In the colosseum,
Countless screens were seen floating in the air, each one showing a different participant scattered across the sky islands. The crowd's eyes darted from one to another at first, but… gradually, most of the attention began to gather on a single screen… because unlike the others who had been teleported gently onto the earth, one figure had appeared high in the sky above the sky islands.
He was free-falling toward the island beneath him, windbreaker fluttering wildly in the wind, when a massive crow suddenly dashed toward him at a speed that completely contradicted its enormous size. Its wings sliced through the air with terrifying precision as it aimed straight for him midair.
Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched. "It's a bit weird that he would meet a monster before he even lands on the ground…" he thought, his gaze shifting subtly toward the announcer's stand. More specifically, toward Izen, the one in charge of the teleportation process.
Aurora folded her arms as she followed his line of sight. "Well… It's probably because Astro did not remove that mark on his face. Although most of the people in Ishgar don't know what that mark symbolizes, people would still think he is connected to Siegrain now…" she said in a helpless tone in her mind.
Arthur's lips curved upward faintly as he looked back at the screen. "Well… the mark probably also makes him feel more connected to him, I would guess. Even as a child, Astro was adventurous enough to live exactly how he wanted. He never cared about what people— especially those who aren't close to him—would think about him…" he thought with quiet amusement.
Aurora smiled softly. "Yeah… he is a lot like you in that way… although I hope he doesn't take your old profession back…" she said teasingly in her mind.
Arthur let out a silent laugh. "Haha… he has the best of us. My adventurous nature and your self-control. I don't think we have to worry that much, Aurora…"
Even through the screen, Arthur could read him clearly. On the outside, Astro looked completely nonchalant despite the enormous bird hurtling toward him with murderous intent. But Arthur could see it—the faint spark hidden in his eyes. Excitement. The kind that only appeared when danger was close enough to taste.
"They would soon surpass even us, wouldn't they?" Arthur murmured, smiling as he kept watching the screen.
Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall,
Levy instinctively covered her mouth as soon as the creature came into full view.
"The Mudi Crow… why did they allow it over the city? Doesn't it eat humans, too? And not to mention…" she said, her voice trembling slightly as she stared at the screen.
Erza narrowed her eyes as she stepped closer. "It is something you would only see in S-Class missions. Its flying capability and slippery nature make it extremely hard to hit while it plays with its food," she said in a serious tone. Mira, standing beside her, nodded in agreement.
Gray crossed his arms and grinned confidently. "It's fine. Flying capability? That's not a problem for Astro at all,"
On the sky island,
The enormous crow was almost upon him now. Its shadow swallowed Astro entirely as its massive beak opened wide, aiming to devour him in a single bite. Astro simply watched it approach, his body still falling freely through the air, the wind roaring past him as the beak closed in… closer… closer… until it swallowed him whole.
The crow snapped its beak shut triumphantly, intending to crush its prey instantly. But the moment it applied pressure, it felt… nothing.
Instead, thin strands of purple smoke began to seep out from between its beak.
???
The crow paused midair.
It slowly opened its mouth again, only to find emptiness again.
A faint trail of purple smoke dispersed into the wind.
???
The giant bird tilted its head slightly, multiple question marks practically forming above its face, as if it genuinely wasn't sure whether it had just hallucinated its own meal.
Inside the giant colosseum,
The entire arena gasped at once. A little child in the front row immediately covered her eyes in fright when she saw Astro being swallowed by the monster. She squeezed them shut tightly, her small fingers trembling, but after a few seconds of silence, she slowly peeked through the gaps between them.
"Mom… what is that?" she suddenly asked. Not only her, but everyone else also noticed something was wrong.
On the massive screen, right above the giant crow, a brilliant purple light began to shine. As the camera quickly zoomed in there, the entire colosseum saw it clearly—a black-haired young man descending from the sky, holding a massive purple wind sphere in his hand. The energy twisted violently, compressing and expanding at the same time, lighting up his figure against the clouds.
"Turning his body into smoke… he is pretty good…" Izen said from the commentator's seat, narrowing his eyes slightly while a faint smile formed on his lips.
On the sky island,
Astro descended rapidly toward the giant crow with the enormous wind ball swirling in his palm. The air currents whipped around him, making his hair and clothes flutter wildly, but his gaze never wavered. His purple eyes were locked firmly onto the creature below.
Within a second, he was almost directly above the crow's head. His right hand stretched downward, the compressed wind sphere humming violently as it was about to crash into its target.
At that exact moment, the crow finally sensed the danger. With a single powerful flap of its wings, it shifted its massive body backward at astonishing speed.
Astro's attack missed by inches, and he continued falling.
The crow stared at him as he dropped past it… and Astro also calmly turned his head midair to look back at the monster.
"Good… you still have energy to dodge. You will do," he said with a small grin. For a brief moment, his left eye transformed. It turned into a bright neon orange, the sclera darkening around it, radiating an eerie pressure that lasted no more than a second.
The crow's red eye met Astro's glowing orange one.
Then it was gone.
Astro's eyes returned to their usual bright purple as if nothing had happened.
But the crow froze in midair, left in a visible daze.
Astro casually shook his right hand, dispersing the purple wind sphere into harmless particles before continuing his freefall toward the island below. The giant crow only remained stunned for a moment before shaking its head violently and diving down after him.
"What is happening?! Astro missed his attack… and the crow is chasing him again! The battle is not over yet?" the announcer shouted in surprise.
A small, twisted smile formed at the corner of Izen's mouth as he observed the screen silently.
Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall,
"Why isn't Astro trying to fly? At this rate, he will be eaten!" Elfman shouted in frustration. Many others felt the same as they watched the crow rapidly close the distance. Its massive beak was nearly touching Astro's leg, yet he showed no sign of dodging.
"Is he planning to turn into smoke again?" Levy asked anxiously, trying to understand his strategy. But there was no sign that Astro intended to do that.
Everyone stared at the screen intensely… and then suddenly, to everyone's shock, the crow accelerated sharply.
Now, both of them were side by side, falling headfirst toward the ground at terrifying speed.
For a brief moment, Astro and the crow simply looked at each other while plummeting through the air.
"Covered in full black with red eyes… You kind of remind me of someone. How about I name you Alvi?"
Astro said it casually, almost like he was speaking to the bird.
To everyone's disbelief, the crow's expression shifted. It made a strange, pleased sound and suddenly tucked in its wings, causing its heavy body to fall even faster than Astro due to its size.
Astro watched calmly as it dropped ahead of him… and then at the perfect moment, the crow spread its wings wide directly beneath him.
Astro adjusted his posture midair and waved his hand lightly. Purple wind currents formed around his body from every direction, slowing his descent smoothly. His speed decreased gradually until he landed gracefully on the giant crow's back, standing firmly on his feet.
"What… how… that's impossible…" The announcer's mouth hung open in shock. Even Izen beside him widened his eyes slightly.
Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall,
The members were equally stunned. Especially Mira and Erza. Both of them knew very well that Duni Crows were among the proudest creatures in Earthland. They would not obey even others of their own kind, much less a human. And yet there it was—a Duni Crow willingly carrying Astro.
"Did Astro have a taming magic skill we don't know about…?" Levy asked slowly, her eyes still wide.
At that moment, few people noticed that on the second floor of the guild hall, three figures were quietly observing the screen below as well.
The one standing at the front—a dark green-haired young man—narrowed his eyes at Astro.
"So that is Astro Blackmist… the one Laxus ditched me for," he murmured in a low tone. The other two people broke eye contact with the screen and looked at the green-haired young man… Did they imagine it, or did Freed's tone sound like a wife seeing the mistress that their husband ran away with?.... No, they definitely imagined it. Definitely…
Back on the sky island,
Astro leaned forward, holding onto the crow's neck as it flew just above the ground at a speed that once again defied its size. His purple eyes shone brightly as he expanded his senses, searching for monsters nearby.
"Alvi, today is going to be your lucky day. Let's find a lot of meat for you, shall we?"
He said it with a grin. The giant crow did not understand human language, but its mind was faintly connected to Astro's. It could feel his intent clearly.
It let out a happy cry and flapped its wings powerfully, dashing toward the direction where Astro had sensed his first prey.
The audience in the colosseum had no idea how difficult it was to tame a Duni Crow. Even the experienced wizards present could not comprehend what method Astro had used. But none of that mattered to the crowd. The entire colosseum erupted into cheers at the sight of a young wizard commanding such a massive flying monster.
"What a turn of events! Being able to tame one of the proudest flying monsters… I can see why there are talks about him being a Wizard Saint candidate. Don't you agree, Master Izen?" Mike, the announcer said loudly, turning toward him.
"Yeah… he has a lot of promise," Izen replied with a smile.
But beneath that smile, his teeth were clenched tightly, which Mike failed to notice.
Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall…
"It's a bit weird…" Erza said suddenly, her eyes still fixed on the screen.
"Yeah! If Astro had such amazing magic to tame monsters like that, why didnt he use it when he fought me? Damn it… I still have to train a lot!" Natsu shouted as flames burst around his body, frustration written all over his face.
"No… that's not it," Mira said quietly while stroking her chin. She glanced at Erza, who had the same look of doubt in her eyes.
"What do you mean that's not it? Just spit it out already… stop making us hang here," Cana said in a drunken voice as she tilted her mug.
Erza exhaled slowly. "Astro can already fly on his own. The Duni Crow might be faster than him, but adding another being into the fight creates uncertainty. Astro isn't really a team fighter either. The only logical reason would be that he is trying to conserve energy, but…" She trailed off while looking toward Natsu. Mira's gaze followed suit as well.
Natsu blinked. "What? Why are you both looking at me?"
Gray, who had been leaning against the wall, suddenly straightened up as a thought struck him. "Why would Astro need to save magic? He is a Slayer magic user like Natsu. There is wind everywhere up there. He can just eat it and replenish his magic whenever he wants."
Erza nodded slowly. "Exactly. It doesn't make sense. A Slayer's biggest strength is their near-unlimited supply as long as their element is present. Why isnt he taking advantage of that?"
The guild hall fell into a thoughtful silence as the image of Astro riding the crow continued to play on the screen.
"Something has to be wrong…" Mira muttered slowly, looking at the screen as she furrowed her brows.
On the sky island…
Astro stood steadily on the crow's back as they sped toward a small rocky mountain in the distance. He glanced down at the black feather he was holding onto and slowly closed his eyes.
His thoughts drifted back to the previous night.
"Well… it's more about your Sky Devil Slayer Magic," Alvemak had said in a serious tone. "I told you that you can use my magic because I enchanted myself onto your body back then."
"And that enchantment is wearing off," Astro had replied calmly. "Probably because it's starting to clash with my original magic… or curse."
"Magic and curses are different power sources," Alvemak explained, "but they are still power sources. They naturally clash when they try to occupy the same space inside a being."
The rocky cliff ahead of Alvi suddenly began to tremble. Small stones started falling from above, dust scattering into the air. Something was clearly hidden there.
But Alvi did not slow down. If anything, it accelerated.
Astro didn't react to the disturbance. His thoughts had already moved to another conversation—one he had just before coming here.
"Nina said you wanted to talk with me?" Astro asked while placing his bo staff onto his back. His new windbreaker seemed to have a strap designed to hold it in place, making it easy to carry.
"You know, maybe I should learn Requip Magic. It would make things more convenient… but carrying a weapon like this looks cooler, doesn't it?" he added casually while looking at the spiky teal-haired boy standing in front of him.
Zenith frowned absentmindedly.
"Does it look bad?" Astro asked, turning slightly toward a nearby mirror to check his reflection.
"No, it's not… sorry… I was thinking about something else. It looks cool," Zenith said quickly.
"Then what's up?" Astro asked, noticing the tension in the younger boy's posture.
"The vision… You really should know about it. You have to run away from this capital. I saw it happen here. Maybe if you leave and never come back, it won't happen…" Zenith said in one breath. He was about to continue, but Astro stepped forward and gently patted his shoulder.
Zenith snapped out of his daze and looked up at him.
"Please run away. The man who was after us… Lumina's father. His name is Golvax. I saw him killing you right in front of your parents. They were already lying on the ground… dead before a man with silver hair. You were calling out to them faintly… just before Golvax—"
"Does Golvax have a red left eye?" Astro asked quietly.
Zenith did not notice that Astro's own left eye flickered neon orange for a split second.
"Yes…" Zenith answered softly, looking down before raising his head again. "It's not Lumina's fault, though. She has been trying to stop him for a long time. We both tried to stop him… But he is just too strong for us."
Astro removed his hand from Zenith's shoulder and raised it toward the boy's head. Zenith instinctively shut his eyes, bracing himself for—
—but what he felt instead was a gentle hand ruffling his hair.
In the present…
Without warning, the rocky cliff that Alvi was heading toward exploded from the inside. A massive hole tore open in the center of it, stones and dust blasting outward as a gigantic red centipede burst through. Its enormous head emerged first, its jaws spread wide—and its mouth alone was larger than Alvi's entire body.
Alvi let out a fearful cry and shook slightly midair, instinct screaming at him to retreat.
But in the end, he did not turn away.
He continued charging forward.
Astro, who had been silent until now, suddenly opened his eyes. They flashed a brilliant purple, sharp and filled with determination.
"Running away… living in fear… fate… screw all of it…" he murmured as he patted the bird's neck.
Alvi understood him as well.
The giant crow instantly flipped its body upside down and shot upward, barely missing the centipede's crushing jaws. The red monster did not hesitate either. It lunged forward from the cliffside, mouth still wide open as it chased them through the air with terrifying speed.
Astro looked down at the colossal creature beneath him… and let go of Alvi's neck.
"I don't care what fate has planned for me. I don't care who is so obsessed with maintaining it… But I refuse."
He began to fall.
Straight toward the centipede's open mouth.
The anatomy he had read about flashed through his mind. Its outer shell was incredibly hard, designed to withstand the crushing pressure of deep underground. Attacking its body directly would require overwhelming force and waste far too much magic.
But the inside—
That was different.
"As I said before… my fate is mine to decide. And it will always be mine to decide."
Astro descended headfirst into the gaping jaws of the red centipede. His eyes glowed brighter and brighter as a faint purple wind began to swirl from his mouth. He carefully stabilized his breathing, controlling the output so he would not waste unnecessary magic.
The screens in the colosseum could not pick up his words.
But the sight alone was enough.
When the audience saw him diving directly into the monster's mouth, the entire arena gasped in horror. Some people even stood up from their seats.
"Is he insane?!"
Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall, however, the atmosphere was completely different. The earlier worry had vanished. Instead, wide grins spread across everyone's faces.
"Haha! That's right."
"Get that monster, Astro!"
"Show that centipede who the real man is."
Before, they had been uneasy because Astro wasn't acting like himself. He was too cautious, too restrained.
But this—
This reckless dive straight into danger without hesitation—this was the Fairy Tail way. This was how they do things.
Master Makarov's mouth twitched as he looked at the people in the guild… He suddenly couldn't help but think he failed to teach them the correct way to do things. It was probably his fault that there were so many complaint letters on his desk. Should he change his teaching way?.... But….
Master Makarov looked at the screen again, looking at Astro's fearless leap…
"That's right, brat…Show them how Fairy Tail does things… "
He stood up on the bar table and shouted on top of his lungs.
Just as Astro hovered slightly above the centipede's throat—
He opened his mouth.
A massive torrent of compressed purple wind erupted forward like a beam, blasting directly into the centipede's unprotected interior.
"Sky Devil's Rage."
The colossus creature had no time to react.
The last sensation it experienced was the horrifying feeling of its insides being shredded apart—like being struck by thousands upon thousands of razor-sharp wind blades at once.
The purple breath roared through its entire body, tearing everything apart from within.
Under the shocked eye of the people in the colosseum and the grinning face of Fairy Tail members, the colossus centipede slowly fell to the ground.
"He is really gonna surpass us…" Arthur said with a smile proudly, looking at the screen… he remembered when Astro was a kid…he would pass out right after a bit of training in the beginning… it took him weeks and weeks of training before he could barely knock down a single tree…
But now…
"Ladies and gentlemen. Astro from Fiore defeated the first monster of the sky islands…The Fiore Team is now in the lead among all the other teams."
The whole audience in the colosseum recovered from their shock and cheered loudly as the scoreboard updated, placing Fiore above the rest of the kingdoms.