Fairy Tail: The Dark Swordsman

16 - Meeting the Demon

[X778, 8 months later]

— Dannis Martell —

Rackshaw village, an isolated village in an extremely rural part of Fiore.

I studied the paper with the mission details about the demon lurking in the streets of the village. I certainly didn't mean for it to take this long. But one thing led to another, a bandit hunt that turned into a wild goose chase for a week, exploring some old ruins that popped up on the path leading here, finding a treasure map in those ruins, and going on a treasure hunt for another four months, only for that treasure map to be a dud.

Let me tell you, it's been a very interesting eight months.

But I'm finally here, ready to take down whatever demon decided to hole up in the middle of nowhere. Not that I knew why, there were much better places to set up if this demon wanted to eat humans.

Which probably means that sustainable sustenance in the form of human life isn't the goal.

"Excuse me, I am the mage who has responded to your request to exterminate the demon within the village."

I saw a flash of disappointment across the village chief's face. He was an older man with receding hair and a slightly unkempt beard. I withheld a sigh at dealing with another one of these people who most likely expected adult mages instead of a 16-year-old like me.

Despite obviously not being happy with the current circumstances, the village chief still pointed me in a direction and gave further details.

"The demon lies at the house furthest west of the village. It was originally from the abandoned church near there and has recently possessed the body of a girl. She's a lost cause by now, as are her siblings. You'll probably have to put them down anyway," he said with a dismissive tone.

"The demon already possessed a victim?" I asked with wide eyes. "When did that happen?"

"Just last week. A couple of local hunters tried to kill it, only to be eaten by the demon in the attempt. The same demon then possessed their daughter in retaliation. Hell, that entire family is probably cursed at this point."

I paused, learning of this new development. So there were already victims. Damn it, if only I didn't waste time on pointless jobs, this could have been prevented.

I nodded at the man in a show of understanding. "I'll make sure to finish the job quickly to prevent any more victims."

The chief snorted. "Yeah, you do that."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

— Mirajane Strauss —

They had to leave now.

Mirajane really hated the fact that they were leaving their childhood home, but there was no other choice.

She heard the rumors that the village chief had hired an experienced mage to kill her, the so-called demon that has been harassing the people of Rackshaw Village.

If only the world knew the truth: it was them who had been harassing her and her siblings. Elfman and Lisanna couldn't go ten steps outside their house without being pelted by rocks thrown by the other villagers. They couldn't have a proper meal since people refused to sell to them.

She felt tears in her eyes but forced them away before her siblings could see. They couldn't see her like this; she had to be strong for them. She had to. Ever since that demon killed her parents, she took it upon herself to protect and care for her little brother and sister. No one would harm them while she was alive.