Interview

Inside the town hall Silvia was discussing something with the mayor. Raiko didn’t want to interrupt them because it seemed important, but they didn’t mind. They told her Mia was in the meeting room so she went to her encounter. She found her near one of the walls, entertaining herself with one of the paintings.

“You’re back, welcome.”

“Thanks.” Raiko was not sure about what to say. “What do you think of the village?”

Mia went silent for a minute before laughing at Raiko’s question.

“Well it looks small and comfy, just like my town.”

“But I thought Elsa was larger…”

“Oh yeah it is, but it’s not quite a city yet.”

Mia noticed that Raiko was feeling insecure, as she took some time to ask something so trivial. Maybe, she thought, it would be easier to guide her into more on topic questions.

“You know, it’s the first time I do this with a purifier outside of town.”

“Do you have multiple purifiers on Elsa?”

“Just me and my little sister, we haven’t had any troubles so far.”

Raiko was now curious about Mia’s little sister, but she was not sure about it. Wouldn’t Mia consider it rude to ask about her personal life?

Maybe, she thought, that she should ask something related to her future as a purifier, if anything, there was one thing she wanted to know.

“I heard each purifier begins with a different set of powers, how is it decided?”

“Honestly? They just manifest after you contract, it depends on the purifier, mine was slowdown magic.”

“Slow? How would that work? Does it make apparitions stupid?”

Mia couldn’t help but to laugh at Raiko’s conclusion.

“No, no, it reduces the apparitions speed and reflexes, so it becomes easier to fight against them.” Mia tried to reach for a nonexistent cup of tea. “I was told that it’s a support ability, with time I gained other two powers, but I was mostly limited to support until I obtained water magic.”

“Then how did you fight? Your sister helps you?”

“Yes, she does.” Mia’s face reflected how proud she felt about her sister. “But before she became a purifier, I had to deal with stronger apparitions with the help of the local stalkers.”

Stalkers, Raiko heard of them. But she heard these men (And women, but mostly men) were explorers and operated in regions unsuitable for civilization, Raiko never thought they would help purifiers to protect a city.

“That sounds hard, I suppose I have no way of knowing what my power will be.”

“Fire.” Iblis spoke. “Essentially your power will always manifest in regards to your personality, so if your mind changes, you may unlock a new form of magic.”

“So… magic comes from the mind?”

“Magic comes from the soul, but it’s shaped by your mind.”

“Oh I see, thank you!”

But, even on this mostly idle talk, Raiko was aware that the one thing she should be asking a purifier was…

“How do you fight apparitions?”

“Each apparition is different so it’s hard to give you a general guide.” Mia took a sip of her imaginary tea. “In general, an apparition’s size is proportional to its power, so that’s a quick way to gauge their strength.”

Raiko nodded, she heard that the last apparition attack on Aomura happened when she was 9, and the apparition itself was about as large as the lumberjack Tito. For what she knew, nobody was injured, maybe she should ask Shizune afterwards.

“Like I said they all come in different shapes and sizes and have different powers, I don’t think you could go as far as to say they have a personality, but it seems that the circumstances of their origin dictate their behavior, so some of them might be more aggressive than others.”

Mia stopped for a minute, not content with her own explanation. After placing her hand on her chin, she figured out a better way to make sure Raiko got the point.

“I will tell you a story, it was right after I became a purifier. The thing is, I fought my first apparition in there, it was the size of this table.” She said, pointing at the large dining table in the hall. “It kinda looked like a spider with blades instead of feet, it was eating a dog when I found it. When it noticed me it dropped the animal and jumped towards me, I won’t lie, I was really scared back then, but luckily my shiny brand new sword and magic were good enough to stop it in a couple hits.”

“Was it a weak one, then?”

“Kinda, most apparitions are about that size and easy to defeat, but regardless of what kind of apparition you’re fighting, it’s always important to strike them before they strike you, the longer you wait, the more likely you are to make a mistake.” She lifted a finger to emphasize.

“But what about strong apparitions?”

“Then you go all out right from the start!”

With her voice filled with excitement, Mia emerged from a flash of light transformed into her purifier form. Her clothes changed to a blue and teal frilly dress with heart shaped buttons. At the same time, what seemed to be a cavalry sword materialized on her right hand, in sharp contrast with her outfit.

“You got a sword, that’s so cool.”

“Well, your magical weapon appears as you transform for the first time, you will have something suited to your power and fighting style.” Mia reverted to her normal state.

“Anyway, no matter what kind of apparition you’re fighting, what matters is that you fight as hard as you can, just pay attention to the way they move and what kind of powers they display and counter them accordingly, you have the spirit, so I think you will be fine.” Finally, Mia patted Raiko’s head.

“You know, I have been nervous the whole time, but I’m happy that you’re so easy to talk to, will you stay to see my contract?”

“Sorry, but my duties won’t allow me to stay that long.” Mia went silent for a minute. “But I will come back to check on you in a couple weeks, I’m pretty sure you won’t need my help anyway.”

“Just wait.” Raiko said with an excited smile. “I will become a great purifier, like the Nameless Purifier, but this time everyone will remember my name!”