Slowly opening my eyes, I was hit with waves of pain, causing me to release a deep groan as I tried to grab my head, though my movements were restricted, prompting me to grunt while my eyes focused on my surroundings, allowing me to see where I currently was. 'I'm in a dark, damp cell in who knows where; the only saving grace is that I'm not alone.' Shifting my gaze to Jura, who had his limbs chained to the wall and was severely beaten, with a grunt, I sat upright and leaned against the wall beside him.
"H-How long have you been awake?" Glancing at Jura with a curious gaze while slightly wincing with every breath, he looked at me with the most blank expression imaginable before closing his eyes and facing the cell bars. "20 minutes or so." Nodding at him, I moved the chains binding my limbs, groaning in the process, and tried the obvious, though unsurprisingly, my magic was unusable. "Magic seal cuffs?" Clicking my tongue, I glanced at the chains binding my limbs, only for Jura to enlighten me. "No."
Raising an eyebrow, I looked suspiciously at Jura, who gestured to the cell bars, further confusing me. "These chains are normal ones… The cell itself is designed to seal a mage's magic power." "So, a magic sealing cell? Didn't know they existed." Nodding in slight surprise, I brushed aside my hair, which had patches of dried blood stuck to it, before closing my eyes while trying to think of ways to escape, though not even five minutes later, I heard a heavy door open along with multiple footsteps. Opening my eyes, I looked past the cell bars and watched as three mages donned in dark cloaks walked by our cell, causing me to raise an eyebrow as I had assumed they were here for us; however, a few moments later, we heard what sounded like a cell door open.
When they walked past us, we saw them each dragging two people by the chains, only for the heavy door to close shut behind them, prompting me to glance at Jura, who softly sighed. "That was their second time coming in here… We're probably next." Frowning, I stood up and tried to reach the cell bars, though I was only able to get halfway before the chains went taut, causing me to fall to the ground. I didn't entirely give up yet and instead dug my feet into the ground and pulled the chains as hard as possible; even without my magic, I still had a pretty strong body, though it wasn't enough to rip the chains out of the wall. "W-Welp, I-I tried." Coughing, I spat a clump of blood onto the ground before returning to Jura's side, who was just calmly sitting down, seemingly with no desire to escape.
"Do you want to die?" I curiously gazed at Jura, who frowned slightly before shaking his head, causing me to raise an eyebrow. "Then why aren't you trying to escape? Actually, why the hell didn't you use me as a distraction to escape the trap? I wouldn't have minded as long as you didn't just forget about me." All I got was an annoyed grunt from Jura as he folded his arms, causing his chains to hit each other. "I apologize, but I'm not heartless enough to leave my partner alone with a group of dark mages… Though if we survive, remind me never to do a mission with you again. My curiosity in the 'Beast' of Fairy Tail has been more than satisfied."
Chuckling at his words, I smirked while shaking my head, refusing his request. "If you being my partner means missions will always be this fun, then no." "You call this fun? You truly are something, aren't you, Cooper?" Grinning, I reached into my pocket, removing three lacrimas, which I was going to use to free us from this cell, though first things first, if I wanted this to work, I would need to not touch this cell, as it's sealing my magic power.
Without asking for consent, I stepped onto Jura, causing him to hiss in pain while glaring at me, though I ignored him and focused on infusing my magic into the three lacrimas, causing them to shimmer bright gold while I gently stepped off Jura before carefully setting them on the ground, being as cautious as possible as these three makeshift bombs were just a slight touch away from exploding, and at this close of a range, it would kill us. "What are you doing?" "I'm getting us out of here. I'm reckless, Jura, but it'll be either mid-battle or protecting my siblings if I ever die… Not this bullshit place." Scoffing at Jura, I grabbed his thighs and lifted him onto my shoulders, prompting him to quickly grab my head for support while I growled in annoyance.
"Can you drill a hole through this wall?" Pointing at the spot between where our chains were connected to the wall, I saw Jura glance at the three unstable lacrimas before widening his eyes slightly, seemingly realizing what I was planning to do. With a nod, he tightly clasped his hands and scrunched his eyes as he began to drill through the wall, though it took an excruciatingly long time. "Can't you go any faster, Jura? You said you saw those dark mages twice within 20 minutes; we don't have long until they return." Slapping Jura's leg in hopes he'd go faster, he knocked my head in return, causing my face to twitch. "Magic sealing stone is tougher than iron! It'll take me some time to drill a large enough hole."
Cursing under my breath, all I could do was keep holding Jura, who seemingly took his sweet time, but after nearly three minutes, I finally began to see stone pierce through the cell, and after another minute, there was finally a big hole enough to fit the lacrima, prompting me to drop Jura as I carefully stuck the three lacrima's into the hole he made, only for him to plug the hole with a big enough stone. "Now what?" Glancing at Jura, I flashed him a faint smirk before suddenly charging into the wall, causing his eyes to widen as he crossed his arms, bracing for the impact.
Instantly after slamming into the wall, the vibrations served as the catalyst for the three unstable lacrimas to explode, knocking Jura and I into the cell bars while nearly knocking me unconscious. Violently coughing, I wiped the blood leaking from my mouth and rubbed my head while standing up beside Jura, who was faring slightly better than I was. "L-Let's get the fuck out of here. Also, the constant ringing prevents me from hearing you, so don't bother speaking to me." Knocking some blood out the side of my ear, I glance at Jura before shuffling my way out of the cell, which allowed me to use my magic, granting me the strength I desperately needed given how weak I felt; I was also able to hear now, and what I heard caused me to click my tongue.
"They're escaping!?" "S-Stop them!" Glancing behind me, I saw several dark mages glaring at us from beyond the cell bars. "I'll create a way for us to leave… Cover my flank." Looking at Jura, who was creating a path for us through the stone, I clicked my tongue before nodding as I shifted my focus to the dark mages that ran into the cell, causing my eyes to widen as I quickly ripped chunks of stone off the wall before tossing it at them, causing the mages, who were now magic-less, to receive gaping holes through bodies. "A-Ahh, my magic!" "I-I can't use my magic!"
Laughing at how idiotic the mages were, I continued to toss chunks of stone at whoever was stupid enough to enter the cell, which wasn't too many after they saw how their comrades turned out; however, their stupidity would only last for so long as one of the mages coated the ground in paper with his magic, preventing them touching the actual cell and allowing them to chase after us. Now that they could use magic, they were slowly gaining ground, but thanks to how small the cave was, only three mages could push simultaneously, making it easier for me. "Heh, I can't only throw stones!"
With a slightly sadistic smile, I dashed into the fray of mages, destroying their attacks with my fists and ending their lives with my sharp nails. Quickly, I turned this cave into a pathway of death, and while I was enjoying myself, I heard Jura's echo. "Cooper!" Pushing one of the mages back, I leaped backward, creating space between us before punching the side of the cave, causing it to tremble before caving in, blocking the path with stone. It wouldn't stop them, but it would slow them down for a bit; turning around, I dashed down the cave until I reached Jura, who was standing at our exit, though when I looked out, I noticed we were in some mountain, given how far away the ground was.
"Aim for the bushes!" With a grin, I leaped out of the cave. "There are no bushes." Groaning, Jura followed right behind me as we successfully avoided death at the hands of the Dark Guild.