Chapter 242: I Haven't Even Warmed Up Yet
The members of Fairy Tail, scattered across the devastation of Tenrou Island, didn't know whether to cheer or tremble.
The ground beneath their feet had stopped shaking, and the oppressive gravity of Bluenote Stinger had vanished.
But in its place, a new, golden pressure filled the air—warm yet terrifyingly vast.
The shock Ren brought them had far exceeded simple relief; this was a strength beyond their dimension. It was as if a god had descended to walk among mortals.
"You brat! Go to hell!"
In the center of the battlefield, Jose Porla screamed, his voice cracking with desperation. He was the last of the vanguard standing before Master Hades, and his pride as a former Ten Wizard Saint had been shattered into dust.
He gathered all his remaining dark magic power into his hands. The air screamed as ghosts and shadows converged, forming a massive, unstable sphere of concentrated death emitting a blinding purple light.
"Jose, that guy..."
Makarov Dreyar, watching from the sidelines, was greatly surprised by Jose's magic. Clearly, Jose's strength had increased significantly since the Phantom Lord war; he had tapped into forbidden abysses of darkness.
"Die! Take everything with you!" Jose roared, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Dead Wave: Apocalypse!!"
Rumble—!!!
The giant purple sphere, pulsating with enough energy to level a city, charged directly towards Ren. It tore through the ground, disintegrating rocks and trees into nothingness, leaving a trail of absolute void in its wake.
"Ren, be careful!!" Makarov shouted, his heart leaping into his throat. He sensed that if this magic projectile exploded on impact, it could sink half of Tenrou Island into the ocean.
Ren stood still. He didn't dodge. He didn't weave signs. He didn't even raise a defensive barrier.
He simply watched the approaching annihilation with bored eyes, his golden chakra cloak flickering like flames in the wind.
In an instant, the giant purple sphere appeared before Ren, filling his vision with death.
Suddenly!
Ren's golden energy flared. The chakra materialized into the shape of a massive, translucent golden fox head around him.
The fox jaw opened wide.
Chomp.
Ren—or rather, the Kurama avatar surrounding him—bit directly into the huge purple sphere. With a gulp that shook the air, he swallowed the attack whole.
"What—?!"
"He... he actually ate that thing!!!"
Time seemed to freeze. Everyone who witnessed this scene—Makarov, the Grimoire Heart soldiers, even the distant Erza and Natsu who could sense the magic disappearing—was stunned.
Natsu Dragneel, watching from a cliffside, was dumbfounded. His eyes practically bugged out of his skull, and his jaw hit the dirt.
"That thing... must be hard to digest..." Natsu stammered, rubbing his own stomach instinctively. "I can eat fire, but that was pure death magic! That didn't look appetizing at all! Is he a Dragon Slayer too?!"
"No," Lucy whispered, trembling. "That's not Dragon Slayer magic. That's... something else entirely."
Would Ren explode? That was the question on everyone's mind.
Bang—!
Ren's body—the golden avatar—swelled up momentarily, glowing with an intense, blinding light as the purple energy struggled inside.
"Burp."
Ren smirked. The golden fox head opened its mouth again, aiming directly at the horrified Jose.
"Here, you can have it back. I don't like the taste."
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!
A beam of concentrated Tailed Beast energy, mixed with Jose's own magic, erupted from Ren's mouth. The violent energy instantly reached Jose, who stood paralyzed by fear. He had no time to dodge. He had no will left to dodge.
"Waaahhhhhhh!!"
Jose's body was engulfed in the energy impact.
The beam carved a trench through the forest, vaporizing everything behind Jose for a mile until it hit the ocean, sending a geyser of water shooting into the clouds.
After the light dissipated, silence returned.
Jose lay in the smoking crater. His clothes were gone, his body covered in burns and wounds, his eyes rolled back in his head. The former Wizard Saint was unconscious, defeated utterly and completely.
"What—?!"
"Even Vice-Chairman Jose..."
"How is that possible?!"
The remaining members of Grimoire Heart began to back away, their weapons trembling in their hands. Jose was one of the genuine Ten Wizard Saints. Bluenote was a monster who rivaled Gildarts. And yet, both were defeated in minutes.
How much time had passed? Five minutes? Ten?
This guy, Ren, was too terrifying.
"So strong!" Makarov wiped the sweat from his brow. He now truly felt the terrifying power of Ren. Such strength was too frightening. He had never seen anyone as strong as Ren in all his years. Even the Four Gods of Ishgar might not be able to compare with this golden monster.
Ren dissipated the giant fox head, leaving only the glowing golden cloak around his body. He turned his gaze to the last man standing.
"It's your turn now," Ren said calmly.
Hades stood amidst the wreckage of his guild's ambition. His face was unreadable behind his beard, but his right eyelid twitched continuously.
"Brat," Hades growled, his voice low and dangerous. "Don't think that defeating Bluenote and Jose allows you to show off in front of me. They were merely forceful children. I am completely different from them. I have touched the essence of magic. I can dance with the abyss."
Hades raised his hand, his fingers hooked like claws.
"Dark Chain!"
From the void behind him, dozens of black chains shot out. These weren't ordinary magical constructs; they were chains meant to bind the soul and seal magic power. They snaked through the air, aiming for Ren's limbs and neck.
Ren waved his hand casually, his movement faster than the eye could track.
"Chakra Claw."
The golden energy around his hand formed sharp claws.
Crack!
The Dark Chains released by Hades were directly cut off mid-air, shattering into particles of darkness.
"What?!"
Hades was surprised. Those chains could bind even immense magical beasts. He hadn't expected his magic to be so easily severed by a physical swipe of energy.
"So what?" Ren asked, tilting his head.
"What did you say?" Hades frowned.
"What if you can dance with magic?" Ren smirked, cracking his knuckles. "You'll still be rubbed into the ground by me. Your 'dance' is too slow."
"You brat... don't get too arrogant!!"
Ren's dismissive words ignited a spark of genuine rage in Hades, who had lived for over a hundred years as a master of arts. He slid his fingers in the air, tracing complex geometric patterns in milliseconds.
"Amaterasu: Formula 28!!"
Makarov immediately recognized the sigils appearing in the air. "Ren, dodge! That's the Amaterasu Bombardment!"
Normally, Amaterasu formulas required complex chanting and precise hand signs. But Hades could construct them instantly with gestures. This level of magic control was something even Makarov couldn't match.
Boom—!!!
A triple Talismanic Incantation Formation surrounded Ren from three sides. The space inside compressed and then detonated with a terrifying explosion of concussive force.
"Did he get him?" Rustyrose whispered, peering through the smoke.
Bang—!
A shockwave emanated from the center of the explosion, blowing the smoke away instantly.
Ren stood there, completely unharmed. The golden cloak rippled slightly, acting as an impenetrable armor.
Boom!!
Ren stomped his foot. The ground cracked. His body instantly rushed towards Hades, moving so fast that he became a golden streak of light.
"Shadow of Perpetual Darkness!"
Hades reacted on instinct, deploying his strongest defensive magic barrier. A wall of absolute darkness rose up.
Ren didn't stop. He didn't go around.
He clenched his fist, channeling the raw power of the Nine-Tails.
Crack—!!
The magic barrier shattered like glass under the impact. Ren's fist continued forward, burying itself deep into Hades' gut.
"Gwah!!"
Hades's eyes bulged. He vomited bile as his body folded around Ren's fist. He was sent flying backward, crashing through trees.
Ren, however, had no intention of letting Hades go. He flickered, disappearing and reappearing instantly behind the flying Hades.
"Too slow!"
Ren lifted his leg and kicked upwards, catching Hades under the chin.
"Waaahhhhh!!"
Hades' body shot directly into the air, launched hundreds of meters high.
Ren squatted slightly, the ground beneath him turning to powder. He leaped.
Whoosh—!
He instantly surpassed Hades in the air. He spun his body, clasping his hands together into a double sledgehammer.
"Down you go!"
He smashed his fists down onto Hades's chest.
"Ughhhhaaaahhh!!"
Whoosh—!
Hades fell like a meteor, wreathed in golden flames from the impact.
Boom—!!!
A huge crater was smashed into the ground as Hades impacted. The shockwave leveled the remaining trees in a hundred-meter radius.
Hades lay motionless in the center of the crater, his armor shattered.
"Ha... Chairman Hades..."
"No way..."
The members of Grimoire Heart were all terrified, their faces filled with horror. The invincible Chairman Hades, the master of the One Magic, had actually been defeated. Beaten like a ragdoll. What should they do now?
"Is it over?" Makarov whispered, daring to hope.
Rumble—!!
Suddenly, the ground shook violently. A pillar of purple and black magical power soared into the sky from the crater, piercing the clouds.
"This magical power!!" Erza fell to her knees, the pressure making it hard to breathe.
"So terrifying!!"
"How can it be so powerful!!"... The members of Fairy Tail felt this terrifying magical power, and their bodies couldn't stop trembling. This was evil incarnate. This magical power was too dreadful, even completely surpassing what Hades had shown before.
"How is that possible?!" Makarov's eyes widened in disbelief. "He was holding back this much?!"
"Chairman Hades!!"
The members of Grimoire Heart cheered as they saw a figure rising from the purple pillar.
Hades stood up. His clothes were torn, his helmet gone, revealing his white hair. But what drew everyone's attention was his face.
He had removed the black patch over his right eye.
The eye underneath was not human. It was red, with a yellow slit pupil, radiating a malice that felt like the bottom of hell.
"To force me to use the Devil's Eye... brat, you should be proud."
Hades's voice had changed. It was deeper, distorted. The atmosphere around him began to decay.
"The mistakes people make are ultimately regarded as 'experience,'" Hades lectured, walking slowly out of the crater, the air warping around him. "But there is no experience in true mistakes. Because this mistake you made... by choosing to be my enemy... has stripped away all your future. You have awakened the Abyss."
"Well then," Hades sneered, looking up at Ren hovering in the sky. "Isn't it time to end the warm-up?"
Ren floated down, his golden cloak glowing brightly against the purple darkness of Hades. He landed softly on a rock.
He looked at Hades, then smiled. It wasn't a smile of fear. It was a smile of pity.
"Sorry," Ren said lightly, crossing his arms. "I haven't even warmed up yet. If you want me to be serious, you at least need to be able to let me finish my stretches."
This wasn't bragging. It was a fact. Defeating Jose and Bluenote wasn't even considered a warm-up for him.
Kurama Mode—the Link Mode with the strongest Tailed Beast—was indeed terrifyingly strong. It was truly worthy of being the cheat ability given to the protagonist Naruto in the Late Stage of his story. Compared to that, Hades was just... a slightly tougher old man.
[Akarin Note:
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