Mirajane walked down the bustling street, a bag of bread in her hand, still feeling a little uneasy, afraid that someone would see the Demon Soul hidden within her.
Every glance from a passerby made Mirajane's little heart tremble violently, fearing that in the next second, someone would rush at her with a weapon.
Mirajane forced herself to calm down, exhaled deeply, and comforted herself, "It's okay, I'm not a demon anymore..."
Thinking this, Mirajane quickened her pace, heading towards the dilapidated house where her younger siblings were temporarily staying.
"Elfman, Lisanna, I'm home!"
Mirajane's voice was very cheerful, clearly having prepared herself mentally and managed her expression at the door to see her younger siblings.
With a creak, Mirajane gently pushed open the wooden door and trotted into the house with a beaming smile.
But as soon as she entered, Mirajane's smile instantly froze on her face, and her beautiful brown-blue eyes trembled violently.
On the floor in the room, two children lay slumped, covered in wounds. Their expressions were extremely pained, as if they had suffered horrific abuse.
The food in her hand slipped to the floor, and Mirajane knelt beside the two in disbelief, reaching out to check for breath... "Elfman! Lisanna!"
After confirming their life and death, Mirajane could no longer hold back her inner sorrow and burst into tears.
Who! Who on earth killed them!
Mirajane covered her face, collapsing. All the weakness she had shown earlier vanished at this moment, replaced by a madness that craved revenge and slaughter!
"Nice expression."
Just then, a cold voice sounded in front of Mirajane, like a bucket of ice water, temporarily awakening her reason.
Mirajane's reddened eyes looked at Ankh, who had suddenly appeared, and she immediately felt her body plunge into an ice cellar.
She clenched her fists tightly, unable to suppress the brutality in her heart, and roared like a madwoman, "Why did you do this?!"
Ankh glanced at her, frowning as he said, "So much nonsense. If you want to kill, then kill."
"Bastard!!"
Mirajane finally couldn't restrain her killing intent and threw a punch at Ankh.
However, no matter how angry she was, she still couldn't erase the power gap between them!
Ankh easily caught Mirajane's punch, impatiently grabbed her hand, and threw the thin Mirajane flying, where she crashed heavily into the wall.
"Cough!"
A trace of blood spread in her mouth, and Mirajane shed tears of unwillingness, forcing herself to stand up.
Lisanna and Elfman, they were so young, how could they be innocently killed!
She would avenge them; this murderer in front of her deserved a terrible death!
Kill him... I must kill this man... even if it means becoming a demon once again!
Mirajane gritted her teeth and climbed up, her already distorted and sickly face becoming even paler. Golden, fragmented starlight shards lit up on her arms!
Seeing this, Ankh smiled with satisfaction.
Mirajane had considerable talent for her magic, which was Take Over Magic. However, due to psychological barriers, she couldn't overcome that hurdle in her mind and thus couldn't truly control her magic.
And when Mirajane wholeheartedly craved power and fully embraced the power of the demon, that's when she would become a true demon!
Mirajane's arms transformed into demonic limbs made of Satan Soul, and purple vein patterns even climbed up her shoulders to her cheek.
"Die!"
Mirajane rushed forward recklessly, her two fists like beasts from the underworld bursting from the ground, viciously pouncing on Ankh once more.
Facing Mirajane's fierce attack, Ankh's figure vanished from his spot, leaving only a blurry afterimage.
Before she could react, Ankh's palm had already covered Mirajane's face, pressing her down to the ground and kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
Ankh spread his legs, easily suppressing Mirajane's arms, then straddled her, crossing his arms, and said, "Good power, but a little lacking in actual combat experience."
Mirajane looked at the man sitting on her, her heart controlled by hatred, filled with shame and indignation. With tears in her eyes, she cursed, "Bastard! Die!"
As long as she didn't fully take over Satan Soul, Mirajane in this state was no match for Ankh, and no matter how much she struggled, it was useless.
Ankh lowered his head, his characteristic red eyes fixed on her beautiful eyes, and softly said:
"Do you understand now? To protect your family, you must gain stronger power and make yourself stronger."
"Are external rumors or rejection more important than your family's lives?"
Mirajane froze, the strength in her arms unconsciously relaxing slightly.
And the Satan Soul arm transformation, due to her momentary slackness, slowly disappeared.
"Sister!"
At this moment, two childish calls suddenly came from the doorway. Mirajane abruptly looked up and immediately saw the two familiar children.
"Elfman, Lisanna!"
Elfman paused after entering the room, and Lisanna, carrying a tall package, also froze when she saw Ankh and Mirajane's awkward posture inside.
The White-Haired Family!
"Mira-nee... what are you and Ankh-nii-san doing?"
Ankh released Mirajane, stood up, and smiled, "Just playing a joke with your sister."
Mirajane quickly scrambled up from the ground, rushed to Elfman and Lisanna, and hugged them tightly, whispering worriedly:
"What happened? Where did you go?"
Elfman was a bit confused by his sister's sudden hug and said timidly, "Ankh-nii-san said he was Sister's friend. He gave Lisanna a lot of money and told us to buy things."
Mirajane suddenly turned her head, pointed at the two "corpses" on the ground, and shouted, "Then these are..."
Before she finished speaking, the "corpses" on the ground suddenly sat up, clutching their heads, and awkwardly said, "Lord Ankh, we performed pretty well, didn't we?"
Ankh nodded, waved his hand, and dispelled the magic cast on the two, revealing their original appearance.
These two were the White Devil priests Ankh had captured earlier, whom Ankh had ordered to put on a show.
Mirajane shielded her younger siblings behind her, her brows furrowed with intense killing intent, and she said, suppressing her anger, "What exactly do you want?"
Ankh sighed faintly and said, "I understand your experiences, so I appreciate you and want to give you a warning."
"Seize the opportunity now, so you don't regret it when you truly face a situation like that in the future."
Mirajane's gaze was as sharp as a knife. The weak and sickly demeanor she had at their first meeting was gone. Now, she finally possessed the evil aura of a demon.
After a long silence, Lisanna tugged at Mirajane's sleeve with some concern. Mirajane stared intently at Ankh, fearlessly saying in a deep voice:
"Thank you for your intention, but I dislike your deceptive methods."
"Once I master Satan Soul, I will definitely beat you up!"
Ankh unexpectedly raised an eyebrow, looked at the unusually serious Mirajane, and couldn't help but cover his head, laughing, "Alright, I'll be waiting!"
With that, he raised his arm, revealing his guild mark, and said, "My guild is called Fairy Tail."
"Join my guild, and perhaps you really can beat me."