★36
THIRS POV
The day had arrived for the Stars to finally encounter their own kind. It was also the day Sai was to complete his accession, stepping fully into the role destiny had prepared for him.
In Star Island, Shinn, Eto, and Ban moved with purpose, each carrying the weight of their own experiences and responsibilities.
Meanwhile, Yami ventured alongside Eren, their journey through untamed lands marking the beginning of a new chapter, one that would intertwine with the fates of the Stars yet to meet.
All the important figures were only told that the Three Great Stars would be departing for some reason.
"Call Issei and the kids even if you're not on my floor, stay inside the palace."
Asteri once again told Hinata. His hands cupped hers.
"Ok. I'll send someone to get him."
"Good."
"Be careful."
Asteri smiles as he takes off.
"I'm the strongest, remember."
He added as he was leaving.
"Shinn is in command. Do well to complain. I'm talking to you, Ban."
"Your words are absolute, I won't disobey Shinn."
"Good. Let's go."
And in a flash, they were gone.
...
...
...
In the Eastern Empire, Sai knelt on stage one last time, waiting as the Emperor came and sat down behind the curtains.
They all settled into their seats as Damrada's voice echoed through the coliseum.
"Without wasting time, Single Digit 02 approaches the stage."
A heavy silence fell over the arena. Every gaze fixed forward, the tension palpable.
"Present. Shall we begin?"
Damrada, standing confidently on the stage, revealed himself as 02.
Sai's eyes widened in shock, unprepared for the revelation, his mind racing to comprehend the unexpected twist.
"D..Damrada san?"
"Yeah. I'm second in charge after 01. Let's begin without wasting any time."
At Damrada's words, Sai steadied himself, muscles coiling as he assumed a battle stance.
"Come at me…"
Without hesitation, Damrada lunged, a fist aimed straight for Sai. Sai met the strike, bracing himself, but the sheer force of the blow drove him backward, scraping the ground as he struggled to maintain his footing.
<
"I'll use your method and win."
"My method?"
"Finish my opponent with all I've got from the beginning."
Damrada surged forward, each strike a brutal combination of punches and kicks. Sai fought to block and dodge, but the onslaught was relentless, pushing him far beyond what he had anticipated.
The crowd watched in quiet acknowledgment; they weren't shocked, for Damrada's reputation for raw power and precision was already well-known.
<
"Hmm, he's no match for Damrada after all."
"Yep. Sai is strong, but I don't think he'll proceed any further.'
Sai heard the comments from the few spectators and got irritated.
Damrada unleashed an unrelenting barrage, kick after kick, punch after punch, leaving no space for Sai to breathe.
Sai, blocking each strike, subtly tapped his foot against the ground.
(The same concealed technique Ban had used against Yuuki, though its full power remained hidden.)
Sharp as ever, Damrada noticed the faint shift in Sai's stance. Instantly, he broke off his relentless assault, flipping backward with fluid precision, creating a safe distance between them.
<
<
As Damrada landed, his feet sank into a layer of snow that hadn't been there moments before. The ambient magicule concentration was unusually low, masking the trap, and preventing him from detecting it in time.
"You must've noticed the tap, but unfortunately, you can't suspend yourself mid-air."
"Hmm, so what? Do you think I didn't expect this?"
A dagger shot toward his face, but Sai twisted just in time, the blade grazing his cheek and drawing a thin line of blood.
<
"Sharp as ever."
Damrada muttered, thinking he had the upper hand.
From behind him, at least the Damrada he thought he was facing, long ice spikes erupted from Sai's fabric, plunging into the imposter. Sai had anticipated the trap.
The Damrada he thought was real was the one immobilized in front of him, his body badly punctured.
<
Sai's mind raced.
Before he could pivot, Damrada's foot slammed into his face, sending him sprawling to the side.
<<…he uses the feint, knowing I'd see through it. I had no choice but to strike without turning, too naive to think he couldn't swap positions.>>
Sai rose, the scratches along his face freezing over and healing instantly.
"You're more calculative than I thought."
He said, his eyes narrowing.
An ice sword shimmered into existence in his palm as he advanced calmly. To his surprise, Damrada relied on his bare hands, ignoring the disadvantage.
<
Sai swung with precision, blades cutting up and down, while all Damrada could do was frantically dodge, his movements growing ever more strained under the relentless assault.
"You underestimated this ice blade, huh? That might be your downfall!"
Sai's voice rang sharp and confident.
Damrada gritted his teeth, knowing Sai was right. He seized a moment and kicked at Sai's hand, forcing the ice sword to clatter to the ground. He spun to follow up with another kick, but…
"Finally!"
Sai shouted, seizing the opening. He grabbed Damrada's advancing foot, instantly encasing it in thick, jagged ice.
With his right arm now coated in glacial armor, Sai swung it like a blade, aiming straight for Damrada's head.
"It's over!"
"Damn it! I'll ju..."
"Think twice."
Sai interrupted, his voice cold as the ice he wielded.
Damrada's eyes widened as he realized, with a sinking certainty, that defeat was now inevitable.
"I surrender."
Sai's ice-coated arm hovered mere inches from Damrada's eye. The pressure was suffocating, the moment suspended in silent threat.
Damrada finally released his frozen foot, his voice strained.
"What… what did you see?"
Sai's eyes locked onto him.
"Hmm… even those capable won't see it," Damrada admitted, a twitching grimace distorting his frozen leg.
With a snap of Sai's fingers, the jagged ice surrounding Damrada began to melt, dripping and hissing as it returned to water, leaving him exposed and trembling.
"That guy?"
Rudra spoke up.
"Yeah.. he's good at setting traps."
The Marshal replied.
"There was no escape. With his hand freezing your body, he can read all your moves and still kill you by petrification instantly. As for running, you can't. His sword will automatically follow its target to death. Surrendering was the only option."
Rudra somehow saw through all of his moves, and his interest in Sai only grew.
"He's good. Too good with ice."
"Yeah. I must get him under my control after all."
"Now then, the final challenger."
"01, step up.
It was none other than Lieutenant Kondou, the second in charge, the head of the Imperial Guardians. He walked and stood on the stage facing Sai.
"Senpai…"
"Don't call me that. I'm ready, Damrada."
Damrada nodded, fully healed, slipping into his role as referee.
"Ring the bell, Damrada-san."
With a decisive clang, the bell echoed through the coliseum, signaling the official start of the match.
"Begin then.."
Sai jumped towards Tatsuya.
.
..
...
...
The Stars arrived at the eastern edge of the land, the vast expanse of sea stretching before them.
"It's small, but I can sense a signature up ahead."
Atlas observed, his gaze scanning the horizon.
"We'll walk instead of teleporting."
Asteri instructed.
"Understood, Master."
The trio stepped forward, their feet gliding over the water's surface as they advanced steadily toward their destination.
...
...
...
Sai was mid-air when Tatsuya fired his pistol.
"Bastard."
Sai drew an ice dagger in an instant, slicing it clean in two.
As he landed, Tatsuya lunged forward with his guntō. Their blades met in a flurry of sparks for several tense seconds.
Suddenly, Tatsuya pulled out his pistol, unleashing a volley of bullets. Sai couldn't block them all at this range, one grazed him, drawing blood, while he shattered the rest midair.
Reacting swiftly, he leapt backward, putting distance between himself and Tatsuya.
<
Sai quickly pulled out the bullet lodged in his body and healed himself on the spot, demonstrating his remarkable resilience.
Concentrating deeply, he gathered magicule from the surrounding environment, layering a thin skin of ice over his body. The effect was immediate: Tatsuya fired again, testing Sai's new ice layer, but it proved ineffective.
"It won't work anymore."
Sai said with calm confidence, knowing that the thin layer was just the beginning.
Tatsuya, ever composed, warned.
"Do not make a hasty decision."
Sai's dagger shifted smoothly into a sword, the blade shimmering coldly in the dim light of the arena.
"This is a Frost Blade. It blocks and cuts everything. It's different from the previous ones."
He announced theatrically, as if presenting it to an auction crowd.
With no hesitation, Sai dashed at top speed toward Tatsuya. But the enemy had already anticipated this and fired a single bullet imbued with Remove.
Instantly, the Frost Blade and Sai's ice armour were pierced. He fell to his knees, blood running freely, a mixture of pain and shock crossing his face.
"Heh?"
Sai muttered in disbelief, still composed, though clearly surprised.
"How come?"
He asked, incredulous at how the bullet had bypassed his defences.
Tatsuya, calm as ever, did not reply. He approached methodically, evaluating Sai's reactions. Sai, sensing the opening, struck again using the broken sword, but this time it was a feint.
"I was here the whole time."
Tatsuya stated calmly, revealing that he had been positioned behind Sai all along.
Sai smiled knowingly.
"I was waiting."
From his back, ice spikes erupted, a defensive counter, but none of them could touch Tatsuya's uniform, proving the precision and awareness of his opponent.
Sai appeared ahead of Tatsuya, pumping his aura to prepare for the next move.
Tatsuya momentarily backed off, evaluating. "This... this is just as last time."
He observed, a trace of admiration in his tone.
Meanwhile, Sai began gathering ambient magicule from the surroundings, turning it into fine ice particles and unconsciously freeing the environment from restrictions as he transformed further.
"Sub...Zero!"
Sai shouted, signaling the beginning of his ultimate transformation.
Tatsuya, unfazed, calmly prepared his final move. He aimed his pistol with deliberate precision before pulling the trigger.
"Dispel."
Instantly, all ice that Sai had conjured vanished, the carefully formed ice armour and the magical constructs dissipating in a flash.
Sai froze mid-transformation, dumbfounded, caught off guard by the nullification. Using this fleeting advantage, Tatsuya moved forward with his gunto, striking down Sai.
Damrada, prepared to intervene, was stopped by the Emperor's command. Sai lay on the ground, wounded, bleeding, and seemingly helpless.
Then, Tatsuya explained his strategy, breaking down the mechanics of his attacks.
"At this point, I'll tell you everything. The first bullets that hit you, those were Necrosis. Each one will destroy your magic circuits over time.
The bullet that broke your sword and armour was Remove. It nullifies any defence, whether scale, shield, or barrier, as long as it operates within the laws of magic energy. And the last, Dispel, counters magical effects.
Normally, it wouldn't work on you because your magicule is immense, but after Necrosis and Remove, you were vulnerable."
He raised his guntō above Sai, looking down at the seemingly defeated figure.
"Now then, do you surrender?"
He asked.
As a Star, to be defeated was one thing. But to surrender, that's pathetic. Even as a clone, Sai much honour that pride.
Sai suddenly surged with energy, an immense power radiating from him as he got up, suspended midair at abnormal speed.
"S... surrender? Me? It's impossible, that's... unforgivable!!"
Sai shouted, refusing to submit.
His body was instantly encased in ice, freezing mid-transformation. The surrounding air solidified around him, the battlefield itself reacting to his power.
Then, after a tense, silent minute, the cocoon shattered with a thunderous crack, scattering ice shards like stars.
Sai emerged, now in his final form: draconic ice armour covering his body, wings, tail, and horns gleaming with translucent, deadly beauty. Cold energy radiated outward, freezing the arena with catastrophic speed.
"That bastard!"
The Marshal shouted, hastily erecting a barrier to prevent the frost from spreading further.
"I'm Kori no Ryujin!"
(Ice/frozen dragon god.)
Sai roared, his voice booming across the battlefield.
He raised his right palm, and a crystalline ice sword appeared, elegant yet menacing. With a single swing, the blade cleaved the Marshal's barrier, shattering it like glass.
"With this, even they are at my mercy!"
Sai proclaimed, asserting dominance over the battlefield.
"Im.. impossible!"
The Marshal exclaimed.
"He's strong... but to think he can break your barrier."
Rudra whispered.
"I'll deal with him!"
The Marshal shouted but Rudra intervened. "Don't do anything. I need this monster."
He commanded.
Damrada, observing, realized the sheer magnitude of Sai's transformation. He began burning magicule at a faster rate, attempting to counter the instant petrification effects.
Tatsuya, however, remained calm and confident.
"Power up or not, you'll lose."
He said, pointing his pistol at Sai. The uniform of his target began freezing slightly, and he aligned his senses to his final shot.
"To think you'll force me to use my trump card… Destroy all… JUDGMENT!"
And with that, Tatsuya fired, the ultimate bullet meant to overwhelm Sai completely.
...
...
...
The Stars traversed the vast expanse of the ocean, their senses alert. The sunlight reflected off the water, giving the scene an eerie, otherworldly glow.
Suddenly, a solitary figure emerged on the horizon, standing motionless on the waves as though the sea itself obeyed their presence.
The figure slowly turned. Its face was hidden behind a stark white mask, two sharp horns jutting outward, giving it a menacing silhouette even from a distance.
The aura emanating from the figure was neither Star nor Dark Star; it was something else entirely different.
"That inferior signature… that's not a Dark Star."
Atlas said sharply, the tremor in his voice betraying his panic.
He had expected immense power, something comparable to a Hypergod-tier threat, but this presence felt different. It was no where near the Dwarf-tier, the lowest Star Tier.
Elaine stepped forward, her tone cautious yet incredulous.
"How can a human communicate with us? Who are you?"
Her perception operated on an entirely different wavelength. That message wasn't just encrypted, it was layered in a code so intricate that no human technology or mind could ever hope to decipher it. So how?
She focused, tracing the signature, the core signal of this being. It wasn't anywhere near the level of a Dwarf; in fact, it registered as weak, almost laughably inferior.
Another detail struck her: their signal were undisturbed. Normally, if someone had been possessed, manipulated, or forcibly controlled, faint traces of interference or corruption would appear in the signature. There was none.
Every pulse and fluctuation was consistent with the being's own will. They had not been tampered with, and the energy had not been masked or altered. Not possessed. Not controlled. They're doing this entirely of their own volition.
That realization sent a ripple of unease through her mind. The figure wasn't just weaker than expected, it was calculated, aware, and acting deliberately to bait them. Any misstep now could cost them dearly.
Asteri on the other hand, was expressionless and thoughtless. He's just...there.
Their unease grew. It wasn't just relief that the feared Dark Star wasn't present. That absence itself was suspicious. The calm before the storm always felt heavier. It was a setup.
The way the figure appeared, the way the ocean obeyed it, the unnatural stillness of the surrounding space, all indicated a carefully laid trap. A mere human shouldn't posses such authority.
Mimon, for that was the figure's name, spread his palm slowly.
"I'm Demon Lord Mimon, your downfall."
Before the Stars could react, the ocean shuddered violently. Waves surged unnaturally, colliding against nothing, the surface of reality rippling and tearing. A low hum of raw, concentrated power resonated through the air, vibrating against their space.
The Stars instinctively tried to flee, but the air itself seemed to thicken, folding in on them. The water churned, boiling as if reality itself were heating under immense pressure.
Four towering obsidian walls erupted from the ocean, forming a cage around them. The walls radiated pure darkness, impenetrable and absolute, bending light and sound.
As the Stars struggled, trying to disrupt or escape the oncoming force, the walls compressed violently.
The structure twisted, shrank, and warped until it became a perfect black cube. The cube hovered momentarily above the waters, radiating an oppressive, almost sentient presence.
With a precise gesture, the cube floated smoothly toward Mimon, aligning perfectly into the open palm of his hand. He observed the artifact with satisfaction, the faintest curl of a smile visible beneath the mask.
"It worked perfectly."
He murmured, his tone calm, controlled but the words carried a weight of threat that made even the mighty Stars pause.
The trap was set, the bait taken, and the hunter now held all the cards. The Stars, despite their immense power, were caught in a meticulously orchestrated prison. And Mimon, methodical, patient, and deadly was already thinking three steps ahead.
...
..
.
Seconds before the Stars were trapped.
<
Rudra praised Tatsuya's ultimate weapon. The bullet speed was gradually reduced by the intense pressure ahead. It came to an absolute halt and melted the drops freezing before it landed. Rudra, Velgrynd, and Damrada, those who were able to stand their ground, were surprised.
"Impossible!"
"This guy is beyond my imagination."
Tatsuya and Rudra complained.
"Didn't I tell you it won't work?"
In an environment where magicule itself began freezing, Sai closed the distance with speed like none ever as he travelled the short distance with speed equivalent to light, appearing in front of Tatsuya, his sword freezing the air as it craved for Tatsuya's neck.
The latter, who's barely holding the petrification, closed his eyes, embracing death.
<
"Grynd, go."
With her unparalleled speed, she surged forward, a blur across the battlefield, intent on intercepting Sai before he could react.
Sai's momentum halted abruptly, his boots skimming the frozen ground as he spun toward the east, eyes locking on the shifting clouds above. The air around him seemed to pulse with anticipation, charged by the unseen tension of what had just occurred.
"Master!?" The cry barely left his lips before he vanished, leaving no trace behind, just an empty space where he had stood. The Marshal, closing in, slammed forward only to find nothing but air.
Yami, alongside Eren and her crew, felt the sudden shift as well. His eyes snapped eastward, scanning the horizon, but the figure was gone.
"Impossible..." he muttered, his words swallowed by the wind. And then, with a faint puff, the presence dissolved entirely.
Ban, who was with Sakura, felt the disturbance next. Before he could react, he too vanished, followed immediately by Eto. Shock painted their companions' faces.
"No way..." Ban's voice trailed off, disbelief etched into every syllable.
Shinn, sensing the cascade of disappearances, acted decisively. "Chrono Shield!" he shouted. Instantly, the barrier began to coalesce around them, shimmering with temporal energy. Yet even as it formed, he was gone, leaving the shield suspended midway, frozen in time, capturing the chaos of the moment. All vanishings had occurred in the span of a heartbeat, instantaneous and complete.
Everyone with them couldn't believe it.
"Y..yami san!?"
"Where did he go?"
"I don't know, he was here seconds ago,"
"Ban? Ban?"
"You did that, Gryun?"
"No, he left, no, it seems that way it's more like he was forced out of existence."
Her gaze was up in the skies, too.
"Yeah.. I can't sense him either."
Rudra answered, and he was looking at the same blue sky.
<
Damrada murmured in a low voice. Tatsuya, who should've died, opened his eyes, and Sai was gone.
"Where is he?"
"He disappeared. But thanks to that, you're alive."
Damrada replied to him.
To be continued...