Fairy Tail: Magic is not such an inconvenient thing.

"I am the messenger of light—Shaflin! I have come to destroy demons, and today I will convert you all here and send you to paradise."

Having said that, it raised its massive foot, ready to trample and crush the crowd. The villagers, who had never witnessed such a sight, turned ashen-faced and collapsed to the ground. Faced with the deathly wind pressure, finally one of them couldn't withstand it any longer and screamed:

"Lord Shaflin, you've got the wrong person! You've got the wrong person! The demon is in that room! We're just ordinary humans, not demons!"

Once the first person cried out, the others reacted and knelt down, begging for mercy, pointing up at the house and wailing as they pleaded for forgiveness.

Surprisingly, this trick actually worked. The giant stopped stomping, retracted his foot, and looked at the house as if sensing something. After a moment, he said:

"Deception! This is deception! The only aura inside is that of the dead, the true demons are hidden within you, but their presence is so faint as to be difficult to discern. It seems the only option is to treat you all equally and exterminate all of you demon followers..."

After saying that, he raised one foot and pressed it into the crowd.

"A demon is hiding right among us?!" The villagers were filled with terror and despair, but some clever ones realized that the giant of light could actually be communicated with, so they bravely continued to shout:

"Lord Shaflin, wait! We are not believers in the devil! We have ways to find the real devil! Please give us some time, and we will find the devil ourselves!"

The giant foot stopped in mid-air again.

"Very well, if that's the case, then I'll give you three days to find the real demon, or I'll kill you all."

The next second, a huge cage of light descended from the sky, locking up all the villagers and providing them with a private space where they could be undisturbed and easily find the traitor.

Afterwards, the "Giant of Light" dispersed, leaving only Ebo and his two companions in the same spot.

Kana covered her mouth and laughed chuckled:

"Abbot, you were so naughty just now, you almost fooled me! But you did a good job!"

Levy took a few steps forward, reached out and tapped the glowing, hemispherical dome-shaped wall of light in front of her, her face filled with awe:

"This is... a light formation? It can actually form a near-solid wall of light. This magic must consume a lot of energy, right?"

Abbott shook his head repeatedly:

"You're wrong. Under sunlight, this light-shape magic consumes very little energy. It's currently in a state of passively absorbing light energy. It can barely last through the night after accumulating energy for a day. Although its strength is not high, it's not a big problem to trap a group of ignorant villagers."

"Wow, so light can be used to create shapes? Was that giant a shape too? Abbott, your magic always surprises us."

"It's all just the result of hard work and a little bit of magical understanding. A few hardships, nothing to brag about... Alright, let's go take a look at the 'target' of this mission."

Abbo waved his hand, and the three of them bypassed the huge "House of Light" and arrived at the room that had been surrounded earlier.

At this moment, the three people hiding in the house also walked to the window. Obviously, they had also seen and heard what had happened, and were looking curiously at the three people, Aibo and his companions, who were walking towards them.

"Did you do what just happened?"

A girl shrouded in a black robe stepped forward and questioned the three people in front of her, her eyes filled with vigilance.

[The one with the cherry blossom hair is probably in charge. These two women are about my age, so I don't need to worry about them. What about that giant and the house of light in front of me? Are they also here for the demons?]

Kana immediately jumped out:

“That’s right! This village has commissioned our guild to exorcise the demon, and that’s why we’re here.”

"My sister isn't a demon! Mira killed the demon!"

"Lisanna! Elfman has high hopes for her!"

The girl, known as "Sister Mira," shrouded in a black cloak, took a deep breath, walked to the window, and abruptly raised her right hand, extending it towards the group. Her voice trembled as she spoke:

"The demon, the demon is inside me! If you can really get rid of it, then do it!"

"Sister Mira!!" x2

"Shut up, all of you! This is my fate! I've been prepared for this all along! Come on! Get to work!"

"Sister, no!"

"..." x3

Looking at the three sisters (brother and sister) huddled together in front of her, crying as if they were about to be separated by life and death, Kana scratched her head in confusion:

"What's wrong with them? Why are they crying?"

Levy seemed thoughtful:

"Perhaps he mistakenly believes he's possessed by a demon? Is he determined to die and take the demon with him?"

Abbott sighed and explained:

"Please don't get excited, young lady. You are not possessed by a demon, and you will not become a demon. If I'm not mistaken, your right hand is unable to recover because you can't control the power of your magic yet. It's not a serious matter."

"Huh? Huh??!"

The three sisters were stunned for a moment. Lisanna was the first to react and asked excitedly:

"You're saying this is magic?! Is there any hope for my sister?! Do you know what's going on?! Can you heal my sister?"

Aibo noticed the excited expressions of the three, then looked at his own trio still being refused entry and leaning against the window, and said helplessly:

"So, would it be convenient for us to go inside and discuss this in more detail?"

"I'm so sorry!!" x2

Chapter 37 Picking up kids for the guild

"Without a doubt, this is the effect of [receiving magic]. You have naturally awakened magic without any instruction. This is a very rare talent and not some kind of demonic curse."

At the Strauss residence, Abbott lowered the grotesque demonic arm from his grasp and calmly stated his conclusion.

Sitting in front of him were the two Strauss sisters—Mirajan (13 years old), Lisanna (11 years old), and Elfman (12 years old).

Their parents passed away a few years ago, and the three of them have been living off the charity provided by the village church.

A week ago, a demon suddenly appeared in the church and attacked Mirajane, who happened to be there. In the end, Mirajane, who had awakened her magic, was the one who was attacked.

Mirajane's awakened magic was too powerful to control properly, causing one of her arms to become demonic, terrifying the ignorant villagers.

That's how the commission to exorcise the demon came about, and this collective bullying happened today.

After listening to Abbott's analysis, the second and third brothers beamed with joy for their sister. The eldest brother's expression softened a bit, but he still couldn't manage a smile.

Abbott stared thoughtfully at Mirajane's demonic arm, but in reality, he was far from as calm as he appeared.

He also learned the Receiving Magic, a very sophisticated spell involving profound magical knowledge. The person who created this spell had a deep understanding of the soul and body, and it is an independent system of magic that cannot be separated in the system's judgment.

The core of receiving magic is fusion; to activate it, one must first "receive" and then "receive".

—To completely "connect" another being into the same body, and then to engage in a battle at the soul level, the winner will be able to completely dominate the other and "take over" all of the other's power, including their soul, magic, and body.

Because monsters' souls are inherently weaker than humans', yet they possess powerful bodies, this magic is generally used against monsters. It leverages one's strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses, completely seizing the enemy's combat power without any side effects, making it a veritable otherworldly version of the "Northern Darkness Divine Art".

However, this magic also has many drawbacks. For example, the power of the successfully absorbed individuals can only be used separately and cannot grow stronger like a snowball.

Even if the monster's soul consciousness is erased after successful reception, a "soul judgment" is still required before each use of magic; if you can't win, you can't use magic.

Moreover, whether the reception can be successfully completed depends on the comparison of the two sides' strength. If the difference in strength is too great, the soul judgment will not even be carried out, and the "reception" step cannot be completed.

This magic, once mastered, doesn't increase in power much, and it's almost impossible to become stronger through training. Its upgrade path is to take on stronger monsters.

However, once the skill level is increased, this magic can be received across different levels, making it easier to win in duels determined by soul judgment.

Abbot's current magic receiving level is LV1, meaning he can only receive magic from animals or monsters weaker than himself.

According to Aibo's speculation, LV2 can accept enemies of similar strength, while LV3 can accept enemies of greater strength.

And the woman in front of me, Miss Mirajane Strauss…

According to her, she successfully received a powerful demon shortly after awakening her magic.

Without a doubt, the beautiful Mirajane in front of him, like himself, was a genius mage who had just awakened magic and reached level 4.

It's quite normal for a person to develop partial demonization of their body due to poor control when they first awaken their magic. Abbot himself spent two years trying to fully control his telepathic magic.

Rather, the fact that only one arm was out of control shows that Mirajane's talent in controlling magic is equally outstanding; she is a true genius.

Aibo thought he could trick her into joining Fairy Tail. He figured he could just go out and pick up a genius. The guild master would probably be so excited he'd laugh himself silly.

I've been thinking too much about the guild.

While Abbo felt lucky today, Mirajane clearly didn't think so.

"Talent? That kind of evil power... I don't need it!"

Mirajane gripped her ugly right arm tightly with her left hand beneath the cloak, her head drooping, her face grim.

"This hand...it's disgusting...the power of a demon...it's disgusting!"

"Sister Mira..."

The group exchanged glances, with Kana and Levy even giving each other a look of agreement. Both being girls who loved beauty, they were also somewhat unable to accept the ugly arm and looked at Mirajane with pity.

[With these ugly arms, I'll be discriminated against wherever I go, and it'll drag Elfman and Lisanna down with me. This disgusting power... damn demon...]

“You’re mistaken, Miss Mirajane,”

Abbot interrupted Mirajane's reverie:

"There's nothing disgusting about it. Power is just power; it has no inherent good or evil. Besides, magic is a very magical thing..."

"What do you know?! It's not like you have such disgusting arms! All you can say is this kind of nonsense—"

Abbot reached out and grabbed Mirajane's devil arm again. Mirajane didn't see even the slightest bit of disgust on his face, which made her unable to say anything more.

"Magic is omnipotent; you just haven't been able to fully control your power yet."

Magic surged in Abbott's hands, and as his fingers traced the flesh, the hideous demon arm transformed back into the delicate pink arm of a young girl.

"Your arm is constantly surging with magic, so I can't help you transform using transformation magic. This is a light and shadow technique that I developed myself, an application of light magic. In other people's eyes, your arm is no different from that of an ordinary person."

Abbot's talent in light magic is not much different from his talent in space magic. It has long been his main magic, and he has figured out many unique skills of his own. This move is one of them.

Although his arm appeared to have returned to normal in his eyes, he could still clearly feel the demonic markings when he touched it; it was just an illusion…

"I'm sorry, this is all I can do for now. But once you get used to receiving magic, you'll be able to control the shape of your arm, and then you won't have this problem anymore."

Mirajane's expression was complicated, then she bowed her head to Abbot and said sincerely:

"That's enough, thank you so much, thank you so much."

The second brother and third sister were also quite excited:

"That's wonderful! Sister Mira! Thank you so much, big brother! We don't know how we would have gotten through today without you..."

"Brother! Thank you! You're definitely a real man!"

"..."

Abbott didn't seem to mind, but Kana and Levy were struggling to suppress their laughter. I wonder what their expressions would be if they knew Abbott was younger than them.

"It was nothing, just a small favor. Let's talk about what's to come. I can tell you're not having a good time in this village. I have a suggestion... How about you join my guild and leave with us?"

"guild?"

"Yes, Fairy Tail, the Mage Guild. Everyone in the guild can use magic. You will no longer be discriminated against by ignorant people like you are today. Fairy Tail is an inclusive family, and your guildmates will be your strongest support."

Abbo reached out his hand to Mirajane, smiling as he extended his hand in a gesture of invitation:

"Come with us and leave this ignorant little village. You don't belong here. The world is vast, and there is a stage for you outside the village. Come with us."

"That's right! Fairy Tail is the strongest mage guild in the Kingdom of Fiore!"

"The members of the guild are all really nice people! You'll make a lot of friends~"

Cana and Levy each offered a word of advice, saying that a genius who can naturally awaken magic is a candidate for S-rank once they grow up, and they shouldn't be let go easily when they encounter one (that's what the president said).

"Sister..." "Sister Mira..."

The second and third sisters were very tempted; they really didn't want to see their sister being bullied by the villagers anymore, but they still looked to Mirajane for her decision.

"Okay! I'll go with you."

Mirajane quickly made a decision: this village was not worth their time, and she could no longer allow her younger siblings to be discriminated against.

"We'll pack our things and then leave with you."

"What a pity about the home my parents left behind..."

“It’s okay, Lisanna, we’ll build a new house later.”

Abbot raised his hand to interrupt their discussion and laughed:

"No need for all that trouble, I'll help you move. You don't need to pack anything, it'll be quick."