Chapter 5: Three Types of Haki! None of You Can Break My Defense!
"Kagura, it's okay now."
Erza pulled a purple-haired girl out from inside the basket.
The moment the girl climbed out, she immediately burrowed into Erza's arms, staring at Ren behind her with overwhelming fear.
Seeing Kagura so scared, Erza glanced back at Ren with an apologetic look. Then she leaned close to Kagura's ear and whispered, "Don't be afraid. He's a good person."
After comforting her for a while, Kagura finally calmed down a little. She peeked at Ren cautiously, then quickly hid behind Erza again.
"Erza, stay with me. Let's go find the others."
After wasting a bit of time, the explosions in the village gradually began to die down. Ren's expression turned heavy as he looked toward the village, now completely swallowed by firelight.
Erza nodded, holding Kagura's small hand as she followed behind Ren.
The three of them moved out, searching the streets for survivors.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host. Big Mom template progress increased by 15%. You have obtained basic Haki of the three types!"
The system's voice suddenly sounded in Ren's mind.
As the voice fell, knowledge of how to use the three types of Haki flooded into Ren's head.
Ren's eyes brightened slightly, and he glanced back at Kagura behind Erza.
Observation Haki activated, covering the area within dozens of meters around them.
The three walked quickly through the village, watching the broken walls and ruins with vigilance.
Suddenly, Ren, who was in front, stopped and waved to Erza behind him.
Seeing Ren's signal, Erza immediately stopped as well, pulling Kagura into the rubble at the side to hide.
After Erza and Kagura concealed themselves, Ren stomped the ground hard.
Cracks like a spiderweb instantly spread across the earth.
Ren shot forward, turning into an afterimage that vanished into the night.
In the next moment, a violent boom erupted from a dilapidated house not far away.
Ren smashed straight through the wall. Bricks exploded outward, scattering everywhere.
Inside, a black-robed man wore a vicious expression as he pinned a woman down.
Filthy words spilled nonstop from his mouth.
The woman struggled desperately. A red handprint stained her face, and her cheek was swollen.
Her clothes had been torn apart, but under the man's strength, her resistance was completely useless.
The sound of the wall shattering drew the man's attention, and he turned his head toward Ren.
The instant he turned, Ren was already at his side.
Cold and murderous, Ren glanced at the man.
In the next moment, Ren clamped both hands around the man's head and twisted hard, snapping his neck.
His head spun a full circle.
The black-robed man didn't even get a clear look at Ren's face. His eyes went blank, and he collapsed to the side.
Ren looked at the woman on the bed, her face swollen and streaked with tears.
He turned his gaze away, grabbed a piece of clothing from the bed, and tossed it to her.
"Thank you… thank you… thank you…"
As Ren's back disappeared out the door, the woman stared at the black-robed man's corpse on the floor, hatred filling her eyes.
She pulled a pair of scissors from somewhere and, like she'd gone mad, vented her fury on the body.
She shouted thanks to Ren again and again toward the doorway.
Stepping outside, Ren's expression became ice-cold.
Finding Erza and Kagura again, Ren looked at them seriously. "Hide here. Do not leave. I'm going to deal with those people, then I'll come back for you. Until I return, you must not come out."
Looking at Ren's face, stained crimson with blood, Erza nodded hard.
Her soft hand rested on the back of Ren's hand as she looked at him with absolute seriousness. "I'll wait for you to come back."
Ren nodded, then punched the wall beside them, shattering it.
Stone fragments sprayed across the ground. Ren quickly shaped a simple shelter for Erza and Kagura in the corner, then sealed the entrance.
Under Observation Haki, there were no cult members nearby.
After taking one more look at the stone pile and confirming it wouldn't be easily exposed, Ren left.
Savage killing intent surfaced in Ren's eyes as he sprinted through the streets.
Not long after, Ren sensed a group of black magic cult members with Observation Haki.
"A sound?"
"Over there?"
With Ren charging in furious rage, the cult members quickly noticed him.
Their faces filled with shock as an afterimage flashed past their eyes.
The leader's head was blown apart by Ren's punch.
Before the rest could react, Ren charged into them like a tiger entering a flock, slaughtering his way through the group.
In no time, more than a dozen were wiped out.
Ren looked at the ground littered with severed limbs and broken bodies, his eyes showing no pity at all.
He turned and rushed toward the edge of the village.
Earlier, Ren had left one survivor alive. After interrogating him, Ren learned the truth.
This group was only the rear guard. The main force had already left the village.
The village wasn't big. With Ren's speed, he reached the village entrance in moments.
Ahead, he could vaguely see streaks of firelight.
Ren shook the dried blood from his fists and strode toward the distant flames.
Because Ren was making too much noise, the cult members spotted him from far away.
But in the darkness, they still didn't realize who it was.
They watched the direction the loud crashes were coming from, full of caution.
"Die!"
The moment Ren's figure came into view, he appeared in front of them in an instant.
A roar packed with fury burst from Ren's throat, and one punch killed a black-robed man on the spot.
"Enemy!"
With Ren's appearance, the entire cult became alert and quickly formed a response.
Dozens of them formed a ring, tightly surrounding Ren.
Behind the human wall, several figures holding staffs stood in the rear.
They gripped their staffs, their bodies completely covered by black robes.
At that moment, a magic circle suddenly appeared beneath Ren's feet.
Countless earthen spikes erupted from under him, stabbing upward in an instant toward Ren.
Just as the black mages believed they had succeeded, the dust settled.
Ren stood in their sight completely uninjured.
Those spikes that burst from the ground couldn't even break Ren's defense.