The eerie suction force in the sky grew stronger. Roger looked up, his eyes narrowing at the thickening gray clouds. A massive vortex swirled slowly at their center, like a greedy, watchful eye.
Mirajane followed his gaze, her heart tightening as she spotted the anomaly. "Is that… a magic circle? Are we trapped?"
She instinctively closed her eyes to check her condition, but aside from the weakness of her depleted magic, nothing seemed off.
Before she could say more, Roger voice cut through. "That's a super-dimensional magic connecting to another world—Edolas. It's designed to siphon magic power from our world and convert it into magic crystals."
"Another world… siphoning magic…" The words, dripping with conspiracy, made Mirajane frown. She wanted to press for details, but seeing Roger deep in thought, she swallowed her questions.
Instead, she turned and hurried to the unconscious Lisanna, kneeling to check her condition carefully.
Roger stayed put, a faint white glow flickering in his eyes. A bold idea sparked in his mind: if the Anima could suck up magic, could it be forced to release it? It would take effort to analyze, but with Mystogan's intel and the traces of the magic circle beneath his feet, reversing it wasn't impossible. Even if it failed, he had his "Little Tornado" card as a backup to erase it. But if it worked… the Anima would be out of commission for a long time.
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. His eyes gleamed brighter as he raised his hand, his fingertips glowing with strange gray light. He began writing rapidly in the air.
One by one, glowing magical runes appeared, dancing like sprites. More and more runes filled the space, dense and shimmering. When the final rune was written, they erupted in a blinding gray flash!
Buzz!
The runes seemed summoned, shrinking rapidly into streams of light that swirled around Roger fingertips, converging into a single radiant point.
With a swing of his arm, Roger launched the glowing point like an arrow, straight into the heart of the gray vortex in the sky!
The moment the light hit, the smoothly spinning vortex froze! It shuddered violently, like a jammed gear, emitting a low creak.
Its rotation slowed to a sluggish crawl, then stopped entirely. A wisp of thin white smoke drifted from the vortex's core.
Then, slowly, the massive vortex began to rotate in the opposite direction!
Whoosh! Countless tiny blue specks, like inverted stardust, poured out from the vortex's depths, showering the forest below!
Feeling the strange sensation from the vortex, Roger lips curled into a satisfied grin. "Seeing the magic flow backward, they're panicking now!"
As he spoke, the vortex stuttered again, shrinking rapidly. Just before it vanished completely, a tiny black dot was spat out from its center!
The vortex collapsed like a deflated balloon, dissolving silently into the blue sky.
"What's that?" Roger muttered, activating [Enhanced Magic: Eagle Eye Vision]. His gaze sharpened, zooming in on the falling dot.
The outline grew clearer—white hair, a tattered, bloodstained dress, a pale face—
"That's… Lisanna from another world?!" Roger pupils contracted.
White wings sprouted from his back in an instant! His figure blurred into a streak of light, shooting skyward!
He soared upward as the figure plummeted. Soon, he caught a girl who looked almost identical to Lisanna, bloodied and barely breathing, in his arms. Her clothes were shredded, wounds covered her body, and her breaths were so faint they were nearly undetectable.
"Reversing the Anima… it pulled her here?" Roger muttered, pulling a red potion from his system inventory. Using [Water Shaping], he guided the liquid into a thin stream, carefully feeding it into her mouth.
The potion worked instantly. Her wounds healed visibly—scabbing, closing, and revealing smooth skin. Color returned to her pale face.
Roger , holding her, descended gently to the ground.
By then, Mirajane was approaching, supporting a newly awakened, slightly embarrassed Lisanna.
Lisanna hid behind her sister, avoiding Roger gaze. "Um… Roger -bro, thanks for saving me," she mumbled. "I-I'll work hard to boost my magic so I won't rush in like that again."
Roger chuckled, half-amused. "What am I, a guild disciplinarian? Why are you two so scared of me?"
"Hehe," Lisanna giggled, scratching the back of her head and peeking out. "You just have this… commanding vibe, Roger -bro. When we mess up, you just stand there, and our hearts skip a beat. You don't even need to yell—sometimes your silence is scarier than a lecture."
As she spoke, her gaze drifted to the unconscious girl in Roger arms. She froze. "Σ(00; W-W-What?! That's me?!"
Her eyes went wide, her mouth agape enough to fit an egg. "Huh?!" She stood there, dumbfounded.
Am I… dead? Is this my soul talking?
She pinched her cheek hard, wincing as it reddened. "Ow! Not a dream!"
She touched her arm. "Still warm. Not a corpse."
Three question marks popped over her head. "(17!)? Am I dead or alive?!"
Mirajane, seeing her sister's silliness, laughed and gently tapped her head. "You little goof, of course you're alive! Been reading too many comics? No more borrowing from Cana."
"Nooo, Mira-nee!" Lisanna forgot her shock, clasping her hands with teary eyes. "I heard Cana got Spy x Family! It took six months to get this volume! I was so excited for it before my mission!"
"Pfft—" Mirajane couldn't help but laugh at her sister's dramatic pleading. She always fell for Lisanna's antics. Seeing her so lively finally eased the gut-wrenching fear from earlier. She ruffled Lisanna's hair gently. "Alright, alright. But after you read it, you're training with me."
"Training?!" Lisanna's face fell, dreading her sister's hellish regimen. She was about to protest when memories of Elfman losing control and her near-death moment flashed through her mind.
She gritted her teeth, squeezed her eyes shut, and blurted, "F-Fine! I'll train with you, Mira-nee!"
Then, her eyes darted slyly to the unconscious Elfman nearby, a mischievous glint sparkling. "Mira-nee! Elf-nii definitely wants to get stronger too! Let's bring him along! Three's more motivating!"
Sorry, Elf-nii. If I train alone, I'll die! At least with you, we can split Mira-nee's attention.
"I'll make you all my fried pork cutlet sandwiches tonight. If you don't say anything, I'll take it as a yes!"