Mirajane

"Mira, isn't this a bad idea?" Two delicate figures walked across the scorching desert wasteland. The smaller girl wiped the sweat from her forehead and said worriedly, "They're a vicious band of thieves! And every one of them is quite a powerful mage. With our strength, I'm afraid..." Though she did not finish, the worry in her voice was obvious.

"Relax, relax. Don't worry, Lisanna, I've got this!" Her snow-white hair fluttered in the wind, while her black bodysuit outlined a figure that was still youthful yet already well-developed. With a stubborn, proud smile, Mirajane reassured her cheerfully, "They're just a bunch of thieves who can't show their faces in public! With my strength, I can handle them easily!! You can rest completely assured!"

"But..." Lisanna was clearly still hesitant. Lowering her head and biting her lip, she stammered, "Is it really okay for us to take an S-Class quest from the second floor without the Master's permission? If he finds out, he'll definitely fly into a rage, won't he?"

"Uh, that's true..." Mira froze slightly, then forced a smile. "But as long as we complete this S-Class quest beautifully, the Master probably won't have anything to say, right? Yeah, that's right!" As if comforting herself, she nodded.

"Fine, we've already come this far." Lisanna could only nod helplessly, but then she asked in confusion, "But why didn't we bring Elfman along? The more people we have, the better our chances of succeeding should be, right?"

"Him? Forget it..." Thinking of her timid younger brother, Mira immediately grew irritated. With the frustration of someone disappointed in another's lack of resolve, she muttered, "If he found out, he'd definitely sneak off and tell the Master! Wouldn't all my efforts have been for nothing then?!"

"Hmph, and don't forget—I swore an oath! I'm definitely going to become an S-Class Mage before that hateful Erza!!!" Mira continued excitedly. "As long as I complete this S-Class quest perfectly, it'll prove that I already possess the strength of an S-Class Mage! When that happens, Erza's expression is sure to be a sight to see! Wahahahahaha—"

"..." Lisanna's face darkened. Mira's laugh is terrifying...

"This should be about the area." After walking for a while longer, Mira stopped and smiled at Lisanna beside her. "Use your Cat Soul Take Over! Find the exact location of that band of thieves."

"Mm, okay." Lisanna did not waste any words. She gave a sharp cry and called out clearly, "Take Over! Animal Soul—Cat Soul~!!!"

In an instant, a flash of white light passed by, and Lisanna appeared before Mira with adorable cat ears and a cat tail.

She first nodded at Mira, then crouched on the sand by herself. Narrowing her eyes as though listening to something, her pair of cat ears twitched from time to time.

Suddenly, Lisanna's expression changed, turning deathly pale.

"What is it, Lisanna?" Mira immediately stepped forward, supporting her sister by the shoulders as she asked with concern, "Did you find something?"

"Mm." Lisanna nodded with a pale face, then said with trembling lips, "Two thousand meters to the southeast, there are remnants of incredibly powerful magic power fluctuations! And... and I can smell..."

"What did you smell?!" Mira asked anxiously. She knew her sister best. Though Lisanna was not much of a fighter, her various support abilities were quite good! Take Over: Cat Soul, for example. It did not possess much offensive power, but its advantage was that it gave her senses far beyond those of ordinary people! Whether it was hearing or smell, both were exceptionally sharp!

And seeing Lisanna's pale face now, she had clearly been frightened by something! Mira was deeply concerned and curious about it as well.

"Blood! An overpowering stench of blood that won't disperse!!!" Lisanna said through chattering teeth, then suggested to Mira with indescribable worry, "How about we give up! This... this is too dangerous!"

"This—" Mira hesitated upon hearing that, but she was unwilling to give up so easily. She had always been stubborn, yet after considering both her own safety and her sister's, she frowned and thought carefully before gritting her teeth. "Let's go take a look first! It won't be too late to leave once we figure out what happened ahead. As long as we stay far enough away, even if we run into danger, we'll have enough time and opportunity to escape!"

"Okay." Lisanna could only nod in agreement.

The two quickened their pace and carefully headed southeast. A few minutes later, when they saw the scene before them—a scene like hell itself—they were both stunned!

Across a hundred meters of sand lay more than a hundred corpses scattered everywhere. Severed limbs covered the ground, while vivid crimson blood had dyed the entire stretch of land a brilliant red!!

"Bleurgh—" Unable to endure it any longer, both Mira and Lisanna bent over and vomited violently. When had they ever seen such a hellish sight? They were only teenagers, after all. Mira, the oldest, was merely fourteen years old. Even an adult might faint instantly at such a horrifying scene if they were the least bit timid!

They vomited for a full ten minutes, nearly throwing up their bile before they finally managed to suppress the urge.

"M-Mira, what... what happened here?!" Lisanna's face was completely bloodless, clearly frightened beyond measure.

"I don't know. I really don't know." Mira was pale as well. Even someone as bold as she was utterly shaken at that moment! Forcing down the urge to vomit again, Mira briefly examined the clothing and accessories of the dead. Then she said in horror, "These... these dead people are actually the target of our S-Class quest! That vicious mage band of thieves—the Hawk Thieves' Guild!!!"

"What?!!" Lisanna sucked in a sharp breath, covering her mouth as her eyes widened. Her voice trembled. "W-Who did this?! It's terrifying—"

"I don't know who did it, but one thing is certain!" Mira said solemnly. "Judging from the magic power fluctuations lingering in the air, these people should all have been killed by one person! And someone capable of wiping out people as strong as the Hawk Thieves' Guild without giving them even the slightest chance to resist, that person's strength is undoubtedly—" At this point, Mira took a deep breath and whispered in extreme shock:

"Definitely a genuine Super S-Class!!!"

"Gasp—" The moment her sister mentioned the term Super S-Class, Lisanna felt as though her mind exploded with a boom, and she drew another horrified breath!

It was not only Lisanna. Mira's heart was also in turmoil and could not settle for a long while. After looking over the corpses again, Mira said in a low voice, "Let's keep going and take a look. Clearly, this isn't the entire main force of the Hawk Thieves' Guild. At least half of them should be somewhere else! Let's go check!" As she spoke, she glanced at the chaotic footprints stretching into the distance.

Lisanna nodded, then transformed into her Cat Soul form once more and sensed the magic power fluctuations around them.

Very quickly, Lisanna found another place with powerful magic power fluctuations. Sure enough, it lay in the direction the footprints led. If nothing unexpected had happened, it should have been at the end of those tracks!

With that thought, the two exchanged a glance. They hesitated no longer and immediately followed the chaotic footprints that still barely remained on the ground, racing into the distance. An hour later, an enormous, colossal ice sculpture appeared before them!

"Hiss—" Looking at the figures completely frozen within the ice sculpture, Mira and Lisanna could not help sucking in breaths. They felt as bone-chillingly cold as the blue ice sculpture beneath the blazing sun.

"This matter..." Biting her lip, Mira whispered with a pale face and trembling voice, "We have to go back and tell Master Makarov..."

Beside her, Lisanna nodded forcefully, her face equally pale.

At this point, the two became even more certain that the other party was a Super S-Class Mage! Only a Super S-Class Mage, whose strength was second only to the Ten Wizard Saints, could possibly create such a spectacle!

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

"I've finally seen living humans!!! Wuwuwu—" Walking down a bustling street, Achill threw back his head with tears streaming down his face and shouted, "Merciful God, damn it! I swear I'll never greet all the women in your ancestors' eighteen generations again... Amen~"

The surrounding pedestrians immediately cast contemptuous looks at him.

"Mom! What's wrong with that big brother?" A little girl tugged at her mother's hand, pointed at the tearful Achill in the distance, and asked with innocent curiosity, "Is he really one of those idiots from the stories?"

"Children shouldn't talk nonsense!" The girl's mother hurriedly covered her daughter's mouth, then whispered a warning, "Even if he really is one, you mustn't say it out loud!"

"Oh." The girl nodded as though she only half understood, then gave Achill a look full of sympathy.

"..."

"I hate God..." Achill thought resentfully, his face darkening. "I hate this world..."

(PS: Sorry, I may have gotten a little too worked up today and affected everyone's reading mood. I'm very sorry about that, but don't worry, this book will not be abandoned! Even for the sake of this beautiful cover alone, I absolutely won't abandon it! So please keep reading without worry! Mm, does anyone know how to file a copyright complaint? Please help me out. I'll thank you in advance. One last thing: I'm definitely going to report that bastard who dared to pirate my work!! Damn China Mobile!!! They took my book directly and started charging for it openly without even asking me?!! Fuck! I don't care about money. If I wanted money, I could easily make it just by switching to another website! I'm fighting for my pride!!! This is seriously infuriating!! I hope everyone will continue supporting me! This little brother thanks you all in advance...")