Chapter 129: I Lost
"What?!"
"The Celestial Spirit King is going to fight Ren?!"
Loki and Lucy were both stunned to hear this. Lucy was even more speechless, her jaw dropping. Do all men, young or old, only have muscles in their heads? Do they only know how to solve problems with their fists? This was a god-tier being, and Ren was just... Ren!
When Ren heard the Celestial Spirit King's words, a smile appeared on his face—a cold, sharp smile that didn't belong on Ulquiorra's face. "It's even better if you're so understanding."
"Is this understanding?!" Lucy retorted, her voice squeaking.
Ren ignored her. The cold, nihilistic aura of Ulquiorra faded, replaced by something else. Something... heavier.
"Full-Body Take Over: Edward Newgate!!"
Since he was going to fight, Ren didn't hold back. The Celestial Spirit King's strength was not to be underestimated. In the anime, Ren knew his strength was similar to Tartaros's Underworld King, Mard Geer, and he could rival the "Four Heavenly Kings of Ishgar."
Ren knew not to think they were weak just because the Four Heavenly Kings couldn't even defeat God Serena in the anime. In fact, each of them possessed formidable strength.
Ulquiorra's Second Resurrección was also very strong, its destructive power immense. But that was the power of a hollow, an assassin. This... this was a brawl between kings. Men have their own way of fighting, and this situation called for raw, overwhelming, world-breaking power.
Soon, Ren's body erupted in light. He transformed into the towering form of Whitebeard. Both he and his opponent were giants, and both had extremely exaggerated, glorious white beards.
However, one (the King's) was shaped downwards like the character 'eight' (八), long and kingly. The other (Whitebeard's) was a sharp, defiant crescent-shaped mustache that curved upwards.
Of course, the Celestial Spirit King was larger, about 20 meters tall. Ren's Whitebeard form was 6.66 meters, making the Celestial Spirit King more than three times Ren's height.
The Celestial Spirit King was also slightly stunned to see Ren's transformation. He had felt the cold, empty, hollow power from the previous form, but this... this was different. This was the pressure of a true, living conqueror. It was rare, in any realm, to see someone with a beard as magnificent and exaggerated as his own. He stroked his own mustache, as if in appraisal.
"Celestial Spirit King, come on!" Ren, as Whitebeard, boomed. He looked at the Celestial Spirit King, and his eyes—no longer Ulquiorra's cold emerald, but Whitebeard's sharp, battle-hardened brown—sparkled with excitement.
A man's instinct is to compete and win, just as children naturally love to fight; it's just that society later smooths out their rough edges. Ren, inheriting the spirits of the strongest, also loved to fight, especially against strong opponents.
The Celestial Spirit King also realized at this moment that Ren was extraordinary.
He was, of course, aware of Loki's situation. He was the King. He knew of Karen's cruelty and was equally indignant about her attitude towards Celestial Spirits. However, ultimately, it was due to Loki's actions that she died. According to the ancient, unbreakable rules of the Celestial Spirit World, he could only banish Loki to the human world.
His initial proposal for a battle was partly to teach this human brat a lesson, to let him know that there are always stronger people out there.
The other reason, his true reason, was to provide a stepping stone. He had been swayed by Lucy's passionate, tearful defense of her "old friend." He needed a reason to bend the rules, and a display of strength from this human, a battle of honor, was the perfect excuse to provide a stepping stone for Loki to return to the Celestial Spirit World.
But now, it seemed this young Mage's strength was quite extraordinary, and he couldn't afford to be careless. This was no longer just a test; it was a duel.
Whoosh!
The Celestial Spirit King drew his massive, ornate greatsword, a blade that seemed to be carved from a star.
"Hoo-ahhhhh!"
Ren let out a loud roar, stomping his feet on the ground. The earth itself cracked under the pressure. He launched himself into the air, his white coat billowing.
Ren unleashed all three colors of Haki.
[Akarin's Note: Haki is a power system from 'One Piece'. Armament Haki (Busoshoku) hardens the user's body or weapons. Conqueror's Haki (Haoshoku) is a rare form of Haki that can overwhelm the will of others.]
The air crackled as black-and-red lightning—Conqueror's Haki—wrapped around his bisento, Murakumogiri. The blade itself turned a deep, shimmering black with Armament Haki. He swung it down towards the Celestial Spirit King.
The Celestial Spirit King gripped his greatsword with both hands and swung it to meet the attack.
Boom boom boom boom—!
The two weapons clashed.
The sound was not of metal hitting metal. It was the sound of two worlds colliding. A terrifying, spherical shockwave of pure force erupted outwards, destroying everything around them. The waterfall vaporized. The trees in the forest for a mile around were flattened. The river itself was blasted empty, its water thrown into the sky.
"Uwaaaah!"
Loki, Lucy, and Virgo were all sent tumbling, blasted back by the powerful impact, shielded only by Loki's last-second magical barrier.
Rumble—!
The Celestial Spirit King's body was forced back several steps by Ren's attack, his armored boots gouging deep trenches in the bedrock.
"The Celestial Spirit King... retreated?! How is that possible?!"
Loki and Virgo couldn't believe their eyes when they saw that the King was actually forced back by Ren's attack. That was the King of the Celestial Spirit World! The god of all Spirits!
Little did they know, the Celestial Spirit King was also incredibly shocked at this moment. The opponent was actually able to force him back in a direct confrontation of strength. He also felt a terrifying, vibrating power from Ren's blade; it wasn't just magic, it was pure, unadulterated strength that seemed to want to shake his very bones apart.
The power contained within this human body, less than a third of his own height, was even greater than his.
This instantly ignited the Celestial Spirit King's competitive spirit. He had never been defeated by anyone in terms of raw strength before.
"Good—! What a thrill! Again—!!!"
The Celestial Spirit King and Ren continuously clashed, their powerful forces creating terrifying impacts with every collision. Flashes of golden starlight from the King's blade met the black-and-white aura of Ren's Haki-infused, tremor-coated bisento.
The hard ground, under their assault, became as fragile as tofu. Every blow shattered the air. Every parry sent shockwaves that carved new canyons into the mountainside, making the onlookers' hearts pound.
"The Celestial Spirit King..." Lucy whispered, her eyes wide.
"...is being suppressed?!"
At this point, everyone clearly saw it. In the exchange of pure physical might, the mighty Celestial Spirit King was actually being suppressed by Ren.
Loki knew Ren was formidable, but he never imagined he was strong enough to suppress the Celestial Spirit King. This was a being on par with the gods.
Boom—!
The two clashed with full force, sending another massive shockwave, then separated from each other, landing on opposite sides of the ruined clearing.
"Haha! What a thrill! What a thrill! It's been a long time since I've fought like this!" the Celestial Spirit King boomed, his voice filled with genuine joy.
"Gurarararara!" Ren laughed, the signature laugh of Whitebeard. "The feeling-out process is pretty much over. It's time to get serious."
"Indeed!" The King's expression hardened, his grip tightening on his sword. "It's time to get serious!"
"Ohm—!"
Ren gripped Murakumogiri with both hands, channeling the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit (Gura Gura no Mi) onto its blade. A spherical, white, vibrating shield emitted a white haze, and the powerful force field distorted the surrounding space. The very air around the blade began to crack.
[Akarin's Note: The Gura Gura no Mi is Whitebeard's power from 'One Piece'. It allows him to create powerful vibrations, or "quakes," capable of shattering the very air.]
The Celestial Spirit King, seeing this, dared not be careless. He raised his blade to the sky, and the stars themselves seemed to blaze brighter. He concentrated his Celestial power into his sword.
"Take this! Meteor Blade!!"
The Celestial Spirit King launched his attack first, a massive slash of pure starlight, wide as a river, surging directly towards Ren.
Boom boom boom boom!!!
Everything in the path of the slash was disintegrated.
"Break through—!"
—!
Ren swung Murakumogiri, unleashing a powerful slash combined with the immense, air-shattering tremor power of the Gura Gura no Mi.
Boom boom boom boom!!!
Everything in the path of the attack was also destroyed, shattered into atoms by the vibration.
The two forces—one of pure starlight, one of pure vibration—collided in the middle.
Boom—!
The two forces clashed, erupting in an even more dazzling light and a deafening impact. The world turned white. All sound was annihilated. Wherever the light covered, everything was erased.
Rumble—!
The immense tremor caused the entire ground to shake violently, as if the world was turning upside down.
"Waaah!"
Lucy and Loki were both shocked by the tremor, thrown into the air as the ground beneath them buckled. This power... it was much greater than the power they witnessed earlier in the Onibas Arena.
'Did that mean...' Lucy thought, her mind reeling, '...Ren had defeated Jose, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, without even using his full power back then?'
A short while later, the tremors slowly subsided. The light faded.
"What happened?!"
Both of them stared nervously at the smoke and dust that filled the vast crater where the waterfall used to be.
A massive, gaping crack in the earth, miles long, appeared before their eyes. The terrifying destructive power left them utterly shocked. The strength of these two was simply terrifying.
Soon, the smoke was dispersed by the wind, and the figures of Ren and the Celestial Spirit King appeared before them, both still standing.
Seeing Ren unharmed, Loki and Lucy both breathed a sigh of relief.
Loki didn't want Ren to get hurt because of his own problems. He felt he was an insignificant person, but Ren was the hope of Fairy Tail.
Lucy didn't think that much; she was simply, desperately worried about Ren getting hurt.
Immediately after, both of them looked at the Celestial Spirit King. At this moment, the Celestial Spirit King also seemed unharmed.
"A draw?" Lucy whispered.
"Ren actually managed to draw with the Celestial Spirit King, that's incredible..." Loki began.
Just as the two thought it was a draw...
Crack—!
A small, spiderweb crack appeared on the massive breastplate of the Celestial Spirit King.
Bang—!
The cracks spread, and the sword in the Celestial Spirit King's hand, along with his chest armor, eventually shattered into pieces and scattered on the ground.
Loki's pupils constricted.
"What?!... The Celestial Spirit King's... sword... and his armor..."
The Celestial Spirit King looked at his own shattered sword, then at his broken armor. He looked up at Ren, his gaze filled with shocked admiration, and then he let out a booming, hearty laugh.
"Splendid! I lost."
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