Chapter 191: Piercing Heaven and Earth
"What?!"
Zero was greatly startled; his blood-red eyes darted frantically, but he hadn't seen how the opponent had appeared beside him at all. It wasn't speed; it was like the space itself had folded to accommodate the monster before him.
Boom, boom, boom!!
A tremendous force slammed into his side. After a single casual push from Ren, Zero's body became a blurred projectile. He smashed through the thick stone walls of the Royal Throne Room, his body continuously crashing through several subsidiary buildings atop the massive moving city of Nirvana.
Debris rained down like hail. Dust plumed into the air, choking the sky.
Crash—!
Just as Zero, coughing and battered, tried to push himself up from the ruins of a crumbled pillar, a shadow fell over him. He didn't even have time to refocus his eyes before a hand, cold and hard as diamond, seized his face.
"You talk too much," Ren's voice was devoid of warmth, echoing from behind a mask of indifference.
Rumble—!!
Ren dragged Zero by the face, accelerating to a terrifying velocity. He plowed the dark mage's skull across the surface of the high tower, grinding his face against the ancient masonry. Stone turned to powder, and sparks flew like fireworks as Zero was treated like a ragdoll.
"Ugh ah ah ah!"
Pain, sharp and humiliating, seared through Zero's mind.
"Get lost!!" Zero roared, his humiliation turning into berserk rage.
He unleashed a barrage of point-blank magic blasts and punches, striking Ren's chest and abdomen.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The attacks connected, but the sound was wrong. It sounded like a wooden stick hitting a solid steel wall. Ren seemed completely unfazed. Under Resurrección: Segunda Etapa, Ren's physical form had transcended human limits. His Hierro—the defensive iron skin of the Arrancar—had been significantly boosted to a level where Zero's raw magical output couldn't even leave a scratch.
"Is that it?" Ren asked, his tone bored.
He retaliated. Ren threw a punch, a simple, straight jab that carried the weight of a mountain.
Puh!
"Guh—!"
When the fist connected with Zero's gut, the dark mage felt his internal organs shift. It wasn't just pain; it was the sensation of being struck by a collapsing building.
Ren continuously threw punches, a blur of pale violence. With every hit, Zero felt his bones fracture.
"Waaahhhhhhh!!"
Zero let out a painful shriek, his bravado shattered as he continuously coughed up mouthfuls of blood.
Swoosh!
Ren spun in mid-air, his long, whip-like tail lashing out. It wrapped tightly around Zero's neck, cutting off his scream. With a forceful heave, Ren flung him toward the central high tower of Nirvana.
Boom, boom, boom!!
Zero became a cannonball, his body smashing through layer after layer of the tower. Walls exploded outward, and the structural integrity of the castle groaned under the assault.
Ren hovered in the air, his black wings beating slowly. He raised his hand, pointing his index finger at the hole where Zero had vanished. Dense, black-green spiritual energy—Reiryoku—began to gather at his fingertip. The air around his finger distorted, screaming as it was compressed.
"Cero Oscuras!!"
Whoosh—!!
The Black Hollow Flash erupted. It wasn't a beam of light; it was a torrent of emptiness. It struck the high tower with apocalyptic force.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!!!
The high tower didn't just collapse; it was erased. The black light devoured the stone, disintegrating the ancient architecture into atomic dust.
"Waaahhhhhhh!!"
Within the annihilation, the black light enveloped Zero. He screamed, his magical barrier shattering instantly as the dark energy scoured his flesh.
Ren slowly descended, his boots touching the remaining rubble silently.
Smoke cleared, revealing a crater. In the center, Zero slowly stood up. His clothes were in tatters, his skin burned, and his breathing ragged. But his crimson eyes were wide open, burning with a madness that refused to die.
"Oh! You're quite resilient," Ren remarked, tilting his head slightly. "Most would be ash by now."
Zero gritted his teeth, blood dripping from his chin as he looked at Ren with pure hatred. "Brat... it seems I underestimated you somewhat. I admit, your physical strength is absurd. But everything ends here. Next, I will use my strongest magic to kill you completely. I will erase your very existence!"
Rumble—!!
A terrifyingly ominous magical power emanated from Zero's body. The sky darkened, and the shadows on the ground began to writhe as if alive. He positioned his hands in a Tai Chi-like stance, gathering the darkness of the underworld.
"History is about to end before me, and the Genesis of Zero is about to begin!" Zero chanted, his voice overlapping with a demonic echo.
"Genesis Zero!!"
"Open, Gate of Wraith!!"
The space behind Zero tore open. A massive, grotesque gate formed of shadows and despair materialized. It was a portal to a void where no light could exist.
"Oh, Traveler of Nothingness!! Devour the Soul!! Memory!! and Existence of the one before you completely!!"
"Vanish!! In the Name of Zero!!"
Boom—!
The Demon Gate threw its doors wide open. A swarm of countless Wraiths—Dark Phantoms composed of negative emotions and devouring hunger—surged out like a tidal wave. They shrieked, a sound that clawed at the sanity, and rushed toward Ren to consume his very being.
Ren watched the oncoming tide of darkness without a flicker of fear. He simply raised his hand again, pointing his index finger at Zero.
"Cero Oscuras!!!"
Whoosh—!!
The Black Hollow Flash shot forward, a lance of green-black energy piercing the gloom.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!!
When the Cero met the tide of Wraiths, there was no contest. The sheer density of Ren's spiritual pressure vaporized the ghosts instantly. Large swaths of Dark Phantoms were cleared away, leaving a gaping hole in Zero's attack.
"It's useless!" Zero screamed, his laughter bordering on hysteria. "The Gate of Wraith is open! The Dark Phantoms are endless!! They are the concept of nothingness itself! Look! They are surging out again!"
True to his word, the Gate pulsed, and thousands more Wraiths poured out to fill the gap, swarming over the destruction.
Ren looked at the regenerating horde, unconcerned. "Is that so? Then I just have to shoot more."
"Cero Oscuras!"
Whoosh—!
Boom, boom, boom, boom!!
Another large swath of Dark Phantoms was obliterated. The explosion shook the entire city of Nirvana.
"Cero Oscuras!"
Whoosh—!
Boom, boom, boom, boom!!
This time, Ren fired faster. Before the Dark Phantoms could even fully emerge from the gate, they were cleaned up by the devastating beam.
"Wait!!"
Zero panicked slightly upon seeing this. His eyes bulged. Although the Dark Phantoms were technically endless, it still took time for them to manifest and rush out of the Gate.
What is this monster doing? Zero thought, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. That attack... the density of magic power... it should be an ultimate move! A trump card! Why does he use it as if it were a normal attack? How much magic power does this brat have?!
Zero didn't realize that while the Cero Oscuras was indeed a high-level technique, for Ren in his Segunda Etapa form, casting it put absolutely no strain on his reserves. He was a reactor of infinite energy.
Ren ignored Zero's panic. He didn't stop.
"Cero Oscuras!"
Whoosh—!
The black beam swept across the platform, completely clearing out all the Dark Phantoms and damaging the Gate itself.
"Cero Oscuras!"
Whoosh—!
This one didn't aim for the ghosts. It aimed for the summoner.
"Waaahhhhhhh!!"
Zero was hit directly by the Cero Oscuras. The blast lifted him off his feet and slammed him into the debris, his scream lost in the roar of the explosion.
After the light faded, Zero lay in the ruins, covered in severe burns and injuries. He twitched, trying to rise.
"No... impossible... I was actually..."
Zero couldn't believe it. He was the Guild Master of Oración Seis, the personification of destruction, yet he had been completely suppressed and defeated by a mere brat. His strongest magic, Genesis Zero, had been brute-forced into irrelevance.
"Hmm, it's time to end the fight. I'm getting hungry."
Just as Zero thought Ren was about to walk over and finish him off, Ren suddenly stamped his foot.
Flap!
With a powerful beat of his black wings, Ren shot toward the sky, ascending rapidly until he was a small dot high above Nirvana.
Wu, bleeding and confused, looked up. "What is this guy doing? Is he fleeing?"
Ren stood high in the sky, looking down at the massive, walking city of Nirvana. The wind whipped around his horned helmet.
"This distance should be about right," Ren muttered to himself. "Any closer and I might vaporize my own allies."
He raised his hands.
"Lanza del Relámpago!" (Lance of the Lightning)
Ren placed his hands palm to palm, and the atmosphere began to scream. Terrifying quantities of azure spiritual energy gathered between his palms. He then pulled his hands apart, revealing a weapon of pure, unstable energy.
It was a spear of green light, crackling with electricity, shaped like a javelin of the gods. The energy was so dense it looked like a solid object, vibrating with a hum that could be felt in the teeth of everyone below.
Ren stood in the air, adopting a throwing stance. The air around him ionized, turning into plasma.
"Disappear."
Whoosh—!
The Lanza del Relámpago left his hand. It didn't just fly; it teleported, leaving a trail of distorted light as it shot toward Nirvana.
It landed dead center on the moving city.
Boom—!!
Silence reigned for a microsecond, and then—an azure pillar of light pierced Heaven and Earth.
It was blinding. A dome of dazzling azure light erupted, spreading rapidly outward like a nuclear explosion. The sound came later—a deafening, world-ending roar. The azure flash, accompanied by a terrifying impact, vaporized the rock, the buildings, and the forest legs of the ancient weapon. It destroyed everything it covered.
"Waaahhhhhhhhh!!!"
The remaining members of Oración Seis and the others who were still on the fringes of Nirvana bore the brunt of this terrifying impact, thrown back by the shockwave.
"What was that?!"
The Allied Forces who had already evacuated Nirvana and were watching from the forest floor below witnessed the apocalypse.
"Iron Rock Wall!!"
Jura Neekis, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, reacted on instinct. His face pale with terror, he immediately slammed his hands onto the earth. A massive, thick wall of rock rose from the ground, blocking the path of the Allied Forces just as the shockwave hit.
Rumble—!!
Crackle, crackle!!
The terrifying shockwave swept past the rock wall, shaking the earth like a 9.0 magnitude earthquake. It snapped all the surrounding trees like toothpicks, flattening the forest for miles.
"Waaahhhhhh!!"
"Kyaaaaah!!"
Everyone couldn't help but scream as the wind pressure nearly lifted them off the ground even behind the cover.
After a long while, the roaring wind slowly subsided. The dust began to settle.
Only then did everyone slowly poke their heads out from behind the Iron Rock Wall. The scene before them left them breathless.
The surrounding ground showed horrific destruction; the once lush Endless Sea of Trees had been stripped of a layer of turf, revealing bare, scorched soil. Countless trees had been uprooted and crushed into sawdust.
In the distance, the location where the massive Moving City 'Nirvana' had been standing... was now completely empty.
Nirvana had vanished without a trace. The ancient super-weapon, a city-sized construct, had been disintegrated into nothingness.
"W-w-what exactly happened?!"
Everyone was stunned, their jaws dropping. What kind of attack was that? It wasn't magic; it was a natural disaster.
"What was that just now?! Was it Etherion?!"
Ichiya, the ace of Blue Pegasus, asked, his eyes wide with horror as he adjusted his glasses which were askew. In everyone's view, only the Etherion—the Satellite Square fired by the Magic Council capable of destroying a country—could possess enough firepower to vaporize such a massive Moving City in a single hit.
Erza Scarlet stood up, dusting off her armor. She looked at the empty sky where the azure pillar had been.
"No," Erza's voice rang out, steady despite the awe in her tone. "It wasn't Etherion. It was Ren. It was Ren's attack that destroyed Nirvana."
"Ren?!"
This time, not only outsiders like Ichiya and Jura, but also Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy were stunned.
Lucy stammered, pointing at the sky with a trembling finger: "R-Ren... Ren can use an attack that terrifying?! That was bigger than a mountain!"
Erza looked at the scene of destruction, her eyes revealing a deep shock mixed with pride. She nodded: "Yes! I've only seen it once before. You know about Ren's feat of slaying a Giant Dragon a year ago, right? Ren used this move to kill the Giant Dragon."
She paused, recalling the memory. "But the power wasn't as great then as it is now. Back then, it barely killed the dragon. Now... it vaporized a city. It seems the power of this move has greatly increased as Ren's magical power has risen."
Gray gulped, staring at the crater. "He's a monster—!!"
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