Chapter 186: Li...sanna?
After making sure Lisanna had swallowed the potion, Noah offered the one he'd prepared for Mirajane.
But Mirajane had just been through an extreme emotional roller coaster. With Noah there, an overwhelming sense of relief washed over her, and she finally let her guard down. The moment she did, the full weight of her injuries and exhaustion slammed into her. She had no strength left, and only Noah's support kept her from falling over.
She tried to take the potion, but her arm wouldn't even lift.
Suddenly, she remembered something else and looked up at him, her voice filled with panic. "Wait, Elfman! He's still back there! That giant monster... that was him after his Take Over failed! I have to go back and save him!"
She struggled to stand, but her body wouldn't obey. She nearly collapsed completely.
Noah quickly steadied her, gently sitting down and letting her lean against him. "It's alright," he said to her anxious face. "I'm already handling it. Don't worry, just rest here."
Just then, two figures split off from Noah's body, standing beside them as identical Thought Projections. The two projections then vanished in a flash of light. Only then did Mirajane let out a shaky breath of relief.
Noah picked up the potion again, uncapped it, and held it to her lips. Mirajane obediently opened her mouth and took small sips as he fed it to her. After she finished the first one, he pulled out a second. This time, she didn't wait, simply opening her mouth for him. Noah carefully fed her the second potion before putting the empty vials away.
The two potions had different effects: one to treat her internal and external wounds, the other to restore her stamina and magic power. She was badly injured, and Noah could tell her magic was almost gone. This was the fastest way to get her stabilized.
As the potions took effect, some color returned to her face, and her eyes became a little clearer. Only then did Noah ask what had happened.
"It was my S-Class request," she began, her voice hoarse. "An emergency subjugation mission to seal a monster called 'The Beast King.' Lisanna and Elfman came to help. When we got here, I had Lisanna evacuate the nearby town while Elfman and I took on the monster. We... we beat it. Or so I thought. I got careless."
Her face twisted with pain and self-loathing. "I thought it was dead, just like all the others. But it was faking. It ambushed me... It hit me so hard I couldn't move. It was about to strike again, and Elfman... to protect me... he tried to use his Take Over on it. But its power was too much for him. He couldn't control it. It overwhelmed him, and he lost his mind. If he can't be snapped out of it, that... that thing will take over his body for good."
Mirajane choked on the words, her pain deepening. "Lisanna... she got back from the evacuation and saw what was happening. She... she just walked right up to Elfman, trying to reach him. But... but he wasn't Elfman anymore. He hit her. She didn't even put up a defense. He just... hit her—"
She broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Noah had a thousand questions, but he said nothing. He just sat there, a solid presence for her to lean on, waiting for the storm of grief to pass.
After a while, her sobs quieted. Noah handed her a handkerchief. She wiped her eyes, which were red and swollen, and gave him a shaky, grateful smile. "If you hadn't come, Noah... I don't know what I would have done..."
Noah shook his head. "We're comrades. We help each other. But Mira... something is about to happen that you might not understand. I need you to stay calm."
Mirajane looked at him, confused. Just then, a powerful surge of magic pulsed from high above. She looked up. The clouds were being pushed aside in a massive, expanding ring, as if from a powerful wind. At the center, one of Noah's Thought Projections was descending, holding someone in his arms.
She couldn't make out the person's face, only that they had white hair. A strange sense of familiarity pricked at her. As the Thought Projection drifted lower, the figure became clearer. 'That's... that's our family's hair color,' she thought, her confusion growing. Where could his projection have found someone out here? This was the middle of nowhere, and after that battle, any normal person would have fled.
Gripped by a strange curiosity, she watched as the projection landed softly in front of them, holding the person in a bridal carry.
"What—What is this?!"
When Mirajane clearly saw the face of the person in the projection's arms, her world tilted. She was looking at the face of her sister, Lisanna. The same short hair, the same clothes she always wore... but her eyes were closed, and she was unconscious.
Mirajane looked from the Lisanna lying on the ground to the identical Lisanna in the projection's arms. The world spun, and the strength the potions had given her vanished all over again.
She leaned heavily against Noah, her eyes fixed on him, the only anchor in her spinning reality. "Noah... what is going on? The person your projection is holding... is that... Lisanna? But... but this one on the ground is my sister. She's Lisanna. Right?"
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