Chapter 79: The Tyrant's Test
"Eeeek!"
Lucy and Happy shrieked in terror upon seeing Natsu vanish in a blur and reappear as a crater in the village wall, his unconscious body embedded in the splintered wood. Both of them were trembling all over, holding each other for dear life.
Gray slapped his forehead, his expression a mix of frustration and genuine fear. "This idiot!" he groaned.
He knew this was bad. When Ren took on his 'Tyrant' form, his personality became extremely violent and cold, just like when Mira took on her full Satan Soul. His entire demeanor changed drastically, from their calm, easy-going friend to this... this predator.
Facing Ren in this state, it's best to go along with his wishes. Otherwise, if you're crippled, you'll have no one to complain to.
Just now, Gray had wanted to give Natsu and the others a way out, to de-escalate the situation. As long as Natsu and his companions softened up, apologized, and asked Ren to release his 'Tyrant' transformation, everything else would be easy to discuss.
But Natsu... Natsu was Natsu.
From the wreckage of the wall, Natsu's body twitched. He coughed, spitting out a chip of wood, and slowly, painfully, pulled himself out of the crater. He staggered, but he stood up.
He looked at Ren, his eyes blazing not with fear, but with a stubborn, burning determination. "I said... NO!" he shouted, his voice hoarse. "I must complete the S-Class Quest!"
"Eh—!"
Lucy was terrified. "He's still conscious?! Why is he still being so stubborn at a time like this? He's going to get himself killed!"
"Natsu! How dare you speak to His Majesty Ren like that! Apologize quickly!" Happy, in a full-blown panic, quickly told Natsu. If he didn't apologize soon, Ren would kill him!
Lucy, even in her terror, couldn't help but retort at Happy's address. "His Majesty?! Since when-?!"
"I won't apologize!" Natsu growled, wiping blood from his lip. "Back then, didn't Ren also complete an S-Class Quest before he became an S-Class Mage? And he even did an SS-Class Quest afterward! I want to prove that what Ren can do, I can do too!"
"But that's Ren!" Happy shouted back, his logic finally breaking through his panic.
Ren is a complete monster. A super monster who can even defeat a monster like Erza in one move. You're just... Natsu!
"No!" Natsu said stubbornly, planting his feet.
Ren's lips, which had been set in a cold line, curled slightly. He raised his face, and a brilliant, almost cheerful smile appeared on it. The contrast with his oppressive aura was horrifying.
"You're right," Ren said, his voice a lazy drawl. "After all, I also once broke the guild's rules, so I have no right to stop you. But there's one... tiny... difference between us. And that's strength."
He tilted his head, the scar at his lip crinkling. "Natsu, it seems we haven't fought in a long time, have we? The last time was probably half a year ago, when I had just joined the guild."
Ren's smile widened, a hint of genuine nostalgia in his eyes. "To be honest, if you had held on for one more minute back then... I would have been the one who was defeated. My magic would have run out."
He held up one finger. "So, since you want to do an S-Class Quest, I'll give you a fair chance. Defeat me. As long as you can defeat me... this quest is yours."
"What—?!"
Everyone—Lucy, Gray, and the villagers hiding behind their huts—was startled by Ren's words.
Defeat Ren? Are you kidding?
What kind of monster is Ren? Let alone defeating him, even surviving his attacks was only because Ren held back!
"Good!!"
Natsu, however, didn't see the impossibility. He saw the challenge. His fear was instantly burned away by excitement. "If I defeat you, this S-Class Quest is mine!!"
Lucy quickly interjected, running out from her hiding spot, though she kept a safe distance. "Hey! Natsu, don't be impulsive! Can't you see what he's doing? Ren just wants a legitimate reason to beat you up!"
Gray also advised, "That's right, flame-brain! It's impossible to defeat that monster! He's a super monster who can even instantly kill a monster like Erza! He just one-shotted you through three houses!"
"Aye~ !" Happy added, agreeing with Gray.
"I'M ALL FIRED UP—!"
Natsu, at this moment, couldn't hear anything else. All he could think about was how to defeat Ren and then complete the S-Class Quest. This was his chance to prove himself!
"It seems you agree," Ren said, his smile widening. "Then let's go outside and fight! It's too cramped in here..."
No sooner had Ren's voice faded than he appeared directly in front of Natsu. He gripped Natsu's face with his right hand, then quickly turned and, with a purely physical, one-armed throw, forcefully pushed Natsu towards the shattered village gate.
Whoosh—!
Natsu's figure rapidly retreated, flying through the air. By the time he came to his senses, he was already outside the village, skidding to a halt in the dirt.
All the villagers, curious and terrified, also ran out to the broken walls to secretly watch.
Natsu looked at Ren, his face full of shock. He hadn't even seen what happened just now. One second Ren was 20 meters away, the next, he had been grabbed and thrown.
Fast! He was truly, inhumanly fast!
The most troublesome aspects of Ren in this form were his speed and his strength. Natsu knew he had to focus all his concentration, and at the same time, significantly increase his own speed and strength.
Whoosh—!
Blazing flames ignited all over Natsu's body, and it seemed as if fire was burning in his eyes. This was his full power.
Boom!!
The ground beneath Ren's feet exploded as he, too, vanished, his body rapidly charging towards Natsu.
Flames also erupted from beneath Natsu's feet as he roared, charging towards Ren.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Natsu's fist, wreathed in a spinning vortex of flames, struck at Ren.
Ren, his face a mask of casual boredom, didn't even bother to dodge. He met it with a simple, un-magical punch of his own.
Boom—!!
A massive shockwave erupted at the point of impact.
"Ugh!"
Natsu felt as if his fist had hit a block of solid iron. The intense, bone-jarring pain made him involuntarily cry out. He felt the bones in his hand crack. His flames were extinguished instantly, and his entire body was sent flying backward.
Natsu quickly flipped over, his feet landing on the ground, and after sliding a distance of ten meters, he stabilized his body, clutching his broken hand.
'So strong! He didn't even use magic!'
Then Natsu immediately took a deep breath, his chest swelling, gathering all his remaining magic power in his throat. He wouldn't let him get close again.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!!!"
A violent, massive beam of concentrated fire shot directly towards Ren.
Crack—!
Ren, seeing the pillar of fire, merely sidestepped. His palm plunged directly into one of the huge, thick wooden gateposts that had been shattered earlier.
Rumble!!
Then, with an easy lift, Ren effortlessly raised the pillar, which was over ten meters high and more than two meters thick. With a grunt of exertion, Ren forcefully hurled it, like a javelin, directly into Natsu's Roar.
Boom—!!
The massive wooden pillar was easily destroyed when it met Natsu's Roar, exploding into a massive cloud of splinters and steam.
Just as Natsu thought his attack had at least been blocked, and he was safe in the cloud of smoke... Ren's figure appeared directly in front of him.
He had run through the explosion.
By the time Natsu reacted, his eyes wide, it was too late.
"Too slow!"
A punch, so fast it left an afterimage, landed squarely on Natsu's abdomen.
"Ugh... ah... ah... ah...!"
Natsu couldn't even scream. The air was forced from his lungs in a single, silent gasp. His figure was sent flying backward, a blur of red and black.
Boom... boom... boom... boom... boom!!
Tree after tree in the island's purple forest was broken and shattered by Natsu's uncontrolled impact, until he finally crashed into a massive boulder, which cracked under the force.
Natsu clutched his abdomen, blood trickling from his mouth, as he staggered to stand up. He was shaking. Fortunately, he had subconsciously covered his entire body in flames just now, or he might have been knocked out, or even killed, by that one blow.
'Ren... is indeed Ren...' Natsu thought, his vision blurring. 'His immense strength... it's unfathomable.'
He knew he couldn't win a battle of attrition. Even if he could exhaust the opponent's magic, with this guy's personality, he would definitely defeat him before his own magic ran out. Besides, it was unknown whose magic would run out first, and the current Ren was completely different from the one he'd fought six months ago.
Since that was the case... he had no choice but to go all out. One last shot.
"Full Magic Release!!"
Whoosh—!!
Natsu released all his remaining magic power. Blazing, golden-red flames, far hotter than before, continuously gathered around his body, forming a vortex.
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art!" he roared, his voice raw. "Crimson Lotus: Phoenix Blade!!"
[Akarin's Note: Guren Hōō Ken (Crimson Lotus: Phoenix Blade) is one of Natsu's Dragon Slayer Secret Arts, where he ignites his entire body and charges at the opponent like a fiery comet.]
Natsu shouted, his body, now a projectile of pure, concentrated flame, rapidly charging towards Ren. His trajectory was like a fiery sword, a phoenix of destruction, melting the very ground beneath him as he moved.
Upon seeing this, Ren stood still. He didn't dodge.
He simply raised his palms, bracing himself, and caught the attack.
Boom—!!!
Natsu's head, the very tip of the fiery phoenix, collided with Ren's bare palms. A powerful, deafening impact erupted, causing the ground to explode and spread outwards in a massive shockwave of superheated air and dust.
Ren's feet, clad in their simple cloth shoes, were forced backward, digging two deep trenches in the solid rock. He slid back four, then five meters... and then stopped.
After a short, eternal second, Natsu's momentum, and his flames, gradually decreased. He soon stopped, his head still pressed against Ren's smoking palms. He was completely out of breath; the Dragon Slayer's Secret Art consumed a huge amount of magic power, and he had just depleted his entire tank.
"Ho... how... how is this possible..."
Natsu's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw Ren, who had only slid back a few meters. This was a Dragon Slayer's Secret Art. Taught to him by Igneel. It was his strongest, all-or-nothing move.
And it had actually been blocked by Ren... with just his hands.
Clap... clap!
Ren clapped his hands, brushing off the soot and extinguishing the small embers on his palms. He looked at the exhausted, defeated Natsu and said lightly:
"Is that all you've got?"
[Akarin Note:
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