Chapter 85: The Strongest Man in the World
"That emblem... they are from Fairy Tail."
Sherry Blendy immediately recognized the familiar guild mark on Natsu's shoulder, her voice sharp with annoyance.
"So that's it," Yuka Suzuki grumbled, rubbing his thick eyebrows. "The villagers must have asked the guild for help! Those idiots, meddling in things they don't understand."
He knew that the people in that village had been cursed into demon forms, which was precisely why this island had become a terrifying "Demon Island," a place where they could conduct their work in peace.
Reitei, the man in the horned helmet, said coldly, his voice devoid of emotion, "What are you still standing there for? Go. Clean up the village for me."
"Eh?"
"What?!"
Natsu and Lucy were confused, having expected a direct fight. "Weren't we already standing right here? Why do you still need to go bother the villagers? We're the ones you should be fighting!"
Reitei clenched his fist, as if explaining something to a simple-minded child. "Anyone who obstructs, or attempts to obstruct, our sacred goal... is an enemy. The village hired you. Therefore, the village is an enemy. They must be eliminated."
"What?!!"
Natsu was dumbfounded by this twisted, cold logic.
"Bastard—!!!"
Suddenly!
A blur of motion. Gray, who had been silent and trembling, rushed out from behind the pillar, his face a mask of pure, cold fury. He slammed his hands on the ground.
"Stop this meaningless ritual! Stop this action at once!!"
Crack, crack!!!
A large amount of ice erupted from the ground, racing across the temple floor in a wave of sharp spikes, rushing directly towards Reitei.
Reitei didn't even flinch. He simply pressed one hand on the ground, his posture mirroring Gray's perfectly. He cast the exact same magic.
"Ice-Make: Shield!"
A massive, intricate wall of ice rose from the floor, colliding with Gray's attack.
Crack——!!
Their magic cancelled each other out. The ice shattered, the force of the collision sending shards and mist exploding in every direction.
"Ice?!"
Both sides were somewhat surprised. It was clear both of them used Ice-Make magic; while ice magic wasn't the rarest, seeing two users in one place was uncommon.
But Gray was not surprised. He was horrified. He stared at the man in the helmet, his entire body shaking, not from cold, but from a decade of trauma and rage crashing down on him at once.
"Lyon... do you know what you're doing?"
Gray looked at Reitei, his expression grim as he questioned him.
"Heh heh," the man in the helmet chuckled, a cold, familiar sound. "Long time no see, Gray."
Reitei also accurately called out Gray's name.
"They know each other?!"
Lucy and Happy were instantly stunned. This S-Class quest was getting more and more complicated.
"So, the Mages the villagers found is you, huh?" Lyon said, his voice dripping with arrogance. "Did you come because you knew I was here, or was it just a coincidence? Never mind. It's all the same anyway."
He gestured to his subordinates. "You guys hurry up and take care of the village. I can handle this place alone."
"Yes, Lord Reitei!"
"Don't even think about leaving!"
Natsu grew anxious at the sight and quickly chased after the three—Sherry, Yuka, and Toby. He was completely, and foolishly, oblivious to the almost imperceptible icy chill that was emanating from the air.
Gray, however, noticed it instantly. He knew this magic. He knew this style. It was his style. No... it was Ur's style.
He quickly tried to stop him: "Wait, Natsu, don't move!!"
But it was already too late.
Whoosh!!!
The icy chill in the air coalesced. It wasn't a projectile. It was a trap. It quickly enveloped Natsu's body, then rapidly proliferated. In an instant, Natsu's body, except for his head and limbs, was completely encased in a thick, unmoving block of ice.
"Damn it! I can't move!"
Natsu, trapped, immediately tried to melt the ice on his body with his Dragon Slayer flames. "Fire Dragon's...!"
The flames roared to life, but they sizzled and died against the surface of the ice, which didn't even drip.
"What's wrong with this ice?!" Natsu yelled, panicked. "Why can't I melt it with my fire?!!"
[Akarin's Note: Ice-Make Magic has two distinct forms. Dynamic Ice-Make (like that used by Ur and Gray) creates living, moldable objects like animals, weapons, and shields. Static Ice-Make (used by Lyon) creates still, unmoving, and incredibly durable forms of ice, which are far more resistant to heat.]
Sherry and the other two felt relieved when they saw Natsu frozen. With one of the intruders taken out, they prepared to go and destroy the village.
Just then, a calm, bored voice cut through the air. A figure stepped out from the shadows, blocking their path.
"You three should stop. Harming my clients... that's not acceptable."
"Ren!!"
Lucy and Happy were overjoyed to see Ren; they had forgotten he was still there, watching.
"Ren?"
Zalty's expression, hidden behind his mask, changed slightly when he heard Ren's name. 'Ren?' he thought, his mind racing. 'The same name as the 'Tyrant'... no, it can't be. Why would he be here?'
"That's great!" Lucy's confidence soared now that Ren had appeared. "Ren! They're going to destroy the village! Quickly, use 'Tyrant' and take them down!"
"Tyrant?!"
Yuka and Sherry were slightly startled when they heard Lucy's title. The name sounded familiar, and deeply unsettling.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you leaving yet?" Lyon asked, seeing his subordinates hesitating. "I told you, I'll handle these guys."
Sherry said, her voice now grave, "Lord Reitei... he... he might be the 'Tyrant'."
"Tyrant? Who is that?"
Lyon, in his obsession and isolation, usually didn't pay attention to matters in the magic world, so he wasn't aware of the 'Tyrant's' great and terrible reputation.
But Yuka and the others were different. Although they had lived on Galuna Island for a long time, they sometimes went to Hargeon Port to purchase supplies and would also catch up on the latest news from the magic world.
Yuka's voice was trembling slightly. "'Tyrant' is a Mage who has recently risen to fame on the Ishgar continent. His most famous battle... was single-handedly wiping out the entire Rocas Bandit Group. An army of ten thousand men. He... he crippled or killed all of them. I... I never expected 'Tyrant' to be a member of the Fairy Tail Guild."
"Single-handedly wiping out ten thousand?"
Lyon's expression also changed slightly. That was a level of power he hadn't anticipated.
"Tyrant, huh?" Ren said to himself.
To be honest, using his 'Tyrant' form (Fushiguro Toji) was indeed very satisfying and ruthlessly efficient. But this time... he wanted to try out his new character. These people were strong enough for a small test.
It was time for the strongest man in the world, Whitebeard, to make an appearance.
"Full Take Over · Edward Newgate!!"
The magic power that erupted from Ren was not like the cold, sharp killing intent of the 'Tyrant' form. This was something else entirely. It was a vast, boundless, crushing pressure, like the bottom of the ocean.
Ren's body began to rapidly grow taller and larger. His clothes transformed, his simple shirt and pants dissolving into wide, light-yellow pants, a black belt, and black boots. His upper body was bare, revealing a torso of immense, scarred muscles.
His body continued to expand, past two meters, past three, past five... stopping at a colossal six meters and sixty-six centimeters.
A massive, flowing white captain's coat with a red lining appeared on his shoulders. And in his hand, a weapon that was larger than any of the men present materialized: Whitebeard's exclusive weapon, Murakumogiri, one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Swords.
Most conspicuously, a crescent-shaped white mustache curved upwards below his nose. His face was a composite of Ren's and Whitebeard's, his eyes holding the wisdom and power of an Emperor. He looked incredibly, impossibly, imposing.
"So... big—!!!"
Everyone—Lyon, Zalty, Sherry, Yuka, and Toby—was startled by Ren's new, god-like height.
Even Natsu (still frozen), Gray, Lucy, and Happy, who were familiar with Ren's transformations, were completely stunned at this moment. They had never witnessed this transformed state.
Lucy, her mind completely broken by the sight, couldn't help but blurt out, "Ren... Ren turned into Grandpa Whitebeard?!"
Ren, now towering over the ruins, felt the immense, overflowing power in his body. As expected of the man hailed as the strongest in the world in the One Piece world. This incredible power was truly amazing.
"Angelica!!" Sherry, though terrified, shrieked, calling her "ultimate" weapon. "This is love's fury! Attack!"
Rumble—!!
The giant rat that Ren and the others had encountered during the day, Angelica, burrowed directly out of the ruins, apparently having been hiding nearby.
"Squeak——!!"
It shrieked and pounced towards Ren, its giant form now looking like a mere rodent next to Ren's towering new one.
Ren looked down at the leaping rat, his expression impassive. He clenched his giant, car-sized fist.
Hum——!!
A white, transparent, spherical light shield appeared, enveloping Ren's fist. This was the power of the Gura Gura no Mi, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Terrifying, world-ending shockwaves were compressed and condensed within that small shield.
Immediately after, Ren casually threw a punch... not at the rat, but at the empty air beside it.
"——————!!"
There was no sound. Just a silent shattering.
Crack crack—!!
The air itself, like a shattered mirror, showed dense, physical cracks.
Boom——————!!
An instant later, the shockwave hit. The ruins vibrated violently, as if an earthquake of magnitude seven or eight had just erupted from that single point.
Crack! Crack——!!
Large sections of the ancient ruins shattered, the stone floor buckling, and the ceiling collapsing.
"Squeak——!!"
The giant rat, Angelica, which had been in mid-air, was struck by the edge of the invisible shockwave. It coughed up large mouthfuls of blood, and its body was sent flying, crashing through the side of the ruins and disappearing into the forest.
"Earthquake?!!"
"Ugh ah ah ah ah!!"
"Wah ah ah ah ah!!"
Everyone—Lucy, Gray, Yuka, Sherry, and Toby—almost lost their footing, letting out terrified screams as the entire temple fell apart around them.
After a few long seconds, the tremors finally subsided.
Everyone looked terrified; no one could remain calm when facing a terrifying, localized natural disaster like an earthquake.
Lyon's expression, hidden behind his helmet, had also become extremely serious. Magic that could trigger such a large-scale earthquake... it indicated that the opponent's strength was extremely powerful.
But, he steeled himself, 'No matter how powerful, he can't be my opponent. Not when I'm this close. I have already surpassed Ur.'
Lyon looked directly up at the giant Ren and asked, his voice now tight and serious, "Who are you?"
Ren, his voice now a deep, booming baritone that echoed through the cavern, simply said:
"Fairy Tail. Ren."
[Akarin Note:
Your Support Keeps This Story Alive!
If you're enjoying this novel, your support means the world to me. Simple actions like leaving a review, power stone, comment, or sharing the story let me know you're out there. It's the greatest motivation for me to keep updating until the very end and ensures this project continues.
For those who wish to support me more directly, you can join my Patreon at [patreon.com/AkarinTL]. As a thank-you, you'll receive access to 50 advanced chapters.
As a special offer, I've opened a few limited-time tiers at a discounted price! You will get all the benefits of "The Founding Pillars" (normally $20), but at a much cheaper rate.
These slots are extremely limited:
"The Plot Uncoverer": $4.99 (Save 75% / $15.01) - Only 3 slots
"The Dedicated Fan": $9.99 (Save 50% / $10.01) - Only 7 slots
"The Lore Diver": $14.99 (Save 25% / $5.01) - Only 15 slots
I hope I am still worthy of your support. My life truly depends on this... haha, I know I'm so shameless.]