The Truth

"Exactly what I said." Yuri spread his hands. "You can't stay in this village anymore, can you? Even if you leave, where can you go?"

"That's none of your business!"

"It isn't, but what about your brother and sister? Are you going to make them wander from place to place with you? With a devil for an older sister, no one will accept them wherever they go."

Yuri ruthlessly laid out the cruel facts, making no attempt to conceal his objective. If his earlier persuasion had been a covert scheme, then the deal he was offering now was an entirely open one.

"..." Mirajane lowered her head and fell silent.

She wanted to argue, but she knew Yuri was right.

What had happened today was the best example. Elfman and Lisanna had suffered this undeserved misfortune only because of their connection to her.

"So, have you made up your mind?" Yuri pressed.

Mirajane slowly raised her head, apparently persuaded by the offer. "Are you telling the truth? If I agree, can Elfman and Lisanna really live in peace?"

"Of course. I keep my word." Yuri spread his hands. "Besides, do you have a better choice?"

Mirajane took a step forward...

"No, Mira, don't leave us!" Lisanna clung tightly to her sister, trying to stop her from leaving.

"Don't agree to it!" Elfman stepped forward from behind them, standing in front of his sisters.

Though he was a coward, when his sisters were in danger, he had to find the courage to step forward, no matter what.

"Lisanna, Elfman..." Tears welled in Mirajane's eyes as she raised her hands and rubbed their heads. "I'm sorry. I can't stay with you anymore. From now on, you'll have to rely on yourselves."

Looking at her brother and sister, a trace of reluctance flashed in her eyes. Then she seemed to come to a decision.

She looked Yuri straight in the eye, her lips moving slowly. "I'll go with you..."

"Toot—toot—"

No sooner had Mirajane spoken than a noisy whistling sound rang out.

Griffon, who had been hiding in the back the whole time, had produced a party blower from somewhere and put it in his mouth. "OK, a perfect curtain call!" he cried cheerfully.

Yuri immediately responded, "So, what did you think? My acting was pretty good, right?"

Griffon nodded in approval. "It was pretty good, but still a little short of the great Griffon's."

"You've got some nerve! I've never seen anyone act as ham-fistedly as you."

"Hah, someone's in no position to criticize me."

The man and the bird bickered among themselves, completely ignoring the three siblings beside them.

Just as the siblings were wondering what was going on, a girl in armor with long scarlet hair suddenly appeared in the room.

Erza showed them her guild mark and introduced herself. "We're mages from Fairy Tail. We were hired to slay the devil in Xiro Village. You're the girl possessed by the devil, aren't you?"

Slay the devil?!

Hearing those words, the three immediately grew wary, like startled birds.

"Please don't misunderstand. I mean no harm," Erza explained. "Although our assignment was to slay a devil, it looks like we've probably failed."

The three siblings were taken aback. Mirajane asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"She means there's no devil here at all," Griffon interjected, flying over.

Erza waved Griffon away from her face and explained, "According to my companion's judgment and mine, you're not a devil. You're human."

Companion?

The three turned to look at Yuri. If she meant a companion, there didn't seem to be anyone else here.

"Finally figured it out?"

Yuri smiled and pointed at Mirajane. "That's right. This was all just a test for you, a test to see whether you were human or a devil."

Just half an hour earlier...

Yuri and Erza had followed the village chief to the vicinity of the Strauss home and heard the commotion from a distance.

The old man had been talking in their ears the entire way.

He had portrayed himself and the others as weak while embellishing his account of the harm the devil had caused. He seemed to wish they would fly straight over and execute the girl possessed by the devil.

But Erza had been through what happened in Caro Town, and Yuri was an expert at handling devil incidents. Naturally, they wouldn't be taken in by his side of the story alone.

Of course, they wouldn't blindly trust someone possessed by a devil, either.

So Yuri suggested that he investigate and see whether the possessed girl was human or had already become a devil.

Erza naturally had no objections. After all, Yuri was more experienced than she was.

The village chief wanted to say something, but it wasn't up to him.

And that was how the scene before them had come about...

"But I..." Mirajane trailed off.

After learning the whole story, she became hesitant instead.

Although she had always told herself that she wasn't a devil, that had only been an attempt to comfort herself... She knew very well that she was no longer human.

"The best proof that you're not a devil is that a devil wouldn't sacrifice himself for his family." Yuri leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed. Seeing through Mirajane's thoughts at a glance, he added, "Besides, from what I've observed, you're not possessed by a devil at all. A devil's power has taken up residence inside you."

"Is... is there a difference?" Mirajane asked in confusion.

"The biggest difference is that in the former case, it controls you. In the latter, you control it."

Yuri explained, "It's actually a kind of magic called 'Take Over Magic,' and an extremely rare form of it at that: 'Devil Take Over.'"

"You probably awakened your magic while fighting the devil in the church, and that's how you took over the devil's power."

"Magic? The devil's power?" Mirajane looked down at her arm and pressed her lips together. "I... don't need anything like that."

"Then just chop it off," Yuri suddenly said, in a thoroughly irresponsible manner.

Mirajane froze for a moment, and she actually felt a flicker of impulse to do it.

"Ahem!" Seeing this, Erza hurriedly cleared her throat twice. "There is another way, actually."

"What way?!" the three siblings asked eagerly.

"You need to improve your proficiency with Take Over Magic. Once you've truly mastered this power, you'll naturally be able to return to your human form."

"But... I don't know how to use that Take Over Magic..." The light visibly faded from the eyes of Mirajane and her siblings.

She had used magic purely on instinct. Even at the church, it had only activated because she was in a desperate situation.

Ultimately, she didn't even know what magic was, let alone how to improve her proficiency with it.

"I know someone who can teach you," Yuri suddenly said from the side.

"Who?"

"Our old man, the master of the Fairy Tail guild."

"Remember when I invited you to join us?" Yuri said. "I wasn't entirely joking."

"Fairy Tail..." Mirajane and her siblings exchanged glances, then looked out the window at the villagers who were still keeping watch nearby.

It seemed... they didn't have a better choice. In that case, they might as well go with them and see for themselves.