Reson's eyes locked on Astro, his teeth gritting with anger. Behind him, Loke and Druvan prepared for battle, their stances tense, muscles coiled like springs. Astro noticed the subtle shift in Reson's posture and instinctively backed a step, reading the imminent move—but he was not afraid.
With a sharp clap of his hands, Reson unleashed his first assault.
"Symphony Bullet!"
Rhythmic pulses of sound erupted from Reson's palms, shockwaves that surged forward in perfect timing. Astro could have dodged them easily—but doing so would have left Loke behind him vulnerable. So he braced himself.
"Wailing Tempest Wall!"
A shimmering purple shield sprang from Astro's right palm, solid and steadfast. The shockwaves slammed against it, rattling the air, but the wall held firm. Reson's eyes flicked to the barrier. It wasn't just a simple defense—it was quite well-constructed, and hard to breach.
A slow, sinister grin spread across Reson's face as he glanced at the surrounding walls.
"Echo Break!"
Several new shockwaves erupted from his mouth, bouncing off the walls, ricocheting unpredictably, and converging on Astro from all directions. But every shift in the air was visible to Astro; his eyes glowed a fierce purple as he tracked the turbulence with precision. He moved with casual grace, swaying left and right, dodging each incoming wave effortlessly.
Reson's grin faltered. His attacks, once controlled and deadly, were now trivial to avoid. Rage again flared in his eyes.
"Sonic Scream!"
A deafening roar exploded from his mouth, creating a dome-like shockwave that tore at the ground around him, expanding outward with terrifying force. Just as it threatened to engulf Astro, the young mage's eyes narrowed. He clenched his fists, and both fists ignited with a deep purple energy. With a swift motion, his right fist, coated in a whirling wind, collided with Reson's assault.
A dome of spinning, purple wind surged outward, clashing violently with Reson's sound dome. Sparks of pressure and energy flashed between them before both attacks dissipated in a violent burst. Astro wasted no time, refusing to give Reson a second to strike another attack.
He thrust his left fist forward.
"Aero Breaker!"
Multiple purple wind-shaped fists shot toward Reson. The villain's eyes widened briefly, but he quickly responded.
"Echo Guard!"
A wall of nothingness materialized in front of him, blocking the assault. Astro's eyes flicked, calculating, and from his right hand, a thin, razor-sharp sword of wind coalesced. He dashed forward, slashing at the defensive barrier.
The wall shattered.
Reson, unfazed, struck back at the blade with an unfaltering punch.
"Tempest Blade! Vibration Fist!"
Vibrating energy slammed into the purple wind blade, both attacks locking in a stalemate of force. Sparks and ripples of air spread across the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Loke engaged Druvan.
"Wood-Make: Mace!"
Druvan conjured a massive wooden mace, swinging it down at Loke. The celestial spirit dodged effortlessly.
"I'm not gonna lie, I've seen far better Maker-type wizards. Is that all?" Loke teased.
"Yeah, but have you seen this?" Druvan crouched, palms pressed to the ground.
"Wood-Make: Thorn!"
Thick wooden thorns erupted violently from the earth. One nearly tore into Loke—but with a flash of glowing light, Loke slammed his right hand onto the ground.
"Regulus Impact!"
The earth cracked under his palm. The thorns collapsed harmlessly into twisted vines, and Druvan stumbled, losing his balance. Loke's eyes blazed as he fired a concentrated beam of light from his right hand.
"Regulus Blast!"
A pure, blinding ray of energy shot forward. Druvan swung a massive wooden hammer to deflect it.
"Wood-Make: Battle Hammer!"
The hammer collided with the light, shattering under the impact and sending Druvan skidding backward. Loke pressed forward, a blur of light-coated fists.
"Regulus Punch!"
Rapid strikes rained down on Druvan's chest and stomach, finishing with a devastating blow to the chin that sent him tumbling into the air. Loke's eyes flicked toward Astro and Reson's clashing with sword and fist.. He saw Astro turning his head back at him.
Loke understood the signal and nodded before getting ready for the next attack.
A brilliant glow emanated from Loke's hand.
"Resplendent Fist!"
He struck Druvan mid-fall, hurling him directly toward Astro.
Astro sensed the wind shift and smiled realizing that Loke did his job, now it's his turn,
Purple wind erupted from Astro's feet, propelling him into a graceful backflip over Reson. He landed perfectly, landing on the opposite side of the villain, his sword and Reson's fist now disconnected. Reson's back now faced the incoming Druvan.
Astro's eyes gleamed a sinister purple. The sword in his right hand vanished, reforming as a small, dense ball of swirling purple wind in his left hand.
Reson opened his mouth, preparing another attack—but Astro charged first with right wind coated palm and slammed it to his mouth, shutting him down
and without wasting any time, he slammed the purple ball with his left hand on his chest.
The impact sent Reson flying backward, crashing into Druvan midair.
"Aero Dominion."
Astro whispered. As if on cue, The purple wind ball stuck on Reson's chest exploded, forming a violent purple wind dome that engulfed both villains. Only their screams pierced the roaring vortex of energy.
When the air cleared, both Reson and Druvan lay on the ground, barely conscious. Their clothes were shredded, bodies slashed with deep, horrifying cuts.
Loke stepped forward, eyeing the two unconscious men sprawled on the floor.
"Well… you might've gone a little overboard, don't you think?" he said, arms crossed, trying to sound stern a bit..
But Astro didn't even bother denying it. "Well, before handing them over to the Magic Council, it was necessary to let them suffer a bit." He gave a shrug, like it was perfectly reasonable. "Anyway, you go grab some guards. I'll stay here and guard them… for now."
Then, with all the casualness of someone grabbing a late night coffee, Astro went back to fetch the shopkeeper's unconscious brother, because of course he hadn't forgotten about him.
Loke grumbled under his breath, a little dissatisfied about being ordered, but he ran off anyway. The faster they hand them over, the faster I can see the ladies in the guild, he told himself.
An hour later, Loke returned, dragging a small parade of Magic Council guards behind him. Leading them was a black-haired man with glasses who looked like he'd been born to glare.
"Mr. Lahar, these are the two wanted criminals we've been looking for—Reson and Druvan."
Astro raised an eyebrow, not surprised . He stepped forward and handed the paperwork and the lacrima from the shop and the villager over to Lahar, who was clearly the leader here.
"These papers show the Stardust Arcana shop was making and selling unauthorized lacrima. We put the owner of the shop to sleep in the locker before heading here." Astro explained. "Even though the lacrima didn't exactly control the villagers, it did put them in a coma. So… I hope you also give them a punishment that's at least mildly painful."
The guard leader took the paperwork and lacrima, blinking in surprise.
"Wait… are you a Fairy Tail mage too?" he asked.
Astro flashed his guild mark, a lazy grin spreading across his face. "Yep. I am Astro Blackmist"
"You can call me Lahar", Lahar looked at Astro's guild mark and face for a bit.
But he didn't look convinced, so he scanned the workshop: damage contained, criminals tied up, evidence all neat and ready for the taking. He even raised a brow at the sheer organization of documents too—and that was apparently impressive.
Meanwhile, Lahar's eyes wandered behind him. There was Loke,who recently became famous as his face sometimes graced magazine covers, flirting shamelessly with a female guard and completely disrupting the Council's operation. Looking at the scene as if finally seeing something normal, he nodded in satisfaction.
Then his gaze settled on Astro who looked very young.
He placed a firm, brotherly palm on Astro's shoulder, as if about to give some grand lecture. "If you're infiltrating Fairy Tail… try being more discreet. Act more like… a little barbarian."
Lahar again nodded to himself like he'd just delivered the wisdom of the ages. Astro opened his mouth a few times, trying to come up with a response… then looked at Loke causing problems and wisely shut it again. Words seemed utterly pointless now in the face of Lahar's gravitas.
The Council took the criminals, promising Loke a reward, which finally convinced him to let the female guard go. She waved at him with teary eyes as if to say goodbye to a long time married partner. Loke also waved back with the same enthusiasm.
Astro watched Lahar and the guards disappear from view. He raised a hand to his forehead, rubbing his temple, and silently vowed to stay as far away from the Council as humanly possible—because who knew what ridiculous rumors might start next time he crossed paths with them.