Astro looked at everyone and shrugged. "This is the best option if we want revenge on those who attacked us. They were most likely Minions of Margrada — the one who posted the job. And she's the sister of the current queen. Even if we get our revenge, it could cause a much bigger problem later on."
Gray chewed that over for a moment. "Sounds complicated," he said finally, "but we're among the strongest in Fairy Tail. If we just let that fraud go, it won't only damage our reputation—others will start walking all over our guild. We need to make an example out of this."
Astro blinked, a little surprised. Gray wasn't exactly Erza when it came to strategy, but he clearly understood the stakes.
Astro turned to Cana and Shawn. "What do you two think?"
Cana set her barrel down with a heavy thud. "They had the nerve to try and ambush Fairy Tail," she said, eyes flashing. "Of course they're going to pay."
Shawn's jaw clenched. "It was supposed to be my first mission. It's unforgivable that they sabotaged it," he added.
Astro nodded. He had expected this. That was the whole reason he'd agreed to Sylvain's deal: Sylvain could be useful for damage control. After they got their revenge, they'd have both justice and a reward.
Sylvain, for his part, understood he was being used. The insult stung his pride, but he also knew he couldn't stand against the royal family's wizards and Margrada's forces by himself—not even with Master Riser's help. Joya had no guild with the strength to back him. His best chance was to use these wizards to level the playing field. As long as Margrada and Queen Velmora were removed, he could handle the political fallout afterward.
Astro didn't care much about Sylvain's state of mind — as long as he was useful, that was all that mattered. Instead, his attention turned to Ichiya, the obvious leader of Blue Pegasus. If Ichiya agreed, the rest of his team would follow.
For once, Ichiya's expression was serious. He folded his arms, thinking carefully before asking,
"Tell me, Astro… do you have a plan moving forward? Or are you planning to just barge into the castle right away?"
Astro smiled faintly. "Of course I have a plan," he replied vaguely.
Ichiya immediately understood why Astro wasn't explaining further — too many ears in the room. After a moment of thought, he came to his own conclusion.
"Well then, Astro," he declared dramatically, "the Trimens of Blue Pegasus will assist you on your conquest, menn!"
Surprisingly, the three younger men behind him didn't pose this time.
The first to step forward was a brown-blond young man adjusting his tie with a cool grin. "It does pain me to take two women as my enemies," he said, "but I suppose there's no choice. A team-up between Fairies and Pegasus is rare… though I heard once that Boss and Erza from your guild worked together before." His eyes flicked to Astro. "I'm Hibiki Lates — Archive Magic user."
Next came the tall, dark-haired man. His tone was calm and clipped. "Ren Akatsuki. Air Magic."
Astro raised an eyebrow. 'So this guy doesn't talk much… but Air Magic, huh? Also—Ichiya and Erza teamed up before? I wonder how that went.'
He nodded politely at both of them, then turned to the last Blue Pegasus member—who was currently red in the face as he looked at Cana.
"Miss Cana," the boy stammered shyly, "can I be your younger brother?"
Cana paused mid-sip, holding her barrel of alcohol in one hand before smirking and handing him a mug. "What? You wanna drink too?"
Astro sighed, stepping in before things spiraled. "Cana, no matter how you look at it, he's still not even fifteen. Don't corrupt the boy."
The boy blinked as he almost was going to drink the alcohol, realizing his mistake, and quickly returned the mug. "Well… we'll drink when I'm older, big sister," he said with a grin. "My name's Eve — Eve Tearm. I use Snow Magic."
At that, Shawn suddenly froze. Astro noticed immediately and patted his shoulder. Eve tilted his head. "Is everything okay?"
Before Astro could speak, Shawn answered quietly, "It's fine. I just… had some bad memories with someone who used Snow Magic before."
Eve softened a little. "Then don't worry. I won't hurt you. You have my word." He smiled gently — he didn't dislike Shawn unlike other men, and as the youngest of their respective teams, he felt a quiet camaraderie with him.
Astro's gaze shifted to the only person still undecided — Totomaru.
"So?" Astro asked flatly. "You in or out?"
Totomaru was conflicted. According to Phantom Lord's rules, this kind of reckless alliance and actions were exactly what they accused Fairy Tail of doing. But as he looked around the room — even Blue Pegasus agreeing to join — his pride wouldn't let him back down.
Clenching his teeth, he growled, "Fine. I'll join. But don't think for a second I'll take orders from you."
Astro nodded calmly. "That's fine. Just try to keep up. Sylvain's going to guide us — he knows where we need to go first."
"I said I won't listen to you!" Totomaru barked again, but Astro ignored him, turning instead toward Sylvain.
The green-haired prince cracked his neck with a grin. "Of course," he said smoothly.
In the royal castle, a black haired beautiful woman sat alone in a sunlit chamber, her elegant figure framed by tall windows that overlooked the serene blue sky. Dressed in a gown of deep blue trimmed with gold, she looked barely twenty-five — graceful, poised, and lethally calm.As she lifted her crystal glass and took a slow sip of wine, the soft creak of the door broke the silence.
She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
"Margrada, you never came at this hour before," the woman said in a monotone voice, not even bothering to look back.
Another breathtakingly beautiful woman in her twenties stepped into the room. Her sky-blue hair framed a sharp, confident face, and her eyes — the same cool blue as the woman seated — glimmered with faint amusement. She wore a light blue blouse tucked into fitted pants that reached just below her knees, and a long, airy windbreaker fluttered behind her as she walked.
"What's this? Now that you've claimed the throne, you don't need me anymore, Velmora?" she said with a teasing smile.
There was no hint of respect in her tone — no acknowledgment of her sister's position as queen. She spoke as if she were the true owner of the royal castle, not a guest.
Velmora's lips twitched with irritation before she quickly smoothed her expression back into regal calm.
"Of course I still need you as much as you need me, my dear sister," she said, setting her glass down gently. "Now, why are you here?"
Margrada smirked and gestured toward the doorway. Another figure stepped inside — a woman veiled from head to toe, her presence cold and unsettling. Only her sharp emerald eyes were visible through the gauzy green fabric.
Velmora's composure cracked for the first time. Her eyes narrowed.
"What is she doing here? Why did you bring her, Margrada?"
"Now, now, don't get worked up," Margrada said lazily, twirling a strand of her silvery hair. "She just has some… interesting information for us."
As if on cue, the veiled woman's eyes glowed with an eerie green light. Velmora's instincts made her look up — and the moment their eyes met, her mind was yanked somewhere else.
Her surroundings dissolved into a blur, and suddenly she was seeing through someone else's eyes — a prisoner's eyes. Chains clinked. Around her were several captured wizards, locked in a dim chamber.
Then, the door burst open. Four young figures entered the room.. Velmora's breath caught as she watched them break the restraints and free the captives. One of them — the one whose presence she guessed was the leader of that squad — moved toward a sealed chamber she had prayed no one would ever find.
The vision snapped.
Velmora gasped and clutched her chest, her wineglass nearly slipping from her fingers. Panic flickered across her otherwise stoic face.
"What is the meaning of this, Margrada?! If those wizards escape and report us to the Magic Council, it would be disastrous for the kingdom!"
Margrada only smiled, picking up an apple from the golden bowl beside the table.
"Relax. Most of them have already been captured again. You know I'd never let such a fine source of magic energy go to waste."
Velmora's shoulders dropped in relief — but only for a second.
Margrada's grin widened. "Well… most of them," she said lightly, taking a bite of the apple. "A few, I suspect, are still out there at this moment — and helping Sylvain."
Velmora froze. "Wait—Sylvain also escaped? With wizards?" Her voice rose in disbelief and fear.
Margrada chewed slowly, her green eyes gleaming with amusement. "Haha.. Don't send anyone after them just yet. You still don't know the location of the Aetherkrone, do you? Your ex-husband never told you."
Velmora stiffened.
Margrada leaned closer, lowering her voice. "Only those of royal blood can find it. Let Sylvain run loose for now. He'll lead us straight to it — and once he does…"
She smiled darkly, finishing the apple in her hand. A faint shimmer rippled across its surface, and then the fruit began to crumble into glowing dust, disintegrating until not even a trace remained.
But Margrada didn't notice the tiny tremor that ran through Velmora's body when she mentioned the previous king. The veiled woman did notice however. Her emerald eyes narrowed for a moment, though she said nothing to Margrada.
"And how do you know Sylvain won't use the Aetherkrone against us?" Velmora asked, voice tightened. "That artifact is the foundation of this kingdom — and both of us know that it could be used to destroy an entire nation."
Margrada only smiled as she swayed her hips and drifted toward the door. "You worry too much," she said lightly. "I will handle anything that comes up. For now, don't interfere until I give the order." She paused at the threshold, then turned as Velmora's voice stopped her.
"Before you leave," Velmora said, eyes sharp, "tell me — who had the nerve to free Sylvain and the others?"
Margrada didn't answer. Instead she glanced toward the veiled woman. The woman's voice came low and measured.
"Fairy Tail," she said. "From Fiore. Their master is one of the Ten Wizard Saints — said to be among the strongest."
Velmora's shoulders loosened almost imperceptibly. If their enemy's master wasn't in Joya, then immediate retaliation would be difficult. She forced herself to remain calm. "Those who came… are they strong enough to defeat you and your elite squad, Margrada?"
Margrada scoffed. "Of course not, they did not even fight my men head on. They ran away as fast as they could."
Velmora said nothing at first, digesting the reply.
"Listen, Margrada," she said finally, quiet but sharp. "I know you underestimate your enemies at times — even he would agree." Her voice hinted at a memory she wouldn't speak aloud.
Margrada's smile never faltered. "That's my problem to solve, don't worry. I promise that at the end of this, they would regret ever stepping foot on our territory." she replied, and swept out of the room, the veiled woman gliding behind her. The veiled woman paused at the door, cast one last look back at Velmora, then followed Margrada into the corridor. The chamber fell into a stunned silence, the echo of their footsteps lingering like a promise and a threat.
Meanwhile, it took the entire night for Astro and the others to reach their destination. They had to move carefully, masking their presence as they slipped out of that wretched place and made their way to the mountains just outside the capital city.
"You know," Astro began, glancing toward Sylvain as they trudged through the misty terrain, "it's strange. That prison was far too underguarded to keep someone of your level locked up, not to mention so many wizards from other kingdoms."
He wasn't wrong — they had faced very little resistance leaving that place. Only a few puppet guards were there, and it was too easy to get around without alerting them.. Even the other imprisoned wizards seemed to have managed to escape the prison.
Sylvain's emerald eyes glimmered faintly in the moonlight as he replied, "Yes… it's odd. But that woman, Margrada, has always underestimated her enemies. It's one of her fatal flaws." His tone darkened slightly. "What puzzles me is why she would invite wizards from different kingdoms only to imprison or kill them. Was it just for pleasure? Or something else?"
Astro shrugged. "Well, there has to be a good enough reason to make an enemy out of so many wizard guilds. Even if her sister is now the queen of a kingdom.."
Before Sylvain could respond, a faint rumble echoed through the mountains. The entrance of the cave before them began to shift — stone sliding against stone — revealing a narrow passage lit by a cold blue glow. Sylvain's expression hardened.
"Whatever the reason is," he muttered under his breath, "I have a bad feeling about this."
His voice was low, but Astro's sharp hearing caught it clearly.
As the last of the rocks ground aside, a heavy aura poured from the darkness within. Someone was coming. Astro tensed instinctively — that presence was very strong, like a deep ocean hiding storms beneath.
"Well," a voice said from the shadows, deep and weary but still commanding, "you made me wait long enough. My old body might have turned to dust if you took another week."
A tall, white-haired man stepped out from the dim light of the cave. His long white hair was tied loosely behind his back, and his eyes gleamed like polished steel. His aura alone was enough to make the air around him vibrate faintly.
"Master Riser," Sylvain said, a hint of genuine relief in his tone.
Astro watched silently. He could feel it — this man's power was immense, greater than most he had ever encountered. But one question lingered in his mind:
Why was a wizard this strong… hiding in the shadows of a mountain cave?