Chapter 303 – Nagato Appears
"Full Body Take Over: Nagato!!"
Ren's body began to change. Jura and the other two couldn't help but tense up; they all knew Ren's ability—by taking over different characters he could wield their powers. During the first day of the Grand Magic Games, when he'd fought Jura as Uchiha Itachi, that form had been terrifyingly strong.
In moments Ren's black hair turned crimson, a red robe draped over him, his skin deathly pale. Most striking were his eyes: violet irises ringed with concentric circles—those eyes were clearly no ordinary pair.
"What kind of transformation is that?!"
"A new form?!!"
"What powers will this one have?"
The Fairy Tail wizards were stunned. Every time they turned around Ren pulled out another transformation, and every single one was monstrously powerful.
Each of Ren's forms was a powerhouse in its own right.
Jura watched him warily. He knew Ren had aces up his sleeve; if the youth had brought out a form capable of facing all three of them, it had to be strong—strong enough to defeat them.
"Sorry to keep you waiting—let's continue!"
Ren smiled at the trio.
Minerva said, "We'll find out what it can do!"
Seeing him switch forms actually heartened Minerva; the previous one had been an absolute nightmare, nullifying everything they threw at it. A new form meant his impenetrable spatial barriers were finally gone, giving her magic a chance to land a decisive blow. She refused to be humiliated by this Fairy Tail upstart any longer.
"Spatial Shockwave!"
Minerva gathered a massive concentration of mana between her hands, twisting the very fabric of reality around her palms. She released a devastating blast of distorted spatial magic, aiming to warp and completely crush Ren's physical body from a distance. The air screeched violently as the invisible attack barreled toward its target.
"Iron Rock Pillars!!"
Jura thrust out his palm, his immense magic power syncing perfectly with the earth beneath their feet. Colossal stone columns, harder than refined steel, erupted violently around Ren, instantly bending inward to crush him. The sheer weight and density of the earth magic threatened to grind his bones to fine dust.
"Kagura's Style: Fearless Blade!"
Kagura did not hesitate to join the coordinated assault, vanishing from her spot with a burst of immense speed. Channeling her intense gravity magic to lighten her own body, she reappeared high in the air above him. She sent a blindingly fast, heavy slashing strike directly at Ren, intending to cleave through whatever defenses this new form possessed.
Facing the terrifying three-pronged assault from Fiore's strongest mages, Ren stood completely calm. His violet, ringed eyes didn't even twitch as the lethal attacks converged on his position. He simply raised a single, pale hand toward the incoming destruction and softly intoned:
"Shinra Tensei!!"
BOOM——————!!
A terrifying, absolute repulsive force burst outward from his body. It wasn't just a shockwave of magic; it was a fundamental rejection of all matter, energy, and spells within his immediate vicinity. The three incoming attacks disintegrated into nothingness before they could even brush against his crimson-clouded robe.
Minerva's spatial distortion was forcibly flattened out, shattering into harmless sparks of ambient light. Jura's hardened stone pillars, despite their incredible density, turned into fine powder instantly under the invisible pressure. Even the razor-sharp force from Kagura's sword strike was completely erased, swallowed entirely by the sheer magnitude of the repulsion.
The ground shattered next, unable to withstand the apocalyptic pressure bearing down upon it. Huge slabs of bedrock and ancient cobblestone were hurled sky-high, creating a massive dome of flying debris. The invisible wave expanded mercilessly outward, carrying the shattered earth with it in a blinding storm of destruction.
"Ughhhhhh!!"
"Ahhhhh!!"
"Whoaahhh!!"
None of the three master wizards had expected such a sudden, physics-defying backlash. It felt as though a colossal, invisible hammer the size of a mountain had smashed directly into their chests. Their magical defenses crumbled instantly, and they were effortlessly flung backward like ragdolls caught in a violent hurricane.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
The relentless repulsion shredded the surrounding buildings as if they were fragile willow catkins. Massive stone towers collapsed into dust, their structural integrity completely annihilated by the expanding shockwave. The intricate architecture of the royal capital, a pride of the Fiore Kingdom, was flattened in a matter of seconds, leaving only sheer devastation in its wake.
One single Shinra Tensei cleared every structure within a hundred-meter radius. A perfectly smooth, massive crater now served as Ren's stage, completely wiped clean of any debris or hiding spots. The absolute scale of the destruction left the entire arena in a state of breathless awe.
[What… what was that?!] Chapati Lola's voice screamed through the lacrima speakers, echoing across the stunned Domus Flau. [One move—just one single move—and Minerva, Kagura, and Jura were all blown away! Did contestant Ren just wipe them out in a single breath?!]
Crash!
Amidst the rising dust at the edge of the newly formed crater, the sound of falling debris finally broke the silence. The three combatants slowly rose from the rubble, their clothes torn and their bodies heavily bruised. Their immense magical reserves kept them battle-ready, though they were panting heavily from the exertion.
Yet, the look in their eyes had fundamentally changed from confidence to deep apprehension. That instantaneous surge of power had been overwhelmingly absolute, leaving them entirely defenseless. They hadn't even had the time to cast a protective barrier before the repulsive wave violently struck them.
"Another monster!!" Natsu yelled from the Fairy Tail balcony, his fists clenched and his eyes wide with burning excitement.
Fairy Tail's side knew at a single glance: Ren had taken over yet another monstrous character. The sheer scale of this destruction was entirely different from Itachi's localized black flames, proving that this 'Nagato' form was in a league of its own.
Spectators in the stands were left completely speechless. Many of them were visibly trembling, overwhelmed by the residual magic power radiating from the holographic projection. The Domus Flau had never witnessed such a one-sided display of absolute dominance.
"Let's enjoy this properly!"
Ren told them with a calm, unnerving smile. The violet ripples in his eyes gleamed with an ethereal, almost divine light as he surveyed his battered opponents. He wasn't even out of breath from unleashing such a catastrophic technique.
He bit his thumb slightly and pressed his palm flat to the pulverized ground. Intricate, black summoning formulas instantly spread out from his hand like a sprawling spiderweb, covering the earth in a fraction of a second. The ambient mana in the air surged violently as the gateway opened.
"Summoning Jutsu!!"
POOF POOF———!
Two massive, explosive clouds of white smoke erupted into the sky, towering over the ruined cityscape. As the smoke cleared, the ground trembled violently under the immense weight of the entities that had just materialized. Three titanic, nightmarish beasts appeared beside him.
A massive, two-headed Underworld-hound stood growling, its muscles bulging beneath thick brown fur and its jaws dripping with caustic saliva. Beside it was a gargantuan rhinoceros, heavily armored with dense plates and boasting a gigantic, menacing horn. Finally, wrapping around the remains of a distant building, was an enormous, terrifying centipede with countless clicking legs.
[Akarin's Note: Ren is using the Animal Path of the Rinnegan. These immortal summons share his Rinnegan vision and possess unique traits, such as the dog's ability to multiply when struck.]
[What?! Ren just called forth three colossal creatures out of nowhere!!!] Chapati Lola screamed into his microphone, practically pulling his hair out. [Are those some kind of advanced Celestial Spirits? The scale of this battle has completely escalated!]
"Take them down!!"
At his cold, authoritative command, the summons sprang into action immediately. The two-headed Underworld-hound charged wildly toward Kagura, its massive paws cracking the earth. The giant centipede slithered at blinding speeds toward Minerva, while the armored Rhino barreled like a freight train straight toward Jura.
"Hmph! You think these ugly things can beat me?" Kagura scoffed, her hand resting confidently on her scabbard as she stared down the incoming beast. "Fearless Blade—longsword form!"
Kagura wasn't fazed in the slightest by the creature's immense size. Just days earlier, during her match against Sabertooth, she had effortlessly cleaved through the gargantuan thirteenth-gate serpent spirit, Ophiuchus, that Yukino had summoned. To her, a giant beast was nothing more than a larger, slower target.
SHNK—!
The sound of her sword pressure cutting the air was razor-sharp and deadly. Though she hadn't even fully drawn her blade from its scabbard, a huge, devastating gash opened perfectly across the Underworld-hound's massive chest. It was a perfectly executed, lethal strike meant to split the beast wide open.
Just as Kagura relaxed her stance, thinking the beast was finished, the two halves of the bloody wound began to writhe. In a gruesome display of rapid regeneration, the flesh bubbled and twisted, instantly growing into a brand new head and a fully healed body.
"What?!"
Her stoic face paled in pure, unadulterated shock. Unfazed by the fatal damage, the beast had effortlessly multiplied its combat power. The now three-headed hound lunged at her with all three snapping jaws, its Rinnegan eyes locked perfectly onto her movements.
Kagura immediately leapt back, using her gravity magic to alter her weight and retreat rapidly.
CRUNCH!!
The triple heads clamped down exactly where she had been standing, tearing a massive, house-sized chunk out of the solid bedrock. Anyone caught in those jaws would have been instantly bitten clean in half, no matter how strong their defensive magic was.
Kagura's expression darkened into a deep, frustrated scowl. She quickly realized her usual fighting style was a massive liability here; cutting the beast would only create more enemies for her to face. The creature's regenerative properties defied all conventional magical theory, making her physical superiority completely moot.
[Terrifying! Ren's creature not only survived her ultimate slash, but it used the damage to grow a new head!!] Chapati Lola's commentary summarized the sheer horror of the regenerating beast.
"Amazing!"
Yukino Agria stared wide-eyed from the Sabertooth resting area, her hands pressed tightly against the glass railing. On the second day of the Grand Magic Games, Kagura had humiliated her by one-shotting her ultimate thirteenth-gate spirit, Ophiuchus. It had been a devastating loss for her pride as a Celestial Spirit Mage.
Yet, Ren had effortlessly summoned three bizarre creatures that could take Kagura's full-powered strike, laugh it off, and keep fighting as if nothing had happened. They completely ignored the established laws of normal magical familiars.
"Ren can summon too?!"
Lucy Heartfilia was utterly dumbstruck as she leaned heavily over the spectator balcony. His summons looked ridiculously powerful, monstrous, and entirely unnatural. Yukino's Ophiuchus had already surpassed the strength of the legendary golden zodiac keys, yet Ren's beasts were clearly on a completely different, untouchable level.
"Stop stealing Lucy's spotlight, Ren!!!"
Happy quipped loudly from beside her, waving a small fish at the holographic screens. "If you keep this up, Lucy won't have a job anymore!"
"This isn't the time for jokes, Tomcat!" Lucy shot back nervously, a sweat-drop forming on her forehead at her partner's antics. She couldn't take her eyes off the terrifying beasts currently tearing up the city of Crocus.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Jura braced himself for the impending impact. The ground trembled violently as the gargantuan rhinoceros charged directly at him, kicking up massive clouds of dust with every step.
"Iron Rock Wall!"
Jura flicked a single finger upward, his eyes glowing with dense earthen magic. A towering, incredibly thick wall of fortified rock rose instantly from the ground, creating a massive barricade between him and the charging beast.
BOOM——!
The Rhino smashed straight through it without slowing down even a fraction of a second. The fortified stone, imbued with the magic of a Wizard Saint, shattered into thousands of jagged pieces like fragile, cheap glass.
"Iron Rock Fist!"
Unperturbed by the complete failure of his ultimate defense, Jura quickly shifted his stance. Manipulating the shattered debris and the earth beneath him, he rapidly formed a gigantic stone fist the size of a small mountain right beside him.
BOOM———!
The colossal rock fist and the Rhino's massive, armored horn collided head-on in a deafening shockwave. The sheer kinetic force from the impact created a violent gust of wind, rattling the remaining ruins of the city.
CRACK—!
To Jura's absolute shock, the fortified rock fist cracked right at the point of impact. The fissure spread like lightning across the stone knuckles, and a second later, the entire magical construct crumbled into useless, falling gravel.
"What?!"
Jura's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. He had never expected his ultimate offensive earth magic to be shattered so effortlessly by brute physical force. But as one of the Ten Wizard Saints, he recovered his battle composure in a split second.
He dodged nimbly out of the way just as the massive beast burst through the crumbling rocks. The Rhino skidded to a halt, its heavy hooves digging deep trenches into the pulverized ground.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
Rows of abandoned buildings toppled in its wake, completely unable to withstand the shockwaves of its movement. The beast snorted angrily, pawed the ground, and locked its cold Rinnegan eyes onto the Wizard Saint. Then, it charged Jura once again with unrelenting, terrifying speed.
"Explosive Space!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
Minerva bombarded the centipede with spells, but its armored shell was too tough; her magic couldn't breach it, and she was forced to keep retreating.
[Akarin Note:
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