Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master

The ritual proceeded smoothly, everything was fine, except for Annie's cries of pain, which were hard to bear.

At first, Annie wanted to refuse when she learned that using Separation Addition magic to strip away the demon's power would be excruciating.

But Mira told her the truth: if she didn't go through with it, she would die.

Although Annie said things like, "I'm old now, it doesn't matter," her will to live was still strong.

Not only did she try her best to endure the pain, but she even resisted the demon soul with her own willpower.

To Mira, it seemed that if Annie were given more time, she might truly be able to learn Take Over Magic just like her.

"It's coming out!" Rhodes's palms hovered over Annie's head. A shadowy figure was being dragged free, roaring in fury.

It bared its fangs and claws, lunging to strike Rhodes.

But Mira, standing opposite, reached out and seized it with her bare hands, crushing its resistance with overwhelming force.

The demon soul writhed in Mira's grasp, but within seconds its form turned translucent, then scattered into dust-like motes, vanishing without a trace.

"Ocean's Embrace!" Rhodes invoked healing magic, bathing Annie in a wave of soothing light.

Annie lay drenched in sweat, breathing hard. "Is… is it over? Did it work?"

Mira quickly answered, "Yes. It's over. You're safe now."

The moment she heard confirmation, Annie drifted into deep sleep. The ordeal had been far too much for her.

A fire crackled in the stove, filling the room with warmth. Mira gently wiped away Annie's sweat, changed her into fresh clothes, and then called Rhodes back inside.

Pointing at the sleeping Annie, she whispered, "Looks like we'll need to stay here tonight."

Rhodes nodded. "Yeah. We can't just leave her like this."

As they sat together, they pieced together the reason for Annie's condition.

Years ago, the demonic incident in the village had been deliberately staged by a demon. It had created chaos to lure onlookers, intending to devour their lives to restore its strength.

But a massive fire had thwarted its plans, leaving it weakened.

As villagers gradually abandoned the area, the demon grew desperate.

Lacking the power to hold them by force, it resorted to mental suggestion to make people stay.

Its best chances were with the most vulnerable, the elderly and the children.

But even if children cried to remain, their parents carried them away. When the elderly wished to stay, their families persuaded them to leave.

The only exception was Annie, a widow with no one left to care for her. She became the demon's single success.

Even so, Annie resisted. Though she couldn't break free entirely, she refused commands to "approach the church." No matter how hard the demon pushed, she never obeyed. At best, it managed to anchor her to the village, unable to move away.

Thus, a stalemate formed between Annie and the demon.

Last year, when Annie went to gather firewood, it finally pushed her closer to the church.

But then, that man appeared.

His ice magic was overwhelming, nearly annihilating the demon completely. But because of his arrogance and impatience, the demon only managed to be destroyed halfway.

That half-formed remnant found refuge by slipping into Annie, using Take Over as a disguise.

Only a Taken Over demon could hide. Only then could it escape that man's eyes.

If it had been a true forceful possession, the demon would have been annihilated on the spot.

That man's suppressive aura, like a natural enemy, made the demon tremble with fear. As long as it sensed that chilling magic lingering in the church, it dared not reveal even a sliver of its power.

But when two young mages suddenly appeared in the village yesterday, the demon conceived a bold idea, if it could drain their life force, it might even return to its peak!

However, when it attempted to probe them, the terror was overwhelming. It couldn't even hold on to its scythe.

Why did impossibly powerful people always seem to wander into this forsaken, crumbling village?!

By the time those two young mages blew up the church today, the demon realized escape was the only option.

Once the thought of fleeing entered its mind, it couldn't be suppressed. Mental suggestion magic unraveled the moment its caster wavered.

That was why Annie had suddenly begun packing her things to leave, and why her abnormality was exposed so quickly.

When the young man proposed a magical inspection, the demon had no choice but to lash out desperately.

The result;

The result was that Mirajane gained a brand-new form, one she named Demon Soul Sadou.

Rhodes looked at the radiant Mira with open admiration.

Her hair remained snowy white, but her skin had turned a dark onyx shade, like a deep tan. Her ears had grown long and pointed, resembling those of an elf.

Her outfit was bold and striking, reminiscent of Satan Soul: shoulder guards and wristbands, a scant black top across her chest, long boots, and a daringly short skirt that barely reached the guild mark on her hip. It was hard to tell whether it was truly a skirt or just bones shaped into one.

Regarding this new form, Rhodes couldn't help himself. "If you carried a pair of daggers, you'd look exactly like a Dark Elf of the night."

Mira tilted her head and grinned. "A Dark Night Elfman?"

"Elf" meant elf, and she had deliberately twisted it into a pun on her brother's name.

Rhodes winced at the bad joke.

Mira teased further. "Do you want me to change my head into Elfman's?"

Rhodes immediately raised his hands in surrender. Having a wife who could wield Transformation Magic wasn't always a blessing, especially when she used it for mischief.

After a round of playful teasing, Mira grew more serious. "Actually, it's more fitting to call it Shadow Elf. Sadou's magic is shadow-based."

Unfortunately, since they were still in Annie's home, it wasn't convenient to test the form's full abilities or explore its physical changes. Rhodes sighed in regret.

The two of them took turns keeping watch until dawn. Annie slept soundly through the night without any further abnormalities.

When she awoke, she immediately insisted on leaving the village. She had no desire to stay another second.

Rhodes and Mira helped her pack, then escorted her all the way to the nearby town, where they finally parted ways.

Annie thanked them again and again. Before leaving, she told Rhodes, "If only Mirajane had met you sooner…"

She believed that if Mira had met Rhodes earlier, she wouldn't have suffered the villagers' fear and scorn, and the three Strauss siblings wouldn't have needed to risk their lives traveling across mountains and rivers alone.

But Mira didn't see it that way. Take Over Magic had become an essential part of her strength, and she didn't want to imagine a life without it.

Even so… it would have been nice to meet Rhodes earlier.

Perhaps, she thought with a faint smile, she would have bullied him endlessly, just as she used to tease Natsu.

As they left Annie behind, Mira's thoughts wandered down that path. She couldn't help but smile.

Just then, Rhodes grinned and said, "Mira, I'm having an affair."

"What did you say?!"

Mira nearly transformed on the spot from shock.

But then she caught sight of the newspaper in his hand, a cheap gossip rag. The front page showed her, Rhodes, and Yukino sitting at a café in the capital.

Back then, they had been discussing Sorano's situation, and Yukino's agitation had been misinterpreted into juicy scandal fodder.

Mira's face turned red, and she kicked Rhodes in the shin. "You'd better explain yourself right now!"

Rhodes looked wounded. "You suspect me..."

But Mira already knew he was being mischievous. "Alright, what do you want?"

He hugged her close and whispered, "When we passed that shop just now, I saw fishnet..."

Mira punched him before he could finish. She knew the rest of that line would be, 'otherwise, I can't mend my broken heart.'

The two wandered off, bickering and laughing, down the streets of the quiet little town.

Meanwhile, the other person involved in that tabloid headline was not having such an easy time.