Seeing the Beautiful Woman get knocked flying, Eyeglasses Man felt anxious and quickly ran out to block in front of Mirajane, black mist seeping from his hands.
The Beautiful Woman struggled to her feet, her gaze venomous as she stared intently at Mirajane, her face contorted as she screamed, "You slut! You're asking for death!"
Mirajane's eyes became inexplicably profound, yet her actions were utterly merciless. The immense power of the demon caused her speed to surge, and in a flash, she charged forward again.
The Beautiful Woman, now prepared, quickly twisted the black ring on her finger. Dark purple magic was absorbed into the ring, then transferred into the earth.
A circular, evil magic array appeared on the ground, and ghostly Mystery soldiers emerged from the earth beneath the array, directly blocking Mirajane's path.
Mirajane's advance was stalled by these ghost soldiers, forcing her to stop and deal with them. Eyeglasses Man sneered, waving the black mist in his hands, intending to rush forward and help the Beautiful Woman.
"Die! Behold my Corrosive Poison Gas!"
Eyeglasses Man's powerful roar echoed in the air. Mirajane looked up, her eyes showing not a trace of fear.
Just as Eyeglasses Man thought he had succeeded, the scene in his vision suddenly blurred!
Bang! Crack!
With the sound of shattering glass and an unknown bone breaking, Eyeglasses Man let out a miserable scream before being crushed by an insane gravity, his body falling to the ground like trash.
Ankh walked out of the room leisurely with his hands behind his back, not even bothering to glance at the fellow.
Such a pretentious opponent, who, despite his weak strength, insists on shouting out his moves and names to make a grand display, really ruins one's mood and wastes time.
Ankh calmly shifted his gaze towards Mirajane. The Beautiful Woman, seeing her lover instantly killed, almost cried out in terror.
The merciless Mirajane quickly reached her, her fist, imbued with Satan Soul power, mercilessly striking the Beautiful Woman's face.
The immense force directly dislocated the woman's nose, showing no mercy at all.
What kind of hatred is this, to be knocked unconscious just for saying one wrong thing... Ankh stood by, not daring to make a sound, fearing he might get caught in the crossfire.
However, Mirajane certainly hadn't forgotten him. She stormed up to Ankh, her small face cold, and asked, "Why are we dealing with them? Isn't our mission to steal the blueprint?"
Mirajane looked up at him, the delicate scent of a young girl constantly stimulating Ankh's sense of smell, making him recall the stimulating scene from that morning.
Ankh coughed, trying his best to remain calm, and explained, "The reward for stealing the blueprint is so little. If we help Karteos take care of the subsequent matters, we'll naturally earn more."
Although Ankh was explaining earnestly, Mirajane had no intention of listening.
Mirajane kept scrutinizing Ankh's face, yet she saw no ripple of emotion on it, as if he didn't remember anything from that morning.
This made a hint of grievance suddenly well up in Mirajane's heart, and her eyes suddenly became a little moist.
This man has no reaction or indication at all?! Does he really think she's a woman to be trifled with?
Seeing Mirajane's expression start to turn somewhat resentful, Ankh immediately reacted, lowering his voice and sincerely saying:
"I'm sorry, Mira, I didn't expect... last night to turn out that way..."
"Whatever compensation or request you have, I'll fulfill it!"
Ankh rambled on honestly. Although Mirajane didn't seem outwardly different, her heart felt a little more at ease.
She didn't actually care what compensation Ankh gave her; she just didn't want him to pretend to be deaf and dumb, to ignore it, as that would be truly disheartening.
Mirajane didn't ask for much; in fact, a simple apology would have been enough.
After all, she was very clear about her own feelings; she already harbored affection for Ankh, and even Ankh's recklessness last night was partly due to her own reasons... So, when Mirajane heard a sincere apology from the person she admired, the grievances, dissatisfaction, and anger in her heart quickly dissipated by more than half.
But Mirajane was in the prime of her youth, unable to let go of a maiden's reserve, and unwilling to let him see that she was easily appeased, so she kept a straight face, feigning lingering anger.
However, her upturned lips betrayed her true feelings. Mirajane couldn't help but feel shy inside, and for a moment, she was speechless.
Ankh watched Mirajane's expression change repeatedly, and then, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, he smiled and said:
"Let me treat you to a meal. Although it can't make up for it... consider it my heartfelt gesture."
Mirajane paused. Reason told her to maintain her composure and refuse, yet her small head uncontrollably nodded, and she whispered like a mosquito, "Okay..."
Damn it, how spineless... Mirajane cursed herself in her heart, scolding her own lack of ambition.
Ankh, too, showed a rare, brilliant smile.
Compared to what he owed this girl, treating her to a meal was truly nothing.
After all, Ankh had a lot of money!
It's just... does this count as asking a girl out on a date?
Ankh, who had few romantic experiences in his previous life, pondered this question with some hesitation.
Probably, it shouldn't count, right? After all, Mira doesn't necessarily like him.
Ankh secretly pondered for a while, then relaxed.
Mira, Erza, and many other beautiful women in the original work—as a man, Ankh would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted.
But such things require fate. Mira and the others are now living people, not free goods. How could they fall for him so easily, as if they'd never seen a man before?
Impossible, absolutely impossible.
Ankh desperately denied his own assumptions in his heart, then quickly composed himself and said, "Let's go. Let's tie up these two—and the one passed out inside—and take the blueprint to collect the reward."
Mirajane, who had just been acting like an aggrieved young wife, turned around and obediently followed Ankh's instructions as soon as she heard them.
Such an honest and well-behaved girl, it's been a long time since he'd seen one.
After much thought, Ankh himself felt uneasy and immediately followed, helping Mirajane clean up the mess.
Finally, Ankh silently summarized this operation.
The final step of this plan, although it still alarmed the hotel guests and was a tiny bit reckless, the outcome was good; they had no chance to take hostages.
It's just that the hotel walls and street damaged by Mirajane and himself would probably send the repair bill back to the guild again.
Makarov is going to have a major breakdown... The two of them tied up the three members of the cult tightly. Before sending them to Karteos, Ankh sat in front of them with interest and called out, "Stop pretending to be asleep, answer my questions."
The man whose glasses lay shattered on the ground trembled and hesitantly opened his eyes. Seeing the Beautiful Woman beside him, her face bruised and purple, her features distorted, he angrily shouted, "What exactly do you want?!"
Ankh's gaze turned cold. He grabbed his collar and said in a chilling voice, "I'd like to ask you, White Devil Cult, what is your ultimate goal?"
"Satan Soul, magic cannon blueprints—why do you seek to obtain and use these terrifying things!"