On the third day after Lin Yuan woke up, three children arrived at the Guild's entrance.
The white-haired girl in front wore a dust-covered cloak, her eyes like those of a beast ready to pounce on an enemy at any moment.
Beneath the cloak, her right arm was noticeably larger than her left.
It was not a human arm. Scales covered its dark purple skin, and her fingertips curved into sharp claws. Unsettling black magic constantly seeped through the gaps between the scales.
A younger brother and sister followed behind her. The boy carried their luggage, while the girl clutched their older sister's cloak.
The noisy Guild gradually fell silent.
The white-haired girl immediately stepped forward, shielding her siblings behind her.
"This is a mages' guild, right?" She raised her chin. "I heard you take anyone as long as they can use magic."
"Who told you we take anyone?" Makarov asked from his seat on the bar.
The girl's expression stiffened, and her fists quietly clenched.
"But you heard right," the old man continued. "We don't ask where people come from here. What are your names?"
"Mirajane Strauss."
She pointed to the boy and girl behind her.
"This is Elfman, and this is Lisanna."
"Where are your parents?"
All three siblings fell silent.
Makarov asked no further. He glanced at Mira's right arm, hidden beneath her cloak. "What happened there?"
Mira's gaze sharpened again.
"A demon appeared in a church near our village. After I defeated it, my arm became like this."
She did not mention how the villagers had driven them away with stones, or how many times they had heard "demon's children" along the way.
But Elfman's lowered head and Lisanna's tightly clenched hands said enough about the outcome.
"My sister isn't a demon!" Lisanna suddenly shouted. "She did it to save everyone-"
"Lisanna." Mira cut her off. "We don't have to explain ourselves to anyone."
Someone near the bar sighed.
Then a piece of bread flew out of the crowd. Mira caught it instinctively, and a bag of fruit and three cups of hot milk followed.
"You've been on the road a long time, haven't you? Eat something first."
"There are three beds in the spare rooms."
"What's a demon? We've even got a fire-breathing dragon here."
"Who're you calling a dragon?!" Natsu immediately jumped up from the table.
The Guild grew noisy again.
Mira held the bread, looking as though this was the first time she had encountered a situation she couldn't solve with her fists. She looked at Makarov suspiciously. "That's it?"
"Once you finish the joining formalities, you'll be members of the Guild."
"Aren't you afraid I'll lose control?"
"I am," Makarov answered frankly. "That's why we'll teach you how to control it, instead of sending three children back out on the road."
Mira opened her mouth, then finally turned away.
"Suit yourself."
By the window, a red-haired girl wearing light armor set down the strawberry cake in her hand. She gave Mira's arm a single glance, then pulled aside three chairs next to her.
"No one here will drive you away because of your magic. But hurting your comrades is forbidden in the Guild."
Mira raised an eyebrow. "Who says I'm going to listen to you?"
"Erza." The red-haired girl solemnly gave her name. "You'll understand eventually."
"Stop acting like my senior!"
Lin Yuan, who had been practicing in the back courtyard, happened to walk into the hall.
Two pebbles rested in his palm. As magic flowed slowly, the distance between them shrank inch by inch until they gently touched.
This time, the pebbles did not break.
Lin Yuan was just about to tell Makarov the result of his training when he sensed an unfamiliar presence.
His gaze fell on Mira's right arm.
A demon.
The conclusion surfaced without a moment's thought. The space magic deep within his soul grew restless, as though it had encountered a different kind of power it could devour.
Mira keenly noticed his gaze and immediately shielded her siblings behind her.
"What are you looking at?"
"Your arm."
"Never seen a monster before?"
She spoke as though she didn't care, but her right hand tore several holes in her cloak as she gripped it.
Lin Yuan took a few steps closer.
At the shorter distance, he could sense the magic more clearly. The demon was not residing inside her arm as a parasite. It had already been absorbed by Mira's magic and was gradually becoming part of her body.
"That isn't a curse," Lin Yuan said.
Mira froze.
"You know what this is?"
"A kind of Take Over Magic. You defeated the demon and kept its power inside your body."
Lisanna asked in delight, "Then can my sister's hand go back to normal?"
"Yes, if she can control it."
Lin Yuan watched the black magic leaking from between the scales. It was escaping faster, seemingly growing out of control as Mira's emotions fluctuated.
"But for now, she'd better stay away from you."
The hall fell silent once more.
The expression that had just begun to soften vanished from Mira's face.
"What did you say?"
"This magic is unstable. Staying close to her could hurt someone," Lin Yuan said truthfully. "Especially ordinary people."
Elfman and Lisanna had not learned magic yet, and they were indeed more vulnerable right now.
But to Mira, those words meant something else.
The villagers' terrified faces resurfaced in her mind.
Monster, stay away from us.
Don't let it touch the children.
She had held on all the way to Magnolia so her siblings would never have to hear those words again.
And now, someone who had been showing off his magic just moments ago was telling her to stay away from her family in front of everyone.
"After all that pretentious talk..."
Her dark purple claws slowly clenched, and black magic suddenly surged.
"Don't you still think I'm a monster?!"
Makarov had just opened his mouth to speak when Mira shattered the floor beneath her feet.
She crossed several meters and drove a punch at Lin Yuan's face.