Beast King

The time rewound slightly. After parting ways with Ed, Mira and her group boarded a train directly to their destination.

On the train, Lisanna looked at the somewhat absent-minded Mira and asked, "Sister Mira, this mission target is called the Beast King, right? Is there anything we need to watch out for?"

"Not really. It's just a magical beast. I can handle it myself." Mira seemed to suddenly remember something as she spoke.

She then said to Elfman, "But I specifically took this mission for you. Didn't we say we'd find you a stronger target for Take Over? Now that I think about it, I really hope this Beast King is strong enough."

"I'll do my best, Sister!" Elfman said seriously.

"Good luck, manly man~" Mira encouraged Elfman with a grin.

Time always passed quickly on a train, and before long, they had arrived at the small town where the mission was located.

When the townspeople saw the arriving wizards, they hurried forward and asked, "Are you the wizards here to subjugate the Beast King?"

"Yes. We're wizards from Fairy Tail, here to take on the subjugation mission."

Upon receiving a definite answer, the townspeople immediately perked up. "That's wonderful! The wizards are here! We can finally drive off that hateful beast!"

"Please come with us, honored wizards. We'll take you to the mayor. He'll tell you everything we know."

"Then please lead the way." The group followed the townspeople to the mayor's office.

Seeing that the wizards who had come to subjugate the Beast King had finally arrived, the mayor hurriedly told them everything he knew.

"So all we know is that the Beast King usually stays in the forest beside the town, and occasionally comes out to wreak havoc. Most surviving witnesses never got a clear look at its appearance?" Mira could not help feeling a headache coming on at how little information they had.

"Yes. The Beast King is extremely brutal. Those who saw it head-on were usually noticed by it as well, so..." The mayor's voice turned sorrowful. "Please defeat this evil magical beast as soon as possible and return peace to our town."

With that, the mayor bowed deeply to Mira.

"Don't worry. I came here for that thing," Mira replied seriously. "We'll rest up for now, then set out tomorrow to subjugate the Beast King."

"We're counting on you."

The next day, Mira's group arrived at the forest beside the town and began searching for the Beast King's trail.

"Where could it be... Huh? Ah! Sister, you brought that with you too!" Lisanna, who had Taken Over into a little bird and flown up to survey the surroundings without finding any trace of the Beast King, returned to the ground and noticed a Flying Thunder God Kunai tied at Mira's waist.

"Hmm? Oh, this? Ed gave it to me before, and I originally left it at home. But when he found out later, he insisted that I carry it with me at all times, saying he wouldn't feel at ease otherwise..." Mira grumbled on and on about Ed as she looked at the kunai, yet a smile still unconsciously appeared at the corners of her lips.

"Sister Mira, you and Brother Ed really are close..." Lisanna canceled her Take Over and stood beside Mira, touching her lips with her right index finger as she said enviously, "If only Natsu... Sigh..."

"How about after this mission, you go back and confess to that brat Natsu?" Seeing Lisanna's lovestruck expression, then thinking of Natsu's dim-witted face, Mira's anger began to rise. "If that little punk dares refuse..."

As Mira spoke, she raised one hand and clenched it tightly. Her knuckles cracked. "I'll show him why flowers are so red!"

"Don't say things like that~" Lisanna said shyly. At that moment, Elfman, who had been searching for clues nearby, suddenly shouted, "Sister, Lisanna, over here! I think I found some footprints!"

"Really?!" Mira excitedly grabbed Lisanna and ran over. Arriving beside Elfman, she looked at the enormous footprints on the ground and compared them with the description on the mission sheet. "That's right, they look exactly like this. These are the Beast King's footprints. Great job, Elfman!"

"I'm just glad I could help you, Sister..." Elfman scratched his head awkwardly.

"Then let's go! We're subjugating the Beast King!" Mira took the lead, following the footprints. Mira's group tracked them all the way to a small hill at the edge of the forest. There was not a single sound from any other animal nearby.

"Looks like the Beast King should be somewhere around here. This must be its territory, which is why there aren't any other animals."

Mira looked around and cautiously told Lisanna and Elfman, "We'll continue tracking it, but Lisanna, Elfman, stay behind me and protect yourselves."

"Okay."

"Understood." Hearing Mira's unusually serious instructions, the two immediately agreed.

ROAR!!! A deafening roar suddenly came from ahead.

"It's right up ahead! Let's go!" Mira immediately ran toward the source of the roar. Before long, an enormous beastly figure came into view.

"So this is... the Beast King..." Elfman said nervously. Looking at the massive body ahead, over four meters tall, he could feel an overwhelming pressure even as it stood still.

Two golden horns grew from its head, looking incomparably hard. Its upper body was blood-red, while its lower body was blue. White fur cascaded down from its head, extending all the way across its broad back.

Its body was extraordinarily muscular, with bulging muscles all over. Its arms were even thicker than Elfman's waist, and the legs supporting its body were equally powerful.

Golden shoulder horns also grew from both shoulders. Together with the huge beast claws on its hands and feet, whose nails were sharp and long, it looked exceedingly dangerous.

"That's the mission target. It looks like it can really fight... Then let's do this! Take Over! Satan Soul!" Mira sized up the Beast King and immediately activated her magic, preparing to begin the subjugation.

Hearing the commotion from this side, the Beast King turned around and saw that three tiny humans had entered its territory. One of them had even grown wings and was preparing to attack it. It immediately let out an enraged roar. ROAR!!

"Being loud doesn't make you strong! Take this! Super Torture Flash!" Mira gathered her magic power and fired a massive magical blast at the Beast King.

The Beast King neither dodged nor avoided it. It directly endured the attack, then pushed through the impact and arrived before Mira. It slammed down a fist, and Mira was unable to dodge in time, getting smashed straight into the ground.