Chapter 106: Wizard Saint
Ren immediately felt a powerful, surging tide of magic power rise from his magic source. It flowed throughout his entire body, replenishing all his previously depleted energy from the "Tyrant" transformation. But it was more than that. His very capacity, his limit, expanded.
"Is this the magic power of a 6-Star Mage?"
Ren felt that his current magic power had more than doubled compared to when he was five and a half stars. It was a qualitative leap. The nine junk cards from his gacha pull, combined with the latent experience he'd banked from his previous quests, had been just enough to push him over the edge.
The immense magic power also made Ren feel a significant boost in his own base strength. He felt that even without using Take Over Magic, he could now contend with an S-Class Mage.
And this was not an illusion; he genuinely possessed such strength.
In the stands, the announcer, Chapati Lola, was screaming into his lacrima.
"Master Jose has chosen to fight!! The sixth and final match is now a showdown between the 'Tyrant' Ren of Fairy Tail and the Wizard Saint, Jose Porla of Phantom Lord!"
"This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, folks! We actually get to witness a battle of the Ten Wizard Saints with our own eyes! Or, at least, one of them against the man who thinks he can challenge one!"
"Fairy Tail VS Phantom Lord, the final, sudden death Round Six of the match!!"
"Begin—!"
Clang—!
"Makarov's brat," Jose's voice was a low, ghostly hiss, dripping with condescension. He didn't move, letting his dark aura do the talking, radiating a palpable, evil pressure. "I've heard of you, 'Tyrant.' Supposedly you've defeated tens of thousands of bandits. A messy, brutish accomplishment for a messy, brutish child."
"But you must understand," Jose said, a dark, ghostly apparition of a soldier forming behind him, "the Ten Wizard Saints... we are different. We are on a different plane of existence from those ordinary people you've been bullying."
"Don't get arrogant just because you have a bit of fame. Today, I will teach you, and all of Fairy Tail, what it means that there are always people better than you, and a sky beyond the sky."
A dark, killing intent gleamed in Jose's eyes.
Ren, however, ignored Jose's trash talk. This 'Tyrant' form was good for killing Mages, but against a monster with this much raw magic, he needed to send a bigger message.
It was time to let this one make an appearance.
"Full Body Take Over · Edward Newgate!!"
The ground of the arena heaved. Ren's body, which had been in the Toji form, began to rapidly grow taller and larger. His muscles swelled with a density that felt like bedrock, his entire frame expanding.
His clothes transformed, the simple black T-shirt and pants dissolving into wide, light-yellow pants, a black belt, and black boots. His upper body was bare, revealing a torso of immense, scarred muscles.
His body continued to expand, past three meters, past five... stopping at a colossal six meters and sixty-six centimeters.
A massive, flowing white captain's coat with a red lining appeared on his shoulders. And in his hand, a weapon that was larger than a car materialized: Whitebeard's exclusive weapon, one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Swords, Murakumogiri.
Most conspicuously, a crescent-shaped white mustache curved upwards from beneath his nose, and his face was a fusion of Ren's and Whitebeard's, looking incredibly, impossibly, imposing.
"So big—!!!"
The audience in the stands, who had just been fleeing, stopped, their mouths agape. They were all startled by Ren's new height of six meters and sixty-six centimeters.
"Ren... Ren turned into an old man!!"
Among the Fairy Tail members, besides Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Lucy—who had witnessed this on Galuna Island—it was also their first time seeing Ren's transformation. They were all very surprised.
Elfman, his arm in a sling, asked in surprise, "What is this?! Is this Ren's new transformation?! That's a man!"
Happy, who was trembling slightly, replied, "Aye~! This transformation... this one makes Ren super strong!!"
Natsu and Gray also became excited. They had both witnessed this transformation of Ren's. If Ren could truly defeat Jose... then Phantom Lord would be thoroughly and utterly trampled underfoot.
Jose, high on his platform, looked at Ren's new transformation and sneered disdainfully, "Hmph! Kid, if you transformed into a giant like Makarov, that would be one thing, but this... this is just a parlor trick. Mages aren't stronger just because they're bigger. An overly large body will only become a target for attacks. Fall down for me!"
Jose waved his palm.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
A series of red, dark explosions erupted at Ren's feet, engulfing his entire body in a column of fire and shadow.
"Ren!!!"
Mira became extremely worried when she saw Ren being attacked, and the rest of the guild members felt the same. This was an attack from a Ten Wizard Saint. Such a terrifying explosion... would surely leave him heavily injured, if not dead, after taking a direct hit.
"Hey, hey, hey! Who set off firecrackers?"
At that moment, Ren's deep, booming, Whitebeard-like voice came from within the smoke of the explosion.
"It's not even New Year's yet, and can't you see there are people here? Your manners are terrible!"
Bang!
Ren swung his arm, and the smoke was dispersed by the sheer air pressure. He stood in place, his white coat billowing, completely unharmed.
"What?!"
Jose's expression changed slightly. He hadn't expected that weak, probing attack to finish Ren off, but the fact that he was completely, utterly unharmed still somewhat surprised him.
"That's great! Ren is alright?!"
"Of course he'll be fine, that's Ren!"
All the Fairy Tail members breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Ren was unharmed.
Jose narrowed his eyes slightly. "Brat, you've got some skill. But with just this much, you can't act arrogant in front of me! I'll show you just how big the gap is between you and a Ten Wizard Saint."
"Ghost Arrow!"
Jose raised his palm and opened a large, purple magic circle. A large number of arrows, made of dark, ghostly energy, shot towards Ren.
Ren, seeing the swarm of magic, didn't move. He simply clenched his right fist.
"Buzz—!"
A white, transparent, spherical light shield enveloped his fist. The power of the Gura Gura no Mi.
Ren swung his fist, not at the arrows, but at the empty air towards Jose.
"——————!"
Crack crack—!
The atmosphere itself shattered like a mirror, revealing dense, black cracks.
A terrifying, invisible force of pure vibration emanated from Ren's fist.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom!
All the Ghost Arrows released by Jose were vaporized, destroyed by this vibration force before they even got close. And the terrifying vibration force continued, surging towards Jose.
Rumble—!
The entire arena... no, the entire city of Onibus... was shaking violently.
"Ah—! An earthquake!"
All the spectators in the arena screamed in fright, holding onto their seats.
Crack crack—!
A massive crack spread from Ren's feet, racing across the arena floor, and heading straight for the Phantom Lord stands.
"Ugh ah ah ah ah!"
"Wah ah ah ah ah!"
Soon, the entire spectator stand where the thousands of Phantom Lord guild members were located began to crumble. It collapsed due to the intense vibration, and the Phantom Lord members screamed as they fell in a cascade of rubble and bodies.
A moment later, the shaking subsided.
Everyone who was left—the audience, the Fairy Tail members, the commentators—stared at Ren, dumbfounded.
Seeing the terrifying destruction caused by Ren's single, casual punch, everyone was petrified with fear.
"Monster—!"
"Attention, audience!" Chapati Lola's voice, now high-pitched with panic, shrieked over the speakers. "The destructive power caused by the two Mages is too great! Please evacuate from the arena as quickly as possible! The rest of the match will be broadcast via live transmission! I repeat!"
"Attention, audience! Please evacuate from the arena as quickly as possible!..."
Upon hearing the announcer's words, the audience in the stands, who had been on the fence, also began to flee in a panic. The previous battles were manageable, but the current battle... it was no longer something they could observe from the sidelines.
Ren looked at Jose, who was now hovering in the air, his face a mask of shock. Ren smiled. "A Ten Wizard Saint, huh? I wonder if you'll be able to give me a satisfying fight!"
Jose looked at the destruction of his own guild's stands, then at the thousands of his men, now groaning in the rubble. He looked at Ren, his expression now one of solemn, murderous rage.
"You little brat... don't get carried away! The battle has just begun!!"
"Dark Spiral!!!"
Dark, shadowy energy condensed and coiled around Jose's arm. And as Jose swung his palm, a spiraling vortex of dark energy rushed towards Ren, destroying the very ground in its path.
Ren, seeing this, raised his Murakumogiri with both hands. He coated the massive blade in invisible Armament Haki, and then, he poured his Conqueror's Haki into it, causing black-red lightning to coil and spark around the blade.
"Open for me—!"
Ren roared, and a massive, Haki-infused physical slash erupted from the Murakumogiri.
Swish—!
The Dark Spiral was directly split open by the non-magical, Haki-fueled attack.
Boom boom boom boom—!
The massive slash cut through the already shattered arena again, and as the terrifying slash swept past, all the Phantom Lord guild members who were in the vicinity were sent flying.
The enormous slash extended an unknown distance, its terrifying destructive power sending shivers down everyone's spines.
Cold sweat trickled down Jose's forehead. He had almost been hit by that slash. If he were to be struck by such a terrifying attack, even as a Ten Wizard Saint, he would be severely injured... if not killed.
Jose's expression immediately turned ugly. He was a Wizard Saint! He was Jose Porla! And he had just been scared by a mere brat from Makarov's guild. This was an utter, unbearable disgrace.
More concentrated, more evil magic energy coiled around Jose's arm.
"Vanish for me! You stinking brat!!"
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