"So, still think we need to run?" Roger turned his head with a playful grin, looking at the three siblings who were utterly frozen in place. His relaxed smile, as if he were chatting about the weather, stood in stark contrast to the chaotic ruins outside the window.
Mirajane's gaze was glued to the scene outside. Just minutes ago, the vicious villagers who'd been shouting threats were now sprawled across the ground, defeated.
Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest.
"This… is… magic…" she murmured, her voice as soft as a feather drifting to the ground.
The people who'd clung to her like a curse, who'd brought endless nightmares to her and her siblings, who'd branded her a "demon"… were gone? Just like that?
Wiped away so effortlessly by this gentle-smiling boy, like brushing off dust?
An overwhelming sense of unreality washed over her, as if she were walking on clouds. All the fear, humiliation, and cold, rejecting glares seemed to vanish with that destructive force.
Was she… truly free?
"Mira-nee, why are you crying?" Lisanna's soft, puzzled voice broke through, her small hand gently tugging at Mirajane's sleeve as she looked up with wide eyes.
Mirajane felt the cool dampness on her cheeks. She touched her face, her fingertips wet with tears.
"All the bad guys who bullied us are gone! You should be happy!" Lisanna scrunched her nose, clearly confused.
"Mhm…" Mirajane sniffled, blinking hard to hold back the stubborn tears.
She wiped her eyes roughly with the back of her hand, forcing a smile brighter than the sun, though her eyes still shimmered with unshed tears. "I am happy, Lisanna! These are… happy tears."
Lisanna tilted her head, her big eyes full of doubt. "You cry when you're happy? I thought you only cry when you're sad?" Her small hands fidgeted with the hem of her dress.
Mirajane's heart melted. She reached out, gently ruffling Lisanna's fluffy hair, her voice hoarse with the relief of surviving a nightmare. "Not always. Sometimes, when you're too happy, your heart can't hold all that joy, and it spills out as tears."
"Is that how it works…?" Lisanna nodded, half-understanding, but seeing the rare, relaxed smile on her sister's face, her own lit up. She nodded enthusiastically.
As long as Mira-nee was happy, it had to be a good thing!
"You know," Roger's voice, calm but carrying a strange weight, drew everyone's attention.
He leaned casually against the wall by the window, the golden-red glow of dusk outlining his tall figure.
"In my hometown, there's an old saying: 'The weak get beaten, and weakness is a sin.'"
His29 His gaze swept over the Strauss siblings, his words clear and direct. "Everyone who's ever bullied you only did it because they thought you were weak and easy to push around. But when you have enough power, those same people who acted so high and mighty will cower, run, or even beg for your forgiveness."
"Magic is a fascinating thing," he continued. "Treat it like a shield to protect what's important or a sword in your hand, and it'll be your most loyal partner. But if you only see it as a source of fear or disaster and reject it… well, it'll just bring more trouble, exactly as you expect."
"Power…" Mirajane instinctively raised her right arm—the one she'd always despised, cursed as demonic. She clenched her fist, the rough, woody texture pressing into her palm.
For the first time, she didn't feel disgust or fear. Instead, a strange curiosity stirred. She stared down at it, her fingers curling slightly.
My magic… this cursed power… could it really become a shield and sword to protect Lisanna and Elfman, like Roger said?
She looked up, her gaze settling on her younger siblings huddled close to her side. A new, unfamiliar resolve flickered in her eyes.
Her left hand gently brushed over her wooden right arm, no longer shrinking away but examining it, accepting it.
Seeing the shift in Mirajane's expression, Lisanna let out a relieved breath. She glanced at the cratered ground outside, the grand scene from earlier replaying in her mind. Like an excited little bird, she bounced over to Roger, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "Roger-nii! That magic just now was so cool! Was it all illusion magic?"
"Nope." Roger shook his head with a smile. "There was lightning magic, curse magic, gravity magic, and telepathy magic, too."
"The way they all collapsed was gravity magic, the lightning bolts were lightning magic, and that dark pillar at the end was curse magic!" Lisanna counted off on her fingers, her little brows furrowed as she tried to recall. "And… telepathy magic… that was the voice we heard in our ears, right?"
"Close enough," Roger said with a mysterious grin, suddenly falling silent. Yet his voice rang clearly in everyone's ears.
"This is magic that controls the five senses."
"The five senses—what you see, hear, smell, feel, and taste," he explained. "What you're 'hearing' right now is the sound I'm making you hear. The music in the sky earlier and the language you didn't understand? That was this magic, too."
"As for telepathy magic, it's mixed in. Every time I spoke that unfamiliar language, I used telepathy to translate it directly into your minds. So even if you didn't understand the words, you somehow knew their meaning."
"Wow—!" Lisanna's eyes went wide, her mouth forming a perfect "O," her face brimming with awe. "That's so cool! Roger-nii, you know so many kinds of magic!"
She suddenly remembered something and whipped her head toward Mirajane, her eyes gleaming. "Oh, right! Erza-nee mentioned something about Mira-nee's magic earlier!"
She tilted her head, scrunching her face as she tried to recall the tricky name. "It was called… um… take… take-something…"
The word was on the tip of her tongue but wouldn't come out. Then, like a spark, she clapped her hands excitedly, her voice rising. "I got it! It's called Take-Over Magic!!"
"Exactly," Erza said, stepping forward with a nod of approval, her red hair swaying lightly. "Nice memory, Lisanna."
"Hehe…" Lisanna scratched the back of her head, her cheeks pink. "It's… not that great."
Mirajane looked down at her unique arm, her face clouded with deep confusion. "Take-Over Magic? You mean… taking on the power of a demon?"
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