Inside the castle's auditorium, the air shimmered as the fairy spread her blue dust, slowing Ignis mid-step.
Ignis flexes his muscles. "Listen up, Crank—I've got a plan!"
But Crank wasn't listening. His legs morphed into horse legs as he charged in at full speed.
Ignis groaned. "…Or not."
Crank's kick landed on the fairy's face—yet she barely turned her head. Her red dust swirled, sapping the power from his strike.
She hisses, summoning glowing patterns in the air. Light magic flared, and spikes of radiance shot forward.
Crank's body warped, shell hardening as he shifted into a spirit turtle, the spikes bouncing harmlessly off his defense. But then
The fairy unleashed a green dust, seeping into the cracks of his shell causing his defend to be weaken. With a sharp crack, it split.
Crank dodged at the last instant, wings of a dragonfly sprouting from his back, buzzing frantically. But the fairy blinked, appearing right in front of him with a light spike in hand.
"You have to die—so I can have another home!"
She plunged the spike into his stomach. It elongated, blasting him downward. Crank smashed into the seats below, coughing blood as he was pinned to the floor.
"Crank!"
Boa's spirit surged forward, delivering a brutal kick to the fairy's face. Lightning magic crackled, shocking her body.
But the fairy roared, releasing a yellow dust. The dust scattered like glitter, bouncing her light spikes across the auditorium in unpredictable arcs. One after another slammed into Boa's spirit, making him wince.
"This magic… it can actually hurt me, even in spirit form?!"
Ignis snapped, his voice echoing above the chaos. "Did you two not hear me?! I SAID I'VE GOT THIS!"
His body shimmered, sparks of fire and steam leaking from his skin. His aura flared hotter, the room growing suffocating.
"Crank! Transform into something that can take the heat!"
Bloodied but alive, Crank's arm warped into a pig's head. With a grunt, it bit through the spike pinning him. His body shimmered again, condensing into the form of a red spirit salamander.
The heat surged. The fairy staggered as Ignis's flames ignited the colored dust all around the room burst into fire, swallowing her in burning waves.
"Aaaghhh! I won't give up on my dream!" she screamed, summoning a crashing waterfall of magic. Water slammed against flame, hissing steam flooding the auditorium.
Ignis braced, his fire clashing against the waves.
Then, a small weight landed on his shoulder. Crank, tiny in salamander form, grinned with glowing eyes.
"Of course—it's fire. Fire is her weakness!"
He leaps forward as his body warped once more—his head morphing into that of the legendary Blaze Dragon.
Ignis's eyes went wide. "What?! He—he transformed into the Blaze Dragon?!"
Crank roared, unleashing a torrent of dragonfire. The blast combined with Ignis's flames, their powers merging into an overwhelming inferno.
The crashing waves evaporated in an instant. The flames consumed everything.
The fairy shrieked as her body burned away. "My… dream…"
And then—ashes.
The auditorium fell silent, steam still rising from the scorched walls.
Boa and Jen step into the room. Jen lowers her head, her eyes sharp.
"Did I hear that right? You can turn into the Blaze Dragon?"
Crank scratches the back of his head, laughing nervously.
"Uh… I was just trying to make fire and that was the first thing that came to mind."
Boa leans against the melted wall, his tone calm but steady.
"You may not realize it, but during your spirit meditation, you managed to pull a fragment of the Blaze Dragon's soul from its core."
Crank blinks, completely dumbfounded.
"Oh… that spirit meditation? Honestly, I just went with the flow and tried to grab as much help as I could from the fallen animals."
The group bursts into laughter. The sound carries until a stone golem stomps forward. From within, Nox's voice echoes through its hollow chest.
"While you were busy fighting, I mapped the entire base floor of the castle. It's mostly treasure, nothing worth your time. If you wish to advance, head to the upper floor. There, you'll find a summoner—she's been spreading her creatures throughout the castle trying to defend something important."
Boa narrows his eyes but doesn't respond. Instead, Jen steps forward, determination burning in her voice.
"I knew that fairy was being controlled. Then it's settled—we'll take down this summoner and force our way to the lady of the planet!"
Meanwhile, outside the castle, the wounded Orc staggers and drops to one knee. His burnt body flickers with cracks as parts of him slowly turn to ash.
Hopper clenches onto his rifle, glaring.
"Why are you helping us now—after everything you did to my friends?!"
The Orc lets out a low, broken laugh.
"Heh… I was only following orders from my master. I was told to kill all intruders."
Gaia narrows her eyes, her mecha still humming with power.
"No… that wasn't all. You wanted the fight for yourself. But something about you felt… off."
The Orc chuckles, then winces as more ash flakes away from his legs.
"Yeah… maybe. I'm a bit ring-rusted. But that doesn't matter anymore. That last attack of yours—" he coughs, forcing a smile, "—it severed my bond with my master. So in return, for giving me a battle worth remembering, I'll reward you. But you'll have to help me because I don't have the strength…"
His body slumps backward. His legs collapse completely into ash. With one final act of will, he raises a trembling arm, blood pouring from the cracks in his body. It swirls together, forming into a massive, pulsating blood sphere above him.
"The rest… is up to you…"
Gaia activates the core in her chest. A digital conversion field spreads outward, and mechanical tubes materialize, piercing into the blood sphere. The energy threads connect, channeling the blood into Ortis and Yuri's arms.
Hopper steps forward, worry in his voice.
"Wait—this could kill them!"
Rose struggles to her feet, leaning heavily on Hopper's shoulder. Her voice is weak, but resolute.
"Don't worry… it'll work. That blood… it's type O."
Gaia approaches the Orc's fading body. His form is collapsing, drifting away like sand in the wind. She lowers her voice.
"Thank you… I never expected to meet someone like you in the Star Games. Your kind—your race—doesn't exist in our universe. So… where did you come from?"
The Orc lets out one last laugh. His body finally crumbles to ash, carried away by the wind, leaving her to be more curious.
Meanwhile, inside the castle, the dark elf staggers backward under Nox's relentless assault. His breathing is ragged, his body shaking. With a sudden roar of defiance, he rips off his shirt, revealing a body covered in glowing tattoos.
"What is this?! Why are you so strong?! I won't fail the master like the others—I am the strongest summon!"
Dark energy bursts around him as the tattoos flare like molten veins. He charges forward, eyes wild with fury.
Nox grips his weapon, the shovel shifting and crystallizing into diamond, gleaming with otherworldly power. His voice remains calm, measured.
"You are indeed the strongest summon… but I still have questions for you to answer."
The elf snarls.
"I'm only in the mood to fight!"
Before his words even fade, Nox vanishes—moving at the speed of light. In an instant, the diamond shovel pierces the elf's chest. The elf's eyes widen in confusion as he stares down at the weapon, feeling… nothing.
"What… what are you doing?!"
The air shimmers. The room is suddenly flooded with sparkling magic, growing brighter and brighter until reality itself bends. The elf's voice echoes in fear as the world around them shifts.
Nox steps forward—into another dimension.
A vast, enchanted forest spreads out before him. Golden-brown leaves fall endlessly from towering magical trees, drifting like snow. He walks along a path of enormous fallen logs, their surfaces glowing faintly with runes. Ahead, at the heart of the forest, stands a massive living tree—its branches sheltering a gathering.
A wedding.
Dozens of dark elves and humans stand together, smiling. Joy fills the air. Nox's eyes narrow as he spots the same dark elf, standing at the altar with his bride. A wooden board floats nearby, its carved letters glowing: "Mel and Franz's Wedding."
Franz's voice carries over the crowd, warm and proud.
"My friends… today is not only a union of love, but a symbol of peace between humans and non-humans. Mel and I… we are proof that—"
The forest trembles. A shadow passes over the sky.
The next instant, the world burns.
Flames roar through the trees, consuming everything. Screams pierce the air as dark elves and humans alike fall, their bodies lifeless among the ashes. Smoke blots out the sun.
Through the devastation, a broken Franz crawls across the scorched ground. His body is torn and bleeding, but his eyes are locked on Mel. She lies motionless among the wreckage. With shaking hands, Franz reaches her side, tears streaking down his soot-stained face.
"Mel… no… please…"
A sudden beam of magic descends from the sky, striking the earth before him. Out of it steps the summoner, descending like a phantom. Her hand stretches out to Franz.
The memory shatters.
The forest, the flames, Mel—all of it fades back into nothingness. Franz gasps as he rips free from the spell, leaping back with fury burning in his eyes.
"How dare you pry into my memories?!"
Nox lowers his weapon and bows slightly, his voice calm and respectful.
"You've answered all my questions. Thank you."
Franz roars in rage, his body glowing with dark energy as he launches forward with a flurry of 1,000 kicks. Each strike hits with devastating force, but Nox meets them all—his diamond shovel flashing, blocking and parrying with impossible precision. Every impact sends shockwaves tearing through the castle, walls crumbling, ceilings collapsing as destruction spreads with every clash.
Meanwhile, in the main chamber, Vel darts behind a stone pillar, barely avoiding a scorching laser beam. She steadies her flower rifle and fires back, a stream of water bullets bursting forth, but each one is deflected by the dwarf's spinning hammer.
Behind the dwarf, a massive machine turret swivels, unleashing laser fire at Vel, Tomi Stars, and the other golems. Tomi hops across the battlefield, scattering traps with precise flicks of his hands, while a mix of Stars and golems clash against endless waves of robotic dwarves.
The summoner raises her hands, chains of glowing magic snaking out to block a green arrow that streaks toward her. The arrow fizzles into the chains as she smirks.
"This is the power our people seek," she declares. "I shall return it to Father!"
Chains lash forward, whipping toward Kayle. She flips aside, loosing a volley of emerald arrows in return.
The dwarf stomps forward, hammer spinning. "Master, stay back! The floor's covered in traps—I'll send my robots through first to clear a path to the archer!"
One robotic dwarf steps forward and instantly detonates as it triggers one of Tomi's explosives. Another clatters into a glowing sigil, screaming as the floor melts beneath it.
The summoner's eyes blaze as she thrusts both hands into the air. "We need more power… I'll draw it from the fallen summons!"
Red and blue sparks surge from her palms, striking the dwarf's hammer. The dwarf grits his teeth, feeling the surge ripple through his body.
"This is…?! Well, damn. Guess you've both have come far as you could."
He slams the hammer down. A shockwave ripples across the chamber, and from the magic rise two twisted recreations: the blood orc and the fairy, their forms reconstructed into hulking, robotic mockeries of their former selves.
Invisible, Tomi creeps closer, laying another trap—only to freeze. The robotic blood orc's chest splits open, a blood-forged sword sliding free. With inhuman speed, the orc darts across the battlefield, slicing through Tomi's traps in seconds. Then its eyes snap to Tomi's hidden form.
"He can see me?!" Tomi hisses, just before the orc charges, its blade clashing violently against his umbrella.
Across the chamber, Kayle nimbly weaves through a barrage of chain strikes, her arrows cutting the air. One finally slips past the writhing links, flying straight toward the summoner—until a cloud of blue dust bursts from the floor, slowing it to a crawl.
The summoner steps forward and casually crushes the weakened arrow in her bare hand.
Kayle's gaze shifts—light runes are spreading across the floor beneath her feet. Spikes of radiant magic erupt upward. She leaps aside just in time, but the robotic fairy floats into view, clapping her hands together.
A spiraling water drill bursts forth. Kayle raises a barrier of compressed wind, but green dust swirls around her, sapping its strength.
The water blast tears through, shattering the shield and slamming Kayle against the chamber wall with brutal force.
Kayle coughs up blood as glowing chains wrap around her body, searing into her flesh. She screams, her vision spinning as foreign memories surge into her head.
Her perspective shifts—she sees through the summoner's eyes.
In a grand throne room, the summoner raises her voice.
"The King has made a connection! I shall open the path! Fellow mages and knights of the kingdom—lend me your strength!"
Arcane power swirls around her as she casts a massive spell. Behind the throne chair, a colossal green gate splits open with a deafening crack. She glances back—her allies, the mages and knights, collapse lifeless to the floor.
Turning forward again, she rushes into the gate. Inside, she finds the King standing, chest heaving, before the corpse of a slain T-rex sprawled across the ground.
But the true enemy stands ahead: a woman cloaked in raging green magic.
"This power isn't yours to take!" the woman declares, unleashing a storm of emerald energy that floods the realm.
The vision shatters.
Kayle gasps. "What… what was that?! A memory?!"
The chains yank her forward, dragging her toward the summoner. The summoner's eyes widen in panic.
"Are we too late? Has God figured us out?!"
Her eyes shift, glowing gold, as she glimpses a colossal godly avatar towering in space. She whispers, trembling yet resolute:
"No matter… Father will save us all."
Kayle screams as planetary magic bursts from her body, condensing into a small, radiant green sphere. The summoner reaches for it—
—but Vel rushes in, her blade piercing the summoner's shoulder.
The dwarf roars and swings his hammer, smashing Vel across the chamber.
Kayle breaks free of the chains, the glowing sphere spiraling back into her chest. Green wings unfurl from her back in a blaze of light.
The dwarf and the robotic fairy step in front of the summoner, weapons raised to defend her.
Kayle's eyes narrow, her voice cutting like a blade.
"So… you aren't God's creations after all. Something strange is happening here. But it doesn't matter. As long as you stand in my way… you're blocking my road to victory in the Star Games!"