Rudra sprinted across the open field, his left hand throbbing with every step. The burning ache from the activation of the Karma mark refused to fade, and he knew exactly what it meant. The System confirmed his fears.
Host, I've detected several entities forcefully breaking through the world barrier. If my estimation is correct… they're most likely Ōtsutsuki from the Naruto world.
Rudra exhaled sharply, his expression tightening. Of course… they had to come now of all times.
He pushed his body harder, his feet pounding against the earth as Magnolia's distant skyline loomed closer.
"System," Rudra muttered between breaths, "can I at least use chakra? Or my devil power?"
Negative, host. I am already working at full capacity to restrict the Karma seal's influence. Forcing other powers into circulation would only worsen the damage to your body.
"Figures…" Rudra sighed, though his pace never faltered.
His thoughts darkened. If Shibai himself is among them, then I'm cooked. Otherwise, a few wannabe gods shouldn't be too much trouble… I can manage with haki.
Meanwhile, inside the Fairy Tail guild, everything seemed normal. Members laughed, drank, and brawled as usual. A table went crashing to the floor with Natsu and Gray wrestling on top of it, while cheers and shouts filled the hall.
At the counter, Makarov sat with a drink in hand, Cana beside him, chugging straight from a barrel.
"Master," Cana said between gulps, "don't you think Erza and Mira's mission is taking a little too long?"
Makarov let out a small grunt, swirling his cup. "Something happened in Crocus. The whole capital was under lockdown until recently. That must've delayed them. They'll be back soon enough."
Cana frowned, lowering the barrel. "But… isn't it strange? Why lock down an entire capital with no warning?"
The old master sighed, taking another sip. "Strange, yes. But answers will come when the girls return. No point chewing on shadows, child." Still, his eyes narrowed slightly, betraying the unease behind his words. Something big did happen in the capital…
Before the thought could settle, the guild doors slammed open with a thunderous crack.
Every voice fell silent.
Several figures stepped inside—pale, unfamiliar, their movements stiff and deliberate. Their eerie presence cut through the lively atmosphere like a blade.
The room tensed. Natsu and Gray froze mid-fight, Lucy rose from her chair, and even Makarov set his cup down.
The strangers didn't speak. They simply stood there, eyes sweeping across Fairy Tail like predators who had just entered a den. Their silence was heavy, suffocating.
One of them finally spoke, his voice hollow yet commanding.
"Are you certain this is the place?"
Another Otsutsuki narrowed his gaze, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "Yes. This is where I sensed traces of a chakra fruit."
That word alone made the others stir.
"Then that means…" one muttered darkly, "…the one Shibai warned us about—he came from here."
The tallest of them scoffed, disdain dripping from every word. "Impossible. Shibai told us that man was dangerous beyond measure. Yet all I see here are weak insects buzzing about." His pale eyes swept over the guild members with open contempt.
The insult cut through the silence like a blade.
Natsu, who had been watching quietly, slammed his hand on the table, the wood cracking under his palm. "Oi! Who the hell are you calling weak insects?!"
The Otsutsuki didn't even turn his head. They simply ignored him.
That only stoked Natsu's fire further. He stepped forward, flames sparking around his fists. "Oi! I said stop ignoring me when I'm talking to you!"
Before he could rush in, Makarov's voice rang sharp and heavy. "Natsu. Sit down."
The dragon slayer froze mid-step. He turned to protest—only to see the master's face. Serious. Tight with unease. Not the look of a man treating this lightly.
Makarov rose from his seat, each step deliberate as he approached the intruders. His voice was calm but firm. "My name is Makarov Dreyar. I am the master of Fairy Tail. And I will ask you plainly—why have you come here?"
The Otsutsuki in front sneered, looking down at him as though he were dirt on his boots. "We don't care who you are, insect. Tell us where we can find him."
As he spoke, a clone of Rudra shimmered into existence beside Makarov, its sudden appearance drawing wide eyes across the guild.
Makarov's brow furrowed. "Why are you searching for him?"
"You don't need to know," the Otsutsuki snapped. "Just tell us where he is—or everyone here will die."
The tension in the hall spiked instantly. Guild members rose to their feet, weapons drawn, magic surging in the air. Eyes turned to Makarov, waiting for his response.
But the old master stood tall, voice steady despite the threat. "We don't know who you're talking about. We've never met him in our lives."
The Otsutsuki's smirk widened into something darker. "Never met him, huh?"
In a blur of movement, faster than human eyes could track, Makarov was hoisted into the air by the throat. One of the pale intruders held him with a single hand, lifting him as if he weighed nothing.
"Don't toy with me, old man," the Otsutsuki said, voice like steel wrapped in velvet. His grip tightened, the crunch of bone echoing through the guild hall. "I read the truth in your eyes."
Makarov's legs thrashed, boots scraping helplessly at empty air as his breath choked away.
"Master!" Lucy screamed, keys already shining in her hand.
That was the spark.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu didn't hesitate—the guild shook as he unleashed a blazing torrent of fire that swallowed the air in heat and fury.
But the Otsutsuki tilted his head, unimpressed. A ripple of alien chakra shimmered across his body, erasing the flames before they could even lick his skin.
"Pathetic."
"Ice-Make: Lance!" Gray was right there, a flurry of razor-sharp ice spears crashing forward like a frozen storm. They shattered uselessly against the pale aura, scattering shards across the floor.
"Open! Gate of the Golden Bull—Taurus!" Lucy's spirit exploded forth, axe cleaving down with brute strength. The Otsutsuki caught the weapon with two fingers. A flick—Taurus was ripped apart into stardust and forced back into his gate.
"Lucy!" Cana slammed a hand of glowing cards onto the floor. "Sacred Lot!" Explosive magic burst outward in a shockwave that rattled the hall to its foundations. Still, the intruders strolled through the storm untouched, like gods among children.
A bolt of lightning split the silence. "Thunder Dragon's Jaw!"
Laxus dropped from above like a thunderbolt, his fist detonating against the arm throttling Makarov. The crack of impact echoed like thunder. For the first time, the Otsutsuki's grip faltered.
Makarov crashed to the ground, coughing and clutching his throat—but alive.
The intruder turned, pale eyes narrowing on Laxus. That calm, godlike mask cracked into something sharper. "...So the insects bare their fangs."
"Damn right we do." Lightning danced wildly across Laxus's body, his glare like a storm about to break. "Nobody touches our family."
Another raised his hand, pale fingers curling. At his fingertips, an orb of energy coalesced, pulling the air itself toward it with a low, unnatural hum."Then let us play… before we kill you."
The guild trembled as the battered mages rallied, shoulder to shoulder. With a defiant roar, they unleashed everything they had—Natsu's firestorm, Gray's frozen lances, Laxus's thunder, Lucy's celestial brilliance—all surging together in one desperate storm.
But the Otsutsuki merely raised his hand.
A vacuum ripped through the guild, an abyssal pull that devoured everything. Natsu's flames guttered out, Gray's ice shattered to mist, Laxus's thunder dissolved into silence. Every spell was swallowed whole—dragged screaming into nothingness.
"W-What the hell?!" Natsu staggered, staring as his flames winked out like dying sparks.
"Magic… it's being eaten," Gray whispered, eyes wide with horror.
The Otsutsuki's pale gaze gleamed with disdain. "So fragile. Your power is nothing before ours."
With a casual flick, he unleashed an invisible wave. The guild hall detonated with force. Tables splintered, walls cracked, bodies were flung like dolls. Lucy slammed into the counter, her keys scattering in a ringing clatter.
"Lucy!" Happy cried, wings beating furiously as he darted toward her.
Another intruder blurred forward, moving faster than vision itself. In an instant, he stood before Laxus. His palm struck the dragon slayer's chest. Lightning erupted wildly—then died, absorbed into the pale hand.
Blood burst from Laxus's lips as he was hurled into the wall with bone-cracking force, stone shattering in a crater around him. He slumped, barely conscious, trying to rise through trembling limbs.
"Laxus!" Cana screamed, throwing a flurry of glowing cards. They barely left her hands before dissolving into ash, shredded midair by nothing more than the intruder's gaze. His eyes rippled with power, mocking her effort.
Freed's runes flared across the floor, intricate restraints glowing brilliantly. "Dark Écriture: Bind!" His voice rang with desperate resolve—yet the Otsutsuki stepped through as if walking through mist. "Your sigils hold no meaning," one said flatly, blasting Freed aside with a condensed sphere of chakra that tore through floorboards like paper.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Natsu roared, forcing his battered body upright, wings of fire lashing out as he launched himself forward.
A pale hand caught him mid-flight, crushing the flames against its skin until they fizzled to smoke. The Otsutsuki slammed him into the ground with bone-breaking force, then hurled him across the hall into Gray. The two crashed together through a table, blood spilling from their mouths.
"ENOUGH!"
Makarov's voice thundered like a war drum. His body swelled into his Titan form, muscles swelling, shadow towering. His fist—large enough to crush stone in one blow—descended like a mountain.
The three of the Otsutsuki moved in unison. One caught his giant hand as though it weighed nothing. Another vaulted onto his arm, a glowing hand stabbing straight through flesh, tearing screams from the old master. The third unleashed a concussive wave that slammed into Makarov's chest, shrinking his giant form back to his frail human body.
The master collapsed, clutching his ribs, gasping in pain.
Around him lay Fairy Tail's finest, scattered and broken. Lucy crawled weakly toward her keys. Cana's cards lay burnt across the floor. Gray groaned, bloodied and limp. Laxus tried to rise, lightning crackling faintly around his hand, only to collapse again.
And the Otsutsuki stood untouched. Robes unwrinkled. Pale eyes glinting with mockery.
One of them stepped forward, surveying the ruin of Fairy Tail. "Pathetic. These are the allies of the one Shibai warned us about? Insects, nothing more."
Another smirked faintly, his eyes glowing as he scanned the hall. "And yet… traces of his energy linger here. He was here. Recently."
The tallest of them looked down at Makarov, who was still kneeling, blood dripping from his mouth. "This is the price of your defiance. Now you will learn what true extinction means."
Then one of the Otsutsuki lifted his hand, power rippling outward. The guild's roof shattered, torn away in an instant. His pale cloak snapped in the rushing wind as he rose into the air, weightless—as if even gravity bent to him.
He extended a single hand skyward. Above Magnolia, the light dimmed. Energy churned and coiled at his palm, condensing into a black sphere veined with crimson spirals. The air itself trembled beneath its weight—the birth of a Bijūdama.
The sight froze every heart in Fairy Tail.
Lucy, her hand shaking as she reached for her keys, let them fall. "N-No…"
Gray stared wide-eyed, his voice breaking. "That… that thing… if he fires it here, Magnolia will be—"
"Wiped out," Laxus finished hoarsely, clutching his ribs.
The guild members who could still move backed away, eyes glued to the massive orb growing in the sky. Its hum grew louder, heavier, like the sound of the world tearing apart.
The other Otsutsuki remained on the ground, watching calmly, their cold gazes sweeping over the broken mages.
"This is the price for defiance," one said, voice as sharp as steel.
Cana's hands trembled around her cards, tears streaking her face. "P-Please… stop… we'll tell you whatever you want, just don't…"
Levy, clutching her bleeding arm, cried out in desperation. "Don't destroy the city! The people—there are innocent people!"
Makarov forced himself upright, staggering, his voice ragged."Wait! I'll tell you—I'll tell you everything! Just… please, don't do this!"
The Otsutsuki's gaze slid to him, face unreadable."Your words mean nothing. Dead or alive, we will take what we seek. Even your corpse will yield the truth."
Above, the Bijūdama swelled, now as large as the guild hall itself. Its surface pulsed with black and red light, the very air bending around it.
Lucy sobbed, collapsing to her knees. "We can't… we can't stop that…"
Even Natsu, whose spirit never broke, could only grit his teeth, his fists trembling against the floor. "Damn it… damn it all…"
The pale Otsutsuki in the sky raised his hand higher, the Bijūdama hovering above his palm like the judgment of a god. His voice echoed cold and final across the silent, broken guild:
"Burn with the rest of this city. Let extinction be your answer."
The sphere trembled, its surface pulsing black and crimson.
Then—his arm moved.
The Bijūdama began its descent.