By the flickering firelight, everyone surveyed their surroundings.
"Is this some kind of miner's tunnel?"
"It seems like it's been abandoned for a long time." Lucy noticed that many things down here were damaged or even completely rusted.
"Quick, shine the light ahead." Carla, who had been intently studying the blueprint, suddenly looked up toward the front of the cavern.
Raizel stepped forward as instructed.
Frowning, he read the words carved into the stone ahead by the firelight.
"KY-2c?"
"A wall, sealed shut." Raizel knocked heavily on the thick wall a few times.
"This is the place." Carla also stepped forward.
"These planks and the wall are really damn thick." Lucy knocked on them a few times as well, testing their sturdiness.
"And it's sealed with magic." Kagura frowned deeply.
"It is sealed, but there absolutely must be an escape passage right ahead. My memory tells me so; I'm certain of it," Carla insisted.
"Then let's cut through this crap. Everyone, step back."
"Take Over: Jesmon!"
A blindingly bright light flashed on the blades forming on Raizel's arms as two devastating sword strikes slashed against the wall.
"Magic? It's completely different from tools... It looks really powerful." The Edolas 'Lucy' beside them murmured.
Although she had no idea what this specific magic was or what it entailed, she could still clearly sense the immense magical power emanating from it.
The wall collapsed with a loud crash, revealing a clear, dark path ahead.
"There really is a passage."
"Carla's information is indeed perfectly accurate."
"Hmm." Carla felt a sudden, heavy sense of foreboding as she looked down the passage ahead, but it was way too late to turn back now.
"I just hope it leads accurately to the castle's underground."
"The information has been spot-on so far, so it should be totally fine from here on out," Wendy comforted Carla with a gentle smile.
"Hmm..." Happy also lowered his head in utter silence.
"What's wrong, Happy?" Natsu noticed the sudden, depressing change in his buddy's expression.
"Hey, Natsu, why can't I sense any information like that?" Happy's sad words caught everyone's attention.
"We're both cats from Edolas, both Exceeds, so why can't I do it?"
"You're asking me, but I don't have an answer for you either." Carla shook her head.
"I'm sure we'll find out eventually, Happy. Let's just keep going for now." Natsu gave a big thumbs-up to encourage him.
Carla had inherited the Queen's ability to foresee the future, while Happy did not possess this power, hence his lack of such geographical information.
However, Happy had his own unique talents—his flying speed was among the very top ranks of all the Exceeds.
"Anyway, let's just keep moving forward for now."
"Right, everyone is still waiting for us."
Raizel and Erza spoke one after the other, taking charge.
"This tunnel is really damn old..."
"It feels like it could collapse on our heads at any moment..."
"Next... go this way, then turn left there, and take another turn up ahead." Everyone carefully followed Carla's directions.
"What is this?"
"It seems like we've arrived at a really spacious place."
What appeared before them was a massive area resembling an underground cavern.
"This should be the area directly connected to the castle's underground."
"Though I don't understand the principle behind it, it's incredibly fortunate we have Carla with us. She's been a massive help," Lucy said with a relieved smile.
"I myself don't know exactly what's happening either. The information just keeps surfacing in my mind entirely on its own."
"Now comes the most critical part - infiltrating the king's chambers without anyone noticing."
"Ambush!"
A white thread resembling sticky spider silk shot straight toward Lucy.
Fortunately, Kagura beside her reacted swiftly, slicing the thread cleanly with her blade.
"Stay alert!" Erza also instantly severed the spider silk attacking Wendy with her magic sword.
The heavy sound of orderly marching footsteps echoed through the cave as fully armed royal soldiers completely surrounded Raizel and his companions.
"Soldiers?!"
"Why the hell are there so many soldiers down in this tunnel?!"
"How did they discover us?!"
"Are these guys the Mages from Earth Land?" A sharp woman's voice reached the members' ears.
Raizel couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
It seemed this whole thing was a setup... Erza Knightwalker had actually ambushed them down here.
When the members finally saw this 'Erza's' face clearly, their jaws basically dropped to the floor.
Seeing 'Erza' standing opposite them in enemy armor was simply unbelievable...
Seeing Earth Land Erza and the two Lucys, Knightwalker narrowed her eyes.
"So you really are from Earth Land after all."
She had previously doubted the authenticity of the scout information, but upon seeing Erza, she knew it wasn't false.
She clearly knew she had no twin sister, and there was absolutely only one Lucy Ashley in Edolas.
"Welcome back, Exceed-sama! Please follow me back to the royal capital!" Knightwalker knelt respectfully on one knee before Happy and Carla.
"Are you so confident you've already won?" Raizel gestured for her to actually look at their group properly.
"Magic can't be used in Edolas. Only two of you have swords. Isn't the outcome obvious?" Knightwalker scoffed.
'[This isn't a good place to fight. Since Knightwalker appeared here, our location must be correct. Stand firm and prepare for teleportation. Everyone, get ready to defend.]' Raizel broadcasted his thoughts through telepathy.
He didn't want to fight down here - it would be way too restrictive and could easily cause a cave-in that would bury them all.
"Goodbye!" Raizel waved his hand mockingly, and everyone completely disappeared right before Knightwalker's eyes.
Such a short-distance teleportation took Raizel absolutely no time or effort at all.
"What's going on?! Teleportation?! Did he use some kind of magic tool?!" Knightwalker first punched the stone wall in frustration, then began furiously muttering to herself.
She couldn't believe anyone could actually use magic here.
"Search everywhere quickly! Especially for those Dragon Slayer Mages!" Knightwalker waved her hand aggressively, and all the guards scattered, leaving the cave to hunt them down.
The unique magical power of the Dragon Slayer Mages was actually the kingdom's main objective.
...
"How could this happen?" Carla grabbed her head in pure agony...
She was the one who had brought the members here.
Had she unconsciously betrayed them?!
Raizel shook his head to indicate Carla shouldn't beat herself up over it.
"It's not your fault. I think one reason is just a terrible coincidence, and another is that they anticipated this. After all, secret passages like this aren't exactly a secret to the captain of the magic war squad."
Raizel leaned much more toward the latter explanation.
With so many people moving around, it was highly possible they had exposed some information when going out, especially when first entering the city.
If any observant guards had found Erza or Lucy familiar and reported it up the chain, monitoring their movements would have been a piece of cake.
"Alright, let's not dwell on this shit for now. First, let's search for the king's bedchamber and the exact location of the Magic Crystal."
They were now inside the royal capital proper - not exactly the best place for casual conversation.
"If we're looking for two different targets, should we split into two groups?" Erza asked, thoughtfully pinching her chin.
Raizel tapped his head twice with his finger. "That works perfectly. I'll attach telepathy to everyone. Same as before—just press two fingers to your temple to respond. Contact me anytime if you need backup; I can get there in a flash."
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