Chapter 105: The Wizard Saint's Humiliation
"Snap!"
Ren, still in his 'Tyrant' form, single-handedly grabbed Gajeel's neck, his fingers digging into the iron-hard flesh. He lifted the Iron Dragon Slayer off the ground as if he weighed nothing.
"Why are you so weak," Ren's voice was a low, dangerous drawl, "yet you dare to provoke Fairy Tail? I'm very curious. Can you tell me why?"
"Mon... ster..."
This time, Gajeel Redfox, the man who lived for the thrill of the fight, truly felt what fear was.
The opponent was not human at all, but a real, physical monster. As for why he dared to provoke them? The answer was simple, and now, utterly horrifying: he simply didn't know that such a terrifying monster existed within the Fairy Tail Guild.
Gajeel tried to use his magic, to turn his throat into a blade, but Ren saw through the faint magical shift with a glance. He squeezed.
"W-wah ah ah ah ah!"
Feeling the terrifying, crushing power emanating from Ren's hand, Gajeel cried out in agony.
He had used his magic to make his neck as hard as steel, but in the opponent's hand, he felt like he was made of play-doh. He could feel the bones in his neck groaning, and he knew that if the opponent wished, he could snap his neck at any moment.
"Ren! That's enough!"
Makarov's voice, sharp and commanding, rang out from the lounge.
Only then did Ren's grip loosen. He opened his hand.
Thump!
"Cough, cough! Hack!"
Gajeel fell to the ground, his hands flying to his throat as he coughed violently, gasping for air.
Ren, his face a mask of cold disinterest, lifted his foot and kicked Gajeel hard in the abdomen.
"W-wah ah ah ah!"
Gajeel screamed as his body, which was already injured, was sent flying like a cannonball. He shot from the arena, across the 50-meter gap, and crashed directly into the Phantom Lord Guild's resting area.
"Ugh ah ah ah!"
Many members of Phantom Lord didn't have time to dodge and were knocked down by the flying Gajeel, letting out cries of pain as their strongest member was returned to them like a piece of trash.
Jose Porla's face was as dark as ink. At this moment, his ghostly features were contorted in a mask of pure, unrestrained rage.
Five battles. Five losses.
The script he had imagined, the one where he would publicly and systematically dismantle Fairy Tail, was completely the opposite of reality. He had envisioned Phantom Lord winning all five battles, crushing their spirit before he personally finished off Makarov. But this... this was the result.
"Useless... all of them are useless..." he hissed.
"The victor has been decided!!" Chapati Lola's voice, now trembling with a mix of fear and excitement, roared over the speakers.
"Winner: Fairy Tail's Ren!!!"
"Five battles, five victories! Fairy Tail is unstoppable! COOOOOOL!"
The stadium erupted.
"Fairy Tail is amazing!"
"Yeah! I thought Phantom Lord was stronger! I didn't expect them to lose all five battles!"
"Fairy Tail is the number one Mage Guild in the Fiore Kingdom. It's decided!"
Everyone in the audience, seeing the 'Iron Dragon' Gajeel defeated so brutally, concluded that Fairy Tail was on a completely different level than Phantom Lord.
"Sure enough," Gray said, his voice full of awe, "Ren in that state... he's truly terrifying!"
The members of Fairy Tail breathed a sigh of relief. In their hearts, apart from the Guild Master, two people in the Fairy Tail Guild were in a league of their own: Ren and Gildarts.
Gildarts was recognized as Fairy Tail's strongest Mage, his Crush magic being unmatched.
But Ren's growth rate... it was just inhuman. Six months ago, he seemed to be at the level of an ordinary S-Class Mage. But now, his strength was already close to Gildarts'.
No matter how strong Gajeel of Phantom Lord was, he couldn't be Ren's opponent.
"Hmph!"
In the Phantom lounge, Jose Porla stood up, his dark aura making the air cold. He was preparing to leave.
Five battles, five losses. There was no need to continue. If Gajeel had won, he would have accepted the challenge to contend with Makarov. That would have allowed Phantom Lord to publicly surpass Fairy Tail.
But now? Even if he defeated Makarov, others would still believe that Fairy Tail's new generation was stronger than Phantom's. The day was already a complete, humiliating loss.
Suddenly!
Ren's voice, still in that lazy, dangerous drawl, rang out, silencing the 100,000 cheering fans.
"Jose. Come out!"
"What?!"
Both the Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail members were startled by Ren's words.
"What's this?! COOOOL!" Chapati shrieked into his microphone. "Participant Ren is actually challenging Guild Master Jose Porla of the Phantom Lord Guild!"
The audience members also couldn't help but discuss, their voices a low, shocked murmur. Ren's strength was indeed formidable, but the Ten Wizard Saints were legends!
Ren was actually going to challenge Jose!
Jose was one of the Ten Wizard Saints, recognized by the Magic Council as one of the ten strongest Mages on the entire continent. Such Mages were incomparable to ordinary Mages; these were true monsters standing at the peak of power.
"Is this guy crazy?!"
"He must be!"
The Phantom Lord members all thought Ren was insane. No matter how arrogant he was, he couldn't challenge a Wizard Saint, could he?
It was much the same on Fairy Tail's side.
"You brat! Don't be reckless!" Makarov quickly shouted from the lounge. Others might not know Jose's true strength, but he did. Although Jose's character wasn't great, his magic power was undeniable. He was already a Wizard Saint six years ago, and he was still young, with a lot of room for growth. His current magic power was so vast that even Makarov himself wasn't absolutely confident of defeating him.
"That's right!" Erza also advised, her voice sharp with concern. "Ren, you just finished a battle! Your magic power... your endurance..."
She knew. The stronger Ren's displayed strength, the greater the magic power consumed. Ren's battle with Gajeel looked like a one-sided, physical dominance, but to maintain that 'Tyrant' form, especially at that speed and strength, his magic power consumption had to be extremely terrifying.
Jose, who had been about to leave, stopped. He turned, looking at Ren with icy, dead eyes. "You brat... what did you just say?"
Ren, still in his 'Tyrant' form, looked directly at Jose. "I said... Jose... get out here!"
Boom—!
A terrifying, dark, and evil magic power erupted from Jose's body. The sky above the arena, which had been clear, began to darken as if a storm was brewing.
"BRAT!! YOU'RE TOO PRESUMPTUOUS!!"
Jose roared in anger, and the ground around his body exploded, the stone turning to dust under his dark aura.
"Presumptuous? Perhaps," Ren's lazy smile returned. "But 'presumptuous' is better than being as despicable as you. You destroyed the Fairy Tail Guild. Gajeel was the main culprit, but you were the mastermind. I've punished the culprit. Do you really think I'd let you, the mastermind, off the hook?"
"Oh?" Jose's face showed a sinister, ghostly smile. "And what do you, a mere child, intend to do about it?"
Ren beckoned to Jose with his finger. "You. Come up here. Six years ago, the old man beat you. Today, it's my turn to beat you!"
Gasp—!
Ren's words shocked everyone. What did he say? He was going to beat a Wizard Saint.
"Could it be..." Mira whispered, her hand over her mouth. "That Ren's original goal... was this?"
The members of Fairy Tail suddenly felt as if Ren had been aiming for this from the very beginning.
"Heh heh... heh heh heh... Hahahahaha!"
Jose burst into maniacal laughter. The sound was like static, grating on everyone's nerves.
"It seems I haven't made a move in these past few years," he cackled, "and now, even some mere clowns dare to step on my head. Master Makarov... aren't you going to stop him?"
Jose looked at Makarov, his eyes glinting with pure malice.
"Since this is the path the children themselves have chosen," Makarov said, his voice grim, "I will not stop them."
Although Makarov wasn't sure if Ren was challenging Jose out of a moment of impulsiveness, as a father, he had to support Ren's choice.
"Since that's the case," Jose's smile widened, "if I cripple him... or kill him... don't hold a grudge, Master Makarov."
Jose was angry. But he also understood. He had to completely cripple Ren. He couldn't believe Fairy Tail had produced such a monstrous individual.
He would not allow such a powerful person to exist in Fairy Tail.
Such a person, he thought, must be nipped in the bud. Otherwise, in a few more years, he might truly pose a threat to him.
Jose stepped forward, his form gliding, and walked towards the center of the arena.
A terrifying dark aura emanated from his body, and everyone who felt this aura—in the stands, in the lounges—involuntarily felt fear in their hearts.
"Such evil magic..." Mira covered her nose, her face full of worry. "Just... just facing him makes me want to vomit."
Ren, however, was calm. 'A Wizard Saint,' he thought. 'This Toji form is strong, but it's not invincible. Its main advantage is its lack of magic, which makes it perfect for killing mages. But against a monster with this much raw magic power, my endurance is the problem.'
He needed more power. He needed a bigger tank to sustain this form.
Ren opened the system interface, an action invisible to everyone.
'The Gold Card, Minato Namikaze, is my new trump card. Too valuable to use for a simple power-up,' he thought. 'But...'
He made a cold, calculated, 'Tyrant'-like decision.
'System. Recycle all the junk cards from the last pull.'
[Akarin Note: There seems to be a contradiction here. The text states, "He chose to recycle all the character cards drawn last time," which would imply the Minato card was also recycled. However, the MC continues to use Minato's powers in future chapters. This is likely an error or oversight in the raw text, as the story relies on him still having Minato's card.]
[Ding! Do you want to recycle the 9 selected cards?]
"Yes!"
[Ding! Recycling successful! Your magic power level has been upgraded!]
A surge of pure, raw energy, far greater than any before, flooded Ren's body. He felt his magic container, his very soul, expand.
[Current Magic Power: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (6-Star)]
'There,' Ren thought, a cold smile on his face as he felt the strain of his 'Tyrant' form lessen. The 9 junk cards, combined with the experience he'd already banked, were just enough to push him over the edge.
'Now... I have enough power to play.'
[Akarin Note:
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