The Crying Girl

Dead silence.

The entire street fell deathly quiet.

The villagers froze in place, still poised to throw. The pressure radiating from Lu Chongwei was like an invisible hand clamped around their throats, making it hard for them even to breathe.

The burly man who had just been shouting about beating the girl to death was now trembling with fear. The wooden club in his hand clattered to the ground.

"M-Mage, sir?"

Someone recognized the emblem on Lu Chongwei's chest and let out a frightened whisper.

Lu Chongwei ignored them.

He turned around and crouched down, looking at the little girl who was trembling all over.

"It's all right now."

His voice instantly softened. He reached out, hoping to wipe the blood from the girl's face.

The girl shrank back, her eyes full of fear and wariness.

But when she saw Lu Chongwei's clear eyes, devoid of any malice, her body gradually relaxed.

"B-Big brother..."

The girl sobbed, clutching the medicine bundle in her arms as if it were her last lifeline.

"Did you... come to take us away?"

Those words made Lu Chongwei's heart ache.

What had this child been through to ask a stranger something like that?

"No."

Lu Chongwei shook his head, took a clean handkerchief from his pocket, and gently pressed it against the wound on the girl's forehead.

"I'm here to help you."

Just then—

"Mage, sir! You can't let her fool you!"

The mayor came hurrying over, panting, and pointed at the girl on the ground as he shouted.

"She's that demon's little sister! They're in cahoots!"

At the mayor's words, the villagers, who had been cowed into silence, seemed to regain some of their courage.

"That's right! The mayor's right!"

"That whole family are monsters!"

"The older one grew a demon's arm. The little one can't be any good either!"

Someone even picked up a stone from the ground, ready to throw it again.

"Shut up!!!"

Lu Chongwei whipped around and roared.

Boom!

A visible shock wave burst outward from him, knocking several villagers off their feet.

Lu Chongwei stood up and swept his cold gaze over the crowd.

"A group of grown adults bullying a defenseless little girl—is this what you call justice?"

"Foolish! Ignorant! Heartless!"

Every word from Lu Chongwei struck them like a slap across the face.

"Just because someone's body changes a little, you condemn them entirely? You even want to drive out her whole family?"

"You're more like demons than the demons themselves!"

The villagers flushed with shame, but no one dared to answer.

Lu Chongwei crouched down again and looked at the girl, speaking gently.

"Tell me, what's your name? What happened?"

The girl sniffled, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.

"I... My name is Lisanna... Lisanna Strauss."

Through her tears, Lisanna recounted what had happened, haltingly.

"My sister... Mirajane... went to the church to save everyone..."

"Strange things started happening in town, and everyone said a demon was behind it... Mirajane wanted to help everyone solve the problem, so she went to the church alone..."

"But... but when she came back, her arm had... had turned into that..."

Lisanna looked up, her tear-filled eyes brimming with hurt and confusion.

"My sister only wanted to protect everyone... She was always so kind..."

"But nobody believed her... Everyone called her a demon... They even wanted to burn her alive..."

"My sister was badly hurt... We could only flee to the mountains..."

"Waaah... Big brother, my sister really isn't a demon... She's Mirajane... She's my sister..."

As he listened to Lisanna's sobs, Lu Chongwei had already formed a rough idea of what had happened.

Mirajane.

Of course he knew that name.

Mirajane, the future poster girl of Fairy Tail, the S-Class Mage known as "The Demon."

So this was the catalyst for her gaining Take Over Magic?

The so-called "demonic possession" was actually just her accidentally taking in a demon's power. Unable to control it, she had entered a partial Take Over state.

But these ignorant villagers had mistaken that power for the source of the disaster.

"Nonsense!"

The mayor jumped up and down as he objected.

"What do you mean, protecting everyone? She was obviously after the demon's power! The priest said so himself—that it was proof she'd sold her soul to the demon!"

"Mage, sir, don't believe that little liar! Your mission is to defeat the demon, not to feel sorry for its accomplice!"

Lu Chongwei stood up and gave the mayor a cold look.

The chill in his eyes made the mayor fall silent at once, as if he'd just been targeted by a ferocious beast.

"I'll investigate the truth for myself."

Lu Chongwei spoke calmly.

"You don't need to tell me what to do."

Then he turned to Lisanna and held out his hand, palm up.

"Lisanna, take me to your sister."

"I want to see what this so-called 'demon' is really like."

Lisanna froze.

She looked at the broad, warm hand before her, then at the resolute look in Lu Chongwei's eyes.

In that moment, she felt as though a ray of sunshine had fallen into her frozen heart.

"Okay!"

Lisanna nodded firmly, wiped away her tears, and placed her grimy little hand in Lu Chongwei's palm.

Holding Lisanna's hand, Lu Chongwei ignored the villagers' varied expressions and the mayor's resentful face, and strode toward the mountains beyond the town.

Night had fallen.

The two figures, one tall and one small, gradually disappeared into the darkness.

And in the direction of the ancient church, an unsettling presence was quietly spreading.