, looked Shane up and down, then—without warning—spat on the ground.
"You a guild mage from the city?"
Before Shane could answer, the old man's emotions flared, and he barked in fury:
"Bastard! We paid you people so much up front! Why are you only coming now?! If anything happens to us, can you take responsibility?!"
"Hah?"
Shane's cheek twitched. He barely managed not to snap.
An 800,000J request—by guild rules, the advance would be only a few tens of thousands at most. It wasn't "so much" at all.
And exterminating a demon was real, undeniable S-class difficulty.
Aside from an "idiot" like Shane—who needed the trial—no one should've taken this job at that price.
He rolled his eyes internally. So this is what they mean by 'troublemaking peasants'…
Still, for all his cursing, the farmer did seem to hate the so-called "demon" to the core.
Even if Shane disliked him, he followed when the farmer led him to the largest house at the head of the village.
…
Inside, a wiry old man with a goatee—clearly the village chief—sat in a chair and examined Shane with intense suspicion and displeasure.
"You're from Fairy Tail?"
"Sending some brat who hasn't even grown his hair in… Is your guild trying to brush us off?"
Shane's young-looking face clearly did him no favors.
After being met with hostile looks the entire way in, Shane's goodwill toward this village had already hit rock bottom.
He just wanted to find the damned demon, kill it, clear the trial, take the money, and leave.
"Chief, can you give me the details on this demon?"
He cut straight to the point.
"I observed the church earlier. There's no sign of a demon inside. Where does it usually hide?"
"What?!" The chief reacted like he'd been stepped on, leaping up and shrieking.
"You went to our church without permission?! That's sacred ground! Did you pay your offering fee?!"
"Tch."
At that venomous face, Shane's patience snapped.
"Haa…"
He unfurled his dragon wings. His body rose into the air, and he looked down at the chief, his voice colder now.
"No one wants to go to your 'sacred' shack. I did standard reconnaissance from above before starting the job."
"And I'm here to solve your problem—not listen to you whine. Get a grip."
But when the chief saw the brutal mechanical dragon wings on Shane's back, his reaction went completely sideways.
"Aaah!!"
He screamed like he'd seen a ghost, scrambling backward, trembling violently.
"T-Those… those are demon wings!! You… you're a demon too?! You're with them?!"
He even tried to bolt out of the house.
"…."
Shane sighed, speechless. What is this guy even hearing?
He flicked his wings and kicked up a burst of wind that blew the chief off his feet.
"Calm down. I'm a mage. This is wing magic."
He forced himself to explain patiently.
"If I were a demon, do you really think you'd still be alive to argue with me?"
They went back and forth for a long while before the chief finally calmed enough to sit again—though his eyes stayed full of doubt.
Shane didn't care what he thought anymore. He asked flatly:
"Enough wasting time. Tell me about the demon."
"Haa…" The chief wiped sweat from his brow, eyes darting.
"It was… a demon that used to haunt the church."
"But lately, we've driven it out into the forest outside the village."
"Driven it out?"
Shane froze. His gaze swept over the chief's scrawny body, then outside toward the villagers—who looked like they only knew how to hold hoes.
"You did that?"
He stared with open disbelief.
"You expect me to believe you chased off a demon?"
It sounded like sheep chasing a wolf out of a pen. Completely absurd.
For a second he even wondered if he'd come to the wrong place—
but then he remembered: the Book's trial had triggered. This mission was demon-related.
So maybe…
the demon's condition had changed, or something else was going on.
His suspicion deepened, but he was done playing word games with this old man.
"Take me there," Shane said, standing up. His tone allowed no argument. "I need to see it myself."
…
Under Shane's pressure, the chief rounded up a group of villagers holding farm tools and kitchen knives like they were heading to war, and led him into a distant stretch of forest outside the village.
But there was no "demon lair."
Only a battered little wooden cabin stood alone in a clearing.
No evil aura, no strange magic presence. Just silence.
"Where's the demon?"
Shane scanned the area, frowning.
Now he seriously suspected the villagers were playing him for a fool—especially given how hostile they'd been from the start.
"It's in the house!"
The chief hid behind Shane and pointed at the cabin, his voice slipping back into that arrogant, ordering tone.
"We paid you! Get in there and kill them! Kill them all!"
Shane gave him a cold glance—then latched onto one word.
"Them?"
His mind stirred.
"So it's not just one demon?"
Now that was interesting.
Just in case, Shane waved the chief and the villagers back.
"Back up. If you get caught in the crossfire, I'm not responsible."
Only then did he step forward and slowly push open the creaking door.
"Creeeak—"
Sunset light spilled into the dim interior. Dust motes danced in the beam.
Shane's pupils tightened.
There was no horned monster. No fangs. No grotesque demon.
In the dark, moldy corner were three children—two girls and a boy—staring at him like frightened animals.
All three had striking snow-white hair, but beyond that, Shane saw nothing obviously "demonic."
He quietly activated Clairvoyance, scanning the tiny cabin. No hidden compartments. No basement. No concealed magic circle.
"…."
Shane's frown deepened.
Where's the demon? Don't tell me… the 'demons' are the kids?
They looked like ordinary human children—around his age, or younger.
Honestly, Shane's initial goodwill toward them was higher than toward the villagers outside.
Because the instant he entered, the smallest girl with chin-length hair—and the boy who was shaking but still trying to stand tall—both instinctively positioned themselves in front of the girl in the cloak, shielding her.
They were terrified, legs trembling, but still trying to protect family.
That pure instinct was a lot easier to look at than the villagers' ugly, venomous faces.
To ease the tension, Shane stepped back two paces and softened his voice.
"Don't be afraid. I'm not here to hurt you."
He raised both hands to show he wasn't holding a weapon.
"I'm a mage from Fairy Tail. I accepted a request to exterminate a demon. The villagers said the demon is here… Do you know anything?"
"You're here to hurt my sister too?!"
His calm words didn't soothe them—they detonated them.
The short-haired girl shrieked and rushed forward like a hen protecting chicks.
She snatched up a firewood stick and glared at Shane with huge, hostile eyes. Her small body trembled with fear and fury.
"Get out! Don't touch Mira!"
The boy—though clearly scared—also grabbed a stick and stood beside her like he'd decided he'd rather die than let Shane pass.
"…."
Shane rubbed his face, helpless.
He remembered meeting Levy at the guild door—same skittish, panicked reaction.
Do I look that scary?
He doubted it, but he tried again anyway.
"No, you've got it wrong. I said it clearly—I'm here to exterminate a 'demon.' I'm not here for your sister—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
His eyes slid past the two children and landed on the cloaked girl who had stayed silent the entire time.
"Exterminate a demon… hurt my sister…"
The words collided in his head.
"Don't tell me…"
Shane suddenly realized something, pupils shrinking.
But before he could ask—
Thud!
A fist-sized stone slammed into the doorframe and tumbled into the cabin. All three children flinched violently and huddled tighter.
Then the shouting came like a wave.
"Get out! Get out of our village!"
"You damned demons! Still refusing to leave?!"
"And you! That useless city mage! Why are you just standing there?!"
The chief's shrill voice cut through everything:
"You've seen the demons—kill them already! We paid you!!"
"…."
Listening to the venom outside… then looking at the three trembling "demons" inside—
Shane narrowed his eyes.
He thought he finally understood exactly what kind of situation this was.