"Looks like Tomatomaru was stronger than I thought," Cana said as she reengaged the black-robed attackers, launching a barrage of glowing card projectiles.
"I don't think that's his name, big sister," Eve sighed helplessly, sidestepping an incoming strike. He placed one palm against the forearm of his other hand.
"White Fury!"
A massive snowstorm burst forth, engulfing several of the black-robed wizards at once. As they were blown into the air, Shawn followed up with his own spell.
"Ash Make: Falcons!"
Dozens of gray birds formed beside him and screeched forward, diving at all the enemies midair. The falcons tore through the royal wizards' defenses, striking from wide angles. Cries of pain echoed as the attackers fell unconscious from pain. The ash falcons then circled back around Shawn, flapping their wings protectively.
"No… these Fiore wizards are way too strong! We can't win!" one of the remaining royal wizards gasped in panic.
"Shut up, you weaklings.."
A calm but furious voice cut through the chaos. The space wizard Kairon rose to his feet, lowering his hood to reveal a middle-aged face framed by long black hair and piercing blue eyes.
"For Madam Margrada… I will eliminate you all here. For her dream—her ambition—you need to fall!"
His blue eyes glowed as an overwhelming wave of magic gathered around him, distorting the air.
"Oh yeah? And what's her great goal, huh?" Gray taunted, dodging a flying stone spear and charging forward.
"Ice Make: Heavy Hammer!"
A massive hammer formed in his hands as he leapt high, aiming to crush Kairon.
"You do not deserve to know that yet, kid. And you never will, as you won't live to see that grand scenery." Kairon snarled, eyes burning with rage.
"Switch."
"Not again…" Gray muttered, still midair.
Kairon vanished—then instantly appeared behind Hibiki.
"What—?!" Hibiki gasped, unable to track him this time. Kairon kicked him square in his back, sending him flying toward the center of the room.
"Switch!"
He reappeared in front of Cana, slamming a fist into her stomach. The impact hurled her toward where Hibiki was heading. Without stopping, Kairon switched again—appearing above Ichiya and stomping him into the floor, shattering it beneath him. He then proceeded to kick Ichiya's head, sending him crashing toward Cana and Hibiki.
Before anyone could react, he struck down Shawn, Eve, and Ren one after another.. Every Fiore wizard, even the unconscious Totomaru, was thrown helplessly towards the center of the room.
Gray barely had time to glance back before Kairon appeared behind him, those cold, glowing eyes the last thing he saw before a huge hand grabbed the back of his head.
And with a final, ruthless throw, Gray and everyone else crashed in the middle of the room as they groaned with pain.
All of it—every strike, every movement—happened in just three seconds, before anyone could even figure out something was wrong.
Before the Fiore wizards could even regain their footing, Kairon teleported above them in an instant—
a large black-and-blue sphere, even bigger than him, pulsing ominously above his palm.
"All you were…" he began.
Everyone below looked up in shock, finally coming to their senses a bit. None of them could understand how the entire tide of battle had shifted in mere seconds. Kairon now stood alone above them, radiating absolute dominance. The energy gathering in his hand made their knees tremble—all of them realized it was no ordinary spell.
"All you are…"
The sphere in his palm twisted and stretched, forming into a massive javelin of swirling blue and black light.
"Defend!" Gray shouted.
Ren and Hibiki were the only ones able to get up; The others were still either groaning in pain or completely unconscious from the earlier blows.
"And all you could be…"
The javelin's glow intensified, black and blue radiance flooding the chamber, blinding everyone in the room, including the Joya wizards
"...Are now going to be unmade for the sins you committed."
Kairon shouted in a furious voice as he drew his arm back, preparing to unleash the killing strike.
"Ice Make: Three-Layered Shield!" Gray slammed his hands together, conjuring a triple-layered dome of thick ice around them.
"Aerial Dome!" Ren followed immediately, surrounding Gray's ice dome in a swirling sphere of air.
"Protect!" Hibiki added, summoning a massive yellow holographic wall above them..
But Kairon didn't hesitate. He hurled the huge javelin with all his might.
A blinding flash filled the room as the javelin screamed through the air.
"Divine Cosmic Javelin!"
The name echoed like a death sentence. Even the Joya wizards shivered at the voice that carried it.
The huge javelin tore through Hibiki's barrier like paper, then shattered Ren's air dome in an instant.
Through the blinding light, Gray could only watch in horror as the last of his ice layers cracked one after another—each touch of the javelin erasing them, leaving nothing behind.
And then just as the last layer got destroyed and Gray fell to his knees just from the pressure—
"Card Magic: Queen's Shelter!"
Gray heard Cana's voice roar across the chaos. She slammed a glowing card onto the ground, magic bursting from her like a storm.
"I'm the one who pushed for this mission…So I'm not letting anyone die—I do not want him to think of me as a loser!"
A massive enchanted card manifested above them, its surface glowing gold and violet. It caught the javelin—just barely—stopping it midair. But cracks began spreading across its surface immediately.
Cana screamed as she poured every drop of her magic into the shield, tears streaming down her cheeks from the strain. But it wasn't enough.
The javelin shattered the Queen's Shelter.
In that moment, as the light engulfed everything, Cana saw it—
a streak of purple smoke rushing toward them from the edge of her vision.
Then came the impact.
The javelin slammed into the ground with an earth-shattering explosion. The blast tore through the floor, then the next, and the next—ripping a colossal hole through every level of the building.
When the light finally faded, Kairon landed beside the gaping crater, breathing heavily. Below him lay complete devastation—floor after floor obliterated, nothing left but dust that was flying around.
As he gazed down at the endless pit his spell had carved, he believed it was over finally.
Until he froze.
As the dust in the room cleared, he saw a tall, back figure emerge—wearing a long coat, silent and unwavering.
Behind him stretched massive hands of purple wind, carrying each of the Fiore wizards carefully in their grasp.
The figure lowered them gently to the ground, one by one, and turned back to face the shocked eyes of Kairon.
"Sorry—Margrada kept me busy for quite a while."
Astro's voice echoed through the dust as he stepped forward, purple energy swirling faintly around him. His glowing purple eye locked onto Kairon like a predator's.
"But you guys did well. Way better than I expected. Especially you, Cana. Now rest for a bit… and leave the rest to me now."
"B-Be careful, Astro. He's… very strong," Cana whispered weakly. Her body swayed from exhaustion—she'd poured every drop of her magic into that last defense.
Astro glanced back, smiling softly.
"I know, don't worry about it."
He could tell—none of them were fatally injured. So he was not worried about healing them at this moment.
"I hate to say it," Gray muttered as he stood up slowly, "but we're no match for that space freak. He's too damn fast." For the first time, Gray wished Laxus were here, as he was the fastest wizard Gray had ever seen before today. Although Master and that old man were obviously stronger than Laxus, he never saw them using their fast speed to fight. But Gray suddenly looked at Astro's back.
'Maybe he can—'
Hibiki and Ren also stood up slowly as Gray was lost in his thoughts. "Yeah, even if I can figure out where he is planning to teleport, I can not defend or attack fast enough.", Hibiki said, smiling bitterly.
"I'll take care of him," Astro said again, leaning forward slightly, his long coat fluttering from the rising wind of his magic.
"Meanwhile, can you guys handle the rest? Or do you want some rest too?" he asked without looking back in a teasing tone.
Hibiki clutched his stomach, groaning but determined. "…I'll manage."
Ren brushed the dust from his jacket and said in a tsundere voice. "I'll do it—but not for you."
Gray also walked forward, "Then that space guy is all yours, Astro."
The faintest smirk tugged at Astro's lips.
"Well, poor him."
The next instant, he vanished—leaving only a streak of purple smoke behind.
Gray blinked. "Wha—" He couldn't even see Astro's figure.
But Kairon could. Barely.
His instincts screamed as Astro's fist suddenly magnified in his vision—coming straight at him like a bullet.
"Switch!"
In a flash of light, Kairon teleported away. Astro's fist tore through the space where he'd been a heartbeat ago, the shockwave cracking the walls.
Kairon reappeared, exhaling sharply. "Too close—"
But then Astro's eye glowed. He'd already locked onto Kairon again.
Before the space mage could react, Astro dashed again in a blur, zigzagging so fast that even Kairon's eyes struggled to track him this time. In the blink of an eye, Astro appeared in front of him, doing a flying kick toward Kairon's face. Kairon looked at the sole of Astro's boot, as it magnified in his vision.
"Wait!"
Kairon teleported again, vanishing in desperation. But the moment he reappeared, he could feel that the air behind him distorted—which could only mean that Astro was already there.
"Cosmic Guard!" Kairon shouted in panic as he turned back faster than he ever had in his whole life.
A blue-black circular barrier formed instantly in front of him. Astro's purple wind sword crashed against it with a thunderous crack, wind pressure blasting outward like an explosion.
The two forces clashed violently, causing a huge crack in the floor around them just from the impact.
Astro leaned in with a devilish smile, eyes glowing brighter. "Is that the best you can do?"
The air around them again rippled as Astro pushed his sword more, and cracks started appearing in the shield in front of him.
"So fast…" Gray muttered in disbelief. "I thought Laxus was the fastest wizard in Fiore… but Astro might actually be able to keep up even with a monster like him."
"I heard you yelling from down there with that fancy move of yours," Astro said, still smiling. "Sounded like you were trying to pass some kind of divine judgment on my friends. Where is that energy now? Come on."
Kairon stared into those glowing purple eyes. He didn't believe Astro could've actually defeated Margrada—but the fact that he was still alive after facing her was enough to show that this boy is dangerous.
His instincts screamed at him to run away from this place. It would be easy with his magic after all. But his loyalty towards Margrada stopped him.
As both of them were caught in a stalemate, another voice cut in.
"Stone Make…"
Rockwell stepped forward, trying to aid his ally. But someone was faster.
"Ice Make: Wall!"
A massive wall of ice erupted between Rockwell and Kairon, halting him instantly.
"It's you again…" Rockwell growled.
"Don't butt in where you don't belong," Gray said coolly, slipping both hands into his pants pockets. Frost drifted from his mouth with every breath. "We've still got our match to finish. And no running away this time."
Rockwell's jaw tightened. "You might be faster than me in casting magic—but speed means nothing here because stone will always crush ice."
He stepped forward, his aura turning heavy as he prepared his stance.
But then his expression twisted in disgust.
"Before that…" he muttered darkly.
Gray blinked, feeling the sudden shift in tone. "What?"
"Why the hell did you take off your pants?! I'm not into guys!" Rockwell yelled.
Gray glanced down—only to see he was suddenly standing wearing nothing but his underwear.
"Oh—when?!" he yelped.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the chamber, several of the still-standing black-robed wizards exchanged nervous glances.
"Should we… help them? These fights are way above our level," one whispered.
"Do we have a choice?" a pretty woman among them grumbled. "If we don't fight, Lady Margrada will kill us herself! I would rather die from their hand than slowly withering away."
"Then it's settled—we fight! At least we'll look useful!"
They turned—and froze as two figures approached: Hibiki, straightening his tie, and Ren, rolling his shoulders.
"Looks like you've made up your minds," Hibiki said smoothly. "Good. Saves us the trouble."
Ren had a grumpy look on his face as he formed a swirling orb of air in his hand. "And just because some of you happen to be beautiful doesn't mean we'll go easy on you."
The ten black-robed wizards tensed, realizing even if they wanted to run away, it was already too late.
Astro didn't care what was happening around him, as his focus was locked entirely on Kairon.
And Kairon's was on him.
"I can see you're a very capable kid," Kairon said, his voice trembling a bit. "But you're fighting a losing battle. In the end, Lady Margrada will prevail and command the Aetherkrone. When she wields that relic—crafted by the greatest black wizard in history—nothing will stand against her. So I'll give you one chance. Leave now, and I'll let you keep your life. But your friends…" he steadied himself with an evil smile, "They stay. We might still need a few more wizards to power it up after all."
Contrary to his expectations, Astro only let out a low chuckle. "Haha…" His glowing purple eyes gleamed like a predator looking at its hunt..
"Listen carefully, old man. I'll only teach you this once."
Kairon glared back, hating that confidence, that look that seemed to mock him.
"Never bargain your life with a devil."
Astro whispered with a devilish smile as he pulled his sword back—and his left leg flared with purple light.
He kicked the barrier with full force.
CRACK!
The shield shattered instantly, the shockwave rippling through the air. With a wicked smile carved onto his face, Astro dashed forward, his purple wind blade slashing toward Kairon's neck.
Kairon did not know that there was a time when Astro—the Astro from a few months ago—would have taken the safe path.
He would've pulled back, retreated to Fiore, saving his friends and himself rather than risking his life for nothing.
He wasn't reckless; he was always practical.
He had fled Inca once, too, when the royal castle massacre drew too much attention.
He had always tried to avoid confrontation with stronger people on his journey, kept himself to the shadows for three years—always running, never rushing to danger.
But something had changed.
Maybe it happened after the Abyss Howl defeated him, and he could not do anything against them. Or maybe, it began the moment he accepted Fairy Tail not as a destination but as his new home..
Either way, something inside him had changed.
He no longer wanted to run away and take the safe approach as always.
He wanted to grow stronger so he could protect his newfound home.
And he also understood. No, he always understood, but did not dare to admit it.
You can't grow stronger by running away from the fights that scare you.