Chapter 365: Exploding Pride
Just after Zeref faded into the shadows, the oppressive, suffocating pressure that had paralyzed the battlefield finally lifted. Natsu's invisible restraints dissolved into the wind, allowing him to stumble forward.
"That bastard!" Natsu roared, his fists trembling with unresolved anger.
Ren stood silently amidst the rubble, watching the empty space where the Black Mage had just been. From the moment Zeref appeared until his departure, Ren had not made a single move.
For one, his magical reserves were genuinely depleted from his previous battles, demanding precious moments of recovery. Furthermore, even with his vast arsenal, he wasn't entirely certain he could take Zeref down in his current state.
Suddenly, a jagged, bloodthirsty killing intent flared up behind Ren.
"Die!" a gravelly voice shrieked. "Demon Blade: Mikazuki!"
The assailant was Ezel. After being knocked unconscious by Gajeel earlier, the demon had awoken to find his beloved Tartaros in absolute ruins.
Seizing the opportunity while Ren was untransformed and seemingly vulnerable, the demon triggered his Etherious Form to launch a desperate, full-power sneak attack. It was entirely because of this human that Tartaros had been destroyed. Even if it cost him his life, Ezel was determined to drag Ren straight to hell with him.
Ren didn't even bother to turn his head. He merely offered a casual, dismissive wave of his right hand.
Crack—!
The ferocious crescent slash collided with Ren's palm, only to shatter into harmless fragments of dark magic.
Before Ezel could even process this flawless defense, a visceral tearing sound echoed through the air. A massive, gaping wound inexplicably tore across his torso, and thick blood sprayed wildly from the fatal gash.
"How... how is this possible...?" Ezel choked out, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Bang!
The demon collapsed heavily onto the ground. He couldn't comprehend how Ren could possess such monstrous strength without even utilizing a transformation, but there was no time left to ask. All signs of life vanished from his eyes in an instant.
Ren didn't spare the corpse a second glance. In his normal state, he lacked access to his more complex, world-breaking abilities, but that hardly meant his base form was weak.
Combined with his naturally vast magical power, his mastery of Sun Breathing, and the omniscient perception of the Transparent World, he remained a lethal force. Ren's sheer close-quarters combat proficiency was arguably even more dangerous than when he assumed the form of Gojo Satoru.
It was simply a facet of his power he rarely needed to display. Aside from a few of the women closest to him, the vast majority of the Fairy Tail guild remained completely oblivious to his baseline physical monstrosity.
Brushing the dust from his coat, Ren looked up at the turbulent sky. His piercing gaze locked onto the apocalyptic clash between Acnologia and the Fire Dragon King, Igneel.
Igneel was fiercely living up to his legendary title. For a brief, awe-inspiring window of time, the massive crimson dragon actually held his own against the undisputed king of dragons.
However, the fundamental nature of their magic was slowly turning the tide. The Fire Dragon King's roaring flames were ultimately countered by Acnologia's very existence. Aside from raw, physical strikes that could bruise and batter, elemental magic had absolutely no effect on the magic-devouring beast.
Recognizing this immense disadvantage, Igneel had chosen the most direct, brutal method available. He engaged in pure, vicious close-quarters combat with Acnologia.
Unfortunately, the exchange was fatally skewed. Because his magic was rendered completely ineffective, the physical damage Igneel dealt to Acnologia was severely limited by the Black Dragon's absurd durability.
Meanwhile, Acnologia's devastating magic dealt full, unmitigated damage to the Fire Dragon King. Gradually, Igneel's movements grew sluggish as he was brutally suppressed. The deep, bleeding wounds across his crimson scales multiplied with every passing second.
Down on the ground, Natsu was losing his mind watching the brutal spectacle. Panic and raw desperation choked his throat.
He immediately sprinted forward, his hands igniting with fiery resolve as he prepared to launch himself into the sky. "Wait for me, Igneel! I'm coming to help you right now!"
A firm hand clamped down on Natsu's shoulder, stopping him dead in his tracks.
"Ren, get out of the way!" Natsu thrashed against the grip, his onyx eyes blazing with tears and fury. "I have to go help Igneel!"
"There's no point in you going," Ren stated, his voice calm but absolute. "With your current strength, stepping into a fight against Acnologia is no different from throwing your life away."
"Then I'm still going to save Igneel!" Natsu yelled back, his voice breaking under the weight of his emotions. "He's my father!"
He had spent years searching the continent, suffering through so much heartbreak just to finally reunite with him. How could anyone expect him to just stand there and watch as Igneel was slaughtered?
"Calm down. Let me handle it," Ren said, releasing his grip on the Dragon Slayer.
Natsu froze, his anger momentarily replaced by genuine concern. "But Ren, you..."
Natsu had seen it with his own eyes. Ren had just manifested 3,000 physical clones to wipe out the Tartaros soldiers—a technique that must have drained a monumental amount of magic power.
"It's fine," Ren replied, a faint, confident smile playing on his lips. "I've already recovered."
Seeing Igneel steadily fall into a fatal disadvantage, Ren weighed his options and decided it was time to intervene. The Fire Dragon King was incredibly strong; although he was far from being a true match for Acnologia, he possessed the rare power to actually restrain the beast for a short time.
If events were allowed to follow their natural course, it wouldn't be long before Igneel was brutally killed by Acnologia.
Once that happened, it was highly uncertain if Acnologia would simply fly away, or if the lingering presence of so many powerful mages would prompt him to stay and continue his massacre. If the Black Dragon decided to stay, Ren would inevitably be forced into a death match anyway.
In that case, the most logical tactical decision was to step in right now to save Igneel. By doing so, he would secure a tremendously powerful ally for the inevitable fight against Acnologia.
High above, the brutal reality of the dragon fight reached its climax.
Boom—!
Acnologia spun mid-air, his massive, heavily armored tail whipping around with the force of a falling mountain. It slammed violently into Igneel's ribcage.
"Argh!" The Fire Dragon King let out a deafening scream of agony as his flight path was broken. He plummeted from the clouds, crashing brutally into the rocky wasteland below.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The earth shattered and buckled, plowed into a massive, jagged trench as Igneel's colossal body skidded across the terrain.
Without missing a beat, Acnologia spread his dark, apocalyptic wings and went into a rapid, vertical dive. He plummeted toward the downed Fire Dragon King like a black meteor.
Boom—!
The ground cratered further as Acnologia landed heavily, his razor-sharp claws pinning Igneel's massive chest to the dirt. The sheer force of the impact knocked a massive torrent of blood from Igneel's maw.
"Destruction! Destruction!" Acnologia roared, his voice vibrating with sadistic glee. He leaned his terrifying jaws close to his prey. "Is this all the power you have, Fire Dragon King?"
Despite the crushing weight on his chest and the blood pooling in his throat, Igneel bared his massive, serrated teeth in a defiant smile. "Only because I've been asleep for a long time!"
Unamused by the excuse, Acnologia raised his dominant claw high into the air. Dark magic swirled around the razor-sharp appendages, fully intending to crush Igneel's body and extinguish his life forever.
Suddenly, a blinding, localized light illuminated the dreary wasteland. A miniature, blazing sun was charging straight toward the two behemoths at blistering speed.
Its violently scorching temperature instantly boiled the moisture in the air, immediately catching the attention of both the Black Dragon and the Fire Dragon King.
"What is that?!" Igneel grunted, his reptilian eyes widening at the miniature star.
"Cruel Sun!"
The hyper-condensed fireball slammed mercilessly into Acnologia's armored flank. The sheer kinetic force and explosive heat directly blasted the Black Dragon off of Igneel, sending him sliding backward.
"Something like this..." Acnologia snarled, his heavy clawed feet plowing deep, smoldering furrows into the earth as he tried to stabilize himself. "...watch me swallow it!"
Despite his resistance, he couldn't completely halt the unrelenting impact of the spell. Relying on his absolute immunity to all magic, Acnologia unhinged his jaw, fully intending to devour the blazing sphere of energy.
"Exploding Pride!" Ren's voice rang out across the battlefield, carrying the absolute authority of a divine decree.
The Cruel Sun, caught right at the threshold of Acnologia's maw, suddenly pulsed. It lit up with a blinding, apocalyptic light that eclipsed the real sun in the sky.
Boom—!
A terrifying, world-shaking explosion erupted. A brilliant, expanding dome of incandescent flame flared outward, vaporizing the surrounding bedrock. This condensed burst of power was not at all inferior to the devastating Dragon Roars previously unleashed by both Igneel and Acnologia.
"Ughhhhh!"
"Wahhhhh!"
The sheer force of the shockwave swept across the ruins of Tartaros. Everyone in Fairy Tail was instantly assaulted by a terrifying, suffocating heatwave. They couldn't help but cry out in surprise, frantically planting their feet and throwing up their arms to prevent their bodies from being blown away by the gale-force impact.
After what felt like an eternity, the raging explosion slowly subsided, leaving a deafening silence in its wake.
A massive, glowing crater had appeared in the distance, looking exactly as if a celestial meteorite had struck the planet. The sheer destruction caused thick, choking smoke to billow into the sky, while pools of scorching lava bubbled and hissed on the melted ground.
Seeing this catastrophic level of devastation, the Fairy Tail mages took a collective, sharp breath. Fortunately, they were relatively far from the explosion's epicenter. Otherwise, the residual ambient heat alone would have instantly melted their skin off, if they weren't incinerated outright.
Rumble!
The sound of shifting rocks echoed from the molten pit. A massive, pitch-black figure slowly rose from the center of the blistering explosion.
"Cough, cough!"
Acnologia hacked, a splatter of dark blood escaping his jaws. He had actually sustained some minor injuries from the overwhelming heat and concussive impact of the explosion, and his usually pristine, impenetrable scales looked noticeably charred.
"He's injured!"
The Fairy Tail members felt a sudden, electrifying surge of joy in their hearts when they saw this. That terrifying, seemingly invincible monster was actually injured.
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