"Th-this… is this really okay?"
Staring at the figure in front of them as it gradually lost its human shape—radiating pure, unfiltered madness—Lisanna wasn't the only one who felt something was horribly wrong. Even the usually slow-to-catch-on Elfman felt it in his bones.
If a moment ago they could still sense traces of their sister in that cackling "demonized" Mira as she punished the villagers, then now…
Elfman closed his eyes. The chilling dread crawling up his spine told him the thing standing there wasn't his beloved sister anymore. It felt more like a terrifying apex predator that had just hauled itself out of some black abyss.
"When did I become a jinx…?"
Shane's mouth twitched. He was thoroughly annoyed at being slapped in the face by reality this fast.
"I literally just said 'she'll be fine,' and you pull this on me…"
He sighed, stood up from the threshold, rolled his neck with a sharp crack, and walked straight toward the out-of-control figure.
"Relax. It's really not a big deal."
He spoke casually despite the two kids' terrified stares.
"When it comes to dealing with 'girls going berserk'… I've got a lot of experience."
"And the simplest method…"
He grinned faintly.
"Is to beat them up until they wake up."
Conveniently, he was extremely good at that.
The instant he finished—
Whooom—
Scorching flames spread from his burning pupils and ignited the air around him.
In the firelight, a pure-white cloak materialized behind him with every step, snapping in the wind.
At the same time, a pitch-black katana appeared in his reverse grip.
That fearless, cutting presence immediately dulled the demonic stench hanging over the battlefield.
"R-receiving magic…?"
Lisanna—who had only just learned the term—gasped when she saw Shane's aura change so drastically.
"Sure. If you insist on thinking of it that way," Shane answered offhandedly, the flames dancing at the edges of his eyes.
"Just… I didn't 'receive' a demon. It's more like I received… history."
"It's nothing like Big Sis's…! It's so cool!"
Elfman's eyes went wide. As a boy, he had absolutely no resistance to the sight of a man in a flaring cloak, wrapped in flames, wielding a black blade.
"Is this what a real man looks like…?! I wanna learn receiving magic too!"
Right then—
Maybe because it sensed the danger coming at it…
Mira—who'd been about to strike the villagers—whipped her head around. Those hollow black eyes locked onto Shane.
"Grrr…"
She lowered her body, a threatening growl rumbling from her throat, taking on the poised, predatory stance of a hunter about to pounce.
That completely inhuman posture made Lisanna and Elfman's hearts clench again.
"Shane… she's really okay…?"
They couldn't help asking one more time.
"…"
Shane looked back at them, deadpan.
"Do I look that unreliable? I said it's—"
"BEHIND YOU!!"
Before he could finish, both kids screamed and pointed past him in terror.
Whoosh—
A sharp, rancid gust ripped in!
It was Mira.
She moved like a black lightning bolt, crossing more than ten meters in an instant, claws flashing as she went straight for Shane's unguarded neck.
"Fast," Shane remarked calmly.
He looked like he had eyes in the back of his head.
Without panic, he simply tilted his head—barely.
The claw missed by a hair, skimming past his ear.
At the same time, his black blade flicked up in a reverse slash, the wind of it cutting hard toward Mira's abdomen.
Even without reason, raw predatory instinct made Mira react.
Her waist twisted in a grotesquely unnatural angle, narrowly avoiding a gutting strike.
"Not bad reflexes either," Shane commented, as if reviewing a student's form.
He used the opening—his left hand snapped out.
A long whip materialized from nowhere and wrapped around Mira's wrist in a blink.
"Got you. Come here."
With a brutal yank, Shane dragged Mira across the ground like a kite, pulling her out toward the open field beyond the village.
"Big Sis!"
Elfman started to rush after them, but Lisanna grabbed him hard.
"No! We'll just get in the way!"
"But—" Elfman clenched his fists, furious at his own weakness.
"It's fine."
Shane's voice carried back, calm and lazy, yet somehow reassuring.
"If you're worried, come watch. Just stay far back."
"Don't let my attitude fool you… I'm actually pretty strong."
The confidence in that drawl was oddly stabilizing.
The two kids exchanged a look, then hurried after them.
…
Out in the open field beyond the village, Shane dragged Mira to a stop, checked the area was clear, and sighed.
He hadn't expected this.
A second ago he'd been thinking about how to teach those villagers a lesson—now he had to worry about keeping Mira from killing them.
What a mess.
But he couldn't ignore it. If Mira woke up and realized she'd slaughtered the entire village, she'd be scarred for life.
Rip—!
Mira slashed with her left hand. Her claws tore the whip apart.
Without pause, she beat her wings once and lunged again, pure momentum and killing intent.
"She's strong… even stronger than armored Erza by a bit."
Shane side-stepped with ease, blocking and dodging while analyzing like he was taking notes.
Because the job involved "demons," he was genuinely serious about gauging how strong she was in this state.
"Too bad she's lost her mind."
"Just animal instinct."
"No structure, no prediction, no feints."
"Power and speed are there, but she's using maybe a tenth of it."
In Shane's eyes, berserk Mira was ferocious—yet full of openings.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Metal rang again and again.
After a few more exchanges, Shane had enough.
"Yeah. She's surprisingly strong."
"At least way stronger than Gray and Natsu right now… but still below Erza."
"If she can master this form and keep her head, I'd actually like to spar properly."
He hopped back and opened space.
"Alright. That's enough."
A flash of light.
The black katana vanished. In its place appeared a plain, unremarkable staff.
Then Shane deliberately exposed a huge opening on his left side.
Mira, unable to think, took the bait immediately.
Her predator instinct screamed kill—she snapped her wings and shot straight into the gap at maximum speed.
"See? No brain means easy to trick."
Shane's mouth curved.
BOOM—!
At the exact moment her claw was about to hit him, a massive tower shield manifested out of thin air and took the strike head-on.
The recoil made Mira freeze—just a fraction.
"Done."
That fraction was all Shane needed.
He stepped in and swung the staff sideways—surgical, perfect—smashing into Mira's waist.
THUD!
Mira was launched backward.
"Still not enough. She's a demon, after all…"
Just to be safe, Shane didn't stop.
"Flame!"
Red fire surged through him.
He became a streak of burning light, slipping under Mira's falling path in an instant.
"Wake up already!"
With an explosive burst of heat, the staff snapped upward in a rising, uppercut-like strike—sending Mira rocketing dozens of meters into the air.
"Ugh…!"
Between the full-power magic she'd already spent and those two heavy, penetrating hits, Mira's raging consciousness finally stuttered—like a snapped cable.
In midair, time seemed to slow.
The blackness in her eyes faded. A glimmer of reason returned.
And with it, the scales, wings, tail—
All the demon traits cracked apart in the wind and scattered, leaving behind human skin.
"I… what…?"
Mira blinked, dazed.
Then gravity hit her like a hammer.
The ground rushed up.
She flailed, trying to grab at nothing—and finally clamped her eyes shut.
But the impact never came.
"Gotcha."
Shane caught her cleanly, absorbing every bit of momentum like she weighed nothing.
He carried her back to Lisanna and Elfman, who'd frozen in shock.
He flashed them a grin.
"Told you. Your sister's gonna be fine."
"P-put me down…"
Mira snapped back to herself and jumped out of his arms, cheeks hot—half humiliation, half exhaustion.
"You—why didn't you tell me receiving magic can mess with your mind?!"
"Didn't I?" Shane said, dead serious for two seconds.
Then he shrugged like it didn't matter.
"Anyway. No harm done. Don't sweat the details."
He helped her stand, then switched into his "analysis report" voice.
"More important: you're strong."
"With demon wings, you can fly fast. Your physical strength is absurd."
"And—"
He pointed at her right hand.
"Look. Your arm's normal now."
"…Huh?"
Mira raised her hand on reflex.
In the sunset, she saw a slender, pale human hand.
No bark-like skin. No purple crystals. No monstrous deformity.
Just… her hand.
"It's… really…"
Her eyes widened. She rubbed the skin again and again, almost afraid it would vanish. Tears threatened.
"It's really back…"
"Of course it is," Shane said, nodding like it was obvious.
"My guess is, those leftover demon features were from you rejecting the power so hard it went out of control."
"But now…"
He gestured at the battered field.
"You accepted it—at least enough to use it. Even if you lost control for a bit, your body adapted."
"So the ugly side effects from rejection? Gone."
"Is… that how it works…?"
Mira stared at her hand, stunned.
"…So it was that simple?"
"Then me hiding inside and hating myself…"
She swallowed.
"Was I just… an idiot?"
~~~
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