Chapter 164: I Alone Am the Honored One
"Oh? You don't seem surprised by my appearance."
Laxus's voice was a low growl, the golden lightning arcing from his body with newfound intensity. The scales on his arms and face seemed to drink in the shadows of the ruined cathedral, and the air thrummed with the raw, primal power of a dragon. He was somewhat surprised that Ren, who had been so mockingly arrogant, didn't show any surprise at this, his secret trump card.
Ren's smile, visible even beneath the blindfold, only widened. "Surprised? Why would I be? My eyes are special, Laxus."
He tapped a finger against the side of his head. "From the first moment I saw you in the guild, I could already see the Lightning Dragon Slayer Lacrima embedded in your body. It's... very bright. Your father really went all out, didn't he? Trying to cure your frail body by turning you into this. It's a bit sad, really."
Ren's words were half-truths. He already knew from his past life's memories that Laxus had a Dragon Slayer Lacrima, and he even knew how it came to be—implanted by his father, Ivan, in a desperate attempt to make his son stronger.
However, he wasn't entirely lying; his Six Eyes did indeed see the foreign object embedded in Laxus's chest the moment he first saw him. He saw it as a dense, swirling knot of magic, separate from but integrated with Laxus's own, and he had recognized it immediately.
Laxus's roar of fury at the mention of his father and his past was lost in the crackle of his own power. After using the Dragon Slayer Magic, he felt his body filled with an overflowing, unstoppable strength. This immense power gave him supreme confidence.
"So you knew," Laxus snarled, "It doesn't matter! Knowing about it and surviving it are two different things! Come on! Let's start round two!"
Boom!!
Laxus stomped his foot, and the remaining flagstones beneath him exploded. His body, no longer just moving like lightning, but becoming a true bolt of draconic power, instantly shot in front of Ren.
"Lightning Dragon's Crushing Fist!!"
A fist, now scaled and clawed, densely covered with raging golden lightning, came crashing towards Ren's face. The very air warped around the punch.
Ren raised his palm, his expression still one of casual amusement. As Laxus's fist approached Ren's palm, its speed, which had broken the sound barrier, rapidly decreased. It entered the Limitless field, slowing from a meteor to a pebble, stopping a single inch from Ren's skin.
Ren lifted his leg and kicked Laxus in the stomach.
Rumble!
Laxus's feet slid across the ground, which cracked and shattered under the force of his resilience. He was pushed back a dozen meters, but he didn't fly. He dug his heels in, the Cursed Energy-infused kick doing little more than staggering him.
Despite being attacked by Ren, a fierce, manic grin appeared on Laxus's face.
Although he didn't break through Ren's defense just now, the fact that his Dragon Slayer-enhanced punch had forced Ren to raise his hand—to consciously defend and control his magic—proved that the opponent was now taking this seriously.
'I see it now,' Laxus thought, his mind racing as lightning sparked from his teeth. 'His magic isn't a simple wall. It's a filter, and it costs him power. Even if I don't hit his body right now, as long as I keep attacking, as long as I keep overwhelming him with this new power, his magic will definitely be greatly depleted!'
'Then, if that guy's magic power becomes insufficient, or if his concentration wavers for even a single, slight second... victory will be mine.'
"This guy... has become more resilient," Ren noted internally, his smile not wavering.
He also noticed that Laxus's attack, now charged with Dragon Slayer Magic, broke through the neutral barrier of his Limitless Cursed Technique much faster than before. This magic was raw, elemental, and aggressive. It didn't just try to pass through the Limitless; it tried to burn it.
'And he's become somewhat resilient,' Ren mused. 'My normal attacks, even imbued with Cursed Energy, had limited damage against him. This is much more fun.'
"It seems," Ren said aloud, stretching his neck from side to side, "I need to get a little more serious too."
Boom!!
Laxus, hearing this, roared and once again rushed quickly towards Ren.
Whoosh!
This time, Ren's body swiftly dodged to the side. After all, showing off by tanking a hit, while cool, consumed a lot of magic power. It was far more cost-effective to dodge when possible.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Blue!"
Ren, dodging, flicked his wrist and fired a swirling Blue Sphere at Laxus.
"Lightning Strike Spear!!"
Laxus, not slowing, waved his hand, releasing a bolt of concentrated lightning from his fingers.
Boom——!!
The Blue Sphere and the lightning spear collided, erupting in a violent explosion that tore a new hole in the cathedral wall.
At the same time, Laxus transformed into pure lightning, a streak of gold that bypassed the explosion and swiftly moved behind Ren. He swung his fist, his knuckles crackling, aiming for the back of Ren's head.
Ren, his Six Eyes seeing everything, quickly squatted, dodging Laxus's fist. The wind from the punch stirred his white hair. He then raised his leg, aiming a powerful kick at Laxus's jaw.
Slap!
Laxus, his instincts now heightened to a razor's edge, blocked the kick with his other palm. He bared his teeth at Ren, a ferocious, draconic grin spreading across his face.
"Is that all you've got with this transformation? It's fast, I'll give you that! How about you let Whitebeard come out and play!"
"Don't rush!" Ren laughed, pushing off Laxus's hand. "The battle has only just begun, hasn't it?"
"Then don't blame me if you die!"
"Seriously!" Ren chided, landing a few feet away. "You were beaten so badly by me just a minute ago, yet you act as if you have the upper hand. There's a limit to how arrogant one can be, you know. And I should know."
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Blue!"
Ren raised his hand and released another Blue Sphere. Laxus, his body crackling, swiftly dodged it. Although the Blue Sphere was fast, Laxus's lightning-form speed was even faster.
Crack!!
The Blue Sphere missed Laxus and gnawed a perfect, circular hole out of a stone pillar, which then collapsed.
Laxus's pupils constricted. Only then did he realize how dangerous Ren's Blue attack truly was. It didn't just explode; it erased. If his body touched that thing, he would definitely be severely injured.
Ren grinned. "Oh, you don't like that one? How about a few more?"
He waved his hand in front of him. Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Eight Blue Spheres appeared, suspended in the air in front of Ren, each one a swirling vortex of impossible gravity.
Ren pointed at Laxus, and the eight Blue Spheres rapidly rushed towards him.
Crackling!
Laxus's body transformed into a bolt of pure lightning, zipping and moving all over the Kardia Cathedral, a golden streak bouncing from wall to pillar to ceiling.
Crack... crack crack!!
The Blue Spheres followed relentlessly, devouring everything they touched. Pews, sections of the floor, and chunks of the walls were erased from existence, leaving a trail of destruction behind the golden flash.
Noticing the Blue Spheres hot on his heels, Laxus materialized his body in the center of the hall, took a deep breath, and then opened his mouth.
"Lightning Dragon's... ROAR!!"
Rumble——!!
A beam of violent, overwhelming lightning power, a torrent of pure destruction, erupted from Laxus's mouth. The roar was deafening, a wave of energy that dwarfed his previous attacks. It struck the eight Blue Spheres head-on, and the resulting explosion of light and gravity tore the cathedral apart. The force of the Roar overpowered and destroyed all the Blue Spheres in a single, cataclysmic blast.
The moment Laxus materialized to use his Roar, Ren also appeared, teleporting directly behind Laxus, his leg already in motion. He kicked Laxus squarely in the back.
"Ugh!!"
Laxus let out a cry of pain as the Cursed Energy-infused kick sent him flying forward. However, in an instant, his body, still charged with energy, transformed into lightning and reappeared behind Ren, his fist already pulled back, imbued with the full power of his Dragon Slayer magic.
"Lightning Dragon's Iron Fist!!"
He swung, his speed matching Ren's teleportation.
But Ren was ready. He also condensed his Cursed Energy, no longer just using it as a blunt force, but focusing it, pulling it into a state of perfect, terrifying harmony with his physical attack.
"Black Flash!!"
[Akarin's Note: Black Flash (Kokusen) is a special technique in Jujutsu Kaisen. It is a spatial distortion generated when the error between a physical attack and a Cursed Energy impact is within 0.000001 seconds, resulting in the attack being 2.5 times the power of a normal Cursed Energy strike.]
Laxus's and Ren's fists collided.
Golden lightning and sparks of black-red Cursed Energy erupted!!
Boom—————!!!
A powerful, concussive shockwave spread outwards, not as an explosion of light, but as a silent, visible distortion of space. All the glass in the entire Kardia Cathedral instantly shattered into dust.
Laxus was knocked back, his arm numb, his scales cracking.
"Comfortable!!"
After delivering that punch, Ren felt an incredible, ecstatic sensation flow through him. He felt as if every cell in his body was humming, as if he had just touched the very core of his power.
He wasn't quite sure how he had done it. Logically, Black Flash is incredibly difficult to achieve. It requires a level of concentration that borders on a trance. It's stated that no one can achieve a 100% trigger rate. The highest record in Jujutsu Kaisen belongs to Yuji Itadori.
However, he felt just now that he could indeed pull it off, just like the last time in the Tower of Heaven, when he had also unleashed a Black Flash.
Moreover, he felt that he was in excellent condition now. He was "in the zone." And he felt... he felt he could still unleash it again.
"Lightning Dragon's Iron Fist!!"
Seeing his attack blocked, Laxus roared, refusing to be outdone. He once again imbued his fist with golden lightning and launched it at Ren.
Ren, his senses heightened, the world moving in slow motion, stepped forward to meet him, his fist crackling with black-red sparks.
"Black Flash!!"
Golden lightning and black-red sparks erupted once more.
Boom————!!
This time, the impact was even greater. The very earth shook. The floor beneath their feet, along with the surrounding pillars, developed dense, deep cracks.
"Ugh... ah... ah!!"
This time, Laxus's body was sent flying directly backward.
Boom... boom... boom boom boom boom!!
One load-bearing pillar after another was shattered by Laxus's body as he crashed through the entire length of the cathedral, a human wrecking ball.
Ren stood in the epicenter of the destruction, breathing calmly. He felt invincible at this moment, his mood incredibly exhilarated, even having the illusion of being omnipotent.
At this moment, the roof, its support pillars shattered, finally collapsed. The central part of the roof shattered, and a beam of moonlight, now that the rain had passed, shone down from the cathedral's skylight.
The beam of light fell directly upon Ren, illuminating him, and upon the massive, intact statue of the deity behind him.
Ren spread his arms, a smile of pure bliss on his face. His body slowly floated up, and he lightly stepped, not on the ground, but onto the deity's head, standing tall over the ruins of the cathedral and the broken body of his opponent.
Ren pointed one hand upwards and the other downwards, his fingers forming the iconic mudra. A smile on his face, he softly chanted:
"Throughout Heaven and Earth, I alone am the Honored One."
[Akarin Note:
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