The Reason Behind It All

But he stubbornly wanted to defy it, like a stubborn, incorrigible child. So he began to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, wanting to be able to appear by the side of those around him in times of danger, instead of rushing there only to find that everything was already set in stone.

Chiba suddenly grinned and said to Weir, "If you want me to give up, I'm telling you, that's a little difficult..."

"Oh..."

Weir smiled, though it was hard to tell if it was a sneer. She said, "But I've resigned myself to it. It's no big deal if I die. At most, only that guy will mourn for me, or maybe not."

"That guy?" Chiba asked, a puzzled look on his face.

"My sister..." Weir shrugged, then said, "I'm the demon you're tasked with defeating this time. She's a demon too. She's a master of Genjutsu, while I'm a master of strength magic. Actually, she's been the one causing all this trouble all along; I'm just here to clean up her messes."

"You... are Menair's daughters, right?" Chiba recalled the scene he had seen in the courtyard earlier and was now certain of everything.

"Yes, that's why I can't let you destroy what used to be our home." Weir chuckled softly, as if recalling the past. "Although there are many unpleasant Memories, this place still holds our memories with Mom, and we can't let you destroy it because of your momentary anger."

"You... you should be human, so why do you look like this?" Chiba remembered that no one in the scene he saw looked like this.

At this moment, Weir's body shone brightly, and in a short while, she transformed into a beautiful young woman in a simple white dress.

Chiba was stunned for a moment. He had seen this look before, that suffocating smile.

Weir grinned, revealing a row of bright white teeth. "See? Not bad, right..."

Chiba was somewhat speechless. He'd almost died of fright when he first saw that smile; it wasn't bad at all...

He dispelled Susanoo and walked towards her. The surroundings were a mess, with rubble everywhere. Laxus and Erza also came over, but they both stared at Weir.

"My mom is human, but my dad is a scumbag, so I'll become a demon." Weir, completely oblivious to Laxus and Erza's stares, continued cracking lame jokes.

"Speaking of which, you don't need to worry about Mirajane at all. Her demonization is actually due to Take Over a portion of my power. After she's away from me, she'll suppress that power and gradually absorb it until she's qualified to bear my full power," Weir grinned.

"I hope you're not lying to me." Chiba was still somewhat doubtful.

"Hey! You're the one who sees the future. She won't have any accidents here, don't you know that?" Weir patted him on the shoulder. This girl, who should have been their enemy, was now acting like a long-lost friend, even though they had just met.

That much was undeniable, and Chiba felt slightly relieved. Then he said, "Tell me about yourself. You showed yourself in person, surely it wasn't just to defend against my attack?"

The girl paused for a moment, then sat gracefully on the nearby pebbles and slowly began to speak, "My mother is a villager from this village; she is a [shrine maiden] who serves the gods."

Chiba was a little stunned; this sounded a bit like the story of Yae Sakura and Yae Village.

"My mother was a powerful priestess, a magical swordswoman who wielded the [Demon Sword] Crimson Sakura. It is said that the Demon Sword Crimson Sakura was a test given to priestesses by the gods, and every priestess's weapon was the Demon Sword Crimson Sakura."

"There's a rule in the village: a shrine maiden must live a life of purity and abstinence, never falling in love or marrying. Each generation of shrine maidens is chosen from among the village's young girls by the Demon Sword Crimson Sakura. My mother was chosen by Demon Sword Crimson Sakura when she was young, becoming a prospective shrine maiden."

"When my mother was young, she met my father during the Sword Mountain Contest when the old witch took her to the event. In the final match, my mother defeated my father and became famous overnight."

"But because of this, they fell in love, and that's how they had me and my sister."

The old witch was furious and took Mother back with her. But Mother insisted on giving birth to us, and... she really did give birth to us.

"But because of this, my grandparents died at the hands of those people in the village."

"Because my mother was so notorious at the time, the village chief and the others didn't dare to kill her just like that, because they were afraid my father would come looking for trouble. But we waited and waited for years, until my mother died, until we ran away, until we became demons, but my father still didn't come."

"My sister and I are both mutants. They say we're cursed by the gods and have demonic blood or something. We don't really understand it, but my bloodline tells me I have the blood of the Demon God Halphas, and that I am Demon God Halphas. But maybe my father was that kind of person, otherwise why would he abandon his wife and children? Perhaps he was afraid of being punished by the village gods..."

"I don't think much of it, but my sister Ailiya hates everyone in the village. Even though Mom brought wealth and peace to this village, she's treated this way because of outdated customs. So every night she harasses the mine, trying to destroy everything Mom brought to the village. But she's just a child; she only dares to scare people, she doesn't dare to kill. Every time she's about to make up her mind, I stop her. Because at that moment, she's not herself anymore; she becomes a demon blinded by hatred."

"But there were always some really annoying people. When I was bored, I killed a few of them, a few... people who were so hateful they deserved to die." As she said this, a cold glint flashed in her eyes.

But the cold light in her eyes vanished the next moment, and she said softly, "But that idiot Ailiya caused a conflict with me, her older sister, because of this. That girl stole my power, and then waited and waited until the right person appeared, to merge this power with that person, and then completely merge with me. But then I would die, you know. Does that girl really hate me that much?"

Her tone contained three parts reproach, six parts indulgence, and... one part helplessness.

"You stopped her from taking revenge on the village, and she wants to eliminate you. Do you hate her?" Chiba asked softly.

"Nonsense, how could that be?" Weir rolled his eyes at him and laughed, "No matter what, I'm her sister. She's my only one. I'm even hoping she'll burn some paper money for me when I die. I told you, she's just a clueless little brat. She doesn't understand... the future..."

"The future... huh..." Chiba murmured.

"Alright, I've told you the whole story. Mother is a woman who broke the rules and is cursed. We sisters are also cursed demons. You can choose whether to kill her or spare her; I'm definitely going to die anyway." Weir said casually, but Chiba could clearly feel that her body seemed to tense up, like a lion about to pounce.