Kairon realized there was no turning back anymore. The two wizards circled each other slowly, tension thick in the air—neither willing to make the first move.
Astro struck first. He dashed forward, blade gleaming as he aimed a clean slash for Kairon's head. Gritting his teeth, Kairon vanished in a flash of blue and black light, reappearing midair behind Astro to deliver a crushing kick. But Astro didn't even look—he surged forward, evading the strike by a hair's breadth, then spun on his heel to counterattack. His sword sliced through the air—yet again, Kairon slipped away.
Astro narrowed his eyes, tracking the faint shimmer where Kairon reappeared far across the chamber, catching his breath.
"You're really good at running," Astro taunted. "But if that's all you do, you'll never win."
"Well, you're definitely stronger than me," Kairon replied, panting while summoning two swirling black-blue orbs into his palms, "but I'm not falling for your taunts. Madam Margrada will be here soon enough. I just have to stall you till then."
He thrust his hands forward. "Cosmic Ball!"
Both spheres shot toward Astro like streaks of dark light. But instead of dodging or defending immediately, Astro closed his eyes. He tried to reach inward—feeling the flow of every ethernano particle in the room, from the faint hum of magic in the air to the breathing of every living being.
"Did he… give up?" Kairon muttered, with a confused look on his face..
In the next instant, Astro moved. Without opening his eyes, he sidestepped right—cleanly dodging the first orb—then shifted again, narrowly avoiding the second. No wasted motion. No hesitation.
"What? Is he sensing—"
Before Kairon could finish, Astro was already upon him. His sword flashed.
"That won't be enough, kid!" Kairon barked, teleporting again—but as he rematerialized, his heart nearly stopped. Astro was already standing in front of him, eyes still closed.
"Switch!" Kairon shouted, teleporting once more. Yet even before his boots touched the floor, Astro was beside him again. The blade tore through his right arm, blood spraying as Kairon staggered back and teleported away in panic.
"Switch!"
Astro didn't follow this time. He simply turned his head toward Kairon's new location, eyes still calmly shut.
"That's impossible!" Kairon gasped. "How are you there before I even move? You're not a space wizard—how can you possibly predict it?"
Astro exhaled slowly. "I'm not a space wizard. But I can feel every shift in ethernano in this room. You mark your teleport point before you move. Once you do that, it's easy to tell where you're going."
"What?! No way!" Kairon's voice trembled. The amount of magic he used to place those marks should have been undetectable to anyone. Yet somehow, Astro read them like a map.
Just how sharp are his senses? Kairon thought, gritting his teeth as he placed several new marks around the room, trying to confuse his opponent. But Astro had already anticipated that he would try this strategy.
With his eyes still closed, Astro dashed forward again, leaving a trail of swirling purple smoke and wind behind him. His every step cracked the floor slightly as the air rippled around him.
Kairon reappeared behind Gray this time, a faint shimmer of blue marking his arrival. In his right hand, a black-and-blue orb flickered violently — the Cosmic Ball, humming with compressed space energy, that can destroy anything it touches.
He aimed it straight at the back of Gray's head. Gray, who was still fighting against Rockwell, didn't even notice what was happening behind him.
But before Kairon could release his attack, he froze. A sudden sting pierced through the fabric of his clothes — the unmistakable pain of a blade pressing against his back. The sword had already begun to break skin.
"Damn it!"
Kairon's eyes widened in shock. He teleported away in an instant, just as Astro appeared where he had stood, his glowing purple sword cutting through empty air. The edge of Astro's blade dripped with a faint streak of blood as he landed, his movements sharp and fluid like the wind itself.
The moment his boots touched the ground, Astro moved again, dashing forward in another blur of purple smoke — already heading for the spot he predicted Kairon would move to next.
Meanwhile, Gray remained locked in fierce battle with Rockwell, still completely unaware that death had almost touched the back of his neck.
"Ice Make: Ice Cannon!"
Gray slammed both hands forward, creating a massive cannon made entirely of translucent blue ice. It gleamed in the light as several enormous cannonballs of ice formed at its mouth, then launched toward Rockwell one after another. The impact thundered through the hall.
"Stone Make: Fortress Wall!"
Rockwell spread his arms wide, his magic flaring as a gigantic fortress-like wall erupted before him, each brick made from compacted stone. The incoming ice cannonballs smashed into it with explosive force — shards of ice and dust scattering through the air — but the wall held firm very easily.
Rockwell smirked arrogantly to himself.. "It's futile, ice can never break stones.."
But when he looked up, his smirk froze. There was Gray, leaping high from above the fortress wall, eyes locked on him. Behind him, Rockwell could see the glimpse of a long staircase of ice stretched upward — the frozen path he had created to climb the massive fortress wall..
Gray's hands glowed with blue light as he shouted:
"Ice Make: Arrows!"
A huge number of icy arrows materialized around him in a wide circle before raining down toward Rockwell like a hailstorm.
"Stone Make: Giant Gauntlet!"
Rockwell roared as his right arm was enveloped in a huge mass of solid stone, shaping into a massive gauntlet bigger than his own body. He raised it to block the incoming arrows. The arrows struck hard, embedding into the gauntlet's surface. Some shattered and bounced away, while others stuck deep, creating cracks across its rough texture.
"Hmph! Just give up already, you cannot win!" Rockwell said proudly, grinning behind his shield.
But Gray only smirked. "Oh yeah? Then tell me, can your stone handle some more cold?"
"Ice Make: Daggers!"
Two ice daggers formed instantly in Gray's hands. As he dropped down from midair, he flipped and drove both daggers straight into the gauntlet's surface. The sound of cracking ice echoed as frost rapidly spread across the entire structure.
Rockwell's confident grin disappeared when he felt a stabbing cold bite through his arm inside the gauntlet.
"W–Wait, no—!"
The frost began creeping through the stone and into his skin, freezing his nerves. He desperately yanked his arm free and jumped backward, shouting in pain. His entire right hand had turned pale and stiff — frostbitten.
The enormous stone gauntlet now stood motionless, its surface covered completely in thick layers of glittering ice.
Gray landed, breathing steadily as his daggers glowed brighter. He poured more magic into them, freezing the air around him before pulling one dagger free. In the same motion, he threw it with all his strength toward Rockwell's chest.
Rockwell tried to summon more stone to defend himself, but his frozen arm refused to move.
"Damn you!"
He twisted his body at the last second, barely dodging the dagger as it grazed his shoulder, leaving a cut. When he looked up again, he saw something terrifying — Gray had already closed the distance between them.
"Ice Make: Boots!"
A layer of glowing ice formed around Gray's legs, each step echoing with sharp cracking sounds. Before Rockwell could even react, Gray's boot connected with his chin, launching him straight into the air several meters high.
Gray's breath came out in cold mist as he looked up at Rockwell spinning in midair, dazed and defenseless.
"And to finish it…" he said in a chilling, almost whispering tone, his eyes glowing an icy blue.
"Ice Make: Ice Bringer!"
Twin swords of pure ice formed in his hands. As Rockwell fell helplessly, Gray crossed both blades and unleashed a powerful slash in an "X" shape. The freezing wind burst outward, engulfing Rockwell in a spiral of snow and frost.
Within moments, Rockwell's entire body was encased in a thick cocoon of ice — still alive, but completely paralyzed and unresponsive.
Gray landed heavily on the ground, panting a bit. He looked at the now-frozen Rockwell and let out a deep breath of exhaustion, finally sitting down on the cold floor.
As the dust settled, Gray looked around. He could see Ren and Hibiki finishing their fights as well, both standing victoriously over their fallen opponents.
And then, in the distance, his eyes caught something that made his breath hitch — Astro and Kairon were still clashing, appearing and disappearing across the room in rapid bursts of light and wind.
"This guy is a complete monster… I can see why he managed to defeat Natsu," Gray thought, his expression tense. He remembered hearing about it after returning from his last mission. He hated to admit it, but deep down he knew — even if he and that hothead teamed up, they probably still wouldn't be able to defeat Astro.
Astro had no idea what Gray was thinking, but he could sense that everyone else had finished their fights.
Kairon, on the other hand, was growing more desperate by the second. He kept trying to strike at the Fiore wizards — teleporting around the battlefield, aiming to hit at least one of them — but every single time, Astro intercepted him. Each attempt ended with the same result: Astro's sword piercing through his body before he could even finish his attack.
Now, Kairon's entire body was riddled with holes — blood leaking from every wound — yet he still did not dare to fall.
Astro could feel Kairon scattering multiple teleportation marks across the room again, trying to trick him. But it didn't matter.
Astro's awareness had expanded far beyond normal senses. He could feel each mark like a flicker in space, and all he had to do was dash through every one of them, as Kairon could choose only one destination anyway. And Astro was fast enough that he could take some detours without any problem.
Suddenly, Kairon appeared above Shawn, who lay unconscious on the ground. With a furious shout, Kairon raised his right leg, preparing to crush Shawn's skull under his heel.
But he froze mid-motion. A flash of pain exploded through his right thigh — sharp and burning. His eyes widened in horror as he looked down, realizing what had happened.
He didn't dare believe it. He didn't want to believe it.
Before the truth could sink in, Astro's figure flickered near Shawn, kicking something away from the boy's side — something heavy and slick with blood.
Kairon teleported a few meters away and landed awkwardly. He stumbled, then fell, completely off balance.
He dared not look down… but he already knew.
Lying on the floor several feet away was his own leg.
The world spun. Pain tore through him as his vision blurred. He crashed to the ground, gasping, his single remaining leg kicking weakly at the floor.
When he looked up, he saw Astro — eyes now open, glowing an ominous purple. The young man tilted his head to look at him slightly, a faint smirk curving his lips. There wasn't a single scratch or drop of blood on him. His long coat fluttered slightly with the purple wind that still lingered around him.
Compared to Astro's immaculate appearance, Kairon looked utterly destroyed — his body torn and bleeding, his face pale from blood loss.
Astro began to walk toward him. Slowly. Calmly. Each step echoed in Kairon's ears like a tolling bell. With every footstep, Kairon felt a growing pit of dread twisting inside his chest — regret, humiliation, and fear all mixing together. He tried to teleport again, but he realized he did not have magic left in his body.
"Was it worth it?" Kairon muttered weakly to himself. "I spent so many years training… getting stronger… only to be humiliated by a young boy."
Astro stopped in front of him and let out a small chuckle. "If it makes you feel any better, I only had to train for three years to beat you."
He said it casually — almost kindly — but the words cut deeper than any sword.
They say that in a man's final moments, his true nature shows. For Kairon, that truth was bitter. He wasn't thinking about Margrada anymore. He wasn't thinking about her ideals or her promises. All he could feel now was regret — regret that he hadn't run away when he still had the chance.
Astro looked down at Kairon as he circled him slowly. "I have to say… You were quite a disappointment."
The purple wind sword in his hand dissolved into smoke, vanishing completely. But Astro continued circling, the soft echo of his boots against the floor filling the silence.
"It would be really such a pity if you die here, so worthlessly," Astro said quietly, finally crouching down in front of him. "And I'm also curious about something. Margrada's plan… and how exactly the Aetherkrone works."
He reached out and grabbed a handful of Kairon's blood-soaked hair, lifting his head so their eyes met. Kairon's breathing was ragged; his face pale with terror.
"So what do you say?" Astro asked with a smile that was both calm and cruel. "I'll heal you — in exchange, you tell me everything you know about Margrada's plan. Don't try to lie. I don't believe for a second that she never told you anything. Especially you… her strongest subordinate. She really could not find anyone better, huh."
Kairon trembled under his gaze. The glowing purple in Astro's eyes reflected in his own terrified pupils. And when Astro's lips curved into that faint, devilish smile — a smile that radiated cold amusement — even Ren and Hibiki, standing from afar looking at this scene, felt their skin crawl.
Hibiki walked over to Gray, who was still sitting on the floor, catching his breath.
"Is your friend okay?" he asked, still staring in disbelief at Astro. "I can't tell if he's a devil slayer… or an actual devil."
Gray just shrugged, his tone calm and detached. He was used to seeing two monsters clash almost every day in his guild growing up—one of them was literally a she-devil, and the other could easily pass as one. Compared to that, what he had just witnessed didn't shake him as much as it did Hibiki and Ren.
Besides, he wasn't worried. Even though he couldn't see Astro's movements clearly during the fight, he could feel it—Astro had been protecting them all the way through the fight. Gray knew that if his friend's life had ever truly been in danger, he wouldn't have minded turning into a devil himself to help.
"Please… please…" he begged, his voice cracking as tears rolled down his bloodstained face. He had forgotten all about Margrada, all about loyalty and pride. He didn't want to die. Not yet.
"Please, what?" Astro whispered softly, leaning closer to his ear, his voice disturbingly calm. "Tell me."
"I… I don't want to die," Kairon sobbed, his entire body trembling.
"Then what should you do?" Astro asked, smiling faintly. His expression was composed, almost gentle—but his eyes betrayed a sadistic amusement. He was studying Kairon's fear, savoring the look of despair that spread across his face.
"I'll tell you… I'll tell you everything I know," Kairon stammered. His voice was hoarse and broken.
Astro tilted his head slightly, his expression one of quiet interest. "I'm listening."
Kairon swallowed hard and began to speak.
"Madam Margrada… she's actually the daughter of the previous Chief Wizard of the royal family—Riser. Master Riser had three daughters. His first two were born from a previous countess: Velmora and Margrada. But the public… even the royal family… only knew about his youngest daughter, Lisa. Believe me, he's the mastermind behind all of this."
He coughed weakly, blood splattering from his lips before continuing.
"He trained each daughter for a different purpose. Velmora—the current queen—had no talent for magic, so Riser trained her to be a strategist, a pawn to seize the throne. Margrada, he trained in dark magic… to be his arms and strength, to carry out his evil work. And Lisa… Lisa was meant to be a manipulator and spy, using her unique mind control magic."
Gray, Hibiki, and Ren exchanged shocked looks. Astro had already warned them not to trust Riser, but this revelation made things even worse.
Riser and Margrada were working together—deceiving both sides of the kingdom. It was hard to believe that Riser had played both royal brothers so thoroughly. The late King Leonardo had been forced to marry Velmora, while Sylvain had probably been manipulated into loving Lisa.
Astro's smile didn't fade. It wasn't a surprise he felt—he had already considered this as one of the worst-case scenarios. His focus, however, was elsewhere.
"And what about the Aetherkrone?" Astro asked quietly. "What's so special about it?"
Kairon's breathing grew ragged, but he answered. "It was made by the black wizard Zeref… It's said to hold unimaginable power, capable of casting large-scale wind magic far beyond the user's limit. But…"
"But what?" Astro pressed.
He could feel Gray's energy shift beside him. The moment the name Zeref was mentioned, Gray's knuckles tightened, and his expression darkened.
Astro remembered reading about Zeref before—the most fearsome black wizard from four hundred years ago. Some of his creations still lingered across the world, continuing to cause problems for the Magic Council even now.
Astro looked back at Kairon. "Continue."
Kairon's consciousness was fading fast from blood loss, but he forced the words out between gasps.
"Master Riser found out… that the reason Sylvain and Leonardo's father hid the weapon and stopped using it… was because it required the souls of many strong wizards to activate. He found it written in a note that King Leonardo left for Sylvain before his death."
Gray's eyes widened. "So that's why so many wizards were called here… You killed the weaker ones and imprisoned the stronger ones to be used as fuel for that damned weapon."
"Yes… yes…" Kairon wheezed. "Now I've told you everything I know. I swear. Please… please save me."
Astro looked down at him, his expression still eerily calm. "Oh, right. I almost forgot," he said lightly. "You're on the verge of losing consciousness from blood loss already, aren't you?"
"Yes… Yes… Please," Kairon begged, tears mixing with blood on his face.
"Thanks for your cooperation," Astro said, tilting his head to inspect Kairon's mangled body. "But in your desperation… You forgot something important, old man."
Kairon blinked, confused. His vision blurred, and through the haze, he could see only Astro's widening smile. And then, he remembered something Astro had said earlier in their fight—words that now echoed like a curse.
"Never bargain your life with a devil."
Before Kairon could react, Astro placed his other hand around his neck and, without hesitation, snapped it with a sharp crack.
The sound echoed through the chamber.
Gray, Hibiki, and Ren all flinched at once. Astro didn't even glance at them. He simply stood up, brushing off the blood on his hands..
"Sorry, but I would never, in a million years, use my healing magic to save scum who tried to kill my friends," Astro said coldly. "So I just did him a favor—by killing him quickly."
He turned to look at the others, his gaze lingering briefly on Gray the most. He didn't want his friend to think of him as a murderer or a monster.
But Gray only shrugged. "Well… I don't think I'm in any position to judge. Also, I could feel that you had to save us multiple times from him. Thanks for that."
Astro only smiled a bit in relief, "Well, it's my job as the leader to keep you guys safe."
"So… what now?" Hibiki asked quietly, changing the subject, glancing at the unconscious bodies scattered across the room.
Astro looked around at the unconscious wizards and the battle-torn hall as well. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he considered their next move.
"Gray, Ren—stay here with the others," he said finally. "Hibiki, you're coming with me."
He turned toward the hole to go downstairs, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I got a plan, it's risky, but it might just work."
Oh, there was risk—plenty of it—but Astro's instincts told him this plan might just work.