Chapter 185 Arrived Just in Time
Powerful Reiatsu emanated from Ren, surging outward like a tidal wave of pure, suffocating density. In an instant, the clear sky above the ruins of Nirvana was swallowed by an unnatural darkness, turning pitch black as if the sun itself had been extinguished.
Then, the rain began to fall.
It was a black rain, pouring down from the void in heavy, silent sheets. The droplets struck the crumbling masonry and the faces of the Oración Seis members, but there was no sensation of wetness, only a chilling, heavy pressure that seeped into their very bones.
"Black rain?"
Brain, the leader of the Oración Seis, looked up at the darkened sky, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. He reached out a hand, watching the black droplets pass through his skin, leaving behind a cold, ghostly sensation.
"No, this isn't real rain," Brain muttered, a bead of cold sweat trickling down his temple. "It's liquefied magic power... No, it's something denser. What kind of atmospheric pressure is this?"
Soon, the strange phenomenon in the sky dissipated, but the oppressive atmosphere remained, heavier than before. All eyes were fixed on the center of the storm.
Ren's appearance had changed completely.
The human guise was gone. In its place stood a figure of stark, terrifying beauty. A pair of massive, jet-black bat wings spread wide from his back, blotting out what little light remained. His body was encased in a white, form-fitting robe that extended to his waist, revealing a hollow hole in the center of his chest—a symbol of emptiness. A bone-white helmet with two long, curved horns crowned his head, casting a shadow over his eyes, which now glowed with a cold, emerald light. Tear-like markings descended from his eyes, enhancing the aura of melancholic nihilism that surrounded him.
"Om—!"
The air vibrated with a low hum as Ren raised his hand. Green spiritual energy coalesced rapidly, forming a javelin of pure light.
Luz de la Luna.
Ren grasped the energy weapon, testing its weight. It crackled with unstable power, yet remained perfectly under his control. He looked down at the members of the Oración Seis with an indifferent, almost bored gaze. To him, they were no longer threats; they were merely trash to be swept away.
"Don't waver," Ren said, his voice devoid of emotion, echoing as if spoken from the bottom of an abyss. "Get into position, tighten your nerves, and don't relax for even a moment. If you blink, you will die."
The sheer arrogance of his statement, delivered with such calm certainty, ignited a spark of rage in Cobra.
"Putting on a show!" Cobra snarled, his face twisting in anger. "I can hear your arrogance, and it makes me sick! I'll tear those wings off!"
"Poison Dragon's Claw!!"
Cobra couldn't stand Ren's dismissive attitude and attacked first. A deadly purple miasma wrapped around his right hand, forming giant, corrosive claws of poison. He lunged forward with blinding speed, swinging his claw forcefully at Ren's throat, intending to end it in a single strike.
Ren didn't even blink.
"Sonído."
There was a sharp, static sound—bzzzt—and Ren's figure vanished from Cobra's field of vision completely. It wasn't simple speed; it was a movement that bypassed the senses.
"What—?!" Cobra's eyes widened, his claw swiping through empty air.
Before his brain could process the disappearance, a chilling presence materialized directly behind him.
Pfft!
"Ugh ah ah!"
A spray of blood painted the air. The Luz de la Luna slashed diagonally across Cobra's back. The Poison Dragon Slayer let out a scream of agony as the force of the blow sent him crashing face-first into the rubble below.
"Liquid Ground!!"
Hoteye, realizing the threat level had just skyrocketed, acted immediately. He pointed his finger at the ground, his large eyes wide with focus.
"Soften! The earth is money, and money flows like water!"
The solid stone ground and the surrounding ancient buildings rapidly lost their cohesion. In seconds, the battlefield transformed into a turbulent ocean of mud. A massive wave of liquefied earth rose up, surging towards Ren like a tsunami, threatening to crush and bury him under tons of suffocating muck.
Ren hovered in the air, his wings beating slowly. He didn't move to dodge. Instead, he slowly raised his index finger, pointing it directly at the incoming wave and Hoteye behind it.
Black energy continuously gathered at the tip of Ren's index finger. The space around the finger distorted, light bending into the singularity. It formed a small, dense black sphere, outlined in neon green lightning. The air screamed as the energy compressed relentlessly.
"Cero Oscuras."
Whoosh—!!
A wide-ranging beam of pitch-black energy, rimmed with emerald light, shot directly out. It was a flash of absolute darkness that devoured the light around it.
Boom—!!
The collision was instantaneous. The massive wave of mud didn't just break; it evaporated. The Cero Oscuras pierced through the liquid earth as if it were wet paper, carrying its momentum straight towards the caster.
"Ugh ah ah ah!!"
Hoteye didn't even have time to scream a plea for mercy. The black light enveloped him completely, blasting him backward. An explosion of black energy erupted, carving a deep trench into the landscape.
Swish!
The chaos provided a distraction. The next moment, Gemini, the Celestial Spirit who had transformed into the speedster Racer, utilized his slowing magic. He flashed into existence directly behind Ren, his leg raised high to deliver a supersonic kick to Ren's head.
"Die!" the mimicry of Racer shouted.
"Sonído."
Ren's voice was a whisper. Once again, the static buzz resonated. Ren's figure instantly vanished, leaving an afterimage that Gemini kicked through.
"Too slow," Ren's voice appeared from above.
Pfft!
A huge gash appeared on Gemini's body as Ren slashed down with the Luz de la Luna.
"Ugh ah ah!"
Bang!!
Gemini screamed as his physical form was destabilized. He exploded into golden particles and dissipated into smoke. Celestial Spirits are spiritual bodies; even if they are 'killed' in the human world, they are merely forcibly returned to the Spirit World to recover. The keyholder, Angel, flinched as she felt the connection snap.
"Pitch-Black Capriccio!!"
Brain, seeing his subordinates fall one by one, cast a high-level dark spell. He thrust his staff forward, and a dark green spiral of concentrated darkness rushed straight towards Ren. This was a penetrating dark magic, powerful enough to easily pierce through multi-layered steel defenses.
Ren glanced at the incoming drill of darkness. He sensed the danger—it was a decent spell—but not enough to force him to dodge. Swiftly, he swung his Luz de la Luna in a parrying motion.
Clang!
The javelin of light struck the spiral of darkness, deflecting it with a heavy impact.
Boom boom!!
The deflected spell shot past Ren and struck the stone house behind him. The structure didn't just collapse; it was drilled through cleanly before exploding into dust, demonstrating the terrifying piercing power of Brain's magic.
"Om—!"
Seizing the opening, Angel raised the silver chisel-like object in her hand—the Celestial Spirit Caelum in its cannon form.
"Target lock! Fire!"
Swish!
The next moment, Ren appeared in front of Angel, closing the distance in a heartbeat.
"Laser!!"
Angel shrieked, panic overriding her composure. She immediately triggered the spirit weapon. A high-intensity golden laser beam shot directly at Ren's chest from point-blank range.
Ren neither dodged nor avoided. He didn't even raise his weapon. Instead, he simply raised his bare left hand, palm open, directly into the path of the beam.
Hierro.
The laser struck his palm. Smoke hissed, and energy crackled, but the beam stopped dead. It didn't pierce his skin. It didn't even burn him.
"You're kidding me!"
Angel's pupils constricted to pinpoints, her face draining of all color. Is this real or fake? Taking a concentrated laser blast with his physical body? Was she seeing things, or was she in a nightmare?
Ren walked towards Angel, enduring the laser as if it were a gentle breeze. His expression remained utterly impassive. His hand closed around the barrel of Caelum, the Sculptor.
Crack!!
With a sickening crunch of metal, the spirit weapon Caelum was directly crushed by Ren's grip strength. The spirit groaned and vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Wait... wait a minute! I surrender! I surrender!!"
Angel fell back onto her butt, scrambling away in terror. She raised her hands frantically, tears welling in her eyes. "I give up! Don't kill me! I'm just a girl!"
What kind of joke was this? If she had known this guy was such a monster, she would never have provoked him. This wasn't a fight; it was an execution.
Ren looked down at her, his emerald eyes cold. "Surrender accepted," he said flatly.
Pfft!
Ren swung his Luz de la Luna directly at Angel, slashing across her chest without a shred of hesitation or mercy.
"Wah ah ah ah!!"
Angel screamed, blood spraying as she was flung backward, crashing to the ground unconscious. Ren didn't believe in leaving enemies standing just because they begged.
"Ugh!"
Brain clutched his face. He felt a sharp pain in his mind as the link to Angel was severed. Another line on his face—the seal of the Six Prayers—began to disappear.
"Damn it! This monster!" Brain gritted his teeth. "Swamp!!"
He slammed his staff down. The ground beneath Ren's feet instantly turned into a deep, adhesive swamp, causing his body to sink rapidly, restricting his movement.
"Well done! Brain!"
Cobra, who had recovered from the earlier slash, was back in the air. He was riding his giant winged serpent, Cubellios. He took a deep breath, his chest expanding unnaturally as he condensed a massive amount of poison magic in his lungs.
"Poison Dragon's Roar!!"
A massive tornado of deadly poison breath erupted from Cobra's mouth, spiraling down towards the trapped Ren.
Ren looked up from the swamp. His expression didn't change. He simply pointed a finger at the incoming breath attack.
"Cero Oscuras."
Once again, the black flash fired.
The black Cero Oscuras and the black-red Poison Dragon's Roar collided in mid-air.
For a split second, there was silence. Then, a huge sphere of distorted light appeared in the sky where the energies met.
Boom—!
A violent explosion erupted between the two of them, shaking the very foundations of the Nirvana ruins.
Rumble—!!
The powerful impact created a shockwave that flattened the surrounding ancient buildings, turning stone columns into dust. The sky flashed with chaotic colors before settling back into gloom.
Soon, the smoke dissipated.
Ren stood in place, hovering slightly above the destruction. The swamp had been evaporated by the heat of his own energy. He was completely unharmed, his white robe spotless. He looked at the remaining Oración Seis members calmly.
"Is that all?" Ren asked.
"This guy..."
Brain and the others looked at Ren with serious, fearful expressions. They felt a chill run down their spines. This enemy was not just strong; he was in a different dimension entirely. He was extremely troublesome.
"Ren!!"
Just then, a familiar voice rang out.
Ren turned his head, his emerald eyes softening slightly as the battle intent lowered. He saw Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel, and the three members of Lamia Scale—Jura Neekis, Lyon Vastia, and Sherry Blendy—appear together at the edge of the clearing.
"You're here!" Erza called out, relief washing over her face as she saw Ren safe.
Jura stepped forward, bowing his head slightly. "I apologize! Your Excellency Ren, we arrived late. We were delayed by the shifting terrain."
Even though they were an allied army, they hadn't been much help so far, which made the Wizard Saint somewhat ashamed. Lyon and Sherry looked at Ren in surprise; they had never seen Ren in this transformed state before. The bat wings, the hollow hole, the horned helmet—he looked like a demon lord, yet his aura was strangely majestic.
Ren waved his hand dismissively, the Luz de la Luna dissipating into motes of light. "It's alright, not late at all; you arrived just in time."
"Huh? Aren't they the Oración Seis? Where are the other two?"
Lucy Heartfilia, who had arrived with Natsu, looked around the battlefield. She counted Brain, Cobra, Hoteye, and the sleeping Midnight. She noticed that the Oración Seis seemed to be missing members.
"Oh! Those two have already been taken care of by me," Ren stated calmly.
"..."
At these words, everyone was somewhat speechless. The silence was palpable.
There were a total of six people in the legendary Dark Guild. Ren had already taken care of two—Racer (previously) and Angel (just now). Looking at the scene before them, it seemed that Hoteye was scorched and Cobra was bleeding.
If they had arrived any later, would all of the Oración Seis have been dealt with by Ren alone? Everyone looked at Ren's relaxed demeanor, his breathing steady, his clothes unruffled, and felt that this possibility was very high. He was practically soloing a Dark Guild that required a coalition of light guilds to oppose.
"Ren! Leave that bastard to me!!"
Natsu pointed at Cobra and shouted, breaking the silence. Fire ignited around his fists. They had previously encountered Cobra, who had toyed with them and then escaped, making Natsu furious. His dragon slayer instincts were screaming for a rematch.
"Happy!"
"Aye, sir!"
Happy immediately grabbed Natsu by the back of his vest and flew towards Cobra in the sky.
"You bastard, I won't let you escape this time! I'm all fired up!"
"Hmph! A defeated foe," Cobra sneered, clutching his bleeding shoulder but grinning savagely. "Since you're looking for death, I'll deal with you first, then go and take care of that winged bastard!"
Erza stepped forward, drawing a sword. She pointed it at Hoteye, who was struggling to stand up from the rubble.
"Then I'll deal with him!" Erza declared.
She had analyzed the situation quickly. She knew Jura used Earth Magic. Hoteye's Liquid Ground magic was a natural counter to Jura's solid earth, making it difficult for the Wizard Saint to fully utilize his strength. Erza, with her versatility and flight armor, would be a better match.
Jura nodded, understanding Erza's tactical decision. He turned his gaze to the leader of the enemy.
"Then I'll deal with him!" Jura said, his voice deepening with authority.
Originally, he had intended to settle things with Hoteye, his cousin, but since Erza had chosen him, he would have to face the head of the snake. He locked eyes with Brain.
"Hmph! Members of the Light Guild, apart from Ren, are nothing but maggots," Brain spat, his face twisting into a mask of pure malice. "Ren, don't think you've already won; the outcome isn't decided until the very last moment!"
He slammed his staff into the ground, a dark aura flaring around him.
"Midnight!"
Brain pointed his magic staff at Ren and the others, roaring with desperation. "Kill every single one of those guys! Leave no survivors!!"
On a floating magic carpet behind Brain, a figure that had been sleeping through the entire commotion stirred. Midnight, the member of the Oración Seis who had been dormant until now, slowly opened his eyes. They were dark, red-rimmed, and filled with a terrifyingly calm power.
"Yes, Father."
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