Chapter 203: I Was Joking
However, if the Royal Capital disappears, the people in the Royal Capital will disappear along with it. We don't know how many people live in the Edolas Royal Capital.
Although they hated the King of Edolas for absorbing Fairy Tail and turning their friends into Lacrima, they were Mages of a legal guild, not dark wizards. They didn't want to kill all those ordinary people who were just living their lives under a tyrant's rule!
"I was joking!"
Seeing the frightened look on their faces—Wendy's pale complexion and Carla's trembling paws—Ren couldn't help but show a gentle, disarming smile. He waved his hand dismissively. "I have no interest in mass murder. I just meant I'd take down the leadership."
"That joke you made was a bit too terrifying."
Carla gave a dry, nervous laugh, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead. Her precognitive abilities often gave her bad feelings, and sensing the sheer, suffocating pressure radiating from Ren, she felt that he might not have been entirely joking. If pushed, this man had the power to flatten a city.
"Alright, enough grim talk. Moving like this is too slow," Ren said, looking at the endless stretch of wasteland ahead of them. "I don't know how long it will take to reach the Royal Capital on foot or by stealing one of those magic vehicles. I'll take you there faster."
"How are you going to do that?!" Carla looked at Ren, confused. "Do you have a vehicle hidden away?"
"No, something better."
Ren closed his eyes for a brief moment, the air around him shifting. The atmosphere grew heavy, buzzing with an electric static.
"Full Take Over Magic: Gojo Satoru!"
Magic power surged, wrapping around Ren like a cocoon of cursed energy. His hair bleached into a snowy white, standing up against gravity, and a black blindfold materialized over his eyes, concealing the Six Eyes. His uniform shifted into the high-collared, dark blue jujutsu sorcerer attire. Even his posture changed—becoming looser, more arrogant, radiating the aura of "The Strongest."
"Natsu, Wendy, hold Happy and Carla tightly."
"Uh, okay!" Wendy nodded, grabbing Carla, who looked skeptical.
"What are you planning, Ren?" Natsu asked, scooping up Happy.
"Just hold on. And try not to bite your tongues," Ren grinned.
Both of them obediently held Happy and Carla, while Ren stepped forward. He reached out, his long fingers grabbing the back of Natsu's vest and Wendy's dress collar, lifting them up as easily as if they were kittens.
"Alright, let's go!"
Ren's other hand formed a seal.
Whoosh—!!
The world twisted. It wasn't just speed; it was the compression of space itself. The barren landscape of Edolas smeared into a blur of colors, then vanished into a void of infinite distance compressed to zero. For Natsu and Wendy, the sensation was disorienting, like their stomachs had been left behind three miles back.
In the next instant, having crossed an unknown distance within just a few breaths, the sensation of motion stopped abruptly. The wind ceased. The smell of dry dust was replaced by the scent of cooking food and ozone.
They appeared in the middle of a bustling street.
"Where?! I mean, where is this?!"
Natsu stumbled as Ren dropped him, looking around frantically. "Bleurgh... I feel sick..."
Wendy wobbled, clutching Carla. "My head is spinning..."
They were completely bewildered, unable to figure out what was happening or how they had suddenly arrived in a populated town. The architecture was distinctively Edolas—round, mushroom-like buildings, pipes running along the walls carrying Magic Power, and the ground paved with strange, glowing stones.
"Teleportation!"
Carla stared at Ren in shock, her jaw practically hitting the pavement. It felt like Ren was omnipotent; every character he took over was incredibly powerful in a completely different way.
During their time at Fairy Tail, she had learned that Ren used Take Over Magic to absorb the Heroic Spirits of the deceased from other worlds. Each of these Heroic Spirits was supremely powerful and possessed different abilities, which Ren could use upon taking them over. But to manipulate space-time so casually? That was on another level entirely.
"I don't know exactly where we are," Ren said, adjusting his blindfold casually. "I just saw a town with my eyes from that high vantage point, so we came over to ask for directions to the Royal Capital and take a rest. We need intel."
"Is this Teleportation?! So cool!!"
Natsu's nausea vanished instantly, replaced by childish wonder. His onyx eyes shone brightly. "We were just in the middle of nowhere, and now we're here! The environment changed in an instant; it was too cool!"
"Aye!" Happy, just like Natsu, excitedly pumped his fist in the air. "Ren acts like a fast-travel point!"
"Yeah! So cool! This is my first time experiencing Teleportation!"
Wendy was also extremely excited, her motion sickness forgotten in the face of such high-level magic; this was an unprecedented experience for the young Dragon Slayer. "It felt like being squeezed through a tube!"
Although Carla didn't show it, keeping her arms crossed and nose in the air, she was actually a little excited. It was undeniable that this was efficient. But her tsundere personality prevented her from showing it casually. "Hmph. Just don't drop us next time."
Ren smiled, amused by their reactions. In any world, it was hard for anyone to resist the charm of instant movement.
"Let's ask for directions first, and then take a rest. I could go for something sweet."
They walked through the streets, drawing a few curious glances due to their unfamiliar clothing, but mostly blending in. They randomly found a passerby, a middle-aged man carrying a crate of magical crystals, and asked for their location.
"This place?" The man eyed them suspiciously but answered. "This is Rune Town. If you're heading to the Royal Capital, you're about four days away by carriage."
"Four days?!"
Natsu and Wendy exchanged stunned glances. The others hadn't expected that Ren had cut down the journey by a full day—maybe more—with just a few seconds of Teleportation.
"If Ren teleported a few more times, wouldn't we already be at the Royal Capital?" Happy calculated, drooling slightly at the thought of finding fish faster.
"So amazing!" Wendy beamed.
Just then, the peaceful atmosphere was shattered.
"We found them!!"
A loud shout rang out from the end of the street, echoing off the rounded buildings. The sound of heavy boots marching in unison filled the air.
"Blockade the entrances and exits of the street!! Don't let the Earth Landers escape!"
Ren and the others looked toward the sound and saw soldiers clad in the purple and white uniforms of the Edolas Royal Army fiercely surrounding them. They were armed with strange spears and staves, the tips glowing with magical energy.
"Soldiers?!"
Natsu felt a little nervous seeing the soldiers. He had caused plenty of trouble that brought the army down on him back in Earth Land—usually the Rune Knights—so his first instinct upon seeing them was to prepare for a brawl or run.
Happy asked confusedly, his whiskers twitching, "What's going on?! Why are the soldiers surrounding us?! Do they know we're from Earth Land? We just got here!"
Carla said nervously, backing up against Wendy, "If you ask me, I don't know either! Maybe our magical signatures are different!"
A captain stepped forward, pointing a jagged spear at Natsu. "You must be Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail. We have orders from the Chief of Staff! Surrender immediately!"
"They're coming for me?! The Kingdom Army? Perfect..."
Natsu grinned, cracking his knuckles. The thrill of the fight took over. "If they want a fight, I'll give 'em one! Fire Dragon's..."
He took a deep breath, his lungs expanding, ready to unleash a torrent of flames.
"ROAR—cough! Cough!"
Nothing happened. No fire. No heat. Just a puff of regular air.
"Eh?" Natsu blinked, looking at his hands.
Just as Natsu was about to make a move, he realized there were no flames in his hand. The familiar warmth in his gut was gone. It felt like reaching into a bucket of water and finding it empty. He suddenly remembered that he couldn't use magic right now because Edolas had no atmospheric Ethernano.
"Crap! I forgot!" Natsu panicked as the soldiers charged.
"Ren, help!"
Natsu shouted for Ren's help without hesitation, diving behind the taller man.
"They look like they're together. Capture all of them!" The captain roared.
The Kingdom Army rushed toward Ren and the others, their weapons humming with charged magical power.
"Hmm, just in time. I needed a warm-up," Ren murmured.
Ren's body moved. He didn't seem to run; he simply flowed. With his hands still in his pockets, he instantly swept past the vanguard of the Kingdom Army soldiers.
"Wuaaah!!"
"Waaah!!"
Bodies flew into the air. Ren moved through them like a phantom, his movements precise and effortless. A flick of an elbow, a sweep of a leg—everyone was knocked down by Ren with minimal movement.
"They're resisting arrest! He's a monster! Take him down immediately!"
The Kingdom Army soldiers in the distance saw Ren take down their comrades in seconds. Panic set in, and they immediately raised their magic wands and rifles.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!
Dozens of beams of magical energy shot toward Ren, a barrage of light aiming to disintegrate him.
"Ren-san!" Wendy screamed.
Ren stood still. He didn't dodge. He didn't block.
He simply raised his palm, fingers splayed.
The energy bullets stopped.
They hit an invisible barrier inches from his skin—the Infinity. The neutral form of the Limitless technique that brought the concept of "infinity" into reality, slowing down anything that approached him until it never arrived.
The energy bullets, unable to move forward, lost their momentum and were repelled, ricocheting wildly into the surrounding buildings.
Boom boom boom!!
Dust and debris rained down as balconies and signboards exploded.
"What?!"
"What happened?! The Magic was repelled?!"
"It didn't even touch him!"
The Kingdom Army soldiers were astonished by this sight; they had never seen this kind of magic before. In a world where magic was limited and reliant on items, this inherent, overwhelming power was terrifying.
Ren raised his palm and aimed it at the main cluster of Kingdom Army soldiers. Under his blindfold, the Six Eyes calculated the spatial coordinates instantly.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Blue!"
A small orb of darkness materialized at the tip of his finger—a singularity of attractive force. He flicked it forward.
A blue Blue Sphere quickly flew toward the Kingdom Army soldiers, humming with a terrifying sound like tearing fabric.
"Defend! Shields up!"
The Kingdom Army soldiers shouted, terrified. They clicked the mechanisms on their staves, and a collective green Energy Shield materialized in front of them.
Crack!
Blue struck the Energy Shield. There was no contest. The singularity instantly eroded and shattered the shield as if it were glass.
Immediately afterward, the Blue Sphere erupted with powerful gravitational force, correcting the distortion in space by pulling everything towards it.
"Wuaaahhhh!!"
"Wuaaahhh!!"
"What is happening?! I'm being pulled in!!"
All the Kingdom Army soldiers were attracted by the Blue Sphere, their boots dragging across the cobblestones. Their bodies involuntarily flew toward the center, colliding with each other, quickly forming a large, groaning ball of limbs and armor.
Then, Ren controlled this large ball of humans with a lazy wave of his hand and flung it toward a nearby abandoned warehouse.
Boom—!!
The warehouse collapsed, burying the soldiers in rubble and wood. Silence returned to the street, save for the groans of the unconscious soldiers.
"Nice work!!"
Natsu praised him, giving a thumbs up, though he looked a bit depressed. He was shocked that there would come a day when he couldn't even defeat mere foot soldiers while Ren was tossing them around like toys.
"Let go of me! Why are you arresting me?!"
Just then, a familiar voice rang out from an alleyway adjacent to the fight.
"You must be Lucy."
"That's right, but why exactly are you arresting me?! I haven't done anything!"
"Lucy?!"
Natsu's eyes widened. He spun around.
Emerging from the alley, wrestling with two soldiers who had tried to flank them, was a blonde girl. She wore her signature side ponytail and the familiar blue and white outfit she wore in Earth Land.
"It's really her!" Happy gasped.
Natsu could tell immediately that this Lucy was not Edolas Lucy—the punk-rock version they had met earlier—but their guild's Lucy. Although they looked the same physically, their clothing, demeanor, and the scent of Celestial Spirit magic were clearly different.
"Why is Lucy here..." Wendy whispered, hands over her mouth.
"What in the world is going on?!"
Happy and Carla were also confused. They had come to this world by passing through the remnants of the Anima, so Lucy should have been absorbed along with everyone else in the guild when the Anima originally struck. She should be a Lacrima crystal right now!
"We have to go save her!" Natsu shouted, charging forward despite his lack of magic.
But Lucy didn't wait for rescue.
"Get your hands off me!"
Lucy pulled out a golden key from her belt ring, swinging it through the air. "Open, Gate of the Scorpion..."
Wendy's eyes went wide. She warned, "Lucy!! You can't use magic in this world!! It won't work!"
But Lucy didn't hesitate.
"Scorpion!!"
Ding-Dong!
To everyone's absolute shock, a golden Magic Circle lit up the street, vibrant and fully functional. A man with a mechanical tail and red hair emerged from the light.
"We are at your service, M'lady!" Scorpio shouted.
"Sand Buster!!"
Scorpio pointed his tail cannon. A massive tornado of sand blasted out, hitting the soldiers holding Lucy with tremendous force.
"Wuaaahhh!!" ...All the Kingdom Army soldiers were swept up by the storm, thrown high into the air.
"Magic?!"
"Why?!"
Natsu and Wendy froze in their tracks, their jaws dropping to the floor. Ren was one thing—that monster wasn't even human, and his power came from a System—but how could mere Lucy use magic in a world devoid of Ethernano?
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