Chapter 55: The Weight of a Legend
"Tyrant?!"
Lucy's voice was a breathless squeak. She was greatly astonished; this was the famous Tyrant, a name she had only read in hushed, fearful tones in the Weekly Sorcerer articles.
She secretly, and with great trepidation, glanced at Ren. He had reverted to his normal form, but he subtly returned her gaze, his eyes calm. Yet, that simple look, coming from someone who was just in that terrifying form, scared Lucy so much she felt a cold chill run down her spine.
Ren, in that 'Tyrant' form, had looked like a very ordinary, albeit incredibly burly, uncle. But that unintentional glance he'd given the guild, the one that had silenced the room, had been utterly devoid of magic. It was something else. It was pure, predatory intent. It made Lucy feel as if she were prey on a display board, liable to be disemboweled by him at any moment.
She finally, truly understood why Ren in that form had earned the title of "Tyrant." He truly looked like one. Just one shared glance had nearly scared her to death, even though she knew, intellectually, that he was on her side.
"Alright," Mira said, her sweet voice breaking the tension. She patted Ren on the arm. "Quickly release your transformation, don't scare the newcomer away."
"Received!" Ren smiled, the last vestiges of that cold aura vanishing as his magic fully receded, returning to his original, deceptively relaxed appearance.
The entire guild let out a collective breath they hadn't realized they were holding.
"Phew~ !"
"You scared me to death!"
"My legs are still shaking! I was almost scared to death, too!" Wakaba grumbled from his table, fanning himself. "Ren, can you please not transform into that state again? It's just too terrifying!"
"Yeah! Just talk it out if you have a problem!" Macao added, nursing his head. "Transforming just to scare people isn't right!"
"Exactly! Exactly!" The guild was in full agreement. It seemed Ren's 'Tyrant' state had left a very deep, and very fresh, psychological shadow on all of them.
"So," Lucy said, her curiosity finally overpowering her fear as she turned back to Mira. "Besides 'Flame Emperor' and 'Tyrant,' what other titles does he have?"
Lucy was now very curious about Ren. Both 'Flame Emperor' and 'Tyrant' were well-known and feared throughout Ishgar, both being super-Mages who had risen to prominence in the past six months. However, their fame had always been outside the Fiore Kingdom's borders, so she wasn't very clear about their specific identities. She never expected them all to be Ren.
"Well," Mira said, tapping a thoughtful finger to her chin. "Besides those two titles, Ren also has the title of 'Black-Winged Great Demon'."
[Akarin's Note: "Black-Winged Great Demon" (黒翼大魔 Kuyoku Taishō) is the name of the Segunda Etapa (Second Resurrection) form of Ulquiorra Cifer from the anime/manga Bleach.]
"Black-Winged Great Demon! I've heard of that one, too!" Lucy gasped. "It's said that an entire island in the northern seas, one that was occupied by a horde of monsters as their lair, was directly submerged by the 'Black-Winged Great Demon'! He wiped that island clean off the map!"
This incident had caused a massive stir at the time and had been the cover story for Weekly Sorcerer for three weeks straight. The Magic Council had even classified the entire area as a no-go zone.
"And finally," Mira's voice dropped, becoming almost reverent. "There's 'Sword God'."
"Sword God... Sword God?!" Lucy's mind went blank. She didn't react at first. The name was common enough. But then, the implication hit her. "Wait... is... is... is it the 'Sword God' I know?!"
Lucy's eyes widened, looking at Mira and then at Ren in complete and utter disbelief.
Mira smiled and nodded, confirming her greatest suspicion.
Lucy was completely stunned. Her knees felt weak, and she had to grab the bar for support.
If the first three titles were enough to make Ren a famous Great Mage throughout Ishgar, the last one... the last one was a legend that had shaken the entire continent.
About six months ago, a major event that shocked all of Ishgar had occurred: the Kingdom of Sobelia held the 'World's Strongest Swordsman Tournament'.
Just as the tournament was concluding, a man nobody had ever heard of won the title of World's Strongest Swordsman. But that wasn't the legend.
Unexpectedly, a monster siege occurred, an event later discovered to be caused by a giant dragon that had been using the monsters to test the kingdom's defenses.
Ultimately, this man, this new "Sword God," with a single sword, slew the giant dragon.
[Akarin's Note: The "Sword God" form, as referenced in previous chapters, is Ren's Take Over of Yoriichi Tsugikuni from the anime/manga Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.]
The name "Sword God" became famous throughout the entire continent of Ishgar overnight. Slaying a dragon was the stuff of myths, a feat few in history had ever accomplished.
Later, the "Sword God" gradually disappeared, and the fervor surrounding this event also died down. Some even rumored that the Sword God had been severely wounded after slaying the evil dragon and eventually died of his injuries.
She never expected the legendary 'Sword God' to be Ren.
'Flame Emperor,' who destroyed a pirate armada.
'Tyrant,' who crippled a bandit army of tens of thousands.
'Black-Winged Great Demon,' who sunk an entire island.
'Sword God,' who slew a dragon.
Any one of these four titles would make a Mage famous for a lifetime, and yet all four belonged to just one person. The person standing right next to her, calmly drinking a beer.
This was too terrifying!
Just then, a booming voice rang out from the entrance, cutting through the guild's chatter.
"You rotten brats, fighting in the guild again!"
Lucy turned to look towards the door and saw a short old man, less than a meter tall, wearing a clown-like hat and a yellow trench coat, standing at the entrance.
Lucy couldn't help but blurt out, "He's so small!!"
Mira, however, immediately beamed and went to greet him, "Master! You're back!"
"Master?!"
Lucy's jaw dropped for the third time that day. She didn't expect this tiny old man to be the famous Guild Master of Fairy Tail, the legendary Wizard Saint, Makarov Dreyar.
"Yo! Master, I'm back!" Ren also raised his hand and greeted Makarov with a lazy grin.
Seeing Ren, Makarov grumbled, "Hmph! You brat, you cause me so much trouble as soon as you get back! I've got a mountain of paperwork from Hargeon Port thanks to you and Natsu!"
At this moment, Makarov saw Lucy, the blonde beauty standing next to Ren. His stern expression instantly softened into that of a... slightly lecherous old man. "Ooh? A newcomer?"
Lucy quickly bowed, her face flushing. "Yes... yes, sir! My name is Lucy!"
Makarov raised his hand in a cheerful greeting, "Please take care of me!"
"Hmph!" Then, Makarov let out a light shout. He pushed off with his feet and quickly did several impressive flips in the air, clearly trying to show off for the new girl. His attempt failed, however, as he miscalculated his landing, and his head hit the second-floor railing with a loud THWACK.
The entire guild winced.
Makarov scrambled onto the railing, using both hands and feet, clearly embarrassed.
"Cough, cough!"
Makarov coughed lightly to cover up his mistake, pretending nothing had happened. Then, with a suddenly serious expression, he held up a thick, towering stack of documents. "Take a look! These are the 'good deeds' you've all been up to recently!!"
The guild groaned.
"First, Gray!"
"Huh?! Me again?!" Gray shouted, throwing his hands up. He was, Lucy noted, fully dressed for once. "Why am I always the first one called out for criticism? Couldn't it be someone else for once?"
"There was no problem until you apprehended the smuggling ring," Makarov read, "but why were you then found wandering naked in the streets? And then you stole someone's underwear that was left by the river and ran away?! Are you an underwear thief?! How many times have you stolen underwear now?!"
Upon hearing this, Gray was so embarrassed he wanted to scratch his feet. "This... this... I saw it by the river! I thought no one wanted it! It was just lying there!"
"They went swimming in the river, you idiot!" Makarov roared. "And when they came ashore, they found their underwear stolen!!!"
"This... how was I supposed to know?" Gray mumbled, crossing his arms.
Elfman interjected, "Even so, you shouldn't just pick up another man's underwear..."
Makarov's gaze snapped to him. "Elfman... you brat! During a mission, you actually used violence against the client you were supposed to protect?!"
Elfman scratched his cheek sheepishly, looking away. "Because... he said a 'real man' should care more about his education and books than his muscles!"
"THAT'S NO REASON TO PUNCH HIM!"
Makarov shook his head and continued to read, "Cana Alberona! Falsified expenses! You went to a certain pub, drank fifteen barrels of their finest wine, and still reported the expenses to the Magic Council as 'informant fees'?!"
"Was... was it discovered?" Cana muttered, not looking guilty at all as she took a swig from another barrel. "Tch."
"Loki!"
"Here!" Loki said, giving a charming wave.
"It wasn't enough to provoke the granddaughter of Councilor Makarov, my own relative, but now you've gone and provoked the granddaughter of Councilor Reiji?! The Magic Council, besides the Chairman, only has nine Magic Councilors in total, and you've provoked the granddaughters of two of them!! A certain entertainment agency also demands compensation for their losses after you 'stole the hearts of their entire female clientele'!"
When Makarov went to retrieve the documents this time, he had been scolded the most by those two old men. Loki was truly audacious.
"I can't help it if I'm just too charming, Master," Loki sighed, pushing up his glasses.
"And next," Makarov said, his voice dropping as he pulled out a particularly thick file, "Ren!"
[Akarin Note:
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