Seeing Caesar put away his sword, Lisanna and Elfman just breathed a sigh of relief. But the next moment, Caesar reached out, passed by them, and grabbed Mirajane's black robe.
"Do not want!"
Amid Mirajane's screams of fear, Caesar suddenly exerted force and tore off the black robe, revealing her gangster-like outfit underneath—and of course, her right arm that looked like a dead branch.
Seeing her hidden secret exposed, Mirajane curled up like a wounded puppy, trying her best to use her body to block her right arm.
"I'm not a demon, I'm not a demon..."
She kept repeating the same words. No matter how strong she was, she was still a child after all. As she spoke, tears kept flowing down her face.
Lisanna and Elfman also burst into tears.
The three of them were orphans to begin with, and now seeing their eldest sister like this, they felt as if the sky had fallen.
"Boom."
But at this moment, Caesar snapped his fingers and hit Mirajane directly on the forehead.
A sharp pain came over her, causing Mirajane—still crying—to squat down, covering her forehead with her hands. Her original sadness disappeared without a trace. She looked at Caesar fiercely and said,
"It hurts so much! What on earth do you want to do?! Are you going to use me to exchange for a bounty?!"
When Lisanna and Elfman heard this, they were immediately excited and quickly protected their sister. Although their strength wasn't great, their attitude made Caesar laugh.
"I just don't understand why you're crying,"
Caesar said with a smile. Then he stretched out his hand. As part of the takeover, Caesar's arm transformed into the claws of an Inuyasha half-demon.
Although it still looked mostly human, the sharp nails were obviously not like those of a normal person.
Looking at Caesar's arm, Mirajane and the others stopped crying and looked at him in disbelief.
"As you can see, I have the same magic as you."
Caesar retracted his arm, looked at the curious Mirajane and said,
"This kind of magic is called takeover magic, but it seems you awakened it yourself. I learned it through study. From this point of view, you have strong talent. It's just that you don't have systematic training, so you can't control this power well. If you want, I can teach you how to suppress part of the takeover."
"Really?!"
Upon hearing Caesar's words, the three of them cried out in surprise.
"Of course. I am a wizard of the Fairy Tail Guild, so I have some credibility."
Caesar raised a finger and said to Mirajane and the others,
"However, I came here to deal with the demons, but it seems you've taken my job. So in exchange, I will teach you takeover magic, and I will take half the bounty for this commission."
"Why don't you just go and grab it!"
Mirajane got anxious and said to Caesar,
"I heard the village chief took 180,000 Jewels for the commission. You obviously didn't defeat the demon, so why did you take 90,000 Jewels?!"
Looking at the furious Mirajane, Caesar smiled and shook his head.
"You need to know one thing: this commission was transferred to the Magic Guild through the Magic Council. To put it simply, it is officially certified. Only our Magic Guild can receive this reward. Even if you solve the demon, you won't get the proper reward. Only when I come forward can you get this much. Do you understand? And in exchange, I will teach you how to use takeover magic."
After listening to Caesar's unhurried explanation, Mirajane—who had a bad temper—finally understood.
"Sorry."
Mirajane apologized sincerely to Caesar.
Caesar looked at her in surprise.
You know, in the story, although Mirajane is very gentle later on, when she was a child she really had a bad temper.
But soon, Caesar realized the reason Mirajane became like that was due to her childhood experiences.
An orphan, with two younger siblings to worry about, after she took in the demon, the villagers thought she was a demon and hated her. She was expelled from the village and wandered around.
I guess only Mirajane herself in the original story knows how hard life was during that period. She was a role model for her younger siblings and couldn't afford to fall apart. Maybe that's why she had that kind of personality.
"Okay, since you agree, I will teach you how to master takeover magic."
Caesar looked at Mirajane and said,"After you can change your arm back, you will come with me to collect the reward. But don't cause trouble. You don't need to say anything, just follow my orders. Do you understand?"
"It is good.""I see.""We will obey."
After receiving a positive answer, Caesar calmed down and began to talk to Mirajane about the use of takeover magic.
Mirajane is indeed a genius—no wonder she earned the title of "demon."
She was particularly talented in mastering takeover magic. Just by listening to Caesar's story and experimenting a few times, Mirajane mastered the technique and quickly turned her dead branch-like arm back into a white and tender one.
After the matter was settled, Caesar took the three of them back to the village and informed the village chief that the demon had been dealt with.
While the village chief sent people to check it out, he was also curious how Mirajane and the others came to follow Caesar.
Caesar explained that they came across it accidentally and helped him a little while he was working. Then they interrupted him and the matter was quickly resolved.
After the villagers confirmed that the demon in the church had disappeared, the village chief gave the reward to Caesar and warmly invited him to stay for dinner.
Caesar naturally wouldn't refuse and also took Mirajane and the others to the village chief's house for a meal.
After eating and drinking, Caesar was about to leave.
Mirajane and the others escorted Caesar out of the village.
Arriving at the village entrance, Caesar looked at Mirajane and the others and said,
"Here are your 90,000 Jewels. I give it to you. But Mirajane, you have talent for magic. Do you want to come to our guild? There, you'll definitely improve more than you do now."
"I..."
There was a gleam in Mirajane's eyes, but she turned to look at Lisanna and Elfman and finally shook her head.
Deep down, she wanted to leave the small village, but she had concerns—her younger siblings to take care of.
Looking at Mirajane shaking her head, Caesar smiled and said,
"I forgot to tell you, there are many people your age in our guild. Besides, I'm also an orphan. Do you want to come? Bring Lisanna and Elfman with you."
Hearing Caesar's words, not only Mirajane but also Lisanna and Elfman had a gleam in their eyes.
"Hey! Wait for us! Let's go together!"
"Didn't you just shake your head?"
"Stop talking nonsense. Anyway, I'm tired of staying in the village. It's better to go out. I want to make a name for myself and make sure no one dares look down on me!"
"Okay, let's go."
"Well, let's go!"