Anyway, after mocking Max's misfortune, I was now just as deep in the quicksand as he was. "Tsk, look at you, all that laughing, and you're going to die right beside me. Hmph, that's probably even more pathetic than me; I mean, a mage as strong as you being done in by mere sand. I would keep that a secret even in the afterlife." Folding his arms, Max scoffed at me while faintly smirking, causing me to frown.
"Hmm, you're right. I think I'd rather take my own life." "Seeing how calm you are, you must have a plan, right?" "I mean, I wouldn't really call it a plan." Moving closer to Max, which dragged me further down as most of my torso sank, I grabbed Max's arm and used my other hand to violently hit the quicksand, propelling us out and into a tree's canopy.
"Owe." "Stop crying." Releasing Max, I pushed him aside, causing him to fall to the ground while I followed after him. "How'd you do that?" "It's nothing special. When stuff hits a liquid at incredible speed, it briefly acts like a solid; I just hit hard enough to make the quicksand feel like a stone and lifted us out." While speaking, I shook my head, whipping my hair back and forth to remove the sand.
"Haa, I'm mad it was so simple, but also glad." After some grumbling, Max and I took our clothes off, trying to get all the sand out. "Big bro, you over here?" "Yep." Putting our clothes back on, Minerva forced her way through a bush, some leaves getting stuck in her hair. "Oh, Max, you're also here?" "Yo, what's up?" As Max greeted her, Minerva stopped beside us, steering clear of the quicksand.
"So, I'm guessing you guys also can't use magic?" "No." "Nope. We also don't know why this is happening… Were you also in the guild?" Shaking our heads, I glanced at Max, who nodded. "Yeah, cheering Gray and Natsu on as they fought. I suppose it's safe to assume this happened to all of us." I nodded in agreement; the only ones who might be spared were those outside of Magnolia.
"Well, c'mon, let's continue then, standing around here won't achieve anything; we should try to find the others." Motioning the others, I turned and began trekking through the forest, prompting Max and Minerva to follow.
"Hmm, Minerva, why do you stink?" "Haa, I-I had a run-in with a toad beast; its body was all slimy and gooey." "Oh, damn, unlucky." We didn't really come across things as we hiked through the forest, the occasional beast, some weird living plants, insects, and some critters, about what one would expect.
Eventually, we arrived at the edge of the island, where I needed to catch Max as he walked off. "F-Fuck! I nearly died!" Setting him down, Max plopped onto the ground in terror, going so far as to kiss it. While observing the sky, filled with distant islands, I spotted an unnaturally big one, like a country-island; it was pretty far away, we'd need to travel across a few islands, but it looked like the best place to go.
"Alright, you guys see that island in the distance? We're going there." "It's pretty far, will we make it there before night, big bro?" "No clue, but we should be fine." While Minerva hopped onto my back, I shrugged my shoulders in response as I began clearing out a path for a runway. "H-Huh, what are you guys talking about? How are we supposed to get over there without any magic power?" "With a runway."
While Max looked at Minerva in confusion, I finished clearing a path and dug my feet into the ground before launching myself forward. "Wait. No! You're not! BIG BRO!" Passing Max, I grabbed his hand and leaped into the air at the edge of the island, soaring through the sky to the next closest island.
"Haha." "Awesome!" "AHHH!!"
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Crashing into the ground, I used my heels to dig into the earth, slowing us down until my momentum finally dissipated. "Alright, we arrived just before nightfall, too." Dropping Max and Gramps, whom we happened to find along the way, Minerva hopped off my back.
"God, my heart, Cooper, this old man's heart can't take this." "Am I in heaven?" Snorting at Gramps and Max's reaction, I gently kicked the two of them. "Stop with the act and get up, you're behaving pathetically, even Minerva was having fun, and she's a little girl. Worst-case scenario, we would've fallen back down to our home." Shaking my head, I folded my arms in disappointment while eyeing the two.
"Oh, I apologize, Cooper, I didn't realize that falling thousands of feet was an everyday thing for you!" "Yeah! Some of us can't just tank a fall from that height and then go. 'Oh, looks like I twisted an ankle.' I'd die!" I couldn't help but scoff at their remark. "Hmph, I wouldn't twist an ankle… I'd be fine even at terminal velocity." "Terminal what?"
Rolling my eyes, I stopped partaking in their nonsense and proceeded to walk past them, Minerva following while the two did so soon after. "Anyway, we should find a few more of us on this continent-sized island; it's huge." "Hopefully, who knows how big this world is, Gramps; it could be the size of Fiore or Ishgar." "Ah, let's just think optimistically." "Yeah, yeah, sure."
By the time the sun had fully set, we finally exited from the forest; stepping out from behind a tree, I brushed aside leaves stuck in my hair before stopping, staring at the view before us. "This looks promising." Off in the near distance was a large city, much bigger than Magnolia, and in the center was a palace, a very big one.
"That's a big castle." "Would it be a castle or a spire? It's taller than wide." "Hmm, it depends on what it's used for, really, but I would agree with you, Cooper. I think it's more of a spire." "Wow, an intellectual conversation between big bro and Master, who would've thought?" "Hehe."
Hitting the back of Max's head and shooting the laughing Minerva a glare, I hopped down the cliff, sliding down it, causing the others to follow. Once we landed, we headed to the city, which took a while, so I ended up carrying Minerva halfway through it because I could tell she was a bit exhausted.
"This place is fucking terrible, but the night sky is beautiful." Hearing Max, the three of us looked at the sky, taking in the sight of the twinkling stars and numerous celestial bodies. "Can't argue that, but I would never willingly come here; the lack of Ethernano is terrible."
When we arrived at the city, we found an entrance, but the gate was closed, and it didn't take a genius to realize it probably wouldn't open until morning. "I'm not waiting until morning." Walking to the gate, I grabbed the bottom and lifted it, which was surprisingly heavy. "Oh, this wouldn't be a bad workout." "Just hold it correctly."
After Max and Gramps sneaked under, I followed while gently setting the gate down, only to be engulfed in light. "Surrender, or we will be required to use force!" As I turned around, several knights had already surrounded us. "Max, what did you do?" "Why are you accusing me? I hadn't done anything!?"
Shooting him a suspicious look as I didn't fully believe him, I handed Minerva over to him while approaching the knights. "What are you about to do, Cooper?" "What Fairy Tail does best, cause destruction; that was actually my plan from the beginning." Flashing Gramps a smirk, causing him to blankly look at me, I lunged forth, grabbing a knight by the head and slamming it into the ground.
"While I'm causing destruction, why don't you guys take a more logical route?" Dodging a sword slash from behind, I back-handed the knight before jumping, causing two knights to nearly stab each other; kicking the two knights away, I landed on the ground, head-butting the final knight before glancing at the three.
"Haa, okay, just don't kill anyone." "I won't." Dismissively waving my hand, Gramps, Max, and Minerva sneaked away into the city, prompting me to shift my gaze to the person shining the bright ass light onto me. Leaping onto the wall, I saw him urgently shouting into a communication lacrima, and I yawned as I waited for him to finish, leaning against the light.
"Alright, you're talking awfully long. Just say you're being attacked." Grabbing the lacrima, crushing it, I picked up the man by the collar. "D-Do you think you'll be fine after a-attacking the Royal City!?" "I'm not arrogant enough to say yes without my magic power, but it damn sure won't be easy taking me down…" Raising an eyebrow, I flashed a smirk before headbutting him, knocking him unconscious.
"Alright, time for some fun!" Stretching a little, I gazed at the spire in the distance and ran towards it.