Chapter 18: The Girl Possessed by a Demon

Outside the small town, Alex looked at the neatly arranged houses inside. Although it was nearing evening, there were still many people walking on the streets. Children were even playing carefreely by the roadside, creating a serene and peaceful atmosphere.

Alex was somewhat puzzled.

"Why does this place look nothing like a town facing a demon crisis?" Alex took out the map again to confirm that this was indeed the location indicated on the mission.

"What's going on?" With this question in mind, Alex walked into the town.

The client for the mission was the mayor of this small town. Alex casually asked an old man on the street for the mayor's house and headed there.

Soon, Alex arrived at a house. According to the old man's directions, this was the place. Alex knocked on the door.

"Coming, coming."

The door opened, revealing a bald old man with cloudy eyes sizing up Alex.

"Hello, I'm a Mage from Fairy Tail. I've taken on the mission you posted. I'm here to understand the situation. Can we talk?" Alex got straight to the point.

"Fairy Tail? Why is it a kid?" The mayor seemed puzzled.

Alex was used to this kind of reaction and continued, "You can rest assured. Since I've taken on the mission you posted, it means our Guild Master has approved it."

"Alright, come on in." The mayor didn't bother with these details. As long as the problem could be solved, it was fine with him.

"Thank you." They both entered the house one after the other.

"Here, have some tea." The mayor brought a steaming cup of tea and placed it in front of Alex before sitting down opposite him.

After taking a sip of tea, Alex voiced his question, "When I arrived just now, everything outside seemed very calm. It doesn't look like a situation where there's a demon threat. What's going on?"

The mayor chuckled and said, "Actually, I was about to cancel this mission. But since you're here, I'll explain."

"The demon is inside the southernmost church. You know about it, right?" Alex nodded while sipping his tea.

The mayor continued, "The demon was sealed inside the church and couldn't come out because of the church's protection. That's why we ordinary people could live safely."

"But since the night before last, our safety has been severely threatened. A girl released the demon."

The mayor's emotions seemed to intensify as he spoke.

"Released by a girl? If the demon was released, how are you all still fine?" Alex was confused.

"We don't know either. But according to the town's priest, the demon has possessed that little girl. Although she hasn't harmed anyone yet, no one can guarantee she won't in the future." The mayor's expression was now filled with anger.

"If it wasn't for that girl, the demon wouldn't have come out."

"Wait a minute. Are you all concluding that the girl is possessed by a demon just based on what the priest said?" Alex interrupted the mayor. He found this unreasonable.

Shaking his head, the mayor said, "But the girl has grown a demon's arm. Who knows if she'll turn into a demon in the future!"

"Where is this girl?" Alex asked.

"The girl and her siblings have already been driven out of town by us. They were probably attacked by wild beasts outside in the mountains," the mayor said, seemingly pleased.

"Even if they weren't killed by wild beasts, they're probably starving to death by now," the mayor added with a tone of satisfaction.

Alex couldn't listen any longer. He raised his hand to stop the mayor and said, "You just said this girl has siblings. Did you drive all of them out of town because you suspect them of being infected by a demon?"

"Forgive my bluntness, Mage, but are you protecting demons now? Remember, the mission you've taken is to subjugate a demon."

Alex chuckled in exasperation, "I'm here to subjugate a demon, not children. Just because you say she's possessed by a demon based on a single word from a priest? In the magical world, just having a demon's arm doesn't mean anything. I've seen many peculiar people. Are you judging someone's life based solely on a single statement, a bias?"

"Is this priest a powerful Mage? Does he understand magic? And what about the girl's parents? Are they not objecting?"

Taking a sip of tea, the mayor continued, "They're orphans, they don't have any parents."

Alex sighed. He realized that the people in this town held extremely stubborn beliefs.

"Take me to the church to see for myself," Alex decided. He needed to see the church before making any judgments. As for what the mayor said, Alex couldn't agree with it.

"Alright, let's go." The mayor put on his coat and led Alex towards the direction of the church.

As soon as they stepped out, Alex noticed a crowd surrounding a girl with short white hair up ahead, everyone talking incessantly.

"What's going on there?" Alex pointed at the crowd and asked.

The mayor looked at the girl surrounded in the distance and immediately recognized her. His eyes even carried a hint of disgust.

"That's the demon's sister I told you about. She's probably becoming a demon herself soon. How dare she show up here?" The mayor spoke with a fierce tone, striding towards the crowd. Alex hurriedly followed.

As they approached the crowd, they heard loud and aggressive insults.

"Get out of this town, demon!"

"Yeah, leave this place. Are you here to harm us?"

"That's right, get lost. We won't sell a single grain of food to a demon."

Some even held shovels, forks, and other tools, glaring menacingly at the girl who hadn't even reached their waist.

"I just want to buy some food and medicine, please. We haven't eaten anything for two days. Please, without food and medicine, my sister won't make it," pleaded the girl with short white hair.

Since being driven out of town with her siblings two days ago, they had been wandering in the wilderness. They finally found a cave to take shelter in, but now faced the issue of food.

Unable to bear seeing her younger siblings hungry, the girl decided to venture out to find food. But fate had other plans. That same night, she returned to the cave injured all over, barely escaping from a powerful monster.

Now, with her sister injured, the three siblings were on the brink of starvation. The youngest sister secretly took their savings of 10,000 J and came to town, hoping to buy some food and medicine.

But upon arrival, she was surrounded by people.

Why were these usually peaceful people showing such faces now? The girl with white hair couldn't understand.

"You might as well die," shouted a middle-aged man, pointing his finger at the girl.

"If the demon dies, that's even better."

"Go away, we don't welcome you here."

"Yeah, go away, disgusting."

The girl with white hair weakly knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face, splashing small droplets on the ground.

"I'm begging you to let me buy something. My... my sister really can't hold on anymore. Please... please..."

But this scene didn't stir any sympathy; instead, it seemed to enrage these ignorant people even more.

"We told you to leave!"

A stone flew out of nowhere, hitting the girl's arm. Her originally fair skin immediately bruised.

The pain caused her to cry out. She wanted to lift her head to see who had hurt her, but the people were bathed in the dazzling sunset, making it impossible for her to see their faces clearly.

"My sister is not a demon. She saved you all. She defeated the demon." The girl suddenly yelled out, full of grievance.

This only further incited the anger of the crowd, who continued to throw things at her.

Vegetable leaves, fruits, stones...

"Since you won't leave, just die."

"Even the demon's family is a demon."

Alex widened his eyes as he witnessed this scene, then quickly stepped forward and disappeared in an instant.

"That's enough!" A roar made the crowd retreat, and the items thrown were blocked one by one by Alex.

The mayor, seeing Alex intervene, hurried over.

"Who are you?"

"Yeah, who are you?" The onlookers were not pleased with Alex's interference.

Ignoring the crowd, Alex turned to the crying girl and asked, "Are you okay?"

The girl, still sobbing, looked up at Alex and hesitantly asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm a Mage from Fairy Tail. Don't worry, I'm not here to harm you," Alex softened his tone as much as possible.

"Mr. Mage, this girl is the demon's sister. You can't believe her," the mayor interjected.

"A Mage? This kid is a Mage?" The others looked at each other in confusion.

"Everyone, shut up. I'll handle this myself!" Alex turned around and sternly reprimanded.

"I'm Alex Blaze, from Fairy Tail. I'm here to deal with the demon inside the church. Can you tell me exactly what happened?" Alex crouched down, wiped away the girl's tears gently, and spoke softly.

The girl continued to sob, but she tried to calm herself down to speak. She had seen what had just happened, knowing that this person wasn't here to harm her.

"It was my sister who went to deal with the demon, but they insist that my sister is possessed by a demon. But we're family. We know clearly that my sister is still my sister, not a demon."

"Huh, then what about your sister's arm? That's proof of being possessed by a demon!" The mayor sneered.

"Can you please shut up for a moment? I haven't asked you yet," Alex snapped at the mayor.

The mayor's face darkened. "Mr. Mage, you were invited by us to help solve the problem. But now you're actually siding with the demon?"