Far from Tenrou Island, on a deserted island.
The Council forces, swept here by the turbulent currents, stood frozen. Their gazes, fixed on the five massive dark shadows standing beneath the shattered sky, were filled with terror.
Even from such a great distance, they could clearly feel the oppressive, chilling aura.
Some of the weaker-willed ones collapsed to their knees on the spot, vomiting uncontrollably.
"Hey, hey... what is going on here?" Lahar's forehead was covered in cold sweat. The exhaustion forced him to lean on a nearby coconut tree. "Doranbolt, is there any record of such giant monsters in the magical world's archives?"
Unlike him, who often had to go out on enforcement missions, Doranbolt—Mest—focused more on intelligence gathering and information processing, giving him access to more relevant documents.
"No. Absolutely none," Mest said, shaking his head.
The appearance of Acnologia and that mysterious red dragon alone would already cause an uproar in the magical world. Who could have imagined that something even more terrifying would appear?!
Would the existing order be shattered? Would the world be destroyed?
"In any case, we need to contact the Council as soon as possible," Lahar said, still managing to remain somewhat calm.
Unfortunately, all their shipboard communication equipment had been destroyed. Stranded on this deserted island, they had no way back for the time being.
What Lahar didn't know was that, back when Acnologia and Slifer had been engaged in their fierce battle in the sky, the Council had already detected the massive magical fluctuations and had deployed their magic satellite to observe the entire process!
The councilors were shocked speechless by the world-ending energy clashes.
Some extreme, thoughtless members even proposed using Etherion to destroy both giant dragons and Tenrou Island, eliminating the threat once and for all.
Fortunately, some councilors, including Ultear, still had their wits about them. They quickly stood up in opposition, arguing strenuously.
The safety of Fairy Tail's Tenrou group was irrelevant to some people. So, their main counter-argument focused on the uncertainty of whether Etherion would even be effective against Acnologia.
At times like this, the importance of having someone on the inside became clear.
The arguments continued, and even after Acnologia sank into the sea, they didn't stop. Instead, they grew fiercer.
And then, the sky split open without warning. Space shattered. The satellite feed flickered with static before plunging into darkness.
On Tenrou Island.
Perhaps under the suppression of some kind of rule, the five giant figures standing on the sea all showed varying degrees of distortion.
The giant eyes and the endless black mist beneath their bodies continuously trembled, flickering between the illusory and the real.
Natsu and the others, who had been pinned down by the oppressive aura and unable to move, finally got a chance to breathe. They successfully reunited with Chase and the others on the other side.
"Hey, Chase! Are you guys okay?"
"Acnologia's gone? Did you beat that monster?!"
"A man! As expected of my sister! That manliness is just too strong!"
"Thank goodness, Lucy-chan! You're safe~"
"Everyone, let me treat your wounds!"
Through the shocking battlefield before them and Acnologia's complete disappearance, the others quickly deduced what had happened.
The joy of defeating the legendary Acnologia brought tears to their eyes. Even the oppressive feeling from the surrounding dark shadows was somewhat alleviated.
Natsu, who would usually be chagrinedly shouting at a time like this, was unusually calm. He stood dejectedly in the crowd, still immersed in the sorrow and confusion of Igneel's sudden "appearance" and sudden "disappearance."
Gajeel's reaction was similar. He wore a deeply furrowed brow.
He hadn't heard the Iron Dragon Metalicana's voice. He had only learned from Natsu on the way over about the possible reason for that strange sensation.
Wendy was probably feeling the same way. But, being the sensible one, she suppressed her longing for the Sky Dragon Grandeeney and ran over to give emergency treatment to the heavily wounded Chase and the others.
"Now is not the time for celebration..." Makarov, covered in bandages, sat on the ground, his brow furrowed, his expression grave.
Defeating Acnologia was certainly cause for joy. But now, they seemed to be in an even greater crisis!
No matter how powerful, at least Acnologia had records in the prophecies. But those five giant figures...
Chase's expression was even grimmer than Makarov's.
If Slifer's judgment was correct, those were all "gods" native to the Fairy Tail world, beings bearing divine auras!
"M-maybe those things aren't targeting us?" Mira, seeing his tense nerves, silently gripped his hand.
The cold, sweaty palm of the girl showed that she wasn't as calm as she appeared on the surface.
"Mira's right. Maybe it's just some undiscovered natural phenomenon?" Erza walked over slowly. Her arms and chest were also wrapped in bandages.
"Hopefully." Chase sighed softly. Unease lingered in his heart.
Leaving aside whether Fairy Tail's Ultra-Magic would even work against divine power, the guild members and the entire island were already at their limit. They couldn't even support the first master Mavis activating Fairy Sphere.
So, if those beings showed even a hint of hostility, they would all be buried here!
For a moment, Chase even thought, "Maybe getting sealed away for seven years, like in the original story, wouldn't have led to this situation."
But he quickly rejected that thought.
As he had said before, rather than leaving the fate of himself and his comrades to the uncertainty of "plot," he would rather live in the present and give it his all!
Their somewhat heavy conversation plunged the once relaxed, joyful atmosphere into silence. Everyone looked uneasily at the torn sky.
After Trembling violently a couple of times, one of the giant figures was the first to stabilize from its shifting between the unreal and the real.
The thin black mist became as thick and viscous as tar, its top stretching beyond sight.
The giant eye, embedded in what could be called its chest, contained a magical array the size of a small town. It suddenly glowed red. A chilling vertical pupil condensed into form. An aura of death spread.
BOOM!!
A terrifying aura, several times more sinister and evil than before, madly surged, instantly spreading across the entire sea!
In the crowd, Wendy merely made eye contact with that giant eye. And in an instant, disaster struck.
Without any time to react, without any warning sign, as if her existence had been simply erased, she vanished without a trace!
"WENDY?!" Everyone cried out in horror.
***
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