The mission: The demon in the church (part two)

Damn it, how did this brat's magic suddenly become so terrifying? The cloaked man frowned deeply as he looked at how the surroundings had changed: the ground had cracked, and fierce winds full of surging magic had sprung up, all from the mere leakage of Zorn's magic.

His forehead was already covered in beads of sweat.

The cloaked man began channeling his own magic and had just raised a hand to cast a spell.

"Too slow." Zorn's icy voice rang out beside him.

"When did you—" The cloaked man's pupils contracted. He looked up at where Zorn had been standing, but Zorn was already nowhere to be seen.

"Still looking around?" Zorn's right foot, glowing gold, had already struck the cloaked man in the abdomen.

"Urgh! Rumble, rumble!" The cloaked man cried out in pain as he flew backward and slammed straight into the church, causing it to collapse.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

"You're ridiculously strong, brat." The cloaked man forced himself to his feet and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Tell me your guild's name and address." Zorn raised a hand toward him, his voice low.

"Cough, cough. Impossible."

"Doll Magic: Doll Repair!" The cloaked man coughed up the last mouthful of blood, then raised a hand and produced a paper doll. He activated it immediately, and his injuries healed in an instant.

No, I have to find a way to escape. The cloaked man cast his magic without a moment's delay.

"Doll Magic: Doll Summoning and Doll Magic: Doll Possession, double magic!"

The cloaked man dared not let up. He gathered all his magic, and a purple-black magic circle rose beneath his feet. Behind him appeared the phantom of a figure with two horns on its head, fearsome teeth, and pitch-black eyes. As another magic circle unfolded, the two figures merged into one.

The cloaked man took on the appearance of a demon. Zorn could sense that his magic had increased considerably, but he wasn't worried in the slightest, because he was strong enough.

"Is that all you've got? I'm a little disappointed." Zorn's expression remained unchanged, and his tone was flat.

"Don't underestimate me! Aah!" The cloaked man gathered all his magic in his hand, and a terrifying aura surrounded the pitch-black sphere of light.

"Super Brutal Flash!" It shot straight at Zorn. He still didn't move, and his expression didn't change. Just as it was about to hit him, his palm was instantly covered in purple-black Armament Haki and glowed gold. He raised his hand and swatted the mass of energy away.

The energy crashed into an empty space nearby with a rumble, sending smoke billowing in all directions, while Zorn remained completely unaffected.

At the sight, the cloaked man instantly lost the will to fight. His eyes were empty and lifeless as he slowly slumped to the ground. That had been his strongest attack; it was the very move that had secured him one of the five seats in his guild, yet it had been neutralized so easily.

How could he escape now? He couldn't escape at all. He couldn't match Zorn's speed, and his attack had no effect.

"It doesn't matter if you won't talk. We can find out just by checking your guild emblem, so you might as well go down and atone." Zorn extended a finger, and light gathered at its tip. "Whoosh!" A smoking hole appeared in the cloaked man's head, and his body slowly fell.

Next came the matter of Mirajane and Father.

"Still no response?" Zorn walked over to the magic circle and looked at Mira. Her eyes were still full of darkness and confusion.

"There was a response. When Elfman and I called out to her and said we were scared, her body trembled a little. Please help my sister. Big brother, do you have any ideas?" Lisanna looked at the big brother who had easily dealt with the enemy and spoke softly in her childish voice.

"So cute."

Looking at Lisanna's round face and the earnest look in her eyes, at how she was clearly still a child yet tried to act like an adult, Zorn felt an arrow of cuteness strike his heart. He clutched his chest as he exclaimed.

A figure suddenly appeared in front of Lisanna and spread his arms to shield her. His voice was hesitant but firm. "P-please help my sister, respected big brother wizard."

"All right, all right, let me take a look." Smiling, Zorn placed a hand on each of the two little ones' heads and gently rubbed them.

Zorn wondered if they had taken him for a creepy old man. While he was still thinking about it, Cana pointed at him and burst out laughing. "Pfft! Haha! So even you get mistaken for a creepy old man, Zorn!"

Zorn looked at Cana somewhat helplessly, then slowly stood up. He observed the situation carefully and considered his options, deciding to try a drastic remedy and speed things along.

"I have an idea. Come, come, I'll tell you quietly." Zorn beckoned the three little ones closer and whispered his plan to them.

Zorn's plan was very simple: he would describe all the unfair treatment Lisanna and Elfman might suffer after losing their sister, how they might be bullied, deceived, and even trafficked into the mountains to live out miserable lives or die tragic deaths. Basically, he would make it as miserable as possible.

The two little ones would play along by crying and telling their own tales of misery. When the time was about right, they would finish with, "Sister, save me."

Cana watched Zorn, who had faced the enemy with murder in his eyes, return to his usual gentle, responsible self. As she looked at his reasonably handsome face and the smile in his eyes as he treated the children with such tenderness, her heart began to pound faster. She didn't know what had come over her.

After Zorn finished explaining, he began describing the miserable experiences Lisanna and Elfman might face in the future, while the two little ones played along and cried. Meanwhile, in Mirajane's inner world...

No, don't! Lisanna, Elfman, I'm here! I'm here! I'll never let you go through those things. I'll always protect you! Aah!

As Mirajane struggled against the demon, she heard Zorn describe those tragic events and heard her younger siblings crying. She fought harder and gradually gained the upper hand. Finally, when she heard Lisanna and Elfman cry, "Sister, save me!" Mirajane let out a scream, and the demon's power, which was still struggling against her, was quickly absorbed by her.

Outside, Zorn and the three little ones saw the magic spilling out of the circle rapidly drawn into Mirajane's body, and the light gradually returned to her eyes.

The moment the magic circle vanished, Mira appeared inside Zorn's Magic Holy Shield in her "Full-body Take Over: Satan Soul" form.

"Sister?" Lisanna and Elfman looked in confusion at their sister, who was now in the form of a demon.

"Lisanna!" Mirajane reached out to embrace her, only to find herself inside a hexagonal shield of light. She was just about to step forward and break through it when a voice stopped her.

"Mirajane, try to see if you can undo your Take Over Magic. I'm afraid you won't be able to control your power well like this," Zorn suggested, looking at Mirajane in her demon form.

"Take Over Magic?"

"Yes. Take Over Magic lets you take in the power of monsters or animals and use it as your own. It's divided into full-body and partial Take Over. Yours is a full-body Take Over." Seeing the three little ones and Mirajane looking at him in confusion, Zorn explained.

"Now calm yourself, settle your magic, find that point of balance, and cut it off in an instant." In a gentle voice, Zorn guided Mirajane as she tried to undo the magic.

Following Zorn's instructions, Mirajane calmed her magic and cut off its supply in an instant. Her appearance returned to normal.

Seeing this, Zorn withdrew his Holy Shield Magic. The three siblings immediately embraced and wept tears of joy.

Their shoulders trembled, and their hands clasped tightly together, as though swearing to fate that they would stand united and never abandon one another, no matter what difficulties they faced.

"Would you like to join our guild, Fairy Tail? We have people who breathe fire, make ice, play with smoke, draw pictures... There are friends about your age there, and a really powerful grandpa for a guild master. What do you say?" Zorn crouched down and spoke to Lisanna, who had regained her composure.

"Well, I want to... Sister, brother?" Lisanna wanted to agree right away, but thinking of her sister and brother, she turned to Mirajane and Elfman with a questioning look.

"Mm, all right. We'd like to join." Mirajane thought it over carefully before agreeing.

"Welcome to the guild. I'm Zorn."

"Hehe, welcome, welcome! I'm Cana."

...The five introduced themselves to one another, laughing and playing around.

"Zorn, aren't you coming back to the guild with us?" Cana asked worriedly, seeing that he was going off on his own.

"No. There's still a bunch of trash I need to deal with. Don't worry, I'll go to a Magic Council branch and report the situation. Once it's settled, I'll head straight back."

After replying to Cana with a smile, Zorn crouched down and rubbed Lisanna's and Elfman's heads. "Listen to your two big sisters on the way. I'll bring you presents when I get back to the guild," he said gently.

"All right, stay safe on the way. I'll be going first." After those final words, Zorn and the cloaked man's corpse rose into the air. He nodded, then vanished into the distance in a flash of light.