Siblings

At the very edge of the village, a building that might have passed for a house seemed ready to collapse amid a barrage of fierce shouting.

Though none of the houses in this impoverished little village could be described as luxurious, this one alone looked especially run-down, as if it had been shunned.

The villagers who had been nowhere to be seen before had gathered here in droves. Armed with pitchforks, hoes, sickles, and other farming tools, they shouted for the people inside to be beaten and killed.

This was the Strauss home in Xiro Village, and the shelter of three orphans.

Mirajane, Lisanna, and Elfman had lost their parents when they were young, so they had no choice but to make do in this dilapidated house.

Unfortunately, after an accident, even this run-down house could no longer shelter them.

"Get out! Get out of our village!"

"Get lost, you devil-possessed freak!!"

"How much longer are you going to cling to our village?!"

"Your whole family is cursed! It's because of you that disasters keep coming!!!"

A ceaseless stream of curses filtered into the cramped house through holes and cracks of all sizes in the walls.

Three small figures huddled together, silently enduring the abuse from outside.

Perhaps the shouting alone wasn't enough to vent someone's anger. They picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it at the already battered window.

Bang!

The glass shattered, and the stone that had broken the window continued on without slowing, striking the girl in the hooded cloak on the head.

"Mira, are you all right?" the younger girl beside her asked worriedly as she saw her sister get hit.

Mirajane nodded and forced a smile to show that she was fine.

She looked at her younger brother and sister, her eyes full of apology, and blamed herself. "Sorry, this is all my fault..."

Elfman, dressed in a little suit, hurriedly shook his head. "It's not your fault."

Mirajane lowered her head and looked at the arm hidden beneath her cloak...

"If I hadn't gone near that kind of church, none of this would have happened."

"Get out, devil!"

"Let's just drag them out by force!"

"But she's possessed by a devil. There's no telling what she might do to us."

The shouting and cursing outside continued, and the crowd grew increasingly agitated. They openly discussed how to "execute" the girl inside the house.

The villagers' malice swept over the thirteen-year-old girl like a tsunami, nearly suffocating her.

Like an ostrich, she buried her head between her legs and covered her ears in agony, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

"Mira..." Lisanna watched her sister's reaction, her eyes misting with distress.

She knew her sister had always had a hard time, but because she was the eldest, she never showed it in front of Lisanna and their brother.

Her sister had protected them for ten years. Now she was on the verge of being crushed by the malice surging in from outside. How could Lisanna, as her younger sister, shrink back at a time like this?

As if she had made up her mind, Lisanna stood and walked alone toward the window.

"Lisanna, don't!" Elfman, hiding nearby, cried out. He wanted to stop her, but it was already too late.

Lisanna reached the window and pushed it open, leaving only its wooden frame.

Perhaps surprised by what Lisanna had done, the people around her fell abruptly silent. For a moment, the only sound was a little girl struggling to hold back her sobs.

A crowd of fierce-looking people met Lisanna's eyes. Their eyes seemed to have long since been stained by "darkness," leaving them unable to tell right from wrong.

The tears in Lisanna's eyes burst forth. Summoning courage from who knew where, she shouted furiously at the "devils" before her.

"Mira helped drive away the devil that was doing evil in the church!"

"She drove the devil away for this village... You've gone too far!!"

"She was possessed by the devil because she drove it away!!!"

"Mira did nothing wrong!!!!!"

"She didn't do anything wrong..."

Lisanna's voice gradually faded as the courage she had struggled to summon ran out. She sank helplessly to her knees, buried her head, and began to sob.

Lisanna's shouts seemed to finally rouse Mirajane. She pulled her cloak tighter, went to the window, and placed her left hand on her sister's shoulder. "Don't say any more, Lisanna..."

"Boo-hoo... Boo-hoo..."

Crying came from behind her as well. Mirajane turned to look at Elfman, whose fists were clenched tight. "Don't cry, Elfman..."

She spoke softly, but unlike her brother and sister, she didn't give in to tears, because she was their elder sister...

Unlike in traditional fairy tales, the children's tears did not awaken the angry crowd's conscience.

Nor did Lisanna's defense change their opinion of Mirajane.

They didn't feel even the slightest bit guilty...

Mirajane slowly looked away, her once-lively eyes already filled with exhaustion.

It looks like we can't stay in this village anymore, she thought.

"In that case, how would you like to join us?"

As if he had seen through her thoughts, a man's voice suddenly rang out in the house, tinged with amusement.

Mirajane's eyes widened as she turned around. The room was small enough to take in at a glance, and there couldn't possibly have been a fourth person in it besides her and her siblings, yet those words had come from a completely unfamiliar voice.

Who was it? Who had slipped in without any of them noticing?!

A white-haired boy was standing in the middle of the room, though none of them knew when he had appeared. He slowly raised a hand in greeting. "Yo, how are you?"

"Who are you?!"

Mirajane immediately rushed forward, shielding her brother and sister behind her as she watched the boy warily.

He looked to be about her age, but for some reason, she felt deep down that he was extremely dangerous.

"What... person?" Faced with Mirajane's question, the boy tilted his head and corrected her. "I'm not a person."

"Not a person?" Mirajane froze for a moment, then replied coldly, "If you're not a person, what else could you be?!"

A faint, ambiguous smile played on Yuri's face as he fixed his gaze on her right hand, which remained hidden beneath her cloak, as though trying to see through it.

"A devil, of course—just like you!"