Chapter 163: Ren vs. Laxus
"There's a problem with what you're saying."
Ren's voice, casual and light, cut through the electrical hum of Laxus's anger. He stood with his hands in his pockets, the black blindfold giving him an air of complete, unbothered arrogance.
"First," Ren said, holding up one finger, "I never said I was the strongest. While I do have some vanity—I mean, look at me—what I like isn't being the strongest. It's becoming stronger. There's a difference."
He held up a second finger. "Second, I never vied for the Guild Master position. The old man insisted on giving it to me, and I refused precisely because it's a massive pain. Don't make it sound like I'm some fake young master snatching the true young master's inheritance. I'm not interested in becoming a Guild Master at all. It sounds... boring."
He held up a third. "Third, no matter what you say, it's not a valid reason for you to threaten the lives of the Guild's girls to force an internal conflict. And now you're even holding the lives of everyone in Magnolia Town hostage."
Ren's head tilted, his unseen gaze pinning Laxus. "Your actions... they're even worse than some Dark Guilds I've dealt with."
Finally, Ren held up a fourth finger, his smile vanishing. "Fourth, I've been annoyed with you for a long time. Always 'strongest, strongest, strongest.' Isn't it irritating? Is it mating season for you? You don't get tired of saying it, but I'm tired of hearing it."
"If you're so capable, if you're so desperate to prove you're the 'strongest,' go find the Ishgar 4 Heavenly Kings. If you can defeat all of them, then maybe the entire continent will consider you the strongest."
[Akarin's Note: The 4 Heavenly Kings of Ishgar (Ishgar Shiten'ō) are considered the four strongest Mages on the continent, with a rank even higher than the Ten Wizard Saints.]
Laxus's eye twitched, the golden lightning around him flaring violently. "I will," he spat, "eventually!"
Although he was proud and arrogant, he wasn't an idiot. He knew very well that the 4 Heavenly Kings of Ishgar were not monsters he could challenge now. Challenging them at his current level would be no different from throwing his life away. But those people were just older. In a couple of years, he would try to challenge those monsters.
But right now, his goal was to defeat the man in front of him. This arrogant, blindfolded newcomer who had, in one year, stolen his fame, his title, and his grandfather's approval.
"Enough talk!" Laxus roared. "Let's go! Let me show you the real difference in our levels!!"
Whoosh!
Before Laxus could even finish his sentence, Ren's body vanished. It wasn't a blur; it was a cut. He simply ceased to be where he was and appeared directly in front of Laxus, his movement so fast it seemed like teleportation.
In reality, it wasn't teleportation, but a high-speed dash utilizing the gravitational characteristics of the Limitless Cursed Technique: Blue.
Ren's fist, wreathed in a subtle, crackling aura of Cursed Energy, struck towards Laxus's abdomen.
Crack!
Laxus's body dissolved into a bolt of golden lightning an instant before the punch landed. He reappeared, circling behind Ren, a sinister, triumphant smile on his face.
"Too slow!"
"Raging Bolt!!"
Laxus, with golden lightning coiling around his palm like a living spear, lashed out at Ren's unprotected back.
Ren, without even turning, leaped with impossible force, his body twisting in the air as the bolt of lightning tore through the space he had occupied, smashing into the cathedral floor. Laxus's body turned into golden lightning again, a fluid, instantaneous movement that sent him rushing up a pillar to the ceiling. He then reappeared in the air, directly behind Ren's mid-air dodge.
A fist, wreathed in destructive lightning, struck towards Ren's head.
But just as Laxus was confident he would hit, Ren tilted his head slightly. Laxus's fist grazed past his white hair, hitting nothing but air. Ren then grabbed Laxus's collar with a backhand and, with pure, unadulterated physical strength, forcefully slammed him down to the ground.
Boom!
The flagstones paving the floor of the church shattered into a spiderweb as Laxus impacted.
"Lightning Spear!!"
Laxus, enraged, didn't waste a second. He raised his hand from the rubble, releasing a powerful, concentrated current that formed a spear of pure light, shooting it directly at Ren.
Ren, still in the air, merely flicked his wrist. The Limitless field around him warped space, and the direction of the spear of light instantly changed, deflecting harmlessly and striking a support pillar.
Boom!! Crack!
The massive stone support pillar was shattered by Laxus's own spear of light.
"Haaah——!"
Laxus raised his hand again, this time unleashing a continuous, thick pillar of lightning from his palm, sweeping it towards Ren.
Whoosh!
Ren's figure vanished again, instantly appearing behind Laxus.
"Teleportation!"
Laxus's eyes widened. He hadn't expected Ren to actually be able to teleport.
Bang—!
Ren raised his left leg high, delivering a horizontal kick, imbued with Cursed Energy, to Laxus's waist.
Laxus felt a sharp, agonizing pain in his waist, as if he'd been hit by a cannonball.
"Ugh!"
Boom—!
Laxus's body flew horizontally like a ragdoll, smashing clean through another massive support pillar of the church.
Almost simultaneously, a golden, intricate magic circle appeared on the ground directly beneath Ren's feet. It was a trap Laxus had laid the moment the fight began.
Boom—!!
A large, dense amount of golden lightning erupted from the magic circle, shooting skyward in a cage of pure energy, engulfing Ren completely.
"Ha! Did you think I'd be completely unprepared, you bastard?!" Laxus roared from the rubble.
Soon, the lightning disappeared. Ren appeared, unharmed, in his original spot. His hands were still in his pockets. Not a single thread of his uniform was singed.
"What?! This is impossible!" Laxus's eyes widened in disbelief. He had personally seen Ren being attacked by the lightning array. "Attacked by my lightning array, you couldn't possibly be unharmed!!"
Ren scratched his head, a bored sigh escaping his lips. "I feel like I've had to explain my techniques several times today. It's quite troublesome, but fine. After all, I'm a warm-hearted guy."
"Hmm, simply put, you didn't hit me. Your lightning... it only touched the 'Infinity' between you and me."
Ren held up his hand. "Here, let me show you. Put out your hand."
Seeing Ren like this, Laxus, though wary, also extended his hand. He wasn't afraid of Ren, and this was a good opportunity to understand his opponent's power.
As Laxus's hand approached Ren's palm, he felt it. A strong, tangible resistance. No matter how much force he used, how much he pushed his muscles, he couldn't get any closer. His fingers were frozen in the air, an inch from Ren's skin.
"What's going on?!"
"This is my Limitless Cursed Technique," Ren explained, his voice patient. "It's not that things stop; it's that the closer they get to me, the slower they become. Infinitely. The lightning you just released was like that. It got infinitely close, but it never touched me. Then I apply a little pressure, a little selection, and it just... bypasses my body."
[Akarin's Note: The Limitless Cursed Technique (Mukagen Jujutsu) is Gojo Satoru's innate power from Jujutsu Kaisen. By bringing the concept of "infinity" into reality, he creates a barrier that infinitely slows down any incoming object or attack, making him untouchable unless the opponent can bypass this concept.]
"What?!"
Laxus hadn't expected such an absurd, conceptual magic to exist.
"What should we do next?" Ren taunted, a playful grin on his face as he wiggled his fingers, which were an inch from Laxus's. "I can even hold your hand like this, you know."
"...No."
"Don't be shy. You're making me feel awkward too."
"Bastard!" Laxus roared, his pride stung.
Ren, meanwhile, quickly threw a punch with his other hand, striking Laxus square in the face.
"Ugh!"
"Damn bastard!"
Laxus, his face smarting, roared and swung his own fist, which was crackling with lightning, at Ren's face.
Just as the fist was about to touch Ren's face, Ren quickly dodged, his head tilting just enough. Then he threw another punch, hitting Laxus in the face again.
Bang, bang, bang!!
The two exchanged blows. But it wasn't an exchange. Ren's punches, infused with heavy Cursed Energy, landed precisely on Laxus's face and body, each one hitting with the force of a mace.
Each time, Laxus was about to hit Ren, to finally crush that arrogant, blindfolded face, but Ren would dodge by a hair's breadth. The Limitless was slowing Laxus's attacks just enough for Ren's superhuman senses to evade, while Ren's own attacks connected perfectly.
"Damn it!!"
Being continuously beaten, Laxus naturally couldn't stand it. He turned his body into lightning, creating distance from Ren, and reappeared on the other side of the ruined hall, breathing heavily, his face already bruised and bloodshot.
Ren looked at his empty palm. "Separating so quickly? I wanted to get a little closer to you."
Laxus gritted his teeth and said, "You brat, don't get ahead of yourself. I've already discovered your weakness."
Ren looked at Laxus with genuine interest. "Oh? Tell me. I don't even know my own weakness. That way, I can improve it later."
"Hmph! Your 'Limitless Cursed Technique' is powerful, but that doesn't mean you can completely stop my attacks!" Laxus panted, a manic grin of discovery on his face. "If you really could stop them completely, you wouldn't need to dodge my attacks at all!"
Ren nodded, clapping his hands lightly. "Bingo! As expected of Laxus, you discovered it so quickly."
The nature of magic itself, an external force, is somewhat like a simple domain. A simple domain can break through his Limitless Cursed Technique, but it requires a little time, perhaps only a few hundredths of a second. However, for Ren, whose senses were amplified by the Six Eyes, that time was more than sufficient to dodge.
"And," Laxus continued, his confidence surging, "the more powerful the magic, the faster it breaks through your defense!!"
"Because of the old man's incessant nagging, I've kept this hidden all this time. Today, I'll specially show you!"
Laxus's body erupted with a new, even more powerful magical energy. Golden lightning, far more intense than before, coiled around his body. His muscles tensed, and shimmering, golden scale patterns appeared on his arms and face. A roar, half-human and half-dragon, tore from his throat.
"A Dragon Slayer Mage?" Ren said, his smile finally looking a little less bored.
[Akarin Note:
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