"Drive them out! You're not welcome here!"
"Anyone possessed by a demon,leave this village at once! Don't bring calamity on us!"
"..."
When Rain returned, the first thing he saw was a crowd gathered in front of Mira's cabin.
The entire village had come, faces twisted with fear and hostility, as though ready to exile them by force.
Lisanna and Elfman stood in front of the door, arms spread wide in desperate defense.
"My sister isn't possessed!" Lisanna cried. "She sealed the demon away!"
"Please...she saved us! She's not dangerous!" Elfman pleaded.
But their words fell on deaf ears. The villagers people too small-minded to grasp the existence of magic had seen only Mira's arm, still demonized and beyond her control.
To them, that was proof enough.
"Who would believe such nonsense? Seal a demon? Impossible! she's possessed."
"For the safety of the village, we can't let her stay!"
"Yes! Leave quickly! We already allowed you to live here out of kindness, don't pay us back by bringing demons to destroy us!"
The voices grew louder, angrier, until they blended into a single chant:
"Leave! Leave! Leave!"
No matter how Lisanna explained, they didn't care. Their fear had already chosen the answer.
"If you don't leave on your own," one man growled, hefting his hoe, "we'll drive you out ourselves."
Farm tools...scythes, hoes, pitchforks glinted in the villagers hands. The mob closed in, their eyes filled with cold resolve.
"You…" Lisanna's small body trembled. She couldn't understand how the people they'd grown up with could suddenly become so cruel.
She was only a child. How could she fight back against grown adults?
Mira stood in the doorway, one hand clutching her demonized arm. Her silver hair shadowed her eyes.
Her gaze swept across the villagers,eyes colder than ice.
In her chest, the last thread tying her to this place snapped.
If not for Rain, I would have left this rotten village long ago.
"Enough!!!"
The roar cut through the mob like a blade.
Rain shoved his way through the crowd, his presence alone forcing the villagers to step back.
His fists clenched, his eyes cold, he moved to stand in front of Mira, Lisanna, and Elfman.
"Rain!"
The moment Mira saw him, her heart quivered. Instinctively, she stepped back, hiding her demonized arm behind her body.
She didn't want him to see.
Not that her ugly, monstrous hand.
Boom!
Before the villagers could speak another word, Rain's fist slammed into the ground, wrapped in a surge of magic power.
Rumble—!
The earth split apart, cracks racing outward in jagged lines. Startled cries rang out as the villagers stumbled back, their courage evaporating with the trembling ground.
Rain straightened slowly, his cold gaze sweeping across them.
"Remember this. If we leave, it's because we decide to leave. Not because we were driven out by you… scum."
The word hit like a whip.
None of them dared meet his eyes. Even as anger simmered in their hearts, fear chained their tongues. Not one had the courage to defy him aloud.
"Mira," Rain turned, his tone softening,
"you've awakened magic now. Let's leave this rotten place… and join a guild."
His gaze was warm, gentle. But Mira
"Rain… my hand…"
Her voice wavered. She shrank back, hiding further behind Lisanna and Elfman. Her demonized arm trembled at her side.
She couldn't bear the thought of him seeing her like this.
Rain's expression softened. He stepped closer, speaking firmly, without hesitation.
"Mira. This is just the aftereffect of awakening magic. Once you practice more, once you learn to control it… your arm will return to normal."
"…Really?"
Her usual confidence, her playfulness...it was gone. In its place was a frightened little girl, peeking at him with cautious eyes. She was terrified he was only comforting her with lies.
"Of course it's true!" Rain snapped, more out of frustration at her doubt than anything else.
"When have you ever seen me lie?"
"…That's true."
At his words, Mira blinked. Slowly, her doubt began to melt away.
'Rain wouldn't lie to me.'
She believed him.
Mira's eyes flickered with light.
Her body wasn't what she wanted… that monstrous arm was still there. But even so she had awakened magic. And that was something worth holding onto.
"Get lost!"
Rain glared at the villagers with ferocious eyes.
The villagers froze under his eyes,eyes more ferocious than any beast.
"R-Run!"
Their nerves snapped. Fear surged through the crowd, and one by one, they scattered, fleeing in a chaotic rush.
After that night, staying in the village was impossible.
Even if the villagers didn't dare lay hands on them again, resentment and fear would forever poison the air. They would never see Mira, Lisanna, or Elfman as anything but cursed.
So Rain made the decision.
Both he and Mira had awakened magic. Lisanna and Elfman carried the sparks of magic within them too. There was no reason to remain.
It was time to leave and find a guild where they truly belonged.
Magnolia.
At Rain's urging, the four of them traveled across the kingdom, enduring long days on rattling trains and worn paths.
Until finally, they arrived before a three-story building, large and lively, crowned with a unique symbol.
"This is it? Rain, this is the mage's guild you've been talking about?" Mira whispered.
Her eyes traced every detail of the building, as though searching for the reason Rain had led them across half the kingdom just to stand here.
Rain's lips curved slightly as his eyes fell on the emblem above the door.
"That's right. Fairy Tail."
For just a moment, nostalgia stirred in his chest.
Back on Earth, in his previous life, he had read this story. He had seen this guild. And now here it was, alive before him.
The choice had been made the moment he knew where he was.
Fairy Tail was the only guild he would join.
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