Chapter 187: Your Damage Isn't Enough
Large sections of stone masonry and centuries-old architecture were vaporized in an instant, replaced by a rising mushroom cloud of thick, choking smoke. The shockwave rattled the teeth of everyone present, sending tremors through the very foundation of the mobile city.
"Tch! Did he dodge it?"
Midnight clicked his tongue in annoyance, his red-rimmed eyes narrowing as he scanned the destruction. He stood safely on his floating carpet, his arms crossed, looking down at the devastation with a mix of boredom and sadism. He had originally wanted to enjoy the shocked expression on Ren's face—the despair of being incinerated by one's own signature move.
"Are you alright?"
Lucy Heartfilia scrambled through the debris, rushing to Sherry Blendy's side. The pink-haired girl from Lamia Scale was on her hands and knees, gasping for air, clutching her throat. Her face was flushed a dangerous shade of red.
"Cough, cough! Haa... haa..."
Sherry wheezed, tears streaming down her face. The invisible vice that had been crushing her ribs and throat—the twisted space of her own clothes—had vanished the moment Ren fired his Cero. She looked up with terror lingering in her eyes. "I... I thought I was going to die..."
"What exactly is wrong with this guy?!"
Lucy looked up at Midnight with palpable fear. Just moments ago, the Allied Forces had the upper hand. But in the blink of an eye, the situation had flipped. Gray and Lyon were down, defeated by a single wave of his hand. Jura Neekis, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, had been blown away by his own reflected magic. And Sherry had been nearly strangled by her own dress.
Magic seemed to have no effect on this sleeping boy. It was as if he existed in a different reality where the rules of combat didn't apply.
"Spatial magic?"
Jura emerged from a pile of rubble, dusting off his coat. He coughed slightly, a trickle of blood running down his forehead, but his stance remained firm. The reflected Iron Rock Wall had injured him, but not enough to remove him from the fight. His eyes were sharp, analyzing the enemy.
"That's right," Midnight said softly, his voice carrying an eerie, dreamlike quality. "My magic is Reflector. It can bend and twist all objects, be it solid matter or magical energy. Not only can it reflect magic back to its source, but it can also refract light to create illusions. In this space, I am absolute."
"Reflector..." Lucy covered her mouth in horror. "That means... no magic can hit him? That's cheating!"
"Ren," Midnight called out, ignoring the others. His gaze pierced through the settling dust, locking onto the silhouette standing amidst the crater. "I heard that your transformation magic seems to be able to infinitely shrink the distance between you and your target. I wonder, compared to my magic, which one is superior?"
Midnight's gaze passed over Jura and the others with disinterest. He looked toward Ren with a spark of genuine eagerness, a predator wanting to test its claws against another apex predator. He wanted to determine whose power was the true absolute.
From the smoke, a figure clad in white walked out slowly. Ren dusted off his shoulder, his expression bored.
"No need to wonder," Ren said, his voice flat. "Your magic is excellent, I'll give you that. It's a high-tier conceptual defense. But even the best magic depends on the person who wields it."
Midnight scoffed, a sadistic smirk returning to his lips. "Are you trying to say that your magic control is better than mine? I am the strongest of the Oración Seis. My control is perfect."
"No!" Ren stopped walking, looking up at the floating mage with emerald eyes that held no fear, only pity. "It's not just the control of magic. It's the stats. My magic is simply stronger than yours."
Swoosh!
The air cracked.
Ren vanished from his spot. He didn't run; he flickered. Using Sonído, the high-speed movement technique of an Arrancar, he bypassed the sound barrier instantly.
In a fraction of a second, Ren appeared directly in front of Midnight, hovering in the air. In his hand, a javelin of green energy—Luz de la Luna—materialized, humming with destructive power.
"Die."
Ren swung the moonlight weapon down, aiming to cleave Midnight in two.
Buzz!
The space in front of Midnight warped. The air rippled like water disturbed by a stone.
The Luz de la Luna bent violently. The straight beam of energy twisted at a ninety-degree angle, missing Midnight's face by inches and slicing harmlessly into the sky.
"I told you," Midnight laughed, his eyes widening in triumph. "Magic is completely useless against me! I can reflect anything! Ugh..."
Smack!
The laughter died instantly.
Before Midnight could finish his sentence, a pale hand tore through his defensive perimeter. It didn't use magic; it used raw, unadulterated physical speed and strength.
Ren's palm clamped over Midnight's mouth, crushing his lips against his teeth.
"Too much talking."
Ren's arm blurred as he swung the mage downward.
Boom—!
Midnight was spiked into the earth like a volleyball. The ground exploded on impact, sending a shockwave of dirt and stone rippling outward. A large crater, five meters wide, was instantly formed in the solid bedrock.
"Wuaah!"
Midnight let out a muffled cry of pain as the air was forcibly expelled from his lungs.
Lucy's eyes lit up, her hands clenching into fists. "That's great!!"
As expected of Ren! She felt a wave of relief wash over her. All her previous worries seemed foolish now. Ren was a monster who collected other monsters. Whether it was the spatial manipulation of Gojo or the raw power of this new demon form, he was in a league of his own. How could he possibly lose to a guy in pajamas?
Whoosh!
Midnight's figure flickered and vanished from the crater. He reappeared twenty meters away, hovering unsteadily on his carpet. His face was dirty, and a bruise was forming on his cheek.
He touched his face, wincing, and looked at Ren with a dark, hateful glare. "You... When did you figure it out?"
Ren stood in the crater, tilting his head slightly. The bone-white helmet on the side of his head cast a shadow over his eyes.
"Figure out what? Are you trying to say that your magic can't twist human bodies directly?" Ren asked, his tone mocking. "Didn't you just demonstrate that to me? You reflected my weapon, but you couldn't reflect my hand."
Midnight gritted his teeth, glancing sideways at Gray, Lyon, and Sherry, who were still recovering. "You bastard..."
This guy had seen through the weakness of Reflector in a single exchange. While Reflector could twist magic and inanimate objects, twisting a living human body with its own internal mana flow was much more difficult and couldn't be done passively.
But it doesn't matter, Midnight thought, regaining his composure. A flaw of this level is nothing to him.
"So you know," Midnight sneered. "But knowing doesn't mean you can win. I can still twist the space around you!"
Midnight raised his hand and waved it viciously. "Spiral Pain!"
Vwoom!
The atmosphere screamed. The space around Ren didn't just bend; it spiraled. A vortex of distorted gravity and spatial tearing enveloped him, aiming to wring his body out like a wet towel.
"Ren!"
Seeing this, Lucy screamed, her hands flying to her mouth. She had seen what this move did to Gray and Lyon—it had incapacitated two S-Class level mages instantly.
The distortion raged for a few seconds, churning the dust and debris into a frenzy.
Then, the magic stopped.
The surrounding ground was shredded, showing deep, spiral cracks that drilled into the earth. But in the center of the destruction, Ren stood exactly where he was.
He hadn't moved. He hadn't dodged. He hadn't even blocked.
His white uniform was unruffled. There wasn't a single scratch on his pale skin.
"No... No! How is that possible?!"
Midnight's eyes widened to the size of saucers. He floated back involuntarily, shaking his head. "How can you be fine after being hit by my magic?! I twisted the space! Your bones should be dust!"
Ren dusted off his shoulder, looking disappointed.
"Hmm... how should I put this?" Ren mused aloud, tapping his chin. "Your magic mechanism is undeniably powerful. Conceptual reflection is a pain. But the numerical value... the raw damage output... is a bit low."
"What... what do you mean?" Midnight stammered.
"Simply put," Ren looked him in the eye, "your damage isn't enough; you can't break through my defense."
Ren spread his hands, the hollow hole in his chest visible. In this form—Ulquiorra Cifer—he possessed Hierro (Steel Skin). It was the condensed spiritual pressure of an Arrancar that hardened the skin to the density of high-grade steel armor.
In the original lore, Ulquiorra's Hierro was among the best of the Espada. He could catch powerful Zanpakutō strikes with his bare hands. He had withstood a point-blank, Hollowfied Getsuga Tenshō from Ichigo Kurosaki with nothing but minor burns.
Comparing Midnight's magic to a Hollowfied Getsuga was laughable. If Ren added his own immense magical power to reinforce the Hierro, his defense became virtually impenetrable to sub-par attacks.
Sometimes, Ren thought with a smirk, after playing too many "Gimmick Monsters" like Gojo Satoru who rely on complex mechanics, playing a simple "Stat Monster" like Ulquiorra is actually more refreshing.
It was the difference between winning a chess match and simply flipping the table over because you were stronger than the other player.
Midnight's pupils contracted to pinpoints. His face, usually so composed and arrogant, twisted into a mask of humiliation and rage. "What did you say?!"
"I said," Ren enunciated clearly, "your attack is weak."
"Space Distortion!"
Midnight screamed, thrusting both palms at Ren.
Instantly, the clothes on Ren's body came to life. The fabric tightened, turning into steel bands that constricted his limbs and throat. This was the move that had nearly killed Sherry.
"Your Excellency Ren!" Jura shouted, stepping forward.
"Ren!" Lucy cried out.
But Ren just waved his hand at them lazily, signaling them to stay back. "Don't panic."
Ren stood expressionlessly in place. The fabric squeezed. It strained. It tried to crush his windpipe and snap his spine.
But Ren's body was harder than the magic.
Creak...
The sound wasn't bones breaking; it was the sound of Ren's clothes tearing because they couldn't compress his skin. Midnight's forehead began to bead with sweat. He poured more magic into the spell, his hands trembling.
"Crush! Crush! Why won't you crush?!" Midnight shrieked.
"Are you done?" Ren asked. He rolled his shoulders, and the magical hold shattered like brittle glass.
"Damn it! You monster—!"
Midnight shouted at Ren, completely losing his cool. He had increased the force to the maximum; a normal Mage would have been strangled into pieces by such an attack. Yet this guy acted as if he was wearing a slightly tight shirt. Who wouldn't lose their mind in that situation?
"Hey, hey! Fighting is fighting! But personal insults are uncalled for."
As Ren spoke, he took a step toward Midnight. Then another. He walked calmly, deliberately, completely ignoring the terrifying magic radiating from the Oración Seis member.
"Bastard! Stay back!"
Midnight dispelled the magic twisting Ren's clothes, realizing it was futile. He waved his hand frantically at a nearby ruin.
Crack!
A two-story stone house was cleanly sliced open at the base. Midnight controlled the space around the structure, lifting the massive building and launching it toward Ren like a siege weapon.
"Take this!"
Swish!!
Ren didn't break stride. He flicked his wrist, and the Luz de la Luna in his hand flashed.
Shing!
A green line appeared through the flying house.
Rumble—!
The massive stone structure split perfectly in two. The halves fell to the left and right of Ren, crashing into the ground and raising large clouds of dust. Ren walked through the middle of the debris, his eyes locked on Midnight.
Midnight, furious and terrified, continuously waved his hands.
"Die! Die! Die!"
House after house, pillar after pillar—tons of stone and timber were hurled at Ren from every angle.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Ren continued walking without stopping. His movements were minimal, efficient. A slash to the left. A slash to the right. An upward cut.
He calmly sliced all the houses apart as if he were cutting through wet paper. He was an unstoppable force of nature, slowly closing the distance.
Seeing Ren constantly approaching, step by step, completely unfazed by the bombardment, the pressure in Midnight's heart grew heavier and heavier. The fear he had inflicted on others was now drowning him.
"Get lost! You monster! Don't come any closer!"
Midnight screamed, his voice cracking. He raised his hand and released a Spatial Shockwave—a distortion bomb—directly toward Ren.
Boom!
The ground beneath Ren's feet cracked open, shattering into a spiderweb of fissures. But Ren's body remained completely still, his feet rooted to the earth. The shockwave washed over him and did... nothing.
"You..." Midnight's breath hitched. He was paralyzed by the sheer absurdity of the difference in their power.
He was about to say something, perhaps beg, perhaps curse, when he blinked.
Ren was standing right in front of him.
The emerald eyes stared down at him, void of any emotion.
Thump!
Ren raised his foot and kicked Midnight in the chest. It wasn't a magical attack. It was a simple, brutal front kick backed by immense physical strength.
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
Boom boom boom!!
Midnight screamed miserably as he was launched backward like a cannonball. His body smashed through one wall, then another, then a third, consecutively smashing through several houses before finally crashing into a pile of rubble in the distance.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
Lucy jumped up happily, pumping her fist. "That's great! As expected of Ren!"
Seeing everyone, including the Ten Wizard Saints, being defeated so easily just moments ago, she had completely panicked. Now it seemed Ren was the most reliable person in the world. As long as he was there, no enemy seemed invincible.
"Your Excellency Ren's strength is even greater than rumored. I am truly impressed."
Jura stood with his hands clasped, bowing slightly towards Ren's back. He rarely flattered others, but this young man's power was truly terrifying. It wasn't just magic; it was a physical perfection that defied logic.
Sherry clutched her chest, watching Ren with wide, awe-filled eyes. She muttered in a voice only she could hear: "Sure enough, the one who can restrain a monster is a super monster."
She had encountered Ren on Galuna Island, where they were completely crushed by him. However, she felt a sense of balance now. If even a powerful monster like the strongest member of the Oración Seis couldn't defeat him, losing herself didn't seem like a big deal. Still, seeing him save them... she was extremely grateful.
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