Dark shadows loomed over the sky as a massive beast let out a terrifying roar. A crimson-haired girl leapt down from its back, cutting through the air like a streak of black lightning.
Landing at the heart of the explosion, she gripped her long spear, sweeping it sideways. The tremendous force of the swing blew away the choking dust cloud in an instant. Stepping out of the smoke, her sharp gaze locked onto her target—Fairy Tail. The tip of her spear gleamed coldly as it pointed straight ahead.
Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall—
"Levy, hurry!!!"
The moment Erza Knightwalker (to distinguish her from Earthland's Erza, we'll call her Knightwalker) appeared, everyone inside nearly lost their minds. Lucy, their strong-willed big sister figure, shouted frantically, urging Levy to finish preparations.
"I'm working on it—stop yelling!" Levy snapped, her dexterous hands flying over the controls as she adjusted the magic engine, poured in magic power, and spread out the runic formation.
Within moments, the guild was surging with magic energy. Relief crossed Levy's face as confidence returned to her. She pulled down a lever:
"Alright, teleportation spell is—"
"Wait! Look outside! Mira's out there!" someone suddenly cried, cutting her off and pointing toward the door.
Everyone turned, and sure enough, they could faintly make out two figures outside. Though blurred, one of them was unmistakably Mirajane.
"Damn it! Why now of all times?" Levy cursed under her breath. Of all the moments Mira could've chosen to step out, it had to be when the Kingdom's forces were upon them. But she quickly hardened her resolve.
"No—we can't waste time worrying about that now. If we hesitate, everyone here will die. Mira will just have to forgive us. We'll save her later."
"But big sis has been here the whole time!"
A trembling, teary voice cut through Levy's determination. Everyone turned toward Elfman, the crybaby mushroom-cut boy, who was raising his hand nervously. Standing right beside him was… Mirajane.
The guild members froze in shock.
"Then… who's that outside?"
No one could answer.
But Lisanna's eyes widened the most. When she was younger, she had visited Papaya's home with Natsu and gotten to know him. Though the others couldn't recognize the man standing outside Mira, she could. It was Papaya—the mysterious old man connected to Earthland's Fairy Tail.
A thought struck Lisanna like lightning—Could that be my sister… from another world?
Her heart lurched. She instinctively took a step forward, yearning to rush out and ask. But before she could act, a gentle hand pressed on her shoulder. The Mirajane of this world gave her a reassuring smile.
Lisanna froze, torn with pain and conflict. She couldn't go outside—if she did, she'd put everyone here in danger. But still…
"Mira… sis…"
Her whisper reached the ears of Edolas' Mirajane (to distinguish, we'll call her Mirajane E). Concern flickered across Mirajane E's face.
"What's wrong, Lisanna?"
"N-nothing!" Lisanna quickly shook her head, though her eyes kept drifting toward the figures outside. And she could have sworn… when she looked, the other Mira looked back at her and smiled.
"Hmph. Exploding Spear!"
While Fairy Tail hesitated, Knightwalker seized the opportunity. Her spear shone with destructive light. To increase its power, she tossed it into the air and spun mid-motion, kicking it. The spear streaked through the sky like a dragon, piercing straight into the guild's central engine.
BOOM!
A blinding explosion erupted. In an instant, half the guild was obliterated. Its interior structures collapsed, beams and stone crashing down. Thick black smoke billowed across the skies.
A cruel smile spread across Knightwalker's lips. This time… Fairy Tail will finally be nothing but a corpse.
Outside, Mira's heart seized. She stared at the devastation, fear gnawing at her—Lisanna was in there. Fury erupted across her face as she glared at the crimson warrior not far away.
"Erza! What the hell are you doing!?"
Knightwalker turned at the sound of her voice, amusement glinting in her eyes.
"Oh? Mira Jane of Fairy Tail? What's this—have you come to surrender?"
She smirked, shaking her head.
"Too bad. It's already too late. The Kingdom has no use for rebels."
Behind her, colossal beasts landed one after another, shaking the earth with their weight. Rows of soldiers descended from their backs, forming ranks, weapons gleaming with magical energy as they leveled them at the guild.
"Pity. If you'd obeyed His Majesty's orders sooner, you could've been spared," sneered a knight clad in gaudy armor, his hairstyle just as obnoxious as his tone.
"Surrender…?!" Mira's rage boiled over. This Erza… an enemy of Fairy Tail? Her gaze grew colder by the second.
"If you dare raise your hand against Fairy Tail… don't blame me for what comes next."
But Knightwalker didn't even glance at her, dismissing her words with contempt. She simply gestured toward the soldiers. "Seize them." Then, her eyes slid back to the guild, her lips curling into a predator's grin.
"The hunt begins."
"Don't move!"
A squad of soldiers leveled their weapons directly at Mira and Papaya. Two more stepped forward, shackles in hand. Mira's expression hardened to ice, her body trembling with suppressed fury as she summoned her magic.
Once, she had been one of Fairy Tail's S-Class mages, rivaling even Erza in strength. She had sealed away her power after Lisanna's "death," choosing instead to work as a model and receptionist. But now that her heart's seal was broken, her true strength returned. She was Mirajane Strauss—the Demon of Fairy Tail.
She was ready to unleash it—
But suddenly… her magic refused to answer her. It was as if the wellspring of her power had turned stagnant, locked away just as it had been during her years of self-sealing.
"Good enough."
Papaya's quiet voice broke the tension.
And at that instant—her magic surged to life. No, it roared.
A flood of black-violet power erupted around her, warping the space itself. The sheer force difference created violent pressure changes, ripping up earth and stone, sending debris hurtling into the sky. Cracks spider-webbed across the ground.
From the center of that storm, a monstrous figure emerged. Her beautiful face is now marked by black streaks. Crimson skin-tight armor covered only what it had to. Her hands, scaled and clawed, and behind her whipped a long, menacing tail.
Satan Soul: Mirajane.
"Open fire!!"
The Kingdom soldiers panicked but wasted no time. A storm of magic blasts wove together into a deadly net, sealing off every escape route.
But Mira had no intention of escaping. She raised one hand lightly—
And their barrage vanished, swallowed whole by her overwhelming aura.
The soldiers' formation collapsed in an instant.
"Oh… you're not this world's Mirajane, are you?"
Knightwalker, sensing the immense magic reaction, stopped her slaughter. Her expression turned grave as she studied Mira's demonic form, intrigued.
"I am Mirajane Strauss of Fairy Tail," she declared coldly, before lunging forward, her hand bursting with destructive light. She unleashed a beam of annihilation straight at Knightwalker.
Caught off guard by the sudden arrival of another Mira, Knightwalker was unprepared. Without the Ten Commandments spear in her grasp, she had no chance to fight evenly. She dodged frantically, twisting and leaping, but some attacks were unavoidable. Forced to take them head-on, she was quickly driven into a corner.
"Sugarboy!!" Knightwalker shouted amidst the clash.
The gaudy knight drew his longsword with a flourish.
"Understood."
The call sent a wave of caution through Mira. She shifted part of her focus, wary of a sneak attack. But instead of striking her, Sugarboy slashed at the ground.
The earth rippled like water. In the distance, the sealed Ten Commandments spear stirred.
"Not a chance!" Mira roared, firing a dark beam toward Sugarboy.
But Knightwalker seized the opening, sprinting toward the shifting weapon.
At the same time, the ground surged like a tidal wave, erecting a massive wall that blocked Mira's attack—and carried the spear closer to Knightwalker.
Mira's eyes flashed. She snapped her arm forward, releasing a whip of energy to strike it away.
But just then, the earth wave twisted mid-motion. Pressure and force aligned in a delicate balance, flinging the weapon skyward—
—straight into Knightwalker's hand.
It was never a simple transport. From the very start, Sugarboy had planned a slingshot maneuver, his earlier tricks nothing but misdirection.
Clutching the weapon, Knightwalker's entire demeanor shifted. No longer cornered, she smirked with confidence.
"Now…" she leveled the spear, her eyes burning with battle lust, "…our fight truly begins."
Hmph!