On the left wing of the castle, Boa's team explored the corridors. Crank slowed, staring at a portrait of a woman on the wall.
"Woah… what a cutie," he muttered.
The picture suddenly shimmered with a glowing circle of runes. A towering fairy burst out of the frame, her radiant wings glowing. With a single kick, she sent Crank flying across the hall, crashing him into a grand piano with a deafening chord.
Everyone turned as the fairy's voice echoed:
"They destroyed it all—my home, my forest!"
Her wings unfurled, scattering clouds of glowing blue dust that filled the air. Boa and Ignis struggled to move, their limbs weighed down.
Ignis struggles to move fast. "Is this gravity magic again?"
Boa shook his head. "No… this dust is reducing our speed by seventy percent!"
Jen, naturally faster than the others, pushed forward. Twin magical daggers spun in her hands as she flipped ahead, striking at the fairy.
"Give me what I want!" the fairy shrieked, unleashing a storm of red dust. Jen's dagger barely grazed her cheek, leaving the faintest cut.
"The Master wants me to take it by force!"
Her wings blazed, gathering light into a sharp beam. With a high-pitched hum, it pierced straight through Jen's stomach. Blood splattered as Jen crumpled to the floor.
"I'm sorry… but it must be done!"
The fairy raised her arm. Patterns of glowing runes spread across the hall's walls, firing spikes of light. Boa reacted instantly, summoning a barrier to shield himself and Ignis.
The fairy released a cloud of green dust. Boa's barrier flickered under its influence.
Ignis glanced at him. "What now?!"
"This dust…" Boa winced, "it's weakening my defenses by seventy percent!"
The barrier shattered as the Light spikes tore through, stabbing into their sides, arms, and legs. Blood sprayed as Boa gasped. In desperation, he summoned a spirit hand from his chest, hurling it at the fairy—
—but the walls pulsed, runes firing more spikes, pinning the spirit hand midair.
The fairy smirked, until a blur smashed into her face. Crank, his legs transformed into those of a horse, struck her with a powerful kick that launched her through a wall.
The magic dust began to fade.
Ignis growled, helping Boa back. "Boa… me and Crank will handle this one. Stay back. I don't want you caught in the crossfire."
Boa, clutching Jen, gave a pained nod and pulled her to safety.
Through the shattered wall, Ignis and Crank followed into a vast auditorium. On the grand stage, the fairy rose again, wings shimmering, her voice breaking with anguish:
"Don't resist… or you'll only break my heart even further."
Ignis squared his stance, flames flickering around him. "Shut up, freak! We're going to roast you alive!"
Crank slammed his fists together, veins bulging. "Nobody gets away with hurting my family!"
Meanwhile, in the castle's upper level—
Nox stopped in mid-step. "I've been notified. The others are under attack—one team by an orc, another by a fairy."
Vel's grip tightened on her weapon. "Shall we go back and help them?"
Tomi shook his head. "The chosen team can handle themselves. But Rose and her group… they might struggle."
Nox's expression didn't waver. "I'll send more of my golems in their direction. That is all. We can't afford to waste time."
Kayle narrowed her eyes. "Why such urgency? You act like you know this place better than you admit."
Nox turned slowly toward her. "You're wrong. I've never been here before. But this castle… it's not from this planet. The energy radiating from it is different."
Kayle frowned. "I thought all of this was God's design for the Star Games?"
Nox doesn't answer.
A circle of black runes flared before them. From it stepped a dark elf, his body taut with shadowy energy. He lowered into a stance, eyes glowing.
"I owe my life to the Master who saved me. For that debt, you humans must die—by my hands… and legs too."
In a blur, he lunged. Nox raised one arm, stopping the elf's kick mid-strike. The air cracked from the force.
"Kayle," Nox said calmly, parrying the elf's relentless combos. "Can you see it?"
Kayle focused, her vision sharpening. With each strike, she caught a faint shimmer—a thin magical thread trailing from the dark elf's back, stretching into the distance.
Her eyes widened. "I see it! Come on, everyone! Leave this one to Nox!"
Tomi and Vel exchanged a glance, then followed as Kayle sprinted ahead as the other Stars also follows.
Behind them, the dark elf snarled, as he slides back from a combination. "You're strong, I've never seen such confidence in a human before."
Nox's gaze never wavered. "You'll give me the answers I seek." Their fists clashed, sending a shockwave that cracked the floor beneath them.
Kayle's team burst into a vast chamber. At its center stood a throne-like dais, a magic circle glowing beneath it. A woman in royal garments rose slowly, her face hidden by her veil.
"I must gather it all… for Father," she whispered. "If I fail… we all die."
She tilted her head upward, and the veil slipped just enough to reveal part of her face—half regal beauty, half skull.
Vel's eyes hardened. She raised her weapon. "Another undead."
Tomi shook his head. "No… she's different. She's the one pulling the strings—every attack in this castle leads back to her!"
Kayle stepped forward as she summons her magic bow. "She's their summoner."
The summoner spread her arms. A flash of light ignited the floor. Out of the circle rose a dwarf clad in brown armor, hefting a colossal hammer.
"Who dares threaten my master?" the dwarf bellowed. "Shall face the end of my mighty hammer!"
He smashed the floor, the entire chamber rumbling as cracks split across the stone.
Outside the Silver Castle—
Rose's spear clashed again and again against the Orc's blood-forged nunchaku. The air cracked with every strike. But his monstrous strength is overwhelming.
The nunchaku smashes into Rose's head, sending her crashing across the ground.
"Rose!" Ortis shouted, charging forward, but the Orc spun and struck him down with brutal ease.
Dozens of stone golems poured from the castle, surrounding the Orc. Engaging together but is shattered one after another under of the Orc's whirling crimson weapon.
Yuri trembled as he watched, frozen. "We're so weak… and I thought we could save the world…"
Blood streamed down Ortis's face as he staggered upright. His hand gripped his sword so tightly it shook. "I can't die yet… not without Lady Gaia! I have to keep fighting!"
He stumbled toward the fight, snatching up a glowing core from a fallen golem.
"Ortis!" Rose coughed, trying to rise. "This is useless… we're far too weak!"
The Orc crushed the last golem beneath his heel. His laughter rumbled as Ortis hurled the core. It bounced harmlessly off his head.
"Can't you see?" the Orc sneered. "You're worthless to me!"
But at that exact moment
Ortis's sword struck the flying core.
A deafening explosion ripped the ground apart, engulfing both warrior and monster in blinding light.
"ORTIS!" Rose cried, shielding her eyes.
The dust settled. The Orc staggered out, laughing, blood trickling from his arm. "That… actually surprised me."
On the ground lay Ortis, broken and bleeding..
"Brave human…" the Orc smirked, gathering his blood into his weapon as it twisted into a crimson blade. "For that effort, I'll give you a quick death."
Before he could strike—
"NO!"
Yuri rushed forward, holding two glowing golem cores. His eyes is wild with fear and defiance.
"I won't let him be the only one with a bittersweet ending!"
He smashed the cores together.
A colossal explosion erupted, hurling Ortis and Yuri across the courtyard into the stairway and causes more wounds onto the Orc's body.
When the smoke cleared, Ortis coughed blood. "Yuri… what were you talking about?"
Yuri looked down. Both of his hands missing. Blood pooled beneath him. Yet he smiled faintly.
"We're dying together… in a bittersweet ending… because we never got to confessed our love to Gaia…" His voice broke into a laugh and cough.
Rose roared through tears. "Enough! Nox—help me out here!"
She slammed her spear into the ground.
All the scattered golem cores rises into the air, orbiting around her like stars with the help of magnetic device in her palm. Even some dirt runes gathers around her with intense magic sparks.
The energy spiraled into her spear, the weapon humming with raw power. Sparks danced across her body as she spins her spear, light blazing.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
She rushes forward covered in intense magic aura.
The Orc grinned wide. "Woah… she's amazing!"
Their weapons collided and Rose's spear shattered through the blood sword, piercing straight into the Orc's chest.
The blast hurled him through stairways, ending in a colossal explosion of light and rubble.
Rose collapsed, unconscious, her body spent.
From the smoke, the Orc emerged… blood pouring from his chest, his grin wider than ever.
"YES! That's it!" he roared, trembling with exhilaration. "You all deserve… to see my best!"
The Orc roared as his blood surged outward, twisting into dozens of crimson blades jutting from his body. His veins glowed dark red, pulsing with life force.
He flexed, blades vibrating with killing intent. "No more playing—"
But then… he paused. His grin faltered as he sees
Rose, Ortis, Yuri—broken and unconscious.
"Tch. Come on, you guys are already done?" His voice dropped, disappointed. "Right when you finally brought out the best of me… Oh well. Master probably needs my help anyway."
He turned to leave as suddenly...
A blinding laser scorched across his head, snapping his head back.
The Orc spun with wild eyes.
More beams cut through the air, raining down. He whirled, slicing them apart in a frenzy of crimson steel. His gaze snapped toward the source—
Hopper stood firm, his laser rifle blazing.
The Orc laughed, exhilarated. "YES! Reinforcements! Don't you dare disappoint me!"
Before he could charge, another blast smashed into his ribs—hurling him across a stairway in a shower of rubble.
From the smoke emerged Gaia, encased in her mecha. The glowing sigils across its armor pulsed like a dragon's heartbeat.
"Hopper," Gaia's voice echoed through the comms, sharp and commanding. "I gave you access to my digital pouch. Help them right now."
"I'm on it, Lady Gaia!" Hopper sprinted toward Rose and the others. A small portal flickered open in front of him, dispensing a canister of glowing spray. He knelt, applying it across Rose's wounds, her broken body sparking with signs of life.
Meanwhile, Gaia advanced toward the Orc.
He staggered up, blood-blades still sticking out his body like wings of death. His grin stretched, feral. "Finally… someone worthy of my power!"
Gaia's mech responded to her fury. The chestplate splits open, revealing the blazing Dragon Core within. Metallic scales rippled across the armor as wings unfurled. A massive energy-forged sword hummed into her hand, glowing with the roar of a dragon.
"You're going to die for hurting my friends," Gaia declared.
In the blink of an eye, they clashed a hundred times in seconds, shockwaves erupting with every impact. The Orc's spins as the blades around his body slashes in a whirlwind, cutting gashes into Gaia's armor.
"This fighting style—!" Gaia hissed, blocking another flurry. "It's wild!"
The Orc howled with laughter, spinning faster, a storm of crimson steel.
His blades shredded across her mech's arms and torso, sparks exploding in the air.
But Gaia's wings flared wide, their metallic edges deflecting the blood blades in a storm of light and steel.
Her boosters ignited.
She launched skyward, dragging the Orc upward in a spiral of destruction. Their clash detonated across the cobweb stairways, each strike tearing stairways apart.
The Orc roared, his entire body convulsing as thousands of blood-blades erupted from his flesh. They swirled around him like a crimson hurricane, blotting out the sky.
With a single swing of his massive arms, he hurled the storm at Gaia.
The Blades shrieked through the air in a torrent of death.
Gaia inhaled, steady and calm. Her wings folded around her as she braced against the storm.
The Orc laughed, mad and triumphant.
The storm exploded outward in a burst of light. From the heart of it, a massive robotic dragon emerged, wings spread wide, its eyes glowing with azure fire.
It opened its maw and unleashed a colossal blast of blue dragon flame. The beam consumed the Orc, blasting him across the shattered stairways and leaving him engulfed in fire and smoke.
The dragon folded in on itself, its shining body condensing—until it returned to Gaia's mecha form.
She descended, landing beside Hopper and the others.
On the ground, Rose stirred weakly. Her eyes fluttered open.
"I knew it…" she whispered, her lips trembling. "I knew we'd see you again…"
Gaia knelt quickly, plunging her hand into the flickering digital portal at her side. She pulled out a compact ration bar, glowing faintly with nanotech energy. Without hesitation, she pressed it to Rose's lips.
"Eat," Gaia ordered softly. "It'll restore your stamina."
Rose obeyed, chewing weakly as color began to return to her face.
Gaia rises and rushed to Hopper's side. He was hunched over Ortis and Yuri, his hands trembling as he applied spray after spray from his healing bottle. Sweat dripped down his face.
"Status?" Gaia demanded.
Hopper looked up, his expression pained. "I've done everything I can… but they've lost too much blood. They're not going to make it."
Gaia froze. Her mind raced, her fists clenching as she tried to think of a way—any way—to save them.
And then—
A hoarse voice cut through the silence.
"…Only I can help them."
Their heads snapped toward the sound.
Through the drifting smoke, the Orc staggered forward. His body was charred, most of his flesh burned black. Blood oozed from open wounds.
And yet—he stood tall, grinning faintly, his eyes locked on them.
Hopper immediately raised his rifle. "It survived?!"
Gaia raised a hand, stopping him. Her sharp eyes narrowed.
"No…" she whispered.
As she notices the Orc's body language is different, that there is no bloodlust now.