The distance between Gruk Village and Magnolia is much farther than Ken imagined.
Almost without stopping.
Wait until night falls completely.
Only then did they barely approach the jungle on the outskirts of Gruk Village.
As if he smelled something, Ken suddenly said seriously: "Mira... be mentally prepared."
"What?"
"The dragon slayer's five senses are sharper than ordinary people. The further I go, the more I smell the smell of burning fireworks..."
Seeing that Mirajane did not respond, Ken also remained silent and continued to urge the Storm Dragon Wings to move forward.
As the two people continued to get closer.
Finally stopped on a hill.
Just ahead is the village of Gruk.
The terrain here is high, and you can just overlook the whole village.
But it was only a glance. Mirajane's pupils suddenly dilated and her eyes were frightened;
She covered half of her face with her hands, shaking constantly.
Ken was expressionless.
In front of the two of them, the village that was supposed to appear had turned into a sea of flames!
....
....
After a while.
Jungle clearing, next to the fire.
Mirajane and Ken sat opposite each other, and the atmosphere was frighteningly quiet.
Twenty minutes ago, the two of them walked through the village of Gruk. In addition to the flames soaring into the sky and corpses everywhere, no survivors were found.
Since then, Mirajane has been silent until now.
The fragrant and sizzling grilled fish was ignored and kept buried in the flames until it became charred and gave off a pungent smell.
Ken had to throw it away.
Staring at the bonfire in a daze for a while.
Seeing that Mirajane's expression had softened, Ken finally couldn't hold it back and asked:
"Mira, if I remember correctly, it was these villagers who drove you away in revenge, right? Even so, do you still have nostalgia for this place?"
Mirajane smiled miserably.
"But this...is my hometown after all. Elfman, Lisanna, and I have lived on this land since we were children."
"By the way, you joined the guild not long ago, so you may not know about Lisanna... She was a very cute girl, but she has left us..."
Every time she talks about Lisanna, Mirajane's tone is always filled with sadness that cannot be erased.
And how could Ken not know Lisanna.
The three sisters encountered a very powerful beast when carrying out a commission. Elfman forcibly took it in, but suffered a backlash and lost control of his body;
Lisanna firmly believed that she could wake her brother up, but Elfman, who had lost his mind, was so jealous that he attacked Lisanna directly.
When Mirajane rushed to the scarred Lisanna, she discovered that her body had slowly turned into nothingness.
Since that incident, Mirajane's temperament has changed drastically, from the violent bad girl to the gentle and considerate one she is now, and the terrifying magic power in her body has fallen asleep;
Elfman is no longer as weak as he was as a child.
They all thought that their sister Lisanna was dead, but they still couldn't figure out why her body turned into nothingness at the last moment of her life.
Ken naturally knew about this that Lisanna was actually still alive, but was just sucked into a parallel time and space.
But it is also difficult to explain now.
Ken didn't mention much, just stretched out his hand to wipe the tears from the corners of Mirajane's eyes:
"Lisanna just went to another world. She definitely didn't want to see you sad."
"Take a rest for a while. Let's look for traces of the devil tomorrow morning. It's not their turn to rule this beloved homeland yet..."
As Ken spoke, he suddenly felt a slight pressure on his shoulders.
At the beginning of the film, Mirajane was leaning on her at some point,
Under the mixture of pain and exhaustion, she fell asleep lightly, as obediently as a baby.
Ken couldn't help but smile bitterly, carefully took off his coat, and covered it on Mirajane's back.
"We have to keep vigil again tonight..."
...
At dawn.
With the powerful perception of Ken, the dragon slayer, he quickly discovered the traces of the devil's actions; following the smell, he quickly entered a dense forest.
"The terrain here is complicated, be careful of ambush and protect yourself."
Cut off the thorns in front of him, Ken told behind him.
"I see."
As the smell slowly deepens.
The two of them finally walked into the spacious forest, and from time to time the rustling sound of leaves could be heard.
"It's just ahead..."
Push aside the last bush.
What came into sight was a tall stone building.
In the center of the building, there is also a scarlet flag hanging, engraved with a strange pattern of a twisted animal claw...
This architectural style is naturally familiar to them.
"Guild??"
Ken and Miraj looked at each other in surprise.
Wrong?
And how could there be a guild in a place like this?
Ken scratched his head, wondering if there was something wrong with his nose, while Mirajane stared at the guild crest and fell into deep thought.
"I think I heard the editor of Mages Weekly mention this sign? It seems to be a dark wizard guild with very strange movements, specializing in robbing homes..."
"Since it's the Dark Guild, let's go in and have a sit. Maybe there will be clues to the devil inside."
As Ken answered, he flew up and kicked towards the iron door.
Several subtle cracking sounds were heard from both sides.
The door fell forward at a 90° angle, kicking up dust.
The quality is much worse than the Fairy Tail Guild's gate.
"Bang!"
As the iron door fell to the ground, Ken led Mirajane inside as if nothing had happened.
Instantly attracting dozens of pairs of eyes in the hall.
Looking around, most of these people carry swords, spears, and halberds with them, and they all look fierce;
Seeing Ken and Mirajane entering, they immediately clenched the weapons in their hands and stood up alertly.
The fat man in the lead had a sinister look on his face. He immediately pointed the blade of his knife at Ken and asked sternly:
"Who dares to break into the Evil Spirit Temple!?"
"I heard that there is a demon nearby, and I would like to find out if there are any clues about it." Ken responded calmly.
Uproar.
The fat man frowned and looked at Ken with squinted eyes.
Perhaps he was shocked by the sudden destruction of the iron gate just now.
Only then did he realize that there were only two people across from him.
A thin boy, and a quiet girl who couldn't fight at first glance.
Looking at the dozens of magicians from his guild in the hall, he couldn't help but laugh:
"Where did this young boy come from? What happened? You took your wife out for fun and got lost?"
The fat man had a lewd smile on his lips, and his eyes kept scanning Mirajane's slim figure.
Then the gangsters in the entire hall burst into laughter.
"Hehe, this guy knows that there are no women in the Evil Spirit Temple, so he came here to honor us..."
"She seems to be Mirajane, the cover girl of Wizards Weekly? Brothers are in luck now."
"Wait... I remember Mirajane is an S-class mage! Can we beat them..."
"What are you afraid of! No matter how strong Mirajane is, I haven't heard of anything she has done in these years. She is probably a useless person in name only!"
"There are more than 80 of us, and we are still afraid of a half-dead S-class mage!?"
"..."
There was a commotion.
This group of gangsters seemed to have completely forgotten the scene when Ken kicked in the door.
Ken was too lazy to tangle with this group of useless snacks.
The fat man looks so bad, he looks like a short-lived ghost.
I probably won't be able to survive even one episode...
Just as he was about to activate the dragon-killing magic in his body, the fat man spoke again:
"No matter how you found this place... Now that you are here, please stay and become a sacrifice to Ares Dreadfall!"
Ken's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Ares Dreadfall? Could it be that devil's name?"
Mirajane heard this and nodded slightly: "Maybe the devil is hiding in this dark guild..."
(Next Chapter: The Devil's Curse)