Chapter 175 Strongly Recommends Retreat
Amidst this apocalyptic scene, the members of Fairy Tail immediately recognized the figure standing fearlessly atop the stone pillar.
"Ren?!"
Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Erza all looked up, their eyes widening.
The Blue Pegasus trio—Hibiki, Eve, and Ren Akatsuki—along with Lyon and Sherry from Lamia Scale, were all stunned into silence. The man standing there, radiating an aura of absolute calm against the backdrop of imminent annihilation, didn't match any of their previous impressions. He wasn't the hulking giant Whitebeard, nor the swift Fourth Hokage. He stood in his base form, yet his presence felt larger than the sky itself.
However, the Fairy Tail mages knew the truth. They knew that Ren used Take Over Magic and could transform into various forms, each a nightmare for his enemies. But to face a Magic Cannon in human form? That was madness.
"Get out of the way!!"
Hibiki screamed, his voice cracking with panic. He frantically tapped on his Archive magic screens, the data flashing red. "That is a Magic Cannon! It's an Advanced war weapon created by humans to slay armies! A single shell is enough to level this entire forest! You can't block it with a human body!"
Ren didn't flinch. He didn't even look back. He simply adjusted his blindfold, a small, confident smirk playing on his lips.
"Whoosh—!"
The accumulation reached its peak. The Magic Cannon fired.
A beam of pure, concentrated magical energy, thick as a castle tower, erupted from the Christina. It tore through the air, incinerating the oxygen instantly, transforming the atmosphere into a vacuum of searing heat. It roared towards the allied forces like the judgment of god.
"Tsk, tsk, this magic bomber is quite handsome!" Ren remarked casually, his voice cutting through the roar of the blast.
He slowly raised his right hand, palm facing the incoming annihilation.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Blue!!"
Space warped.
A small, insignificant-looking sphere of darkness manifested in front of Ren's palm. It was an anomaly in reality, a tear in the fabric of the world where the concept of 'negative distance' was forced into existence. It emitted a suction force that defied the laws of physics.
The massive energy blast from Jupiter collided with the tiny Blue Sphere.
There was no explosion. No shockwave.
Instead, the beam twisted. The straight line of destruction bent, spiraling inward like water draining into a sinkhole. The terrifying energy was continuously absorbed, compressed, and nullified by the infinite void of the Cursed Technique.
In the blink of an eye, the energy blast that threatened to vaporize them all completely dissipated. Gone. As if it never existed.
Silence descended upon the battlefield.
Everyone who witnessed this scene was stunned, their jaws dropping, their minds struggling to process the visual impossibility they had just seen.
"What?!"
"How is this possible?!"
"That... that's the Magic Cannon 'Jupiter'! He just... ate it?" Lyon's eyes were bulging out of his sockets.
The Fairy Tail members were relatively calm, though they still let out breaths they didn't know they were holding. They already knew Ren was a monster. Not long ago, Ren had used a similar power to devour the Thunder Palace, a spell capable of destroying the entire city of Magnolia. To them, this was just Ren being Ren.
But for everyone else—for the elite mages of Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale—this was too much. It shattered their worldview. They had never witnessed anything like it; the scene was too shocking, too god-like.
Lyon immediately grabbed Hibiki's collar, shaking him violently. "Blue Pegasus! What exactly is going on?! Why is your Pegasus attacking us?! Is this a trap?!"
"What are you doing?!"
"Let Hibiki go!"
Ren Akatsuki and Eve, seeing Lyon attack their brother, immediately took combat stances, magic flaring around them.
Hibiki raised his hand to stop them, his face pale and sweating profusely. "Stop! Don't fight!" He looked up at the hovering ship, despair in his eyes. "This... we don't know either! The key to controlling Christina is in our hands... The only other person who has access is... Ichiya..."
His voice trembled. "No, it's impossible! Mr. Ichiya couldn't possibly betray us? He is the soul of Blue Pegasus!"
"Ichiya? That disgusting fat dwarf?" Lyon spat, releasing Hibiki.
"Hey! How dare you speak like that?!" Eve shouted back, offended. "Master Ichiya is a great man!"
Ichiya was the man they admired and the ace of their guild; despite his quirks, they naturally wouldn't allow anyone to insult him.
Da da da—!!
Suddenly, the sound of mechanical gears shifting echoed from the sky.
The Jupiter cannon required a cool-down period for recharging after firing. But the Christina was a warship; it had secondary armaments.
At this moment, dozens of smaller muzzles and magic machine guns rotated downwards, aiming directly at the one man who defied them—Ren.
Boom boom boom boom boom!!
A barrage of magical artillery rained down. Explosions blossomed across the forest clearing.
The shells exploded against Jura's defensive Iron Wall, chipping away at the rock but failing to breakthrough its sturdy defense.
However, the majority of the fire was concentrated on Ren.
Ren didn't move. He didn't dodge.
The bullets and shells flew towards him at supersonic speeds, only to stop abruptly a few centimeters from his skin. They hovered there, frozen in the air, caught in the 'Infinity' that existed between him and the world.
"They... they stopped?" Sherry covered her mouth in disbelief.
Ren sighed, looking at the floating bullets as if they were annoying mosquitoes. "How rude."
He raised his palm again, pointing a finger at the hovering bomber. A small orb of red light gathered at his fingertip, humming with a high-pitched frequency that made teeth ache.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red!"
A repelling force, the exact opposite of the previous technique, was unleashed.
A red sphere shot rapidly towards the magic bomber, leaving a trail of distorted light in its wake. It looked small, but the pressure it carried was immense.
The pilot of the magic bomber seemed to sense the danger and quickly tried to evade, banking the massive ship hard to the left.
But it was too late.
Boom—!
The Red sphere clipped the starboard wing and engine. The repelling force detonated upon impact, not with heat, but with sheer kinetic rejection. The entire side of the ship was sheared off as if hit by an invisible giant's hammer.
Smoke billowed, and magic particles leaked like blood. Unable to maintain balance, the majestic Christina plummeted from the sky.
Boom—!
The magic bomber crashed into the forest floor, trees snapping like twigs. A massive cloud of dust and debris rose into the air, shaking the ground beneath the allied forces' feet.
"It crashed!!" Happy cheered, throwing his paws up. "Ren is amazing!"
"Someone is coming out..." Erza narrowed her eyes, her hand gripping the hilt of her sword tightly. The dust was settling, but the malicious magical pressure emerging from the wreckage was suffocating.
Soon, everyone saw the shadows walking through the smoke. Six figures.
"Oración Seis!!!"
The six individuals who appeared were their target, the dark guild Oración Seis. They hadn't expected them to appear so brazenly before them, walking out of the wreckage of their own ambush vehicle.
Brain, the leader, stood at the front, his tribal tattoos pulsing. His gaze swept over the allied forces with disdain. "The guys of light, you've all gathered together. How convenient."
"We've already seen through your plan," Jura stepped forward, his voice steady. "You wanted to gather us together and then ambush us with the magic bomber. Now that the magic bomber has been destroyed, your plan has failed."
"Failed?"
A chilling giggle cut through the air.
Angel, the only female among Oración Seis, sat comfortably on a floating celestial spirit. She chuckled, a sound devoid of warmth. "Oh, don't be so sure. And by the way, that Ichiya guy has already been taken care of. Now it's just the rest of you."
The Blue Pegasus trio were instantly struck with disbelief upon hearing this. Their faces went pale.
"What?!"
"Impossible!!"
"Big Brother Ichiya was the ace of our Blue Pegasus; there was no way he could be taken out so easily!" Eve cried out.
Angel smirked and patted the two small, floating creatures beside her. They looked like small blue dolls with pointed heads—the Celestial Spirit Gemini.
The two little figures mimicked Angel's smirk and spoke in unison:
"We took care of him! Piri-piri!"
"That Ichiya guy only thinks about perverted things. He was too easy to deceive!"
"He's brainless! What a useless adult. We knocked him out in the bathroom!"
Hearing this, and considering Christina's misuse to attack them, the horrifying truth settled in. It was highly likely that their words were true. The Trimens looked devastated, their morale crumbling instantly.
"Starting to waver, aren't you?"
Cobra, the poison dragon slayer, grinned, revealing his sharp fangs. He tapped his ear. "I can hear it. The sound of your confidence shattering. It's music to my ears."
Racer, a tall man with a long nose and a racing suit, tapped his foot impatiently. "Work must be completed quickly. My motto is speed. Speaking of which, you people are too much of a nuisance. You're wasting my time."
Hoteye, the blocky man who loved money, spread his arms wide. "Money makes people strong. Let me tell you a truth: 'Money is everything.' And right now, your lives are very cheap!"
Natsu smashed his fists together, flames igniting. "I didn't expect you to show yourselves voluntarily!"
Gray stripped off his coat, ice crackling around his hands. "It saves us the trouble of looking for you—!!"
Without waiting for a plan, the two hotheads of Fairy Tail charged out first.
"Attack!"
Brain also gave the order, pointing his staff forward.
Racer immediately sprang into action. "Slow down!"
To Natsu and Gray, it felt like the world suddenly lagged. Before they could even cross half the distance, Racer appeared behind them. It wasn't just speed; it was as if he had skipped the space in between.
"What?!"
Natsu and Gray didn't react in time.
"Too slow!" Racer shouted, delivering a high-speed rotating kick that hit both of them simultaneously.
Bang!
The impact was heavy. Natsu and Gray were sent flying back like ragdolls, crashing into the trees behind the alliance line.
"Natsu! Gray!"
Lucy, seeing the two being attacked, screamed in worry. She reached for her keys. "Open, Gate of the—"
But as soon as she spoke, she noticed her voice overlapped. It was an eerie echo.
Looking to the side, her eyes widened in horror. A person identical to her—same hair, same clothes, same face—appeared right next to her.
"Idiot!" the doppelgänger sneered.
One of the Lucys pulled out a whip and struck at the real Lucy with vicious speed.
Snap!
"Ah!" Lucy cried out as the whip struck her arm. She stumbled back, confusion and fear mixing in her eyes. "What... what's going on?! I actually... huh?! Why is there another me?!"
"Sherry, let's go! We can't let them seize the momentum!"
"Okay! For love!"
Lyon and Sherry recovered from the shock and prepared to use their magic to attack the Oración Seis. Lyon molded ice into an eagle, while Sherry summoned her doll magic.
Hoteye looked at them with pity. "Even without love, as long as there's money! That's enough!!"
He slammed his hand onto the earth. "Liquid Ground!"
The solid ground beneath Lyon and Sherry suddenly rippled and softened, turning into a substance with the consistency of quicksand.
"Whoa!"
"Lyon! Sherry!"
The two lost their balance instantly, sinking knee-deep into the mud, their spells canceled as they struggled to stay afloat.
Jura Neekis, the Wizard Saint, reacted instantly. "Iron Rock Wall!"
Seeing his guildmates under attack, he slammed his palms together, creating massive Iron Pillars that erupted from the ground, aiming to strike Hoteye and provide a platform for his allies.
Hoteye merely raised a finger, his eyes gleaming with golden greed. "Soft!"
The jagged, hard Iron Pillars instantly lost their rigidity. They drooped and melted like wax under a hot sun, turning into harmless liquid that splashed onto the ground.
"What?!"
Jura's eyes widened. He was a master of Earth Magic, known for his impregnable defenses. To see his hardest rock softened so easily... "My magic creates iron-hard rock, but he softens it..."
"My magic can soften the earth, and your magic can harden it," Hoteye laughed. "Who is stronger between us? The one with more money, of course!"
The battlefield was chaos.
At the same time, the Blue Pegasus trio—Hibiki, Eve, and Ren—tried to avenge Ichiya, but they were hopelessly outmatched. Racer moved like a phantom among them, striking them down before they could even finish an incantation. They lay defeated on the ground in seconds.
Erza, seeing the allied forces continuously being knocked down, gritted her teeth and requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor. "Dance, my swords!"
She launched a barrage of swords, but Cobra dodged them effortlessly, weaving through the steel rain with his eyes closed.
"I can hear you, Titania," Cobra taunted, sliding under a strike. "Your muscles tensing, your next step, your frustration. It's all loud and clear!"
Before Erza could adjust, Racer appeared on her flank. "Too slow!"
Together, the two Dark Mages struck, restraining Erza and forcing her back.
Brain watched the domination with satisfaction, but his eyes kept drifting back to the one man who hadn't moved since the crash. The man who had blocked Jupiter.
"Oh... So this is Titania Erza Scarlet? She is strong, but manageable," Brain muttered. He turned to Angel. "How is it? Have you gathered information about that man?"
He pointed his staff at Ren.
Many of the allied forces had already been defeated or suppressed. The main enemy now was still Ren. After all, Brain had intelligence networks; he knew this guy was a monster who had even defeated Jose Porla, a Ten Wizard Saint. If they went in blind, they might suffer losses.
"Knowledge is power," Brain said. "Angel, use Gemini. If we know his abilities, his weaknesses, it will be simpler for us to deal with him. We will bury him here."
Angel smiled cruelly and looked at Gemini, who had transformed into Lucy. Since Gemini could copy the memories and knowledge of the person they transformed into, and Lucy was Ren's guildmate, she would surely know everything about him.
"Gemini, have you retrieved Ren's information yet?" Angel asked, twirling a lock of her hair. "What is his magic? What is his weakness? Does he have a lover we can exploit?"
Gemini, in Lucy's form, stood frozen. The mischievous grin had vanished from 'Lucy's' face, replaced by a blank, glazed look as they delved deep into the real Lucy's subconscious memories.
"Information retrieval in progress..." Gemini's voice was mechanical, devoid of emotion. "Accessing memories of target: Ren..."
"Ren through Lucy's eyes..."
Gemini saw it.
They saw the memories etched into Lucy's mind.
They saw a colossal figure, white mustache trembling, cracking the very air and shattering the ocean with a single punch.
They saw a golden flash, a man moving faster than light, teleporting armies in the blink of an eye.
They saw the casual destruction of the Phantom Lord guild.
They saw the moon being shattered.
The image of Ren in Lucy's mind wasn't a human. It was a calamitous force of nature wrapped in human skin. A being that stood above logic.
"Monster..." Gemini whispered, their voice trembling.
"Big monster..."
"Super monster..."
Immediately after, Gemini, still in Lucy's form, stumbled back. A look of absolute, primal horror contorted her face. Cold sweat streamed down her forehead, soaking her bangs. Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated to pinpoints, staring at Ren as if he were death incarnate.
"Celestial Spirit information collection complete..." Gemini stammered, their legs giving way as they fell to the ground, scurrying backward.
"Not good... Strongly advise retreat!! Must retreat immediately!! We cannot fight that!!"
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