Chapter 368: Holy Sword Escanor
Ren wiped the crimson streak of blood from the corner of his mouth, a fiery, arrogant smirk pulling at his lips.
"You think you're so tough?" he called out, his voice echoing across the fractured wasteland. "I haven't even shown you my true power yet, and you already think I'm a pushover! You've had your fun hitting me, so now it's my turn."
At that exact moment, the ambient temperature of the battlefield skyrocketed. Ethereal, golden flames erupted from Ren's skin, burning fiercely as his imposing aura dramatically increased to a level that defied all logic.
This sudden, oppressive change in the atmosphere was immediately noticed by the battered members of Fairy Tail in the distance.
"What's happening? Is Ren going to transform again?" someone yelled over the roaring, superheated winds.
"Such powerful magic!!" another exclaimed, shielding their eyes from the blinding radiance.
Makarov widened his eyes, his ancient hands trembling as he stared at the golden pillar of light. He had never felt such terrifying magic before in his long life. It wasn't just about the sheer, fathomless volume of magic power, but its fundamental quality—this feeling of divine, absolute authority was something he was witnessing for the very first time.
"Throughout heaven and earth, I alone am the honored one," Ren calmly recited, his voice carrying an undeniable weight.
Ren raised the heavy, ornate head of his axe toward Acnologia, his posture completely relaxed despite facing the apocalypse itself. At this moment, the battle had dragged on until exactly one minute before noon, allowing Ren to enter a state of unprecedented ascension.
In this brief window of time, Ren's combat prowess had reached the absolute peak of humanity. His physical strength and magic power surged so wildly that even gods would be forced to evade his edge.
"Try to survive," Ren said calmly, looking down at the Black Dragon with eyes that burned like miniature suns.
"A mere human..." Acnologia growled, his deep voice vibrating through the fractured earth.
The Black Dragon took a massive, deep breath, pulling the surrounding atmosphere into his maw as he prepared to unleash a devastating roar. But before Acnologia could even compress his destructive magic, the golden light vanished from his line of sight.
Ren instantly materialized right beside Acnologia's massive head. Without a moment of hesitation, he pulled his fist back and punched the dragon directly in the face.
Boom————!
"Arghhhhh!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Acnologia let out a garbled scream as the sheer kinetic impact rippled through his skull. His colossal, mountainous body was sent flying violently sideways, shattering every boulder, ruin, and crater in his destructive path.
Ren didn't wait for him to recover. He tapped his foot against the air, breaking the sound barrier as he charged toward the tumbling dragon at extreme speed.
Sensing the incoming threat, Acnologia aggressively twisted his body and swung his massive tail, aiming to sweep Ren out of the sky.
Smack!
Boom————!!
Ren casually raised a single hand to block the devastating tail whip. The collision created a massive shockwave, and the sheer downward force transferred through Ren's body instantly shattered the bedrock beneath his feet.
Unfazed by the impact, Ren grabbed Acnologia's thick tail with both hands. Muscles bulging beneath his golden aura, he hoisted the colossal beast and slammed him brutally toward the ground.
Boom————!!
The earth exploded violently upon impact. The powerful shockwave caused the ground to cave in, sending massive jagged fissures tearing across the landscape.
"Oooohhhhhh!!" Acnologia roared in agony, coughing up a large mouthful of draconic blood.
Immediately after pinning him, Ren descended like a meteor, mercilessly punching Acnologia's armored body over and over again.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Every single strike flashed with blinding solar energy, each impact so heavy that it made the entire continent tremble beneath them.
"Awooooooo!!!" Acnologia couldn't help but let out a piercing scream. The sheer agony and raw power behind the cry caused everyone who heard it to shudder in pure terror.
"How does it feel, Acnologia?" Ren asked, his tone dripping with condescension. "To be looked down upon by a human?"
Hearing this insult, Acnologia flew into a blind rage. He snapped his massive, razor-sharp jaws open, lunging forward to bite Ren in half—desperate to devour this impossibly annoying human.
Ren simply tapped his foot, his golden aura flashing as he quickly retreated backward, effortlessly dodging the lethal snap of the dragon's teeth.
"Oh my! What's this? You think just because you've become a dragon, you're a mindless beast now? Even biting people?" Ren teased, floating just out of reach.
Off to the side, the Fire Dragon King Igneel's scaly face darkened considerably. Listening to the arrogant human's taunts, Igneel felt as if he had been indirectly insulted as well.
"Human, don't get too arrogant!! I am the Dragon King Acnologia!!"
Acnologia roared loudly, his body erupting with dark, apocalyptic magic. He released a powerful, omnidirectional shockwave that violently blew away the dust, debris, and everything else around him.
Even the members of Fairy Tail watching from a safe distance felt the crushing weight of Acnologia's imposing aura wash over them. Their bodies trembled involuntarily under the sheer pressure of the Black Dragon's killing intent.
"Go die!" Acnologia bellowed.
He violently flapped his massive wings, propelling himself rapidly toward Ren. His sharp claws were thickly wrapped in dense, corrosive dark power—a single strike carrying enough concentrated magic to easily shatter a mountain to dust.
"Dodge quickly———!!" the Fire Dragon King Igneel shouted, his booming voice echoing as a frantic warning.
Igneel had wanted to join the battle earlier, but he had been far too shocked by the spectacle playing out before him. The sight of Ren, a mere human, physically suppressing the legendary Acnologia in a brawl had momentarily stunned the Fire Dragon King, causing him to forget to act.
Now, seeing Acnologia launch an inescapable, full-powered attack at Ren, Igneel hurriedly tried to intervene.
But Ren seemed not to hear the Fire Dragon King's desperate warning. His face remained perfectly calm, completely devoid of fear.
Ren concentrated terrifying, hyper-dense solar magic directly onto the index finger of his left hand. Instead of retreating, he stepped forward quickly, meeting the apocalyptic claw strike head-on with a simple finger gun.
"Sacred Spear: Escanor!" Ren calmly recited.
Squelch————!
A blinding beam of golden light erupted as Ren's burning index finger pressed directly into the center of Acnologia's descending palm, cleanly piercing through the impenetrable dragon scales.
Crack! Crack———!!
A powerful, concussive impact surged up into Acnologia's arm. Unable to handle the sheer force of the concentrated solar energy, Acnologia's terrifyingly durable dragonized arm actually fractured in multiple places.
"Awoooohhhhh———!!" Acnologia let out a pained scream, staggering backward. This strike hadn't just stung; it had genuinely injured him to the bone.
"He injured Acnologia————!!" the members of Fairy Tail couldn't help but exclaim in shock, their emotions heavily stirred by the impossible sight.
Ren and Acnologia separated, sliding back across the ruined earth. Although Ren had successfully crippled Acnologia's right arm with his piercing strike, the recoil had a steep price; his own left index finger was horribly fractured and currently useless.
Acnologia truly lived up to his terrifying reputation. Even in Ren's current absolute peak state, the clash only gave him a slight advantage, ultimately resulting in a brutal mutual injury.
However, this strike completely ignited Acnologia's monstrous ferocity. For a mere human to actually injure his physical body—this was a humiliation he could not tolerate.
Roaring in pure fury, Acnologia lunged forward and swiped his uninjured claw directly at Ren's chest.
Boom————!!
"Ren———!!"
Everyone in Fairy Tail watched in horror as Acnologia's massive claw struck Ren dead center, their hearts leaping into their throats. The Fire Dragon King Igneel felt the same spike of panic.
Soon, the thick cloud of smoke cleared. Ren appeared standing in the exact same place, his golden aura still burning brightly, seemingly unharmed by the devastating blow.
"How is this possible?!" Acnologia widened his slit-like eyes in sheer disbelief.
The Fire Dragon King Igneel shared that same utter disbelief. As a Dragon himself, Igneel understood the destructive capabilities of the Dragon Clan better than anyone alive.
Acnologia's attack had seemed like just an ordinary physical swipe to the uninitiated, but it was actually heavily laced with lethal dragon-slaying magic. In high-level battles among the Dragon Clan, that specific claw strike contained enough force to easily kill an adult Dragon.
Let alone a fragile human like Ren.
For Ren to withstand that execution strike head-on and remain completely physically unharmed was theoretically impossible—this was Acnologia, the absolute pinnacle of power, after all.
"Not bad! As expected of Acnologia," Ren smirked, dusting off his shoulder. "This strike made all my bones and muscles tremble, and my very soul shake."
Ren's golden aura flared even brighter, illuminating the desolate ruins like a second sun. "Then I should return the favor properly!"
Acnologia opened his jaws wide, charging forward with reckless abandon. "Die!!"
As the colossal jaws closed in, Ren steadily formed a rigid hand blade with his right palm. The heat radiating from his hand distorted the very fabric of space around him as he calmly recited:
"Sacred Sword: Escanor!"
Ren slowly, almost deliberately, swung his blazing palm downward in a flawless arc.
Squelch———!!
A sickening sound of tearing flesh echoed across the battlefield. A massive, horrific wound instantly appeared diagonally across the broad chest of the Black Dragon Acnologia, as if he had been cleaved open by an impossibly sharp, divine blade.
Crimson draconic blood sprayed wildly from the massive laceration, splattering heavily across the scorched earth like a gruesome rain.
Acnologia's massive body came to a shuddering halt, his momentum completely broken.
The members of Fairy Tail fell into a suffocating, dead silence at the sight.
If Ren's previous attack had only injured Acnologia's arm, those watching from afar might not have fully grasped the severity of the damage—at most, they just saw that Acnologia's right arm was temporarily unusable.
But this strike was undeniably different. It genuinely, deeply injured the Black Dragon King. It wasn't just a minor flesh wound, but a severe, potentially life-threatening injury. The exaggerated visual impact of the spraying blood and the gaping slash was truly, utterly shocking.
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