**Chapter 13: I Am Not Good at Attacking**
Gildarts cried out in pain; a wound had been cut into his shoulder.
Immediately after, Gildarts felt a powerful force dragging him backward from the shoulder.
His feet slid along the ground, yet he was unable to stop his body's momentum.
Gildarts was shocked. It was merely a graze, yet it sent him flying. The speed and power were too fast and too strong.
"Disassemble!"
Gildarts exerted force through his feet.
*Boom boom boom boom boom!!*
The ground quickly decomposed into small cubes, wearing away the impact force.
*Boom boom boom!!!*
Behind him, a massive hole was drilled into the cliff face of the crater by the *Luz de la Luna*. Gildarts looked back and was startled.
*Hum——!!*
A small black sphere of spiritual pressure gathered on the index finger of Ren's right hand.
Gildarts' expression changed. He had just suffered a big loss from that move; if he took another one, he might really be severely injured.
Gildarts clenched his right fist, powerful magic power constantly gathering in it.
**Cero Oscuras!**
*Shoooom————!!!*
A massive black flash surged toward Gildarts.
With a serious expression, Gildarts punched toward the Cero.
"Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Empyrean!"
Gildarts' strongest magic. By gathering magic power in his fist, he releases a terrifying shockwave capable of crushing anything.
Its power is strong enough to instantly blast an opponent thousands of kilometers away.
Ren's *Cero Oscuras* was continuously crushed and destroyed.
Gildarts' magical shockwave finally approached the front of Ren's body.
The wings on Ren's back quickly moved to block Gildarts' strongest attack.
*Boom boom boom boom!!!*
Ren's body was blasted away.
"Ah! Not good! I accidentally used maximum power!"
Gildarts' face changed. His magic type was a Super-Class Destructive Magic—Crash.
It could instantly shatter the atomic bonds of any matter it touched, tearing it apart.
If used on a living being, it could even turn them to dust on the spot. It was very difficult to control, so it was hard to hold back when using this magic in battle.
*Boom!!!*
Ren crashed into the cliff wall of the crater, smashing a large hole into the rock.
Makarov and Gildarts were both a bit nervous. Just as they were about to check on him...
Ren walked out of the large hole safe and sound. His clothes were torn, but his body had suffered no injuries. However, the wings on his back had been partially destroyed by the Crash magic.
"As expected of Old Man Gildarts, your strength is indeed powerful."
Seeing that Ren was safe and sound, Gildarts marveled at Ren's powerful defense and felt relieved.
The guild had such a good seedling; if he accidentally killed him, it would be a heinous crime.
Gildarts smiled and said to Ren, "You're not bad either. I really didn't expect a young man as strong as you to exist. Perhaps it won't be long before you can completely surpass me."
"Then let's continue fighting! Old Man."
"No..."
Before Gildarts could finish speaking, the black wings behind Ren began to regenerate rapidly.
Gildarts' eyes widened in disbelief. "Your... black wings?"
Ren said with a slightly reserved expression, "Actually, I am not good at attacking. What I am truly good at is regeneration. As long as my brain and internal organs are not destroyed, any part of my body can regenerate."
Generally, Hollows would discard this ability after becoming Arrancars to gain greater attack power, but Ulquiorra retained it.
Having fused with the Ulquiorra template, Ren naturally inherited this ability completely.
Hearing Ren's words, Gildarts was dumbfounded. *Are you kidding me? Not good at attacking? If you aren't good at attacking, then who is?*
*You beast! Strong power, fast speed, strong attacks, high defense, you can fly, and on top of that, you have regeneration ability? Does God really have to favor this brat so much?*
*Shing!*
Another *Luz de la Luna* appeared in Ren's right hand.
Gildarts looked at Ren, who didn't even seem out of breath, and felt a bit dazed. *Doesn't he need to consume magic power? It feels like he uses those ultimate-move-level attacks like he's drinking water.*
*Hum~ !*
A small black sphere with a hint of green light gathered on the index finger of Ren's left hand.
*Cero Oscuras*. Gildarts had just taken two of those and knew how powerful that attack was.
Seeing Ren preparing both a *Cero Oscuras* and a *Luz de la Luna* at the same time, the hairs on Gildarts' body stood on end.
*This brat! He's young, but his heart is ruthless! Does he think I'm not dead enough?*
Just as Ren was preparing to attack...
Gildarts raised both hands and said with a slightly awkward expression on his face:
"Well... I give up!"
Everyone who heard Gildarts' words was confused.
Gildarts? Gave up?
You must be joking. Gildarts is the strongest mage in Fairy Tail, and he gave up?
"Old Man, why? You clearly still have the ability to fight," Ren asked in confusion.
A bitter smile appeared on Gildarts' face. He indeed had the ability to fight, but his magic consumption wasn't small either. Especially that last move, his strongest attack—it consumed a lot of magic. At most, he could only release one or two more strikes like that.
But looking at Ren, it seemed he wouldn't have a problem firing another ten or eight *Ceros*.
"It's just an S-Class Promotion Exam, not a real life-or-death struggle. There's no point in fighting any longer. It would be bad if an accident happened."
Gildarts meant that accidents were prone to happen [if he continued].
Ren, however, interpreted it as Gildarts being afraid he might accidentally kill Ren.
"I understand. Thank you for the guidance, Old Man."