Chapter 306 – The Sin of Pride
[He's transformed again!! This is Ren's fourth transformation since the Grand Magic Games began!!]
[Who knows how many forms Ren still has! Each one seems to possess extraordinary power. Mr. Yajima, do you know what kind of magic this is?]
"Mm… I do. Ren's magic is Take Over."
[Take Over? Like Mirajane and Elfman use?]
"Exactly. Mirajane's is Demon Soul—she takes over demons. Elfman's is Beast Soul. Ren's would be Heroic Soul. He summons heroes from another world and then takes over their powers. It's a bit like a fusion of Celestial Spirit Magic and Take Over."
[Another world? So the people Ren transforms into actually exist?]
Yajima nodded. "In theory, yes."
[I see! I wonder what kind of power he'll show this time!]
Everyone in the stands turned their eyes to Ren.
Makarov asked Mira, "Mira, what abilities does this form of his have?"
"I… I don't know. Ren never shows his transformations, and he keeps coming up with new ones. I haven't seen any of these before."
Mira shook her head. Ren had always been secretive, and she respected that, never prying.
"No matter what form you take, it's useless."
Minerva still felt victory was hers. Whatever Ren became, one thing never changed: magic power.
She stared intensely at the towering Mage standing amidst the ruined arena. Her analytical mind rapidly calculated the immense stress his body had to be under. For a Mage, magic is life force; it is the very foundation of their existence.
Attack needs it; defense needs it. Usually, the stronger the magic, the stronger the Mage.
Yet magic is finite. Every spell cast chips away at a wizard's reserves, draining the ethernano from their blood. While a Magic Origin keeps producing it naturally, it's like a pool with only one inlet pipe—refilling takes time and absolute concentration.
After fighting her, Kagura, and Jura in such rapid succession, Ren must have burned through a huge amount of magical energy. Using multiple high-level Take Over forms back-to-back was notoriously taxing on the human body. How much longer could he truly last?
Minerva smirked, confident in her tactical assessment. She believed he was simply putting up a brave front to intimidate them.
However, the temperature in the Domus Flau suddenly began to rise at an alarming rate. The ambient magic particles in the air seemed to ignite, shimmering like a mirage over a desert highway.
Ren's physical stature was changing drastically. His muscles bulged and expanded to absurd, terrifying proportions, tearing the fabric of his upper garments to shreds. A golden, suffocating aura radiated from his skin, carrying the oppressive heat of the midday sun.
At that moment, Ren slowly raised his arm and spread the fingers of his left hand.
"What are you doing?"
Minerva and everyone else stared, utterly puzzled by the gesture. It didn't look like a martial arts stance, nor did it resemble the preparation for an attack.
"Five minutes. I'll give you exactly five."
Ren's voice had deepened into a booming, resonant baritone that echoed across the entire stadium. For five minutes, you can attack however you like. I won't retaliate, and I certainly won't dodge."
He stood tall, looking down at the five strongest members of Sabertooth as if they were nothing more than pebbles on the road. The sheer heat radiating from his body made the ground beneath his feet crack and dry out.
"When the time's up, I'll end this. No—'end the fight' is the wrong phrase."
Ren corrected himself with a dismissive wave of his hand. "A fight is a contest between equals. Against you lot, it's just a game. Yes—when the time's up, I'll end the game."
"What did you say?!"
The five Sabertooth Mages' faces darkened simultaneously; Ren had utterly belittled them. To be looked down upon by a single Fairy Tail wizard was an unforgivable insult to the reigning number one guild in Fiore.
Rufus adjusted his feathered hat, his usually calm demeanor replaced by visible irritation. Orga ground his teeth so hard that sparks of black lightning flickered from his jaw.
[Ren… has declared victory!!] Chapati Lola screamed into the lacrima microphone, practically jumping out of his seat.
[Yet he's letting all five Sabertooth Mages attack freely for five minutes—isn't that far too reckless!!]
"Ren, you're insufferably arrogant!"
Minerva said coldly, her spatial magic warping violently around her fists. She had never been so thoroughly disrespected in her entire life.
"Arrogant? Where? I'm simply telling the truth."
Ren looked down at her, his golden eyes filled with an absolute, unshakable pity. "You're too weak—so weak I can barely muster any interest in this bout."
He sighed deeply, as if simply speaking to them was a chore. "I've already stooped to playing with you. Instead of being grateful for my charity, you call me arrogant? I truly can't understand it."
Ren, now fully immersed in Escanor's form, looked genuinely puzzled, as if that was exactly what he believed to be an undeniable fact of the universe.
[Akarin's Note: Ren is using the Take Over of Escanor, the Lion's Sin of Pride. His power, Sunshine, peaks at noon, making him absurdly strong, radiating intense heat, and possessing infinite, polite arrogance.]
"…"
The audience and even the Fairy Tail members in the stands were completely stunned. The entire stadium descended into a pin-drop silence, overwhelmed by the sheer audacity of his words.
Natsu's jaw dropped, while Gray nearly dropped the ice he had been unconsciously forming in his palm. Even comrades from the same guild thought Ren's pride was entirely off the charts.
"No… this doesn't seem like Ren's personality at all!"
Jet was dumbfounded, gripping the balcony railing tightly. He had known Ren as a relatively calm and calculated fighter, not an egomaniac.
Mira smiled gently, bringing a hand to her cheek. "I know a bit about this. After each transformation, Ren is influenced by the original character's personality."
She looked fondly at the golden giant in the arena. "It's the same for anyone using Take Over. Just like how my Satan Soul makes me a bit more aggressive, Ren's just happens to pick very… distinct people."
Down in the arena, Ren stretched his massive, sun-bathed muscles.
"Come on! Try to beat me! Er… wrong again—you can't possibly beat me, so that option simply doesn't exist." He let out a hearty, booming laugh. "Then—let's play!!"
"Bastard!! I can't take this guy anymore!"
"Take this!!"
"120-mm Black Lightning Cannon!!"
The hot-tempered Orga snapped first; the transformed wizard was too arrogant, oozing a sickening pride that practically begged to be punched. Orga couldn't stand being treated like a helpless child.
He channeled his God Slayer magic, drawing upon the destructive, dark ethernano within his core. The air around him violently crackled as dense, pitch-black electricity tore up the arena floor, shattering the remaining cobblestones.
A massive, condensed sphere of black lightning formed in Orga's palms. He thrust his arms forward, releasing the built-up energy in a blinding, apocalyptic beam of dark electricity.
Ren neither dodged nor even braced for the impact. He simply stood there, his chest puffed out majestically, basking in the ambient sunlight as if enjoying a warm summer breeze.
Boom———!!
The black lightning obliterated everything in its path, crackling with terrifying, destructive force. The sheer kinetic impact of the God Slayer magic sent massive shockwaves rippling into the spectator stands, forcing the audience to cover their faces.
"Hmph! Still so cocky now?"
Orga smirked, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. As a God Slayer of Lightning, he had utter faith in his black bolt; it was a magic designed to slay deities, let alone human wizards.
"Mm… yeah! This smoke's nasty, makes it hard to speak."
Ren's calm, booming voice came through the thick haze of destruction. As the dark smoke slowly cleared, the towering golden figure stood completely unscathed.
There wasn't a single scratch on his muscular physique. His skin hadn't even been singed by the divine lightning.
Orga's pupils shrank into pinpricks of sheer terror. His full-force, ultimate spell had done absolutely nothing. It was like throwing a pebble at a mountain.
[Unharmed!! Ren took Orga's black lightning without a single scratch!!] Chapati Lola's voice cracked with disbelief.
Boom———!
The crowd gasped collectively, the sound echoing like a thunderclap. Orga's black lightning was famed across Fiore for its lethality, yet Ren had shrugged it off as if it were a mild annoyance.
Ren looked down disdainfully, brushing some invisible dust from his bare, muscular shoulder. "Hurry up. When time's up, I'll end this boring game."
Minerva's face darkened into a mask of pure, unadulterated rage. Her pride as the young miss of Sabertooth was entirely shattered.
"If you're asking for death, don't blame us! Everyone—full power!! Wipe him out right now!"
Sting and Rogue immediately responded to the command, their magical auras exploding outward. Pushed to their absolute limits, the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth immediately activated Dragon Force.
Radiant white light and pitch-black shadows roared to life, violently swirling around the two Dragon Slayers. Intricate, draconic scales materialized across their skin, and their magical pressure multiplied exponentially.
"Sorry—I have to rescue Lector!" Sting shouted, his eyes burning with desperate determination.
"Holy White Judgment!!"
Sting leaped into the air, clapping his hands together to fire a massive, blinding white shockwave. A glowing white stigma suddenly appeared directly on Ren's abdomen, an ancient spell designed to completely seal a target's physical movements.
Ren recognized the spell instantly from watching Sting's previous fight with Natsu. It was a powerful binding technique that paralyzed the victim's motor functions.
Yet, the golden giant didn't even attempt to break it. He just looked at the glowing mark with mild amusement.
"Pointless. I told you I'm not dodging; there is absolutely no need for such petty tricks."
"Shadow Dragon's Slash!!"
Seizing the opening created by Sting's binding spell, Rogue melted seamlessly into the ground. He traveled at blinding speeds through the shadows, reappearing directly behind Ren's massive back. Turning his shadow magic into a razor-sharp, ethereal blade, he swung with all his might.
Thud!
The strike landed squarely on Ren's back—he never budged.
"What?!"
Rogue was shocked; his attack hadn't inflicted the slightest damage.
Ren glanced back with a dazzling smile. "You can use more force—no worries, I can take it."
[Akarin Note:
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