Chapter 204: Just Charge In
"Everyone!!"
Lucy Ashley—no, this was the Earth Land Lucy Heartfilia—also noticed Ren and the others standing amidst the chaotic street. Her face lit up with relief, tears pricking the corners of her eyes as she immediately ran over happily.
"I missed you guys so much~~~!"
She threw her arms out, ready to embrace her familiar guildmates in this strange, hostile world. However, the touching reunion was cut short before it could even begin.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The heavy, rhythmic sound of armored boots marching in unison echoed against the cobblestone streets. A large detachment of the Edolas Royal Army, having heard the commotion caused by the earlier scuffles, rushed towards the intersection. Their armor glinted under the strange light of the Edolas sky, and they brandished Magic Spears that hummed with artificial magical energy.
"There they are! The Earth Landers!"
"Don't even think about running—!"
"Capture them—! By order of the King!"
These troops immediately charged towards the group, their faces twisted with aggression. The fierce Aura radiating from their regiment was palpable; these weren't standard city guards, but trained soldiers of the Royal Capital.
Ren stepped forward, placing himself between his guildmates and the oncoming army. He looked at the charging soldiers with an expression of utter boredom, his hands casually sliding out of his pockets.
He raised his right palm, fingers curled slightly.
"Don't bunch up," Ren murmured, his voice low but carrying a terrifying weight. "It makes you an easy target."
Magic power, dense and terrifying, coalesced at the tip of his finger. It wasn't the natural atmospheric magic of Edolas, but the internal, overwhelming power of a monster from another world.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red."
A small, unstable sphere of crimson energy formed in Ren's palm. It was no larger than a golf ball, yet the air around it screamed as space itself began to distort.
Ren flicked his wrist.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!!
The result was cataclysmic. A repulsive force, violent and absolute, erupted from the red sphere. It wasn't an explosion of heat, but a shockwave of pure rejection.
"Wuaaahhhh!!!!"
"Gaaahhh!!"
Screams tore through the air as the entire vanguard of the Royal Army was blasted backward. Armor crumpled like tin foil. Bodies were tossed into the air like ragdolls, smashing through the stone facades of nearby buildings. The repulsive force cleared the entire street in a heartbeat, carving a massive, smoking ravine into the ground where the soldiers had stood just seconds ago.
Silence reigned for a moment, broken only by the groans of the defeated soldiers and the settling dust.
Natsu, completely ignoring the devastation Ren had just caused, turned to the blonde celestial mage with wide eyes.
"Lucy, why are you here? Where is everyone from the Guild?!" Natsu asked excitedly, grabbing her shoulders.
"Everyone from the Guild? I don't know!" Lucy shook her head frantically. "I was taking a bath when the Anima hit! I was taken to another dimension by Horologium before the city disappeared. When I came to, I appeared in a desolate wilderness."
She shuddered at the memory. "It was empty and scary. Then Mystogan showed up! He asked me a bunch of questions about who I was, and once he confirmed I was me, he basically threw me into this world."
"Mystogan?! Who exactly is that guy?"
Natsu frowned, crossing his arms. The name sparked a mix of curiosity and annoyance. Mystogan had always been the most enigmatic member of Fairy Tail, never showing his face, always putting everyone to sleep with his Sleep Magic whenever he picked up a quest. Natsu had challenged him countless times in his head but had never even seen the guy's face clearly.
Happy, hovering in the air, tilted his head and looked at Lucy. "Lucy, why can you use magic in this world too? Natsu and Wendy can't use any!"
"Huh?" Lucy blinked, looking at her hands. "Is that strange? Can't Ren use magic too? He just blew up a street!"
Natsu scoffed, pointing a thumb at the black-haired mage. "Ren is different. He's a monster. You can't compare humans to him."
Lucy looked at Ren, then back at the destruction. "Hmm... I guess that's true."
"Hey, hey! I'm still right here," Ren said disgruntledly, dusting off his jacket. "I am a perfectly normal human being. Don't lump me in with actual monsters."
"Could it be..." Natsu muttered, a gear turning in his brain.
"Could it be what?!"
Natsu and Wendy looked at Lucy expectantly, their eyes sparkling with hope. Using magic in Earth Land was as natural as breathing, but here in Edolas, the absence of Ethernano in the atmosphere made them feel like fish out of water. They felt heavy, sluggish, and helpless. Without magic, they couldn't fight the Royal Army, let alone save the guild.
"Could it be that I am the legendary Hero?!" Lucy gasped, striking a dramatic pose.
"No way!" Natsu shouted instantly.
"Impossible!" Happy added without hesitation.
"Don't rain on my parade so quickly!" Lucy stomped her foot.
Ren shook his head, amused. "Mystogan must have given you something. He knows the physics of this world better than anyone."
Lucy paused, tapping her chin. "Ah! I remember now! He gave me a strange pill to eat before sending me here. He said it would help me adapt. Is that why?!"
"Really?!"
Natsu and the others instantly perked up upon hearing Lucy's words.
"That's great!! If that's the case, as long as we find Mystogan and eat that thing, we can also use magic, and then we can rescue everyone!" Natsu pumped his fist, fire—metaphorical fire, for now—igniting in his eyes.
"Aye! We just need to find him!" Happy cheered.
Natsu and Wendy were both very excited, the gloom of their powerlessness lifting instantly.
Ren smiled and said, "I already told you, I alone am enough to save everyone. You guys can just sit back and watch."
"That's different!" Natsu retorted, his expression turning serious. "The King of Edolas forcefully absorbed our family and our city. He turned our home into a giant crystal! I definitely need to give him a good beating with my own fists!"
Wendy clenched her small hands into fists, her timid demeanor replaced by the courage of a Dragon Slayer. "That's right! For everyone in the Guild! I want to fight too! I can't just let Ren-san do everything."
"Me too!" Happy shouted.
"Suit yourselves. If you want to fight, I won't stop you," Ren shrugged. "Let's go. First, we head to the Royal Capital."
"How do we get there?" Lucy asked. "It's a five-day walk, apparently."
"Walk?" Ren smirked. "We don't walk."
He grabbed Natsu by the back of his vest with his left hand, tucked Lucy under his right arm like a sack of potatoes, and grabbed Wendy's hand with his right.
"Hold on tight."
Whoosh—!
The world blurred.
Ren continuously used Instant Movement.
This wasn't simple speed; it was spatial compression. His technique was positioned based on the farthest distance Ren could perceive. The Six Eyes—his unique ocular ability—granted him vision that transcended normal human limits. They could analyze magic formulas, see energy flows, and most importantly, penetrate obstacles. Even if forests, hills, or clouds obstructed the path, it didn't affect Ren's observation of the destination coordinates.
The maximum observation distance of the Six Eyes was effectively about ten kilometers. This meant Ren could traverse ten kilometers in a single blink of an eye.
Swish—!!
Swish—!!
They flickered across the landscape of Edolas. One moment they were in a mining town, the next they were atop a jagged peak, then hovering over a river of floating water.
On a bare mountain cliff overlooking a vast valley, Ren appeared, depositing his passengers.
"Hoo—!!"
Ren let out a long breath, adjusting his breathing rhythm.
Continuous long-distance Instant Movement while carrying three additional people consumed a significant amount of his magic power. In fact, chaining these long-distance teleports consumed even more magic power than his destructive attacks like Red or Blue.
If he didn't currently possess magic power rated as high as 6 Stars—a level that put him in the upper echelons of this world's power scaling—he really wouldn't be able to handle such reckless expenditure of mana.
"So this is Instant Movement?!" Lucy stumbled, feeling a bit dizzy. This was the first time she had experienced Ren's teleportation. It felt incredibly miraculous, like the world was being rewritten around them.
"So fast!!" Wendy gasped, holding her chest.
A journey that should have taken the group several days of arduous trekking, Ren actually completed in just a few minutes. That was too incredible.
"This is..."
"Could this be the Royal Capital?!"
"It's huge!!"
Everyone looked down from the cliff edge and gasped.
A massive city appeared before their eyes. It was breathtakingly distinct from Magnolia. The architecture was a mix of medieval stone and high-fantasy magic technology. But what stood out most was the sheer scale—it was roughly ten times the size of Magnolia Town.
Rivers flowed through the sky, defying gravity. massive floating islands hovered above the city, tethered by giant chains. The sight was incredibly stunning.
Natsu shouted excitedly, forgetting his motion sickness instantly. "This is great!! I didn't expect to arrive so quickly!!"
Lucy looked at the massive Royal Capital, her awe mixing with worry. "I wonder where everyone who was turned into magic crystal is right now? A city that big... it'll be hard to search."
"They are over there!"
Ren raised a hand and pointed directly at the largest Floating Island hovering ominously above the center of the Royal Capital.
When he arrived at the perimeter, his Six Eyes had already scanned the area. The influx of magic power was undeniable. He observed from afar a giant, condensed structure of high-density magical energy on that Floating Island.
Without a doubt, that massive Lacrima contained everyone who had been absorbed from Earth Land.
"There!!"
The few people were startled, squinting their eyes. They couldn't see the magic crystal from here, only the rocky bottom of the massive Floating Island casting a shadow over the castle.
Lucy was very surprised. "I didn't expect them to put everyone up so high! Since we've found them, it will be easy. Next, we just need to figure out how to restore everyone to normal!"
Happy asked, his tail twitching nervously, "What should we do? Sneak in?"
"Very simple! We just charge into the Royal Palace!"
Ren said calmly, pointing his finger at the Royal Palace—a sprawling fortress located in the center of the Royal Capital, directly beneath the floating island.
"Charge into the Royal Palace?!"
Lucy, Wendy, and Carla were all frightened by Ren's blunt declaration.
Their opponent was an entire Kingdom. They claimed to possess one hundred thousand Royal Army soldiers, airships, and beast-tamers, each equipped with dangerous Magic Weapons. An army like this was far stronger and more organized than the regular troops of the Fiore Kingdom back home.
Carla immediately objected, flying in front of Ren. "Charging into the Royal Palace is too reckless! We are outnumbered thousands to one! We can use other methods, maybe infiltrate through the sewers or..."
"No! I must charge into the Royal Palace."
Ren interrupted her, his voice dropping an octave.
"These guys absorbed the Guild and the city. They treat living people like fuel. They want to turn our friends, our family, into magic power to run their amusement parks and weapons."
Ren looked down at the city, his blue eyes glowing with a cold, terrifying light.
"These guys all deserve to die!"
A shocking, tangible killing intent flooded out from Ren. It was sharp enough to prick the skin.
Carla couldn't help but tremble when she saw the look in Ren's eyes. It was the look of a predator staring at prey.
From the very beginning when everyone was absorbed until just now, Ren had acted extremely calmly, almost indifferent, as if he didn't care about the matter at all. He had cracked jokes and acted aloof.
But only now did she realize that Ren was not some virtuous saint or someone easily bullied. He was the strongest Mage of the Fairy Tail Guild. He was the man who single-handedly defeated the Ten Wizard Saints' Jose Porla and annihilated the Oración Seis, one of the strongest Dark Guilds in history.
Ren's earlier statement about using the Thunder Lance to destroy the Edolas Royal Capital was definitely not a joke.
Perhaps he didn't intend to massacre the innocent civilians in the city streets, but looking at his face now, Carla knew one thing for certain: Ren likely had no intention of letting the King and the Royal Army of Edolas survive this day.
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