“Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees——!!”
The coldly spoken words sounded like the verdict of the Shinigami in the dead silence of the ruins.
“Rumble, rumble, rumble——!”
The next second, the earth violently cracked open!
The ancient trees that had previously stood motionless around the clearing seemed to have been infused with a tyrannical vitality, instantly transforming into bloodthirsty wooden dragons.
Countless giant trees and vines as thick as water barrels burst from the ground with overwhelming force, instantly swallowing the entire clearing!
“Wh-What kind of magic is this?!”
“The trees are alive! Monster! Somebody help me—aaaaah!”
The members of the dark guild, who had been lying helplessly on the ground just moments ago, didn’t even have time to think about running away before they were swallowed by the overwhelming green tide.
The giant trees spread and intertwined wildly, while the vines writhed like living creatures, precisely wrapping themselves around every single enemy and violently draining the remaining magic power from their bodies.
Screams and the sounds of breaking bones rose and fell one after another.
Just a few seconds later, the once-open clearing had completely disappeared.
In its place stood a massive, primitive wooden cage that radiated a terrifying sense of oppression.
The smoke and dust gradually cleared.
The dark guild members, who had committed all kinds of evil deeds on a daily basis, were now hanging from thick branches like roasted peanuts.
Their eyes had rolled back, foam covered their mouths, and they had completely lost the ability to resist.
Click.
The iron cage’s bars were gently pushed open by Byakuran.
He leisurely stepped onto the ground covered in green leaves, looked at the magnificent “masterpiece” before him, and contentedly dusted off his hands.
“Hey, hey… You’ve got to be kidding me, right?”
Lahar, who had fallen to the ground nearby and was sitting there, was completely dumbfounded.
He stared fixedly at the giant wooden forest that had replaced the clearing, not even bothering to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.
The lenses of his glasses reflected the unbelievable shock in his eyes.
“Hoo… ha…”
On the other side, Mirajane was kneeling on one knee.
After the fierce battles she had endured, her delicate body was covered in wounds and trembling uncontrollably.
She stared blankly at the exaggerated scene before her.
The corner of her mouth twitched as she turned toward Byakuran, who was walking over, and muttered:
“You… Exactly what kind of monster were you raised eating?”
Before she could finish speaking, however, her tightly stretched nerves finally relaxed after the complete annihilation of the enemy.
The injuries she had accumulated over a long period of time, combined with her physical exhaustion, suddenly came crashing down like a tidal wave.
Mirajane’s vision darkened.
She felt as though the entire world were spinning.
Before she could finish her sentence, her body went limp and she collapsed to the side.
Swish!
Before Lahar could cry out in surprise, a blur flashed past.
A faint, refreshing fragrance of grass and trees filled her nose.
The warmth of the embrace caused the white-haired girl, who was only half-conscious, to subconsciously let out a soft, comfortable hum.
Her head tilted weakly against the other person’s shoulder as she completely lost consciousness.
“Excessive physical exertion.”
Byakuran looked down at the exhausted girl in his arms.
She had finally relaxed after the battle.
He then helplessly turned toward Lahar, who was still too shocked to speak.
“I say, Mr. Lahar, don’t just stand there marveling at this. Quickly contact the others and have them clean up the aftermath. I’ll take her into town to find a doctor first.”
The Council’s carriages stopped one after another at the entrance of the town.
The sparse clinking of iron chains could be heard as the captured members of Pandemonium climbed into the carriages one by one, their heads lowered.
Lahar stood at the front and sincerely thanked Byakuran.
“Thank you very much. This time, it really was all thanks to you.”
“Your strength is truly astounding!”
However, Byakuran didn’t give him much of a reaction.
Holding half a piece of bread in his hand, he stared at Lahar with dead-fish eyes.
He had originally thought this would be nothing more than a simple subjugation mission, but the difficulty had suddenly increased by several levels.
Seeing his expression, Lahar’s face turned awkward.
He had no choice but to say goodbye sheepishly before leaving with the escort personnel.
Byakuran’s strategy during this battle had actually been quite simple.
First, he used his overwhelming magic power to intimidate the enemy, forcing all of their attention onto him.
At the same time, he secretly summoned a clone created by combining a spiritual body with an autonomous Wood Release creation.
The clone then headed toward Red Apple Village to rescue the hostages.
Although the clone’s strength was far inferior to Byakuran’s, it was more than enough to deal with a few minor enemies.
After finishing the rest of his food, Byakuran turned around and walked toward the clinic in town.
Time to take a look at this unexpected harvest.
A wild Mirajane, captured right on the battlefield!
A faint scent of disinfectant lingered in the ward.
The window lattice divided the afternoon sunlight into several bright strips, which fell across the bedside table.
A plate of freshly cut fruit sat on it.
Byakuran was sitting on a low stool beside the bed, tossing an apple core into the trash can.
Hearing a sound beside him, he quickly finished what he was doing and turned toward the patient.
Mira slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was an unfamiliar, delicate-looking dark-haired boy sitting beside her.
Seeing that she had awakened, Byakuran spoke. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“You’re awake. You passed out immediately after the battle ended yesterday, so I had no choice but to bring you to the hospital in this small town for treatment.”
Mira immediately recalled what had happened.
Her gaze then fell upon her exposed demon arm.
Her expression suddenly became anxious, and she hurriedly pulled her arm beneath the quilt.
Lowering her head, she didn’t dare to face the person beside her who had already seen her arm.
“My name is Byakuran, a mage from Fairy Tail. And you?”
“…Mirajane.”
After giving a stiff reply, she noticed the cloak placed beside the bed.
She immediately picked it up and draped it over herself.
“Thank you for your help. I’m going to leave the hospital.”
Seeing how guarded she was, Byakuran thought to himself that he couldn’t just let her run away like this.
So, he decided to strike up a conversation about the matter she cared about most.
“I heard your conversation yesterday. You seem to think you’ve been possessed by a demon, right?”
Mira froze.
“You haven’t been possessed by a demon. Rather, you’ve simply awakened your magic.”
“This is a type of magic called Take Over. You’ve merely taken over the power of a demon and manifested it through your own body.”
Hearing this, Mira was stunned.
She looked at Byakuran in surprise, but her expression soon dimmed again, as though she had recalled some painful memories.
“The power of a demon… I have no need for such a thing.”
“You probably don’t understand your own magic at all. Otherwise, you wouldn’t still be maintaining the appearance of a demon’s arm.”
Mira’s heart trembled.
“Can this arm be restored?”
“It can.”
Byakuran thought for a moment.
He only had a superficial understanding of Take Over Magic and genuinely didn’t know how to deal with such an abnormal Take Over situation.
However, thinking about the original story, he knew that Mirajane would eventually learn to control it.
“What should I do?”
Mira’s eyes lit up with excitement.
Byakuran smiled.
His expression made him look strangely like a suspicious uncle trying to lure a child away.
“I don’t know. I’ll have to ask our guild master.”
He paused before extending an invitation.
“Do you want to come with me?”
“Come to Fairy Tail!”