Astro and Shawn soon arrived at the enemy's base—a run-down old mansion, its walls cracked and its windows clouded with grime.
"This mansion was built years ago," Shawn explained, his voice carrying a tinge of sadness. "Back when one group of our people tried to turn the temple on the mountain into a tourist attraction. They built this inn to host visitors… but it didn't last. On the very first tour, an accident happened. Some tourists got caught into a trap and the temple was closed again. After that, rumors spread—people started calling it a cursed temple. Maybe that's what drew those wizards here. They took over the island not long after."
Astro gave the boy a sidelong glance, then looked back at the decaying building. "So this place has a bit of history," he said lightly. "All right then—let's head inside and see what those guys have been using it for."
He pushed the creaking door open and stepped in, Shawn following close behind, his cloak pulled tighter around his shoulders.
The entrance hall looked almost ordinary—dusty furniture, faded curtains, the kind of neglect expected from a place long abandoned. But Astro didn't let appearances fool him. He began checking the rooms one by one.
Before opening the first door, he stopped and looked at Shawn. "Stay out here. If there are traps, I'll deal with them first."
In truth, that wasn't the real reason. Astro could already smell what was behind the door, and he didn't want Shawn to see it.
He pushed the door open. As expected, the stench confirmed his suspicions.
Astro scanned each room carefully, eyes sharp for any useful clue. But there was nothing—just the grim evidence of cruelty. The floor was stained dark with dried blood, the walls marred with streaks where desperate hands had once clawed or struck. No bodies remained, no belongings, nothing that could tell him more. Just silence and stains.
He exhaled slowly and stepped back out. "Is there a basement?"
For a moment, guilt pricked at him. He had felt uneasy after killing those two wizards earlier. But standing here, seeing this, part of him wished he had drawn out their suffering first.
Astro clenched his jaw and shook the thought away. 'No. That's a dangerous rabbit hole. I can't let myself become like them.'
"Yes," Shawn said, his voice low. "The entrance should be right here." He pointed toward a half-hidden trapdoor.
Astro placed a firm hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'll check it. Stay here."
Shawn didn't argue. He only nodded, his clenched fists trembling at his sides. He already understood. His sister wasn't here.
Astro descended into the basement. The air grew heavier, damp and bitter. On the table, half-burned tobacco and scraps of food still lingered. He knew immediately—this had been the base of operations for their enemies.
Astro looked around and first inspected the counter, scanning through the scattered letters piled on top of it. Most of it was useless junk—scribbled notes, broken quills, half-burned papers—but a few stood out, their contents more sinister than the rest.
"Master is growing very dissatisfied with you, Kian. If you don't produce results within the next three months, you will be punished."
Another letter, harsher and messier, read:
"Are you completely unable to find even a semi- proper host for that magic? Are you even taking this seriously? Do you even understand what this magic entails? If we could find a host for this ancient lost magic, we would finally be able to make the sacrifice needed to summon the missing piece of our full strength."
Astro's grip on the paper tightened as he picked up the third.
"Forget about three months. It's been two years now, and still no results. Master is truly annoyed with you Kian, and there is nothing I can do."
The last one was even more venomous:
"I don't care if you found a suitable host, but if the host cannot withstand the magic, then it's useless. Just like you. Useless."
Astro set the paper down slowly, his expression hardening.
So these people have a superior… and that superior answers to someone even higher. He stroked his chin thoughtfully. The kind of figure who can control such a twisted group of people, all of them with strength on par with Fairy Tail's S-Class mages. Without a doubt, whoever this 'Master' is… he must be terrifyingly powerful.
Finding nothing more of worth on the counter, Astro moved deeper into the base and pushed open the door to the next room.
He froze for a moment.
The chamber was lined with crude experimental tools—glass tanks, rusted blades, magical instruments cracked and stained with residue. In the center stood a rough, blood-stained bed, and beside it, a vial filled with small, ominously glowing black lacrimas.
Astro's eyes narrowed as he searched through the papers on the desk. They were filled with records of failed experiments—grim logs of attempts to implant fragments of the black magic crystal into children, hoping to force a resonance strong enough to awaken the desired magic inside the children.. But none of them succeeded, all the children went through huge pain before finally dying.
According to the notes, the end goal was clear: to sacrifice one of the children in order to summon… something. Something of great interest to their so-called Master.
Astro's jaw tightened as he skimmed the entries, flipping through the list of names and failed cases. Then one detail stopped him cold.
One of the final case files.
He whispered the name to himself: "Sherria Blendy…"
His thoughts flashed instantly to the boy upstairs.
So she's his sister…
But this report was unlike the others. Sherria had survived longer than any of the other children—over three months. The records even marked her as a "suitable host." And yet, in the end, she too had failed.
Astro's eyes darkened as he read the last line.
"Subject deceased. Body disposed of at sea."
Astro could feel his emotions boiling over.
He pressed both hands against his head, forcing himself to calm down, steadying the storm in his chest.
After a long breath, he exhaled slowly and picked up the vial of black crystal, holding it up to the dim light. He studied it carefully, his eyes narrowing.
This energy… it feels almost identical to the black wind outside. Could this be the source?
He stayed still, focusing his senses. The faint signatures of the wizards who had gone to inspect the corpses suddenly shifted. They turned sharply and began sprinting back toward the base.
Astro's lips curled into a grim smile.
"So, you figured out the real intention of leaving the bodies behind… but too late."
His gaze flicked back to the room upstairs, and for a moment his composure slipped. The thought of those children clawed at him—innocent lives forced to swallow these cursed lacrimas, doomed to die screaming in agony. None of them had survived for long. None of them had even been given mercy.
Astro clenched his teeth, trying to suppress the storm of emotions threatening to overwhelm him. But each second made it harder.
Without wasting another moment, he dashed upstairs and scooped Shawn into his arms.
The boy, now used to being carried, didn't even protest. He only glanced up at Astro's face, sensing the tension but choosing silence.
As they stepped outside the inn, the ground beneath them shuddered violently. The island itself trembled as the black wind that had blanketed everything began to shift, gathering and swirling upward toward the peak of the mountain. Every wisp of that ominous energy, once scattered, was now converging on the temple above.
Shawn's eyes widened. "Looks like your friends did it."
Astro finally allowed himself a small smile. His mind, pulled back from the dark thoughts of moments before, settled on the faces of his guildmates.
The storm at his heart calmed down a bit but it still did not stop.
"Yeah… I told you to trust them."
Setting Shawn down gently, Astro's expression hardened again.
"Now all that's left is dealing with the ones here. Go hide and stay far away from this place, Shawn."
Shawn hesitated. "But… can you—?"
"Trust me." Astro ruffled his hair softly, a rare warmth in his touch.
The boy's eyes lingered for a moment, then he nodded and ran, slipping behind the ruins of the mansion to conceal himself.
Astro stood alone, his magic beginning to surge violently, purple winds coiling around him like a storm barely restrained.
One thing he despised more than anything was seeing other children endure the same isolation, the same pain, he once knew. His suffering had been lighter—he still had his sister to hold onto. But these children… they had died alone, with nothing but terror and pain in their final breaths.
Astro's jaw tightened as he stepped forward, the ground cracking faintly under the weight of his aura. He could feel them now—three powerful presences, closing in fast.
His fingers brushed the pocket where the black lacrima rested. He could sense every soul on the island—the safe children hidden by the beachside cave, Shawn's small figure retreating into the distance, Erza and Levy emerging from the temple above…
And those three bastards, their dirty presence rushing straight toward him.
Astro opened his mouth wide, and suddenly began inhaling massive gulps of air. It wasn't ordinary breathing—his chest expanded unnaturally, pulling in torrents of wind as if the atmosphere itself was being devoured. The ground shivered,all the air around him spiraling toward him as his magic swelled higher and higher.
Even from the mountain, Erza and Levy felt it. The pressure was so immense it pricked against their skin like needles of static. Erza didn't waste another second.
"Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!"
In a flash of light, her form shifted—the long armored skirt gleaming, the silver breastplate leaving her midsection exposed, and from her back unfurled a pair of radiant, steel-forged wings.
Without hesitation, she seized Levy by the waist and soared into the sky. The wings beat once, twice, and then the two shot forward, streaking toward the massive presence that was Astro. His magic wasn't just gathering—it was raging, building into something overwhelming.
They weren't the only ones to notice.
Just a while ago
Far below, three wizards were sprinting toward the base when they froze mid-stride, each one turning toward the disturbance.
"What now?" the white-haired man snarled irritably. His pace lagged slightly behind the others, forcing him to push harder. His irritation bled into his voice. "First our two men are killed, the culprit escapes, and now this? A magic presence like that right at our base? What the hell is going on today?"
"Isn't it obvious that there is an intruder on our island, Deacon?" the green-haired woman snapped back, her tone mocking. "Or do you think our men just tripped and died to some random beast?"
" Shut it, Somi. You too, Deacon."
The order came from the black-haired man at the front, his tall hat casting his sharp eyes in shadow. His tone left no room for argument. It was clear—this man, Kian, was their leader.
His mind worked quickly, sharper than his companions'.
I should have realized sooner. Those two were killed en route to the captives. Not only did the attacker ambush them, he slipped past our notice entirely. That means a sensor is at work. And if that's true, then the two most vulnerable points on this island are… the base and the temple.
As if the island itself answered his thoughts, the earth trembled violently. The three of them looked up in shock.
The black wind barrier, their impenetrable defense, was collapsing—drawn back toward the mountain peak. Their eyes widened. They knew how impossible it was to traverse that temple with its countless traps, how unlikely any intruder could make it through… and yet the proof was right before them.
"Damn it!" Kian spat under his breath, his jaw tightening. "Have we been blind this whole time? Multiple intruders, and we never noticed?!"
Still, he turned, forcing his group onward.
"We head for the base. The research is everything. If that's lost, all of this is meaningless."
And ahead of them, where the crumbling mansion stood, Astro continued to draw in the air—his magic boiling, coiling, ready to explode.
As the three dark mages reached sight of the ruined base, their eyes widened at the sight of a young man standing amidst the dust—his chest expanding unnaturally as he devoured the air around him in massive gulps.
Before they could even process what was happening, his body dissolved into a cloud of violet smoke.
"Sky Devil's Rage."
A demonic whisper slithered from behind them. A sudden shift in the atmosphere followed—an ear-splitting roar of wind bursting forth.
From Astro's mouth erupted a colossal breath attack shaped like a spiraling cyclone of purple air, tearing toward them with unstoppable force.
Somi and Deacon froze, their minds too slow to react, but Kian moved instantly.
"Seven-Colored Light Shield!"
Seven radiant, multicolored shields of solid light flared into existence before them, stacked like barriers of glass. The cyclone crashed into them, one after another shattering with thunderous detonations.
First shield—gone.
Second—splintered.
Third, fourth, fifth—obliterated in the blink of an eye.
By the time the seventh and final shield shattered, the others had just enough time to leap aside.
But their base was not so fortunate.
The purple cyclone tore through it mercilessly. The mansion, the laboratory, every scrap of wood, stone, and steel was devoured by the attack. The earth itself split and churned as the destructive wind ripped upward into the sky.
When the dust finally settled, the inn was gone. Not even rubble remained—just a deep, gouged scar in the earth where it once stood.
They looked back at the attacker and through the haze of smoke, a silhouette lingered. The faint glow of purple eyes pierced the dust, burning like embers in the dark. As the wind dispersed the dust, Astro's form became clear again—calm, steady, terrifying.
"That attack…" Kian finally spoke, his voice lower than before, tinged with disbelief. "Who are you? Impossible… Has the guild already succeeded?"
Astro narrowed his eyes. His words made no sense. Was this man delusional? Or…?
But before Astro could respond, rage overtook the green-haired woman. Somi's eyes burned as she glanced at the shattered remnants of their laboratory, her lips curling into a snarl.
"How dare you?! Do you have any idea how long we worked to reach this point?"
Slamming her palm onto the ground, a vast summoning circle ignited beneath her.
"Summoning Magic: Two-Horned Snake!"
"Wait, Somi", Kian spoke but Somi was lost in rage.
The ground split, and from it rose a monstrous serpent—forty meters long, scales glistening like black stone, two jagged horns curling from its skull. The beast let out a bone-rattling hiss before lunging at Astro, its massive head descending to crush him.
Deacon did not listen to Kian either, and his hands moved as well, cold mist swirling around him.
"Snow Burial!"
Two serpentine constructs of ice slithered forth from his magic, smaller but just as vicious, racing beside the larger beast.
Astro braced himself, preparing to counter—only to stop short.
A gleam of silver circling the sky flashed above him.
A figure dove from the sky, steel wings blazing as her blade arced downward.
"Erza," Astro murmured.
As if to answer his call, Erza's sword pierced deep into the two-horned snake's skull. With sheer force, Erza pushed forward, driving the beast back and dragging its summoner with it in one crushing sweep. Both the serpent and Somi were forced off the battlefield, crashing violently toward the mountain slope.
But there were still ice serpents coming towards Astro. As ice serpents lunged to strike, a radiant flame covered text appeared in the air saying fire. As the serpents slammed into the text, their icy bodies melted and cracked apart into vapor before they could even reach Astro.
Landing gracefully beside him in a flash of yellow and blue, another figure appeared.
"Levy", Astro whispered, finally after seeing the face of his friends, the storm in his heart stopped. Astro finally managed to calm down fully.
"I don't know who you are but if Astro decides to attack you, then you are our enemy." Levy said firmly, eyes sharp, her finger pointing accusingly at the stunned Deacon and Kian.
"And as Fairy Tail wizards… and you're going to regret ever crossing paths with us."
The blue-haired girl, Levy McGarden, glared at them with all the fury of her guild.