Chapter 319

Before it could even touch the middle-aged man, it froze in place.

An intense chill encircled the man's body, as though even the surrounding space had iced over.

"So he can freeze things this powerfully? Could it be he's able to 'elementalize,' like that guy I met in the Fiola Kingdom?"

Ron's mind raced.

"If that's the case, then regular physical attacks won't do much. 

But this situation's slightly better than before— Ice can be countered by fire."

Natsu charged forward, flames roaring around him. The moment the flames got close, the chilling aura around the man visibly weakened.

"Claw!"

Dark-red claws slashed at the man, who calmly conjured a blade of ice in his hand to meet the assault.

Clang! 

Clang! 

Clang!

A series of metallic crashes rang out.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Natsu spewed a fierce stream of fire from his mouth, flooding toward the man.

"Not bad at all."

A look of admiration flashed in the man's eyes. He didn't try to tank the blow; instead, he shifted sideways, letting Natsu's flames sweep past harmlessly.

Killer Queen appeared at the man's side, but, slowed by the cold air, couldn't move swiftly enough upon drawing near. Killer Queen barely affected him. Moreover, the man had seen Ron kill the other Nen user earlier, so he gave Killer Queen no chance to close in.

Ron's eyes flickered.

"This guy has absolute confidence in himself. Or maybe he just doesn't take my strength seriously. 

He clearly has openings to attack me, yet he's holding back—trying to draw out more of my abilities, to force me into showing all my cards.

"In a head-on fight, I'm not his match. But if he keeps this attitude, it might be my opportunity—my only shot at victory!"

At that thought:

"Scales of Gravity!"

While Natsu was attacking him, the gravity-dampening effect quietly latched onto the man. Little by little, it lowered his gravity:

Half… 

One-third… 

One-quarter… 

One-sixth… 

All the way to one-eighth.

The man felt his entire body go light. Even for an A-level Nen user, adapting to an eightfold decrease in weight took some time. Meanwhile, the flames on Natsu's body burned fiercer, raising the surrounding temperature. Although the man was stronger than Natsu, fire inherently suppressed ice.

Just then—

"Rotten Life Blade!"

Seizing a moment of vulnerability, Ron swung the Rotten Life Blade again. A ghostly gleam struck the man, and countless insect eggs popped up across his body. The bugs quickly hatched, crawling all over him.

The man's expression went cold. 

"How disgusting."

A chill more potent than before engulfed him, attempting to lock down the insects, yet it couldn't entirely stop them. They continued devouring his aura.

"Kid, if there's anything else up your sleeve, show it now," he said. "My patience is wearing thin."

Ron kept slashing with the Rotten Life Blade. 

Meanwhile—

Pop!

Hanma Baki clapped his hands, swapping positions with Natsu once again. The instant Baki attacked the man, the Scales of Gravity effect flipped from an eightfold reduction to doubling the man's weight—effectively a sixteenfold shift. 

Under such a sudden change, the man stumbled. 

Killer Queen pounced from behind, swinging a baseball bat—

Bang!

And smashed it straight into him. 

At the same time, another glow from the Rotten Life Blade landed on him, spawning even more insects.

"I…am Ice!"

With a frown, the man's entire body morphed into a mass of frost. 

Overhead, Natsu leaped high and inhaled deeply—

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

A blaze far hotter than before cascaded down, engulfing the area. Even in ice-elemental form, he couldn't escape damage. In fact, as living ice, the surface area the flames could burn was even larger. 

Forced to abandon his elemental state, he reverted to human form.

"You actually managed to put me in a bit of a spot," the man muttered, glancing at himself. 

He hadn't expected that. Though he'd watched Ron kill a B-level user, he still assumed he could mop the floor with Ron. He'd treated him like a child, only testing him out because he saw potential. He never dreamed Ron's strength would surpass his predictions, leaving him slightly disheveled. 

He found this hard to accept.

"All right, kid—one last chance. Now it's my turn. I'll show you real power!"

Ron stared intently at him.

"Ren!"

He refined even more aura, letting a massive presence surge around him. Then he glanced toward Natsu.

Boom!

Strong flames ignited around Natsu, and simultaneously, Killer Queen, Lampent, and Hanma Baki all lunged at the man.

"Fire Dragon's Horn!" 

"Turbid Mist!" 

"Cockroach Charge!" 

"Eat my fist!"

All four Nen beasts attacked at once.

"Freeze!"

At his shout, huge ice crystals formed around him, lashing out with a wave of frigid air that overwhelmed Natsu and the others. The Turbid Mist spread around him, but both Killer Queen and Hanma Baki failed to reach him.

Only Natsu got closer—