**Chapter 12: Cero Oscuras**
"Whoaaaa!"
Gildarts clearly went all out this time; nearly half of the Valley of Monsters was disassembled.
It turned into block-like rectangular debris.
A giant boulder fell from the sky, crashing down toward Natsu and the others.
"Watch out!"
Just when they thought they were going to be crushed, a giant hand caught the massive boulder and threw it aside.
It was Master Makarov using his Giant Magic.
"Master!"
"Stay back, further away!"
Makarov shouted to them. Right now, Natsu and the others were too weak; they would get injured just by the shockwaves of Ren and Gildarts' battle.
*Bang!*
Ren rushed out of the debris and dust, hovering in the sky.
He pointed his left index finger downward.
*Hum——!!*
Spiritual pressure with a black edge and an emerald-green glow began to gather, forming a small sphere in front of his index finger, compressing continuously.
**Cero Oscuras!**
A Black Cero that could only be used by an Espada in their Resurrección state. Its power and attack range were several times stronger than a normal Cero.
*Shoooom————!!!*
The Cero Oscuras was released.
A terrifying, wide-range black flash shot downward.
"Crash!!"
Gildarts roared.
He condensed powerful magic power into his fist and punched toward the Cero Oscuras.
Part of the Cero Oscuras was crushed, but the follow-up energy wasn't, and it slammed into Gildarts.
*Boom!!!*
A moment later, the smoke from the explosion cleared, revealing a large crater.
Gildarts stood in the center of the crater. He looked quite ragged; his cloak was completely torn and tattered, and he had sustained some injuries on his body.
*Hum——!*
Seeing Gildarts, Ren began condensing another Cero Oscuras on his index finger.
Gildarts wore a bitter smile on his face. "Cough, cough! Truly a little monster!"
"Speed, strength, attack power, defense—all strong like a monster. And to top it off, you can fly."
Everything else was fine, but Ren being able to fly, and fly so fast, left Gildarts a bit helpless.
"Uh... Sorry!"
Hearing Gildarts' words, Ren felt a bit embarrassed.
He then descended toward the ground.
"Good chance!" Gildarts punched the ground.
The ground beneath Ren's feet exploded, and smoke obscured Ren's vision.
Ren flapped his wings.
*Whoosh!* The smoke was blown away.
*Vwoom!* Gildarts appeared in front of Ren, punching toward him.
Ren held the Luz de la Luna with both hands to block.
*Boom!!!*
Ren's body was knocked back.
*Whoosh!*
Gildarts instantly appeared at Ren's side and kicked at him.
*Clack!*
Ren spread his wings, blocking Gildarts' kick.
The Luz de la Luna in his hand stabbed toward Gildarts.
Gildarts' expression changed, and he hurriedly grabbed the energy weapon.
"Crash!" Gildarts shouted loudly.
*Ping!*
Ren's Luz de la Luna shattered.
*Whoosh!*
Gildarts instantly appeared directly in front of Ren again, swinging his fist.
*Smack!*
Ren raised his hand and caught Gildarts' fist, then threw him toward the ground.
*Boom!!!*
The ground shattered.
Gildarts pressed his palm against the earth.
"Total Crash!"
*Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!*
The entire ground shattered into small cubes, and both of them fell downward.
Ren spread his wings to stabilize his body, descending slowly.
*Boom!* Gildarts burst out from the debris, attacking Ren, and Ren fought back in kind.
Their battle was dazzling to the others; their eyes could barely keep up with the movements of the two fighters.
It was the first time any of them had seen a battle of this level.
"So... so strong!"
This was the common thought shared by everyone.
Whether it was Gildarts or Ren in his Resurrección form, both possessed a power that was currently untouchable to them.
It was expected of Gildarts, who was known as the strongest mage of Fairy Tail.
But for Ren to be this powerful was simply unbelievable.
*Boom!!!*
Ren and Gildarts exchanged a punch, and both retreated backward.
"Good! Thrilling!! Let's settle this!!" Gildarts shouted first.
It had been a long time since he met an opponent with strength like Ren's.
At first, he only intended to follow the Master's instructions and let Ren understand that there is always someone stronger.
Now, he just wanted to have a decisive showdown with Ren.
"Alright!"
Ren felt the same. It was his first time using Resurrección, and this formidable power was truly intoxicating.
Meeting an opponent like Gildarts, he also wanted to defeat him.
*Hum!* Ren created another Luz de la Luna javelin in his hand and threw it at Gildarts.
"Crash!!!"
Gildarts shouted and punched the energy javelin.
*Ping!* The Luz de la Luna was shattered.
But before Gildarts could rejoice, an emerald-green light flashed before his eyes. Another Luz de la Luna was shooting toward him.
Gildarts was startled. That previous javelin hadn't been easy to shatter; it had consumed quite a bit of magic power.
He didn't have time to condense enough magic to crush this second one. He had to dodge.
But the speed of the Luz de la Luna was simply too fast.
*Splurt!*
"Ugh!"