When he stops The Beast Elfman's attack, Alex can feel that while it's very strong. If it really hits Lisanna, it might really kill her now if she gets hit in a vital spot. But Alex can tell that its attack is weaker than before it gets taken over by Elfman.
A Take Over Mages' power depends on their own power. The creature's power doesn't contribute much to it after being taken over. Mages only get the creatures' abilities, not their basic stats like the amount of magic power and physical power.
Though they will receive boosts in stats, the boosts still depend on their own basic stats, and whether or not they have sufficient magic power to fuel the boosts.
If they are weak, they won't instantly become very powerful just because they Take Over a powerful creature. On the other hand, if a strong Mage takes over a weak creature, then he'll still be strong even when transforming into that creature.
In the end, it all depends on the Mages' power, that's why while the current Elfman can Take Over the Beast, he still can't use its full power. Thanks to that, the Beast Elfman is weaker than the real Beast because Elfman takes over its body and soul.
Because of that, it becomes easier for Alex to fight the Beast Elfman. Though he needs to make sure that he doesn't use too much power and injure Elfman too badly. The best way to defeat the Beast Elfman now is by weakening him enough that he'll return to his human form.
"Stand back, Lisanna. I'll take care of this."
"Don't hurt him too much, please." Lisanna pleads as she moves back.
"A real man shouldn't be afraid of some beatings, right?"
Alex fights the Beast Elfman without transforming into any of the Tailed Beasts. Both the Beast and Elfman have gotten weak before merging into 1. So right now the transformed Elfman is also in a weak state and Alex has enough power to fight him without transforming.
"Are you really going to let that Beast control you, Elfman? Can you still call yourself a real man when you can't even control yourself? Is your mind so weak that you lose its control against a mindless beast?"
Alex keeps calling out to Elfman while dodging and deflecting the uncontrolled Elfman's attacks. The Beast Elfman is fast, but his attacks are very predictable because as the Beast is the one in control, all of his moves are purely based on instinct.
But the enhanced physical power Elfman gets from the Beast is great, that's why Alex prefers to dodge and deflect his attacks instead of blocking. Also, each time he deflects The Beast Elfman's attacks, Alex also absorbs a little bit of Elfman's magic power.
By absorbing Elfman's magic power little by little, he can weaken Elfman slowly while hoping that Elfman can regain the control of his own body. But it seems the Beast's soul power is still too strong for the current Elfman to beat because he can't gain control even until he passes out and returns to his human form.
"I-is he okay?" Mira asks weakly.
"Yeah, just exhausted." Alex picks Elfman up onto his shoulder then he walks toward Mira who is supported to stand by Lisanna.
"I have a lot of things to talk to you, but we can't do that now. So let's return to the town. Wendy will take care of your injuries, but don't say anything that will make her worry."
Alex looks angry and Mira can only look down guiltily without saying anything. Lisanna also understands why Alex is angry and she also can't say anything to defend themselves. This almost becomes a disaster, after all, so his anger is understandable.
They leave the valley and return to the town. But when they are just about to leave, Alex feels something strange in the sky. The surrounding magic power is acting strangely, as if being sucked into nothingness.
His magic sensitivity is very high now, so he can feel the changes of magic power in his surroundings. Mira and Lisanna don't feel anything because their magic senses aren't as sensitive as him, so they don't feel anything.
'That must be the Anima that's supposed to suck the weakened Lisanna to Edolas along with the magic power in this area. Good thing I managed to save her so nothing happens to her. After all, I can't guarantee that she'll stay alive when she gets hit by the uncontrolled Elfman after all the changes I made. She might really die when she gets sucked by the Anima, unlike in the story.'
Everything that Alex did to change the story must have consequences. So he needs to take responsibility and anticipate the events that must be affected by his actions, especially the events that involve his friends and family.
'I don't know if my presence and activities here also affect Edolas. I sure hope that Edolas is affected positively even if the chance is almost 0 because I'm not there. But I sure hope that there is a chance no matter how slight it is because I hope that Edolas Lisanna won't die.'
For Alex, Earth Land Lisanna's life is surely more important than Edolas Lisanna. But he also has a hope that Edolas Lisanna won't die. It might be greedy, but he really wants everyone important to him in this life to be safe and happy, even their other versions.
Well, there's nothing he can do about Edolas now, so he needs to focus on what's in front of him. Earth Land Lisanna is safe now and doesn't get transferred to Edolas. Mira and Elfman should also be fine because their little sister doesn't "die".
Anyway, they return to the hotel and Alex immediately asks Wendy to heal the injured siblings. They get healed quickly thanks to Wendy's Healing Magic that has gotten much better now that her base power has grown a lot too.
Still, Wendy's Healing Magic can only heal physical injuries. Elfman is still unconscious, but he'll be fine and Lisanna is also fine now even though she is very tired. Mira is fine physically after being healed, but she is in a very low spirit and keeps looking down sadly.
Alex knows that she feels very guilty about what happened to her younger siblings. Elfman takes over a creature that's too strong for him because he wanted to save her. But he couldn't control it and if Alex wasn't there to stop him, he would've hurt Lisanna.
"Follow me. Let's have a talk." Alex asks Mira to follow him and she nods obediently.
They go to the rooftop without the hotel's permission, but it doesn't really matter because this is the only place they can have privacy here.
"I won't say anything about what happened in your job and what mistakes you made because I'm sure you already know even without me telling you anything. That's why I'm sure you also know how disappointed I am at you, Mira. How many times have you heard me saying that we always need to prepare as much as we can? But it seems you have forgotten that advice and chose to do the job without even resting properly first. Even if you weren't that tired, fighting an S-Class threat without your full power was plain stupid. Besides, your younger siblings are not you, they aren't S-Class Mages yet, so don't expect them to be like you."
Mira's tears flow down her cheeks, but Alex still needs to scold her because that's what she needs now. If he just lets her be, then she will be depressed alone instead. At least by scolding her, she will know that he cares about her and her siblings, so sometimes a scolding is necessary.
"Also, didn't you hear what I say to Gildarts before he left for that 100 Years Quest? Don't let your pride get the better of you, prioritize your life, and retreat if it's impossible to win because your life is the most important. But you just kept pushing yourself even when your team clearly couldn't defeat that Beast at your condition. What's your reason? The pride of an S-Class? The pride of an older sister? Or maybe because you don't want to lose to Erza? Are they more important than your siblings, Mira? Weren't your siblings your reason for being strong and always working hard? Have you forgotten what's most important to you? Then why did you keep competing with Erza over everything until you end up taking a job that's too hard for your team?"
"I'm sorry." Mira's tears flow even stronger, but she cries silently while sitting on the floor. Alex sighs and crouches in front of Mira before patting her head to console her a bit.
"Our jobs are dangerous, that's why we need to be careful so we can return safely. I have seen many deaths in my life and I'm sure you too. But no matter how many times I see it, I'll never get used to it, and the last thing I want to see is my loved ones' death. Neither I or anyone in the Guild want to see yours or your siblings' death, Mira. I'd rather see you fail but alive than dead and if anyone blames you for it, then you better believe that I will be the first person who'll make them regret what they say, even if it's the King. So never take your jobs too lightly again because your lives are important to us."
Alex knows this event will change Mira even if Lisanna doesn't "die". But because of that, he hopes that Mira won't give up being a Mage and try to get stronger instead. Her power will be important in the future when many dangers come at them.
If she can be that strong even after stopping for 2 years, then she would be much stronger if she keeps growing. The future might be more dangerous now with all the changes, that's why every bit of their growth is important, but for now, Alex is just glad that this whole thing goes according to his plan.
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Ch. 141. Cruel Treatment