The forest was a mess, trees splintered and earth torn up. Mirajane slumped on the ground, her face streaked with dirt and scratches, reaching out desperately with a trembling hand.
Not far ahead, Lisanna stood with her arms spread wide, facing a monstrous creature. A warm, gentle smile lit up her face. "Big brother Elfman, don't tell me you forgot me! It's Lisanna, yo! And Mira-nee's here too. If you don't snap out of it soon, you're gonna miss dinner!"
"Mira-nee promised to make our favorite katsu sandwiches tonight. I'll even share half of mine with you, just this once~"
The creature was half-human, half-dragon, its body covered in tough, earthy-yellow scales. Its blood-red eyes glowed with a savage, violent aura.
At the sound of Lisanna's voice, the beast tilted its massive head slightly. The crimson in its eyes seemed to fade just a bit, a flicker of confusion and hesitation breaking through as her smile reached it.
Hovering in the air, Roger frowned. "Elfman's magic went out of control?"
"After signing the contract, his magic shifted to Beast Soul takeover. By all accounts…" He paused, studying the creature. "This doesn't look like the Beast King from the original story. The shape… it's more like an Earth Dragon. Its skin is as tough as a dragon's, and its magic power is strong, but the dragon force inside it is weak."
"A beast like this shouldn't have caused Elfman to lose control. What happened before this?"
Lisanna noticed the red in Elfman's eyes softening, and her heart lifted. She took a cautious step forward. "Big brother Elfman, let's go home together, okay~?"
That single step was like flipping a switch.
"ROAR—!!!"
The faint hesitation in the creature's eyes was swallowed by a surge of violent crimson. The Earth Dragon-fied Elfman threw back his head and let out a deafening roar that shook the forest.
Behind him, Mirajane's heart sank to her stomach. She struggled to get up, screaming hoarsely, "Lisanna—run! Elfman's completely lost it—!"
Her words were cut off.
A massive claw, covered in thick scales, swung down with terrifying force, tearing through the air and slamming into Lisanna's small frame.
"NO—!!!"
"LISANNA—!!!"
Mirajane's pupils dilated in horror, her hand clawing at the air in vain. Her face was a mask of pure terror and despair.
But in the split second before the claw connected, an invisible lavender magic shield flickered into existence around Lisanna's body.
Bang!
A dull impact echoed. The shield flared violently but absorbed most of the blow. Lisanna's tiny body was sent flying like a broken kite, crashing through small branches and landing motionless in a patch of grass far away.
"LISANNA!!!" Mirajane's heart felt like it was being crushed by that same claw, the pain stealing her breath.
The Earth Dragon-fied Elfman, now even more enraged, raised both claws for a deadlier strike.
At that moment, a deep purple magic circle appeared silently above his head.
A cascade of purple light poured down like a waterfall, enveloping the raging beast in an instant.
"Elfman—!" Mirajane's voice cracked with fear as she watched, thinking Elfman was about to fully merge with the Earth Dragon. The terror of losing her family gave her a final burst of strength, and she tried to lunge forward.
"Don't worry, it's just putting him to sleep." A familiar voice, calm and reassuring, sounded in Mirajane's ear like a lifeline.
In the glow, the massive, ferocious dragon form began to shrink and morph rapidly. Scales faded, claws vanished.
As the light dissipated, Elfman's eyes were closed, his human form restored. His body went limp and collapsed to the ground with a soft thud.
Seeing her brother back to normal, Mirajane's racing heart finally settled, just a little. She turned to the figure landing lightly nearby, tears spilling over as her voice broke. "R-Roger… Lisanna, she… Lisanna…"
Roger hurried to her side and crouched down, placing a warm hand on her trembling shoulder. His voice carried a steady, comforting strength. "Relax. I cast a protective shield on her. She's not dead, just knocked out from the impact. She'll wake up soon."
Those words were like a key, unlocking the floodgate of fear Mirajane had been holding back.
"Sob…"
Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground, hands covering her face as suppressed whimpers turned into gut-wrenching sobs. "Thank goodness… thank goodness! Sob…"
"I'm so sorry, Lisanna… It's all my fault… all my fault!!!"
The overwhelming relief of having her sister spared and the crushing fear of what could've been crashed together like a tidal wave, drowning her.
She cried uncontrollably, her body shaking as she poured out all her guilt, fear, and helplessness. The empty forest echoed with Mirajane's heartbroken wails.
She didn't know how long she cried. Her throat was raw, her voice barely a whisper, her sobs fading into shaky hiccups. The outburst had drained her completely, and her head spun from lack of oxygen. She tried to stand to check on her sister and brother, but her numb legs wouldn't cooperate, and she started to collapse.
A warm, strong arm caught her just in time.
"Feeling a bit better?" Roger's voice was gentle.
"Mhm…" Mirajane nodded weakly, giving up on standing and letting herself lean against his steady support.
She wanted to thank him, but her throat burned, and all she could manage was a faint whisper. "…Thank you, Roger… If you hadn't been here… Lisanna, she…"
The memory of Lisanna being thrown flashed through her mind, and her heart clenched again, like an icy hand was squeezing it.
Roger handed her a red recovery potion. "With Elfman's strength, handling an Earth Dragon shouldn't have been easy, but it shouldn't have made him lose control either. What happened before this?"
Mirajane took the potion and downed it in one gulp. The cool liquid soothed her throat, and her wounds began healing visibly. "Lisanna and Elfman were on the verge of a magic breakthrough, so I took on an S-Class—no, an SS-Class mission to hunt an Earth Dragon."
"If we completed it, Lisanna's magic boost would've let her gain a new Takeover, and Elfman could've advanced by taking over the Earth Dragon."
"Things went smoothly at first. We took down one Earth Dragon together, and Elfman was about to perform the Takeover…" Her voice grew bitter. "Then, out of nowhere, two bigger Earth Dragons burst out from the ground. They injured Elfman."
"Lisanna and I fought with everything we had, barely managing to kill one and heavily injure the other, but we burned through all our magic."
"To protect us, the injured Elfman forced a Takeover on the wounded Earth Dragon."
"Maybe it was the dragon's pain from losing its young, or maybe its power was too much for Elfman to handle in his injured state, but after the Takeover, he lost control…"
"Lisanna went to evacuate nearby villagers who might've been caught in the crossfire. I could only rely on physical strength to lure him to this empty area."
"If he stayed out of control too long, Elfman would've been lost forever, turning into a real monster. That's why Lisanna…" Mirajane's voice broke, tears welling up again.
"No magic left?" Roger frowned. "What about your recovery potions? Three of you, and not a single bottle?"
Mirajane's fingers fidgeted with the empty potion bottle, her eyes darting away like a kid caught in trouble. Her voice was barely audible. "Before we left, I… had another duel with Erza. During the fight, I… accidentally used up all my potions."
"And Lisanna and Elfman had just finished another mission, so they hadn't restocked. They only had two bottles left from before, but those got smashed when the Earth Dragons ambushed us."
Roger looked at the battered, guilt-ridden girl and let out a deep sigh. "I told you before not to act recklessly. Being careless doesn't just hurt you—it drags the people closest to you down with you."
Mirajane bit her lip so hard that a trickle of blood stained her pale lips, the metallic taste spreading in her mouth.
After a moment, she nodded faintly, her voice soft but resolute. "I'm sorry… This time… I'll remember."
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