Chapter 236: Slicing the Airship with a Blade
"Alone? Do you intend to wipe out Grimoire Heart all by yourself?!"
Mest Gryder stared at Ren's back, his eyes wide with disbelief. His voice cracked with the absurdity of the statement.
Grimoire Heart wasn't just any guild; it was the strongest Dark Guild in the Balam Alliance, a monster that even the Magic Council hesitated to provoke directly.
According to the defeated Azuma, they possessed three experts at the level of the Ten Wizard Saints—Hades, Bluenote, and the fallen Saint Jose Porla.
Ren had eliminated Azuma, one of the Seven Kin, leaving six remaining. But even with that victory, charging alone against an entire army and three Wizard Saint-level monsters? It sounded less like bravery and more like a suicide mission.
"Don't worry about the math, Mest-san," Ren said without looking back. "Sometimes, quality outweighs quantity."
Whoosh—!
Ren's figure vanished instantly. There was no buildup, no magical residue. He simply ceased to exist in that location, reappearing moments later high in the mid-air above the ocean.
"Instant Movement!" Mest gasped, shielding his eyes against the sun. "Teleportation? No, I didn't sense a spatial rift!"
Mest was a specialist in teleportation magic, but he couldn't comprehend what he just saw. He didn't know that Ren's current ability wasn't standard teleportation. Using the Limitless technique of his Gojo Satoru form, Ren had compressed the infinite space between his current location and the desired coordinates to zero, effectively stepping through the fold.
High above the sparkling blue ocean, Ren floated, the wind whipping at his clothes. In the distance, a massive shadow loomed. The Grimoire Heart airship, a flying fortress of dark magic, was approaching Tenrou Island like a storm cloud.
"I'll use you guys to test out some moves," Ren murmured, a chilling smile playing on his lips. "Gojo is fun, but for slicing big toys, I need something sharper."
He closed his eyes, dismissing the Gojo form. The blindfold and uniform dissolved into light.
"Full Body Take Over: Ichimaru Gin!"
Magic power swirled and condensed. When the light faded, a new figure stood in the sky. He was slender, with pale skin and silver hair. His eyes were narrowed into perpetual slits, giving him a fox-like appearance. He wore a white shihakushō over a black kimono—the uniform of a Captain of the Gotei 13.
A long, thin katana—a Zanpakuto—hung at his waist.
Ren's smile widened, stretching unnaturally. "Bankai."
He held the sword horizontally, the blade glowing with spiritual pressure.
"Kamishini no Yari (God-Killing Spear)."
[Inside the Grimoire Heart Airship]
Alerted by Meredy's sensory link, the guild members crowded the bridge, looking out the reinforced glass windows. Fairy Tail's holy land, Tenrou Island, was visible in the distance.
"Huh? There's someone there," Rustyrose noted, adjusting his glasses. "Floating in the sky without wings? How poetic."
"Is that... Ren?" Zancrow squinted, black flames licking his lips.
Just as everyone was wondering who the silver-haired obstruction was, Ren's hand moved.
It wasn't a swing. It was barely a twitch.
Swish—!
There was no sound at first. Just a flash of white light that bisected the horizon.
Then, the sound caught up—a sonic boom that shattered the clouds.
CRACK—!
The massive airship shuddered violently. The floor beneath the Seven Kin buckled.
Pfft—!
Before anyone could scream, the entire front section of the airship began to slide apart. The vessel had been cleaved cleanly into two halves, right down the middle, from the figurehead to the engine room.
"This is bad! The airship has been split in two!!" Kain Hikaru screamed, grabbing onto a railing as the ship tilted.
"Ultear!!"
Hades sat on his throne, unmoving, but his voice boomed with authority.
"I'm on it, Master!"
Ultear Milkovich stepped forward, her crystal orb glowing with brilliant light.
"Arc of Time: Restore!"
She thrust her hands forward. The wreckage of the airship paused in mid-fall. Gears reversed their spin. Wood splinters flew back into place. Metal fused. In seconds, the massive vessel rewound its state to before the damage occurred. The Arc of Time allowed one to arbitrarily manipulate the time of inorganic objects; for Ultear, fixing a broken ship was child's play.
"Haa..." Ultear panted slightly. Reversing damage on such a massive scale consumed a chunk of mana.
"My, my," a drawling voice echoed from outside, amplified by magic. "That was a quick recovery. You fixed my toy so fast."
Ren stood in the air, his blade still extended miles long, piercing through the now-restored ship. With a casual flick of his wrist, he slashed sideways.
The blade, which was supposed to be a solid object, moved with the fluidity of light.
Swish—!
The airship was split into two halves once more, this time horizontally.
"Damn it!" Hades growled, standing up from his throne. "He's mocking us!"
"Restore it again!"
Ultear gritted her teeth. "Arc of Time!"
The ship reassembled itself again, groaning under the magical stress.
"Magic Cannon: Jupiter! Fire!!" Hades roared. "Blast him out of the sky!"
The mouth of the ship's figurehead opened, revealing a massive cannon barrel. Dark energy gathered, swirling into a sphere of destruction.
BOOM!
A beam of pure magical energy, capable of leveling a mountain, shot towards Ren.
Ren didn't dodge. He just smiled that fox-like smile.
"Too slow."
He swung his long blade. The Kamishini no Yari moved at 500 times the speed of sound. It intercepted the Jupiter beam, slicing through the energy itself. The beam was bisected, diverting past Ren and crashing into the ocean and the side of the island.
Boom! Boom!
The diverted blast struck the rocky cliffs of Tenrou Island, causing a massive explosion that shook the ground.
[Tenrou Island]
"An explosion!!"
"What is going on?! Is the exam over?"
The commotion drew the attention of everyone on the island. Natsu, Gray, Erza—all stopped their trials, looking toward the coast.
Makarov Dreyar, who had been waiting at the finish line, felt the disturbance instantly. His face turned pale.
"Such powerful magic!" Makarov whispered. "This isn't just an exam mishap."
He sensed a large amount of malicious magic power gathering near the island. Several streams were extremely potent, rivaling his own.
"Such immense magic power... it's an invader!!" Makarov's eyes hardened. "And they are attacking the Holy Land!"
He turned into a giant and rushed towards the coast.
[The Sky]
Ren swung his blade again, aiming to turn the airship into confetti.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A metallic sound rang out. A black, magical chain suddenly appeared from the deck of the airship, wrapping around Ren's extended Zanpakuto and halting its momentum.
Following the chain, an old man wearing a horned helmet and a black eye patch over his right eye levitated above the airship. His cape billowed in the wind, and his single eye glowed with ancient power.
"Brat, you are too insolent!" Hades boomed. "Attacking without even announcing yourself—didn't your elders teach you anything about manners?"
Ren tilted his head, his silver hair shifting.
"Pfft!"
Ren couldn't help but laugh out loud, a mocking sound. "Didn't I already greet you earlier? Through the crystal ball? Or are your ears getting old, Grandpa?"
"Earlier? You are Ren!"
Hades narrowed his eyes. The voice matched, but the appearance was completely different. 'Take Over Magic...' Hades realized. 'So this is the brat who defeated Jose.'
"Ren!!"
A roar of pure, unadulterated hatred erupted from the deck of the airship. A figure shrouded in dark purple aura shot into the sky like a rocket.
"You damn brat! It's you!"
Jose Porla hovered beside Hades. His face was twisted, veins bulging on his forehead. Murderous intent flashed in his eyes as he stared intently at Ren.
"Huh? Isn't that Chairman Jose?!" Ren feigned surprise, widening his slit eyes just a fraction. "Long time no see! Wow, you look terrible. Why did you join a Dark Guild? Did the retirement home kick you out?"
Ren was genuinely surprised this time. In the original timeline, Jose faded into obscurity after Phantom Lord's disbandment. But here, driven by humiliation, he had joined Grimoire Heart.
Jose snarled, his magic flaring. "You damn brat! Of course I joined Grimoire Heart to kill you! I exist only to eradicate Fairy Tail and wipe that smirk off your face!"
"I see," Ren nodded sympathetically. "Obsession is ugly, you know."
Jose turned to Hades. "Chairman Hades, leave this guy to me. I need to take his head personally."
"Since you say so," Hades replied coolly, releasing his chain from Ren's blade. "Then this fellow is yours. Don't disappoint me."
Hades hadn't even finished speaking when Ren moved again.
The long sword, still extended, slashed down toward the airship's flank.
Crack—!
The airship's starboard engine was directly cleaved off, sending debris raining down into the ocean.
"Uwah!"
"Starboard damage! We're losing altitude!"
Ultear screamed in frustration, using the Arc of Time again. "Stop breaking it!"
Hades glared at Ren, his patience snapping. "Brat! What are you doing?! Your opponent is Jose!"
"Doing what? Nothing much," Ren shrugged, retracting his blade instantly. It shrank back to the size of a dagger—a wakizashi—in his hand. "Our guild members are currently undergoing the important S-Class Trial down there. Naturally, I don't want you disturbing them with your noisy ship."
Hades was stunned for a moment, then his lips curled into a sinister grin. "Brat, do you intend to take on our entire guild by yourself while protecting the island?"
"Why not?"
Ren casually spread his hands. The short blade in his palm glinted in the sunlight.
"When did he do that?!" Zancrow gasped from the deck. "His sword... it shrank so fast I didn't see it move!"
"Brat! You are quite arrogant!" Hades laughed, his magic pressure causing the air to vibrate. "I don't dislike arrogant brats, but I feel it necessary to teach you that arrogance often comes with a heavy price. You are facing the abyss."
"Stop babbling!" Ren interrupted, his tone sharp. "You weren't planning on letting us go, and conveniently, I wasn't planning on letting you go either. Since we both feel this way, let's just fight—to decide both victory and death."
Ren raised his short sword, pointing the tip directly at Hades's chest.
"Buto (Dance)."
He whispered the command.
Whoosh----!
It happened in less than a blink. The Zanpakuto in Ren's hand didn't just extend; it vanished.
It instantly transformed into a beam of white death, shooting toward Hades at Mach 500.
Hades widened his eye. His sensory magic screamed at him. He had seen fast magic before, but this was physical speed that broke the laws of physics.
He twisted his body sideways in a desperate dodge.
Swish!
The blade grazed his helmet. The horn was sheared off cleanly, and the helmet clattered to the deck of the airship. A thin line of blood appeared on Hades's cheek.
"You damn brat! Die!"
"Shade Nebula!"
Jose had already rushed forward, launching his signature magic. A swirling vortex of dark ghosts spiraled toward Ren, screaming with the souls of the damned.
"Shunpo (Flash Step)!"
Ren's figure vanished instantly, reappearing ten meters to the left. The dark ghosts struck empty air.
Ren pointed his blade at Jose this time.
"Buto: Renjin (Dance: Serial Blade)."
Pop-pop-pop-pop!
The blade extended and retracted dozens of times in a second, creating a wall of piercing strikes that looked like a laser grid.
"What speed?!"
Jose's eyes widened. He summoned his Shade soldiers to form a shield, but the blade punctured through them as if they were paper. He was forced to dodge frantically, dancing in the air to avoid being turned into Swiss cheese.
"Dark Chain!"
Hades recovered from the initial shock. He released a magical chain from his palm, the links imbued with Amaterasu magic formulas. The chain moved with the speed of a snake, aiming to pierce Ren's shoulder blades and seal his movement.
Ren frowned slightly. He stopped his assault on Jose and swung his blade backward.
Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew as the God-Killing Spear deflected Hades's magical chain. The force of the impact sent shockwaves rippling through the sky.
[Akarin Note:
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