On the rather chilly streets of Magnolia, Mira still kept herself tightly wrapped in that oversized black cloak.
Beneath the cloak, her human left hand clamped down on her hideous demonic arm, her nails almost digging into its flesh.
She wandered aimlessly down the street, lost and despondent, as though cut off from the bustling crowds around her.
When her surroundings grew quiet, the painful memories buried deep in her heart, clinging to her like an incurable affliction, came flooding back.
It was the village at sunset. The normally kindly villagers now wore vicious expressions. Armed with pitchforks and wooden clubs, they surrounded the helpless siblings in their drafty wooden shack. Every mouth spat venomous insults:
"Get out!"
"That's right! Get out of our village!"
"Get lost, you demon-possessed freak!"
"How much longer are you cursed wretches going to stay here?!"
"It's because of you that disasters keep coming to our village!"
"Get out! Demon!"
The scene shifted.
On a peaceful beach, a mother and daughter happened to glimpse her demonic arm and fled in terror.
The scene shifted again.
It was a bitterly cold night. Her younger brother and sister, left homeless because of her, huddled in a pile of grass out in the wilderness with only a thin cloth around them, hugging their knees. They shivered from the cold, yet still forced smiles for her.
Mira closed her eyes as one painful memory after another flashed through her mind.
"Magic... demons... I don't need this power."
"It's disgusting!"
Memories of people's rejection and fear flashed past again, solidifying into a verdict that shattered her completely-
"I'm... not human anymore."
Mira stopped and slowly looked back toward the Fairy Tail guild.
The banner that the wizards had built with blood and laughter gleamed in the sunset. An overwhelming thought, tender in an almost self-punishing way, grew wildly in her mind:
Just leave.
Lisanna and Elfman can't keep suffering because of a monster like me. If they stay in Fairy Tail, somewhere so strong and full of warmth, they'll surely have normal, better lives.
"I should... just leave."
Mira murmured self-mockingly, her expression dark.
She tugged at her cloak, turned resolutely, and started walking away from the guild, away from town.
"Goodbye, Elfman, Lisanna..."
"Sis!!" "Mira!!"
Suddenly, two cries brimming with excitement and delight tore through the silence without warning.
Mira jolted, her feet stopping abruptly. Stiffly, she turned around.
Elfman and Lisanna were racing toward her, one behind the other, their steps light and their faces lit with irrepressible smiles.
"Look, look!" Lisanna called out in front of Mira, her voice full of spirited pride.
"You're going to be so surprised, Sis!" Elfman's voice was as gentle and shy as ever, but his earnest face overflowed with joy as he raised his arm to show her something.
"Look!"
"Animal Soul: Cat!"
"Beast Soul: Bear! Though it's only one hand, hehe."
Hum-!
A faint but clear glow of magic blossomed around both children at once.
With a proud little cry, Lisanna performed a full-body Take Over. In a puff of white smoke, she became an adorable catgirl with black-and-white cat ears and a short skirt, even her hands and feet transforming into furry paws.
Meanwhile, Elfman's face flushed red with effort as he completed a partial Take Over, transforming his entire raised right arm into a thick, powerful black bear's paw covered in fluffy fur.
At the sight, Mira's lifeless eyes suddenly widened. Her mouth fell slightly open, and she froze on the spot.
After the overwhelming shock, an indescribable surge of emotion churned wildly in her chest, so immense it almost drowned her. The next instant, an unprecedented rush of warmth surged into her heart, shattering the cold defenses built from her self-loathing.
Her eyes reddened fiercely in that instant.
Seeing their sister standing stunned, the two little ones eagerly explained, as though showing off a treasure:
"Blanc secretly taught us!"
"It's the same magic as yours, Mira."
"But I've only learned the basics so far... I can only transform one hand." Looking at his enormous bear's paw, Elfman scratched his head with his left hand, a little embarrassed, his face pink.
Boom-
Mira's mind went blank. Her eyes filled completely, large tears swiftly gathering at their corners.
She pressed her lips together, desperately trying to hold back the sobs threatening to burst free. The corners of her mouth and her chin began to tremble uncontrollably.
Seeing her sister like this, Lisanna dropped her playful expression and stepped forward. She gently pressed her furry paws against Mira's cold black cloak, her voice as soft as a spring breeze:
"Mira, you always looked so lonely..."
"Now you'll never be lonely again!" Elfman stepped forward too, holding up that comical yet comforting bear's paw, his gaze utterly resolute.
Drip. Drip.
Her tears finally broke free, falling like pearls from a broken string, rolling uncontrollably down the girl's delicate cheeks and splashing onto the dry ground.
She wanted so badly to hold back her sobs. She bowed her head low, her shoulders heaving violently, her whole body trembling from the effort of holding herself together and the depth of her emotion.
"You two-"
"The three of us will stay together forever!" Lisanna smiled sweetly, waving her cat paws in the sunlight.
"Even our magic will be the same!" Elfman raised his arm with a radiant smile.
I never wanted this power at all. But now-
At that moment, the demon's claw no longer seemed cold, because in its palm it held the warmest magic in the world: family.
As the sun sank in the west, Blanc ambled down the street with his hands behind his head.
At that moment, he was seriously considering the greatest, most profound, and most difficult ultimate question in human history-what should he eat tonight?
Yet before he could choose a dinner he liked from the "menu of life for today" in his head, a sharp, intensely intimidating huff erupted behind him:
"Blanc! You're the one who taught Lisanna and Elfman magic without asking me, aren't you?!"
"Huh?!"
The unexpected outburst startled Blanc a little. He raised an eyebrow and turned around to find Mira standing a short distance away with her hands on her hips. Her delicate brows were tightly knitted, and her clear eyes brimmed with displeasure as she glared at him.
"Uh... yeah. What's wrong?" Blanc played dumb, spreading his hands with an innocent expression.
Seeing his shamelessly unbothered attitude, Mira grew even more agitated. She stepped forward and scolded him, "Don't just casually teach them such dangerous magic because they pestered you and begged you! Those two are clumsy little things. They have no real idea how serious the consequences of this magic can be!"
"Easy. Don't worry."
Blanc set aside his usual nonchalance, a gentle, confident smile on his lips. "I'll keep an eye on them the whole time. Besides, I didn't just agree on a whim. It was an unwavering choice they made deep in their hearts."
At those words, Mira stiffened slightly.
The sunset shone on the side of her face, and the complicated guilt in her eyes gradually melted, finally turning into profound relief.
"Honestly..."
Unable to bear Blanc's warm, direct gaze, the girl awkwardly turned her head aside and hurriedly squeezed out a barely audible, "...Thanks."
Before her voice had faded, Mira abruptly turned around, as though afraid Blanc would tease her, and hurried toward the Fairy Tail guild without looking back.
Watching her retreating figure, which looked almost like she was fleeing, Blanc shook his head helplessly. On his way back to the tavern, a ripple of emotion stirred in his heart.
So these are Mira and her siblings. Supporting one another, relying on one another, doing everything they can to give each other the strength to stand tall... What an enviable bond.
Several days later, in the Fairy Tail guild's lounge.
A ray of sunlight shone onto Mira's right arm, smooth as jade and utterly flawless.
She turned her hand over and back, examining it carefully, again and again, for a long time. Her fingertips brushed over the fine skin, her expression almost as though she were repeatedly checking whether it truly was her own hand.
On a wooden chair nearby, Guild Master Makarov leisurely held a steaming cup of black tea and watched her with a smile.
"Hoho, no need to keep looking. You've completely mastered Take Over Magic. You don't have to worry anymore."
Mira no longer wore the pitch-black cloak that symbolized her self-loathing and avoidance. In its place was a rather bold punk outfit brimming with wild energy.
She wore a daring, tight, cropped sleeveless top that fully outlined her budding curves while openly baring a strip of pale, supple waist.
Below it was a neat pair of black leather shorts, with a wide belt studded with sharp metal rivets hanging loosely at an angle around her waist.
The outfit laid bare the rebellion, pride, and ferocious power deep in her bones.
The "delinquent-girl Demon Mira" who had terrified countless wizards in the original story had, at this moment, fully awakened.
Mira slowly lowered her gaze and abruptly clenched her hand into a fist.
Crack.
The crisp pop of her knuckles rang especially clearly through the quiet courtyard.
At last, the corners of her mouth, restrained for so long, curved freely into a faint smile brimming with confidence and wild arrogance.
"Got it, you old geezer!"
After tossing out a spirited reply that nearly made Makarov spit out his tea, Mira turned around, full of vigor, and strode toward the noisy guild hall.