July 11th, x778: The day the Strauss Family Left Paragon

At the brink of dawn, just outside the forests of Paragon, on a long trajectory towards Magnolia, Mira's family had begun their journey. It had only been a few hours since they had left Paragon, during the cover of darkness so they wouldn't run into any trouble, and they had covered a lot of ground since then. Already a few miles from the town that hated and detested their presence, and it was all thanks to the boy with a white dress suit and red tie at the head of the group, talking to a small shadow torso that stuck out of the ground and pulled a makeshift medical sled with a tan boy in it.

"Stop complaining, Sho."

Mira could admit the trip had been more interesting so far because she got to watch their dynamic.

"You're the best one to carry Elfman. You don't get tired, and I do. So it makes sense."

It was a weird dynamic, to say the least. All it took was a slight tilt of the shadow's head for Vera's face to turn into an offended expression.

"I'm not being lazy, Sho, I'm being efficient... what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Mira initially thought seeing a living shadow was strange, but she slowly adjusted. Sho was weird and, more than anything, quiet, but he seemed gentle and friendly—even playful at times. Especially with Vera, the only person who could understand what Sho was saying without written words.

"What do you mean you're going to tell Jose!? You want us both to die!"

Mira felt that Sho's words were about as mischievous as the shadow's sense of humor.

Magic is so strange...

Mira adjusted Lisanna, sleeping on her back, as she stared at the two walking ahead. The morning dew was still in the trees, and the sunrise tinted her hair as she walked through the forests. Her eyes lingered in the shadow before Vera's voice brought her out of her head, "Hey, you good to walk a few more hours? We can set up camp at noon."

"That's fine."

"Cool; hopefully, Lisanna will be up by then, so you won't have to carry her."

"That's not an issue," Mira said with a shake of her head, her cloak acting as a cushion for Lisanna to rest her head on as she spoke softly.

"I can carry her for however long we keep walking."

Mira hated her arm; it was disgusting, but if there was one thing it had done, it was strengthen her body. The cursed arm that ruined her life was why she could carry Lisanna for miles without sweat.

"I want Lisanna to get some more rest."

She could have laughed at the irony of it wasn't so depressing. Instead, she just shelved the thought and glanced at Sho with a mild inquiry, "I've never seen magic like yours before. How does it work?"

Mira couldn't help but be a little bit curious.

"Is it- is Sho alive?"

Mira didn't think living magic existed, but the evidence stared her in the face. The subtle nuances of the shadow made her believe it was alive, so she couldn't help herself as she looked to Vera for an explanation. One that was given instantly and was only mildly disappointing.

"No clue. I'm pretty sure he is."

However, the fact that even Vera didn't seem to understand his magic was just as fascinating.

I wonder if Sho's like a second personality... ooh, or a Guardian Spirit. Or a weird magic pet that-

"He's actually pretty similar to your magic, Mira, if you could believe that."

Mira's thoughts came to a screeching halt at Vera's words.

Her eyes were wide as she stopped in her tracks and whispered in absolute shock, "Magic?"

Mira had magic? No, she didn't. She had a disgusting arm that the demon cursed her with, and that was it.

"I don't have magic."

A curse was all she had. Magic was supposed to be beautiful and whimsical, like Sho, who was oddly charming and mysterious. It wasn't supposed to be disgusting or evil. It wasn't supposed to be like her arm; it wasn't supposed to be like that.

"Huh?"

Vera's reaction challenged that theory.

"What are you talking about?"

Vera stopped and raised an eyebrow at her like she was crazy. Her eyes were wide as he pointed at her arm, still covered by the cloak, and spoke with a tilted head, "You have Take Over Magic."

Mira could have counted her heartbeats. She was so stunned by the news that it was all she could do. Her world was flipped upside down, and she didn't know which way was up, and the surprised murmur that left Vera's lips didn't help, "Did you... did you really not know that?"

Mira couldn't respond; she only shook her head in a daze. She didn't know what to feel; she was confused, bitter, grateful, relieved, and angry all in one, and it all came in waves. Consuming her even as Vera offered his explanation: "Take Over Magic is when you take over the magic and body of your opponent. Usually, when someone uses it, the entity with the stronger will takes over the weaker one."

Mira didn't know what to think anymore.

"I assume you ran into the demon back in Paragon before it disappeared."

Mira numbly nodded, unaware she was latching onto Vera's words.

"Then that's it. Your will suppressed the demon, so now its body and magic belong to you."

She was unaware that her gaze had shifted from Vera's concerned expression toward her arm—her arm, not the demon's arm.

This arm... is my magic?

She didn't know what to feel. On the one hand, a part of her was happy. She had defeated that demon back in Paragon, even if she hadn't meant to. There could even be a trace of something in her heart that felt a little proud of herself.

"Hey, Mira, you're spacing out. You good-"

"Can I turn it back?"

The majority of it, though, the darkest and most extensive part of her heart, was disgusted because she had just learned that all the villagers were right. That arm belonged to her; it was her fault that she was stuck with it. It was her magic that defeated the demon, not anything else.

"There has to be a way to turn it back, right!"

Mira's voice was desperate because it would be her fault if she were stuck with this thing for the rest of her life. If Lisanna and Elfman were shunned for the rest of their lives because of her, it would be her fault, and her mistake would ruin their lives.

"Please! I'll do anything!"

Mira couldn't live with herself if that happened. She would have rather died to the demon back then, but a small hope rose in her heart as she saw Vera blink in surprise and hold his hands up as if to calm her down, "Woah, relax. Yeah, it can turn back."

Mira's mood rose instantly.

"I have no idea how to do it though."

Then, it sunk in an instant.

"What do you mean? Didn't you say our magic was similar?" Mira said with a desperate expression and slumped shoulders, her eyes switching over to Sho, who shook his head before crossing his fingers in an X shape. Mira tilted her head in confusion before Vera coughed to get her attention and rubbed his neck sheepishly, "Our magic functions similarly, yeah, as in we both have a separate 'entity' attached to us that we use. But that's it. Unlike the demon you beat, Sho is my innate magic; I didn't go out and catch him; I made him... I think? Probably."

Mira could only furrow her brows in confusion as Vera sighed and gave a helpless shrug. "It's complicated. The first time I activated my magic, I was in," mind-numbing pain, Vera wanted to say, but he refrained. "A bit of a time crunch, so I didn't think about doing it. I just did it. Sho came out in the end, and he's made of my magic, so I'm assuming I made him."

It wasn't great regarding Vera's knowledge of his own magic, but it was the best theory he had so far. Vera didn't think he summoned Sho because then Sho would have his own magic like Celestial Spirits do, and Vera didn't take him over because there was nothing to take over in the lab. Plus, Sho disobeyed him all the time. Take Over Magic didn't do that. There was a winner and a loser in that exchange, and whoever won was in complete control.

Sho might be less annoying if I had complete control, though-

'TUG' 'TUG'

It's safe to say Sho didn't like that idea.

"Alright, alright, I'm kidding," Vera said with a roll of his eyes as Sho fumed from next to him. Vera glanced at his shadow before tilting his head back to Mira, who watched with slightly less confusion than before, "So... you can't help me because the dynamic between you and Sho isn't like mine."

"Exactly." Vera said with a sigh, "You have complete and total control over your demon's body and magic, making it yours. On the other hand, I can't control Sho, even though he's my magic." Vera glared towards Sho, who pretended to whistle and look around clueless as if he didn't throw Vera to the shades whenever he got bored during training because 'it was funny.'

You're such a jerk, you know that.

'Tug' 'Tug' 'Tug'

Asshole.

Vera rolled his eyes and turned back to Mira, who again frowned in confusion. She opened her mouth to question before Vera cut her off, "Also, I can't use other magic, so I don't know the first thing about teaching you how to use Takeover Magic."

Vera had read about Take Over Magic, sure, but that didn't mean he knew how it physically worked. He wasn't like Siegrain; he couldn't read a book and instantly see how a spell worked in real life. Theoretical knowledge and physical understanding were two different things.

"You'll have to ask someone in Fairy Tail to help you."

Vera wouldn't pretend he could teach Mira about magic he couldn't use.

"They'd better understand how it worked than I do." Vera finished with a shrug, watching Mira's eyes lowered, but she nodded nonetheless. The two then resumed their walk, and Vera talked with Sho as Mira's eyes trailed to her cloak and the demonic arm hidden underneath.

It's my magic...

Mira gritted her teeth as she pulled her cloak closer, her eyes on the ground as she followed in a stewing silence. Every twitch of her right arm felt inhuman and gross to think about.

This disgusting thing is my magic.

Mira hated it; she hated it even more now that she knew it was her fault. However, the good news was she could find someone at Fairy Tail to turn it back. She just had to get through the two weeks without thinking about it too much, and she would be fine. There was nothing to worry about-

"Oh yeah, Mira, once we find a place to camp, we'll start your training, so be ready."

Never mind...

"...okay."

She forgot about training.

A Few Hours Later*

The rest of the trip was a mix of reflective silences and mild chatting between the two mages. Around noon, they found an excellent place to stop for the rest of the day. It was a small clearing next to a stream where they could fill up water flasks and let Elfman and Lisanna sleep, and if they were going off of Lisanna's unconscious shifts, she would most likely wake up sooner rather than later.

"What's the mean look for Mira..."

Mira was slightly annoyed that she wouldn't be around to see it.

"Lisanna and Elfman will be fine," Vera said with an off-handed shrug as he walked through the forest and ignored Mira's glare at the back of his head. Vera could practically feel the immense sister's anger pointed in his direction, but he ignored it.

"Besides, Sho's watching them, so relax."

He was too busy figuring out where to start in her training regiment.

"We have a few hours to focus on your training."

Her magic arm was strong enough to destroy a tree in a single swing, and she was in good enough shape already. Probably from running herself ragged trying to take care of her siblings if he had to guess, but he didn't dwell on it. It was bound to piss him off if he lingered on Paragon and its residents any longer.

Let's see. I can teach her the hand-to-hand basics, then beat her up until she irons it out.

That felt generous. Jose hadn't even let him get his feet wet before he sent a giant man-eating gorgon after him, so Vera's plan felt fair. Step one: teach her how to fight. Step two: fight her. Step three: repeat step two until she improves.

Yeah...

Step four: profit.

Two weeks will be plenty of time.

Vera grinned at the thought, pushing a stray branch out of the way as they got to a spot they could use for training. It was just a small clearing in the woods, a dirt circle in the middle of a ring of trees, but it was perfect for what they needed. Far enough from Lisanna and Elfman that they wouldn't wake them up but close enough to race back instantly if something went wrong.

"Alright, Mira," Vera said as he took the packs of food and water he had brought since they would probably be at it for a few hours and tossed them to the side, signaling Mira to do the same. He then walked into the center of the ring and stretched his arms, turning to Mira, who was hesitantly waiting for instructions. Her brown cloak still covered her demonic arm, and her human arm was out of it.

"Ditch the cloak so I can see what I'm working with."

Vera watched as Mira's eyes widened nearly instantly before they narrowed, and she used her human arm to pull her cloak closer to her body. Her subsequent frown and words threw a massive wrench in Vera's plans because he hadn't considered that Mira was stubborn as shit.

"No."

Looks like they were skipping the first step.

Three minutes later*

Mira gasped as she was thrown on the ground, her breath leaving her as she coughed her lungs out and struggled to roll away. Unable to, a hand caught her brown cloak and pulled her into a kick to her side that had her reeling. Spit flew out of her mouth before she shot to her feet, desperately attempting to retaliate with a powerful hook, only for another yank to her cloak to throw her aim off entirely.

"You gonna keep being stubborn..."

Mira gritted her teeth as Vera's words rang through the air before he shot his hand forward and grabbed her hood, pulling her closer in an instant before sending a sharp knee to her stomach that got rid of whatever air was left in her lungs.

"I can do this all day."

Mira's eyes widened as she tried to raise her demonic arm to block an elbow heading directly toward her nose but failed. It was too quick, and her nose crunched in a bloody mess before she fell to the ground and covered it with a muffled scream. Her eyes watered as she tried to stumble to her feet, only for her cloak to get caught on something and pull her back halfway. An undignified curse escaped her as she fell back on her ass in an uncoordinated mess, and Vera's disappointed words rang in her ears.

"You done?"

Mira glanced back in teary pain as she saw Vera's foot on the end of her brown cloak, raising an eyebrow. She gritted her teeth defiantly, glaring bloody murder as Vera glared right back. His arms crossed, he held her anger for a few seconds before he gave a sigh and asked a question that made her freeze: "What's the big deal, anyway?"

He couldn't be serious.

"It's just a stupid cloak-"

"IT'S NOT ABOUT THE CLOAK!" Mira yelled, her voice cracking as she pulled herself to her feet and screamed with a pent-up rage she couldn't bear.

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE STUPID CLOAK!"

She hated it so much...

"WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS DISGUSTING ARM? I DON'T CARE IF IT'S MY MAGIC OR NOT! WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO REMIND MYSELF THAT I'M A MONSTER?"

Every time she caught sight of it, it made her squirm. It felt like bugs were crawling on her skin; she felt disgusted by it. She wanted to vomit every time she looked at the deformed appendage. The arm that ruined her life and brought back the voices of the villagers. The ones that would scream at her to die.

"I HATE IT! SO EXCUSE ME IF I DON'T WANT TO TAKE MY CLOAK OFF!"

Every. Single. Day.

"YOU CAN STOP TRAINING ME FOR ALL I CARE IF THAT'S SO IMPORTANT TO YOU!" Mira finished with heaving breaths and a red face. She glared with tears of pent-up frustration as she stood toe to toe with Vera, who was looking at her with a guarded expression. His red eyes slowly trailed to the demonic arm beneath her cloak before he sighed and murmured to himself in resignation.

"You're so lucky I'm not Jose."

Mira's rage was still boiling, but it dipped a bit at the mention of this Jose person she had no clue about. Only to return in full as Vera raised an arm. She stiffened, ready for another fight, only to see him silently reach towards the bandages under his tattered sleeve—the ones she had given him back in Paragon.

What's he doing? Is he still-

Mira's thoughts stopped. Her entire face froze and went pale as she saw the canvas of scars exposed with each layer of cloth Vera removed from his forearm. Her eyes widened as she saw the crescent-shaped indents lining his skin from his elbow to his wrist. They took up his entire forearm.

There are so many...

It was like throwing a paint bucket at a canvas and leaving the specks to dry. The scars were everywhere, but that wasn't the worst part, nor was it when he rolled up the other sleeve of his dress shirt to reveal a matching canvas of jagged bite marks and tiny fingernails imprinted into his skin.

Did he...

The worst part was that the angle made them look unnatural. The angle made them look self-inflicted. The size made them look old. The image they painted in her head was of a younger, smaller, more desperate Vera biting and clawing at his arms until they bled and continuing regardless.

I'm going to be sick.

Mira didn't know what to say. The wind had been knocked out of her sails, and she could only look at it dumbfoundedly. She might have been too busy keeping her stomach in check to notice when Vera spoke if not for the honest exhaustion that resided in the words.

"You're not a monster."

Mira broke her gaze from the scars, moving up to look at Vera, who was eyeing her with a guarded expression that teetered on discomfort.

"That arm doesn't make you a monster."

Vera didn't look like he wanted to show her this.

"It's your magic, a part of you. It proves that you fought a demon and won. Nothing is disgusting about that—not in the slightest."

Yet he was doing it anyway, a peace offering he was willing to give her even though every bone in his body seemed to object.

"So use it."

Mira didn't know what to make of it.

"I don't care if you don't like it or if it's uncomfortable. As long as I'm training you, I want your best. I won't settle for anything less."

She didn't know what to say.

"I won't teach someone scared of using their best weapon. That's just a waste of my time."

All she could do was watch as Vera shoved the bandages in his pocket and walked back to the center of the training field. His hands shook slightly, but his eyes remained calm as he rolled up his sleeves further and planted his feet, extending an arm ever so slightly as he slowly and methodically began going through the movements of a proper punch.

"I'm not going to baby someone as strong as you, Mira. If you want to go back, that's fine. You can send Sho here, and I can spar with him instead."

The slow twist of his hips, the slow turn of his body, the slight snap of his fist at the end of it.

"In the meantime, I'm going to do warmups."

Mira could see every step of what he was doing, and it didn't take a genius to see what he was offering.

"Decide what you want on your own."

Vera started his practice and training with his sleeves rolled up and his bandages still in his pocket, ready to be reapplied after training. The same context would be applied to her cloak; she could put it back on after training, but not until then. Until then, she wasn't allowed to wear it or hide from herself because that would get in the way. It would get in the way of fighting now and in the future, and Vera wouldn't train someone who wasn't giving her all.

'It's your magic, it's a part of you.'

Mira didn't want to be like that. She was getting lucky with this opportunity; she didn't want to waste it, but even with that knowledge, her hand still shook as she reached towards her shoulder, her trembling fingers clenching her cloak as she stared bullet holes into the scars lining his arms.

'It proves that you fought a demon and won.'

She couldn't ask about them; she wouldn't.

'Nothing is disgusting about that.'

So, instead, she just glanced past them and towards his fists. Memorizing the smaller movements, she pulled her cloak off her body like tape before hesitantly dropping it in the dirt beside her. Her eyes searched Vera's face for a reaction, only to see him barely glance at her demonic arm before settling back into routine.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up."

The only change Mira saw was Vera's slight smirk as he pointed to the spot next to him as if her deformed arm was just a tad bit interesting.

"I need to show you how to punch something besides air with that badass arm of yours."

He just treated it like it was a part of her.

Three hours Later*

Mira had quickly learned the basics of hand-to-hand, such as how to block, throw a punch, and kick. All of that was easy for her. She knew it in the first hour after Vera showed her how to do it. After they moved onto sparring, though, everything went downhill, and now Mira lay on her back on a heap of dirt and sweat. New bruises lined her body as she looked up at the cloudy sky. Greedily, she caught her breath, inhaling air that had never tasted so sweet.

That was hell...

Mira was so tired her muscles were burning, and her eyes were begging her to sleep, but she stayed awake for a simple reason.

How is he fine after all that?

Vera stood without a scratch on him, strolling to their bags and getting water she already knew she would cherish.

Monster.

Mira huffed as she continued gulping down air, her eyes closed as she looked back in time and thanked Lady Luck that Vera hadn't been sent to kill her and her family. If it weren't for her catching him off guard at the beginning of that fight, she would have been screwed; he could have played with her as long as he wanted to before finishing the fight.

I'm glad he's a good person... or a goodish person, at least.

Mira couldn't objectively say that someone who beat her up for hours straight was a saint, but Vera was at least honest about it. He didn't mince his words, and he was genuinely helping her; that was good person territory in her books, even if he was an asshole when he got in teaching mode.

"Hey, lazy ass."

Point proven.

"Catch," Vera's voice sounded as Mira barely lifted her demonic arm in time to catch a water flask aimed toward her face. Her eyes twitched in irritation as she tried to unscrew it before giving up, ripping the cap off with her claws, and instantly gulping down the entire thing.

This is the best drink I've ever had.

Nothing came close to it; Mira could steal nectar from the royal capital, and it wouldn't come close. The water-cooled her down as if it traveled down her throat, and she began breathing more slowly. Her eyes opened as she finished the container and tossed it back to Vera, "Thanks."

"No problem," Vera said with a frown as he looked at his broken flask, "Don't break the next one, though; I only have so many stored up."

Vera tossed the useless container to the side as Mira stiffened and gave a sheepish nod, glancing to the side with her ears tinged red with embarrassment before she glanced back and asked with honest bafflement, "How aren't you tired yet?"

"Practice."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Vera said with a shrug, getting a few things out of their bags before he took out rations for the day and tossed one to Mira, "I used to do this every day," Back in the lab and with Jose, he had trained his endurance practically every day. It was one of the attributes he was most confident in, "After a while, though, Jose got busy, and I got better, so he moved it to once a week. Still sucked, though."

I wonder what that bastard is doing... I hope it's shitty.

Vera hummed as he took his rations, closed the bag, and walked over to Mira, who had barely gotten herself to sit up. Her hands shook as she lifted the box and used the spoon, with a slight tremor in her hands and a small murmur, "Sounds awful."

"It was," Vera replied idly as he ate. He sat across from Mira as the two ate in comfortable silence. Vera finished his meal first, closing the box and putting his spoon down before rolling his sleeves back down and wrapping his arm in bandages again. "But I don't regret it. When I joined Phantom Lord, I sought strength."

He had joined Phantom Lord because he wanted the strength to make and stand by his own decisions—the strength to make changes that lasted and mattered. To never again be forced into choosing between himself and someone he cared about

"I feel closer than I was at the start."

Vera could see a day where that would be possible.

"For as much as Jose is a dick, I owe him for that," Vera mumbled with a click of his tongue, shaking his head before he stood up and took his empty box back to the bag. Circling back and taking Mira's cloak off the ground, he tossed it to her, ignored her curious gaze, and asked, "Ready to go back? I think your training's done for today."

"I am... just give me a second," Mira said as she strained her muscles to put on her cloak and stand on her feet. Her legs shook as she walked towards her bag before an arm looped under her shoulder and helped her along, "If you're too tired to walk, just say so, idiot. You're going to hurt yourself."

"I'm not too tired to walk."

"Bullshit."

"Screw you," Mira said with a huff, the sort of playful banter stalling as she got to her bag and picked it up with her demonic arm. Her eyes glanced at Vera, who was still helping her walk, as the two turned towards camp and began walking. Mira's eyes lingered on his clean face that didn't hold a visible sign of fatigue, "Who's Jose?"

She couldn't imagine how much he had to endure to get to that level, and she couldn't imagine how much she would have to endure to get to that level, either.

"He's an asshole."

"That isn't what I meant, Vera."

"Yeah, yeah. Honestly, though, he's the guild master of Phantom Lord. He's my teacher."

A part of Mira wanted to know when she would reach that point, whether she crawled to it or sprinted until her legs gave out. Even a part of her was excited at the thought of it because those villagers had made her feel helpless, and right now, she didn't feel that way.

"So this Jose taught you how to fight?"

She felt spent, exhausted, pissed that she lost, and annoyed that she couldn't walk on her own, but through all of that, she felt gratified.

"He did. He was a dick about it, but he did, why?"

She felt like she'd put up a good fight.

"Is that why you're such an asshole when you teach?"

Mira felt refreshed, enough to laugh at Vera's downright offended expression in response to her teasing and smile even as his eyes twitched and signaled that tomorrow wouldn't be pleasant. She could smile because she felt a sense of freedom through the bruises on her skin and the pain in her limbs. Mira felt giddy even as Vera huffed and muttered under his breath, "Screw you, Mira; you better keep that eagerness tomorrow."

Mira felt like she was changing, little by little, so even if she was dreading tomorrow's training, she didn't hate it enough to despair. She grinned and met Vera's surprised and slightly impressed gaze with a determined expression and a promise.

"Watch me."

She would complete whatever hellish training he put her through because she wanted to hold onto this feeling of freedom that lingered in her chest.

"I'll kick your ass tomorrow."

And that water was the best she'd ever tasted.

July 16th, x778: Present Day

It turns out Mira didn't kick his ass tomorrow, or the day after that, or the day after that, and she would be lying if she said she enjoyed it.

"Too wide, Mira."

"I know!"

Fighting Vera was like fighting quicksand. He was damn good at dodging, and whenever they fought, he seemed to know where she was aiming for. Even worse, he wouldn't shut up during their spars, which was the most annoying thing in the world.

"You're still doing it, Mira."

"I KNOW!"

Mira was starting to lose it. It was bearable on the first day, but on the fifth, it was just pissing her off. Worse, he seemed to know it too, given the thin smirk he wore as she swung, her hips turning with her demonic punch as her fist cracked against a tree and snapped it in half like butter. Just for Vera to slide out of the way with a parting shot.

"I feel like you aren't listening."

"Shut up!"

Mira never thought she was an angry person, but she started to have doubts. This was just absolutely infuriating. She had fought Vera for days and hadn't landed a single hit; worse was that he wouldn't let her forget it. She just wanted to wipe that cocky smile off his face, but he kept dodging or parrying, and she kept missing, and it was getting to the point that she was about to explode.

"Look, Mira, repeat after me."

Vera's taunts weren't helping.

"I. Won't. Punch. Like. A. Vulcan."

"FUCK YOU! I'M TRYING!"

Mira was just so... frustrated! That was the word! She was frustrated and pissed off because she realized she hated losing, and even more than that, she hated being toyed with. Vera had managed to do both consistently over the past few days, and it was getting to her head. She swore she nearly cracked her teeth as Veda parried her regular arm with a mocking smirk that made her blood boil.

"Should I close my eyes to make it easier?"

Mira was about to plan a murder she probably wouldn't get away with.

"Wow, not even going to answer me; that's pretty rude."

Mira didn't get it. She was stronger than him; she was sure of that. Her demonic fist could take out trees in a single swing. So why couldn't she hit him? He always seemed to find a way out. Case in point: she just threw the right hook from hell, and he dodged again. Even worse, he somehow remembered to mock her on the way out as it decapitated a tree in his place.

"I get you're angry, but don't take it out on nature."

"SHUT UP!"

Mira didn't get it. It felt like the finish line kept moving back. Every punch she threw was more precise and technical than the last, but they still hit nothing beyond glancing parries. Mira was one straw away from saying 'screw it' and seeing if her magic could take over a cheetah or something.

"Hey, you should meet my friend Siegrain; he hates trees as much as you-"

"WOULD YOU JUST STOP TALKING!"

Maybe then she would be able to wipe that smug look off of Vera's-

"Make me."

Mira froze as Vera's taunt rang in her ears, something in her snapping as her expression fell to pure and unfiltered rage. Her eyes were practically bloodshot as she dashed with a speed that would make a cheetah jealous and swung her demonic fist forward in a straight line. The force of its power thrummed through the air as she threw the most perfect straight she had ever thrown and watched as Vera's eyes widened at the display of inhuman speed before he grinned like he was impressed with her.

"Better."

What happened next happened instantly, but to Mira, it lasted a lifetime. She watched as Vera tilted his head to the side and extended his arm, the scars on his forearm smacking against her demonic fist as he redirected it to the side to mitigate the damage as best he could. It worked; in the end, his face was saved, and Mira's straight cut past his cheek, but unlike every other exchange, this one wasn't free.

Vera's cheek had a thin trail of blood running down it, and the arm he used to dodge had a long gash on his forearm from where he'd touched her demonic arm. Even better was the massive bruise on the back of his palm from where he'd smacked her arm away.

I did it...

It wasn't a clean hit, but it wasn't meaningless either. This one would leave a mark, not a scratch or a tiny bruise, but a mark. She hit Vera fast enough that he couldn't react in time, and he had to sacrifice a bit to save a lot. She had surprised him and surpassed his expectations, which felt so gratifying. She would have jumped for joy if she could, but she settled for the unabashed excitement and joy rushing through her body.

Finally.

Nothing could stop the vicious smile on Mira's face.

I finally-

Except for the elbow that Vera threw in an instant retaliation that crunched against Mira's nose. Snapping her head back in a bloody blow and pulling her out of her celebration as Vera got into what she considered to be his dickhead teaching mode.

"Don't celebrate till you win, dumbass."

Mira bit back a scream and flinched back in pain, raising her hand instinctively to her nose as her eyes watered. It was a mistake because her raised hand blocked the lower half of her vision, and a second later, a foot was planted in her gut. It knocked the wind out of her without a hint of resistance because she hadn't expected it or seen it.

"Don't cover your vision either."

Mira growled as she recovered, keeping her guard as Vera wailed on her, but it felt a little more bearable this time. The sight of the long gash on his arm kept a slight grin on her face even as she was beaten to a pulp once again because she knew what it meant.

Just you wait, Vera...

She was improving.

I'm going to kick your ass eventually.

What an addicting feeling that was.