The Demon's Hand

The cave was dark and damp. Only a nearly extinguished campfire in the corner offered a little light and warmth. A few layers of dry straw covered the ground—that was where the three siblings slept.

For three children, living in those conditions was nothing short of hell.

Lu Chongwei frowned and casually snapped his fingers.

Snap.

A bright, warm fireball appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the cave, driving away the chill and illuminating the entire space.

Mirajane and Elfman jumped at the sight and instinctively huddled together.

"Don't be afraid. It's just for light."

Lu Chongwei found a clean rock to sit on and shared the food he'd brought with the three of them.

As Lisanna took big bites of bread, she told her brother and sister about what had happened in town, her words muffled by her mouthfuls.

"...Then the mayor brought people to surround me. Luckily, Big Brother Lu Chongwei blocked the rocks for me and scolded them all until they ran away..."

Lisanna was thoughtful. She left out the details of being hit by the villagers and kneeling to beg for food, telling them only how Lu Chongwei had rescued her.

She didn't want her sister and brother to worry, let alone grow even more resentful of the people in town.

Lu Chongwei sat nearby, listening quietly. He didn't call Lisanna out on her well-intentioned lie.

As Mirajane listened, her eyes gradually reddened.

She didn't know the exact details, but when she saw the still-swollen wound on Lisanna's forehead, despite having been treated with medicine, and her filthy clothes, how could she not guess how much her little sister had suffered?

"Thank you..."

Mirajane put down her bread, stood up, and bowed deeply to Lu Chongwei.

"Thank you for saving Lisanna... I really, truly appreciate it."

Her voice was choked with emotion. Her fierce act fell away completely, revealing the vulnerability of a girl her age.

"It was nothing."

Lu Chongwei waved it off, then took the best bottle of salve and some bandages from his bag and handed them to Mirajane.

"These are for you. Lisanna said your back was hurt. That fall through the opening must have been rough. You should treat it right away."

Mirajane accepted the medicine, her fingers trembling slightly.

"Thank you..."

She thanked him again, then asked Elfman to help her. Turning her back to them, she carefully lifted the edge of her cloak.

In the firelight, Lu Chongwei saw that Mirajane's once fair back was covered with a large, alarming spread of bruises and scrapes. Some spots were even still bleeding.

Elfman clumsily helped his sister apply the medicine, wiping away tears as he did.

"Does it hurt, Sis?"

"It doesn't hurt. Not at all." Mirajane gritted her teeth, enduring the sharp pain as the medicine stung her wounds, and still smiled to comfort her little brother.

Watching them, Lu Chongwei sighed inwardly.

Those three children had been through so much.

Once the wounds were mostly treated, Lu Chongwei cleared his throat and got down to business.

"Mirajane."

Lu Chongwei looked at the girl with her back to him, his tone turning more serious.

"I want to see your arm."

The moment he said this, the atmosphere in the cave froze.

Mirajane's hand, which had been adjusting her clothes, stopped in midair.

She slowly turned around, pressing her right hand, hidden beneath her cloak, firmly against her chest. Fear and resistance returned to her eyes.

"No..."

Mirajane shook her head and backed away.

"No... You can't look..."

"You'll be scared... You'll think I'm a monster, just like the others..."

"You'll kill me..."

That was the deepest scar in her heart, the source of all her nightmares. She didn't want the kind man who had just saved her little sister to look at her with disgust and fear.

"I won't."

Lu Chongwei met her eyes, his voice calm and resolute.

"I'm a Mage. I've seen far stranger things than you can imagine."

"Trust me, Mirajane. Hiding won't solve anything."

"If you want to protect your brother and sister, if you want to stop living on the run, then let me see."

Lu Chongwei held out his hand, palm up, just as he had when speaking to Lisanna.

"Trust me."

Mirajane looked at his hand, then at his deep, calm black eyes.

After a long while,

she took a deep breath, as if she'd made a momentous decision.

"If you're scared... please don't hurt Lisanna and Elfman..."

Mirajane spoke with a tremble in her voice.

Then she closed her eyes and slowly, bit by bit, drew out her right hand, which she had kept hidden beneath her cloak.

Her cloak slipped away.

In the firelight, her arm was fully exposed.

It didn't look human at all.

Her once slender, fair arm was now swollen, her skin black and covered in a layer of hard scales.

Her fingers had become sharp claws that gleamed like metal.

An evil aura that made one shudder emanated from the entire arm.

"Ah!"

As soon as Mirajane had stretched it out, she jerked it back as if burned, unable to look at Lu Chongwei's reaction.

But then,

a warm, large hand firmly grasped her hideous "Demon's Hand."

Mirajane stiffened and abruptly opened her eyes.

Lu Chongwei was holding her wrist, leaning in to examine it closely. His face showed no fear or disgust. Instead, he looked... excited, as if he'd discovered a whole new world.

"Just as I thought."

Lu Chongwei even tapped the black scales with a finger, producing a series of crisp metallic chinks.

"Such hardness, and the way the magic flows..."

Lu Chongwei looked up at Mirajane, who was staring at him in a daze, and smiled.

"Congratulations, Mirajane."

"This isn't a demon possessing you, and it isn't a curse."

"It's magic."

"A very rare magic with limitless potential—Take Over Magic."

"You're not a monster. You're a Mage whose magical talent has awakened."