A dark scowl twisted Northern's face, his eyes trembling with disbelief.
"Aster?"
It was indeed Aster, just as his eyes witnessed. Annette reacted swiftly, snapping her head back and seizing the hand before it could drive the stiletto into her eyes. She wasted no time and thrust her head forward, smashing into her attacker's skull.
However, it was her own head that snapped back, blood streaming from her nose. The boy yanked his hand free and plunged the stiletto downward toward her throat.
But Vida had already positioned herself behind him. She tensed her muscles, causing the sculpted contours on her arms to become rigid.
Her fist connected with Aster's side. Immediately, a white needle-like light threaded outward in sharp symmetry, followed by rings of shockwaves that rippled like water when a stone drops into it.
The shockwave moved faster than thought, exploding through the air before vanishing.
Aster didn't fly away, but the ground around them shattered into pieces from the webbed cracks embedded by the shockwave of Vida's attack.
The assault was so devastating that Northern froze for a moment.
No doubt about it—the young lady had channeled all her frustration from the beginning of the battle until now into that single blow.
Aster staggered, blood pouring from his mouth. Even though he had taken such a hit on his bare body, he somehow remained standing.
Northern didn't think Aster—the Aster he knew, at least—was that resilient.
Aster coughed more blood, steadying himself. He grinned as he found his balance, grinning at the girl who stood with a bewildered expression.
"Huh?"
Vida was stunned by the minimal damage her punch had inflicted. With the strength she had poured into that attack, she expected his agony to last much longer. Aside from the fact that he had somehow absorbed all the force of the impact, the effect of the pain didn't seem to last longer than one second.
Vida knew her blows—they hurt. So what was happening?
Aster shifted his gaze from her and instead looked at Northern.
Annette was clutching her nose, standing and watching with a deep scowl on her face.
Aster smiled.
"Rian. Personally, for me... this is an honor."
Northern's brows knitted together.
"What are you doing?"
Aster slowly tore his dirtied uniform from his body.
"What am I doing? Isn't it obvious? I want to kill your friends. It will be a real hassle if they begin to drive a hole into our plans because of your orders."
Beneath Aster's clothes, his body began to transform. His bones seemed to be breaking apart and restructuring, the movement visible beneath his pale skin. His height increased visibly, and his muscles thickened.
Northern tilted his head and gritted his teeth in disappointment.
"Aii... shit! I didn't see that one coming."
Long pointed ears, tall pale physique, sharp green eyes, and wet ashen hair that fell roughly around his forehead—moreover, a silver liquid was flowing over his body, solidifying as it spread.
When Aster finished transforming, he held a long, cold, gleaming sword in his hands and stared at Northern with a wicked grin on his face.
"Did I play the role perfectly?"
"Yep. So well that your sudden personality switch is so difficult to believe—it seemed forced even. Stars, my fate is so bleak. Why are these sorts of hurdles being thrust upon me?"
Northern exhaled in exasperation.
"I don't want to have the blood of a friend on my hands."
Aster frowned.
"You seem so sure that you can defeat me."
Northern paused, his expression going blank. He blinked a few times, then focused on Aster.
"Wait. So, you think I can't?"
Aster clenched his fist tightly around the sword, slowly taking a step closer to Northern.
"Rian, I have been preparing for this moment since you even entered the picture. Of course, with you entering the picture, things got even better, but... I basically lived all my life as a lie so that I could return to my homeland and be united with the rest of my people."
Northern threw his head back in exasperation.
"Ah right, you must be the one... the one who leaked all my info, my secrets—which weren't really secrets like that because I mean, what difference does knowing them make?"
He smiled softly.
"It looks like you guys have really put a lot into whatever is going on. I feel so bad that it looks like I'm unraveling your plans without even realizing what I'm doing. All I want to do is kill Koll and stop Kryos' descent. What has that got to do with your people, Asterman?"
Aster's eyes radiated a cold, vicious light.
"The very thing you are doing is what it's got to do with me and my people. Koll offers us a way to merge the world back together. He says that Trael and Underworld were two halves of a whole, and that only by bringing the whole back will we have the home and dominion we seek."
"And you believe him?"
Aster grimaced.
"Koll has nothing to gain from lying to us. With or without us, this can be achieved—he is merely doing us a favor."
"Is that what he told you?"
Aster's grimace darkened further.
"Wipe that look off your face!"
He shot forward toward Northern but immediately got intercepted.
"Aren't you forgetting someone!"
Vida appeared instantly before him, and her fist crashed down upon his head. Aster quickly raised one hand overhead, but the ground could not contain the force of impact.
A shockwave rippled outward, tearing the ground and causing him to lose balance. Vida threw another punch from behind her, but Aster shot his knee forward, and both blows connected instantaneously—Aster's knee to her gut, her punch to his face.
His head snapped to the side and she coughed blood and saliva. Both of them staggered away from each other on the crumbling ground.
Then they shot back toward each other. Aster hurled the sword at her with ferocious speed, the blade crackling with lightning. By that time, strange armor was already weaving itself around Vida's body.
She thrust her fist forward, and the black metal unfolded around her knuckles with dazzling speed—moments before the sword connected with her fist and bounced off with a spray of sparks.
The lightning that had been dancing around the cold blade streaked across her gauntlet and over her entire arm, causing her to recoil slightly.
But she clenched her teeth and sent her fist flying forward. Aster's blade and her fist connected, and from both sides, lightning bombarded against each other with a mighty force that roared.