Fairy Tail: Lost One-Chapter 26: Return Of Fairy Tail

Rudra stepped forward, his boots crunching against the dry, lifeless ground. The air was still, thick with an eerie silence. No trees, no animals, not even the whisper of wind—just endless desolation. It was as if this place had never known life.

And then he saw it.

A colossal tree loomed in the distance, standing defiant against the emptiness. Its massive trunk twisted toward the heavens, its sprawling branches casting ghostly shadows across the barren land. At its center, a single fruit pulsed with an ethereal glow, radiating power beyond comprehension.

"Well, that's not ominous at all," Rudra muttered, narrowing his eyes. The moment he laid eyes on it, something clicked in his mind. "Wait a second... is that what I think it is?"

[Affirmative, Host. That is a Chakra Fruit.]

Rudra exhaled sharply. "Damn... The Chakra Tree." He scanned the wasteland again, a gnawing thought creeping in. "Hold up. Is this—?"

[Negative. While we are in the Naruto universe, this is a different planet.]

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

[You heard me. Different planet. Not the Elemental Nations.]

Rudra pinched the bridge of his nose. "So you're telling me someone planted this bad boy out here, farmed a Chakra Fruit, and just... left?"

[Correct, Host.]

"That's like baking a cake and forgetting to eat it. Who does that?"

[Otsutsuki.]

Rudra sighed, rubbing his temples. "Of course it's those chakra-sucking parasites." He shook his head. "Alright, System, what are my chances of using Dimension Shift to yeet myself back home?"

[Calculating... Probability: 0.000000001%.]

He groaned. "So basically impossible. Cool, cool. Love that for me."

Then, a thought struck him. His eyes lit up. "Wait... what about Yamato?"

The system let out a long, suffering sigh. [Are you serious, Host? You actually forgot about that?]

Rudra chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah... guess I did."

[Unbelievable.]

Ignoring his system's judgment, Rudra turned his gaze back to the Chakra Tree. The fruit shimmered like a miniature sun, its energy thrumming in the air. His fingers twitched.

"I gotta see it up close."

[Oh, for the love of—]

Rudra vanished in an instant, reappearing at the very top of the tree. He reached out, his fingers brushing against the glowing fruit before plucking it free.

The moment he did, his Observation Haki flared.

His entire body tensed. An overwhelming presence flooded his senses, crashing into him like a tidal wave. It was vast. Suffocating. Ancient.

His eyes snapped upward.

"Oh, shit. I'm not alone."

From the void of space, figures descended, their forms breaking through the atmosphere like meteors. The sheer force of their arrival made the air tremble. As they drew closer, Rudra counted.

One. Two. Three.

Fifteen.

Each one radiated monstrous chakra levels, far beyond anything he had sensed before. Their power was overwhelming, pressing down on him like gravity itself.

His system let out a long, resigned sigh. [Well, Host... it was nice knowing you.]

Rudra cracked his knuckles, a grin stretching across his face. "Tch... they look strong."

He shifted into a battle stance, his aura flaring to life.

"Let's dance."

Back At Fairy Tail world

The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows over the quiet forest near Magnolia. A soft breeze rustled the leaves as Romeo carefully swept the front yard of Rudra's house, his movements slow and methodical. He had just finished his daily training, sweat still clinging to his skin, but his mind was elsewhere.

His gaze drifted toward a small wooden bench near the porch—the place where Rudra used to sit. A sigh escaped his lips.

"Six months... It's been six damn months since that bastard disappeared."

Ever since Rudra vanished without a trace, Romeo had dedicated himself to training relentlessly. If Rudra ever returned, he wanted to be strong enough to stand beside him. His days had become a repetitive cycle—train, clean the house, go on missions, and repeat. A dull ache settled in his chest as he wondered, "When will that bastard come back?"

Just as he was lost in thought, a voice shattered the peaceful evening.

"ROMEO! YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT!"

Romeo nearly jumped out of his skin and instinctively grabbed his broom like a weapon. Turning sharply, he saw Bisca sprinting toward him, her usual composed demeanor nowhere to be found. She was panting, excitement and disbelief written all over her face.

Romeo's heart pounded. "Is it Rudra?! Did he come back?!"

Bisca shook her head, still catching her breath. "No... but the missing Fairy Tail members—THEY'RE BACK!"

Romeo blinked. Then blinked again.

His brain stalled like an old magic cart trying to start in winter.

Then, his broom slipped from his fingers and clattered onto the ground.

"WHAT?!"

His body moved on instinct, his feet pushing off with a burst of speed. Leaves and dust swirled in his wake as he dashed toward Magnolia, his pulse thundering in his ears.

As he sped through the streets, he barely registered the people yelling at him to slow down.

"Outta the way! Urgent business!" Romeo shouted as he dodged a cart. "Sorry, old man! Didn't mean to—oh crap, watch out for the—okay, yeah, that was your fault!"

Reaching the Fairy Tail guild hall, he didn't slow down. He slammed open the doors, nearly breaking them off their hinges.

And there they were.

The once-missing members of Fairy Tail stood at the center of the guild, surrounded by stunned and overjoyed comrades. Their familiar faces, their warmth, their presence—it was all real.

Tears welled up in Romeo's eyes as emotions crashed over him like a tidal wave. His voice cracked as he shouted:

"YOU GUYS ARE BACK!"

Before anyone could react, he launched himself forward, tackling Natsu in a desperate, relieved hug.

Natsu let out a surprised grunt, staggering back. "Whoa, Romeo! You been working out, or did you just eat an entire cow before this?"

Romeo sniffled but tightened his grip. "Hard work, you flame-brained idiot!"

Lucy giggled, gently patting Romeo's back. "We missed you too, Romeo... and wow, you really grew."

Gray smirked, folding his arms. "Didn't think you'd be the emotional type."

Romeo, still clinging to Natsu, turned just enough to shoot him a glare. "Shut up, you're crying too."

Gray scoffed, then touched his face. His eyes widened. "Huh? No, I'm—oh, damn it. Who cut onions in here?!"

"YOU'RE HOLDING AN ONION, GRAY."

Gray looked down to see an actual onion in his hand. "...Where the hell did this come from?"

Erza, standing tall, gave Romeo a proud nod. "You held the guild together while we were gone. Well done."

Romeo beamed. "Thanks, Erza!"

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

"Of course," she continued, serious. "As a reward, you may have one slice of my strawberry cake."

Before Romeo could respond, Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel simultaneously took a step back, horrified.

"ERZA! NO ONE WANTS THAT!" Natsu blurted.

Erza's eyes narrowed dangerously. "...What did you say?"

The trio fell silent. Somewhere, a chair creaked ominously.

Meanwhile, Wendy giggled, hugging Romeo. "We really are back... I missed everyone so much."

Gajeel scoffed, though there was no malice in his voice. "Tch, don't go crying all over us, kid. You'll mess up your badass rep."

Laxus, standing with his arms crossed, let out a rare smirk. "Heh. You really think we'd stay gone forever?"

"Honestly? Yeah!" Romeo shot back. "You guys pulled a disappearing act with no warning! I thought I was gonna have to replace you all with clones or something!"

"...Wait, that was an option?" Natsu asked, intrigued.

Romeo sighed. "No, dumbass. That was a joke."

"Aw, man..."

Before Romeo could continue his emotional reunion, a loud voice rang through the guild hall.

"DRINKS ON ME!"

A second later, barrels of alcohol materialized out of nowhere—courtesy of Cana, who was already dual-wielding two massive mugs. The entire guild exploded into cheers, laughter, and absolute chaos.

For six months, he had trained, worked, and waited.

Now, the family that had been torn away had finally returned.

But deep inside, he still held onto one thought.

"Now... when will Rudra come back?"

And, perhaps more importantly—

"Why is Happy trying to steal my sandwich?"

Romeo swatted at the blue Exceed, who was already halfway through unwrapping his lunch. "Hey! Get your paws off that!"

Happy blinked innocently. "But I thought you were too emotional to eat!"

"That doesn't mean I want you to eat it!"

"Well, sharing is caring," Happy countered, his tail swishing.

"Yeah? Well, I don't care about you right now!"

"Aye..." Happy pouted, reluctantly letting go.

As the guild hall drowned in the chaos of celebration, two figures sat in a quieter corner of the bar, engaged in a more serious conversation.

Macao, the current guild master, took a slow sip of his drink while across from him sat Makarov, the former master of Fairy Tail. Despite his usual jovial nature, Makarov's face was serious as he watched the lively guild hall.

With a deep sigh, he turned to Macao. "So, Macao... how did the guild end up in this state?"

Macao sighed, rubbing his temple. "It's a long story, Master..." He set his drink down. "After you all disappeared on Tenrou Island, things started falling apart. Without our strongest members, Fairy Tail started to decline. We lost jobs, our reputation took a hit, and members started leaving one by one."

Makarov's expression darkened. He clenched his fist. "I see..."

Macao offered a tired smile. "But... believe it or not, what you see now is a better version of the guild compared to how bad it got back then."

Makarov frowned. "Then what changed?"

Macao hesitated, then muttered, "Rudra came back."

Makarov blinked. "Rudra?" His voice was laced with disbelief. "What do you mean, Rudra came back?"

Macao nodded. "Yeah... after you guys vanished, Rudra disappeared too. No one knew where he went. Honestly, most of us thought he was gone for good."

Makarov narrowed his eyes. "How long?"

"Five... maybe six years." Macao sighed. "And then, out of nowhere, one day he just walks into the guild like nothing happened. Said he had lost his memory."

Makarov's grip tightened around his mug. "Lost his memory...?"

Macao nodded. "That's what he claimed. Didn't remember a thing about where he had been or why he left." He looked down at his drink. "And honestly? We didn't care. We just needed him."

Makarov remained silent, lost in thought. Rudra... That troublemaker?

Then a thought hit him. His eyes darted back to Macao. "Well, where is he, then? I didn't see him in the guild."

Macao exhaled sharply. "Well, Master... how should I put this?" He scratched the back of his head. "About six months ago... he disappeared again. The only person he told about it was Romeo."

Makarov's eyes widened. "Romeo?" He leaned forward, voice firm. "Why Romeo?"

Macao exhaled through his nose. "Because Romeo is his disciple."

PFFFFFT!

Makarov spit out his drink so violently that a poor guild member across the room got hit. "MASTER?! RUDRA?! SINCE WHEN?!"

Macao patted the old man's back, completely unfazed. "Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction too. But if you're thinking about the old Rudra, you're wrong. After he came back, he was different. His personality, his demeanor—everything changed."

Makarov wiped his mouth, still in shock. "That idiot... a teacher?" He slumped back in his chair, rubbing his temples. "I need more alcohol."

As they continued talking, neither of them noticed that their conversation had been overheard.

At the bar, Mira had stopped mid-motion while polishing a glass, her expression unreadable.

Rudra...

Her hands tightened slightly around the glass.

Something told her that this was far from the last time they'd be hearing his name.