Bloody Demon or Nasty Boy?

X777

Ishgar Continent

Kingdom of Fiore

In this world filled with magic, magic was widespread in this permanently neutral country with a population of seventeen million. Brilliant and powerful magic had long since become an indispensable part of people's lives.

Those who possessed magic power and could use magic freely were known as mages.

Caro Town was a long-standing town in the kingdom.

Because of its remote location, the town's magic industry was underdeveloped, and magic was nowhere near as prevalent there as in other bustling cities.

Even so, the people of the town had always revered one mage as the object of their faith.

To that end, the town's church regularly held a blessing festival to seek the protection of their "god."

The festival was solemn and serious, and any mistake during it would be an act of blasphemy against their "god."

To prevent that from happening, the people of Caro Town had put out a request and hired a mage to ensure the festival went smoothly.

"Miss Erza, thank you very much for accepting our request. We'll be counting on you to handle security from here on," said a middle-aged man, bowing. Judging by his clothes, he was a priest. He was the client who had issued the request and the representative of all the townspeople.

"There's no need to thank me," said the girl, whose long scarlet hair was braided down her back. "Since I've accepted the request, I'll naturally do my utmost."

Only then did the priest straighten up and smile in relief.

Though the girl before him, Erza, looked only eleven or twelve, she was already a gifted mage recognized by a mages' guild.

She wore sturdy, practical silver-white armor and a knee-length pleated skirt, with a longsword at her waist and a pair of boots on her feet.

Despite possessing both remarkable talent and delicate beauty, she wasn't arrogant about her gifts. Instead, she was a girl who treated both other people and her work with great seriousness and courtesy.

With her assurance, the last trace of worry in the priest's heart vanished.

"Father, it's time we left."

A girl wearing a long dress and a tightly wrapped headscarf came over to them. A veil covered most of her face, leaving only her eyes visible. Her name was Sonia Gate, the singer performing at the festival.

She was said to have a beautiful, melodious voice. Unfortunately, an accident had ruined her face, so she had to wear a headscarf and veil all year round.

After the three said their goodbyes, the priest and Sonia headed to the venue ahead of Erza to prepare to conduct the ceremony.

Erza suddenly looked up and scanned the sky, but apart from the endless white clouds and the few patches of blue visible between them, all she saw were empty rooftops.

Was it my imagination? she wondered.

"Looks like I'm just too nervous. In that case... I've decided! I'll go buy a strawberry cake to help me relax!"

With that, Erza headed for the dessert shop, her eyes shining.

In fact, she wasn't entirely making excuses for her appetite. This really was Erza's first job since joining the guild.

Mages relied on guilds for their livelihood. They made a living by accepting requests handled by their guilds and completing them for payment.

Although this job was a little far from Magnolia, where Fairy Tail was based, it wasn't particularly difficult. It was only an ordinary C-rank guard job, and with Erza undertaking it, the master had agreed to let her go.

Erza herself took the job very seriously. Aside from her naturally earnest personality, the generous reward was another reason.

A C-rank job with a reward close to that of an A-rank request was a blessing from the goddess of luck for Erza, who wasn't yet qualified to accept high-ranking requests.

It wasn't that she was greedy for money. Between her room and board and the nature of her magic, Erza had already run up considerable debts despite having only recently joined the guild.

That had made her, inexperienced in the ways of the world, even more aware of the importance of money outside, which was why she had chosen this well-paying job.

For that reason, she would not allow the slightest thing to go wrong!

"I'm very sorry, miss. A gentleman just bought all the strawberry cakes in our shop..."

"!!!"

Erza froze dejectedly at the entrance to the dessert shop, gradually turning gray.

The first step of the job: failure...

Strangely enough, although the people of Caro Town were quite devout and revered the so-called legendary mage as a god, today's festival wasn't being held at the church. Instead, it was being held at a classical theater in the center of town.

The theater's interior was exquisite and magnificent, every detail imbued with an artistic air. Murals, sculptures, inlaid patterns, and elaborate Baroque decorations all reflected the care its designer had put into it.

The theater's venue had a circular layout. Besides the stage on the inner side, a huge, lifelike statue stood behind it, looking especially realistic in the light of the surrounding lampposts.

In front were tiered seats radiating outward, with believers of different standing and guards maintaining order seated in the inner and outer sections respectively.

Erza, as the specially hired mage, had been stationed in an inconspicuous shadow at the edge of the venue, where she had a clear view and could respond to any emergency.

She stood on high, watching Sonia sing a song in praise of the "god" onstage with longing.

Her voice was indeed as beautiful and melodious as the rumors claimed. If the timing hadn't been wrong, Erza would have really wanted to go onstage and see how her own singing compared.

That was naturally impossible, however. Although the gathering was called a festival, it was actually a ceremony akin to a mass.

The ceremony itself wasn't meant for entertainment, so once Sonia finished singing, it was the priest's turn to take the stage and preach.

He began, "Three hundred years ago, the legendary mage Cain gave his life to save our forebears..."

"Despite the supreme efforts he made for us, some people have perhaps forgotten the truth of that great sacrifice..."

"Should the horrors of that time return to this world, we mortals would surely be powerless to resist, with no choice but to submit..."

"So I call upon everyone to gather here and offer your most devout faith to the great Cain..."

"Should chaos and crisis descend once more, our almighty god will surely protect us from the ravages of the storm..."

As the priest continued his speech, both the townspeople who were gradually forgetting the past and the outsider Erza came to understand the legend of Caro Town.

According to the legend, three hundred years ago, this place had been the territory of a demon whose name was Qliphoth.

Qliphoth was born of a plant and possessed a consciousness of its own. It enslaved the humans around its territory, squeezing flesh and blood from them and forcing them to become its nourishment.

Like pigs and sheep waiting for slaughter, the people lived each day in a daze, unable to see the slightest hope.

Then one day, a mage named Cain came here. To free the enslaved people, he waged a fierce holy war against Qliphoth.

Unfortunately, on its own ground, Qliphoth was far too powerful. Rooted in the earth, it had seemingly endless magic power.

Even fighting with all his might, Cain could only bring them both to ruin. In the end, the man and the demon perished together.

To commemorate Cain, the people he had freed chose to build a statue of him in the territory where the holy war had been fought. They made him the object of their faith and swore to guard this place for generations to come.

As time went by, a town grew here, named Caro Town.

"Let us pray!"

As the speech drew to a close, the priest raised his arm and called out, rousing everyone who had been absorbed in the legend.

As one, the believers turned their fervent gazes toward the huge statue behind the priest.

They pressed their palms together, closed their eyes, and bowed their heads.

Though Erza, as an outsider, couldn't understand their fanatical faith, everything the mage named Cain had done was indeed worthy of respect.

So she too bowed her head slightly at the edge of the venue to show her respects.

Just then, disaster struck...

Crash!

The patterned stained-glass window in the theater roof suddenly shattered, sending shards of glass scattering in every direction. A white-haired boy in a black trench coat flew through it, appearing abruptly before everyone.

The boy landed on one knee on the podium.

Brilliant sunlight fell on him like a spotlight. It truly was a dazzling heroic entrance.

But unlike a hero's honorable and open conduct, he had no intention of giving anyone time to react. He suddenly pulled a double-barreled revolver from his waist and aimed it at the priest.

Bang! Bang!

There was no flourish, no exchange of words, and not a single unnecessary movement. The boy pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Two shots rang out in quick succession. Two bloody holes appeared between the priest's brows, and he stared in shock as he crashed to the ground.

The sudden incident jolted all the still-bewildered believers awake. They stared in terror at the figure onstage with his back to them.

Then he slowly turned around and swept a cold gaze over the people seated around him, as though he had chosen them as his next targets.

His youthful face was splashed with blood, making him look especially fearsome in the sunlight, like a demon.

As if their reactions had been delayed, the believers below the stage belatedly began to scream. Then they fled in a frantic, disorderly rush, unable even to stop for the companions who fell around them.

The guards responsible for protecting the festival were the first to rush forward, hoping to stop the demon from slaughtering anyone else.

But the fact that the boy had landed unharmed from the roof was proof enough that he was no ordinary person. The guards weren't even mages, so no matter how many came, it was no use.

"Father!"

Unlike the guards who charged at the boy with weapons in hand, Sonia, who had sung onstage earlier, ran toward the priest's body with a grief-stricken expression.

That cry, unlike those of the others, left no doubt about her identity: she was the priest's daughter.

But the scene at the center of the fight was far too chaotic. Before she could get close, the people locked in battle knocked her down.

Amid a succession of cries of pain and wails, the boy easily laid out the people surrounding him in short order.

The demon-like boy seemed to notice something. He slowly turned and looked down at Sonia, who had fallen at his feet, his eyes shrouded in shadow and blood.

What eyes they were: merciless, cold, bloodthirsty, combative... They made her tremble as if someone had slipped a hand, red with cold, down her back on a snowy winter day.

Terrified beyond measure, Sonia scrambled backward on her hands and feet, driven by her instinct to survive.

But the "demon" seemed to have set his sights on her. He regarded her like prey and slowly raised his gun.

Fortunately, a scarlet figure charged out of the crowd with a sword just in time, heading straight for the white-haired demon as he prepared to kill again.

Clang!

A crisp ring echoed through the chaotic theater as Erza's longsword clashed with the revolver in the boy's hand.

"Miss Erza!" cried those still standing.

"Please leave quickly. I'll handle things here," Erza said, her face grim, without looking back.

Knowing they would not only be unable to help but would also hinder Erza if they stayed, the others withdrew, taking Sonia, their fallen and injured companions, and the priest's body with them.

The boy showed no intention of pursuing them, either. It seemed the priest alone had been his target.

Once everyone had withdrawn, leaving only the two of them in the empty theater, Erza finally had a chance to get a good look at the boy before her, who appeared not much older than herself.

Hair as soft as clouds hung over his forehead, partly concealing his sky-blue eyes. His delicate face looked somewhat youthful, but his expression was as cold and indifferent as a machine's.

On his upper body, he wore only an oversized black trench coat, exposing the strange, intricate black magic markings on his chest. A pair of headphones and a red necklace hung around his slender neck.

On his lower half, he wore only a simple pair of trousers and boots.

The strangest thing, however, was the greatsword on his back. Though he was an adolescent boy only 1.65 meters tall, the greatsword was nearly as tall as he was.

Anyone who saw it couldn't help wondering, Can he really draw that thing?

"Who are you? Why did you do this?!" Erza demanded.

From her position at the edge of the venue, she had seen almost the entire incident clearly. Everyone had originally assumed that if anything happened, the threat would have to come in from the perimeter, which was why Erza had been stationed at the inconspicuous edge.

The main reason was that it made her easier to conceal.

But who could have known that this person would descend straight from the sky, as though he knew their arrangements, catching everyone off guard?

It was as if he had calculated it all, leaving Erza, who had tried to come to their aid, to arrive late through the chaotic crowd...

The boy made no attempt to hide from Erza's scrutiny, nor did he have any intention of answering her. He was as cold as he had been when he killed the priest.

Erza knew she couldn't make him lay down his weapon and surrender with words alone, so she abruptly put strength into both hands, trying to knock the gun out of his grasp.

The boy took advantage of the force to spring backward, trying to put some distance between them.

"Don't even think about escaping!"

Realizing that he meant to flee, Erza shouted and sent a longsword flying after the retreating boy.

Bang! Bang!

Brilliant flashes erupted once more. Two tongues of flame spurted almost simultaneously from the black barrels. One bullet knocked the flying longsword away, while the other shot straight for Erza's chest.

Crack!

Metal shattered. Erza stared in disbelief at the large section of armor that had broken over her chest.

Though her equipment couldn't be called indestructible, her personality was such that she would never tolerate shoddy workmanship.

It had all been forged from fine materials by the best smiths in Magnolia. It was no exaggeration to call it tempered a thousand times, yet now a bullet fired from that gun had shattered it so easily!

She had no time to dwell on her surprise. Two more gunshots soon rang in her ears.

Knowing now that her armor couldn't fully withstand that gun's attacks, Erza decisively summoned two more longswords, intending to meet the incoming bullets with their sharp blades.

Clang! Clang!

Brief, rapid impacts echoed through the empty theater. Erza successfully struck the bullets with the longswords in her hands, but in the next instant, the blades also cracked and shattered.

Erza's expression grew grave, and her hands trembled slightly.

Unlike before, when her armor had borne most of the damage, Erza only realized how frighteningly powerful the bullets were after meeting them head-on with her swords.

The gun's recoil alone was probably enough to dislocate the arms of mages who hadn't trained their strength sufficiently.

"Nice reflexes."

While Erza was still surprised, the boy suddenly spoke, offering a word of praise with a hint of appreciation.

But though it was clearly meant as a compliment, coming from him it somehow felt like mockery.

"I thought you were mute," Erza replied, her face dark. "Praise from an enemy doesn't make me happy."

The boy ignored her again. An inscrutable smile played at the corners of his mouth as he went on, "But what will you do about the next shot?"

With that, he pulled the trigger again.

Oh no!

Erza's heart lurched. She had thought she could exchange a few words and stall long enough for her arms to recover, but he wasn't giving her the chance.

She hurriedly summoned two longswords and crossed them in front of her, thinking, I'll have to leave it to the armor.

If she forced her arms to swing and meet the shot head-on, she would most likely dislocate them, leaving her in an even worse position.

But this way, her armor would be completely ruined...

Countless thoughts flashed through Erza's mind in that instant. Surprisingly, however, the gunshot she expected never came.

Instead, she heard an empty click, completely different from the earlier sounds.

Click.

"?"

Erza tilted her head, a question mark slowly appearing over her.

The boy across from her pulled the trigger several more times, as if afraid she hadn't heard it clearly. Not a single bullet came out.

The next second, the faint smile on his lips turned into unrestrained laughter that echoed through the theater. Only then did Erza realize he had tricked her with an empty gun that held nothing but spent casings.

"Don't be so tense. Can't you relax?" The boy spread his hands, unable to keep the smile off his face.

But to Erza, the smile spreading across his handsome face now looked so... punchable!