The Demon Children

Chapter 3: Hunting Demons

There's got to be something," Erza scanned the news frantically, her eyes scanning the news.

It had been a full week since she started her quest to find Natsu and that demon, Mirajane, and bring them back to the guild (after giving Mirajane a good thrashing, of course). And she still hadn't made any progress.

Finally she found an article with a picture. She read the headline quickly. "Huge crater appears suddenly deep in the forest… That's gotta be Natsu" she scanned the paper rapidly, looking for a location.

"Over 60 miles from the nearest town?" she gaped. By the time she even got to the area they would almost certainly be gone. "I've got to anticipate their next move."

"Think Erza, think." The requip mage urged herself. "If only I knew what Mira was thinking, I could figure out where they're headed next…"

Finally she sighed. Sometimes you had to go back to make progress. She hated to admit it, but she needed help.

She took the first train back to Magnolia.

~Elsewhere in the kingdom, a small town in a valley~

"You know, there's still one thing I don't understand Mira." Natsu said between mouthfuls of food.

"What's that?" Mira asked. She'd finished eating several minutes ago.

"Well, Zeref said I am E.N.D., so how do you know it's a take over? Maybe it's just who I am.."

Mira shook her head. "I'm a take over mage, Natsu." She said. "You can tell a take over from an etherious transformation. E.N.D. is an entirely different soul."

"But how is that possible?" Natsu said.

"I don't know…" Mira said. "I would guess it was either when Zeref revived you as an etherious, or maybe when you went through the eclipse gate. Either way, somehow your soul ended up in your body along with E.N.D."

"I'm a little confused about that too," Natsu said. "What's with this whole soul thing?"

Mira grinned. "Well, when you take over something, you essentially absorb its soul into your body. The soul is…. Well, I guess you could say it's the essence of a living being. Satan soul allows you to absorb and use the souls of demons. That's what you and I have. Beast soul, like my brother has, allows you to absorb and use the essence of monsters. Animal soul, which Lisanna has, allows you to use absorb and use the essence of animals."

"But the souls are still alive inside you?"

"Yes," Mirajane rubbed her head. "I don't know how to explain it, fully, but it's kind of like they become a part of you. Your soul is basically the master soul, so you control all the other souls…"

So how did E.N.D. take control of me, and Seilah of you?" Natsu asked.

"If a soul is very powerful – with equal power to yours or greater – you can lose control of it when you transform." Mira said. "That's what happened when we thought Lisanna died… But apparently, strong souls can also react to your emotions, using very strong emotions to seize control of your body without your consent."

"Oh." Natsu said, still confused.

"You don't have to understand it." Mirajane giggled. "Just know that you have to become more powerful than the souls you take over."