Chapter 142: Rock Nightmare, Scarlet Flower
The Tower of Heaven's upper floors were a stark contrast to the rough, dungeon-like lower levels. The crystal walls here were polished to a mirror sheen, reflecting the dim, magical light that filtered in from unseen sources. The air was still and cold, heavy with the scent of ozone and the sea.
After clearing the 44th floor of its contingent of heavily-armored dark mages, Ren and Millianna ascended the final spiral staircase. It opened into a massive, circular chamber that seemed to be some kind of nexus. Multiple hallways branched off from it, and in the center, a single, imposing gate stood, presumably leading to the final ascent to the throne room.
There were no guards. There were no hostages. The room was just... empty.
"Meow... this is creepy," Millianna whispered, her cat-like senses on high alert. She pressed closer to Ren, her earlier fear of him now completely replaced by the much more immediate fear of what Jellal had waiting for them. "It's too quiet. Where is everyone?"
Ren, still in his Gojo Satoru form, stood calmly in the center of the room, his hands in his pockets. His blindfold, concealing the Six Eyes, gave him an air of unnerving calm. He "saw" everything. The flow of magic in the walls, the lingering energy signatures from the defeated Fukuro, and... something new.
"He's here," Ren said.
"Who's—"
TWANG—!!!!
A deafening, distorted bass note—so loud and low it felt like a punch to the chest—erupted from the darkest hallway. The sound was a physical force, vibrating the very crystal of the tower. Millianna shrieked and covered her ears, her entire body shaking. "So noisy!!"
"Hi!! Yaaaaa—HELL!!"
A figure emerged from the shadows, not just walking, but strutting. It was Vidaldus Taka. He was furiously playing a four-stringed bass guitar shaped like a screaming skull, his head banging back and forth, his long, gaudy-green hair whipping around like a windmill. His rocker outfit was complete with spiked shoulder pads and leather pants, and his eyes were hidden behind heavy, dark makeup.
"GREETINGS, children of dissonance! Are you ready to ROCK?!" he screamed, sliding to a halt on his knees in a classic rock-star pose.
"The Assassin's Guild, Skull Society!!" he declared, his voice a gravelly shriek. "One of the Trinity Raven... VIDALDUS TAKA! That's me!!"
Ren, who hadn't moved an inch, tilted his head. His Six Eyes analyzed the man instantly. The flow of magic power was significant, considerably stronger than Fukuro's. The owl-man's power was in his suit and his stealth; this man's power was his own.
"Another small boss," Ren noted, his voice laced with Gojo's characteristic, almost insulting, calm.
"Small boss?! I am the GOD of this stage, you punk!" Vidaldus snarled. "ROCK YOU!!"
He thrashed his head, and his long green hair, infused with magic, shot out like dozens of living, barbed whips. The hair lashed through the air, converging on Ren from all angles, designed to flay him alive.
"Ren-san, look out!" Millianna screamed.
Ren stood still. He didn't even raise his hands.
The green, magic-infused hair whips screamed through the air... and then hit an invisible wall. The Limitless Cursed Technique activated automatically. All the strands of hair drastically decelerated as they approached Ren, the tips visibly slowing until they were hovering an inch from his body, almost still, unable to cross the "Infinity" between them.
"Huh?!" Vidaldus's rock-star posturing faltered. He stared, wide-eyed, as his hair, his ultimate physical weapon, was rendered completely inert. "Physical attacks... they're ineffective against you?! Bah, bah, bah!! As expected of the legendary monster!!"
"But fortunately for me, and unfortunately for YOU..." Vidaldus grinned, his confidence returning. "I don't just have this magic! Now, become my nightmare captive!! ROCK NIGHTMARE!! Hi!! Yaaaaa—!!"
Vidaldus began to play. He thrashed on his bass, and this time, it wasn't just noise. A dark, insidious magic power surged from the guitar, riding the sound waves. It was a powerful brainwashing and control magic, designed to overwhelm the listener's senses and turn them into a mindless, drooling slave to his "music."
He cackled as the sound waves washed over Ren. "That's right! A person with the combat power to defeat a Ten Wizard Saint! When you become my captive, my slave, I, Vidaldus Taka, will become the ruler of the dark magic world! I'll be the ultimate ROCK GOD!"
He played for a full minute, his fingers a blur, his head banging, lost in his own fantasy. Millianna had collapsed, her hands over her ears, but she was still groaning, the sound clearly affecting her.
After a while, Vidaldus stopped, breathing heavily. He looked up, bewildered.
Ren was still standing there, hands in his pockets, looking... bored. He was completely motionless, but not in the "mindless slave" way.
"Not playing anymore?" Ren asked, tilting his head.
Vidaldus stared at Ren in disbelief. "You... you... you listened to my Rock Nightmare! How are you... fine?!"
"Very simple," Ren said, pointing to his ear with a lazy finger. "Because I didn't hear it at all."
"IMPOSSIBLE!" Vidaldus shrieked. "That's my ultimate technique! Even if you cover your ears, the sound will still enter your brain! It's magic! What's more, you didn't even cover your ears! How could you not have heard it?!"
Ren sighed, as if explaining a complex formula to a very, very stupid child. "Because I blocked the sound. My 'Infinity' isn't just for physical objects. It works on anything. I can use it to filter and select what I allow to reach me."
"From the moment you started playing that... 'thing'," Ren said, gesturing to the bass, "I designated the specific sound frequency and magic signature as 'noise,' thereby blocking it from ever reaching me. To me, you've just been... flailing around in silence. It was kind of pathetic, actually."
"What are you talking about?! I don't understand at all?!" Vidaldus was completely confused by Ren's words. He knew every word Ren said, but when put together, it felt like his brain was short-circuiting.
"It's just... uh, never mind," Ren sighed. "There's no need for a 'Cursed Technique disclosure' to a guy of your level. Let's just... end this battle quickly."
[Akarin's Note: A "Cursed Technique disclosure" is a "Binding Vow" from Jujutsu Kaisen. By explaining one's own ability to an opponent, a sorcerer can increase the power of their technique. Ren is stating that Vidaldus is so weak, it's not even worth the power-up.]
Ren raised his right index finger. A small, impossibly dense red-orange energy ball, no bigger than a marble, gathered above his fingertip. The air around it began to distort with heat and raw power.
"Shrink... expand... What do you think would happen if this void were touched?" Ren asked, a terrifying, casual smile on his face.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red!"
[Akarin's Note: "Cursed Technique Reversal: Red" is an ability commonly used by Gojo Satoru. It infuses positive cursed energy into the Limitless, creating a powerful repulsive force. It is the opposite of his "Blue" technique, which attracts.]
He flicked his finger. The tiny red orb shot forward.
"Wuaaaahhhh!!"
Vidaldus felt a terrifying, irresistible impact land on his chest. It wasn't a punch. It wasn't an explosion. It was pure, unadulterated force. It didn't just hit him; it repelled him from reality itself.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Wall after wall was smashed. Vidaldus Taka, like Fukuro before him, drew a perfect, screaming parabola through the air, blasting out of the side of the tower. He plunged, unconscious, into the churning sea thousands of feet below.
Ren put his hand back in his pocket. He turned to Millianna, who was just shakily getting to her feet.
"Come on. We're almost at the top."
High in the throne room, Jellal, who had been watching the entire "battle" on a magical projection screen, sighed.
"Vidaldus has also been eliminated," he mused. "Although I expected it, the speed at which he was taken down was... too fast. He didn't even last thirty seconds. Indeed, someone of that level is no match for that guy, Ren."
His eyes narrowed. "But, he served his purpose. Ren has used two of his S-Class transformations now. From what I've gathered, each one drains his magic power. As long as I continue to deplete him, the scales of victory will constantly tip in my favor."
Jellal honestly wanted to have a direct, glorious confrontation with Ren and determine who was superior. But Ren's inherent threat was simply too great. His battle against the Ten Wizard Saint Jose had occurred in plain sight, and Jellal's thought-projection, Siegrain, had witnessed it firsthand.
He was shocked by Ren's power then, but he didn't think he would lose. Destructive power is just destructive power, after all. It still needs to hit him. And he, Jellal, was the fastest mage alive.
"Now," Jellal said to the empty room, "I can only rely on you, Ikaruga. Don't disappoint me." He had anticipated Vidaldus's failure. That fool's magic was fine for controlling rabble, but trying to control Ren? That was overconfidence. If that guy were really so easy to control, why would he, Jellal, have gone to such great lengths to make all these preparations?
Ren and Millianna reached the 48th and final floor before the throne room. As they stepped into the chamber, they cleared the last of the guards—a group of elite, robed mages. Ren, still as Gojo Satoru, simply walked through them, and his "Infinity" sent them all flying, unconscious, as they tried to attack him.
"Ugh... ah ah ah!!" Ren finished the last one with a simple, Cursed Energy-infused punch. He had finally cleared all the floors he needed to clear.
At this moment, a soft, musical, and utterly out-of-place woman's voice sounded from the grand staircase ahead.
"Shua la la! Shua la la!"
"Shua la la! Shua la la!"
The sound was of a shakuhachi flute, playing a slow, mournful, and ancient melody.
"My name is Ikaruga," the voice, as smooth as silk, floated down. "Please... guide me."
A woman wearing a pure white kimono, embroidered with a beautiful, crimson flame-skull pattern, walked down the stairs. She had long, flowing pink hair, held a long, sheathed katana at her waist, and moved with a grace that was both sexy and lethal.
Ren raised an eyebrow and let a small smile touch his lips. He deactivated his Gojo Satoru Take Over, returning to his normal form. "Jellal really takes care of me," he said, "having all three of you come after me."
Jellal had mentioned three warriors, and he had now encountered all of them. He didn't believe this was a coincidence. This was intentional targeting.
Ikaruga covered her mouth with her sleeve and chuckled softly. "This is an unavoidable measure, Ren-sama. Who can blame you for being so powerful? If we didn't use some small tricks, how could we possibly be your opponents?"
Ren's lips curved slightly. "Are you saying you are my opponent now? Then let's begin."
"Wait a moment," Ikaruga said, holding up a hand.
"What else do you want?" Ren asked, his patience wearing thin.
"No, this humble woman," she said, her eyes gleaming with a strange, fervent light, "has heard that Ren-sama has a transformation... one respectfully referred to as the 'Sword God'. Coincidentally, this humble woman also uses a sword. I would like to... seek guidance in the art of swordsmanship from the Sword God."
"Swordsmanship?"
Ren frowned. To be honest, he rarely accessed Yoriichi Tsugikuni anymore. The reason was simple: the stats were too low. Compared to his other gold character cards, Yoriichi Tsugikuni's stats were, by far, the lowest. In a pure, physical fight, Yoriichi might not even be able to compare to many of his purple card characters.
But... Yoriichi Tsugikuni also had an advantage that no other character card had: when Ren accessed that form, he could use his own magic power directly. Not converting it into Cursed Energy or Haki, but simply using magic power, attaching it to his blade to unleash powerful, magic-infused slashes. A year ago, he had relied on this very ability to barely break the magic dragon's defense, before using Ulquiorra's Resurrección Segunda Etapa to fire a lightning spear and kill it.
Even so, it couldn't compensate for Yoriichi Tsugikuni's low stats. He basically no longer used this character card in combat, except when training.
But... she had asked so politely.
"Since that's the case," Ren said, a dangerous glint in his eye as he reached for a new card. "Then, as you wish."
[Akarin Note:
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