Inside the gala hall, Prince Avon looked at the red-haired Vera and the blue-haired Vera who were still guarding him… both seemed a bit troubled.
"What's going on with Green-haired Vera?"
Avon knew all three Veras' minds were connected like a hivemind… they could all see and experience what was happening with the others.
"Hey, don't call her Green- haired Vera… she can hear you too, you know," the red-haired Vera replied.
"Yeah, she especially changes her hair to yellow every time we clone ourselves, so don't call her green-haired Vera," the calmer blue-haired Vera added.
Avon blinked speechlessly. Why did they like roleplaying as if they were different people? They were the same person. And he still didn't understand why Green-Haired Vera hated her hair so much that she used magic again just to make it yellow in public.
"Just… say what's happening there."
"Well… It's complicated. The lacrima's been retrieved, but…"
"But what?"
The blue-haired Vera's face grew troubled. She didn't answer, but instead asked another question.
"Avon… how do you defeat someone who just doesn't die?"
"What?"
Outside at the outskirts of the castle
"Radiant Barrage."
At the outskirts of the castle, A barrage of yellow, crystallized ice shot toward a woman in a black strap dress, her body marked with silver sigils.
"Chain Magic: Mirror Swing!"
The woman shouted, swinging the chain in her right hand, deflecting all the crystallized ice back toward the sender—none other than Green… Yellow-Haired Vera.
"Radiant Crystal Wall!"
Yellow Vera slammed both hands on the snow-covered ground. In an instant, a massive yellow crystallized ice wall erupted, colliding with the attacks.
Petra gritted her teeth as she stared at the yellow wall.
"Stop hiding… You don't have to worry, I won't kill you right away. I want to make…. what?" She suddenly looked down, noticing a huge shadow enveloping her own.
"Gold Make: Sentinel Golem!" A shout came from behind. She turned just in time to see a golden fist larger than her entire body looming over her.
Boom.
The fist slammed into the snow-covered ground, sending snow flying and cracking the earth in a wide circle.
"I think we've killed her over fifty times already…" a girl with a golden hairband on her golden hair muttered, narrowing her eyes at the crushed Petra beneath her golden golem.
"Wind Magic: Raging Spear!"
She suddenly turned sideways as a huge spear hurtled toward her.
Before she could defend herself, a figure in a long white coat appeared between her and the magic attack.
"Honestly, with that wind magic, you should just sit this one out… " The figure inhaled the wind attack in one gulp.
"You again?" Kalyx shouted, seeing his attacks getting eaten again.
"Also, this is how you do it." Astro didn't care about his frustration; he instead conjured a hand-shaped wind spear in his right hand and threw it toward Kalyx.
"Sky Devil's Tempest Spear"
He released it with such velocity that the snow beneath it cleared from the sheer force.
"Damn it!"
Kalyx tried to jump, but the spear was too fast to dodge.
Boom.
A massive shockwave erupted, sending wind and snow flying.
Astro turned to look at the other two dark wizards still fighting with other kingdoms' wizards….he couldn't figure out how they had such power. Astro thought their immortality could be exhausted, but it doesn't seem to work at all… If only he could at least use his eye ability to see their past as he did with Lumina, maybe he could find an answer… but he had no idea how to open that eye at all.
Shaking his head, Astro looked behind him.
"Actually…It wasn't fifty times… that woman died a total of twenty-seven times, including… ."
"You're Astro Blackmist…" The golden-haired woman didn't wait for Astro to finish… her eyes instead gleamed as they locked on Astro's purple eyes.
"Hm? Yes, I am… I remember… you're from Bosco… right?"
"Graxia Radiatas. I'm a huge fan of yours."
"Oh, really…" Astro was a little surprised.
"Yeah… you are a huge motivation for our guild… You defeated Abel in Lunaris City. Everyone who mentions you does so with a bright smile… even though you didn't have to, you extended your hand to those in need. I wish to be—"
Astro's mouth twitched. He didn't even bother focusing on her last words anymore.
"We can talk about the past later…right now we need to…"
"Sure…I don't mind… we can also talk about our future after that…"
"Um… what?"
"I am a little worried for those two kids…" Inside the gala hall, Aurora whispered in a low voice. The situation inside had calmed a bit now. The Iceberg Kingdom's royal family wasn't letting anyone leave… probably waiting for the others to return with the lacrima. After all, they didn't want to show anyone just how incompetent they were—that two young wizards could come and go with their treasures anytime they pleased.
"I thought you would be more worried for Astro," Arthur said as he glanced at his wife.
"Well… he should be alright…" Aurora murmured, resting her head on her folded arms. Arthur's eyes swept over her face, noticing the intricate tattoo marks running above and below her eyes. Her irises glowed bright blue with a green outline, and the whites of her eyes had turned completely black.
"He is our son, after all… he inherited our talents. Those wizards with borrowed power can't defeat him… " Aurora continued in a low voice.
Arthur frowned a bit. "So Golvax isn't here? Only his minions?"
"No… but I can sense him. He's not too far away," Aurora replied. Her right eye gleamed brighter, and her vision extended far beyond the gala hall, stretching from Astro's location to faraway streets, widening further and further… until it locked on a distant clock tower.
Atop the tower, a man with sharp brown hair and a brown windbreaker sat on the edge. Aurora looked at him from above, narrowing her perception. The man also seemed to sense something weird and raised his head, and his red left eye flared, glowing unnaturally bright as they met Aurora's gaze.
"So… you really were here, Aurora," Golvax said in a cold, low-pitched voice. "Did you and Arthur really travel all this way for me? I am flattered. I really am."
Nearby, another figure hovered on wings, clearly one of Golvax's subordinates. He looked confused and pointed toward him. He didn't understand what the master was saying to him.
"Are you talking to me? Master?" he asked. Golvax didn't answer immediately. Instead, his gaze narrowed, locking on the subordinate. For a brief, terrifying moment, Golvax's left red eye flared with even greater intensity.
The subordinate's vision blurred violently. In seconds, both of his eyes shifted: blue irises circled by black, identical to Aurora's.
"I didn't expect you'd actually want… to kill your daughter, Golvax. You fell so low…" the subordinate said. The voice was still his, but the tone, the cadence, it was unmistakably Aurora's.
"You don't get to lecture me about how I treat my children, Aurora. After all, because of your ambition, both of your children had to lose their identity," Golvax said coldly, his gaze sweeping over the subordinate—now fully controlled by Aurora. The figure flew down, positioning himself at Golvax's eye level.
As Aurora's glowing blue eyes locked with Golvax's red ones, the subordinate spoke again.
"There is a difference between ambition and duty, Golvax. I did my duty as a queen to save my kingdom…, and as a parent, I made sure they could at least live—even if they forget everything about me."
Golvax's expression hardened. "Hmm. Your oldest was sold to that tower as a slave… while your youngest was locked in a cryosis chamber for most of his life because of that duty of yours. Shut the hell up, you don't deserve to lecture me about parenthood… Aurora Synaris."
The subordinate's eyes glowed even bluer. Everyone around Golvax felt the air grow heavy. They had no idea what was happening, but instinctively, they braced for battle.
"Don't test my patience, Golvax. The only reason you are alive right now is that I didn't want to kill a parent in front of their children. But… now…you are making me reconsider," Aurora said from the subordinate's mouth in a chilling tone.
"Reconsider?" Golvax asked evenly.
"Do you think I'm going to be scared and back off?" Golvax continued with a similar icy tone.
"Yes, you already are scared… If you were confident, then you would have come yourself, instead of sending your small goons, Golvax," Aurora—or rather, her controlled vessel—replied.
"You do have a point… I am not confident I could take both you and Arthur at the same time," Golvax admitted graciously. But then he paused, leaning slightly forward. "But you see, Aurora… despite having one of the greatest minds of this century, you seemed to forget one thing…I am a part of Abyss Howl."
His words cut off abruptly. Aurora's mind was pulled violently into a black vortex, her consciousness spiraling into complete darkness.
Aurora looked around in the void. Her senses strained as footsteps echoed softly against the unseen ground. A figure approached, shrouded in shadow behind her.
"Aurora Synaris… the current ruler of the Kingdom of Sin…We meet again… how long has it been? Twelve years?" the figure asked casually.
"Vindex?" Aurora's eyes widened seeing the new figure.
Outside
"Heaven Drive Magic: Thousand Slashes!"
Outside, Percival swung his axe, cutting Giel into countless pieces, each strike precise and merciless.
But in a silver flash, Giel reformed—completely intact, and now entirely naked.
"You know… I wish you guys could at least recover clothes too," he said speechlessly looking at the fully naked figure, "then I wouldn't have to see such a pathetic—"
He didn't finish. Giel subconsciously looked down, realizing exactly where Percival's gaze was looking.
"Hey! This isn't that small!" he shouted defensively.
"I didn't mention the size….anyway, you should look out," Percival replied, glancing sideways.
"What?"
Giel followed his gaze only to see a bunch of wind blades spinning toward him, with deadly precision.
"Spinning Blade!"
In an instant, Giel's body was shredded into pieces again, the wind blades cutting with relentless speed.
From above, a graceful, dark-skinned woman landed elegantly on the snow, her boots crunching softly against the frozen ground.
"Agh…Can you guys just not give up…" Giel groaned as he reassembled yet again, groaning at the sheer absurdity of his situation. He looked up at his attackers, ready to protest, but before he could speak…
Swan's eyes drifted downward between his legs. She blinked twice at it before looking at Percival.
"I didn't know it was so… small for you guys," she said, tilting her head. "What's the difference between even having it or not having it?"
"Trust me, it is only his…"
"I said it's not small…" Giel began shouting, but seeing that Swan was looking at him with disappointment and Percival was looking at him as if he was destroying the image of all men…
"You bastards…I said it's not small…"
"Laser Magic: Type Five!"
"Blade Magic: Rolling Blade Ball!"
"Fire Magic: Burning Blaze!"
Giel unleashed every magic in his arsenal towards them, shouting on top of his lungs…
Inside the mind space
"Vindex," Aurora murmured in a low voice as she took in the figure before her.
"You don't seem all that surprised to see me…" Vindex's green eyes opened slowly, locking onto hers with a piercing focus.
"I did mind-control someone you marked… It's not surprising that you can pull me into your mind space," Aurora said evenly, as she looked around the pitch-black space around her. "But I have to admit… I've never seen such a darker mind space before."
Vindex chuckled, the sound echoing eerily in the void.
"Why are you bothering to step into my plan again, Aurora?" Vindex asked as he circled her slowly, his voice was calm but laced with menace. "You should know what happened last time you interfered…."
"The only thing I remember is you running away the moment that thing arrived," Aurora replied, her gaze sharpening into a blade of pure focus. "You're the one who should avoid me, Vindex…After all, a battle between us would surely wake that monster up. "
"You're right…" Vindex's tone softened. "He hates me the way he hates all the dragons. If I step out now, he'll come for me too… what a pain he is."
"So you should just give up the lacrima, Vindex…I know we can't defeat you, but that thing…surely can."
Vindex smiled faintly, tilting his head as he stopped right in front of her. "You know I can't afford to, Aurora. That lacrima is the last one I need. So I would really appreciate it if you and your husband didn't interfere."
Aurora's lips curved into a mocking smirk, her eyes locked with his as she looked up, meeting his gaze. "And what exactly can you do if we do, Vindex? Going to send your devil slayers after us?"
Vindex did not answer; he instead glanced at her right eye—the blue one blazing like a blue star in the darkness.
"No… "
"I don't think any of them could stand against the Imperium Eye of the Synaris family."
Aurora's eyes flickered; she asked in a teasing tone. "Oh, so… you can still see the future?"
For the first time in their confrontation, Aurora noticed a flicker—a tiny crack in Vindex's gaze. Something in him wavered.
"You… I was wondering why your son can break the timeline… don't tell me…" Vindex's green eyes widened, a flicker of shock betraying his usual composure.
"Well… looks like it worked," Aurora said, a small, satisfied smile playing on her lips.
Outside
Astro slammed his foot into the transformed Liore, sending him crashing into the frozen ground. A massive crater erupted beneath him, snow and ice scattering in every direction. Cracks spiderwebbed across the terrain, and trees splintered and fell, littering the battlefield.
But the fight was far from over.
Astro's breath became heavier now. He hadn't expected these dark wizards to regenerate so many times. Do these guys really have infinite regeneration?
He glanced back. Percival, Vera, Swan, and Graxia were all panting, bodies slick with sweat even in this cold weather. The prolonged battle was pushing them to their limits. And these opponents weren't weak—killing them repeatedly demanded a lot of magic every time.
"You know… I'm starting to think our understanding of magic is all wrong," Percival muttered, pushing himself upright. His gaze flicked to the silver-marked enemies. "It's like they have unlimited magic—or maybe it isn't magic at all, at least not in the way we know it."
Astro narrowed his eyes, staring at Giel, Petra, Liore, and Kalyx. They had been burned, slashed, and shattered countless times—but their bodies remained intact. Mostly intact, at least. Clothes were shredded, but the flesh beneath was untouched. Whatever power they wielded, it didn't extend to material creation at least.
"Could it be alchemy?" Graxia said suddenly, breaking the tense silence.
"Alchemy?" Astro turned sharply toward her. His focus wasn't on whether it was alchemy or not….he suddenly realized something he completely overlooked.
"Yeah," she replied. It's not common in Ishgar, thanks to the council's influence, but it exists."
Astro's focus shifted. Yes, magic wasn't the only power system in the world. He had overlooked something more crucial…something far beyond conventional magic… something a bit darker...
A red mark began to creep up from the lower left side of his face. He closed his eyes, feeling the new energy crawl slowly toward his eye. The mark continued upward, spreading across his forehead, glowing ominously.
"What… what are you doing, Astro?" Percival asked, sensing the energy shift as well. He couldn't see the mark from behind, but he could feel the presence of something eerily similar in Astro to the power flowing through their enemies.
Astro's eyes snapped open. His right eye glowed the familiar purple, but his left… his left was a neon orange iris encircled by a sharp, pulsating purple border. The white part of the eye was completely black now as well.
"What… what is that?" Giel whispered, locking eyes with him. But before either could react, the world around Astro dissolved.
Suddenly, he was in a gray, void-like space. Memories poured into his mind—not his own, but Giel's. He wasn't living them; it was as if he were watching a broadcast on a screen, scenes unfolding with terrifying clarity.
"Hey… you shouldn't have let that guy into our guild without a background check, Giel…" Petra's voice echoed in the memory. She and Giel were seated at a table, the rest of the guild partying in the background.
"I get it, it was my mistake. But the master didn't complain… so why are you scolding me?" Giel's voice was annoyed.
"If you want to be vice master, then you should—agh…" Petra suddenly collapsed, writhing in pain.
Giel's body convulsed as well, suddenly. "What… what's happening… agh…" His eyes darted frantically, scanning the room. Everyone was collapsing, suffering the same invisible torment. And finally, Giel crumpled to the floor, gritting his teeth against the unseen pain as silver marks began to appear on his body.
Astro, who was going to continue seeing his memory, suddenly felt his mind pushed back by something… When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a darker void space…
"What's going on now?" Astro murmured; suddenly, he heard two voices near him.
"You… I was wondering why your son can break the timeline… don't tell me…" Vindex's green eyes widened, a flicker of shock betraying his usual composure.
"Well… looks like it worked," Aurora said, a small, satisfied smile playing on her lips.
"I never expected you to be so ruthless… to use your own son as a weapon against me," Vindex said, narrowing his eyes sharply.
Suddenly, both of them broke eye contact, turning their gazes in the same direction.
"Use me as a weapon…"
A black-haired teenager appeared, his eyes widened with surprise as he took in the two figures before him.
"How did you get in here?" Vindex asked subconsciously, his voice taut with surprise. His gaze fell on Astro's left eye—and froze. A mark identical to Aurora's adorned the eye that was glowing orange with a pitch-black sclera around it.
"The Imperium Eye…" Vindex murmured, realization dawning. Somehow, Astro had entered the mind space through one of those he had marked.
"Astro…" Aurora breathed, her eyes widening. She hadn't expected her son to possess the strength to break through into this domain already.
"What do you mean, a weapon…?" Astro asked in a sharp voice, looking at Aurora.
"..." The only thing that met his answer was silence.
"What do you mean, a weapon?" Astro asked again in a slightly louder tone.
"Astro…" before Aurora could answer, darkness surged over Astro's vision, and a force pulled him violently back. In the blink of an eye, he was standing once again in the snow, back in the real world.
In the mind space
"Astro," Aurora shouted, seeing her son disappear all of a sudden, before she could finish.
Vindex's calm, sinister smile returned. "So… he didn't know. I have to say, Aurora, we are more alike than I thought. We both like to use people who trust us… and then discard them in their worst, like the toys they are."
"I am nothing like you, Vindex," Aurora spat in an icy tone.
"Guess we'll see soon enough…" Vindex said, his grin widening.
"What? Suddenly not afraid of that thing anymore? You're going to come out?" Aurora's voice took on a mocking edge. But Vindex could sense how Aurora's mind connection was faltering now due to messy emotions.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, Aurora," Vindex replied smoothly, leaning in her right ear. "You see, there just happens to be someone in the earthland who fears Acnologia even more than I do. I temporarily gave his subordinates a lacrima… just to acquire one of his contingency measures against that dragon."
Aurora's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
Vindex leaned even closer, "It means your weapon didn't fully mature in time."
"I already knew from the start that you'd be at the Iceberg Kingdom trying to stop Golvax… and I knew Golvax wouldn't be able to handle both you and Arthur together. So… Instead, I'll stop you two myself. Without Acnologia intervening, this won't be like twelve years ago anymore. Aurora… "
"Oh, and give my regards to Arthur as well. After all, I would hate to separate such a loving couple."
His voice was calm, but the menace behind it was absolute. Vindex's eyes flared with an intense green, and he took his head back a bit so that it hovered mere centimeters above Aurora's, the weight of his gaze pressing down on her like iron.
"See you soon, Aurora. The greatest female wizard of Ishgar. I hope you don't disappoint me like the last time."
And then, as abruptly as it began, the mind space shifted. Aurora felt herself being pulled back—twisting, spinning, disoriented—until she suddenly found herself back in the gala hall.
"Damn it."
Outside
"Hey, Astro… are you okay?" Percival asked.
Something was wrong. Astro was leaking a completely different kind of energy on top of his own magic.
"Yeah," Astro replied quietly. "I think I figured out a way to defeat them. I want you all to trust me."
There was something off about his voice. To everyone behind him, it sounded… weighed down. Almost hollow and emotionless. There was no more playfulness in that tone.
"Got it. What do we do?" Graxia asked as she stepped forward, slipping into a fighting stance.
"Wait, I don't think I have a reason to trust you," Swan said coldly, staring at Astro's back.
Vera also continued, "I don't want to trust someone who's a mistress—"
"Shut up," Astro turned around to look at Vera.
For the first time, they saw it clearly.
His left eye glowed neon orange.
"I'm not in the mood for jokes right now," Astro continued in a low, cold voice as the orange glow intensified. "Either give something useful—or follow my lead."
None of them stepped back—but a chill crawled straight into their bones the moment they met that eye. Everyone froze for a moment, looking at Astro.
Percival was the first to break eye contact.
He glanced at the four dark wizards, then looked back at Astro.
"I don't mind following your plan if it works," he said. "But I'll ask you again. Who are you? Are you still the same person?"
Astro met his gaze without hesitation. He knew Percival could sense it—the energy from his eye was the same kind flowing through their enemies' marks.
"I'm still Astro Blackmist," he said evenly. "A wizard from Fairy Tail."
"I see," Percival replied. "Then what's the plan—oh."
"Wait, just like that?" Swan snapped. "You're not even going to explain that mark or that eye—"
Astro looked at her.
Just one look.
Swan froze again, looking at that eye.
Her breath caught as a flood of information slammed into her mind without warning.
Astro looked at each of their eyes before finally turning away, his gaze locking onto the four dark wizards.
"We don't have much magic left," he said coldly. "We will have only one chance to do this. If you are scared, just go back to the gala where you will feel safe."
Silence followed for a moment.
Then—
"Gold Make Magic: Batons."
Two golden batons formed in Graxia's hands. She swung them once and spread her stance, eyes narrowing as she locked onto Kalyx.
Vera's fists glowed with radiant yellow light as she fixed her gaze on Petra.
Swan bent her knees, her leg muscles tightening, as her eyes locked on Giel.
Above them, Percival's massive white wing flapped once as he levitated into the air, positioning himself behind Astro. His eyes settled on Liore.
"So you guys still have some magic left." Petra hissed, spreading her legs as silver markings pulsed across her skin. "Good. It won't be fun if you guys just give up. You guys attacked us so many times. After this, I'll return the pain to you a million times over."
The others around her mirrored her movement as well… All of them obviously had the same opinion as her.
"Let's go," Astro whispered coldly as the ground beneath his feet cracked.
"I can't wait to torture you all," Petra snarled as the earth beneath her shattered as well.
Snow continued to fall.
For one heartbeat, the battlefield was silent.
Then—
BOOM.
Both sides launched forward at the same time, colliding in the middle as the frozen ground exploded beneath their charge.