Chapter 88: The Strongest Man vs. The Prodigy
Ren's words, his deep, booming voice declaring Gray as his, stirred an indescribable feeling in Gray's heart. He was still lying on the cold, hard stone, his body aching from Lyon's attack, but the shame he felt was suddenly washed away by a different, warmer emotion.
He, Gray, had spent his life trying to protect others, trying to atone for his mistake with Ur. He had never, not once, had someone stand over him like a living mountain and declare him as something to be protected.
He forcefully held back the embarrassing tears that welled in his eyes.
"Hmph!" Lyon Vastia's voice was sharp, cutting through the cavern. His eyes were fixed, not on Gray, but on the 6-meter-tall giant that now stood between them. "Do you intend to stop me from resurrecting Deliora?"
He assumed a battle stance, his body tense. He had to be careful. The power this man had just displayed... it was unthinkable.
Ren, his Murakumogiri still resting casually on his shoulder, let out a booming laugh. "Gurararara... Don't talk about stopping or not stopping, brat. You can resurrect whoever you want; I don't care at all."
His gaze hardened, and the air in the cavern grew heavy, the pressure of his aura becoming almost physical. "But you absolutely shouldn't have tried to harm my client. And you definitely shouldn't have hit my companion."
"Of course," Ren's lips curled into Whitebeard's iconic, confident grin. "You could say it was a fair fight. But there's nothing I can do. It's just my nature... to protect my own."
Lyon's eyes sharpened, his fear momentarily eclipsed by his pride. "Hmph! What's the use of so many pretty words? In the end, aren't we still going to fight?"
Ren smiled. "It's still useful, brat. At least it lets you know why you're about to get beaten."
"Impudent!" Lyon roared, lashing out. "Ice-Make: Great Eagle!!"
Lyon raised his single palm, and a dozen massive, static ice eagles, each with a wingspan of three meters, shot from the ground, screeching as they flew towards Ren's giant form.
Ren stood his ground, not dodging. He didn't even flinch.
Boom... boom... boom... boom... boom!!
The ice eagles, each one a powerful, condensed blast of magic, struck Ren's bare chest... and shattered like glass, having no effect at all.
"He... he just stood there...?" Lucy stammered, her eyes wide.
"Ice-Make: Great Ape!!"
Lyon, his eyes widening in disbelief, naturally didn't think Ren would be defeated so easily. He had been testing him. While Ren was "staggering" (which he wasn't), Lyon quickly used his next magic, pressing his palm to the floor.
A giant, 15-meter-tall ice ape, far larger than Sherry's Rock Doll, erupted from the ground before Ren. It clenched its massive, icy fists and smashed them down towards Ren's head.
Boom!!!
Ren was struck by the ice ape's fists. He was driven down to one knee from the sheer, unexpected weight of the blow.
"He did it!" Sherry yelled.
But Ren, still on one knee, was completely unharmed. He looked up, his expression one of mild annoyance.
"What?!" Lyon gasped.
Ren, still kneeling, casually threw a single punch at the ice ape's chest. He didn't even use his tremor power. It was just a normal, physical punch.
Boom----!!
The entire, massive ice ape exploded into a billion pieces, showering the cavern in a hailstorm of ice shards.
"Ice-Make: White Tiger!!"
Seeing that the ice ape's attack had no effect on Ren, Lyon's expression darkened slightly. His pride was being shattered. He quickly created another, sleeker, faster ice tiger.
Roar----!!
The ice tiger charged towards Ren, attempting to attack him with its sharp, icy claws, aiming for his face.
"Oh, a little kitty," Ren's voice boomed.
Slap!
Ren, his movements surprisingly fast for his size, pressed one hand, a hand larger than the tiger itself, directly onto the ice tiger's head, stopping its charge instantly. Then, with a slight exertion of force, the ice tiger was effortlessly lifted into the air by Ren with one hand. The ice tiger struggled continuously, its limbs thrashing, but to no avail.
"Here, have it back!"
Ren directly threw the ice tiger back at Lyon.
"Disperse!!"
Lyon, not wanting to be hit by his own magic, quickly dispelled it. The ice white tiger dissolved into fine, magical mist just before it hit him.
"Damn it!!" Lyon was now panting, his magic power draining from creating so many massive constructs.
"Ice-Make: White Dragon!!!"
He poured his magic into one last, massive attack.
Rumble----!!
A gigantic, serpentine ice dragon, its body 30 meters long, burst from the ground. It shredded all the surrounding pillars of the ruins as it rose, and rapidly spun towards Ren, attempting to bite him, to coil around him, to crush him.
Ren did not dodge. He simply raised his arm, his skin darkening slightly as he coated it in Haki.
Crack----!
The white dragon's massive, ice-fang-filled maw bit down on Ren's arm... and all of its teeth shattered, exploding on impact. Ren was, once again, completely unharmed.
"----!"
Ren, his arm still in the dragon's mouth, slightly used the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. A small, invisible vibration.
Boom----!
Crack crack!!
The entire white dragon's body, from head to tail, instantly developed dense, spider-webbing cracks... and then disintegrated into a cloud of ice dust.
"This... how is this possible?!"
"No! This is impossible!!" Lyon was on the verge of a breakdown. He was a prodigy! He was the one who had perfected Ur's magic! "How can my magic have no effect on you?!"
His strongest offensive magic, his most powerful creations, couldn't inflict the slightest damage on this man. Anyone would be on the verge of a breakdown in such a situation.
"Lord Reitei's magic..."
"...actually..."
"...how could this be?!..."
Everyone who witnessed this scene was terrified, especially Sherry, Yuka, and Zalty. They had seen strong Mages before, such as Jura of the Ten Wizard Saints.
But Lyon was also a very powerful Mage they had seen, otherwise they wouldn't have followed him.
Yet, this Lyon, who they considered extremely powerful, was now... powerless. He was unable to inflict any damage on that giant man, which seemed far too absurd.
Lucy, Natsu, and Happy felt much the same. This was simply too overwhelmingly, despairingly powerful.
"I don't believe it!!" Lyon roared, his mind snapping.
"Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!!"
In his desperation, Lyon pressed both hands on the ground—Ur's style, Gray's style, the style he had so long disdained—and a large amount of ice erupted like a geyser from beneath Ren's feet, a last-ditch attempt to freeze him from below.
Ren, his expression unchanged, simply raised an eyebrow, then lightly stomped his foot.
"----!"
Rumble----!!
All the ice shattered before it could even form. The entire ruin trembled violently from the force of his stomp, as if it could collapse at any moment.
"Ugh ah ah ah!"
Everyone lost their footing and shrieked in fright as the ground shook.
Hum----!
Ren, his patience now at its end, clenched his massive right fist. The power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit condensed within it, forming that iconic, world-ending, white, transparent spherical light shield.
"Oh no!!"
Seeing the tremor shield on Ren's fist, Yuka and the other two's expressions immediately changed drastically. Previously, Ren had used this very move—a casual punch at the air—to severely injure the giant mouse, Angelica, and cause a devastating earthquake. Now, he was aiming it at them.
"Puppet Attack: Rock Puppet!!"
Sherry, in a panic, immediately created another giant stone golem and controlled it to charge towards Ren. Although she knew her magic couldn't harm Ren, merely obstructing him for a single moment would be enough.
"Wave: Barrier!!"
Yuka created a barrier of his anti-magic waves, blocking in front of Lyon. His specialty was dealing with Mages, and his barrier could nullify any opponent's magic. He would have confidently said that before, but facing Ren, he no longer had such confidence.
"You all..."
Lyon hadn't expected Sherry, Yuka, and Toby to choose to help him at this moment, despite the opponent's terrifying, god-like strength.
Sherry said to Lyon, her voice trembling but resolute, "Lord Reitei, you are the one who will help us fulfill our dreams and kill Deliora! We absolutely cannot stand by and watch you be attacked! This is our love!"
Toby, the dog-eared man, stood in front of Lyon in agreement, his claws bared. "Arf! Arf!"
Lyon was slightly moved by Sherry's words, but now was not the time for other talk. They absolutely had to block this monster's attack.
"Ice-Make: Wall!!"
Lyon, uncharacteristically, used both hands to perform his molding magic, pouring all his remaining strength into a single, massive, thick ice wall that stood before them.
Ren, seeing their combined, desperate defense, merely scoffed. He clenched his fist and struck the charging stone golem.
"--------!"
Crack crack----!!
The air once again shattered like a mirror. The terrifying, invisible tremor impact directly slammed into the stone golem.
Boom----!!
The stone golem's body, which was supposed to block the attack, exploded into dust under the attack of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power.
The shockwave continued, undeterred.
Next was Yuka's wave barrier. It shattered instantly, without even lasting a single second, its anti-magic properties utterly useless against a pure, physical vibration.
Following that was Lyon's thick, two-handed ice wall.
Boom------!!
Crack crack----!!
The ice wall, Lyon's strongest defense, also couldn't withstand Ren's tremor power. It exploded into a million pieces.
"Ugh ah ah ah!"
"Wah ah ah ah!"
The shattered ice wall, now a hailstorm of razor-sharp shrapnel, swept over the group. After the impact ended, all four of them—Lyon, Sherry, Yuka, and Toby—spat out blood and were sent flying, crashing heavily into the ground, unconscious.
At this moment, the people who had been performing the ritual, the robed mages, suddenly stopped their chanting. They rushed out from their positions and stood in front of Lyon and the others, their arms spread wide, forming a human wall.
"You are not allowed to harm Master Lyon!"
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