The Girl Possessed by a Demon

Night fell, and the town's lights began to glow.

When Lu Chongwei stepped into the small mountain town, the scene before him gave him pause.

He'd expected to find a desolate place, its people gripped by panic, or streets full of rubble.

Yet...

The town was peaceful.

Streetlamps cast a dim yellow glow along the roads, and warm light spilled from the windows of every house. A few villagers passed by now and then. Though they looked tired, they showed none of the despair and terror of people facing the end of the world.

This was nothing like the "demon crisis, people gripped by panic" described on the job posting.

"Did I get the wrong place?"

Lu Chongwei took out the job posting and checked it again.

No, the map clearly marked this town.

Confused, Lu Chongwei stopped an elderly man passing by and asked where to find the mayor's house.

The mayor lived in the center of town, in a rather impressive two-story house.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Lu Chongwei knocked on the door.

A moment later, it opened.

A portly middle-aged man with a pair of walrus-like mustaches poked his head out. He looked Lu Chongwei up and down warily, then fixed his gaze on the conspicuous Fairy Tail guild emblem on Lu Chongwei's chest.

"You're... a Mage?"

The mayor's eyes lit up at once, as if he'd seen a savior. He hurriedly ushered Lu Chongwei inside.

"Wonderful! A Mage has finally come!"

The mayor rubbed his hands excitedly, smiling from ear to ear.

"I'm Lu Chongwei from Fairy Tail. I took the job to exterminate the demon."

Lu Chongwei got straight to the point.

"But this town seems peaceful enough. Where's the demon?"

At the word "demon," the mayor's face went pale, and his body trembled despite himself.

He glanced around to make sure the doors and windows were shut, then lowered his voice and spoke with a conspiratorial air.

"Dear Mage, there's something you don't know."

"That demon... was sealed away in the church behind the mountain. It had been quiet for hundreds of years."

"But!"

The mayor's voice suddenly turned bitter.

"Not long ago, a girl from one of the families in town got too big for her boots and went to the church. She actually broke the seal!"

"A girl?"

Lu Chongwei furrowed his brow.

"That's right! The cursed girl!"

The mayor spoke through gritted teeth.

"She not only released the demon, she was possessed by it! I saw it with my own eyes once—her arm... turned into a demonic hand covered in scales and claws!"

Fear crept into the mayor's eyes.

"The priest at the church said it was the demon's mark! She's no longer human, but a vessel for the demon!"

"As long as she's still in this town, the demon will eventually eat every one of us!"

The mayor's description only deepened Lu Chongwei's doubts.

How could an ordinary little girl have broken a seal that even S-Class Mages had to treat with caution?

Besides, if she really was possessed by a demon, why hadn't she gone on a killing spree? Why had only her arm changed?

"Where is the girl now?"

Lu Chongwei asked.

"Hmph, of course we couldn't let a monster like that stay in town!"

The mayor snorted, speaking as if it were perfectly justified.

"We drove her out, along with her two freak siblings!"

"Drove them out?"

Lu Chongwei's voice grew colder.

"That's right! We sent them into the mountains to fend for themselves! They've probably been eaten by wild animals by now, or swallowed whole by that demon."

The mayor didn't seem to notice the change in Lu Chongwei's tone and kept rambling.

"We had to protect everyone else in town. Dear Mage, you must go to the church and destroy the source of all this. As for the girl, if she's still alive, you can take care of her too..."

"Enough."

Lu Chongwei shot to his feet, cutting the mayor off.

He looked at the smug man with his fleshy face, and disgust welled up inside him.

They'd driven three helpless children into the mountains over nothing more than a rumor they couldn't even verify?

And they called that "protecting everyone"?

"I'll find out what really happened."

Lu Chongwei left the words coldly, then turned and headed outside.

"Wait, Mage! Won't you stay for a cup of tea?"

The mayor called after him, but Lu Chongwei didn't look back.

Outside the mayor's house, Lu Chongwei drew in a deep breath of cool night air, trying to quell his anger.

"I'll check out the church first."

He worked out which way to go and was about to set off.

Suddenly...

A commotion came from a nearby street corner.

It was accompanied by vicious curses and the sound of heavy objects striking something.

"Get out!"

"Monster! You're not welcome here!"

"Beat her to death! The demon's accomplice!"

A sinking feeling gripped Lu Chongwei's heart.

He flashed forward, vanishing from the spot.

At the street corner...

A crowd of villagers had formed a circle, hurling stones, rotten vegetables, and even wooden sticks at someone in the middle.

At the center of the crowd...

A little girl with short white hair, no more than seven or eight years old, was curled up on the ground.

She wore a thin, tattered dress, her body smeared with mud and scraps of vegetables. A stone had split her forehead, and blood ran down her pale little face.

But she didn't run or fight back.

She only clutched a small bundle to her chest, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing to the people around her as she wept.

"Please... please..."

The girl's voice was hoarse and desperate.

"Sell me some food... and medicine... My big sister is getting worse..."

"Just a little... I have money... I really do..."

She shakily held out a dirty little hand, a few crumpled copper coins lying in her palm.

It was all she had.

And yet...

All she got in return was an even heavier rain of stones.

"Who wants your filthy money?"

A burly man spat, lifted a fist-sized stone, and hurled it at the girl's head.

"Take your cursed money and get out of our town!"

The girl shut her eyes in despair and instinctively hugged the bundle tighter.

It was the medicine her sister needed to live.

She couldn't let go, even if she died.

Just as the stone was about to strike the girl...

"Bang!"

A dull thud rang out.

The stone suddenly burst apart in midair, scattering into dust.

A tall figure, as solid as an iron tower, stood between the girl and the crowd.

His black coat billowed in the night wind, and a terrifying presence swept over the entire street.

Lu Chongwei slowly lifted his head, fury burning in his dark eyes.

He swept his gaze over the villagers frozen in place, his voice low and cold.

"A Mage of Fairy Tail is here."

"I'd like to see who dares lay a hand on her."