Chapter 312: Future Rogue
"And let me remind you, what you're doing doesn't count as true time travel. There is an unchangeable law of space-time, and that is the law of irreversibility."
"The space-time we are in is Point A, while the node of your original space-time is Point A1. Your future is B1. You simply traveled from Point B1 to Point A. Nothing you do will change the history of your own world."
Ren gave Future Rogue a basic lesson in common sense.
The Knight Captain, Arcadios, shook violently upon hearing this fundamental truth. He fell to his knees, the heavy metal of his armor clanking against the shattered stone of the Mercurius Palace courtyard.
He had dedicated years of his life to the Eclipse Project, sacrificing his honor and risking execution for this very moment. He had originally planned to use the Eclipse Gate to travel back 400 years into the distant past.
His grand ambition was to safely eliminate the Black Wizard Zeref and the Black Dragon Acnologia before they could grow powerful, thereby changing history.
But Ren's cold, analytical words completely negated that desperate plan. History was already fundamentally unchangeable. What was changed in the past would only create an alternate timeline, meaning true history could never be overwritten.
Future Rogue let out a light, mocking chuckle at Ren's words. His half-white, half-black hair swayed wildly in the harsh, sulfurous wind generated by the giant beasts standing behind him.
"History? Who cares about history? I don't care about those useless things at all." Future Rogue sneered, his voice echoing with a dark, unnatural resonance. "What I am about to create is history."
He looked down at the Royal Guards and the Fairy Tail mages with eyes utterly devoid of humanity. The shadows around his feet seemed to writhe and pulse with his malicious intent.
"So what if this isn't my original timeline? The world I was in has already been completely destroyed." Future Rogue spread his arms wide, embracing the chaotic magical storms tearing through Crocus. "I simply want to rule this world."
Future Rogue spread his arms and shouted loudly. The sheer volume of his declaration made the surviving soldiers tremble in absolute despair.
"Uh... Rule the world? With just these 7 Dragons?" Ren asked, crossing his arms casually. He looked genuinely unimpressed by the apocalyptic display unfolding before him. "It's a bit insufficient!"
Ren said this indifferently, speaking as if he were evaluating a poorly planned business venture rather than an army of legendary monsters.
"Insufficient?!" Future Rogue snapped, his face instantly twisting into a hideous, offended scowl. "That's because you don't understand the absolute power of Dragons at all."
He pointed an accusing, shadow-clad finger at Ren. The ambient ethernano in the air grew heavy, suffocating the weaker mages nearby.
"7 years from now, in my original world, Acnologia—just one single Dragon—ruled the entire world." Future Rogue's voice shook slightly at the horrific memory. "Mages and guilds capable of rivaling him simply didn't exist; everyone lived in suffocating fear every single day."
The mere mention of the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse made the atmosphere freeze. It was a name synonymous with total, inevitable annihilation.
"I have 7 true Dragons now. Statistically speaking, that is more than enough raw destructive power to conquer a continent." Future Rogue's face was written with pure arrogance and smugness. "Naturally, I can easily rule this world. Once I defeat Acnologia with this army, I will rightfully be the King of Dragons."
Ren just sighed and shook his head, looking at the time traveler with genuine pity. He observed the 7 massive beasts roaring in the sky, finding their magical reserves entirely lacking for world domination.
"It really is insufficient. While Dragons are considered extinct legends here on the Ishgar Continent, the reality of this world is much larger." Ren spoke with the calm authority of a scholar. "There are still quite a few Dragons remaining on the Guiltina Continent across the northern sea."
[Akarin's Note: Guiltina is the northern continent introduced in the Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest sequel. It is home to the legendary Five Dragon Gods, whose power rivals Acnologia himself.]
"Among them are the Dragon Gods, who boldly claim they can contend with Acnologia on equal footing." Ren smiled faintly, completely shattering the villain's grand illusion. "So, 7 ordinary Dragons alone are simply not enough to rule anything."
"What?!" Future Rogue's eyes widened in genuine, unadulterated shock. He had spent his entire ruined life in Ishgar and had not expected that there would be surviving Dragons on the Guiltina Continent.
His flawless master plan for global domination suddenly had a massive, continent-sized blind spot. He gritted his teeth, his shadow magic flaring erratically.
However, a twisted, greedy smile soon appeared on Future Rogue's face. The momentary shock rapidly morphed into a sickening display of boundless ambition.
"That's even better then. I originally thought 7 Dragons were a bit few for a global empire." He licked his lips, his gaze turning feverish and wild. "Since Dragons remain on the Guiltina Continent, I'll go there afterward and dominate even more Dragons with my magic."
His shadow magic surged outward, turning the royal courtyard into a localized sea of darkness.
"But before that, I'm going to eliminate you all first!!" Rogue declared, aiming his concentrated killing intent squarely at Ren.
Ren asked with a look of genuine confusion, tilting his head slightly. "Why? We don't seem to have any direct conflict of interest."
He gestured casually to the massive beasts roaring in the smoke-filled sky above them.
"You've got your Dragons, which is a huge harvest for a single trip. Why move against us?" Ren reasoned logically. "Wouldn't it be best to just leave quietly and build your empire elsewhere?"
"Why? There is no why!" Future Rogue screamed, his composure finally shattering completely. "I just want you people to have a good taste of the absolute terror of Dragons!!"
The shadows beneath Rogue's feet spiked upwards like jagged, ethereal spears. His deep trauma from the ruined future was violently bleeding into his current actions.
"In my original world, I had to live every single day in agonizing fear. I watched everything burn while hiding like a rat." He glared fiercely at the prosperous royal capital of Crocus. "Why should you people get to live in peace and prosperity?! It's so unfair!"
His voice cracked with a toxic mixture of immense sorrow and burning hatred.
"At the very least, I'll make you feel the taste of despair and the agonizing pain of death." Future Rogue's expression became entirely distorted, resembling a demon more than a human. He shouted with total, unrestrained madness.
Ren observed the broken man before him, seeing no logic left in his eyes. There was only a wild animal lashing out blindly at the world.
"It looks like you've been driven completely insane by your timeline." Ren stated coldly.
"That's right! I'm crazy! I've been crazy for a long, long time!" Future Rogue laughed hysterically, clutching his face with a trembling hand. "But so what? It's far better for this world to be ruled by a madman than by someone who only knows mindless destruction."
He spread his arms, presenting himself to the terrified Royal Guards as a dark, twisted messiah.
"You should even thank me. Thank me for saving this beautiful world from the merciless hands of Acnologia."
"Sorry to burst your bubble," Ren replied, his tone dripping with heavy sarcasm. "My world doesn't need you to save it at all. And I really don't think there's anything to be thankful for toward a psychotic time traveler who wants my life."
Future Rogue's eyes narrowed into dangerous, glowing red slits. His fleeting patience had finally evaporated into the ash-filled wind.
"Hmph! In that case, then go die!" Rogue pointed a trembling finger directly at Ren. "Zirconis! Kill him! And while you're at it, kill everyone in this palace. Leave no survivors."
He gave the brutal order to the giant Dragon with gleaming emerald-colored scales standing right beside him.
Zirconis, the legendary Jade Dragon, let out a deafening roar that shattered the remaining glass of the nearby palace windows. His massive wings kicked up a miniature hurricane, blowing away several armed soldiers.
"Hahahahaha!! These tiny humans seem quite delicious!!" Zirconis boomed, his deep voice shaking the very bedrock of the capital city.
The great beast licked his scaly chops, his reptilian eyes locking onto the Fairy Tail mages and the helpless Royal Guards below.
"Ah hahahaha!! Let this old man see which pathetic fellow to start eating first!" Zirconis laughed cruelly, lowering his massive, horned head toward the courtyard.
He sniffed the air loudly, his predatory gaze landing directly on Ren, who was standing completely relaxed amidst the chaos.
"It's decided! Starting with you, the mouthy brat..."
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red!"
Ren didn't even flinch at the approaching maw of the legendary beast. He simply raised his right hand, his index and middle fingers extending gracefully as he channeled his immense magical reserves.
Reversing the flow of his cursed energy, the space at the tip of his fingers distorted violently. A blindingly bright, condensed Crimson Sphere formed in an absolute instant.
It hummed with terrifying, localized repulsive force, warping the very air and light around it. Ren raised his palm and casually launched the Crimson Sphere directly at Zirconis's massive face.
The red Crimson Sphere flew like a laser beam from Ren's palm. It crossed the distance in a fraction of a second, carrying the kinetic energy of a falling meteor.
It rapidly struck Zirconis's hardened emerald body right beneath his massive chin.
"Agh!!"
Zirconis let out a miserable, bewildered scream. The absolute repulsive force exploded outward upon contact, completely defying the laws of mass and physics.
The Jade Dragon's massive, multi-ton body was physically lifted off the ground. He was sent flying backward violently, crashing through several ancient stone pillars of the royal courtyard.
"What?!"
Future Rogue's expression changed drastically. He stumbled back, shielding his eyes from the massive cloud of dust kicked up by the falling dragon.
He hadn't expected Zirconis, an ancient and proud Dragon, to be knocked away so easily by Ren. The sheer physical strength required to toss a dragon like a ragdoll was unthinkable for any normal human mage.
Rogue knew Ren's strength was very formidable. The combat power the Fairy Tail mage had shown earlier today in the Grand Magic Games arena was already terrifying enough to warp space.
Therefore, he deeply wanted to get rid of Ren right now. Without eliminating this unpredictable anomaly, who knew what level of power he would reach in the future?
This 'Ren' might even become a fatal threat to his absolute rule over the new world.
Whoosh!
A massive gust of wind cleared the dust. Zirconis aggressively spread his emerald wings and quickly flew back to the courtyard, hovering ominously in the blood-red sky.
Zirconis looked down at Ren with a face full of unadulterated rage. The scales under his chin were slightly scuffed, which was a grave, unforgivable insult to his draconic pride.
"Bastard!! You bastard, that actually hurt!!" Zirconis roared, unleashing a dense wave of draconic magic pressure. "A mere human dares to strike me?! I'll eat you alive!!"
Zirconis opened his huge, cavernous mouth and violently bit downward toward Ren. This savage movement, much like that of a rabid wild beast, held a physical power that could not be underestimated.
More importantly, every physical strike of a dragon inherently contained pure Dragon Slayer Magic. It was an ancient energy designed specifically to rend flesh and shatter magical barriers with ease.
Swish!
Right before the massive, razor-sharp teeth could snap shut, Ren's figure instantly vanished from the spot. He utilized his spatial teleportation, leaving behind only a faint ripple in the air.
"This slippery bastard! Where did he go?!"
Zirconis snapped his jaws on empty air, looking around frantically. He couldn't see Ren's figure anywhere on the pulverized ground.
"Above you!"
Future Rogue couldn't help but shout a desperate warning from the sidelines. His shadow-enhanced senses had barely tracked the spatial displacement.
Zirconis immediately looked up toward the clouds. Just as he saw Ren hovering effortlessly against the sky, the magic gathered in Ren's hand reached its terrifying peak.
The Crimson Sphere in Ren's hand had already finished condensing, glowing with a menacing, bloody light that eclipsed the sun.
Boom—————!!
With a casual flick of his wrist, Ren fired the absolute repulsive force downward. The Crimson Sphere struck Zirconis's broad back with pinpoint accuracy.
"Aaaaagh!!"
Zirconis screamed in shock as the crushing weight of the repulsion hit him. He plummeted straight down from the sky like a shot bird, completely unable to fight against the physics-defying pressure.
Rumble———!!
The pristine palace buildings below were instantly crushed to rubble by Zirconis's immense weight. A massive cloud of dust and debris swallowed the royal courtyard, shaking the entire capital city of Crocus.
"Bastard!! It hurts so much!!"
Zirconis thrashed wildly within the ruins, his emerald scales scraping against shattered marble. "You damn human!! I will absolutely kill you!!"
Zirconis was in some genuine pain from being hit below. Although the opponent's spatial magic hadn't caused any substantial, life-threatening damage to his tough scales, the kinetic impact still hurt a lot.
Most importantly, a mere human had actually caused physical pain to a proud member of the great Dragon race like himself. It was a complete humiliation in front of the other dragons and his new master.
To Zirconis, it was simply unforgivable. This mortal sin could only be repaid with the opponent's immediate and gruesome death.
"As expected! Dragons are such troublesome creatures with absurdly thick skin!"
Ren sighed, slowly floating down to land on a remaining, unbroken pillar. He suddenly felt a bit of a headache coming on, realizing that blunt force trauma wouldn't be enough to secure a kill.
"However, the idea of Dragon Slaying sounds quite interesting."
A sharp, eager glint appeared in Ren's eyes. Despite the headache, Ren quite liked having a highly durable opponent that allowed him to use his magic without restraint.
In the final match of the Grand Magic Games earlier that day, he hadn't used his full strength at all. He had been constantly holding back, fearing he might accidentally kill those Sabertooth guys with a stray attack.
Not being able to fight to his heart's content had left him feeling a bit suppressed and restless. After all, he had worked incredibly hard to train his system abilities for three entire months.
It would be a massive waste not to show off the true depths of his strength. These giant, magically resistant Dragons were perfectly high-quality punching bags for him to test his limits.
"Dragon Slaying? Ren, do you know what you're saying? Don't think you can be proud just because you knocked Zirconis away. Human magic cannot harm giant Dragons at all."
[Akarin Note:
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