Chapter 216: Do You Have to Be So Serious?
"What—?!"
The collective gasp of the Fairy Tail Guild echoed through the training grounds. Everyone who witnessed the scene stood paralyzed, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Ren's right arm, which had just been twisted and Crushed by Gildarts' overwhelming magic, was enveloped in a sudden, violent hiss of steam. Muscles knit together, bones snapped back into alignment with sickening cracks, and skin wove itself anew.
In the blink of an eye, the limb was whole again, as if the injury had never occurred.
"This... what kind of Magic is this?!" Macao yelled, clutching his head.
"No! Is this something Magic can even achieve?!" Wakaba added, his cigarette falling from his mouth.
They had seen many types of Magic—Lost Magic, Holder Magic, Caster Magic—but they had never encountered a power that could instantly regrow a severed limb during active combat. This exceeded the known limits of magical theory; it felt more like a miracle—or a curse.
"Ren, this is..." Makarov stepped forward, his expression grave yet fascinated. As one of the Ten Wizard Saints, even he was struggling to categorize the phenomenon.
Ren rotated his newly formed shoulder, testing the joint. "This is the [Reverse Cursed Technique]. Just treat it as a specialized form of Magic that allows for high-speed biological regeneration. As long as the brain isn't destroyed or the body isn't completely atomized, I can quickly regenerate and recover completely."
"This... isn't this practically a monster?!"
Everyone was dumbfounded upon hearing Ren's casual explanation. To treat near-fatal injuries as mere inconveniences? Was this still considered Magic? It was too monstrous. It broke the balance of a fair fight.
Ren ignored the chatter, his gaze locked onto the orange-haired man standing across the cratered field. His internal thoughts were far less calm than his exterior.
'All I can do is recover from injuries. Gildarts is the real monster here.'
Ren narrowed his eyes behind his blindfold—or rather, the perception granted by the Six Eyes. 'This is the first time I've met someone who can directly break through my Limitless Cursed Technique simply by punching it.'
In the memories inherited from Gojo Satoru, the "Limitless" was the ultimate defense. An infinite distance brought into reality. Only Mahoraga, the strongest Shikigami of the Ten Shadows Technique, had managed to adapt to it, and Ryomen Sukuna had bypassed it using a Binding Vow to cut the "world" itself.
But Gildarts Clive? He didn't use complex adaptations or dimensional slashes. He simply applied "Crush" magic so densely that it shattered the concept of the infinity Ren projected. It was brute force conceptual destruction.
"Good kid! You truly impress me!" Gildarts' body trembled slightly, a grin spreading across his rugged face. The thrill of battle, something he rarely felt against humans, was igniting his blood. "I haven't had to use this much force since I left for the Century Quest!"
Ren, meanwhile, sensed the terrifying depth of Gildarts' power reservoir.
With powerful Magic combined with formidable spells, Gildarts' strength was far greater than what was depicted in the original anime or manga. The pressure he exerted felt like the gravity of a collapsing star. It was impossible to defeat Gildarts with Ren's current level of output; the "Crash" magic would simply disintegrate any standard Cursed Technique before it made contact.
'I can't lose here. If I want to stand at the top of this world, I need more.'
It was time to make himself stronger. Ren mentally commanded the interface to appear.
[System Panel]
[Host: Ren]
[Age: 19]
[Race: Human]
[Magic Power: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (6-Star)]
[Magic: Take Over Magic]
[Character Cards: Ulquiorra Cifer (Gin), Yoriichi Tsugikuni (Gin), Fushiguro Toji (Gin), Edward Newgate (Gin), Minato Namikaze (Gin), Gojo Satoru (Gin), Portgas D. Ace (Purple).]
[Current Lottery Draws: 8]
Ren's eyes scanned the list. He needed raw power. Technique wasn't the issue; output was.
He selected [Fushiguro Toji].
Toji the Sorcerer Killer. The man gifted with a Heavenly Restriction that granted him a body of steel and senses that rivaled the divine. However, Toji's shortcomings were very obvious in a world like Fairy Tail: he had zero Magic Power. His lack of ranged offensive methods and reliance on Cursed Tools made him vulnerable against a concept-destroying mage like Gildarts.
Against "Crush," a strong body was just a slightly harder rock to break. Ren needed magical density.
[Do you wish to reclaim the selected Character Card: Fushiguro Toji?]
"Yes!" Ren commanded internally.
[Reclamation successful. Converting physical potential into Magical Origin...]
[Host's Magic Power has been enhanced.]
Boom!
An invisible shockwave erupted from Ren's body. He felt a surge of powerful Magic Power rapidly emerging from the Source of Magic in his abdomen, flooding his meridians like a broken dam. It was a torrential downpour of energy.
Ren glanced at his personal panel again.
[Magic Power: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (6.5 Stars)]
His Magic Power had reached six and a half stars.
To the uninitiated, half a star might seem negligible. But at this high level, the gap between each star was exponential. The difference between six stars and six-and-a-half was the difference between a lake and an ocean. The difficulty of this half-star increase was equal to the entire journey from five stars to six.
"Uncle, let's continue!" Ren looked at Gildarts, his lips curling into a feral grin. His eyes, usually cool and detached, now flashed with intense Battle Intent.
Gildarts' instincts screamed. He sensed that Ren was fundamentally different from a second ago. The air around the boy was heavier, denser. "Alright! Come at me!" Gildarts roared, his aura flaring white.
Whoosh!
The sound barrier shattered.
In the next second, Ren appeared in front of Gildarts, effectively teleporting. He swung a fist reinforced with Cursed Energy directly at Gildarts' temple.
Gildarts' reaction speed was god-tier. He raised his forearm to block.
Bang!
The impact created a vacuum. Gildarts felt a powerful force, heavier than before, and his body was involuntarily driven back, his boots carving deep trenches into the earth.
Ren didn't let up. He pulled his hands back, weaving a complex sign.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!"
Instead of a single point of attraction, eight azure singularities materialized around Ren, humming with the sound of space being deleted.
"Go!"
The eight [Blue Spheres] scattered, flanking Gildarts from every cardinal direction. Under Ren's precise mental control, they collapsed inward simultaneously, aiming to tear Gildarts apart with gravitational force.
"Hah!" Gildarts leaped forcefully, soaring into the air to escape the pincer maneuver.
Boom boom boom boom!!
The eight spheres missed their target and collided with each other, gnawing a massive, perfectly spherical crater into the ground, obliterating tons of rock in an instant.
"Not done yet!" Ren flicked his fingers.
The singularities drifted, changing direction with unnatural fluidity, and rushed towards Gildarts in the mid-air.
Gildarts, suspended in the sky, looked at the approaching destruction. He didn't dodge. He spread his palm wide, a white grid-like magic circle appearing before him.
"Disassembly Magic: Dismantle!!"
Swish—!
The world seemed to turn into a grid.
Boom—!
All eight [Blue Spheres], composed of distorted space, were sliced. They didn't explode; they were cube-ified. The singularities were chopped into uniform white blocks and vanished into particles. The attack continued downward, striking the ground.
The earth exploded, but not into dust. The bedrock was cut into massive, perfect cubes, each about one meter in diameter, creating a surreal landscape of floating geometry.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!
Gildarts waved his hand, turning his defensive move into an offense. All the giant stone cubes suspended in the air rapidly shot toward Ren like a meteor shower.
Ren stood his ground. He extended his hand, the Six Eyes calculating the trajectory of every single stone.
Swish—!!
The giant cubes all stopped abruptly when they reached one meter away from Ren, caught in the Infinity. Then, under Ren's reverse control, they accelerated back towards Gildarts at double the speed.
"Bring it on!" Gildarts grew excited, his laughter booming like thunder. He charged straight through the barrage.
Boom boom boom!!
The cubes were easily smashed one by one by Gildarts' iron fists. He was a human wrecking ball, unstoppable and invincible.
Ren took a deep breath, channeling positive energy.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red!"
A small, ominous crimson orb formed at his fingertips—the power of absolute repulsion. He aimed his palm at the incoming Ace of Fairy Tail.
Vwoom!
A beam of red repulsion fired.
Upon seeing it, Gildarts didn't slow down. He raised his glowing white palm. "Crush!"
Crack—!
The sound of glass breaking echoed. The [Crimson Sphere], a manifestation of infinity's divergence, was Crushed into harmless sparks of light upon contact with Gildarts' hand.
Gildarts rushed through the dissipating red light, arriving instantly in front of Ren. He pulled his fist back, the air screaming around his knuckles.
Ren didn't dodge. He concentrated every ounce of his new magical reserves into his fist. The magical energy turned black.
"Black Flash!" Ren roared.
"Crush!" Gildarts countered.
Boom—!!
Black and red sparks burst forth like a demonic firework display. The space around their fists distorted visually.
The ground beneath their feet ceased to exist. It didn't crack; it vaporized. A shockwave of cataclysmic proportions rippled outward, slamming into the protective barrier surrounding the town.
"Ugh!"
Freed Justine, standing at the perimeter, gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. "I'm... I'm fine!"
"Freed, are you okay?!" Evergreen cried out, steadying herself against the tremors.
Freed held his rapier steady, pouring more magic into the Jutsu Shiki. "The structural integrity... is holding!"
He had thought that his specialized Defensive Art Barrier could definitely withstand their attacks, but he didn't expect the residual shockwaves from their attacks alone to drain a significant amount of his Magic Power. The runes floating in the air were fracturing.
'If these two monsters were to attack the barrier head-on, my Art might only last three seconds,' Freed thought, a cold sweat running down his back. This dealt a considerable blow to Freed's self-confidence as the leader of the Thunder God Tribe.
Soon, the smoke cleared.
Ren stood rooted to the spot, smoke rising from his knuckles. Gildarts, however, had been knocked back over ten meters, his boots leaving long trails in the dirt.
"Gildarts was actually knocked back!" Max Alors screamed. "He actually pushed back the Ace?!"
Everyone was surprised, not expecting Gildarts to lose ground in a direct exchange of strength.
"What a powerful punch!" Gildarts shook his hand, looking extremely surprised. He realized he was the one knocked back in the recent clash of fists. Although he hadn't used his full, lethal strength in that punch, it wasn't something an ordinary Mage could withstand without being pulverized.
"..."
Ren looked calm on the surface, standing tall with his hands in his pockets. But inwardly, he was grimacing in pain and complaining furiously.
'Seriously?! That was a Black Flash! The Supreme basic attack in Jujutsu Kaisen! The Black Flash that generates impact to the power of 2.5! It's a move that can stun even the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna, and you just took it?'
'You only retreated a dozen meters? Do you have to be so monstrous, Old Man?'
Only now did Ren truly comprehend how immensely powerful Gildarts was. The man was a walking natural disaster.
Ren sighed. Basic attacks wouldn't work. He needed the ultimate technique.
He began to walk forward, his presence shifting from aggressive to transcendent. He formed hand signs with both hands, his fingers intertwining.
"That stance!!" Natsu, who had seen Ren fight before, was instantly startled. The color drained from his face. "Everyone, get back! GET BACK!"
Happy covered his mouth and shouted, "Hey! Ren! It's just a spar! Do you have to be so serious?!"
Gajeel, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla were also frightened by Ren's posture. They had personally witnessed the aftermath of this move during the battle with Phantom Lord. It was a technique that deleted matter from existence. If he wasn't careful, the entire Magnolia Town would be blown sky-high.
Ren ignored them. He began to chant, the words resonating with the magic in the air.
"Phase, Paramita, Pillars of Light..."
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!" A swirling sphere of azure attraction surfaced on his right.
"Nine Ropes, Polarized Light, Crow and Declaration, Between Front and Back..."
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red!" A burning sphere of crimson repulsion surfaced on his left.
The two opposing infinities began to rotate around each other, vibrating with a sound that made teeth ache.
"Hollow Technique..."
The two spheres slowly underwent [Integration], merging the impossibilities into a singularity. A large, erratic purple sphere gradually took shape in front of Ren, radiating a terrifying aura that screamed of erasure.
[Akarin Note:
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