Chapter 87: Protecting One's Own
"So strong—!"
When Natsu saw the power of Ren's attack, his hair stood on end, and intense flames unconsciously erupted from his head.
Natsu's eyes were filled with a mixture of shock and uncontrollable excitement. It was powerful. It was too powerful. The moment Ren swung that massive blade, Natsu felt as if the sky itself had been split open.
The previous characters Ren had taken on all gave him different feelings.
Ulquiorra, in his released form, made him feel a comprehensive, cold, and alien power. His overall abilities were terrifyingly strong.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the "Sword God" form, gave him a sense of absolute danger; every time he saw those calm, red eyes, he felt a chill down his neck, as if he could be cut a thousand times before he even blinked.
Fushiguro Toji, the "Tyrant," was the character he had suffered the most from. In that form, Natsu felt like Ren was a humanoid Giant Dragon—pure, unstoppable, and brutal physical force.
Ace, his "Flame Emperor," was his favorite. Those raging, white-hot flames were something he had tasted once, and he could never forget their power and flavor.
As for this old man, this new form of Whitebeard... Natsu only felt two words from him: Powerful. Unrivaled.
One strike, splitting mountains and severing seas.
It was truly too strong. It was too strong.
Undoubtedly, this was the strongest, most overwhelming character he had seen Ren take on so far.
Lucy and Happy were also completely stunned, huddled together. They had already thought Ren was as strong as a monster when he took on the 'Tyrant' form. But upon seeing Ren take on Whitebeard, they realized that Ren actually had an even stronger transformation.
And this transformation was truly terrifying. They couldn't imagine such a powerful human even existing. It was like a god of destruction had descended.
Sherry Blendy and her two companions, Yuka Suzuki and Toby Horhorta, were now slumped on the ground, their legs trembling too much to stand. The previous attack hadn't even been aimed at them; they were merely grazed by the aftermath, the shockwave of wind and power.
But after seeing the terrifying, casual destruction Ren had caused—a mountain and the sea—the three of them had long since lost their will to fight.
They looked at Ren with terrified expressions. If the difference in strength wasn't significant, they might have tried to fight, to fulfill their love or their mission. But at this point, the gap in power between the two sides was so vast, so impossibly, comically large, that any resistance would be meaningless.
Just as Ren and Sherry's group of three were in a standoff, the main fight resumed.
Gray and Lyon were also fighting, their own battle raging.
"Lyon, do you know what you're doing?!" Gray roared, his voice filled with a decade of pain and rage. "Ur sacrificed her life to seal Deliora! And yet you... you still want to destroy what she left behind!"
Lyon, his helmet now off, removed it completely, revealing his true face: a cool, handsome man with light blue hair, his features a mirror of Gray's, but colder.
"How did you get amnesia, Gray?" Lyon sneered. "I remember Ur was killed by you. How can you live so shamelessly? If you have any sense of shame, then don't get in my way. I'm going to revive Deliora."
"I won't let you succeed!"
"Alright then," Lyon said, his voice dropping. "Let's settle this, once and for all."
"Ice-Make: Eagle!"
Lyon raised one hand, and a large number of ice eagles, sharp and perfectly formed, were created in an instant. They flew rapidly towards Gray.
"Ice-Make: Ice Shield!"
Gray, using his two-handed casting style, quickly conjured a large, flower-shaped shield to block in front of him.
The ice eagles, however, were too fast and too numerous. They swarmed, their movements dynamic and alive, striking Gray from all sides.
"Ugh!"
Gray let out a painful cry as the sharp, static ice claws tore at his arms and chest.
Lyon said indifferently, "You specialize in 'static' Molding Magic, Gray. It's sloppy and boring. I specialize in 'dynamic' Molding Magic. It is perfect, and it is alive. Did you forget that my magic moves?"
[Akarin's Note: In canon, Gray is the user of Static Molding (creating inanimate objects like weapons) and Lyon uses Dynamic Molding (creating moving animals). I have corrected this to match the official canon.]
"Ice-Make: Hammer Soldier!"
Gray, in a disheveled state, burst out of the ice, ignoring his wounds, and quickly cast his magic with both hands.
A giant ice hammer, wielded by a soldier of ice, formed above Lyon's head and smashed down towards him.
Lyon calmly raised a single finger: "Ice-Make: Great Ape!"
A giant, unmoving ice ape was created, its arms raised, blocking the attack above Lyon's head.
Crack—!
The Great Ape's arms and the ice hammer shattered together.
Lyon said disdainfully, "It's simply no match. You're still the same as before, Gray. A clumsy, inefficient child, casting magic with both hands."
"Ur taught us this, didn't she?!" Gray yelled back, his anger rising. "Single-hand molding makes it easy to lose balance! It's an incomplete form!"
"I'm different," Lyon said, his voice cold. "My ability has long surpassed Ur's."
"Don't be so conceited!"
"The same goes for you," Lyon retorted. "From childhood until now... have you ever hit me even once, Gray?"
"I'm not the same as I was before!"
"Ice Geyser!"
Gray slammed both hands on the ground, and a large amount of ice surged upwards from beneath, like a powerful, frozen spring, erupting under Lyon.
Crackle, crackle—!
Lyon, with an expression of pure boredom, simply raised one hand and cast the exact same spell. A larger, more powerful, more concentrated Ice Geyser erupted, completely nullifying Gray's attack in a shower of ice.
"It's the same," Lyon said, his voice now quiet. "I'm your senior. I'm stronger than you. I can do single-hand molding; you can't. Nothing has changed. Although we chose different paths, time seems to have frozen in the past."
Lyon raised his palm. "Ice-Make: Dragon!"
A massive, static ice dragon roared up from the ground, its unmoving form crashing into Gray and sending him flying.
"Ugh—!"
Gray fell heavily to the ground, his body bruised and his magic power dwindling.
"Ur is my goal," Lyon said, his expression at this moment falling into a disturbing, obsessive frenzy. "Surpassing Ur is my dream. But this dream... it was taken from me... by you, Gray. Because she died to save you, I can no longer surpass Ur. So there's only one way: Deliora. The demon whom even Ur couldn't defeat. If I can defeat it... then I will have surpassed Ur, and my dream will be realized."
Gray listened to Lyon's words in disbelief, pushing himself up on one elbow. "Are you... are you serious? Is this your true purpose? You... you should know how terrifying Deliora is! Stop, Lyon! It's impossible!"
Lyon's face became distorted as he listened to Gray's words, the old trauma and jealousy twisting his features.
Boom!
A large, spiked cage of ice rose from beneath Gray's feet, impaling and trapping him.
"Ugh—!"
"You tell me to stop?" Lyon screamed, his voice cracking. "You say it's impossible?! We told you the same thing back then! You haven't forgotten, have you?! It's because you wanted to challenge Deliora that Ur died! You... you killed her! You have no right to say her name! Get lost! Get lost!"
Suddenly!
Rumble—!
A violent, deep sound erupted, one that was not from their fight. It was the sound of the ocean, a mile away, crashing back into the canyon that had been carved into it.
The sound caught Lyon's attention. He looked in the direction of the sound, and his pupils constricted. He saw an extremely shocking scene.
A giant mountain in the distance... was split cleanly in half. And the distant sea... was also torn apart.
"This... what is this?"
This level of destructive power... it had exceeded Lyon's entire concept of magic.
Ren, his transformation still active, had been watching the fight. He noticed the situation here and began to walk over, step by step, his massive form shaking the ground. As he passed Lyon, Lyon's spirit, which had just been triumphant, immediately tensed up. He felt as if a terrifying, ancient monster had walked past him; he had never experienced such a dangerous, overwhelming feeling before. He resisted the urge to attack, his body frozen in fear.
Ren, the giant Whitebeard, came to stand before the defeated Gray, who was still trapped in Lyon's ice. A massive shadow fell over him.
Ren looked down, a small smile on his face. "You're so weak," his voice boomed. "Beaten so badly. And you said all those cool things like 'your opponent is me.' How long has it been, a minute? And you're already knocked down?"
"..."
Gray, his face a mix of shame and pain, had nothing to say. He had indeed lost, and lost badly.
At this point, Ren's tone shifted. The teasing vanished, replaced by a low, protective growl. He turned his massive head, his gaze falling upon Lyon, who flinched.
"However! No matter how weak you are, you're a Mage of Fairy Tail. You're my nakama. I don't care how I bully you... but I won't allow outsiders to bully you."
[Akarin Note:
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