In a gray void, a young man with one purple eye and one orange eye watched a scene unfold on the screen before him. Many twisted memories were being played on the shards of screen all around him. But no matter how horrifying those memories were, he never once looked away.
"Laser magic: Type Five."
A younger Giel said it while laughing, white light erupting from his palm as the beam screamed through the air and tore into a nearby building, the structure offering no resistance as stone, wood, and iron were erased in an instant, the impact blooming into an explosion that swallowed everything inside and sent fire and debris bursting across the street.
The panicked screams came immediately…, pouring out from within the collapsing ruins as people who had been hiding inside were caught by the flames, their voices overlapping and breaking apart as fire consumed them alive, desperation bleeding into every sound.
"Mom—please help—!"
"Run with your brother, Tova."
"Where are you, Brina?"
"Please don't do this. Please."
Giel heard every scream, every plea, and he didn't stop. His grin widened as he casually shifted his wrist, the laser following his movement like a brush of light, carving across the town without resistance. Wherever it passed, buildings vanished, walls melted, roofs collapsed, entire homes were erased as explosions chained together, and the street was drowned in heat and fire.
"Haha… this is so fun…" he muttered, tilting his head as his eyes shone with manic delight. "I get it now… I really do. I understand why those people destroyed my home. I don't even blame them anymore. This is so damn fun… hahaha…hmm?"
His laughter faltered when he felt weak impacts against his leg, blows that didn't even register as pain, and when he looked down, he saw a small child standing there, tiny fists clenched as he struck Giel again and again.
"Bad guy… mom and dad are still there… please don't hurt them…"
The smile slowly drained from Giel's face, his expression flattening as he lowered his hand and cut the laser off mid-air, the sudden silence almost louder than the destruction had been. He raised that same hand again, pointing it directly at the child as white light gathered once more in his palm, his eyes cold and empty.
"If you care for them so much, why don't you join them too in the afterlife?"
But before he could fire the laser, a white hand grabbed his wrist.
"Enough."
Petra's voice cut cleanly through the chaos as she held him in place. "This child has a magic talent. Don't forget our purpose," she said with a sharp gaze as she glanced toward the others.
"I'm saying this to you, too, idiots. Only kill the useless ones. Keep the people with magic talent alive."
"Run, Juli! I'll hold them back!"
Giel looked sideways to see that an adult man was charging toward Liore in the distance. Liore only gave a small mocking sound to the charging man as his body twisted violently as Liore transformed into a gray muscular monster with the head of a lion.
Behind the charging man, a woman froze, her eyes widening as she saw her lover rushing forward with nothing but a broom clutched in his hands towards that monster.
"No—!" she screamed.
The monster didn't hesitate. It clenched its fist and brought it down, and in the reflection of the woman's eyes, she saw it clearly—her lover's body flattened instantly, reduced to gore as the ground beneath the impact shattered outward in a wide circle.
"Karlo!" she screamed, stumbling forward, her mind refusing to accept that just moments ago they had been dancing at the town festival, laughing together, that he had knelt with shaking hands and proposed with a diamond ring he had worked for years to afford.
But before Juli could reach the man—
A sound came from behind her, and when she turned around, she saw a massive white hand formed entirely of wind descending, curving overhead before slamming down and crushing her body completely in a single motion.
She couldn't even react to the attack.
A blood-soaked diamond ring rolled across the shattered ground, spinning softly before stopping at a pair of boots as Kalyx crouched down, picked it up, wiped the blood off on his sleeve, and slipped it into his pocket.
"Looks like this town has some value after all," he said casually. "This should sell for a while."
"They're not even checking properly anymore," Petra muttered as her bracelet pulsed faintly, drawing her attention to a woman fleeing through the burning streets with a crying child clutched in her arms, the child's small body covered in burns, his sobs weak and hoarse as smoke swallowed the road behind them.
"Chain magic: Chain Bind."
Petra clenched her fist, and chains erupted violently from the ground, wrapping around the woman's limbs and yanking her to a halt as the child slipped from her arms and fell onto the street, crying harder as pain wracked his small body.
"It's okay… it's okay…" the woman whispered desperately, struggling against the chains as she tried to crawl toward him. "Sidra… you'll be fine…"
Footsteps echoed behind her, slow and deliberate, and though she didn't turn, her body began trembling uncontrollably as a woman in a black strap dress stepped into her view.
"Please…" she sobbed, tears streaming down her face. "Please, at least let my child go. He's too young… please…"
Petra didn't look at her at first, raising her bracelet and aiming it at the child, watching as nothing happened, then calmly shifting her aim to the woman instead as the bracelet flared brightly.
The woman didn't understand what it meant, but dread crawled up her spine.
"Unfortunately," Petra said evenly, a twisted smile forming, "this child has no value. You should have given birth to a more useful child."
"NOO—! Please don't do it."
"Blazing Chain."
The woman screamed as she struggled harder, chains digging into her flesh, and Petra swung her arm as chains burst from the ground beneath the child, wrapping tightly around his small body.
"No—! NOOO—!"
In the woman's eyes, the chains ignited, flames racing along the links as her scream shattered beneath the roar of fire and destruction all around her.
That day, the whole town of Virezza was burned to ashes with thousands of people dying… The magic council came there later to investigate. In the end, they could not find any clue of who did it…just like they conveniently never found all the culprits who burned countless other villages and towns across the whole continent of Ishgar.
In the present time—
"Laser magic: Type Five!"
A massive beam tore through the air toward Swan, who sprinted forward and leapt upward, her body twisting midair as she spun rapidly, wind exploding outward from her movements.
"Spinning Whirlwinds."
The air around her condensed into a massive vortex, lightning flashing wildly as the laser was dragged into the whirl, its destructive force shredded and dispersed until nothing remained but fading sparks.
"This doesn't even make sense! How did the laser get absorbed by some whirlwind?" Giel shouted with fury as he raised his hand again. "Blade mag—"
"Too Slow."
But he never finished. Swan vanished and reappeared instantly in front of him, her foot slamming mercilessly between his legs.
"Ouch—! That was unfair, you bit—!" Giel screamed as he collapsed, clutching himself and curling on the ground.
Swan tilted her head, peering down at him with genuine curiosity. "Hey, I just wanted to see if pushing it back a little more would turn you into a girl. I mean, it was already hard to tell the difference."
"That's not how it works… ouch… ouch…" he groaned.
Footsteps approached from behind Swan, but she didn't bother turning, simply pointing over her shoulder. "Also, don't blame me… blame him for it… he asked me to do it."
Giel glared past her at Astro as he walked forward from Swan's left, his gaze accusatory, as if demanding how a man could order something so cruel. Astro didn't even bother answering to his gaze. His eyes locked with Giel's as the memories of Giel kept playing in front of Astro's eyes.
"Wind magic: Gale Propeller."
To Astro's left, Kalyx hovered in the air, wind spiraling violently around his legs like rotating blades. He took a peek at Astro but didn't dare use wind magic on him again, instead turning his attention to the enemy in front of him.
"Gold Make: Needles."
Graxia slammed one fist into her open palm, dozens of golden needles forming instantly in the air before firing toward Kalyx in a dense barrage. He twisted and weaved midair, dodging with sharp movements as his propellers roared.
"Wind magic: Gale Clutch."
Several massive wind-formed hands erupted from behind him and stormed toward Graxia. She flipped backward, narrowly avoiding the first as it slammed into the ground and cracked the earth beneath her. She landed cleanly, only to look up and see more hands descending.
"I've already figured out your weakness," Kalyx said confidently. "The gold you create is solid, so your attacks only move in straight lines. As long as I stay nimble, you can't touch me."
Graxia flipped again, dodging the hands effortlessly one after another. After finally getting a moment to breathe, she clasped her hands together as her eyes glowed gold. "You seem to think you've already seen everything."
She looked up at the incoming hands that were still descending toward her and whispered, "Trust me, you haven't."
On the other side of Astro, Liore—now fully transformed—reared back, his massive gray, muscular body crowned with a lion's head.
"Black Lion's Ray!" A thick black beam erupted from his mouth toward Percival.
"Heaven Drive Magic: Halo Disc."
Percival hurled his right axe, golden light enveloping it as it spun rapidly, flattening into a radiant disc. The disc and black ray collided midair, energy screaming as they clashed.
"You're exhausted," Liore roared. "You can't beat me!"
"I don't think so," Percival replied calmly, raising his hand as golden light flooded his palm. "An angel will never lose to a demonic monster like you."
The disc flared brighter as if it were responding to his emotions, slicing cleanly through the black beam and crashing into Liore's body in a blinding flash, severing his left arm and leg instantly.
"I am going to pay you back for all the time you destroyed my head."
Behind Astro, Petra leapt toward Vera, aiming a kick at her head—but the instant before impact, Vera's body glowed as yellow crystalline ice coated her completely.
"Radiant Magic: Crystal Form."
"Damn it."
Petra hissed in pain as her kick rebounded, landing crouched with both hands on the ground. "Chain magic: Chain Snakes."
Chains erupted violently around Vera, snapping toward her—but she simply walked forward. The first chain struck her body and recoiled with a sharp metallic clink, crystal meeting steel. Another chain followed, then another, all failing to pierce her armor.
Vera stepped closer.
"Tch—!" Petra clenched her fist, sending multiple chains to bind Vera from all sides, tightening with crushing force. Vera frowned slightly, noticing how tightly she was caught in it.
"Radiant Magic: Crystal Spike Form."
Glowing spikes burst outward from her body, shredding the chains instantly.
"Wait—we can talk—!" Petra panicked as Vera dashed forward.
"Sure," Vera said sweetly. "But before that…"
"Radiant Fist."
Petra blocked her face instinctively—but the punch slammed into her stomach instead. Yellow light flashed violently, crystalline ice erupting from Vera's hand and bursting through Petra's back in massive spikes.
"Gold Make: Liquid Gold!"
Graxia, on the other hand, thrust her hands forward as a massive blob of molten gold surged toward Kalyx like golden snakes… Kalyx tried to dodge them by flying away, but it was useless… the molten gold managed to wrap around him completely soon.
"It's just liquid—I can break through—what?"
The gold solidified instantly, trapping his lower body.
"Let me go!"
"As you wish." Graxia winked and clenched her fist.
"No—wait—agh!"
Golden light flashed as his lower body was obliterated.
Astro, who was at the center of all the chaos, continued walking toward Giel, his left eye glowing neon orange against the black sclera. Each step of his became heavier and heavier the more Astro digested Giel's memoirs. Golden flashes filled the battlefield behind him as the remaining enemies fell, but he didn't look back—as if he already knew the outcome.
"The more I look into those memories, the less guilty I feel about what I am about to do to you, Giel," Astro murmured coldly.
"What do you mean?" Giel asked in a trembling voice, seeing Astro's emotionless eyes. He subconsciously looked down to not meet Astro's eyes.
Astro didn't answer him; he instead stopped in front of Giel and lifted his chin, forcing their eyes to meet again. For a moment, Astro saw a shadow inside those eyes—a silver-haired man with green eyes.
"Imperium Eye… That's what that man called it… Hibiki also said it's the greatest mind magic on this continent," he murmured. "Then there is no reason I shouldn't be able to do this."
"W-what do you mean…?" Giel whispered again, every instinct of his screamed that he should run… as far away away as possible… After all, Giel could tell… If Astro saw him as a training dummy before, right now, he was not even bothering to acknowledge his existence.
Astro finally smiled faintly. "Ultimum vale, Gale… I hope your mind can recover in hell at least so you can experience every pain you caused to others."
"What?" Giel asked in confusion, but suddenly bright orange light filled his vision as something snapped inside his mind—and it snapped again— and again—his memories kept shattering as they collapsed into fragments under Astro's cold gaze.
"Imperium Eye: Mind Break."
The only thing Giel heard in his last moments was a whisper from Astro.
He gasped loudly as silver markings faded from his body in an instant, his form turning to dust as all the previous deaths finally caught up with him—then he shattered— into nothing…It's as if he had never existed.
The whole battlefield was silent for a moment as everyone's attention was fixed in that direction.
"What…what did you do to him?" Petra was the one who broke the silence as she shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice cracking as she stared at Astro.
"What did you do to Giel?" For a few seconds, she waited, as if expecting Giel to stand back up again—but the silence stretched for way too long… and reality finally settled in. Giel wasn't coming back.
Astro's left eye throbbed violently, pain ripping through his head, but his expression didn't change even slightly as he turned around to face Petra, who was now being held down by Vera.
"I realized something, how can a dead person come back on their own accord?" he said calmly. "No, it wasn't you guys who were reviving yourself….Those silver marks on your bodies connect you to another wizard—the one who placed that curse on you. He was supplying you with magic, reviving you again and again, no matter how many times you died."
"If that's just one person," Swan muttered, glancing at where Giel was before, "then he must be impressive."
"He was," Astro replied as he walked forward, each step slow and deliberate as Petra, Kalyx, and Liore lay restrained by the wizards who had defeated them. "He could reverse death. Heal fatal injuries." He stopped in front of Petra. "But there was a restriction."
Vera grabbed Petra by the hair and forced her head up, making her meet Astro's glowing eye.
"You still feel pain," Astro continued as he crouched down before her, "You remember every death. Every moment of suffering, even after you regenerate," His gaze sharpened. "That means he can't reverse your minds."
Petra's breathing grew shallow. She suddenly realized what Astro did to Giel…
"So all I had to do," Astro said softly, lifting her chin slightly and smiling faintly, "was destroy his mind into a million pieces. Remove his whole life experience from his mind as if he were never born. So even if he were regenerated again, it would only be an empty hollow, nothing else… "
"The wizard who gave you guys this curse also realized it, so he cut the connection directly to the useless Giel, like he is going to do with you after I am done with you, too."
Petra's eyes trembled. "You… you're—what's wrong with you?" she whispered, horror flooding her voice. The emptiness in his gaze felt terrifyingly familiar—too familiar. Just like…
"Are all you Devil Slayers this ruthless…?"
"I don't know how similar we are to each other…" Astro said without hesitation. "But as you said, I'm a Devil Slayer." His orange eye flared in her vision. "So, isn't it just fitting that I kill devils who wear human skin like you?"
"No…" Petra whimpered.
"Please…"
Her body shook as her mind started to snap too…little by little…
"Agh—!"
"I'm… sorry—"
"No…I am sorry… I am sorry…I am so… "
Her voice broke apart as the orange light swallowed her vision.