Chapter 89: You Don't Know How Terrifying I Am
"You all..."
Ren's booming voice, coming from his six-meter-tall Whitebeard form, was cut short. The people who had been performing the ritual, the ones who had just formed a human shield to protect the defeated Lyon, began to take off their heavy, dark robes.
And everyone—Natsu, Gray, and Lucy—gasped.
"Children!"
"Women... and old people?!"
Lucy and Natsu were shocked. They had originally thought these black-robed people were some kind of dark cultists, fanatics loyal to Lyon. But their true appearance showed men, women, and children, all with the same desperate, haunted look in their eyes. They didn't look like bad people at all. They looked like victims.
"What's going on?!" Happy asked from his hiding spot on Lucy's back.
An old woman, her face a web of wrinkles, stepped forward, her body trembling as she stood between Ren and the unconscious Lyon. "Our families... our homes... they were all killed by Deliora. We heard that Lord Lyon was the only one who could defeat Deliora, so we came to assist him. As long as Deliora is revived... and Lord Lyon defeats it again, we can finally avenge our families! So we will not allow you to harm Lord Lyon!!"
Ren, in his Whitebeard form, looked down at them. His expression, which had been one of cold annoyance, softened almost imperceptibly. He recognized this. He recognized the desperation of a family that had lost everything.
He let his Murakumogiri rest on the ground, its massive weight cracking the stone floor.
"Gurararara... I've said it before, I'm not interested in who you revive," his voice rumbled, shaking the cavern. "The only reason I acted was because he was trying to attack my client. Since he's been taught a lesson, it's over."
"Wait! Ren! You can't!" Gray quickly said, pushing himself up from the ground, his voice frantic. He ran to Ren's side, staring up at his giant form. "They're trying to revive Deliora! You can't let them!"
Ren looked down at Gray. "Gray, Deliora was sealed by your master, Ur, at the cost of her life. Logically, you have the right to decide. But they do, too. Their families were also killed by Deliora. Reviving Deliora and then killing it to avenge their families... they have their own justice."
"No! You don't understand!" Gray yelled, his voice cracking with a decade of buried trauma. "They don't understand how terrifying Deliora is! Lyon... he's no match for Deliora at all! You... none of you know what a terrifying disaster Deliora's revival will bring!"
Gray was breathing heavily, his entire body shaking. His panicked expression showed just how much fear he felt inside.
"You are very afraid," Ren stated. It wasn't a question.
"..."
Gray didn't deny it. He just bit his lip, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles were white. Deliora... the demon that had destroyed his home, his family... and because of him, because of his own childish arrogance, his master, Ur, was also killed. His fear of Deliora had deeply penetrated his bones, a cold that his own ice magic could never touch.
Ren looked at the terrified, traumatized ice mage at his feet. Then he looked at Lyon, who was beginning to stir, and at the desperate villagers. He sighed, a sound like a distant storm.
He turned his gaze back to Lyon and the others. "Go. Revive Deliora."
"What?!"
Everyone—Gray, Lucy, Natsu, and Happy—was stunned when they heard Ren's words.
Lucy stammered, "R-R-Ren... What did you just say?!"
"I said," Ren boomed, his voice leaving no room for argument, "let them revive Deliora."
"Wh-why?! Wasn't it frozen?! And that monster looks really scary!!" Lucy cried, her courage failing her.
"Because this," Ren said, gesturing not at the demon, but at Gray, "is Gray's psychological shadow. It's his chain. If Deliora isn't completely and finally killed, he will live in fear of it his whole life. He will never be free. He will never surpass his master."
He looked down at Gray, his Whitebeard eyes filled with a strange, paternal sternness. "Since that's the case, I'll take care of it."
"No! Ren! You can't!" Gray shouted, his panic returning full force. "You don't know how terrifying Deliora is! It's... it's indestructible! Ur... even Ur couldn't...!"
"No, brat," Ren interrupted, his voice a low, rumbling growl that silenced the entire cavern. "You don't know how terrifying I am."
Buzz— — — — —!!
An invisible force, an explosion of pure, unfiltered will, erupted from Ren's body.
Crack crack— — — —!!
It wasn't a sound. It was a feeling. Terrifying, black-red lightning, visible only as a distortion in the air, burst forth from him. The purple magical light of the Moon Drip flickered under the pressure. The clouds in the sky, visible through the hole in the roof, dispersed. The seawater around the entire island, miles away, churned and frothed under the weight of this invisible, oppressive force. The entire ruin, which had already been shattered, seemed to tremble and groan continuously.
This was Haoshoku Haki. The Conqueror's Haki.
[Akarin's Note: Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) is a rare form of Haki from One Piece, which allows the user to exert their willpower over others. It is an overwhelming, spiritual pressure.]
The robed villagers, their minds already fragile, couldn't withstand the powerful, royal pressure. Their eyes rolled back, and they fainted, one by one.
Natsu, Lucy, and Gray all looked at Ren in absolute horror, their eyes filled with a fear that went beyond anything Deliora could inspire. Their bodies were trembling uncontrollably.
"So... so terrifying!!!"
Lucy slumped to the ground, her legs giving out. It was her first time experiencing such a soul-deep, primal fear. It felt like a god was telling her she was insignificant, that she was nothing.
Natsu, his flames sputtering and dying against his skin, was forced to one knee, gritting his teeth. "What... what is this pressure...?! I... I can't... breathe..."
Gray was much the same. His fear of Deliora was a sharp, cold trauma. This... this was an ocean of pure, suffocating power. He had never felt anything like this before. It was only now, now, that they realized how powerful Ren truly was.
There was no need to mention Lyon and his followers. Zalty, Sherry, Yuka, and Toby, who had just been regaining consciousness, were instantly knocked out again, foam on their lips. Lyon himself, his eyes wide with disbelief, was struggling to stay conscious, his pride as a prodigy completely shattered.
If Ren had initially exuded such a terrifying aura, they might not have even had the courage to make a move.
Just then!
As if summoned by the sheer, overwhelming power...
Suddenly!!
"Roar— — — — —!!"
An earth-shattering, demonic roar, a sound of pure, ancient hatred, echoed through the entire ruin from the cavern below.
"So loud— — — —!!"
Natsu quickly covered his ears when he heard the sound. Not only was his nose sensitive, but his ears were also very sharp.
Gray's expression changed drastically. His body, already trembling from Ren's Haki, now began to shake uncontrollably for a different reason.
"This... this sound... I... I can't forget it... It's been ten years, but I'll never forget it..."
"Deliora..."
Lyon, who had also heard it, forced himself to his feet, his expression becoming one of ecstatic, manic excitement. "It's... it's revived! The ice is broken! My dream... my dream is about to be realized!"
"It's revived?!" Lucy shrieked.
Everyone immediately, and frantically, rushed back down to the underground cave.
When they arrived, the scene had changed. The massive, mountain-like Iced Shell was gone. It had melted, or rather, shattered. Large chunks of magical ice were falling from Deliora's body. The purple Moon Drip, its purpose served, had faded.
And the demon... the demon was free.
"Is it... revived... Deliora..." Gray stared blankly at the moving, breathing demon, his mind completely numb.
"At this point, we can only act!!" Natsu, his fear of Ren replaced by his battle-lust, shouted. His hands burst into flames. "Take down that demon!!"
"You... you can't defeat it..." Lyon stumbled into the cavern, his eyes fixed on the demon, his expression one of crazed worship. "That's mine... To surpass Ur... I finally see you again... Deliora..."
"The only monster Ur didn't defeat... I will defeat it now! I will surpass you now, Master...!"
Lyon, ignoring everyone, stumbled towards the waking demon.
Bang!
Gray, his face a mask of cold resolve, delivered a sharp, precise chop to the back of Lyon's neck, knocking him out cold.
"Enough, Lyon. Leave the rest to me," Gray said, his voice shaking but firm. He stepped between his friends and the demon. "I... I will seal Deliora!!"
Gray assumed the stance for Iced Shell, a stance he had sworn he would never use. A large, frigid amount of cold air began to emanate from his body.
Seeing Gray's stance, the now-conscious Lyon immediately shouted anxiously, "St-stop!! Gray!! You idiot! Do you know how long it took me to melt that ice?! Don't waste your efforts!! No matter what, I will melt the ice and challenge Deliora again!!"
"I'm sorry about Ur... and I'm sorry, Lyon. I'm destroying your dream... but this monster absolutely cannot be revived. Right now, this is the only way to stop it..."
Bang!!
Before Gray could finish speaking, he was kicked—hard—from the side, and sent flying.
Bang!!
"Ugh!"
Gray crashed into Natsu, sending them both tumbling.
"Ren! What are you doing?!" Gray shouted, looking up in anger.
Ren, still in his towering Whitebeard form, stood over them, his expression one of deep exasperation. "You're getting in the way. Get out of here."
He looked at their pathetic, terrified, and reckless selves. "Look at you! It's just a demon from Zeref's book. Is it really worth you all acting like you're going to die?"
Ren said exasperatedly.
"Roar— — — — —!!"
Deliora, now fully awake and its eyes burning with red light, opened its mouth wide. A massive ball of dark, destructive energy condensed within, and it fired, aimed directly at the back of Ren's head.
"Ren! Get out of the way— — — —!!"
Gray saw it and shouted in pure, abject terror. That was the blast that had destroyed his city!
Whoosh— — — —!!
The energy shot directly towards the back of Ren's head.
Ren didn't even turn his head. He just casually, back-handedly, flicked his hand.
Boom boom boom boom— — —!!!
The energy blast, an attack that could wipe a town off the map, was deflected. It was casually knocked away by Ren, sent flying upwards. It pierced a large, new hole through the roof of the ruin, flew into the sky, and landed on a distant mountain, shattering it.
Gasp— — — —!!
Everyone—Gray, Lucy, Natsu, and the conscious-again Lyon—was terrified by this horrifying power. This monster, Deliora, was indeed incredibly powerful.
Of course, what was even more terrifying... was that Ren had casually deflected such a terrifying attack. With a backhand.
Ren, his patience gone, gripped his Murakumogiri tightly. He wrapped his invisible Armament Haki around the massive blade, and then, he poured his Conqueror's Haki into it. Terrifying, black-red lightning began to coil and spark around the blade.
"Hah!!"
Ren let out a loud shout, forcefully swinging his Murakumogiri as a massive, world-ending slash erupted from the blade.
[Akarin Note:
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