Raizel and the others' method of control referred to "violent control"—essentially, beating Elfman into submission until he yielded or forcing him back into his original form if he lost his mind.
To truly master the Beast King's soul, Elfman would have to rely on his own will to struggle against it; there was no other way.
Raizel felt that moving forward, the main focus should be on tempering Elfman's willpower, while physical conditioning might actually be secondary.
Kagura hadn't let her guard down at all. The Beast King was still being tightly pressed to the ground by her Gravity Magic.
After all, she had witnessed the Beast King feigning unconsciousness earlier.
Frankly, she had also thought the Beast King was out cold the first time and had relaxed a bit.
Raizel admitted he was fooled at first too; he hadn't expected a magical beast to be so good at acting.
However, he hadn't let his guard down since the Beast King's sneak attack on Mirajane, which was the only reason he had been able to save Lisanna before Elfman could throw that punch.
Raizel had originally felt that Mirajane had become stronger, seeing as she single-handedly defeated the Beast King initially.
And that was true—Mirajane had indeed become stronger.
The issue was that the Beast King was just too resilient. Mirajane's combo, especially the final Soul Extinguisher, wasn't something an ordinary S-Class Mage could withstand, as Satan Soul is renowned for its destructive attack power.
Since it was uncertain whether the Beast King was truly unconscious or just faking it again, they decided to keep it pinned down until the very end.
"Alright." Elfman didn't hesitate.
He nodded and slowly approached the pinned Beast King.
He never wanted to just stand by and watch helplessly while his sister and Lisanna got hurt ever again.
The feeling of powerlessness he felt using the Weretiger and Iron Bull forms against the Beast King was agonizing.
None of his current Take Over forms could match the Beast King in raw strength.
The Beast King would definitely be a powerful asset, even if it couldn't be used fully for the time being.
This time, the Take Over process went smoothly without any issues.
With Kagura's assistance suppressing it, the Beast King couldn't even struggle.
It gradually transformed into a stream of Magic Power, flowing into Elfman's right arm.
"Try a Partial Take Over."
Seeing that Elfman's condition was decent and he still had Magic Power left, Raizel decided to have him give it a try immediately.
"Beast Soul: Partial Take Over – Beast King!"
The Beast King's arm quickly materialized over Elfman's own left arm, albeit a smaller, scaled-down version.
Elfman moved the transformed limb, clenched his fist firmly, and experimentally threw a punch at the air.
"It works! I can control it!" Elfman replied excitedly, his face beaming with joy.
"That's good enough. It's progress." Raizel nodded thoughtfully.
It seemed that as long as it wasn't a Full-Body Take Over, a Partial Take Over should be controllable. It was likely that during a Full-Body transformation, the Beast King's will interfered too heavily with Elfman's mind.
It was similar to how Mirajane still couldn't fully control her Full-Body Take Over of Satan Soul, although her case was a bit better.
She just couldn't completely control the output of her power; she was influenced by the demon soul, making it difficult to regulate her Magic Power usage, and her personality became significantly more aggressive.
Mirajane had improved slightly through training, though she still had a long way to go before achieving perfect control.
But just to be safe, they decided to wait until Elfman's body fully recovered before having him attempt the Partial Take Over again.
It's never wrong to be a little cautious.
Raizel snapped his fingers and pointed toward the direction of Magnolia.
"Mission accomplished. After getting Elfman and Mira treated at the hospital, we're heading home!"
...
Magnolia.
Raizel pushed open the guild doors.
The guild was as noisy as ever, but as the group entered, everyone gradually fell silent.
Mirajane and Elfman both had their arms suspended in slings, with bandages wrapped around various parts of their bodies.
Mirajane had suffered multiple bone fractures and cracks.
After all, she had taken a direct blow from the Beast King with her human body and crashed into a rock wall.
The extent of their injuries was severe—even when Raizel and Laxus had fought so fiercely before, the visible damage hadn't been this brutal.
The guild members listened quietly as Raizel explained why Mirajane and Elfman had sustained such serious injuries.
Makarov furrowed his brow tightly, drinking his beer gloomily.
He looked at Mirajane and Elfman with deep apology in his eyes.
"Mira, Elfman... it was my fault for not properly assessing the actual difficulty of the quest."
He breathed a slight sigh of relief, grateful that Raizel had decided to tag along.
While listening to Raizel's account, he couldn't help but imagine a scenario where Lisanna and Mirajane might have died during the quest.
If that had really happened, how guilty would he have felt? Would he ever have been able to forgive himself in this lifetime?
Makarov truly believed that while this quest was indeed rated S-Class, it wasn't an ordinary S-Class quest—it should have been handled by a stronger S-Class Mage or a team to be safe.
'The Council's rating system for Extermination Quests seems to need some adjustments...' Makarov thought to himself.
If even Fairy Tail S-class mage struggling with this kind of S-Class Quest, how could other guilds S-class hope to complete it? This Beast King quest had likely claimed the lives of many Mages before it reached them.
Just like those previous scattered demon subjugation quests that had killed several S-Class Mages from other guilds before being upgraded to SS-Class, he felt it necessary to propose stricter ratings for S-Class Quests, especially Extermination Quests.
Those were real human lives on the line!
The Fairy Tail Guild Master, along with two of the Ten Wizard Saints and some allied guilds, should be able to submit a strong proposal.
Surely nobody wanted to lose their talented Mages due to information gaps and inaccuracies.
Mirajane simply shook her head gently, feeling that there was no way to blame Makarov.
"It's alright, Master. It was my own fault. You told me to be careful, and Raizel also warned me to be cautious, but I didn't take it seriously enough."
"It was my fault! I lost to the Beast King despite being a man!" Elfman shouted.
Though completely wrapped in bandages, he hadn't lost his spirit—even if his apology was weirdly focused on manliness rather than self-reflection.
"You did well enough. You're a true man," Wakaba and Macao said, patting Elfman's uninjured shoulder.
Hearing how Elfman had protected Mirajane, stood against the Beast King, and even forcibly used Take Over on it, they genuinely admired him.
Elfman might not have defeated the Beast King, but having that courage was enough.
He was still young, after all.
"That's right, Elfman. Don't underestimate yourself." Ur also nodded toward Elfman, encouraging him.
Makarov nodded, his expression turning serious.
"Until your injuries heal, neither of you are to take on any quests. Everyone must be extra careful when undertaking Extermination Quests from now on. Regarding the rating of these quests, I'll report to the Council to request adjustments."
"Yes, Master!" Everyone nodded solemnly in response to Makarov.
During such relatively formal moments, Raizel would also address him as "Master" rather than "Gramps."
Fortunately, Mirajane and Elfman were alive, and the tension in the room gradually dissipated as everyone returned to their usual selves.
"Tonight we're having a feast! To celebrate Mira and Elfman's safe return!" Makarov resumed his usual casual demeanor, raising his glass high.
"Hooray!!! Long live the Master!!!"
Then followed the familiar scene of various drinking vessels soaring through the air...
One could only say that whoever was on cleaning duty tomorrow would be very unfortunate.