Chapter 5: The Fight Begins, Are You Trying to Kill Me, Friend?
Seeing this, Gray got serious too. He stacked one hand in a fist and the other as a palm in front of his chest, taking the starting stance for his Ice-Make magic.
"Then 3… 2… 1! The duel begins!" As the countdown around them hit zero, their duel officially started.
"Ice-Make… Lancer!" Gray swept both hands, frost bursting outward as several ice lances formed in midair and shot toward Ren.
"A simple probe won't decide the outcome." Ren casually flicked a Flying Thunder God kunai. It slipped through the gaps between the lances and flew straight at Gray.
"Wait, that newbie isn't even dodging?" Mirajane frowned, puzzled as Ren showed no intention of evading and even threw a strange dart at Gray. "Maybe he has some defensive method," Lisanna replied casually while watching.
Gray tilted slightly to avoid the incoming kunai. Seeing Ren still refusing to dodge even as the lances were about to pierce him, Gray couldn't help shouting, "Ren! Be careful! Don't get distracted! Focus on the duel!"
"Don't worry." Ren's eyes didn't seem to be watching the lances closing in at all. Instead, he stared at the kunai he'd thrown. "I'm very—"
Whoosh!
A flash of golden light, and Ren vanished from where he stood.
"—focused!" His voice came from Gray's side.
"What?!" Gray had just turned his head when a fist filled his vision. In that split second, he couldn't dodge or cast in time. He could only lean his upper body back and raise an arm to block.
The instant Ren's fist met Gray's forearm, a terrifying force surged through it. Gray lost balance immediately and was launched into the air.
What is that strength? His magic is supposed to be spatial. How does he hit this hard? But don't think brute force alone can beat me!
Gray twisted midair, adjusted his posture, and formed the Ice-Make stance again.
"Ice-Make… Rocket Launcher!"
A rocket launcher made of ice materialized. Gray aimed at Ren and pulled the trigger without hesitation. A frozen shell blasted toward Ren. Using the recoil, Gray immediately followed up.
"Ice-Make… Lancer!"
More ice lances formed and fired toward Ren's position.
"It's not over!" Gray erupted with magic power. "Ice-Make… Battering Ram!"
A massive ice hammer formed in Gray's hands. He gripped the handle with all his strength and smashed it down.
Smoke and frost billowed, swallowing the spot where Ren had been.
"Did I hit him?" Gray waved a hand, trying to clear some of the haze.
"Nope." Ren's voice came from behind him.
Gray's body went rigid.
When?!
Before he could even turn, a huge force slammed into his backside. Gray shot into the air again, enduring the sharp pain as he looked back—Ren was retracting his left leg from the kick.
"Bastard, Ren! You kicked my butt!" Gray roared. "Ice-Make… Giant Axe!"
A massive axe of ice appeared, and Gray swung it down at Ren.
"You've felt it too, right? Like this, you can't hit me at all." With another flash of golden light, Ren appeared behind Gray again and kicked him straight down from the air.
Gray crashed hard into the ground and even bounced once.
When he threw that dart the first time, he appeared at its position… and the next two times he appeared behind me… Wait, don't tell me—
Gray pushed himself up and looked at the arm he'd used to block Ren's first punch. A strange black mark was clearly imprinted there, and an unfamiliar magic power clung to it.
"That's your magic, Ren! You teleport to places marked with your seal. That's how you avoided the attacks just now. This mark was placed on me during that first punch!" Gray said, realization dawning.
"Yep. But knowing doesn't mean you can stop it." Ren smiled. "Don't blink now. It might end in an instant."
Ren pulled out six more Flying Thunder God kunai, three wedged between the fingers of each hand, then whipped his arms and threw them.
"Flying Thunder God! Pseudo: Spiral Flash Super Round Dance Howl Third Form—Combo!"
With that shout, Ren launched his full offense.
As the kunai were about to strike, Gray was just about to dodge when a familiar golden flash burst in front of him—followed by a heavy impact. He was blown away again.
"Damn…" Gray tried to adjust himself in midair, only to realize the kunai Ren had thrown were flying along with him, surrounding him as they moved.
Don't tell me—
Before he could finish the thought, golden flashes began blinking nonstop around him. The rapid flickering almost became a continuous line, and every flash came with a dull thud of impact.
"Oh—so strong! Gray's about to lose. Is the newbie going to win?!" The crowd exclaimed at the sight.
"In a one-on-one, how do you even beat that? Once he touches you, he marks you, and after that it's even harder to dodge," someone analyzed.
"But right now Ren doesn't seem to have other attack magic. He just looks physically stronger. If Gray finds the right opening, he still has a chance," another person said, trying to find a path to victory.
"True. If I don't charge it, my power isn't enough. So next… full force!" Ren flashed to the side, clenched his right fist and drew it back, magic power surging through his body and gathering into his right arm as he began charging his explosive strength.
Gray finally landed and barely recovered from the rapid chain of hits. Then he saw Ren's magic power roaring and that charging stance, and his hair stood on end.
Gray immediately went all-in on defense.
"Ice-Make… Ice Box!"
A series of ice walls rose in an instant, sealing Gray inside. Seeing the walls around him, Gray let out a small breath of relief.
Ren finished charging. He leapt high, landing above the Ice Box, then drove his fist down.
"Relax. I promise I won't kill you!"
Ren's punch crashed down, and the ice walls shattered and exploded like potato chips being stomped to pieces.
Boom!
Ren's fist swept past Gray's face and slammed into the ground. At the moment of impact, it felt like an earthquake—spiderweb cracks burst out from under Ren's knuckles, and a terrifying shockwave howled outward in every direction.
Chunks of ground cracked apart and were thrown into the air. With a thunderous roar, the entire street split open as if it had suffered a magnitude-seven or eight quake.
Gray fell into a trench in the broken street, trembling as he said, "Isn't this a bit much, Ren? Are you trying to kill me?"
Ren waved a hand, easing the discomfort caused by his still-unfamiliar charging method. "Relax. I didn't aim at you. You won't die."
"What the hell did you two do?!" Makarov, watching from the side, screamed in despair. "You flipped the entire street! Do you have any idea how much repairs will cost? Forget your income for the next year—none of it is yours anymore!"
Makarov stared at the ruined street, on the verge of tears, looking like his whole body had turned gray.