Perceptions could change quickly. Just moments ago Mary had been
stalking enjoying a romantic walk with a man of her dreams. Then... Everything had started going wrong once again... Now she found herself facing a towering behemoth who laughed at honest effort. She listened to his answer, reading far too much into the wording. H-he wanted... to get his
bone d-dirty...? And intended to
fix that very soon... It sounded like something she had read in detective novels. All of a sudden, he seemed so much taller... And muscular... An imposing giant with a fiendish glint in his eye blocked her path. In stark contrast, she felt like she was shrinking by the second. Smaller and smaller...
Perception was a powerful thing.
When the misunderstood man drew closer, the gloomy woman instantly flinched and recoiled away from him. Her all too vivid imagination painted visceral images across her mind with a splash of crimson. The icy fear on her features grew even colder. N-no, she couldn’t let those massive hands anywhere near her eyes. Otherwise... He might try to
get his fix... The sudden change in his tone didn’t go unnoticed either. Clearly he was trying to get her to come with him somewhere more secluded... She wanted to say no, but...
“O-okay...” The fear gripped tightly, moving her mouth before her mind could form the right words.
Seeing no other way out, the meek mage would follow along wherever the imposing stranger decided to lead. At the same time, she was desperately trying to find a way out. M-maybe she would run into another guild mate and they could... Oh. Right. All the others were... gone. The creeping, uncomfortable silence wasn’t doing any favors for the jittery woman either. Her imagination was running wild, picturing all the possible and impossible ways this could end. Most of them were... bloody. This was no longer a romantic walk, but a hostage situation!
When the silence grew too much to bear, Mary finally dared to open her mouth again. Only for a weak whisper.
“I-I... am from... Fairy Tail... too...” She hoped it would discourage him from trying anything violent. Laying a hand on a guildmate was strictly against the rules. ...B-but by that logic she should’ve been expelled too because of...
the incident. Nope, not a good thing to think about. She needed something, anything else. Quickly! Uhhh...
“M-mr. Barrett... Do you... believe in ghost stories...?” Well, at least it was a topic she liked. Better than nothing, right?
At the same time, responding to the eerie woman’s inner turmoil, a certain spell met all its conditions. A magic seal depicting a grim skull appeared at her feet. Her shadow stretched like a thin tendril, trying to latch onto the man’s shadow. If he moved away, nothing would happen and the magic would simply fade away... But... If the shadows touched, he would suddenly feel a deep chill, like someone walking on his grave, as his constitution slipped away. Another skull seal would appear behind his back, haunting him as a
Grim Omen.