"Outside."
Erza didn't waste words. She lifted a hand and headed out first.
"Fine by me!"
Mira snorted, absurdly confident. She didn't believe a girl around her age could be compared to someone who'd taken in demon power. She couldn't beat Shane, sure—but that stiff-looking redhead? No way she'd lose to her, right?
So she marched after Erza without backing down.
"Fight farther from the house—don't tear the walls down. Repairs are a pain."
Shane followed slowly, still holding his half-eaten plate, leaning on the doorframe as he tossed out a lazy reminder.
Neither of them was listening anymore.
…
Sunlight spilled like gold across the grass at the edge of the forest.
Two girls faced each other, their presence totally different.
One was a resolute knight—silk pajamas, scarlet hair fluttering in the wind.
The other was a "demon"—poor clothes, messy silver hair, and a defiant, arrogant glare.
"Begin!"
Shane sighed and took on the role of temporary referee.
The moment he spoke, the tension snapped.
"Hah!"
Mira struck first with a sharp cry.
She didn't activate demon form—she just charged on sheer stubbornness.
But to anyone who knew what they were looking at, it was… rough.
She was light on her feet, sure, but her movements had no structure—like a street kid brawling, all wild grabbing and flailing.
Erza couldn't help frowning, then glanced sideways at Shane, who was watching with meat still in his mouth.
Shane practically wanted to cover his face. He spread his hands like: Mira's never had real training—this is normal.
"Too slow… and too straightforward."
Erza shook her head slightly, not even moving her feet.
The instant Mira reached her, Erza simply let her wrist follow the motion and placed a hand on Mira's wrist.
Tap.
It looked like a light push-and-pull, but the leverage was clean and irresistible—Mira's balance was redirected instantly.
"Wha—?" Mira's vision spun.
Before she could react, the world flipped. She was thrown off her feet and sent flying.
Thud!
She hit the grass, rolled twice, and stopped in a mess.
"You lost on the first exchange."
Erza looked down at her, expression flat.
"Shut up! It's just starting!"
Mira sprang up, grass and dirt on her face, burning with humiliation.
Erza hadn't even mocked her—she'd simply stated it. Somehow that hurt worse.
"In that case…"
Mira gritted her teeth. She stopped suppressing her magic and let it surge.
"Take Over!"
Purple-black magic burst out, wrapping her whole body.
With the tight crackle of growing scales, her gaze turned cold. Her silver hair bristled upward.
Her pale arms swelled and warped into grotesque demon claws.
"Fall… already!!"
This time her speed and strength multiplied several times over.
She stomped—grass exploded.
Claws shredded the air, pressure and wind-shear ripping forward toward Erza's chest.
"So that's how it is…"
Erza nodded, thoughtful. Facing a opponent whose raw stats had jumped that much, she finally got serious.
"Requip!"
Light flashed.
The pajama-clad girl vanished.
In her place stood a knight: silver breastplate, "Flowing" sword in hand.
Erza raised the blade, holding it crosswise.
CLANG—!!
Demon claws slammed into steel.
Sparks burst. Air pressure rolled outward.
Even Shane felt the plate in his hands tremble.
"Did I land it?"
Mira's eyes flickered with triumph when she felt real contact.
Then she heard Erza's calm voice.
"Your strength is impressive. So this is demon power?"
Erza hadn't moved from her spot.
Her feet had slid back only half a step before stopping—her sword arm didn't even shake.
She looked at Mira, disappointment flashing through her eyes.
"What a waste of talent."
"What did you say?!" Mira snarled.
"Real combat isn't just flailing like an animal."
Erza snapped her wrist. A strange vibration ran through the blade and instantly knocked Mira's claws away.
Then Erza stepped in—like a ghost cutting straight through an open centerline.
She flipped the sword and used the broad spine of the blade—
—against Mira's exposed stomach.
BAM!
A dull impact.
"Ghk—!"
Pain detonated through Mira's body. It felt like her organs shifted under the blow.
She flew back again, rolling hard across the grass, then slamming into a tree before stopping.
Rustle—
Leaves showered down like rain over her wrecked form.
Watching Erza stand there, sword in hand, cold and strict, Shane silently offered Mira a second of pity.
Compared to Shane—who knew how to pull punches and stop at "good enough"—Erza hit like she always did: clean, precise, and merciless.
Gray and Natsu probably had entire volumes of trauma about this.
"You lost."
Erza twirled the sword once, about to end it—
But then, in the shade beneath the tree, Mira's purple-black magic didn't fade.
It swelled—thicker, darker, wilder.
Crack! Crack!
A pair of massive demon wings tore open behind her, and a thick tail whipped the ground, ripping up turf.
"Crap—she's berserking again!"
Shane's eyelid twitched.
Before he could warn anyone, a black blur flashed—
Mira, fully losing control, claws aimed straight for Erza's head.
It was too fast, too sudden.
Even Erza was caught off guard.
She barely managed to tilt her head aside.
Shhk.
The claws scraped past her cheek, carving a thin line of blood. Tiny droplets formed and slid down her face.
"Erza!"
Shane dropped his plate and started forward.
"Don't interfere! I can beat her awake!"
Erza shouted without looking back, voice sharp.
"…."
Shane froze mid-step, then sighed and leaned back against the doorframe again.
"Stubborn as always… won't let me touch anything."
But just like Erza trusted him, Shane trusted Erza's strength.
Erza didn't spare Shane another thought.
She stared at the now monstrous Mira, aura heavy, violent, unreal.
"At this level of power and speed… skill barely matters…"
She inhaled, and instead of fear, her battle spirit flared.
"If that's the case…"
"Requip: Flight Armor!"
Light flickered again.
The simple silver armor vanished, replaced by a sleek, ultra-light beastskin set—
complete with cute leopard ears—plus two thin, stabbing blades.
"Come."
Erza raised her weapons.
Mira, tasting blood, went even more insane.
She tore in again, claws like a storm.
But—
No matter how she attacked, Erza moved like a swallow in a typhoon.
With the speed boost from Flight Armor, her footwork became pure agility, slipping through gaps by millimeters.
Mira's claws always missed—just barely—never even catching a corner of Erza's clothes.
Ten moves.
Twenty.
Thirty.
The wilder Mira got, the bigger her motions became—meaning more openings.
Just as Shane was about to step in anyway, worried Mira was losing the last of her sanity—
"Done."
Erza's voice cut through.
She'd fully read Mira's rhythm.
She didn't use anything flashy—just a simple sidestep that let a killing swipe pass.
Then—
"Strike."
Her twin blades crossed, and the flat spines slammed into Mira's unguarded back.
Then a kick.
THUD!
Mira flew again.
Still not stopping, Erza closed in to make sure Mira woke up.
She pinned Mira—almost fully demonized—by the shoulders, straddling her to keep her from thrashing.
Then she raised her fist.
"Wake up!"
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Steady. Rhythmic. Brutally practical.
Each punch avoided vital points, but hit places that hurt—enough to jolt consciousness back.
Scarlet hair whipped as she struck, her posture severe, creating a strange kind of violent beauty.
Shane clicked his tongue from the side.
He'd known Erza was decisive, but… wow. She really meant "physical wake-up" literally.
…
After a long while, Mira's berserk state finally drained away.
Her mind surfaced through exhaustion and pain.
"Ugh…"
She opened her eyes.
First she saw the blue sky. A few lazy clouds.
Then the full-body ache—like she'd been dismantled and reassembled badly.
"I… lost?"
Mira muttered, confused. Things had escalated too fast, and the berserk blackout left gaps.
"Yes. You lost."
A calm voice came from above.
Erza—already back in her pajamas—stood in front of her, looking down.
"Right now, you rely too much on instinct."
"That demon power is strong. But if you don't learn how to control it with technique, it will become a burden… and a weakness."
Then Erza crouched and placed the stack of bills Mira had refused earlier onto the grass in front of her.
"This is your penalty."
Her tone was rigid, almost cold.
"A bet is a bet."
"Use it to find your siblings a better place to stay. Buy them something good to eat."
"…."
Mira stared at the money.
She replayed the fight.
She hadn't just lost—she'd been completely outclassed.
Even after fully demonizing and throwing everything she had, she couldn't touch Erza.
Her chest tightened with something like defeat, raw and heavy.
She rolled onto her side and curled up like a wounded animal, refusing to look at anyone.
"…."
Shane sighed.
"If Erza keeps lecturing in that tone, this kid's gonna turn into a fossil."
He stepped in and nudged Erza back toward the house.
"Go wash your face and treat that cut. I'll handle this."
~~~
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