Hearing Ankh's muttering, Mirajane gripped her monstrous hand tight, her voice barely a whisper.
"What Magic?"
Ankh didn't answer.
His ears picked up the thud of heavy boots on pavement—the mob was getting closer.
He didn't have time to explain. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her small frame.
"Wait... what are you doing?!"
Mirajane stiffened, startled by the sudden contact.
Her cheeks flushed red with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance as she tried to pull away.
Ankh ignored her squirming.
He channeled Magic Power into his palm, forming a small, intricate circle in the air.
It descended over them like a veil, shimmering briefly before rendering them completely transparent.
To anyone looking, they had simply vanished into thin air.
Seconds later, the mob of thugs burst into the alley.
They looked around wildly, confused, completely failing to notice Ankh and Mirajane standing right under their noses.
[This is high-level assassination Magic... and you use it for hide-and-seek?]
Ankh smirked.
'As long as it works, that's all that matters.'
Aside from the devastating Super Magics Seram had taught him—Titan Gravity, Terror, and God Slayer Magic—Ankh had made sure to master some practical utility spells.
You couldn't just blow everything up.
Suddenly, Ankh realized the softness pressed against his chest was trembling.
His face heated up, and he silently shifted his hand away from... well, where it shouldn't have been.
Once the confused mob retreated back toward the main street, Ankh coughed awkwardly and released the spell.
"Sorry about that."
Mirajane jumped back like a frightened rabbit.
Her face was bright red, but her eyes remained sharp and vigilant.
"Why did you help me?" she demanded.
Ankh looked meaningfully at her monstrous arm. "Because you're not a demon. You're not my target."
Mirajane bit her lip so hard it turned white. She raised the arm she despised, tears welling in her eyes.
"I... I'm not a demon?"
Ankh sighed. He walked up to her without hesitation and gently took her monstrous hand in his own.
She flinched, but didn't pull away.
"This is Take Over magic," Ankh explained calmly. "It's a very powerful form of transformation. You were the one who dealt with the demon in the church earlier, weren't you?"
Mirajane looked down at their joined hands. "I don't know... ever since that day, I've become like this."
"You probably used the magic subconsciously to 'Take Over' the demon's power," Ankh said, examining the purple spikes on her arm.
"The demon has become your strength. It's transformed your body to match its own."
Mirajane's body jolted. She grabbed Ankh's hand with both of hers, desperation in her eyes.
"Can I go back? Can I be normal again?"
Ankh nodded seriously. "I can teach you to control the Magic Power and revert the transformation. But understand this: you cannot sever this power entirely. It is part of you now."
Hearing that she could at least look human again, Mirajane let out a breath she seemed to have been holding for days.
But the relief was short-lived. Her expression darkened.
"This kind of power... everyone hates it. Everyone hates me," she murmured self-deprecatingly. "I never wanted it."
Ankh frowned but remained silent.
He gently channeled his own Magic Power into her arm, guiding the flow of energy.
Within moments, the grotesque hide shrank.
The purple spikes receded. The monstrous claw reshaped itself, reverting to soft, pale skin.
Overwhelmed, Mirajane clutched her restored arm to her chest, sobbing openly.
"Thank you... thank you so much..."
Ankh watched her cry. Currently, her willpower was fragile.
'How could such a delicate girl become the 'She-Devil' of Fairy Tail?'
In the original timeline, it was Master Makarov's guidance—and the need to protect her siblings—that made her embrace her demonic power.
That struggle forged her resilience.
But now, Ankh had solved her problem early.
If she didn't face rejection and wander the lands as an outcast, would the fierce "Demon Mirajane" ever emerge?
Ankh lowered his gaze, thinking.
'First, I need to deal with this village. The Village Chief is definitely involved with the demon's appearance. I need to secure him.'
'Then, Mirajane. I'll bring her back to the guild, but... I need to test her first.'
He noticed the bag she had dropped during the commotion.
"Food?"
Mirajane nodded, wiping her eyes.
A faint, genuine smile appeared on her face. "For my little brother and sister."
A thought flashed through Ankh's mind. His crimson eyes glowed with a strange light as a plan formed.
"Alright," he said with an odd smile. "See you later."
Without looking back, Ankh turned and walked away, leaving a confused Mirajane staring at his retreating back.
She caressed her human arm, watching him disappear into the shadows.
"Mage... Ankh..."
....
[So you're not going to kill the girl?]
Seram sounded displeased in his mind.
[That so-called demon carries a scent I despise. It is clearly an artificial species, created through unnatural means.]
Ankh chuckled inwardly as he walked. "Killing Mira brings no benefits. Didn't you say it yourself? Demon souls are useless to us."
[Hmph. Take Over Magic is trash anyway. It is merely inferior races forcibly wielding the power of superior ones.]
Ankh was used to Seram's arrogance, but the comment made him pause.
"We are incomplete gods," Ankh mused. "So we don't need demonic power. But... what if what we 'Take Over' isn't a demon... but a god?"
"AHHH!!"
Before Ankh could finish the thought, an agonized scream ripped through the air.
It came from the church.
The Village Chief!
Ankh gritted his teeth.
A gravity field exploded beneath his feet, launching him toward the sound like a cannonball.
He didn't bother with the door. Ankh waved his hand, and the church wall crumbled inward.
He scanned the interior instantly. The Village Chief was convulsing on the floor, his body covered in deep lacerations.
Ankh crouched down to check the old man's breathing, then sneered coldly at the empty room.
"I originally thought the demon was just the Chief's doing... but it seems he had backing. An organization perhaps? Since you're already here, why not show yourselves?"
Whoosh.
An icy wind snapped toward Ankh's neck.
A dagger coated in green venom stabbed down from the shadows with lethal precision.
"Pathetic."
Ankh didn't even turn around. He merely tilted his head, letting the blade slice through empty air.
Before the assassin could retract their arm, a crushing weight descended from the ceiling.
"Argh!!"
Titan Gravity slammed the assassin into the floor, burying him in a crater of shattered stone.
Ankh turned slowly, intending to interrogate the would-be killer.
But before he could speak, a surge of blazing flames erupted from the side, engulfing the entire altar area—and Ankh—in an instant.