Mirajane crossed her arms, nodding with satisfaction. "Alright, I'll head back and put together a new training plan. My goal is to get all of you to pass the S-Class exam within two years."
"T-Two years? S-Class?!" Lisanna stumbled back a step, her smile looking more like a grimace. "W-Wait, it's not like I have to pass the exam, right? As long as I'm strong enough, that's fine!"
Oh no! Two years to pass the S-Class exam?! Completely impossible, okay?!
The guild was filling up with more and more powerful wizards, and the exam's difficulty was skyrocketing. Besides the magic power requirement, you had to either defeat an S-Class wizard or get them to acknowledge your strength.
But those guys didn't know the meaning of "holding back"! Especially Roger—he'd even used illusion magic to create some kind of—what was it?—dungeon? It didn't just test your magic power, combat experience, and reaction speed, but also your intelligence and mental resilience.
Just the other day, Cana was griping about how she slacked off and didn't take the exam earlier, and now it's so tough she can't pass. Good thing they could still tag along on Mirajane's S-Class and SS-Class missions for experience, or there wouldn't be enough guild jobs to go around.
Mirajane was about to retort when a panicked shout came from nearby:
"Mirajane! Everyone! Run!! The Kingdom's Army! They're coming!!"
Everyone froze, turning to look. There, on the ground, lay Lisanna, eyes squeezed shut, drenched in cold sweat, her body writhing in pain as if she were desperately running from something.
Her eyes snapped open, and she let out a piercing scream: "Stay back!! Don't come near me!!"
Her cry cut off abruptly as she gasped for air, her forehead slick with sweat. Sitting up, she stared at her unharmed body, touching her smooth cheeks in confusion. "I… I remember falling off a cliff. But why doesn't it hurt? And my wounds—they're gone?"
She lifted her head, her gaze sweeping over the unfamiliar forest around her before locking onto a face that was almost identical to her own.
"Huh?" "HUH?!"
"Another… me?!"
The other Lisanna let out an incredulous shout. "How do you just jump straight to 'another me'?! Shouldn't you first wonder if your soul's left your body or something?"
"Soul… leaving my body?" The strange phrase puzzled Lisanna. "What's that? Can a soul come out of something?"
"Uh…" The question stumped the other Lisanna. She'd only heard Roger mention it in passing and vaguely understood the concept, but she had no idea what it actually meant.
"Forget that for now," Lisanna said quickly, sidestepping the topic. She leaned in closer, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. "You were shouting about the 'Kingdom's Army'—that doesn't sound like a dark guild's name. It sounds more like… an actual army? Why are they after you?"
Lisanna's eyes dimmed, her hands clutching the tattered hem of her clothes. "Because… the guild I'm part of, Fairy Tail… it's a dark guild."
"What?!" Mirajane and Lisanna gasped in unison, wondering if they'd misheard.
"Fairy Tail… a dark guild?! That's impossible!"
Sensing no hostility from them, Lisanna's tense body relaxed slightly, though her voice carried a bitter edge. "Because of excessive magic consumption, the king ordered all guilds to disband to prevent magic from drying up completely. Fairy Tail is the biggest guild in the kingdom, so we were the first ones targeted."
"If they can wipe out Fairy Tail, the smaller guilds will disband out of fear."
"Magic drying up? Excessive consumption?" The words were clear enough, but they left the sisters baffled. It was like someone telling you the air would run out—it sounded like pure fantasy.
Lisanna tilted her head, confused. "Isn't magic just in the air, constantly regenerating? How could it ever dry up?"
"Wait!" Mirajane's sharp instincts kicked in, her eyes scanning the girl's body as her brow furrowed. "This girl… she has no magic power in her at all? It's not being absorbed—it's like it's being repelled by her."
"Lisanna?" Mirajane called out instinctively, only for both girls to turn toward her.
Mirajane blinked, then gave a gentle smile. "Two Lisannas? That's gonna get confusing."
She looked at the new girl, her eyes softening. "When Elfman was little, he could never say 'Lisanna' properly. He'd just call you 'Lisa, Lisa.' Can I call you Lisa to keep things simple?"
Lisa froze, her eyes welling up as she nodded faintly. "Y-Yeah… that's fine. Mirajane told me Elfman used to call me that when we were kids." Her voice grew quieter.
Mirajane nodded, understanding dawning. She turned to Roger. "This girl… she's from that place you mentioned—Edolas, right?"
Roger nodded. "Yeah. She must've come through the Anima. No mistake."
"Another world?" Lisa's voice trembled with confusion and urgency. "Can I… can I go back?"
Roger paused, then said slowly, "You can. But not right now."
Her heart sank at his words, her mind flashing to the frantic faces of her Mirajane and Elfman just before she fell off the cliff. They must be so worried. Would Mirajane, with her gentle heart, be sitting on the ground, crying into her hands? Would Elfman be a sobbing mess again?
"Lisa."
A bright, cheerful voice pulled her from her sadness. The other Lisanna leaned in, hands behind her back, her warm, vibrant smile lighting up her face. "Why don't you come home with us for now? You can't go back yet, but that doesn't mean you're stuck here forever! Who knows? Maybe one morning, Roger'll wake you up and say, 'Lisa, time to go home!'"
Looking at this girl who was her mirror image yet radiated such bright confidence, and at Mirajane's gentle, reassuring gaze, Lisa's despair began to ease.
She was still alive. And one day, she'd see her Mirajane and Elfman again. That was enough for now.
"Yeah!" She nodded firmly, a spark of light returning to her eyes.
After explaining the basics of this world to Lisa, Elfman finally stirred awake.
With the Earth Dragon subjugation job wrapped up, the group set off back to the guild.
"W-Wow! I-I'm flying?!" Lisa clung tightly to her clothes, staring wide-eyed at the forest and towns zipping by below, her pale face flushed with excitement and a touch of fear.
"This—this bamboo dragonfly thing—is it some kind of magic tool unique to this world? It's my first time seeing one!"