Mira wasn't comforted in the slightest by the line, "You've found the direction to get stronger."
Facts were facts.
She lowered her head, the smug confidence she'd had earlier visibly shaken by the harsh reality.
As for Shane, he had no time to bother with the girl's little mood swings. Stroking his chin, his mind was already racing through ways to help her tame the violent magic of Satan Soul—
so that, before the S-Class exam at the end of the year, this idiot disciple of his would at least have the qualifications to stand on equal footing with Erza.
As one of the proctors for this year's S-Class exam, Shane was honestly looking forward to seeing a truly exciting match on the day itself.
The two of them stood at the mouth of the alley, each lost in their own thoughts, until the sound of urgent, orderly footsteps came from the distance.
"Shane! The peace officers are here!"
Erza's red figure appeared at the alley entrance, followed by a fully armed squad of tense-looking Onibus city guards.
"That should do it."
Shane glanced at the crimson blaze in the distance that was painting half the night sky red.
Snap.
He raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
The scarlet flames that had still been raging a moment ago seemed to hear a king's command. They instantly collapsed inward, shrank, then turned into countless red sparks that faded into the night sky.
In the blink of an eye, all that remained before them was a smoking black ruin—and those scumbags, who probably didn't even have enough of their bones left to piece together.
"This…"
The peace officers who had just arrived came to a screeching halt, each of them staring in shock.
A second ago they'd been worried the fire would spread through the whole city, and now it was just… gone?
"Well, it's an abandoned street with no one living there. It probably won't cost much in damages, right?"
Shane glanced at the charred pile of structural debris and thought that without the slightest burden on his conscience.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
Afraid he'd get detained for questioning, Shane spoke first at lightning speed:
"My companion should already have explained the details on the way here. These people were trash festering in the city's shadows. They had it coming. No need to thank us."
"As for any follow-up bills, please send them directly to Fairy Tail in Magnolia and have Master Makarov settle them!"
Before the words were even fully out of his mouth, he guiltily grabbed one girl with each hand and bolted.
Whether they simply ran too fast, or the extinguishing trick Shane had just pulled was too terrifying, or maybe the Fairy Tail guild mark on the back of his hand did the trick—
in any case, no one shouted "Stop!" or "Don't run!" behind them.
By the time they made it back to the inn, the night had grown late.
Shane had no intention of letting Mira idle around.
He had already thought of a training method, and since he'd just declared they were starting special training, there was no reason to waste any time.
"Even though Satan Soul's magic is wild and hard to control, mastering it still comes down to the same old basics—magic control, instantaneous output, and magic accumulation."
In the hallway of the inn, Shane looked at Mira, who still seemed a little dispirited. He had dropped all his usual joking and was speaking seriously.
"When I'm in my silver-haired state, every beat of the heart in my chest lets my magic naturally form a perfectly self-sustaining cycle."
"I can't exactly swap my heart into your body, but I can transmit that frequency and state of magical movement to you."
"You don't need to understand the theory. You just need to memorize the sensation with your body—then imitate it, reproduce it."
"If you can copy even thirty or forty percent of it, that'll be more than enough to rein in the disobedient Satan Soul inside you."
With that, Shane dragged Mira into her room without giving her a choice.
Erza, who had been following behind them the whole time, glanced at the clock on the wall, her beautiful brows drawing together slightly.
Her body clock was incredibly precise. It was already past the time she should have gone to sleep.
But…
Looking at the two of them preparing to begin their "night lesson," she also felt that going back to her own room to sleep alone would somehow make her seem out of place.
"Yawn…"
Covering her mouth, Erza let out a small yawn, her gaze already beginning to blur with drowsiness.
"If you're sleepy, just go to bed."
Shane waved a hand carelessly.
"For training like this, it's enough for Mira alone to stay up. We can rest as usual."
He wasn't some kind of monster, and he definitely wasn't diligent enough to that degree. His plan had only been to teach Mira the method, then head back to his own room and sleep.
"Like hell I'm letting you run away at the last second!"
Mira instantly saw through his plan. The dimness in her eyes vanished, turning fierce as she grabbed his sleeve in a death grip.
"Why do I have to be the only one suffering?"
Hearing the commotion, Erza—who had already reached the door to her own room—stopped.
Then, right in front of Shane and Mira's startled eyes, the red-haired girl silently turned back around and walked over without a word.
She went straight to the large bed in Mira's room, took off her shoes, lifted the blanket, and climbed right in.
Only her red head peeked out from under the covers as she blinked at the two of them.
"If this is special training… then I'll stay here too."
"I'll supervise from the side… mm…"
Before she even finished speaking, her breathing had already grown long and steady.
Her thought process was simple: as long as she stayed here, the two of them wouldn't cause any trouble tonight, and then she could sleep peacefully.
"…"
Seeing her greatest rival lie down and fall asleep in her bed without the slightest hesitation, Mira instantly exploded.
"Erza!!"
Barreling forward with teeth bared and claws out, she was about to yank this shameless squatter right off the bed—
"Alright, enough."
This time, it was Shane who stopped her.
He grabbed Mira by the wrist and pulled her to the other side of the room.
"She sleeps, you train. Don't waste time."
"You…"
Mira was furious enough to grind her teeth, but after seeing the seriousness in Shane's eyes—and then looking at Erza already fast asleep on the bed—she could only swallow her rage whole.
"Let's begin."
Shane wasted no more words.
He slowly closed his eyes, and the rhythm of his breathing changed.
Thump… thump…
A heavy, powerful heartbeat gradually became clear in the quiet room, like a war drum being struck, making even the air tremble faintly.
Shane didn't release any Noble Phantasm. He simply shifted for a brief moment into Lancer form.
Within his chest, the dormant [Dragon Reactor Core] awakened slightly.
"Give me your hand."
Shane held out a hand.
Mira was still sulking, and only unwillingly handed hers over.
Shane grabbed it and, instead of teasing her as he normally would, directly guided her palm to rest over the left side of his chest.
"Can you feel it?"
"Mm…"
Beneath her palm, the heartbeat was incredibly strong, every throb carrying scorching warmth, as though some great beast lay sleeping inside him.
That overwhelming force of life and magical fluctuation made Mira's face redden faintly. Instinctively, she tried to pull her hand back, only for Shane to press it more firmly into place.
"Don't lose focus!" Shane barked. "Close your eyes! Feel the instant the magic is pumped out with the blood!"
"Remember that rhythm, then try to move the Satan Soul inside you so your magic imitates that tempo!"
Under Shane's guidance, Mira had no choice but to force down the distracting thoughts in her head and begin trying.
However, the [Dragon Reactor Core] was ultimately a heaven-given organ—the miracle at the peak of biological evolution.
That kind of magical control, as natural as breathing itself, was simply too difficult for a human to grasp.
Even with Shane's direct explanation and guidance, Mira's imitation was still clumsy and halting.
Bzzz…
A clump of deep violet magic gathered in Mira's palm.
It had barely formed halfway—
Pop.
Like a balloon suddenly losing control, the magic burst without warning and dispersed into the air.
"Huu… shoo…"
As if to mock Mira's failure, Erza on the bed let out a long, rhythmic sleeping breath. It sounded absurdly peaceful.
"Again," Mira said expressionlessly.
Bzzz…
Pop.
Another failure. The magic wouldn't gather at all. It dispersed like loose sand.
"You're so bad at this."
Watching the girl, now covered in sweat but still making no progress, Shane couldn't help saying it aloud.
"Where did that smug confidence from the basement go? Why can't you even compress a little magic properly now?"
"Oh, shut up!!"
Mira was already irritated from failing over and over, and those words only set her off even more.
"Isn't it because you're terrible at teaching?! Who makes someone learn magic by pressing their hand against his chest? Pervert!"
"Don't blame your master just because your talent's lacking."
Shane shot right back.
"If Erza were learning this, she'd nail it in one try."
"You—"
Just hearing the name Erza was enough to hit a landmine. Mira's expression twisted immediately, followed by a flare of absolute refusal to accept defeat.
Every emotion she felt—joy, anger, frustration, pride—showed plainly on her face. She wasn't capable of hiding any of it.
She really was easy to read.
Shane laughed inwardly, though on the outside he wore a smug, infuriating expression.
"Fine then. Since you're this hopeless, you can keep training here till dawn."
Then he deliberately yawned and turned as if to leave.
"I'm going back to sleep. I'm exhausted."
"You're not going anywhere!!"
Mira immediately dashed over and blocked the door, gritting her teeth.
"Erza is staying here, so why should you get to leave?!"
"If someone has to suffer, then everyone suffers together!"
She had absolutely no intention of staying up alone all night while the other two slept peacefully in bed.
That would be way too unfair.
"…"
Shane sighed helplessly and glanced toward the bed.
The red-haired girl was sleeping soundly, hugging the blanket. Her long legs were crossed together, crimson hair spread across the pillow, her sleeping face soft and a little adorably dumb, with none of her usual sharpness.
At home, that wouldn't have mattered.
But with Mira glaring daggers at him from the side, even Shane didn't have the nerve to shamelessly climb onto the bed too.
"Fine. You win."
Shane pulled over a tall-backed chair from the side and dragged it to the window.
"I'll doze off here for a bit. You keep going."
Only after Shane gave in did Mira finally let it go.
She glared hatefully at those two "partners in crime," then gritted her teeth and resumed practicing against the empty air.
Bzzz…
Deep violet light flared and dimmed in the darkness.
Sweat beaded across Mira's forehead, but the stubbornness in her eyes only grew stronger.
She truly did not want to lose to Erza so easily again.
Her earlier complaining had been nothing more than resentment at the thought of being left behind.
But now…
"I have to master this!"
No words were spoken for the rest of the night.
When the sky began to pale with the first hint of dawn, Shane felt something tickling the tip of his nose.
Still half-asleep, he opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a bright, enlarged, beautiful face.
At some point Erza had already woken up. She was leaning over him curiously, looking right at him.
Her lovely long hair spilled down, the ends of it brushing his nose. In the morning light, it glowed gold.
"Morning…"
Shane rubbed at his nose, about to ask why she had crept this close—
"Shh!"
Erza immediately raised one finger to her lips and made a silencing gesture.
Then she gently tilted her head toward the side.
Shane followed her gaze.
The noisy silver-haired girl was now quietly leaning against the window frame, eyes closed, breathing softly.
On the floor by her hand were several scorched marks from magic.
The morning breeze stirred the curtain and brushed across her slightly disheveled bangs.
The brows and eyes that normally carried so much stubbornness and provocation now looked especially gentle and peaceful in sleep, giving her a soft, heart-stirring girlishness.
"This troublesome girl…"
Looking at her like that, Shane felt both amused and a little moved.
So she really had trained all night long. In the end, she must have gotten too sleepy to stay awake—but she'd still rather doze off standing by the window than lie down in the same bed as Erza.
"What a stubborn idiot."
Shane shook his head, stood up, and rolled his stiff neck a little.
Then, without the slightest bit of mercy, he walked over and pinched Mira's sleeping, flushed cheek.
"Wake up, idiot!"
"Mm…"
Mira frowned and jolted awake.
The moment she saw his smiling face looming in front of her, her morning grumpiness exploded as she glared at him.
"You bastard!!"
This guy!
He'd abandoned her last night and let her struggle through the training alone while he slept soundly.
And now first thing in the morning he was being loud again, acting like her effort meant nothing, and still talking without the slightest bit of kindness!
"Coward. Bastard. Devil."
Mira muttered under her breath, like she was chanting a curse.
Shane had no interest whatsoever in whatever she was muttering. He ignored her resentment completely and called out instead:
"Today's stage was set specifically for you! Go wash up and get ready to leave!"
Half an hour later, the three of them were fully prepared and left the inn, heading straight toward the outskirts of the city.
It had to be said: Onibus looked prosperous on the surface, but its real law and order situation was awful.
The farther they got from the center, the more obvious the chaos became. Every now and then, hostile, shady gazes drifted over from the shadows at the corners of the streets.
No wonder that peace officer from yesterday had turned a blind eye to what Shane and the others had done.
He was probably sick of these people too.
"That fire last night should make them rein themselves in a little, at least."
Feeling the hidden eyes on them, Shane shook his head.
This was a chronic disease in the city. If the source wasn't rooted out, then as a traveling mage, there was only so much he could do.
And besides… it might also be connected to that mysterious force the gang leader had mentioned, the one quietly gathering together the underground factions in the shadows.
Thanks to the information provided by that leader who had achieved "great enlightenment" in the flames last night, the three of them found the underground bar called Nightshade without much trouble.
Even before stepping inside, they could hear deafening drinking contests, shouting, cursing, and the clatter of furniture crashing together.
"In that sense… it's exactly like our guild."
Listening to those painfully familiar sounds, Shane felt a deep sadness.
How was it that all mage guilds, whether good or evil, turned into this whenever they gathered together?
He let out a sigh—but instead of reaching for the door handle, he took half a step back.
Bang!
Without a word, Shane lifted a leg and kicked the heavy oak door wide open.
The noise inside the bar cut off instantly.
Countless vicious stares turned in unison toward the entrance.
The inside was smoky and filthy, packed full of rough-looking men dressed in all kinds of strange ways. Not a single one of them looked harmless.
Shane's eyes swept rapidly across the room, but he didn't see the "Grim Reaper" Erigor from the wanted poster—the one carrying the scythe.
"Just lackeys?"
Disappointed, Shane still raised his voice and asked:
"Hey, one question."
"You lot are with Eisenwald, right?"
~~~
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