Chapter 73: It's Time to Get Serious
"Start—! !"
Happy, acting as the self-appointed referee, flew into the air between the two S-Class mages and then immediately retreated to a safe distance behind the bar.
The moment Happy gave the signal, the entire atmosphere in the room, which had been light and festive, became charged with a new, heavy tension.
Erza, her expression now deadly serious, immediately charged towards Ren, her blade a silver blur.
Ren, holding the simple longsword Erza had thrown him, likewise met her with his blade.
Clang, clang, clang! ! !
Their weapons clashed fiercely in the center of the room. A shockwave of pure physical force erupted from the first impact, blowing plates and cups off the nearby tables.
For a time, neither gained the upper hand. Erza's attacks were a flurry of powerful, precise, and relentless strikes, each one honed by years of life-and-death combat. She was a genius of the sword, and it showed in every move.
But Ren was... different.
Ren, to everyone's surprise, had also put a lot of effort into swordsmanship over the past six months. After all, in his normal state, he couldn't use any magic. If he were to use his powerful Take Over Magic just to deal with some minor thugs, it would be overkill.
Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken?
Ren's body, having been trained relentlessly by the principles of Sun Breathing, was now at its absolute physical peak. Coupled with his massive magic power of five and a half stars—which enhanced his physical attributes even without a Take Over—his own base combat strength was already only slightly inferior to a standard S-Class Mage.
He didn't meet Erza's force with equal force. He met it with perfection. His movements were fluid, economical, and precise. He parried, dodged, and deflected, his feet seeming to glide across the floor as he neutralized her assault.
"So amazing! !"
Lucy was deeply shocked watching their fight. She couldn't even clearly see them swing their swords. It was just a continuous, ear-splitting shriek of steel on steel and a blur of red and black.
Elfman, standing next to her with his arms crossed, said, "Right? Isn't it spectacular? A true clash of MEN... and Erza!"
Natsu, his eyes wide and pupils shrunk to pinpricks, was literally breathing fire in short, excited bursts. "I want to fight too—! ! !"
Clang—!
The two exchanged a final, powerful blow that sent them both sliding backward, and then they separated, standing ten meters apart.
"As expected of Erza!" Ren said, letting out a small sigh of relief. He lowered the sword, his arm not even trembling. "Your skill is the real deal."
Erza was indeed a genius, not someone like him—a half-baked swordsman who had only seriously practiced for half a year.
Ren wasn't discouraged by this, because he had known for a long time that people are, in fact, different.
When it comes to studying, some can get into Tsinghua or Peking University, while others can't even get into any university. When it comes to playing games, some can reach a peak of 2700, while others can't even reach King rank, lacking the qualification to play ranked games.
He wasn't a genius, just an ordinary person. The only reason he could even comprehend Sun Breathing was because he had taken over Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
However, although he wasn't a genius, when he took over the forms of anime characters, even geniuses were just his stepping stones. Every character he took over was a super genius, a one-in-a-million talent.
"You, too," Erza said, her voice tight, her eyes narrowed in disbelief. "To reach this level of pure swordsmanship in just half a year... it is truly astonishing."
Erza was even more shocked than he was. She was one of the people most familiar with Ren's power, knowing that he originally relied on his overwhelming Take Over Magic for his immense strength. She had been prepared to fight a Mage.
She never expected that now, even without relying on his Take Over Magic, his base strength and pure skill were already comparable to a guild's top-tier Mage.
The speed of this power progression was simply too exaggerated. One must know, her current level of swordsmanship was honed through years of arduous, back-breaking training and countless life-or-death battles. He had matched it in six months... while also having all of his other monstrous forms.
"It's time to get serious now, isn't it?" Erza said, her fighting spirit blazing. She knew this "warm-up" was over.
Ren's calm expression hardened, his eyes taking on a new depth. "Indeed. Let's get serious, then."
He tossed the simple longsword aside. It clattered to the floor, and the room fell silent once more.
"Full Take Over · Yoriichi Tsugikuni! !"
The air in the room didn't just get hot. It changed. A heavy, ancient, and almost sorrowful pressure descended on everyone.
Ren's black hair began to grow rapidly, turning a dark, wine-red. It lengthened, tying itself into a high ponytail.
His casual clothes dissolved, replaced by a traditional samurai outfit—a dark red keikogi and black hakama pants. A red, flame-patterned haori draped over him, and in his hand, a simple, elegant katana appeared, its blade gleaming.
[Akarin's Note: Ren is taking over Yoriichi Tsugikuni from Demon Slayer. The hanafuda earrings are his most iconic feature, and the mark is the sign of a Demon Slayer Mark.]
Ren's irises turned red, his facial features subtly changed, becoming calmer, sharper. A pair of paper hanafuda earrings with a red sun design appeared on his ears, and a strange, crimson, flame-like mark appeared on the left side of his forehead.
He just stood there, his eyes seemingly looking at nothing... and yet, he exuded a strong, suffocating sense of oppression.
"Gulp!"
Everyone around him involuntarily swallowed.
Most of them had only seen Ren transform once like this, and that was when he had defeated Erza six months ago. With just one strike, he had defeated Erza, an S-Class Mage, which had brought them an unparalleled, reality-breaking shock.
At that time, Ren had given them a feeling of immense, unparalleled power.
Although Ren was also very strong when taking over other characters—like the "Tyrant"—in terms of pure, fundamental danger, this form, Yoriichi Tsugikuni, was the most intense. Just making eye contact with Ren in this state made them feel as if they were being seen through, as if every secret, every flaw, was laid bare.
Erza felt this particularly strongly at this moment.
'I didn't expect that even after half a year,' she thought, her hands gripping her sword tightly, 'this... this feeling of being completely seen... hasn't changed at all!'
"Requip · Armadura Fairy! !"
[Akarin's Note: Armadura Fairy (妖精の鎧 Arumadura Fearī) is one of Erza's most powerful armors, though in the original manga, its name is associated with her strongest armor. Here, it appears to be a specific, fire-aspected one.]
Light enveloped Erza. She requipped into one of her powerful armors: a fiery red and pink set of armor with small wings on the back. She now held a powerful, magic-infused fire sword.
"Armadura Fairy! ! It's her fire-resistant armor! !" one of the guild members shouted.
Ren, in Yoriichi's calm, deep voice, simply smiled. "Do you think this armor can withstand my attacks?"
"Of course not," Erza replied, her voice firm. "But wearing it at least makes me feel a bit safer."
Erza didn't think this armor could withstand Ren's attacks. She had seen this form's attacks break through the defenses of an "indestructible" dragon.
"Is that so?" Ren said. "Then I'll start attacking."
"Sun Breathing · First Form: Dance! !"
[Akarin's Note: Sun Breathing (日の呼吸 Hi no Kokyu) is the original and most powerful breathing style from Demon Slayer. Dance (円舞 Enbu) is the first form, a single, high-power vertical slash.]
Ren's figure vanished. He rapidly rushed towards Erza, and when he was in front of her, he unleashed a single, perfect, arc-shaped Sun Halo slash, the blade wreathed in pure, burning fire.
Erza immediately swung her sword, pouring all of her strength into a parry.
Clang!
The sound was deafening. Erza blocked it, but she was sent skidding back several feet, her fire sword sizzling where the burning blade had made contact.
"Sun Breathing · Second Form: Clear Blue Sky!"
[Akarin's Note: Clear Blue Sky (碧羅の天 Heki-ra no Ten) is a 360-degree vertical slash, creating a "wheel" of fire.]
Ren, already in motion from his first strike, leaped into the air, swinging his blade in a circular trajectory. He unleashed a blazing slash from top to bottom, the attack like a giant sun wheel falling from a clear sky.
Erza, seeing the attack coming for her head, had to requip in an instant. "Requip: Adamantine Armor!" Her fire armor vanished, replaced by a massive, blue, shielded armor. She raised the two shields above her head.
BOOM!
The attack struck the shields, and Erza's knees buckled. A massive crack appeared on the "unbreakable" shield. She was forced to her knees.
"Sun Breathing · Third Form: Raging Sun Halo!"
[Akarin's Note: Raging Sun Halo (烈日紅鏡 Retsujitsu Kōkyō) consists of two horizontal slashes, one after the other.]
Before she could even recover, Ren was already moving, his Nichirin Blade tracing an ∞-shaped (infinity) attack trajectory, a blur of two horizontal slashes that made it impossible to defend against. Erza was forced to dispel her heavy armor and dodge, but the second slash was too fast, grazing her side and sending sparks flying.
"Sun Breathing · Fourth Form: Fake Rainbow!"
[Akarin's Note: Fake Rainbow (幻日虹 Gen'nichi Kō) is an evasion and positioning technique, using high-speed twists to create afterimages.]
Erza seized the opportunity to counterattack, thrusting her sword where Ren should have been. But the moment her sword passed through his body, she realized something was wrong; it was just an afterimage. "He's gone!"
"Sun Breathing · Fifth Form: Fire Wheel!"
[Akarin's Note: Fire Wheel (火車 Kasha) is a technique where the user leaps behind the opponent in a cartwheel motion and slashes.]
After Ren's body somersaulted once in the air, he circled behind Erza and unleashed an arc-shaped slash at her back. Erza, her combat instincts screaming, quickly dodged to the side, the burning blade missing her by a hair.
"Sun Breathing · Sixth Form: Burning Bones, Summer Sun!"
[Akarin's Note: Burning Bones, Summer Sun (灼骨炎陽 Shakkotsu En'yō) is a circular, defensive-style slash that also burns the opponent.]
Ren swung his blade, releasing a spiral Sun Halo slash... Ren methodically, and beautifully, used the Sun Breathing techniques to attack, one flowing into the next like a perfect, deadly dance. The attacks came so swiftly that Erza was rendered powerless to counter. She could only defend with all her might, requipping armor after armor, each one being damaged or bypassed.
"Sun Breathing · Twelfth Form: Flame Dance!"
[Akarin's Note: Flame Dance (炎舞 Enbu) is the culmination of the first 11 forms, a continuous, two-slash combo that builds in power.]
Ren continuously unleashed two crescent-shaped slashes, the first a low sweep, the second a high arc, the fire burning brighter than ever.
Erza, now back in her Armadura Fairy armor, defended with all her might, gritting her teeth as she blocked both strikes. She was pushed back, her feet digging trenches in Ren's wooden floor, but she held. She had blocked it.
She finally let out a sigh of relief, her arms trembling from the strain.
Her strenuous training... her non-stop practice for the last six months... it had indeed had an effect. She couldn't even block one move before, but now... now she could block all of Ren's sword forms. She had finally...
Suddenly!
Crack...
A small, high-pitched sound.
Erza's eyes widened. She looked down. A small, spiderweb crack appeared on the breastplate of her Armadura Fairy armor.
Crack—! !
Bang—!
Her magic-infused fire sword shattered into a dozen pieces. Then, her entire suit of armor, from the breastplate to the gauntlets, exploded outward, shattering into thousands of tiny metal fragments that scattered across the floor.
Erza was left standing in the center of the room, completely unharmed, but in her simple battle skirt and chest bandages, her last line of defense gone.
"When...?"
Erza's pupils constricted, looking at her broken sword, then at Ren, in absolute, stunned shock.
When? When exactly was I attacked?
She thought she had blocked all of Ren's attacks. She was sure of it. But she didn't expect that Ren's attacks had all already hit her. She hadn't even noticed when or how many times she had been attacked.
Not only that, but the opponent's attacks were able to precisely hit the same microscopic points on her armor and sword, over and over, all while she was desperately defending, without her even noticing. This level of swordsmanship, this perfection... it made Erza tremble with fear once again.
If she were Ren's enemy, she might not even know when she was killed.
[Akarin Note:
Your Support Keeps This Story Alive!
If you're enjoying this novel, your support means the world to me. Simple actions like leaving a review, power stone, comment, or sharing the story let me know you're out there. It's the greatest motivation for me to keep updating until the very end and ensures this project continues.
For those who wish to support me more directly, you can join my Patreon at [patreon.com/AkarinTL]. As a thank-you, you'll receive access to 50 advanced chapters.
As a special offer, I've opened a few limited-time tiers at a discounted price! You will get all the benefits of "The Founding Pillars" (normally $20), but at a much cheaper rate.
These slots are extremely limited:
"The Plot Uncoverer": $4.99 (Save 75% / $15.01) - Only 3 slots
"The Dedicated Fan": $9.99 (Save 50% / $10.01) - Only 7 slots
"The Lore Diver": $14.99 (Save 25% / $5.01) - Only 15 slots
I hope I am still worthy of your support. My life truly depends on this... haha, I know I'm so shameless.]