Chapter 54: Let Me Join In Too
"You bastard! The information about the 'Salamander' was fake!!"
Natsu's roar was followed by action. He began to relentlessly pursue Macao Conbolt, who scrambled to get away, knocking over chairs and half-drunk guild members in the process.
"Hey! Watch it, Natsu!"
"My beer!"
"He's at it again..."
Mirajane rested her cheek on her hand, a weary but fond sigh escaping her lips. "Oh dear… it seems the guild hall is going to be destroyed again, and Natsu just got back."
Wakaba, who had leaped onto a table to avoid the chaos, took a drag from his cigarette. "What do you mean 'going to be'? It's already being destroyed—!!"
Lucy Heartfilia, standing near the entrance with Ren, watched the scene unfold with wide, sparkling eyes. A man was being chased by a fire-breathing teenager, people were shouting, beer was flying, and a chair had just been thrown through a window... and everyone was laughing.
She was completely immersed in delight. This wasn't the prim and proper, stuffy world she had left behind. This was raw, chaotic, and full of life. This, she thought with a giddy smile, must be what it's like where real Mages work.
Mirajane turned away from the brawl, her professional, sweet smile locking onto Ren. "Ren, welcome back," she said, her voice a soft melody over the din. "How was the quest this time?"
Ren smiled confidently, leaning an elbow on the bar. "With me on the job, it was a piece of cake. Everything went smoothly."
"That's good!" Mira's smile seemed to brighten, a genuine warmth in her eyes.
Mira was arguably the person most familiar with Ren in all of Fairy Tail. She knew that although Ren was incredibly strong, he also had a significant weakness. It wasn't durability—he could take a hit—but his magic stamina.
Every Take Over form he received was incredibly powerful, channeling the full might of legendary figures. But that power came at a cost. The magic consumption was terrifying. His magic could be completely depleted in just a few minutes of full-power usage, leaving him in a weakened state. During that "cooldown," even a small monster could potentially take him down.
So, every time Ren went out on a high-level quest, especially an S-Class Quest, Mira would feel a little worried.
Her gaze then shifted, landing on the blonde girl standing beside Ren. "Is this a newcomer?"
Mira had, of course, noticed Lucy long ago. Golden-blonde hair, a fiery figure that rivaled her own, and a cute, expressive face; she was a truly beautiful girl. The fact that she came back with Ren, looking so comfortable in his presence, subtly sparked a tiny, imperceptible bit of possessiveness in Mira's heart, though her smile remained as bright and welcoming as ever.
"Wow~~! M-Mirajane!! It's really her!!"
Before Ren could introduce her, Lucy's composure broke. She looked at Mira as if she had just seen the biggest star in the world, her hands clasped together. Mirajane's beauty and cuteness were legendary, featured in centerfolds of Weekly Sorcerer magazine across the entire Kingdom of Fiore. Countless girls envied her figure and looks.
"H-hello!" Lucy stammered, bowing quickly. "My name is Lucy! I'm a newcomer who plans to join Fairy Tail! Please take care of me!"
Mirajane giggled, the sound itself disarming. "My name is Mira. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lucy. Please take care of me, too."
At that moment, the fight in the guild, which had been a one-on-one chase, grew more intense. What started with Natsu and Macao unexpectedly spread, dragging almost everyone in the guild into it.
"Oi, Natsu! You made me spill my drink!"
"You wanna go, Gray?!"
"Bring it on, squinty-eyes!"
Tables, chairs, benches, bowls, plates, and bottles were all flying through the air. It had escalated from a chase to an all-out, guild-wide brawl.
"Shouldn't… shouldn't we stop them?" Lucy asked, her head on a swivel as she watched a man with a cone-shaped hat get body-slammed by a large, muscular man. She had never witnessed such a chaotic, large-scale fight before.
Mira smiled, unfazed, as she calmly wiped a mug. "It's the usual. No need to bother with them. Besides, isn't it fun this way?"
"Fun?!"
Lucy was a bit dumbfounded. What was fun about watching everyone look like they wanted to punch the brains out of each other?
Crack!
A large, pale-skinned man, who was now completely naked, flew directly past Lucy and smashed into a table right next to her.
"Ah! A naked man!" Lucy shrieked, covering her eyes.
It was Gray Fullbuster. He sat up from the wreckage, completely unfazed by his lack of clothes.
Across the room, Natsu stood triumphantly on a table, waving Gray's boxers in his hand like a trophy. "Got 'em! That's what you get for siding with Macao, you drooping popsicle!"
"Ah—! My underwear!!" Gray yelled, finally noticing.
"Don't point that at me!!" a guild member shouted, dodging a flying fish.
"Miss," Gray said, turning to Lucy with a completely serious face. "Could you lend me your underwear?"
Lucy's response was immediate. She punched Gray directly in the face, sending him flying back into the brawl. "Lend you my foot, you mean!"
"A MAN SPEAKS WITH HIS FISTS!!" Elfman Strauss roared, his voice booming over the chaos.
Bang!
He was immediately punched and sent flying by Natsu right after shouting. "If you're going to fight, just fight! Why are you talking so much nonsense!"
"Argh! You're all so noisy! I can't even drink my wine in peace!" A buxom, brown-haired woman at the bar, Cana Alberona, slammed her empty barrel down. "That's enough, all of you!"
She was the first to lose her patience. She was trying to drink, but bottles were flying everywhere, and her favorite barrel had just been smashed. Cana pulled out a deck of magic cards, and lightning began to flash around them.
"I'm angry!"
"Oh, now you've done it," Gray growled, getting to his feet. He clenched one fist and placed it in the palm of his other hand, a frigid cold aura erupting from his body. "Ice-Make: Lance!"
"Oh oh oh oh oh!!" Elfman roared, his right arm beginning to transform. Fur sprouted, muscles bulged, and it instantly turned into a furry, black, beast-like arm. "Beast Arm!"
"Hmph! A bunch of annoying guys," the impeccably-dressed blond man, Loki, sighed, pushing up his glasses. He touched the magic ring on his finger. "Time for a little sparkle."
Seeing that everyone intended to use their magic, Natsu became even more excited. The brawl was fun, but a magic brawl was even better.
Flames shot from his hands as he cackled, "Come on, all of you! Bring it on!! I'm all fired up!"
Lucy was somewhat stunned, backing up until she hit the bar. "They're going to use magic?! Inside?!"
The power of magic was terrifying. She had just seen Ren carve a crater into a mountain. If they all used magic in here, wouldn't this entire guild be torn apart?
"This might be a bit bad now," Mirajane said, her smile finally fading into a look of mild concern.
Her gaze turned to Ren. Now, it seemed, only Ren in the guild could stop these reckless and daring fellows before they really brought the building down.
Ren sighed, taking a sip of the drink Mira had passed him. He nodded at her, a silent "Leave it to me."
He placed the mug on the bar and stepped forward.
"Full Body Take Over: Fushiguro Toji!!"
[Akarin's Note: Fushiguro Toji is a major character from the anime/manga Jujutsu Kaisen. He is a non-magic user renowned for his superhuman physical prowess and mastery of weapons.]
Ren activated his magic. In a flash, his entire appearance and aura shifted. He transformed into a tall, muscular, middle-aged man, wearing a simple black T-shirt and grey trousers. A prominent scar cut across the corner of his mouth, and his entire presence went from "calm, powerful Mage" to "apex predator."
A playful, dangerous smile hung on Ren's new lips. His voice, now a deep, magnetic, and lazy drawl, cut through the din.
"Yo. Fighting, huh? Seems... interesting. Let me join in, too."
Whoosh!
The entire guild instantly fell silent. The magical auras vanished. The shouting stopped. Everyone, mid-punch or mid-spell, froze, their heads slowly, mechanically, turning to look at Ren with expressions of pure, unadulterated terror.
"N-N-No! No! Why would we fight?" Gray stammered, his Ice-Make magic dissolving into mist. "We were just... joking! Yes! Joking! Right, Natsu?"
"Aye~!" Natsu squeaked, his flames extinguishing instantly.
Gray and Natsu, mortal enemies a second ago, now had their arms slung around each other's shoulders, grinning stiffly. Their bodies were trembling, and their legs were constantly shaking, threatening to give out.
"Natsu turned into Happy?!" Lucy whispered, baffled by the sudden 180-degree turn.
"What about you guys?" Ren's gaze swept over the others, his smile widening.
The effect was instantaneous. Elfman's Beast Arm reverted. Cana's cards disappeared. Loki quickly pocketed his ring.
"We were just playing! Definitely not fighting!"
"Right, right! We're all such good friends, why would we fight?"
"Ren-san, I beg you, please change back quickly! I'm scared!" one guild member even whimpered, a crying tone in his voice.
Lucy was completely confused. Why was everyone so terrified of Ren in this form? He didn't even feel like he was using that much magic, not like the "Fire Fist" from before.
Mira, seeing her confusion, giggled and explained with a smile, "Because before, about a month after Ren joined, they had a really big fight in the guild. Ren transformed into this state... and he beat up everyone."
"Everyone...?"
"Everyone," Mira confirmed, her smile turning a little mischievous. "Natsu and Gray, in particular, were beaten so badly they couldn't get up for three days. Master Makarov had to pay for their medical bills. Ever since then, this form is the guild's 'ceasefire' button."
"Eh—?!" Lucy gasped. "Everyone?!"
She looked around. Not to mention hundreds of people, there were at least seventy or eighty in this guild right now. And Ren, alone, beat up everyone in the entire guild?
One must know that the people here were not ordinary individuals. They were all Mages, and Mages of the famous Fairy Tail, at that!
"Ren... is actually that amazing?" Lucy mused, staring at him. "But... why haven't I heard of his title? Like Natsu's title, 'Salamander'?"
Lucy turned to look at Mira, only to see Mira staring at her with wide, incredulous eyes.
"Wha… what… Did I say something wrong?"
Mira quickly smiled and shook her head, as if awaking from a daze. "No, not at all. It just seems you truly are a pure newcomer, Lucy."
"Huh?"
"Ren has many titles," Mira explained, leaning in conspiratorially as Ren, satisfied, reverted to his normal form and returned to the bar. "For example... the 'Flame Emperor'."
"The... Flame Emperor?!" Lucy's blood ran cold.
[Akarin's Note: "Flame Emperor" (Entei) is the title of Portgas D. Ace from the series One Piece, famous for his "Fire Fist" attack.]
The Flame Emperor was a powerful, mysterious Mage who had rapidly risen in fame across the entire continent of Ishgar in the past six months.
"I've heard of him! Of course I have! I read in Sorcerer Weekly that he single-handedly annihilated dozens of notorious pirate crews off the coast of Hargeon! That's Ren? No wonder his fire magic is so powerful! So he's the Flame Emperor... and the Flame Emperor is a Mage of Fairy Tail!"
"Also," Mira continued, her voice dropping, "the 'Tyrant'."
[Akarin's Note: "Tyrant" is the epithet of Bartholomew Kuma, also from One Piece, known for his overwhelming and terrifying power.]
"The Tyrant?!" Lucy repeated, her voice a shocked squeak.
"Is it... is it the Tyrant who crippled an entire bandit army of ten thousand men?! The one who..."
Lucy's eyes widened in dawning, terrified realization. This incident had caused a huge sensation at the time, far bigger than the pirate attack. A bandit group numbering in the tens of thousands had plundered an entire country, and just when the Magic Council was assembling a response force, it was reported that a single man had appeared and wiped them all out.
Mira didn't say a word. She just pointed her chin towards Ren, who was now happily accepting his refilled mug. "There," she said, her smile back in full force. "The form he just used. That's Ren's 'Tyrant' form."
[Akarin Note:
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