Chapter 134: Limitless Techniques
That voice...
It was new. It wasn't Ren's usual voice. It was light, arrogant, and vibrating with a playful, yet terrifying, power.
"That voice…" Lucy's face, which was pale with fear, immediately lit up with surprise upon hearing that voice.
Then, a card that Sho had dropped floated up from the ground not far away. The card began to twist, bend, and then shatter as if crushed by an invisible force.
Bang—!
In a flash of blue light, Ren and Mira appeared before the group together.
"Mira! …Ren?…"
Lucy immediately recognized Mira, but Ren's appearance stunned her.
He had the same white hair as Mira, but it was spiky and wild. He was tall, easily over 190cm, with a lean, model-like physique. He wore a simple, dark, high-collared uniform. But it was his face that held her captive. It was an impossibly handsome face, and his eyes... he had no blindfold. His eyes were pale, crystalline blue, as if they held a white mist. They were the most beautiful and terrifying eyes she had ever seen.
These eyes made one feel like they could easily fall for him with just one glance, yet they also seemed to see everything, as if he was looking right through her, through the building, and into the infinite.
"So handsome…"
Lucy wasn't even sure if this was Ren, but she knew he had many transformation forms, and she had only seen a few. This one, however, was definitely the most handsome she had ever seen, and her heart was fluttering, her fear momentarily forgotten.
Mira, standing beside him, also looked at Ren with a surprised expression. It was her first time seeing this transformation of Ren. She had seen the white-haired, crimson-eyed Yoriichi, the stoic and dark Ulquiorra, the fiery Ace, and the booming Whitebeard.
This one... this one felt different. He felt untouchable, standing in a different realm from them all, radiating a boundless, confident energy. But no matter how Ren transformed, she could sense that it was him.
"Seriously," Ren (Gojo) said, his voice light and playful. He put his hands in his pockets and casually looked at the ruined casino, then at the terrified, card-imprisoned people. "I just got a good hand, and you guys came out to mess things up."
Ren was a bit annoyed. He had been losing ever since he arrived at the casino, which made him wonder if the goddess of luck had abandoned him, or if he had used all his luck on gacha draws, leading to terrible luck in gambling.
Just as things were turning around, he encountered this situation. It would be strange if he were in a good mood.
"Ren! They want to take Erza away!" Lucy reacted at this moment, snapping out of her daze and quickly pointing.
"Hmm… I just heard it all."
Ren, his Six Eyes already having processed the entire scene in less than a second, saw the group's appearance and heard their previous conversation. He also knew their identities—Erza's companions from when she was a slave.
He looked at Sho, then Wally, then Millianna, and finally Simon. His gaze lingered on the unconscious Erza, his expression unreadable.
He finally turned his attention to the four intruders, a lazy, unconcerned smile spreading across his face.
"Hey! You guys," he said, his voice cheerful. "If you don't want to be killed, then obediently return Erza. If you do, I can guarantee not to beat you to death."
He looked at Sho, Wally, and the others, acting in a completely nonchalant manner.
"Who the hell are you?!" Wally, the blocky man, snapped.
Bang—!!
Wally raised his pistol and directly pulled the trigger on Ren.
"Ren, be careful!"
Seeing the pistol, Lucy quickly warned him. Although Mages could use magic to cause destruction far exceeding a pistol, Mages themselves were actually very fragile and could barely withstand bullet shots.
Ren seemed not to hear or see, standing still in place, his hands still casually tucked in his pockets.
The bullet Wally fired... stopped.
It stopped dead in mid-air, about an inch from Ren's forehead.
"What—?!"
Everyone was greatly astonished to see this. What was happening? Why did the bullet stop?
"I don't believe it!" Wally yelled, his eyes wide.
Bang, bang, bang!!
Wally fired three more shots consecutively, but the result was the same: all three bullets stopped automatically when they reached Ren's front, hanging in the air as if frozen in time.
"Haaah~!" Ren let out an exaggerated, bored yawn.
Clink, clink, clink!
The few bullets, their momentum completely nullified, all fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.
Wally and the others stared with wide, disbelieving eyes. Bullets were actually, completely ineffective against him.
"Kitty Restraint!"
Millianna, seeing her friend's attack fail, sprang into action. She released her magical pink rope. "Meow! Once bound by the rope, you won't be able to use magic!"
However, like the bullets, the rope stopped moving as soon as it reached Ren. It just hung in the air, a foot from his chest. No matter how Millianna urged it, gritting her teeth, it couldn't get a single inch closer to Ren.
"How can this be?!" she cried out, frustrated.
"It's simple, really." Ren said, his voice like a teacher explaining a simple concept to a child. "This is my Limitless Cursed Technique. Any object that gets closer to me will slow down as it approaches the 'Infinity' between us... just like this, as if it's stopped. So, none of your attacks can hit me."
[Akarin's Note: The Limitless (Mukagen) is Gojo Satoru's innate technique. It brings the concept of "infinity" into reality, allowing him to manipulate and distort space at an atomic level. The 'Infinity' barrier Ren is using passively stops all incoming attacks by infinitely dividing the space between him and the attack, making it slow down to a complete stop.]
The principle of the technique is also simple: it infinitely divides an extremely short distance. Even if it's within arm's reach, if you can't touch it, you can't touch it.
What Ren was using was Gojo Satoru's passive ability, which could automatically and continuously deploy this technique. When deployed automatically, the Six Eyes would judge the strength, mass, and speed of automatically approaching objects to assess their danger level, and based on the assessment, decide whether to stop or deflect them. A simple bullet, or a magic rope, was registered as "harmless" and stopped effortlessly.
"What?!"
Everyone was greatly astonished by Ren's words. There was such magic? Doesn't that make this guy invincible?
"Bullets are useless against you, but what about others?!" Wally roared, his rational mind snapping. He turned his gun away from Ren and aimed it directly at the bound Lucy.
"Why me again?!" Lucy jumped in fright. He had aimed at her just now, and now he was aiming at her again.
However, Wally didn't even get to pull the trigger.
The gun had already vanished from his hand.
"What?!"
Wally looked up. Ren, who had been standing ten meters away, had appeared directly in front of him at some point, his glowing blue eyes looking down at him with an expression of cold annoyance. He was holding Wally's pistol in his hand.
Bang!
Ren directly shot Wally in the leg.
"Ugh ah ah ah!!" Wally screamed and collapsed.
"Wally!" The others cried out in alarm upon seeing Wally get shot.
Ren, his face impassive, raised the gun, aimed at Wally's other leg, and pulled the trigger.
Click! Click!
"Out of bullets?"
Ren casually tossed the gun aside. He then reared back and punched Wally in the abdomen. It wasn't a magic punch. It was just a punch, enhanced by the raw, precise energy control of a Special Grade Sorcerer.
Bang!!
"Waaah ah ah ah ah!"
Wally's body curled up like a cooked shrimp, his face contorted in agony, and he flew backward, a sonic boom trailing him.
Boom, boom, boom!!
He crashed through several thick, solid-oak gambling tables, sending cards and chips flying everywhere.
Sho saw Wally get hit and immediately became enraged. "Wally! You bastard!"
Simon quickly tried to stop him. "Sho! Stop it! He's too strong!"
Sho ignored Simon's words and shot a volley of magical cards at Ren, "Take this! Card Magic!"
But all the cards, just like the bullets, stopped dead in front of Ren, hovering in the air.
"I told you," Ren said, his voice bored. "You can't hit me."
The next moment, Ren's body vanished. He didn't use a Hiraishin flash or a Sonído blur. He simply compressed the space, reappearing instantly behind Sho and kicking him in the back.
"Ugh ah ah!"
Sho's body was also kicked away, his cards scattering uselessly.
Boom, boom, boom!
He crashed through several slot machines, which exploded in a shower of coins.
Immediately after, Ren teleported again, appearing directly in front of Millianna. Before the cat-girl could even react, Ren's hand shot out, directly grasping her neck and lifting her off the ground.
"St… Stop… Ren…"
A weak, pained voice sounded from the ground.
"Erza!" Lucy cried out.
It was Erza who spoke. She was just barely conscious, the sleep dart's effects warring with her willpower.
Simon's face had also changed drastically when he saw Ren's murderous intent. Unlike the ignorance of the others, he knew Ren's identity when he heard Lucy call out his name. This was Ren, the one who had single-handedly fought Jose and Phantom Lord. He was a monster.
So he wanted to stop him, but it was already too late. If this continued, in a few seconds, all of them would die here. Simon quickly rushed to Erza, shaking her. "Erza, wake up! Please, he's going to kill them!"
Ren heard Erza's voice and stopped his hand. His fingers, which had been tightening, relaxed.
He looked at Millianna, his crystal-blue eyes cold and empty, and casually threw her onto the ground.
"Cough, cough, cough…!"
Millianna coughed violently, clawing at her throat, her eyes filled with abject terror as she looked at Ren. She had felt it—in his hand, she was as fragile as a chick. He could have twisted her neck with just a flick of his finger.
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