The days that followed were heavy with silence—but not despair. For the first time in years, Lunaris City was free.
The Light Guild mages were investigated by the Magic Council of Ishgar. They gathered their testimonies, the reports filled with careful words, every sentence weighed so that truth would stand unshaken before the Magic Council. They did not need embellishment—only the facts.
"The FogSerpent Guild ambushed us," one mage declared before the council envoys.
"We fought to survive. You can't confine us for that. Why don't investigate Fogserpent instead.," another added, definitely not one on Kael's man disguised as a light guild mage.
The stories aligned too neatly to be lies. The web of corruption unraveled with ease once the first thread was pulled.
The captured FogSerpent mages, their arrogance broken in chains, were interrogated one by one. Their protests crumbled quickly. Under pressure, secrets spilled from their mouths like rot from a wound—human trafficking routes traced across the country, assassination done for money and power, extortion of citizens too poor to resist. Their dark dealings stretched further than even the council had imagined.
At last, the judgment came. The Magic Council branded FogSerpent a Dark Guild, struck their name from the registry of legal guilds, and cast its members into Era's deepest cells. Their mark, once a symbol of menace, was nothing more than a brand of shame.
But the purge did not end there.
Records seized from FogSerpent's vaults revealed far uglier truths. Letters exchanged with the mayor, sealed contracts written in details, payments funneled through officials sworn to protect the people—they had all been complicit.
The mayor who had feasted while his city starved was dragged from his office. Corrupt guards and fattened officials followed, their empires of greed dismantled brick by brick.
The trials were public. The people watched as the once untouchable were brought low. Some shouted in anger, others in relief. Many simply wept, not from sorrow, but because they finally believed that justice had come.
And so, Lunaris was reborn.
The city that had once lived under a poisoned sky now breathed freely. The fear that had smothered its streets gave way to something long forgotten—hope.
Sometimes after the battle between Abel and Astro
The harbor of Lunaris was quiet in the early morning light. Waves lapped gently against the stone pier, carrying the scent of salt and renewal. The city behind them stirred with faint sounds of hammers, merchants setting up their stalls, and children laughing—a city reborn from ashes.
Astro stood at the very edge of the pier, his cloak tugged by the sea breeze. His eyes traced the horizon where the sky kissed the ocean, endless and open. He knew it was time.
Akiko was the first to break from the group and step forward. Arms crossed, chin tilted in her usual defiance, she looked every bit like her fiery self. Yet the glimmer in her eyes betrayed her.
"Can't you stay here a little longer?" she asked, her voice steadier than the tremor in her hands. "Why do you need to leave so soon? Everybody loves you here."
Astro's lips curved into a faint smile. He reached out and placed his hand on her head, ruffling her hair despite her protest.
"Is 'Akiko' also in that 'everybody'?" he teased.
Her eyes widened. She clicked her tongue and turned away sharply. "…Tch. I'm not answering that."
Astro chuckled and rubbed her head faster, forcing her to squirm.
"Fine, fine! Okay—I'm part of it too!" she burst out at last, cheeks flushed. "So what? Can you stay here for me then?"
"Nope." The reply came instantly, unshaken.
It's not that he doesn't want to stay too, but he needs to learn more about his power, or curse…so that he won't lose control and harm people dear to him.
Akiko froze, then puffed her cheeks in indignation, 'That's the seventh time I've asked today!'
Her frustration only made Astro laugh quietly, though his gaze softened as he looked at her. She was stubborn, fiery, and far braver than she realized.
Behind them, Kael and Elara laughed at the scene. They weren't children like Akiko—though the thought of saying goodbye was heavy, they carried it with calmer hearts. Both of them knew this wasn't the end. Someday, when paths crossed again, they would all have more stories to tell.
Elara stepped forward, her usual composed smile tinged with warmth. In her hands was a rolled-up magazine, edges still crisp from the press.
"This was just published," she said, offering it to him. "My article about the fall of FogSerpent and the rebirth of Lunaris. You should read it."
Astro accepted it carefully, noticing how her fingers lingered for a moment before letting go. Flipping through, he saw the sharpness of her words, the elegance of her pen, how she had captured the city's suffering and rebirth in ink. Yet, as promised, there was no mention of Astro's name.
"…Thank you," Astro murmured.
Elara nodded. "You asked me not to write about you. I kept my word. You deserve recognition, Astro, but…"
His eyes lowered, shadows passing over them. "It's not that I don't want to be known. But right now, I would rather not let myself and my abilities be known to the world ."
Elara's smile faded into a more solemn expression, but she did not argue.
Kael approached next. His usually stern face softened with gratitude as he gripped Astro's shoulder. "Lucien… he's being held by Magic Council for his crimes. But the council won't keep him forever. His crimes were grave, but his cooperation and situation has bought him leniency. His family… they're doing well.His wife is helping at the newly established church, and his daughters… They're getting along well with church children. He asked me to pass his gratitude…for keeping the promise."
Astro gave a small nod. Letting Kael continue.
Kael squeezed his shoulder firmly, his voice carrying both gratitude and conviction.
"I can tell that you are carrying some heavy burden, But remember, you healed not just us, Astro. You healed this city. Whatever darkness you carry, remember this—you are not only destruction. You bring light too."
Astro hesitated, words caught in his throat. Instead, he drew Kael and Elara both into a quiet, firm embrace. For a fleeting moment, the weight of his solitude lifted.
Finally, he turned back to Akiko. The girl's pout hadn't faded. She stared at the ground, kicking the pier with her boot, refusing to look at him.
"…Hey," Astro said softly. He crouched slightly and placed his palm on her head again, gentler this time. "Fiore is not that far from here. I promise I will write letters regularly, once I settled down."
Akiko's eyes flickered, and for once, she didn't argue. She only nodded, lips trembling as if she wanted to say something more but couldn't.
Astro gave her hair one last rub, imprinting the warmth of the moment before standing tall. His cloak caught the wind, fluttering like a shadow against the rising sun.
"…See you soon," he said, his voice carrying across the waves.
And with that, he walked down the pier, each step taking him farther from Lunaris. The three figures watched him until he became a silhouette against the morning light.
None of them said a word. But in their hearts, a promise burned.
They would meet again.
Magnolia Town
The city of Magnolia stretched wide beneath the morning sun, its bustling streets alive with laughter, trade, and chatter.
Astro walked through the city looking curiously at everything around him., his boots dusted by the long road behind him. His gaze lingered on the fluttering banner that crowned the guild hall in the distance. A mark of family, of warmth, of reckless bonds stronger than steel.
He let out a slow breath. So this is it. After everything… I finally made it.
His mind, unbidden, slipped into the past.
Three years.
Three years since the night in the Inca Kingdom, when the storm within him had swallowed everything. Three years since he had run beneath a blood-soaked sky, trying to escape not only the enemies at his heels but the monster within his chest.
He remembered the cities he passed—some where he was welcomed for healing the wounded, others where he was treated as a fiend for using weird magic. He remembered countless nights beneath cold stars, thinking about his sister, a desperate attempt to make sure he does not lose his sanity in the unknown land..
And then Lunaris city. A guild that enslaved the city, the corruption that stifled its people, and the companions who had unknowingly anchored him when he was adrift and was on the verge of losing himself in loneliness. .
Astro closed his eyes for a brief moment, the breeze of Magnolia brushing against his face. I've walked through so much… and now I'm here. at—Fairy Tail.
His hand tightened over his cloak. "Let's see what kind of sky I'll find here," he murmured to himself, voice low but steady, heading to the Fairy Tail.
Astro stood before the great wooden doors of Fairy Tail, his reflection faint in the polished iron handles. For a moment, he simply stared at the symbol of the guild carved into the frame, a mark that had inspired countless stories across Fiore.
A small, crooked smile tugged at his lips. 'To think… this is the guild. The guild that will shake the world with its recklessness, its warmth, and its strength. Even the main protagonist of that tale… Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer. I wonder… how different is Dragon Slayer magic from the devil slayer magic'
He exhaled and placed his hands on the door. "Well," he muttered, "no turning back now."
The doors creaked open—
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
The shout was his only warning.
A fist wreathed in roaring flame slammed straight into his face before he even registered what was happening. The blow cracked like thunder, heat searing across his skin.
Smoke curled from his cheek as the fire dissipated.
"…?"
He dreamed of a warm welcome in fairy tail, but not this warm.
Blinking, Astro found himself staring at a pink-haired young man with a wild grin, standing ready to throw another punch. But his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he sniffed the air like a hound.
"…Huh? You're not Gray."
Astro's face twitched, the imprint of a flaming fist still stinging against his cheek. His mind, however, was oddly calm—stuck on one thought.
…Is it too late to go back to Lunaris City?