Chapter 48: Yes, It's Him
"Kill him!!!"
The masked leader on the altar, enraged by the interruption, gave a direct order. No matter who the other party was, as long as they saw their unholy ritual, they had to die.
"Kill!!!"
"For the glory of Zeref!"
With a unified roar, thousands of members of the Black Magic Cult all raised their weapons—swords, staves, and axes—and charged towards Ren.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Ren laughed, not moving an inch as the horde swarmed him. "It's not good to just start fighting without even a greeting! You people are rude."
He lazily raised his right arm, his fist clenching.
"But since you've all made a move... if I don't retaliate, wouldn't that be disrespectful to you?"
"Hiken!!"
[Akarin's Note: Hiken (Japanese for "Fire Fist") is Ace's signature move. It's a simple, devastating punch that launches a colossal, sun-like fist of fire.]
Ren assumed a punching stance, and his arm transformed into a giant, super-heated pillar of flame that directly slammed into the front line of the charging Black Magic Cult members.
The result was not a simple explosion. It was annihilation. A shockwave of pure, scorching heat vaporized the first dozen cultists instantly.
"Ugh ah ah ah ah!!"
"Wah ah ah ah ah!!"
Terrifying flames engulfed a large number of cultists, who all let out painful, short-lived screams. The wave of fire, as large as a house, rolled over them, turning the charging horde into a panicked, burning mob.
"Fire Gun!"
[Akarin's Note: Hikyō (Japanese for "Fire Gun") is Ace's ranged attack, where he points his fingers like a gun and shoots small, armor-piercing bullets of fire.]
Ren pressed the index and middle fingers of both hands together, pointing them like a gun at the crowd.
Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!
Continuous small, sizzling flames shot out from his fingertips, each one moving with the speed of a bullet.
"Ugh... wah... ah!"
Those hit by the fire bullets fell like they had been shot, a small, cauterized hole burning straight through their chests or foreheads. In an instant, large numbers of Black Magic Cult members collapsed.
"Damn it! Die for me!!!"
Seeing the tide turning, an elite cultist, moving faster than the others, ambushed Ren from behind. He swung his magic-infused longsword, slashing it directly through Ren's body.
The cultist grinned in triumph. But the grin froze.
His sword had passed through fire. It hadn't hit flesh. Ren's entire mid-section had turned into flickering flames, and the sword passed through him without any resistance, the metal glowing red-hot from the heat. This was the common elementalization ability of a Logia Devil Fruit user.
"What?!"
Before the opponent could recover from his shock, Ren's head, still wreathed in fire, turned to look at him over his shoulder.
"That's not how you touch fire," Ren (Ace) said, his voice a low drawl.
Ren's finger, now also made of fire, had already touched the cultist's forehead.
"Bang."
The person didn't even have time to scream before his head was enveloped in flames.
"You damnable bastard! How dare you interrupt our ritual to sacrifice to the great Zeref!!" the cult leader on the altar roared. "Disappear for me!!!"
The leader, finally acting, gathered dark magic in both hands and unleashed a swirling, dark shockwave at Ren.
"Enjōmō!!" (Heat Haze)
[Akarin's Note: Enjōmō (Japanese for "Blazing-Flame Net" or "Heat Haze") is a defensive technique where Ace creates a massive, swirling wall of fire to block attacks.]
Ren's arm turned into flames, and he thrust his palm forward. A massive, swirling pillar of fire shot out from his palm, meeting the dark magic attack head-on.
Boom----!!!
The two energies—darkness and fire—collided, instantly erupting in a violent explosion that shook the entire cavern and sent debris flying.
Ren was pushed back a few feet, his fire scattering. The leader's attack was powerful.
'This is taking too long,' Ren thought, his Ace-persona's grin fading. 'Ace's Logia power is perfect for wiping out this fodder, but that leader is still standing, and my "one-minute" time limit for the Yoriichi/Ulquiorra forms has taught me not to drag these things out. I need to end this fast. Ace is for crowd control. It's time for precision.'
"Still a bit slow!" he said out loud, letting the flames die down.
"Full Body Takeover: Fushiguro Toji!!!"
In an instant, the flames vanished. His bare upper body was now covered by a black T-shirt. His black shorts became black long pants, and his boots turned into flat-soled, old-man shoes. The fiery, cocky aura was gone, replaced by a cold, predatory, and arrogant confidence.
"Turn into a meat paste for me!!!"
At this moment, a very burly fellow—clearly the cult's heavy-hitter—suddenly appeared behind Ren, having used the explosion's smoke as cover. He raised a giant, two-handed steel hammer, imbued with purple magic, and smashed it down towards Ren's head.
Boom----!
Ren didn't even turn around. He stood still. The giant hammer struck him squarely on the back of the head... and bounced off with a loud CLANG!
The hammer was sent flying from the big man's hands, the vibrations shattering his arm bones. It clattered to the ground in the distance.
"What...?!"
The big guy, "Lord Quell," was completely stunned. What was happening? What just happened? He clearly saw it hit the opponent's head, so why did the hammer fly away?
Ren, not even bothering to rub his head, glanced back at the big guy, an annoyed, mocking smile on his face. "Hey, hey. You're a bit too close to me. That's somewhat impolite. I don't like people getting too close to me... so you'd better get lost."
Ren placed his palm on the big guy's abdomen. He then "gently" pushed.
The big guy immediately felt an irresistible, catastrophic force from his abdomen. It wasn't magic. It was pure, physical power. His eyes widened in terror as his entire body flew backward like a cannonball.
Boom... boom... boom... boom... boom!!!
The big guy's body destroyed wall after wall, crashing through the stone and earth, not stopping until he was completely buried under the ruins of the cavern.
"Lord Quell!!" the other cultists screamed in terror.
Ren glanced at the remaining, now-hesitant, members of the Black Magic Cult. The arrogant, Toji-like smile returned.
"Three seconds," he said, cracking his neck. "And I'll finish you all!"
Whoosh----!
Ren's figure instantly vanished. He didn't use magic. He just... moved.
In the next instant...
Bang!
The cult leader on the altar, who had been preparing another spell, suddenly froze. Ren was already in front of him, his hand gripping the leader's face. Ren squeezed. The man's head exploded.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Ugh ah ah ah ah!"
"Wah ah ah ah ah!"
All the remaining elite members of the Black Magic Cult were sent flying, crashing into the surrounding walls. It was a blur of motion. One cultist was kicked so hard his body simply... liquefied against the stone. Another was disarmed, and Ren used the man's own sacrificial dagger to pin him to the wall.
Three seconds later, Ren stood in the center of the room, dusting off his black T-shirt. Every single cultist was on the ground, either dead or dying.
Before long, Ren, now back in his normal clothes, walked out of the Black Magic Cult's lair.
At this moment, the captain of the Auler Kingdom's army, who had been waiting outside with his platoon, immediately came forward, his sword drawn.
"Mr. Ren! How did it go? Did you find the villagers? We heard... explosions..."
Ren made an "OK" gesture with his fingers, smiling: "It's all taken care of."
"What?!" the captain stammered. "But... those were thousands of Black Magic Cult members! We've been fighting them for months! How long... how long were you inside?"
"Hmm?" Ren checked his watch. "Six minutes, seven minutes? Certainly no more than ten."
The captain and his soldiers couldn't believe it. To eliminate thousands of Black Magic Cult mages in such a short time... they simply couldn't believe it.
However, this was quite normal for Ren. The number of opponents was indeed large, but they were all mere fodder. Even powerful Mages would find it difficult to deal with them, but for him, no matter how many fodder came, they were still just fodder.
"You can go in, inspect the goods, and then pay," Ren said, gesturing to the ruined entrance. "Oh, and there are a few hundred kidnapped villagers tied to stakes inside. You might as well rescue them too."
"Go in! Go in! Secure the area!"
At the captain's command, all the soldiers bravely rushed in.
Upon entering, everyone in the army was shocked into silence.
Everywhere they looked, they saw the bodies of the Black Magic Cult members. Not standing, but fallen. Some were incinerated to ash, their weapons melted. Others... others looked like they had been hit by a train, their arms and legs deformed, their bodies pulped and broken. The surrounding walls were dilapidated, covered in cracks and... impact craters.
"It... it's actually true..." a soldier whispered, vomiting.
"He... he actually eliminated thousands of Black Magic Cult members in such a short time! And they were all Mages!"
The captain, his face pale, immediately commanded: "Team One, go rescue all the villagers! Free them! Team Two, arrest any of the Black Magic Cult members who are still breathing!"
"Yes!!"
Soon, all the terrified, weeping villagers were rescued, and the few remaining, broken Black Magic Cult members were all carried away on stretchers.
"Mr. Ren," the captain said, walking back out and looking at Ren with deep, profound respect. "Thank you very much for your help this time."
When he first saw Ren, he thought he was too young, and the opponents were thousands of cultists. How could one person deal with a thousand? But at this moment, he was completely convinced. This person was indeed as powerful as the legends said.
Ren waved his hand and said: "Taking money to solve problems for people. This was the quest I took from my guild. I'm just completing my quest."
The captain immediately ordered someone to bring the reward chest.
"Mr. Ren, here is your reward of 10 million Jewel. Please count it."
Ren glanced at it, saw the stacks of Jewel, and knew the money was sufficient. A smile immediately appeared on his face as he took the box, saying: "No need to count, I trust your character, Captain. If there's another job like this next time, come find me, and I'll give you a twenty percent discount."
The captain showed a wry smile: "If possible, I never want to encounter such a thing again in my life."
Ren chuckled: "Haha! Who knows what the future holds? The quest is over, so I'll be leaving now."
"Then I won't see you off. I still have to report back about the situation here. I wish you a safe journey, Mr. Ren."
Ren waved his hand, turned, and left, having completed another S-Class Quest. He felt very pleased.
"Captain," a young soldier asked, "who... who exactly is that young man?!"
"Yeah! One person actually defeated thousands... that's too amazing."
The captain looked at Ren's retreating back with deep eyes and said: "You're all new. You should remember that big event that happened in the Kingdom of Sobelia, half a year ago."
One of the soldiers gasped. "Half a year ago... the Kingdom of Sobelia... the Magic Dragon... Don't tell me... that's him?!"
"Exactly," the captain said, his voice full of awe. "It's him."
Hargeon Port
This is the closest port to Magnolia Town. If there's ever a need for work that involves going out to sea, Fairy Tail Mages always depart from and return to here.
At this moment, a large cargo ship slowly docked, its horn blaring. A young man walked down the gangplank from the ship. The young man had black hair and black eyes, wearing a simple gray stand-up collar half-sleeve shirt, black pants, with fair skin and a handsome face.
It was Ren, who had now been in Fairy Tail for over half a year.
"Phew! Finally back!"
This quest in Auler was a bit far, and the round trip took about twenty days in total. Now he just needed to rest here for one night, and then take the train tomorrow morning to Magnolia.
Gurgle... gurgle!
At this moment, Ren's stomach began to gurgle. Due to the long boat ride and its rocking motion, he had little appetite, but now that he was on solid land, he suddenly felt a bit hungry.
He remembered a delicious, inexpensive, and good 'fly restaurant' on the street ahead. After eating, he would find a hotel for a good night's sleep, and then return to the guild the next morning.
Just then, a commotion came from ahead. Ren looked up and saw a large crowd of young girls, all squealing and holding autograph boards, quickly running past.
"I heard a very famous Mage came to town!"
"It's him! It's him!"
"Lord Fire Dragon!!!"
Ren was slightly stunned: "Fire Dragon? Natsu is here?! Is he... that popular?!"
Ren curiously walked over, wondering if Natsu would want to return to the guild with him. As he got closer, he pushed through the crowd and saw a tall, purple-haired, garishly-dressed man surrounded by fawning girls, clearly not Natsu.
'This guy?' Ren thought, his eye twitching. 'He's 'Salamander'? Did I get the wrong person?'
Ren immediately prepared to turn and leave, when a familiar, blonde-haired girl's voice entered his ears from the crowd.
"Igneel!!!"
[Akarin Note:
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