Chapter 267: Perfect Timing
Ren stepped forward as he spoke; now that Fairy Tail had returned, claiming the top spot was the first order of business. The noise of the Domus Flau was deafening, a physical wall of sound made of cheers, jeers, and the stomping of thousands of feet.
"We're doomed!!"
Elfman Strauss's jaw dropped the moment he saw Ren enter the arena floor for Team A. The hulking Beast Soul mage, representing Fairy Tail Team B, felt a cold sweat trickle down his spine.
Having fought alongside Ren on Tenrou Island, Elfman knew exactly what kind of monstrous freak Ren was. That man had stared down the Dragon King. Give that kind of power seven more years to ferment—or even seventy—and he'd still be a super-monster capable of crushing mountains.
"I... I have to fight him? A real man doesn't run, but a real man also knows when he's being fed to a dragon!" Elfman stamina wavered instantly.
Gajeel Redfox, standing in the waiting tunnel for Team B, grinned wickedly and clapped Elfman's shoulder with enough force to stagger him.
"I'm rooting for you, man. Don't die out there."
Even as the words left his mouth, Gajeel couldn't hold back a rough, metallic laugh; facing that monster Ren in a battle royal? What a joke. Gajeel was arrogant, but he wasn't blind. He was just glad it wasn't him out there getting humiliated in the first round.
High up in the stands, the members of Lamia Scale watched with bated breath.
Sherria Blendy, the young Sky God Slayer, looked at her older cousin Sherry and the others with wide, curious eyes. "Is that guy really so strong? Why does everyone go pale the second he shows up? He just looks like a handsome big brother to me."
Yuka Suzuki, the anti-magic specialist, shook his head gravely, his thick eyebrows knitting together. "He's gone way past 'strong or not', Sherria. He's a calamity."
Toby Horhorta nodded frantically, his long claws scratching his own head in anxiety. "Oh yeah! He's a genuine monster! A super-duper monster! Even the thought of him gives me chills!"
"He can't be stronger than Mister Jura, right?" Sherria tilted her head, looking at the bald, stoic ace of their guild.
"Well…" Yuka hesitated, glancing at Jura. "Seven years ago, Ren beat Jose Porla, who was the seventh of the Ten Wizard Saints. Back then, Jura-san was the tenth. Ren's power was absolute. But… Jura-san has gotten a lot stronger since. He's the fifth Saint now. Ren probably couldn't take him now, right?"
Uncertainty flickered across Yuka's face. Logic dictated that seven years of training should bridge the gap. Jura Neekis had become a titan of the magic world, the Iron Rock of Fiore. But the memory of Ren's overwhelming presence on Nirvana was hard to shake.
Jura crossed his arms, his stone-grey eyes fixed on the white-haired figure in the arena.
"We'll only know who's stronger once we fight," Jura said, his voice deep and resonating like the earth itself. "But seven years ago, I definitely wasn't Lord Ren's equal. I was a child compared to him. Watching him battle the Oración Seis... it taught me what 'there's always someone better' truly meant."
A gleam lit Jura's eyes—a warrior's spirit igniting.
"From that day on, I stopped resting on the hollow title of one of the Ten Saints. I trained relentlessly until I reached my current level. If we clash again, I'd like to settle the score properly."
"Will the contestants for the 'Hidden' event please step forward!"
The amplified voice of the announcer cut through the crowd's murmuring. A projection of a small man wearing a pumpkin mascot head appeared in the center of the air.
"Kabo! It's finally starting! I wonder what kind of match 'Hidden' will be?" the pumpkin, Mato, shouted. "Mister Yajima, who do you think will shine?"
In the commentary booth, the former Council member Yajima stroked his mustache thoughtfully. "Most likely Ren. Ren is indeed a powerhouse. I was the commentator for his fight in Onibus seven years ago, and he left a deep impression—though let's hope he doesn't destroy the arena this time. His definition of 'victory' often involves 'total annihilation'."
The crowd buzzed with mixed reactions.
"Ren? Who's that?" a young teenager asked.
"No idea! Never heard of him!"
"He was in Fairy Tail seven years ago, but that's ancient history now! The strongest guild today is Sabertooth!"
"You don't know Ren? Are you kidding? He's a super-ace! Sabertooth's strong, sure, but there's no way they can beat him…"
The spectators were divided. The older generation, who remembered the era of "Fairy Tail's strongest," looked at Ren with awe. The younger generation, raised on Sabertooth's propaganda, scoffed.
"If I may interrupt—none of us even know what event we're competing in today."
A snide, nasally voice spoke up from the arena floor. Nullpudding, the representative of Raven Tail, stepped forward. His small, goblin-like stature belied the malice rolling off him.
"Every contest has been kept secret. Whatever it is, doesn't Fairy Tail have a huge advantage with two entrants? Team A and Team B?" Nullpudding accused, pointing a finger at Ren and Elfman.
"Well… having two teams from one guild does make things unpredictable… Pumpkin…" Mato scratched his pumpkin head. "But Fairy Tail hasn't broken any rules. They qualified legitimately. Fielding two teams merely proves their strength-kabo."
Ren turned his head slowly, locking eyes with the Raven Tail mage. He smiled, but the expression didn't reach his eyes. It was the smile of a predator looking at a particularly annoying rodent.
"Rave Tail, huh… The guild Ivan built," Ren said softly, his voice carrying clearly despite the noise. "I'll be sure to play with you later. Don't break too easily."
"Hmph! If you want to play, bring it on!" Nullpudding shot back, baring his teeth. He didn't back down an inch; Raven Tail's orders were absolute: destroy Fairy Tail.
"Open the field!!" Mato shouted.
Rumble... Rumble... BOOM!
At once, the arena floor shifted. Massive stone pillars shot up from the ground. Walls unfolded like origami. Windows, doors, roofs—in the blink of an eye, an entire town materialized inside the stadium.
"What is that?!"
"A city?!"
"It's huge!"
"Unbelievable!!"
The sight stunned everyone—magic had conjured up a whole town with intricate details, from the cobblestones to the streetlamps.
Simultaneously, a teleportation spell activated. Flash! Every contestant was transported to a different spot inside the labyrinthine town.
Eve Tearm of Blue Pegasus stood on a rooftop, the wind rustling his blonde hair. He adjusted his suit. "Everyone vanished—are we playing hide-and-seek? How elegant."
"Uwah, where should I hide? It's too big!" Beth Vanderwood of Mermaid Heel panicked, hugging a carrot-shaped cushion she had conjured.
"Hide-and-seek? That's weird—who's the seeker?" Rufus Lore of Sabertooth tipped his hat, his memory magic already analyzing the layout.
The voice of the Pumpkin echoed through the streets.
[Spectators, you can watch everything inside the city through the Holo-Screens in front of you! All eight contestants are unaware of one another's locations-kabo!]
[The rules of 'Hidden' are simple: each contestant is both hider and seeker. Find someone else in the city and land one hit on them. Any magic may be used; whether you injure them doesn't matter. Whoever strikes first earns one point!]
Suddenly!
POOF! POOF! POOF!
Figures flickered across the town. In moments, perfect duplicates of every contestant appeared. Dozens of Rens, Elfmans, Eves, and Nullpuddings flooded the streets.
"What's going on?!" Beth shrieked as three copies of herself walked past her.
"So many Rens… creepy!!" a spectator yelled.
[These are your copies! Strike the wrong one and you lose a point! The more you destroy, the more you lose!]
[Now—fade into silence! Vanish like black cats beneath the night!]
[Hidden—begin!!!]
Clang————————!!
With the gong's crash, the match officially started.
Once they understood the rules, the contestants began to move. The atmosphere in the town was tense. Footsteps echoed on the cobblestones. Participants stealthily observed from alleyways, trying to determine if the figure walking down the main street was a player or a decoy.
Eve stayed on the high ground, using his Snow Magic to sense vibrations. Rufus sat calmly on a bench, blending in with his own clones.
Surveying the scene from atop a clock tower, Ren chuckled. The wind whipped his white coat around him.
"I'm no good at hiding," Ren admitted to himself. "Stealth isn't exactly my style. But..."
He looked down at the chaotic streets filled with hundreds of clones.
"I'm pretty great at finding people."
Ren closed his eyes.
"System. Equip Character Card."
"Full Body Take Over – Gojo Satoru!"
Magic power surged around him, dense and heavy, yet infinitely refined. His appearance began to shift. His spiky hair smoothed down slightly, turning a stark, snowy white. His Fairy Tail outfit morphed into a high-collared, dark blue jujutsu sorcerer uniform. A black blindfold manifested, wrapping securely around his eyes.
[Huh?! Contestant Ren chose to transform!] Chapati Lola shouted into the microphone. [Remember, his magic is Take Over, so he changes appearance when he uses it—now his original form is completely exposed!! He stands out from his clones!]
"Right! Doesn't that put Ren at a disadvantage?" Lucy Heartfilia gasped from the Fairy Tail balcony. "If he changes his look, the clones will still look like his old form! He'll be the only one who looks different! Everyone will know it's the real him!"
Erza Scarlet leaned forward, a confident smile playing on her lips. "True, this event is a bit rough for standard Take-Over mages. Usually, revealing your position is suicide."
She glanced at Ren's figure on the screen.
"But, Lucy... did you forget how broken this particular transformation is?"
Lucy froze, blinking. Then, realization dawned on her face. She remembered the sparring sessions. She remembered the "Infinity."
"Exactly!"
Ren's transformation was absurdly overpowered—perfect for this game. It wasn't about hiding. It was about absolute perception.
Standing atop the tower, Ren lifted a hand to his blindfold. He didn't remove it, but under the fabric, the Six Eyes (Rikugan) activated.
Through the blindfold, the world shifted. Colors faded, replaced by the vivid, pulsating flow of magic power.
To normal mages, the clones were perfect replicas. They had mass, they moved, they even emitted a faint magical aura.
But to the Six Eyes, the difference was laughable.
The clones were hollow shells of uniform, artificial magic—like stagnant water. The real contestants, however... they were blazing bonfires of biological Ethernano. Their mana flowed through meridians, pumped by hearts, fueled by souls.
Ren's 360-degree vision swept the entire city in a microsecond. The buildings, the walls, the distance—none of it mattered.
"Information overload? Not for me," Ren smirked.
His gaze locked onto a specific signature hiding in a back alley three blocks away. A nasty, spiky magical aura that felt like sludge.
"Found one!"
Zwoop!
Ren didn't run. He didn't jump. He simply warped, space folding around him as he utilized the high-speed movement derived from the Limitless technique.
In an instant, he appeared in the alleyway, directly in front of Nullpudding.
The Raven Tail mage was crouching behind a crate, preparing an ambush for a passing Eve clone. He felt a sudden displacement of air and looked up, his eyes widening in shock.
Ren stood there, hands in his pockets, towering over the small goblin-man.
"Yo!" Ren said cheerfully, raising a hand in greeting. "Fancy meeting you again so soon!"
Nullpudding flinched, but his reaction speed was elite. A wicked, desperate grin split his face.
"Ren! You idiot! You came right to me!" Nullpudding yelled. "Perfect timing—saves me the search! Take this!!"