Chapter 10: The Price of Reflection
"One minute... is more than enough."
Ren's hollow, two-toned voice echoed across the devastated courtyard. He had one minute. His 1.5-Star magic container, a tiny pond trying to hold an ocean of power, was screaming in protest, about to evaporate completely.
'Fifty-five seconds,' he thought. He didn't have time for a prolonged fight. He needed to overwhelm Camille's 'Full Reflection' now.
Whoosh!
Ren instantly conjured a javelin of pure, glowing green spiritual energy in his hand. It was long, slender, and thrummed with contained power.
[Akarin's Note: This weapon is Luz de la Luna (Spanish for "Light of the Moon"), an energy javelin Ulquiorra can create. The original text calls it "Moonlight Sword."]
The next moment, Ren vanished. Sonído.
He reappeared directly in front of Camille, his black wings flaring, and slashed at him with the Luz de la Luna.
Camille smirked behind his shattered mask. "Fool! You still haven't learned!" He activated his Full Reflection, his magic flaring to meet the green javelin.
The moment the Luz de la Luna touched the spatial distortion, Ren released his grip and willed the javelin to detonate.
Boom!!!!!!
A terrifying, hemispherical explosion of green energy erupted at point-blank range. Camille, caught completely by surprise, was at the epicenter. The blast was immense, and a green light spread outwards, destroying all the remaining ground and trees in its path.
"Ugh ah ah ah ah!!"
Elfman, who was still pinned to the wall by the residual pressure, had to resist with all his might, but he was still blown away by the impact, tumbling through the rubble. If the mayor's house hadn't been protected by the Rune Knights' magic barrier, it would have been completely destroyed in that blast.
Bang!!
Camille stumbled out of the explosion, his black cloak in tatters. His body was covered in several new, severe burns and lacerations. He had activated his Full Reflection during the blast, but the destructive power of that magic was still too terrifying.
His Full Reflection hadn't completely blocked it. As he had learned, the wider the area of defense, the weaker the reflection effect. By detonating the javelin, Ren had created an explosion that was too large for his magic to fully contain or reflect, and the shockwave had torn through his defenses.
"You brat! Are you crazy?!" Camille roared, coughing up blood. He stared at the figure in the center of the explosion.
This crazy kid had directly detonated the weapon at point-blank range. This was completely unexpected and no different from a suicide attack.
Just then, Ren walked out of the smoke, his white Resurrección robe completely unharmed. His Hierro was absolute.
Camille then remembered that this kid was also a monster with terrifying defenses. He was an immortal, regenerating monster who was also a suicide bomber.
"Monster!!" Camille gritted his teeth, looking at Ren with a newfound sense of fear.
"So, this is all you've got."
Seeing Camille injured, Ren knew he had broken through his defenses. As long as he could break through, it was fine.
'Thirty seconds.'
Ren flapped his massive black wings and flew into the air, hovering thirty feet above the courtyard, looking down on the S-Class assassin like a god of death.
Whoosh—!
Ren instantly conjured another Luz de la Luna in his hand. He held it aloft, and it crackled with even more power than the last. He then threw it at Camille.
Camille's expression changed drastically upon seeing it. He knew what was coming.
"Full Reflection!!!"
Camille unleashed every last drop of his magic, creating a visible, shimmering dome of spatial distortion around himself. After the previous explosion, he knew that simply reflecting the weapon back wouldn't be enough. He had to stop it, to contain it.
Sure enough! The very next moment, just as the javelin was about to be reflected!
Boom!!!!!!
The Luz de la Luna detonated mid-air, right on top of Camille's barrier.
A terrifying explosion, even larger than the last, engulfed Camille. The ground of the entire courtyard was vaporized.
As the smoke dissipated, Camille was on his knees, severely wounded. His mask was completely shattered, revealing the face of an ordinary-looking man in his forties, the kind of man you wouldn't pick out in a crowd. His "King of Assassins" persona was gone, leaving only a terrified, bleeding man.
"It's over!"
Ren said, his voice devoid of emotion. He pointed his index finger at Camille from the sky.
'Ten seconds.'
Black, nihilistic energy continuously gathered in front of Ren's index finger, forming a small black sphere. It did not glow; it absorbed light. It compressed more and more, becoming a pinprick of pure, abyssal nothingness.
Cero Oscuras.
[Akarin's Note: The original text calls this "Black Flash Void." The official name is Cero Oscuras (Spanish for "Dark Zero," Japanese for "Black Hollow Flash"). It is a Cero that only Espada of rank 4 or higher can use, and it is massively more powerful than a normal Cero.]
In the Bleach anime, only Espada-level characters in their Resurrección state could use the Cero Oscuras. However, in the anime, only Ulquiorra demonstrated this skill.
"Cero Oscuras!!"
Whoosh—!
A wide-range beam of pure blackness shot from the sky, aimed directly at Camille below. It was not a beam of light; it was a beam of pure void, erasing the very air it passed through.
"Full... Reflection!!"
Camille screamed, putting his hands up. He used all his remaining magic, his life on the line, intending to reflect the Cero Oscuras back.
However, the Cero Oscuras was continuous. It was not a single projectile; it was a torrent of unrelenting power. As soon as Camille reflected a part, the next part pushed forward. Coupled with his existing injuries and the fact that the Cero Oscuras's power completely exceeded his reflection limit, his magic shattered.
The shimmering spatial barrier cracked.
Boom—!
"Ugh ah ah ah ah ah!!"
The Cero Oscuras engulfed Camille's body. A terrifying explosion of pure black energy detonated, and the shockwave destroyed everything around it.
Crack—!
Even the Rune Knights' magic barrier, which had survived the Luz de la Luna, couldn't withstand the impact of this explosion. It shattered like glass.
After a while, the explosion slowly subsided, revealing a massive, smoking crater dozens of meters in diameter where the courtyard used to be. Camille lay in the center of the crater, his body broken and completely unconscious, his S-Class magic completely depleted.
Ren landed on the ground. The moment his feet touched the earth, his transformation Released.
The massive black wings dissolved into particles. The white robe cracked and fell away. The horns on his head vanished. He returned to his original form, his simple clothes torn and singed.
"Hoo! Hoo!"
Ren panted heavily, falling to one knee. His magic power was almost depleted. The consumption of activating the first stage of Resurrección was greater than he had imagined. In just that one minute, it had consumed almost every drop of his 1.5-Star magic container.
"Elfman?!"
Ren scanned the area, not finding Elfman among the new rubble from the barrier's collapse. He couldn't help but feel anxious. Surely, this big oaf wasn't caught in the explosion.
Crash—!
A broken wall was pushed aside.
"I'm here!"
Elfman shouted, emerging from the dust. He was shielding the client, Mayor Cost, with his own massive body.
Seeing Elfman safe and sound, Ren also breathed a sigh of relief and slumped onto the ground, his body too tired to move.
Elfman looked at the blasted crater, then at the unconscious Camille, then at the exhausted Ren. He was deeply shocked. Although it was very brief, Ren's strength in that form had completely surpassed his S-Class sister, Mira.
"Ren, are you alright?" Elfman asked, rushing over.
"I'm fine... just a bit drained." Ren's voice was weak. "I'm going to... sleep for a bit."
The immense magic consumption made Ren feel an intense drowsiness. As soon as he finished speaking, he fell asleep. Elfman immediately stood guard beside him, his respect for the newcomer now boundless.
Soon after, the Rune Knights, responsible for support, arrived late. They were utterly shocked by the terrifying destruction before them. The entire mansion was gone, replaced by a crater.
They were even more astonished to learn the details of the battle from some conscious members of the original guard, realizing that a whole squad of Rune Knights hadn't been able to stop the enemy at all.
And one new kid from the Fairy Tail Guild had taken down everyone from the Phantom Bandit Gang, including their S-Class leader. This was simply incredible.
However, incredible as it was, they quickly moved to arrest the unconscious Camille and his subordinates.
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window of a nearby inn, where the Rune Knights had put them up. It fell on Ren's face.
Ren slowly opened his eyes and stretched comfortably. He felt... good. His magic container was empty, but it felt... wider.
He skillfully opened his system panel.
[Ding! S-Class Quest: Eliminate the Phantom Bandit Gang, completed!]
[Reward: One Ten-Pull!]
Sure enough! Greater risks yielded greater rewards.
If he had done normal A-Class Quests, he would have had to complete at least ten to get a Ten-Pull. The average time spent on one quest would be at least a week. Even if he worked tirelessly, it would take at least two to three months to get a Ten-Pull opportunity.
But now, one S-Class Quest had taken care of everything.
Looking at the Ten-Pull option, Ren felt an urge to click it, as no one could resist the temptation of gacha pulls.
However, he ultimately restrained himself with supreme willpower. He would wait until he returned to the Fairy Tail Guild and received the Goddess's blessing before pulling.
He knew from playing games that gacha pulls were very mystical. To pull an SSR, the right timing, location, and people were all indispensable. This wasn't superstition; it was a sound, proven strategy.
His gaze swept around, and he saw Elfman lying on a nearby sofa, sound asleep, still in his torn clothes.
Ren walked over and patted Elfman: "Get up! The sun's already high!"
Elfman groggily opened his eyes, then sat up in surprise upon seeing Ren: "Ren, you're alright! You're awake!"
"I was never really hurt, just a bit low on magic. Where's the client? Is he alright?"
"He's fine, he's staying next door. He's... very grateful," Elfman said, his voice filled with awe.
"That's good!"
Ren breathed a sigh of relief. He was genuinely worried the client might have been killed in the final blast. It would have been too unlucky to finally complete the job only for the one paying to be gone.
"Let's go," Ren said, stretching. "We've finished the job, it's time to get paid."
[Akarin Note:
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