Unexpected•NaLu•✔️

-20-

***
No one's POV

It had been only ten minutes since their encounter with the chain mage, Kusari. The team was having little to no luck navigating the layout of Serpent's Wing. It seemed as if they had been running around in circles for hours, passing the occasional Guild member along the way.

"Regulus punch!" Loke chanted for what seemed like the sixth time in a row, punching a dark wizard square in the face before he went flying in the wall. "They just seem to keep coming,"

"They're trying to slow us down," Erza states as the five of them continue travelling the Guild's narrow halls. "Fortunately most of her members aren't much of a challenge." 

"Makes you wonder who they really have lined up for us..." The blue exceed commented.

"Whatever it is it can't be good. Feels like they're taunting us, slowly wearing us down." Gray responds, having to freeze a couple of mages multiple times on the spot so the group could keep navigating without interference.

"Well, they ain't tiring me down!"' The dragon slayer proudly exclaims, he was running the fastest of all of them. "If anything Serpent's Wing is just making things more fun!"

Although Natsu had spoken those words for the sake of the team's morale, in truth, he had thought the whole labyrinth of a Guild and weak members popping out every other second was quite the annoyance. I wish it were easy as just finding Luce the second we arrived...

"Look," the Requip mage stops the rest of them and points at a passage to their right. "There's something over there."

Natsu begins to snuff out the area, careful to pick up any hints of Lucy or Luke. "Follow me."

They do so, turning right and eventually passing through another slough of confusing twists and turns, trusting the pinkette's sense of smell to guide them. Eventually the five stop at a set of stairs leading downwards.

"Seems like we're heading in the right direction," Erza states, inspecting the staircase which seemed to lead to the Guild's underground basement. "Good job, Natsu."

He grins. "My nose never fails me!"

They don't take long to trek down the steep steps, each step they took seemed agonizing as all of them could feel they were getting closer to the final battle or at least that's what they hoped. Natsu was once again getting antsy to fight a real opponent, he hadn't kept track of time but it felt as if they'd been within the dark Guild for years without any progress.

Alas, the stairs had a bottom. The atmosphere became darker if that was possible for a Dark Guild, and the hallways became less lit-up with only torches to give them any source of light.

"I surmise we're most likely underground," Erza says as they begin to walk down a dark hallway, the only direction they could've chosen.

"Really...?" Gray replies in astonishment. "Like, under the earth underground?" She nods.

"That's how basements work, ice freak." Natsu retorts, rolling his eyes. Happy snickers in the background.

"That's not what I meant, flame-brain!" The ice-mage angrily retorts, trying to resist the temptation of brawling the dense dragonslayer at that very moment.

"Enough fighting, you two." The scarlet haired mage demands which seemed to shut them right up.

"What Gray means is that it's highly unusual that this basement leads that far underground. After all, we entered at the midsection of a fairly high mountain." Loke explains, pushing the bridge of his glasses to his nose.