Caelan slowly stood up and looked at Mirajane.
She wasn’t completely won over by his gentle words, her eyes still narrowed in high alert.
“Lisanna, get back here!” she demanded.
“It’s okay, Sis.
I trust the Mage,” Lisanna pleaded.
“Get away from him!” In a flash of blinding golden light, Caelan vanished—reappearing directly behind Mirajane.
‘So fast!’ Before Mirajane could even process his movement, she saw his hand reaching toward her.
She squeezed her eyes shut in terror.
‘So this is it.
It’s finally over.
I’m so sorry, Elfman…
Lisanna.
I can’t protect you anymore.’ But the fatal blow never came.
Instead, she felt her cursed, demonic arm being gently lifted into the air.
Mirajane cracked an eye open to find the young Mage inspecting her terrifying claw with genuine, unbothered curiosity.
“Hmm…
this is my first time seeing Take Over Magic up close.
It’s actually pretty amazing,” Caelan muttered, tapping her scaled arm.
“Huh?!” Mirajane froze, completely stunned.
“Take…
Over Magic…?” Caelan gave a solemn, exaggerated nod.
“Yep.
Take Over Magic.
And you’ve taken over a demon, which is a super rare variant.
Honestly…” ‘If I manage to kidnap her back to the guild, the Master is definitely going to hand me a million-Jewel bonus!’ Caelan cheered inwardly.
His smile faltered slightly as he glanced at the floorboards.
‘Wait, that’s weird.
Why is there still such a massive energy fluctuation coming from beneath the church?
Don’t tell me…’ Mirajane stared at him, desperately clinging to a sliver of hope.
“Y-you mean…” “That’s right,” Caelan smiled gently.
“Exactly what you’re thinking.
You aren’t cursed.” “That’s amazing, Sis!” Elfman cheered, tears streaming down his face.
Lisanna threw herself directly into Mirajane’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Waaah!
I’m so happy for you, Sis!!” Caelan watched the emotional family hug, scratching his cheek awkwardly, not entirely sure what to do with himself.
Suddenly, the stone floor beneath their feet began to tremble violently.
Rumble, rumble!
“Don’t just stand there!” Caelan barked.
“Get out of here!” Mirajane snapped to her senses.
She scooped Lisanna up into her arms, grabbed Elfman by the hand, and sprinted for the church doors.
Crash!
In the blink of an eye, the entire church collapsed in on itself, reduced to a massive pile of rubble.
Caelan dusted off his jacket, staring at the ruins.
“So you finally decided to show yourself…
Satan.” Mirajane, having just barely escaped the collapse, looked back in confusion.
“Hey!
What are you talking about?
Why did the church just fall apart?!” Caelan ignored her question.
“Take your brother and sister and get as far away from here as possible.
You absolutely cannot get involved in the fight that’s about to happen.” From the depths of the ruined church, thick tendrils of pitch-black smoke began bleeding into the sky.
Within seconds, the oppressive dark mist swallowed the entire village.
A pair of massive, glowing purple eyes snapped open within the swirling clouds.
“Hahahaha!
I truly couldn’t stomach watching you humans put on such a pathetic, melodramatic play for another second.” The demonic voice reverberated through the air.
“Tell me, human…
how did you sense my presence?” Caelan scoffed, wholly unimpressed.
“Tsk, tsk.
You didn’t actually think you were hiding well, did you?
The second I stepped foot in this village, I could feel an incredibly dense power festering over here.” He crossed his arms.
“At first, I thought all that demonic energy was leaking off this little girl.
But once I got close, I realized she only had a tiny trace of it on her.
The massive, disgusting well of energy was actually buried deep beneath the church.” “Not bad…
not bad at all.
To possess such keen senses at your age.
It seems I’ve lured in quite a delicious prize today.” The demonic entity laughed, the sound shaking the very earth.
“I have waited for centuries!
And now, I can finally shatter this wretched seal and return to the mortal realm!!
Hahaha!” The swirling black mist suddenly plummeted, rapidly condensing into a colossal, shadowy demonic arm.
It opened its massive claws and swiped down directly at Caelan.
“Become my sacrifice, human!!” Caelan smirked lazily.
“You’re really not qualified for that.” He raised a single finger, radiant light gathering at the tip.
“Laser.” Fwip!
KABOOM!!
The beam of light shot upward, completely incinerating the giant shadow arm in a blinding explosion.
Caelan brought his hands together in front of his chest.
An intense, blinding mass of golden light flared between his palms.
“Yasakani no Magatama!” Fwip!
Fwip!
Fwip!
Fwip!
Tens of thousands of devastating light bullets launched into the sky, filling the air like a meteor shower.
However, the barrage of light projectiles passed harmlessly through the black mist, detonating uselessly in the empty sky above.
“Foolish human!
Hahahaha!” Satan’s voice mocked from the shadows.
“I am an immortal being!
I have no physical body!” Caelan scratched the back of his head, sighing heavily.
“Man, this is so annoying~” Before Caelan could react, hundreds of shadowy arms began condensing out of the mist in all directions.
“Such a perfect, powerful vessel…
and it will soon be mine!” Satan roared with laughter.
“Slaughter of the Demon Realm!” The hundreds of massive demonic arms lunged toward Caelan simultaneously, seeking to crush him.
“Ama no Murakumo.” A brilliant blade of solid light extended from Caelan’s grip.
With a blinding flurry of slashes, he severed and eradicated every single shadowy limb that dared approach him.
Caelan rested the glowing sword on his shoulder, sneering at the sky.
“You didn’t actually think some cheap parlor tricks were gonna take me down, did you?
If all Demon Kings are as pathetic as you, you should just stay sealed in the ground forever.
Dragging yourself out here is just embarrassing.” “Insolent brat!
Your tongue is as sharp as your sword!” Satan bellowed in rage.
“Let us see how long your stamina holds out!
Slaughter of the Demon Realm!” Instantly, a violent black gale swept through the village.
The sky blackened completely, plunging the world into a suffocating darkness.
Visibility dropped to near zero, and the horrifying, anguished wails of damned souls echoed from every direction like an open gate to the underworld.
Suddenly, Mirajane’s voice cut through the howling wind.
“Hey!
You annoying jerk, are you alright?!” “Do I look like I’m having a good time?!” Caelan shouted back.
“I told you to get out of here!
I don’t have the free hands to babysit you!” “I didn’t ask for your protection!” Mirajane yelled back fiercely.
“Just tell me if there’s anything I can do to help!” Caelan’s eyes lit up.
“Actually…
there is.
And you’re the only one who can pull it off!” With one massive sweep of his sword, a blinding arc of light severed a fresh wave of incoming demonic claws.
Taking advantage of the brief opening, Caelan instantly teleported to Mirajane’s side.
He pointed urgently toward the collapsed church.
“That thing’s true physical core has to be hidden somewhere down in those ruins.
Your body has already absorbed a fragment of its power.
Follow your instincts!” He gestured to her demonic claw.
“That arm of yours will act like a compass.
It’ll lead you right to him!” “Okay, but then what?!” Mirajane demanded.
“What am I supposed to do when I find it?!” A wicked, highly questionable grin spread across Caelan’s face.
“What else?” Without warning, he grabbed her by the back of her collar and hoisted her into the air.
“Hey!
What are you doing?!” Mirajane shrieked, kicking her legs wildly.
“Put me down right now!” Caelan completely ignored her protests, wound up his arm, and pitched her like a fastball directly into the center of the church ruins.
“Aaaahhhhh!!” Mirajane screamed as she sailed through the air.
“I’m going to kill you for this!!” Right as she flew, Caelan fired a concentrated beam of golden light from his fingertip, blasting a massive crater directly into the rubble to carve out a clear pathway into the underground crypt.
Satan noticed the incoming girl and instantly realized the threat.
Panicking, the demonic shadow quickly condensed a massive sphere of dark energy and hurled it directly at the airborne Mirajane to intercept her.
But Caelan was faster.
In a flash of golden light, he intercepted the projectile midair, placing himself right between Mirajane and the attack.
“Cero!” KABOOM—!!!
The golden blast completely consumed Satan’s dark energy sphere, punching a massive, glowing hole straight through the suffocating black mist.
With her path safely cleared, Mirajane successfully plummeted straight down into the newly blasted tunnel.
Satan’s shadowy visage warped in anger.
“Human…
you don’t actually believe that pathetic little girl can defeat me on her own?!” Caelan glanced down at the crater, a confident smirk playing on his lips.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” He then pointed a single finger straight up into the pitch-black sky.
Blinding golden light rapidly coalesced at the tip.
“Shining Flare!” Instantly, an overwhelming wave of pure, radiant light exploded outward like a miniature sun.
The moment the golden rays pierced the darkness, the screeching ghouls, ghosts, and shadows haunting the village were instantly vaporized into ash.
Deep within the Sealed Ground.
Thud!
Bam!
Crash!
“Ouch!!” Mirajane tumbled roughly down the crater, skipping like a stone across the jagged rock floor before finally skidding to a halt.
“Ow, ow, ow…” she groaned, rubbing her bruised knees.
“That absolute bastard!
I can’t believe he actually just threw me in here!
When I get out of here, I’m going to murder him!” Muttering curses under her breath, Mirajane slowly pushed herself up from the rubble.
But as she stood, a strange, creeping sensation washed over her.
It was as if a silent voice in the back of her mind was pulling her, urging her to walk deeper into the dark cavern.
As if moving completely on its own, her demonic arm slowly raised, its sharp claws pointing dead ahead into the shadows.