Chapter 235: They Are Here
Ren wiggled his fingers, conducting a symphony of destruction with the ease of a maestro.
The remaining Blue Spheres danced through the air, weaving around the massive trunks of the ancient trees with unnatural fluidity.
"Great Tree Arc: Explosion!!"
Azuma roared, slamming his palms together. He quickly controlled the surrounding trees, forcing them to twist and lunge like wooden serpents to intercept the spheres.
But against the terrifying gravitational pull of the Blue Spheres, the wood offered no more resistance than wet paper. The branches were sucked in, twisted, and then spewed out as splinters, as if swallowed and rejected by miniature black holes.
In a blink of an eye, Azuma was surrounded. Eight humming Blue Spheres hovered around him, locking him in a cage of distorted space.
Ren opened his hand, his expression bored, and then clenched his fist tight.
"Converge."
The eight Blue Spheres collapsed inward on Azuma simultaneously.
"Tower of Flame!!!"
Azuma realized the danger instantly. He channeled every ounce of his magical power. A massive explosion erupted from his body, not outward, but upward. A pillar of scorching crimson flames shot skyward, piercing the canopy and forming a giant tower of fire that soared into the clouds.
BOOM!
The shockwave leveled the surrounding forest.
After the smoke and dust from the explosion dissipated, Azuma reappeared. He was panting heavily, his clothes tattered and his skin scorched. He was covered in wounds, bleeding from multiple impact points.
The sheer volume of the trees and the explosive force of his counter-spell had negated most of the Blue Spheres' gravitational crush, but a small portion of their force still landed on him. Even that small portion felt like being hit by a meteor.
"Oh? Your strength is quite good!" Ren remarked, raising an eyebrow behind his blindfold. "Much stronger than the Oración Seis. Brain would have been paste by now."
If it were the Oración Seis, few of them—perhaps only Midnight—could have withstood that attack without being instantly incapacitated.
"Thank you for the compliment, then."
Azuma wiped blood from his lip, a wild grin spreading across his face. Despite having only just started fighting, he already felt it in his bones. Ren was indeed the legendary monster the rumors spoke of. This guy's strength was unfathomable. Fighting him just now felt like he was merely being toyed with; looking at Ren was like staring into an abyss—he couldn't gauge the opponent's depth at all.
Should I run away?
The thought crossed his mind for a microsecond before being crushed.
No. It is rare to encounter such a powerful opponent. How could I run away? Isn't this exactly what I have always pursued? To fight the strongest?
Azuma's aura flared, shaking the air. He excitedly shouted, "Come on! Ren! Let me see your strongest power!! Don't hold back against me!!"
"??"
Ren tilted his head slightly. He didn't know that Azuma had just undergone a complex internal struggle regarding his warrior's pride; he just wondered why this guy suddenly got so fired up for no reason.
"My strongest power? Sorry, you're not qualified yet. That's reserved for Kings and Dragons." Ren sighed, uncrossing his arms. "But since you insist, and since I need to wrap this up... I can fulfill your request."
As Ren spoke, he raised his right hand. His index and middle fingers crossed over each other.
Upon seeing this, Wendy Marvell's eyes widened in horror. She immediately turned and shouted to the Council spy.
"Mr. Mest! Let's retreat quickly!! Run!!"
In the Edolas world, Wendy knew that this gesture from Ren meant only one thing. He was about to activate his Domain.
She had already learned about the terrifying ability of Ren's Domain from his own description during their travels.
It was an indiscriminate attack on the brain. Anyone within the Domain, except Ren himself and those he physically touched, would be affected.
Once attacked, the mildest consequence was paralysis for several months due to information overload. The severe consequence was immediate brain death. Even if a Mage had strong mental resistance, their brain would still be fried. The brain was the most complex and fragile organ; once damaged, it could have a huge impact on casting magic forever.
"What?"
Although Mest didn't understand what was happening, seeing the sheer panic in Wendy's eyes, his instincts kicked in. He grabbed her hand and they sprinted away, putting distance between themselves and the battlefield.
Azuma stood his ground. He controlled the surrounding trees, roots surging up to form a defensive perimeter. He stood ready for battle, his senses heightened to their limit. He naturally dared not underestimate Ren, who was about to use his strongest magic.
Ren's voice dropped to a whisper that echoed like thunder.
"Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void!"
SWOOSH!
The world shifted.
The Domain expanded rapidly. To Mest and Wendy watching from outside the barrier, it looked like a giant, obsidian-black sphere suddenly appeared, devouring a chunk of the forest.
"What is this?!"
Mest stared at the giant black sphere in shock. It felt like a hole in reality itself.
Inside the Domain, Azuma froze.
He wasn't frozen by ice or stone. He was frozen by everything.
He saw everything. He felt everything. The birth of stars, the flow of mana in the universe, the color of sound, the taste of light. Infinite information flooded his mind instantly. He could see, but he couldn't process. He could think, but he couldn't act. He was alive, yet he was nothing.
Bang—!
Before Mest could even blink or process the black sphere's existence, it instantly dissipated like a soap bubble.
Ren and Azuma reappeared in the clearing.
Azuma stood motionless, his eyes wide and vacant, staring at nothing. He was completely catatonic.
Ren stepped calmly towards Azuma. He stopped directly in front of the paralyzed warrior, his right index finger gently touching Azuma's chest.
"This is the strongest Move you wanted to see from me," Ren whispered. "Enjoy the view."
He pulled his finger back slightly. Red energy crackled at the tip.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red!"
Pfft!
A small, concentrated sphere of crimson energy erupted from Ren's fingertip at point-blank range.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!
The result was catastrophic. The Crimson Sphere pierced right through Azuma's chest, exiting his back and expanding into a massive repulsive wave. The ground, the ancient trees, and the very bedrock behind Azuma were pulverized instantly, carved out into a long, deep canyon of destruction.
Azuma was sent flying backward, crashing into the ruins of the forest he had tried to control.
"What... what's going on?!"
Mest was startled, his jaw dropping. "How could Azuma... he just stood still and let Ren attack him? He didn't even try to defend!"
"Mr. Mest, don't you know?" Wendy explained, her voice shaking slightly. "This is Big Brother Ren's strongest magic in this form, his Domain. As long as you're inside, your brain will be forced to receive countless pieces of information at all times. It causes total brain paralysis."
She gulped, looking at the fallen warrior. "According to Big Brother Ren, just 0.2 seconds of Domain Expansion can output half a year's worth of invalid information directly into the cerebral cortex. It's enough to paralyze even a member of the Ten Wizard Saints for 5 minutes or more. It's normal for him to be unable to move. He's probably still processing the information of the universe."
"What?!"
Mest was somewhat frightened by Wendy's explanation. That instant alone could paralyze a Wizard Saint? That was too terrifying. It wasn't combat; it was godhood.
"Amazing!"
A voice groaned from the rubble. Azuma, coughing up blood, managed to prop himself up. His brain had recovered—barely—by this point, likely due to Ren ending the technique quickly.
"As expected of a Mage renowned throughout the Ishgar continent," Azuma gasped, blood trickling down his chin. "To die by the hand of someone as strong as you... I have no regrets."
He looked at Ren with a mixture of awe and warning.
"But you must be careful, Ren. I am just one of Grimoire Heart's Seven Kin of Purgatory. Above us... there are two Vice-Chairmen whose strengths are unfathomable. And Chairman Hades... his magic is even beyond them. He is the abyss."
As Azuma spoke, his skin began to bark over. Leaves sprouted from his shoulders. Trees began to grow rapidly from his wounds.
"What's going on?!"
Wendy was startled by this horrific transformation.
Azuma smiled peacefully as the wood consumed him. "This is the price of overusing Lost Magic: The Great Tree Arc. I become part of the forest."
"Why are you telling me this?"
Ren crossed his arms. He didn't know why this guy was giving him a villainous monologue now, though it wasn't any crucial information he couldn't handle.
"Nothing, just wanted to tell you not to be careless," Azuma's voice grew fainter as his face turned to wood. "Anyway, I'm dead, and everything after this has nothing to do with me..."
After Azuma finished speaking, more and more branches grew on his body, eventually transforming him completely into a large, silent tree, standing as a grave marker for his own defeat.
Grimoire Heart Airship
High above the ocean, the massive dark airship of Grimoire Heart cut through the clouds.
Inside the preparation room, Ultear Milkovich changed into a tight combat uniform, adjusting her orb. Her expression was serious, devoid of her usual manipulative smirk.
"Ultear is unusually motivated today," Zancrow, the God Slayer with wild blonde hair, cackled. He was a bit surprised. "Usually, when it came to missions, Ultear was uninterested. Most of the time, we were the ones who did the dirty work, with Ultear just going through the motions."
"Of course," Ultear replied coldly. "I will treat this as a war too. This is the Grand Magic World we are building."
Caprico, the tall goat-headed monster in a suit, waited with crossed arms. "I am ready for the impending war. The Master's will be done."
"Go, go to the paradise called battle," Rustyrose, a man with gray hair and glasses, struck a dramatic pose. "Let our magic paint a tragedy upon these fairies."
"I... I-I-I... me too!"
Kain Hikaru, the obese, pale man, stammered while clutching his voodoo doll.
"Ur! Over there!!"
A young girl with pink hair and headphones, Meredy, pointed ahead through the viewport and shouted.
Ultear's face darkened instantly upon hearing that address. The name 'Ur' brought back memories she detested. She snapped, "Don't call me Ur!"
"S-sorry..." Meredy shrank back.
Zancrow leaned over, grinning with sharp teeth. "Don't be so nervous, Meredy. What did you want to say?"
"I can see it," Meredy pointed again. "Fairy Island. Tenrou Island."
Tenrou Island Forest
Just after Azuma transformed into a large tree, the sound of engines hummed in the distance.
Mest, realizing the gravity of the situation, immediately turned to Ren.
"Ren! Grimoire Heart is about to attack," Mest urged, panic in his voice. "You should quickly take everyone from Fairy Tail and escape! Abandon the exam! Grimoire Heart is the strongest Dark Guild, the head of the Balam Alliance. You've seen how powerful Azuma was. If their entire guild arrives here... their strength will be terrifying!"
Mest had initially thought that bringing the Magic Council's battleship could take down Grimoire Heart, but that hope had literally gone up in smoke in the blink of an eye.
Afterward, seeing the scale of Ren and Azuma's battle, he finally understood that this was a war of monsters. With such powerful individuals, even a thousand Ancient Knights might not be their match.
"You go if you want; they are already here."
Ren looked into the distance, past the trees and the ocean. His Six Eyes' gave him unparalleled long-range vision. He could clearly see the Grimoire Heart airship flying towards them through the clouds, dark magic radiating from it.
"Wendy! Go and meet up with everyone. Find the others."
"What about you, Big Brother Ren?" Wendy asked, worried.
Ren smiled, cracking his knuckles. The air around him shimmered with anticipation.
"I'll go swat those flies away. I can't let them interfere with everyone's exam."
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