"Anbei Ai Village, such a small, broken village, and it even has a church?"
Ankh stared blankly at the shabby building in front of him, muttering mockingly, "There's no one even to worship, so what kind of church is it?"
Next to Ankh, an old man with a hunched back wiped the sweat from his forehead incessantly, saying guiltily, "Everyone is… quite busy… on weekdays…"
This young man in front of him, not only was his appearance demonic, but the aura around him was so sharp that people didn't dare to look him directly in the eye.
Ankh glanced at the old man and said, "Then… where's the demon? Didn't the request say it was trapped in the church?"
The old man smiled fawningly, then hesitated, saying, "Just a few days ago… for some reason, that demon… escaped…"
Ankh raised an eyebrow. Escaped?
The request form the Guild Master gave him clearly stated that a demon had suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the Anbei Ai Village church, and had claimed the entire church area for itself, not allowing anyone to enter.
However, from the information, this demon seemed unable to leave the church area, so why had it suddenly disappeared now? Ankh frowned, walked to the church door, kicked open the door of the dilapidated building, and walked in without hesitation.
The old man trembled, his old body shaking, and quickly followed Ankh.
Ankh carefully observed his surroundings; it was just a typical church design, albeit a bit shabby.
Besides that, there was also a very aggressive magical energy in the air, faintly exuding evil.
"There's a lingering scent of a residual soul here."
"A soul? The demon's?" Ankh asked, puzzled.
"It should be. That demon has indeed left this place."
"Village Chief! That demon has appeared in the village!"
Just as Ankh was at a loss, a dishevelled man rushed into the church from outside, urgently shouting at the old man.
The Village Chief, the old man, was shocked and turned pale, falling to the ground on the spot, his lips trembling as he said, "What… how is that possible…"
Ankh dismissively walked around the Village Chief and said to the man, "Where is the demon? Take me there."
After seeing Ankh's face, the man's gaze was dull for a moment, then he quickly came to his senses and said, "Yes, Mage-sama, please follow me."
Ankh followed the man and quickly left the church, leaving the Village Chief, who was like a madman, sitting on the ground, muttering strange things:
"Why… those people clearly said… Satan would grant me endless wealth…"
…Anbei Ai Village was not originally a prosperous area, but now the streets were crowded with people.
Sturdy adult men rushed out of their homes, carrying knives, spears, clubs, and staffs, their eyes red as they chased after some filthy thing.
Ankh arrived at the center of the disturbance in the village, looking at the villagers who were shouting to kill, and asked in confusion, "What are they doing?"
The man who led Ankh had a pale face and said:
"It's all the Village Chief! He said sacrificing living people to the demon… could gain wealth, but so many people died… and there's nothing!"
"And the demon has been released! Our village will be slaughtered!"
The man was almost driven mad by the demon, but Ankh didn't show sympathy for his frantic and incoherent words, only finding them somewhat amusing.
No wonder Ankh had always felt the atmosphere of this village was strange; it turned out they were all people dominated by greed.
Worshipping a demon, and eventually the whole village being harmed by the demon… it sounds like a good cautionary tale… Ankh sneered dismissively, stretching his arms and saying, "Although there are still many unanswered questions about this, let's catch the demon first."
With that, a magic circle suddenly appeared on the ground beneath Ankh's feet, and a giant force that appeared out of nowhere propelled him into the air, flying up into the sky above the village.
"Oh, I see it."
The village roads were not complicated; a large group of strong men were all out, chaotic, but also gradually surrounding an alley.
Ankh narrowed his eyes and indeed saw a small figure in that narrow alley.
Clad in a heavy black cloak, completely covered from head to toe, this was the demon?
Are you kidding me? Her aura feels a bit weak, sigh… Ankh pouted in slight disappointment, then directly descended towards where she was.
"Damn it…"
Leaning against the wall and sitting on the ground, the person in black let out a pleasant female voice from under her hood, the voice was soft and sweet, but the tone was full of unwillingness.
One of the girl's hands was propped on the ground, revealing a frightening arm with an ugly, hard, brownish skin, and bright purple bumps on it, as if it truly were a demon's arm.
"Why… why did it turn out like this!"
The demon arm slammed heavily onto the ground, and the brick pavement shattered in response. The girl knelt on the ground, unable to help but sob softly.
Ankh silently landed behind her, leaning against the wall without a word, quietly watching the girl.
After a long while, when the villagers' searching and chasing sounds grew closer, the girl finally propped herself up and stood, silently wiping away her tears.
"I need to get back quickly, Lisanna and Elfman are waiting to eat!"
Ankh's heart skipped a beat. Wait?
Lisanna and Elfman, weren't they future members of the Guild?
Then this girl's identity, could it be… Ankh saw her stand up and finally spoke, asking, "Your name."
The girl was startled by the sudden voice, quickly turned her head, and stared at Ankh in fear, warily asking, "Who are you?"
Ankh pulled up the sleeve on his right forearm, revealing the Guild emblem, and said, "A Mage of Fairy Tail. My name is Ankh."
The girl's grotesquely shaped fist clenched, and her heart tightened even more. Why would a Mage appear here?
Ankh instantly saw through the girl's thoughts and replied in a low voice, "To kill a demon."
Under the hood, the girl's expression turned bitter. After hiding the demon arm under her cloak, she took off the hood covering her face and said softly, "So, you're here to kill me…"
By the faint light, Ankh, with his superhuman vision, clearly saw the girl's true face, confirming his thoughts.
Her long, snow-white hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her lively eyes were filled with sorrow and unwillingness. Even though her appearance was particularly disheveled, her refined and ethereal features were still strikingly beautiful.
Ankh smiled slightly and said, "Answer my question, your name."
The girl hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Mirajane Strauss."
The exquisitely beautiful Mirajane!
As expected, Demon Mirajane, she is one of the future S-Class Mages of the Guild.
As a female Mage, Mirajane possessed magic power no less than Erza's, with astonishing destructive power. At that time, the two were even jointly known as the "Strongest Female Mages of the Guild."
However, later, due to the accident involving her younger sister Lisanna, Mirajane's training stagnated, causing her to not only retreat to the second line but also become unable to use magic in battle.
Ankh walked up to Mirajane, staring intently at her face, and said with interest, "Interesting, this trip was truly worthwhile."
"So that's it, they mistook your magic for the demon itself…"