The location of their job brought them to an isolated village in an extremely rural part of Fiore.
"Excuse me, we are mages who have responded to your request in getting rid of the demon within the village."
She may be young, but even she can tell that the village chief was disappointed when he saw that the mages who took up their job request are mere childrens instead of adult mages. Then again, what was he expecting when he posted the job through illegal channels in an attempt to avoid paying taxes to the Magic Council? This is how independent mages like them found their jobs, through channels that are either toeing the fine line of legality or outright illegal.
Despite obviously not being happy at the sight of them, the village chief still pointed them to their job destination and gave them further details.
"At the house furthest south of the village is where the demon lies. It was originally from the abandoned church near there and recently possessed a girl. The girl is a lost cause by now. The same probably goes for her siblings. You would probably have to put them down."
"Possessed?" Wendy could hear the scowl in his voice through Mystogan's mask. "There was no such information given in the job request! This would bump the mission to at least an A Class one!"
"Take it or leave it."
"I will be asking for a 50% increase in remuneration once this is all over."
His voice is one of finality, one that leaves no further room of argument. This is the voice which she mentally dubs as his 'King voice', because it felt to her like he is a King giving orders to his subordinates and that there will be no further room for discussion. Probably a mark left behind from his royalty upbringing.
"How are we going to go about doing this?" She asked him in a low whisper the moment they were out of earshot.
"If the demon has possession capabilities, we may need your magic to separate the demon from the girl before I kill it. Hopefully we are not too late." He replied with a grim voice. Possession is no laughing matter. The longer the duration of the possession, the higher the probability of the possessed victim no longer being able to return with a sound state of mind. That was what he taught her in their lessons.
Like him, she can only pray that the possessed girl is alright.
"W-Who are you?! What do you want?!"
I blinked my eyes in confusion and shock. I continue to stare at the three children in front of me, still trying to comprehend it all.
"You are the demon that the villagers were talking about?"
"I'M NOT A DEMON!"
She screamed. Her scream was punctuated with an outburst of raw ethernano from her body, the sheer density and volume of it blasting everything and everyone away from her in a two meter radius. I had to quickly shield Wendy with my body lest she accidentally got injured.
A girl around my age sobbed as she tried to stand up, her long white hair cascading around her. Her blue eyes glared at me in defiance as she tried to stand with her shaky legs, placing herself between me and her siblings. The sudden outburst of magic must have left her exhausted. It's obvious that she is untrained in magic, unable to properly regulate and control it.
There's no more doubt in my mind. I know who she is and who her siblings are. The girl in front of me must be Mirajane Strauss, the future S Class she-demon of Fairy Tail.
"I believe there is a misunderstanding." I said slowly as I lowered my stave and slung it across my back once more. That damn village chief. I nearly killed an innocent by mistake due to his omission of information from the job request.
Fucking bastard.
Breaking all protocol that I set for myself, I removed my mask and bandanna with one smooth motion, revealing my face for the Strauss siblings to see. I can trust them. I know the kind of people that they will grow up to be, I can trust them to keep my secret.
"Let me re-introduce myself. My name is Mystogan, and I am a mage. I believe that I might know a way to help you, miss, if you would let me."
I saw how her eyes widened at my words and I know that there is hope that she might listen to me. If all goes well, I might be able to help lessen her sufferings.
Even if I had convinced myself that I had done it for the greater good, the fact is that I had betrayed my family, my father, my country. Helping people like her, people in pain is the least I can do to atone for the wrongs I had done in my attempt to make things right.
It helps me to sleep a little easier at night.
"Magic…"
"That's right. I believe that your brand of magic is Take Over magic. You took over a demon, not the other way round. You are no demon, get it? You defeated a demon."
Mirajane Strauss looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and shock. She still cannot comprehend how she of all people turned out to be a mage but she has to admit that this is good news. As long as she is not a demon, as long as she is still human.
She never felt more relieved.
That weird boy her age introduced himself as Mystogan. She would have mistook the little girl beside him as his little sister due to their similar hair colour but she was quickly proven wrong. Wendy is a precious little thing and she had mixed in very well with Lisanna and Elfman soon enough. She can't even remember when was the last time she saw her siblings smile and laugh happily ever since their parents died.
She is their big sister. She will protect those smiles at all costs but first, she needs to have the strength to do so.
So, she turned towards him and asked him a question.
"Can you teach me how to use magic?"
The look in his eyes mellowed out.
"Yes, and no. I can teach you the theoretical aspects of magic, that is true, but that is all I can help you with. I am not a true mage."
He took out one of the staves slung across his back and showed it to her.
"Unlike you, I cannot utilise magic naturally, I am not born with magic. I am a magic tool user. They are my source of power. Without them, I am effectively magic-less. This is why I cannot teach you, because the way I use magic is different from yours. What I can do is to direct you to people who can use magic like you do. Do you want that?"
She nodded mutely, not knowing what else she could do to allow her and her siblings to survive. She wasn't expecting the villagers to send out a job request to murder her, wrongfully labelling her as a demon. She clenched her fist at the thought.
Those lowlives. If some other mage had come instead, one that isn't as nice as Mystogan, she would have… Her siblings would have…
She doesn't want to think about it.
She took his offer right there and then. For her siblings, she can do anything. She needs to become stronger, so strong that nobody can harm her and her siblings anymore. Becoming a mage sounds like the perfect way to do so.
"Please, help me, Mystogan. I want to be a mage."
He gave her a smile, one that she is sure she won't be forgetting for many years to come, maybe even forever.
"I know you will."
What happened next took place in such rapid succession that it all passed by in a blur.
Mystogan went up to the village chief and somehow wrestled an extra 200% of the promised pay for the completion of the job request. Technically, what was specified on the job request was to 'Get rid of the demon', it never specified how. He is still fulfilling the job as stated on the job request by bringing her out of the village, she just doesn't know how he swindled the extra 200% of the promised pay from that stingy backstabbing pig of a village chief.
He brought them out of that dreary place after they bid their parents a last goodbye. He said that he will bring them to Magnolia Town, where a powerful mage guild that he trusts made their home in. He told them that the current guild master is one of the Ten Wizard Saints, one of the ten strongest mages in Fiore. If anyone can teach her how to properly use magic, it's him.
She asked him if he is going to join Fairy Tail too. He shook his head with a laugh and simply gave her four words as his reply.
"I don't belong there."
He trusted them enough to tell them about his origins, about a parallel plane of existence known as Edolas and how he came to be here. Naturally, she and her siblings swore to keep his true identity a secret from anyone else no matter who they may be. He had done so much for them, this is the least they can do for him in return.
Their journey to Magnolia took weeks by foot, with him ensuring their safety every step of the way. It was then she saw how he really is as a person.
He is a boy her age with a strong sense of justice paired with a compassionate heart. He doesn't like to see people getting hurt and he often stands up for those that were treated wrongly. She can see from how he often stops to help people in need as long as it is within his ability to do so. She caught a glimpse of it when he told her his story and the circumstances of his homeland, Edolas. He does not like to see wrongdoings taking place right in front of his eyes.
He is a boy her age with an extremely mature outlook of the world. The way he speaks and carries himself sometimes makes her feel that he is an adult trapped in a child's body. The things he saw are deeper and further than what they can see, to the point that she sometimes cannot help but wonder just what he had experienced in Edolas for him to see things the way he saw it.
He is a boy her age with deep knowledge about magic. All of the magic staves he made are of his own creation, each serving a different purpose. He loves magic. He could go on and on about magic theory for hours on end if you ask him questions about magic. She can see why he is a powerful mage despite not being able to wield magic like normal mages can.
He is a boy her age who also has people that he cares about. Like how Elfman and Lisanna are the only ones she has left to keep her anchored and sane, he has Wendy. Like how she would do anything to keep her siblings safe, Mystogan will do anything to keep Wendy safe too. She and Mystogan are a lot more alike than they thought in this regard.
Alas, all good things must come to an end. Before they knew it they stood outside the gates of Magnolia Town.
"I guess this is where we part ways. Remember to find Master Makarov of Fairy Tail and tell him of your problems, alright?"
"You are really not coming with us?"
He shook his head. She had witnessed how Wendy had reacted when Mystogan had asked her if she wanted to join Fairy Tail with her and her siblings as well instead of following him to wander all across Earthland. Wendy had put up a big fuss and nearly broke down in tears, mistaking that question to be Mystogan trying to abandon her. It took him a long while to convince her that it wasn't the case.
In the end, the matter was closed with Wendy choosing to follow Mystogan instead of joining a guild. She has no idea why Mystogan is so against joining one but it is not her place to pry. He had done more than enough for her and her siblings and they would be forever grateful to him for his act of kindness. He had even given her an amulet as a good luck charm, saying that this is a magic tool he had made himself and that it can help to protect her when needed. She has no words to say because words can no longer express the gratitude she has for him.
"See you when I see you guys again. I'm sure you guys will be splendid mages the next time we meet." He told them before they parted with Wendy waving goodbye at them with her cute little arms.
"Thank you for everything. I mean it."
She could imagine him smiling at her even through that mask he is wearing.
"Don't mention it."