Chapter 211: That's Not How You Calculate It
"Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void."
Swoosh—!
The air itself seemed to scream as the world was overwritten.
In the eyes of Natsu, Gajeel, and the soldiers of the Edolas Royal Army, a sphere of absolute darkness expanded instantaneously from Ren's position. It grew with terrifying speed, swallowing the massive mechanical dragon, the Dorma Anim, and the floating island's debris in a heartbeat.
In less than a second, a pitch-black dome, over a hundred meters in diameter, stood imposing and silent upon the battlefield.
"W-what is that?!"
"It swallowed His Majesty!"
The soldiers of the Royal Army stared at the black sphere with trembling legs. Although they couldn't understand the magical theory behind it, the primal part of their brains screamed that this was something far beyond their comprehension. The unknown was always the most terrifying.
"That thing... it isn't going to explode, is it?"
Gray took a step back, sweat trickling down his forehead. Everyone in Fairy Tail still harbored a lingering fear of the colored spheres Ren created.
The Blue Sphere, capable of attracting matter with crushing gravity.
The Crimson Sphere, capable of repelling anything with unstoppable force.
The Void Sphere—Hollow Technique: Purple—which erased everything in its path, the very technique that had annihilated the Royal Palace just moments ago.
And now, a gigantic black sphere had appeared.
If a sphere of this magnitude were to detonate, the explosion wouldn't just destroy the floating island; it would likely wipe the entire Royal Capital below off the map.
"What is that magic?!" Carla asked, her voice shaking as she clutched Wendy's shoulder.
"I don't know!" Lucy shook her head, her eyes wide with worry. "Ren used something similar once when fighting Jellal back at the Tower of Heaven, but... it feels different this time. Heavier."
None of them truly understood the depths of Ren's arsenal. They hadn't seen Ren push himself this far often, and for many, this was the first time witnessing the pinnacle of jujutsu sorcery: a Domain Expansion.
Inside the Domain.
The world of Edolas had vanished. In its place was a vast, endless void filled with a stream of blinding, incomprehensible light and information—a universe of infinite knowledge.
King Faust sat in the cockpit of the Dorma Anim, his eyes wide and unblinking. His mouth hung open, but no sound came out.
"What... happened?"
"What is going on? I can't see anything... no... I can't feel anything..."
His mind raced, but his body refused to obey.
"No, wait... I can see everything!! I can feel everything!! The dust in the air, the atomic structure of the cockpit, the flow of magic in the atmosphere, the history of the universe... It's all pouring in! It won't stop! What in the world is happening!!!"
Information flooded his brain like a tidal wave crashing into a teacup. He saw everything, felt everything, knew everything, but the sheer volume of data paralyzed him. He couldn't prioritize one thought over another. The command to 'move his finger' was buried under a billion other sensory inputs.
"Although you are Mystogan's father, if you dare to provoke Fairy Tail, you must be prepared to pay the price."
Ren's voice echoed through the infinite void, calm and cold.
Ren floated in front of the frozen mechanical dragon, his hands in his pockets, his blindfold removed to reveal the radiant Six Eyes.
He would not forgo punishing the opponent just because he was the father of a comrade.
Everyone in Fairy Tail—Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy—and especially Mira, had faced a genuine threat to their lives today. They had been turned into a giant lacrima, their existence nearly erased to fuel this mad king's ambition.
He himself might have been absorbed if not for the protection of his System.
That was why he acted. That was why he showed no mercy.
If Mystogan hadn't arrived earlier to plead for his people, Ren wouldn't have stopped at disarming them; he would have wiped this Kingdom off the face of Edolas entirely. He did not want such a threat to exist ever again.
"In the days to come... you will forever live as a vegetable."
Swoosh—!
The black barrier of the Domain shattered like glass, dissolving into mist.
The world of Edolas returned.
Rumble—!!
The Dorma Anim, the ultimate weapon of the Edolas Kingdom, lost all power. Its massive mechanical legs buckled, and the Dragon Knight crashed heavily onto the floating island's surface, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
It lay there, completely motionless.
"This is..."
"Did... did His Majesty... die?!"
The soldiers watched the scene in terrified silence.
From the moment the black sphere appeared to the moment it vanished, only ten seconds had passed.
Ten seconds. And now, their invincible King and his god-slaying machine were silent.
"Ren... my Father..."
Mystogan, who had arrived on the scene, looked at the fallen mech with a complex expression. Panic and concern warred in his eyes.
Although his father, King Faust, had been consumed by madness and had tried to kill him, he was still his father.
Ren landed softly on the ground, the white aura around him fading.
"He's not dead," Ren said, adjusting his collar. "But he can't really be called alive, either."
"What do you mean?" Mystogan asked, stepping forward.
"I turned him into an idiot."
"An idiot? You mean..."
Ren tapped the side of his own head. "I mean a literal idiot. His brain has been fried."
Mystogan froze. Normally, when people used the word 'idiot,' it was an insult. But looking at the unmoving mech, he realized Ren meant it medically.
He knew Ren's magic was dangerous—he had seen the devastation of the Royal Palace—but he hadn't expected a technique that attacked the mind so directly.
However, as he looked at the destruction caused by his father's ambition, Mystogan closed his eyes. Perhaps... this was the best outcome. His father was alive, but he could no longer harm anyone.
"Ren!!"
"You did it!!"
Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, and the others ran over, their faces beaming with relief and excitement.
They were battered and bruised. Facing the concentrated firepower of an entire army had taken its toll, and continuing the battle would have been life-threatening. Ren ending it so decisively had saved them all.
"Ren, what was that Move just now?!" Natsu shouted, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. "It looked terrifying! Everything just turned black!"
"Yeah," Gray added, rubbing his arm. "I felt a chill just looking at it from the outside."
Everyone looked at Ren, waiting for an answer. Even the Exceeds—Happy, Carla, and Panther Lily—leaned in.
"That was my Domain," Ren explained calmly. "Unlimited Void."
"It is a barrier constructed by consuming a large amount of Cursed Energy. It manifests the interior of my Limitless technique."
Ren gestured to the fallen King. "Everyone pulled inside is forced to receive an infinite stream of stimuli. Their brains are forced to perform countless repetitive 'perceptions' and 'transmissions' in order to simply 'stay alive.' This generates massive amounts of useless information, overloading the nervous system."
He looked at Natsu. "Imagine trying to read every book in the world, listen to every song, and feel every wind current all at the same exact second. The brain crashes. It loses all function, leaving the victim standing there, waiting to die."
"Only I, and those I am physically touching, are unaffected."
"H-how terrifying..."
Lucy covered her mouth, her face pale. "To force infinite information into someone's mind... that's a fate worse than death."
Gajeel crossed his arms, frowning. "So, what about the King? What happened to him exactly?"
"0.2 seconds," Ren held up two fingers. "Spending just 0.2 seconds inside Unlimited Void injects about half a year's worth of useless information into the brain of a life form. That shock alone is enough to paralyze a Mage of the Ten Wizard Saints' caliber for five minutes or more. For a normal person? They'd be unconscious for two months."
"Wait..." Natsu started counting on his fingers, a look of intense concentration on his face. "So just now... the sphere was up for about 10 seconds..."
"Happy, help me calculate! How long is that?" Natsu asked, steam practically coming out of his ears.
Gajeel scoffed, looking at Natsu with disdain. "Idiot! Fire Dragon, can't you even do basic math?"
"If 0.2 seconds is half a year," Gajeel calculated confidently, "then 1 second is five times that... so two and a half years of information."
"Ten seconds," Gajeel's eyes widened as he finished the math. "That's 25 years."
"25 years' worth of information..." Gajeel muttered, a cold sweat breaking out on his iron skin. "That's enough to paralyze a Ten Wizard Saints level Mage for... over four hours? And a normal person for... eight years?"
Silence descended on the group.
Even Gajeel, who prided himself on his toughness, felt a shiver of dread.
If Ren had used this move back during the war between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord... Gajeel imagined himself frozen in place, his mind shattered, while Ren casually walked up and flicked his forehead.
"What—?!"
"Eight years?!" Lucy shrieked. "That's basically a coma!"
"So the King is going to be a vegetable for eight years?" Gray asked, looking at the mech.
Ren shook his head, a wry smile on his lips.
"That's not how you calculate it."
"Eh?"
Everyone paused. They thought Ren meant the attack wasn't that strong, and they were about to sigh in relief. Maybe it wasn't as bad as they thought.
Then, Ren spoke again, his voice dropping an octave.
"Unlimited Void doesn't just put you to sleep. It ignores physical defense and directly attacks the biological structure of the brain."
Ren tapped his temple. "It causes a complete neurological overload. If the brain damage exceeds a certain threshold, it doesn't just stun you. It causes brain death."
"The brain is where our consciousness resides. It is the central hub for processing magic power. If the hardware is melted..."
Ren shrugged. "Whether one can successfully use magic in the future is questionable. In fact, whether he can ever feed himself or speak again is questionable. I'm not sure exactly how severe the long-term effects are, but for a non-sorcerer like him... he's likely gone forever."
"..."
Everyone's bodies trembled.
Only then did they realize they had completely underestimated the danger of Ren's magic.
This wasn't just a stun technique. It was a lobotomy.
It wasn't a matter of "how long" they would be paralyzed. It was a matter of whether they would ever wake up as themselves again.
Natsu and Wendy swallowed hard. As Mages, they understood how terrifying it was to lose their connection to magic. But to lose their minds? To revert from a powerful Mage to a husk? That was a fear that transcended combat.
"It's... it's finally over!"
Wendy slumped to her knees, letting out a long, shaky breath. "I was so scared..."
This was her first official war. She had been terrified the entire time, shaking like a leaf. But the thought of her guildmates—of Natsu, Gray, and everyone else—being turned into a giant crystal had given her the courage to stand and fight.
"Yeah!" Lucy wiped a tear from her eye, a bright smile breaking through her exhaustion. "It's finally over! We actually defeated a Kingdom! That's unbelievable!"
Fighting an entire nation, infiltrating a hostile world, and taking down a dragon-riding King... the pressure had been immense. But seeing Ren standing there, invincible as always, the weight finally lifted from her shoulders.
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