Chapter 199 – Astral Vision and Pressure Play
Blackstar advanced calmly through the Ether Cyclone, his steps resonating as if the wind itself parted for him.
Aeris, just behind, was already sweating. Not from heat—just from the sheer presence of the man he was walking with.
One of Blackstar's eyes suddenly glowed.
**Blackstar:**
— "Astral Sight: Lumen Overwatch."
A second, gigantic spectral eye appeared in the sky, turning slowly, scanning the entire cyclone.
Nothing could hide. Nothing.
Even Aeris turned toward the eye like a student caught under a teacher's gaze during an exam.
**Aeris (murmuring):**
— "Uh… is it watching me too?"
**Blackstar:**
— "Yes. If you miss another step, it judges you."
Aeris panicked for no reason.
Deep within the cyclone, Blackstar detected several creatures beyond the Storm Wardens:
- **Vortexus Reavers** — ether beasts made of compact spirals, limbs of slicing winds and unstable gravitational cores.
- **Tempest Fangs** — wolf‑like beings of wind, except instead of drool they had arcs of electricity ready to erase you.
- **Aether Goliaths** — massive, heavy, condensed ether forms. Breathing near them practically required a permit.
Blackstar raised **Orion.**
— "Let's start simple, hmm?"
He opened a portal in front of him.
Another portal behind a Reaver.
Then fired an **Echo‑Wave Blast**, a vibrating shot that entered the first portal and exited the second…
…turning the creature into a puzzle in 0.3 seconds.
He teleported behind a Tempest Fang, calmly placed his hand on its skull—
— **Boom.**
The head exploded as if someone had pressed "Delete."
Aeris was speechless.
**Aeris:**
— "You… you're really… really…"
**Blackstar:**
— "Yes. I know. Stylish."
The astral eye began spinning faster.
**Blackstar:**
— "Full vision… Astral Sight: Synaptic Panorama."
(It sounds omniscient, but don't worry—it's not. Just very, very aggressive perception.)
He crossed **Vesper** and **Orion**, then—
**Blackstar:**
— "Stellar Cadence – Harmony of the Void."
The pistols fired at monstrous cadence, millions of micro‑stellar shards raining like aggressive starlight, vaporizing Tempest Fang, Reaver, and Goliath alike.
Orion vibrated like a cosmic speaker, its shots compressing monster matter until they disintegrated into molecules.
Simple. Clean. Blackstar‑approved.
Aeris was already on the verge of fainting.
**Aeris:**
— "It's… it's too much for my heart… I… I think I'm melting…"
**Blackstar:**
— "Breathe."
(He patted his head.)
— "Or don't. You'll get used to it."
Blackstar deactivated his astral vision.
— "I've cleared the entire zone.
But I sensed something… far away. Very powerful. Not clear. The kind of thing with an oversized ego."
Aeris blinked.
— "If even you say it's powerful… I… I think I'm going to die here…"
**Blackstar (smiling):**
— "Don't worry. It's powerful… but it doesn't impress me."
Aeris nearly collapsed.
Suddenly—
Several immense spheres of energy appeared above them, swirling like furious moons.
They were called: **Aetherfall Cataclysms.**
Aeris turned pale. Even his hair looked washed out.
— "W‑w‑we're doomed… doomed… doo—"
**Blackstar:**
— "Relax."
He spun **Vesper** and **Orion.**
Then—
**Blackstar:**
— "Stellar Cadence – Fortissimo."
The shots exploded toward the Cataclysms, slowing their descent.
Then he pointed **Vesper** skyward.
An immense orb of energy gathered at the cannon, concentrating raw stellar force.
**Blackstar:**
— "Stellar Ray: Nova Breaker."
A colossal beam erupted, streaking through the sky like an inverted comet, pulverizing all the spheres.
The entire cyclone vibrated.
And in the distance…
A silhouette seated on a throne appeared.
Its aura crushed the air.
Aeris choked, hand over his mouth. Even breathing had become a combat sport.
But the silhouette suddenly felt a cannon at its neck.
Blackstar was already behind it.
Holding Aeris by the waist like a poorly stored sack of rice.
His gaze was glacial, devoid of the slightest trace of humor.
Chapter 200 – The King of the Cyclone
The silhouette felt the cold barrel of Vesper against his neck.
He didn't flinch.
Just… a small sigh, as if he were bored.
His appearance finally came into view:
long black hair, two dark‑green horns curved backward, a torso completely bare, muscles gleaming, and massive pants held up by a belt that literally had its own gravity.
In short: a mix between a king, a demon, and a fitness influencer.
The silhouette slowly turned toward Blackstar.
Blackstar, pressing Vesper's barrel against his forehead, declared:
— "You must be seriously stubborn to look me in the eyes like that."
The silhouette smiled.
He raised his fist.
Blackstar holstered Vesper and caught the punch with one hand… all while holding Aeris under his other arm like a grocery bag.
The silhouette introduced himself proudly:
— "I am the King of the Storm Wardens. I am… Azevran Tempesthorn."
Blackstar exhaled.
— "Yeah, great, I didn't ask."
He leapt back twice, set Aeris down on the ground like a lost kitten, then asked him:
— "So, do you want me to smash him alone, or do you want to test your courage?"
Aeris timidly raised his hand:
— "I‑I want to help… I want to reach rank S by my own effort…"
Blackstar ruffled his hair:
— "That's the right spirit. Do your best. I'll handle the rest."
Aeris, panicked:
— "B‑but I'm a ranged fighter! And so are you! How do we—"
Azevran drew his sword.
The entire cyclone vibrated.
Aeris stifled a scream.
Blackstar merely raised an eyebrow.
Azevran sneered:
— "Ranged fighters, really?"
Blackstar activated one of his eyes, glowing with astral blue.
— "Don't mistake me. I'm ranged… when I feel like it."
He raised Vesper and Orion.
— "Stellar Cadence: Harmony of the Void."
Instantly, Blackstar became a deluge of stellar fire.
Azevran dodged at absurd speed, his steps creating flashes of wind.
Aeris couldn't even follow the scene anymore.
**Blackstar shouted:**
— "USE YOUR AERIAL PERCEPTION!"
— "A‑ah! Yes!!"
Aeris activated his gift.
In a second, everything became clearer:
he could see the air currents moving around Azevran like luminous serpents.
Blackstar then opened astral rifts everywhere.
Stellar shards erupted from every direction.
At the same time, thanks to Orion's vibrations, Blackstar teleported between the shards:
— "Astral Trail Ignition."
Azevran could no longer see anything:
Blackstar appeared everywhere at once.
Then — **BAM**
A kick to the face hurled Azevran backward.
— "Not bad," murmured Blackstar, surprised.
He placed Vesper and Orion before him.
A disk of astral energy formed.
— "Nova Breaker…"
Orion vibrated, compressing the air.
— "…and Crushing Echo."
The two attacks fused into a mad spiral:
— "Astral Rift Obliterator!"
The attack struck Azevran head‑on.
An explosion of light illuminated the entire cyclone.
Blackstar teleported back.
— "Your turn, Aeris. Show me what you've got."
Aeris panicked but closed his eyes and focused his wind.
— "…piercing hurricane…
Gale… Skyshatter Lance!!!"
A massive lance of wind shot toward Azevran.
… and Azevran, charred and regenerating, sighed:
— "Is this a joke?"
He swept the attack aside with a flick of his hand.
— "What do you think you are, human? A protagonist?
Such a weak strike…"
In an instant, he vanished.
Reappeared before Aeris.
Grabbed him by the throat and lifted him like trash.
— "You really thought you could scratch me?"
Then—
**SCHTAAK**
His arm fell to the ground.
Azevran looked at his stump, shocked.
Blackstar was behind him.
In his hand:
a sword entirely made of condensed stellar energy,
its hilt a six‑branched star,
the blade the sixth branch,
and at its center… a tiny pulsing black hole.
Blackstar exhaled, resting the sword on his shoulder:
— "Hands off, I said."
Aeris collapsed to the ground, breathing in relief.
Azevran stepped back, for the first time truly threatened.
Blackstar smiled:
— "Come on, Storm King.
You wanted a fight?
You've found it."
Chapter 201 – Azevran Tempesthorn, the Storm King
Azevran Tempesthorn, King of the Storm Wardens, stood before them with a predatory smile, as if he had finally found an opponent worth taking seriously.
Blackstar, holding his newly‑formed sword — a blade of pure stellar energy — spun it between his fingers before saying calmly:
— "Let me introduce my sword… Astral Eclipse."
The weapon pulsed like a star's heart, making the entire ether cyclone vibrate.
And before Azevran could respond, Blackstar vanished in a burst of distorted light.
**CLANG!**
The clash between Astral Eclipse and the king's colossal sword rang out like thunder tearing the skies. Their weapons collided at such speed that even Aeris could only see streaks of light.
Then Blackstar raised his other arm — the one holding Vesper.
He aimed it directly at Azevran.
The weapon glowed as if it were swallowing the light around it.
— "HERE WE GO."
He unleashed an attack: **Stellar Pulse Overdrive**, a wave of compressed stellar energy that exploded against the king's chest.
**BOOOM!**
Azevran was hurled kilometers away with a single kick, tearing off an entire chunk of the ether cyclone as if it were cardboard scenery.
He regenerated almost instantly, looking slightly vexed:
— "Do not think you can defeat me so easily, human…"
Blackstar rested his sword on his shoulder, Vesper in the other hand, and replied in a perfectly casual tone:
— "Honestly, the way you fly, I'll give you an 8/10 in aerial performance."
He pointed his thumb at Aeris.
— "The student here should be taking notes."
Aeris flushed red.
— "HUH?! Why me?!"
Azevran, irritated at being ignored in his own domain, swept the air with a sword strike, unleashing a monstrous slash of energy.
Blackstar cut it with a simple motion of Astral Eclipse, then countered with a sharp strike that carved deep into the king's torso.
Azevran growled.
— "It seems… difficult to defeat you, Blackstar."
Blackstar smirked:
— "You're only realizing that now? I already had the punchline ready for when you collapsed, so do me a favor and hurry up."
The king stepped back, gripping his sword.
— "I must… take my original form."
Aeris paled.
— "Blackstar! Do something before he transforms! This is the moment to stop him! RIGHT NOW!"
Blackstar shrugged, looking absolutely delighted:
— "No, let him. If he wants to shine, let him shine. I want to see if he really deserves the title of 'king.' Go on, big guy."
Azevran roared, his aura exploding in every direction.
**VRRRRROOOOOOOOM!**
The cyclone cracked apart. Arcs of wind tore chunks of reality itself. Aeris would have been swept out of the domain if not for Blackstar, who grabbed him by the collar like a kitten.
— "Don't move, or you'll just spin around."
— "I‑I'm trying my best!!"
The king transformed.
Brilliant green scales covered his body, his horns doubled in size and became translucent like storm crystal. His arms grew massive, inscribed with runes of wind carved into his flesh. His torso seemed made of compressed hurricanes, swirling beneath a semi‑transparent layer.
Two wings of pure wind — literally — unfolded with a shrill howl, leaving behind pressure rings that ripped the sky apart.
A crown appeared on his head, composed of spiraling green lightning.
He now stood nearly the size of a titanic Storm Warden.
**Aeris:**
— "…Okay, no, yeah… we're dead."
**Blackstar, arms crossed:**
— "Very stylish."
He observed for a few seconds.
— "A bit cliché, but stylish."
**Azevran, voice resonating with a thousand turbulences:**
— "BEHOLD MY TRUE FORM!
Are you ready, human?!"
Blackstar inhaled deeply, cracked his neck, rested Astral Eclipse on his shoulder…
— "Aeris… fasten your seatbelt."
— "I DON'T HAVE ONE!!"
— "Then stick to me and pray."
— "WHAT?!"
The king charged.
The ground collapsed.
The domain screamed.
And Blackstar…
…smiled like a child about to have fun.
Chapter 202 – The Wind, the Stars… and Aeris Panicking
Blackstar smiled, slid Vesper into his belt, drew Orion, and declared:
— "So… the king's true form. Show me it's not bluff. I hope you're not just a lion that roars but doesn't bite."
Aeris, off to the side, timidly raised his hand:
— "Uh… lions do bite, normally…"
Blackstar placed a barrier around him:
— "You. Silence. Hide. Breathe. And stay alive if possible."
Aeris nodded so fast the wind whistled around him.
Then Blackstar continued, grinning:
— "Alright Mister King… let's get serious."
He launched forward, opening a rain of rifts all around Azevran Tempesthorn.
Hyper‑fast shots erupted from every direction—Vesper to the left, Orion to the right, and even shots from above as Blackstar teleported through vibrations, appearing right, left, above, then again elsewhere.
Aeris couldn't keep up, panicked:
— "What is this?!"
Azevran exhaled with disdain:
— "The same technique again? Who do you take me for?"
Then his aura exploded—literally—and a cataclysmic gale burst from his body.
— **STORM REJECTION!**
The wind was so violent it shattered space‑time, breaking reality like glass.
Blackstar was hurled so hard he spun three times and landed right in front of Aeris.
— "GRH! He did that on purpose… It's a stratagem, he wants you to panic so I'm forced to protect you. Honestly… he's heavy."
**Aeris:**
— "You mean… I'm bait?"
**Blackstar:**
— "Exactly. Congratulations. You finally serve a purpose."
Aeris nearly fainted.
---
### Void Anchor
Blackstar stood, placed his fingers on the ground, and murmured:
— "Void Anchor: Anchor of Nothingness."
His body became immobile, locked into a perfect frequency, as if welded to reality itself.
**Explanation:**
"I adjust all the vibrations of my body—heart, organs, blood, energy—into a neutral frequency (absolute zero), neither positive nor negative.
Result: I become impossible to repel. Any force is absorbed, dispersed into vibratory void."
Aeris touched the barrier and said:
— "Feels like a cosmic fridge…"
— "Shut up. I'm trying to be stylish."
The king's overpowering wind struck Blackstar—no reaction. Everything exploded around him, but he remained standing, perfectly stable.
— "There you go, Aeris, you're safe."
He sheathed his sword on his back, reset his stance, Orion aimed, Vesper at his side.
Then he drew Vesper, raised it, and said:
— "Stellaris Volley!"
A rain of condensed stellar shards fell upon the king.
Azevran deflected them with blades of wind.
— "You think your star toys will—"
— "Not finished yet, Mister Living Windmill."
Blackstar opened Orion and Vesper simultaneously.
Orion vibrated, then charged:
— "Orion: Black Echo Pulse!"
This time, the stellar echoes were black, heavy, violent—each impact shook the entire domain.
The more Blackstar fired, the faster the cadence.
The faster the cadence, the more destructive the shots became, as if each star were on the verge of collapse.
Aeris, trembling:
— "Is it… normal to increase cadence infinitely like that?!"
— "For me, yes."
The king staggered under the combined force, his scales vibrating.
---
### Overdrive Finisher
Blackstar flipped backward in the air—a totally unnecessary flip, just stylish—and froze in place thanks to Void Anchor, before declaring:
— "Stellar Resonance Overdrive!"
His energy condensed into his weapons.
Vesper and Orion fused for an instant: Vesper gave the stars, Orion gave the vibrations.
A spiral blue‑black beam (**Dark Hypernova Resonance**) swallowed the king.
The attack engulfed him.
A silent explosion.
A flash that made reality itself vibrate.
Azevran emerged, panting, his scales cracked, his body smoking.
— "Impressive… but not enough."
Before noticing that Blackstar had simply placed his hand on his chest.
— "Internal Pulse Collapse."
He amplified the king's internal vibrations—heart, blood, organs—until creating a shockwave that inflicted massive internal damage.
Everything resonated chaotically.
Azevran spat blood, his face twisted:
— "Wh… what have you done…?"
— "I shook your insides like a soda bottle."
The king roared and swung his sword.
The blade split the ether cyclone in two.
The entire domain trembled.
---
### Nullwave Reversal
Blackstar raised his hand.
— "Nullwave Reversal."
The king's attack disintegrated.
All vibrations of the strike—echoes, sound waves, magic—were canceled as if reality had been put on mute.
The energy dissipated like a muffled sound in absolute void.
The king stared, stunned.
— "You… canceled my technique."
— "Yes. And so what? Surprised? I've been trolling everyone for ten chapters."
Then Blackstar snapped his fingers: a blade of sound materialized, sharp, white, whistling.
(He had amplified the sound of the snap and condensed it into a sword.)
He slashed the king in short, rapid bursts.
Blackstar fired several bullets… which vanished into the void. Then he snapped his fingers.
A circular black zone appeared around the king.
— "Quietus Sphere."
Inside this space, everything was reduced to silence: no wind, no energy, no magic.
As if the world had cut the sound.
— "Here… it's ABSOLUTE SILENCE."
He explained for Aeris:
— "Basically everything: everything he does in there is muffled. Wind, ether, brute force, all of it."
The king panicked:
— "I… I can't… my powers… MY FORM—"
— "Yeah yeah. I switched your domain to airplane mode. You're grounded."
Aeris behind the barrier:
— "Cosmic airplane mode…"
Blackstar approached calmly, Vesper and Orion tucked into his belt, Astral Eclipse on his back.
— "It's not me who will finish you.
It's Aeris."
Blackstar opened a passage in his barrier.
— "Aeris. Your turn."
Aeris panicked:
— "M‑me? But I… I'm just… uh… me."
Blackstar placed his hand on him, covering him with a protective aura of energy.
— "There. Otherwise your powers would've been sealed in the Quietus Sphere too.
Now it's fine. It's your choice."
Aeris turned tomato red.
— "I… I don't know what to do…"
— "Then think! You're a rank A hunter, not a pigeon that got lost here."
Aeris inhaled, trembling, raised his hands…
Blackstar smiled:
— "Come on kid. I believe in you.
— …
— …well, a little."
**Aeris:**
— "Thanks I… that's… kind…?"
— "Don't get used to it."