While Lucy tried hard to change the topic away from the slip of her tongue, not that I was bothered by it, we ended up discussing the Magic Council, which had rebuilt its headquarters and was influencing its authority in Fiore once more as we scaled the hill.
Once we reached the peak, where the rubble of the Sabertooth guild lay, the three of us stopped and silently looked at the mess before us, all coming to the same conclusion. 'This is going to be so tedious.' Internally groaning, I glanced at Cana and Lucy, the two sporting the same annoyed expression.
"Haa, I hate myself for suggesting this." Lucy hung her head, sighing in despair. "Well, we probably would've come here eventually; it's just sooner rather than later." Nodding in agreement with Cana, I brushed my hair behind my shoulder. "Yeah, you're right. Let's just get this over with. The more we delay it, the more we won't want to start it." "How about we just don't start it?"
Lucy gives me a hopeful smile, though I shake my head in response and step forward, beginning the excruciating, tedious job of tossing aside debris, cleaning the site we came to search. "Haa, I can already feel my future lower-back pains." Speaking softly, Cana joined me, hauling aside cinder-block-sized rubble.
"Tsk, we'll, I'm not doing this alone. Leo!" Grabbing her key, Lucy summoned Loke, who appeared beside her, dressed in a black suit, and I couldn't hate; he looked good in it. "Ah, Lucy, to what pleasure can I help my beautiful Mistress do?" Smiling, he dropped to a knee, tenderly holding Lucy's hand while gazing up at her.
"Help us clear this place out!" Tossing a broken pillar aside, I called out to Loke, whose expression turned stiff, and when he glanced at Lucy, who nodded and joined Cana and I, he sighed, lowering his head. "You've got to be kidding me."
With the four of us working together, we moved at a respectable pace, slowly clearing out the rubble while searching for any signs of dark mages.
The hours bleed away like this, eventually, the sun set, leaving us in the dark as we sat atop a broken pillar, taking a break to eat dinner I'd gotten from a restaurant.
"Nothing tastes better than food when you're hungry." Moaning softly, Cana practically stuffed her, uncaring for the mess she was making, causing me to sigh as I grabbed a napkin. "I know you're hungry, but you're spilling like half your food into your chest." Shaking my head slightly, I cleaned the spilled food from her cleavage before taking a few bites of my own plate.
"I concur, this is good." "Aren't you a celestial spirit? Do you even need to eat? Actually, can you? You're not biologically human, right?" Eyeing Loke, who looked like an office worker who had just gotten off work, his suit was loose, unbuttoned, and his tie thrown to the ground.
"You've seen me eat before, haven't you?" "Huh, yeah. But do you need to?" "No, I just eat it for the taste." "Oh. Then pay me back; I didn't buy you dinner so you can enjoy the taste." "Tsk, so stingy, big bro." Snorting, I rolled my eyes, finishing my plate before standing and stretching.
Since the others were still eating, I decided to continue moving the rubble. As I lifted and tossed aside a large stone wall, revealing the ground beneath, I noticed it felt a bit weird to walk across. 'Feels hollow.' Frowning slightly, I stand in the middle and tap the ground, feeling the vibrations.
Yet as I did so, the ground beneath me suddenly crumbled, causing me to fall down a large chute; reorienting myself, I landed feet-first. "Well, I wasn't expecting that." Dusting my hands, I glanced down the long, dark hallway, where I could sense a bunch of magic power.
"Big bro!?" "Big bro, you okay!?" Hearing Lucy and Cana, I looked up, seeing them peeking over the edge. "Yeah! I'm good! Found something though! Jump down, I'll catch you!"
After a few seconds, Cana jumped down first; just before she neared me, I jumped, catching her mid-air, offsetting some of the impact. "That was pretty fun." Blowing hair out of her mouth, she smirked and exited my arms while Lucy went next, prompting me to do the same with her. "T-That was scary." Setting her down, Loke followed after, performing a super hero landing before dusting his clothes off.
"So, what is this place?" "Your guess is as good as mine. But there's a lot of magic converging in the distance; I bet it's something to do with the dark mages." I walked forward, taking the lead down the long hallway; there were no traps, surprisingly. Well, I suppose if this is really the dark mage's secret base, they wouldn't install traps as they knew I was coming.
'Nah, that theory wouldn't work; they didn't specify me in the quest just so they can get killed. They've got to have something.' Although I didn't think whatever the dark mages had planned would be able to stop me, I was still cautious, mainly out of worry for Lucy and Cana's safety, not mine.
"This place gives me the creeps." "How so? It's just dark." "Yeah, but scary things usually happen in the dark." "Can't argue that." As the two quietly spoke behind me, we slowed to a halt before a set of large double doors. "How much you want to bet a ritual is happening?" Glancing at the three, they shook their heads. "Not taking a losing bet." "Nope." "I already owe you for dinner, so definitely not."
Scoffing at their cowardice, I pushed open the doors, walking into the large cavern, which was filled with numerous dark mages waiting for us, as if they knew we would come. 'Well, we didn't hide in Gazania; they've known about us for a while.' Walking forward, my gaze swept the crowd of dark mages, causing them to flinch and nervously gulp.
"Haa, weird. No way a bunch of weaklings, unable to even meet my gaze, sent me that trap quest." Furrowing my brows, I scratched my head, utterly confused at the situation before us; there were probably more than a hundred mages, yet not a single person was daring to step forward. If anything, they cowered when I looked at them.
'Wait, maybe I missed something? It's possible.' As I began second-guessing myself, one of the mages finally stepped forward, albeit she was consumed with fear and a bit of lust.
"C-Cooper, w-we've been ordered to let you pass." She nervously gestured to the corridor behind them, where I could sense the growing magic, causing me to frown. "Huh, why?" "Ah, I think I get it. They're looking to separate us, big bro."
At Cana's words, I snapped my fingers, realizing she was correct, though as I eyed the crowd once more, I just snorted. "They should've brought twice the amount if they wanted to kill you guys." "Um, the ego boost is appreciated, but this is still a lot of dark mages." "Ah, stop being so humble, Lucy, you could probably take them on by yourself."
Giving Lucy a thumbs up, she wryly smiled and lightly nodded, prompting me to shift my gaze back to the woman. "Alright then. Let's see what this so-called 'Trap' has to offer… Don't die now." Yawning, I waved at Lucy, Cana, and Loke as I walked forward, prompting the mages to part a path for me.
Walking past them, I headed down the second corridor, leaving the three behind to fend for themselves, though they'd more than manage. Hearing the doors shut behind me, I shrugged my shoulders and headed forward; arriving at the end of the second corridor, where the magic power had reached a significant amount, enough to make me start taking this trap somewhat seriously, I opened the doors.
As I stepped into the second cavern, a lot was going on; there were several magic circles written on the ground, forming an even larger magic circle. Several other mages circled the magic circle, using their magic to sustain them, keeping them active as they absorbed and converged the magic into the middle.
In the middle was a single lacrima and an all-too-familiar woman. 'Called it.'
I stepped to the edge of the magic circle. "Heh, fate is hella weird; I've never met the same dark mage four times in a row." Whistling, I glanced at Ultear, who shifted her gaze to me. "Good, you arrived at the perfect time… After ruining two of my plans, I've been working on a way to get rid of you."
"This is all you've come up with? Boring." Smirking, I stuffed my hands in my pockets and walked across the glowing magic circles until I was opposite her. "Should've done better."
"Hehe, those arrogant words will be your final ones." Grinning, Ultear suddenly crushed the lacrima, releasing the vast amount of magic directly at me, causing me to use indestructible magic, fortifying my body. However, the magic wasn't aiming at my body; its target was much deeper.
As the magic phased through my body, as if it were merely an illusion, the flow of my magic went haywire, only for me to release a massive amount of magic power, enveloping Ultear and me.