The Prince Of Magic

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Arash, Dia and Yan Qing had arrived to the district that was assigned to them by their Master.

Once they did, they came to a large warehouse that was somewhat old in appearance, but they found that it was not occupied as they were no signs of any people within the vicinity.

Some windows were broken, the paint on the walls were peeling off, dust and dirt were on the floor, and among other things.

After deploying the 'Finis', they went inside and saw the interior, realizing that the building seems to be in good condition.

The warehouse was just vacant and currently not in use, which explained the reason why it felt abandoned.

At least, that was what it would appear to a normal observer.

Having a certain amount of experience in hunting and tracking down people in their past lives, the three male servants had spent almost an hour and a half inspecting every inch of the building for any clues that would help their Master's investigation over the case.

Most of the time, what they found were quite misleading, but it was Arash who came upon a promising lead in the end.

The brown-skinned retainer found a hidden underground passage on the first floor of the warehouse.

It was thanks to his ability, 'Clairvoyance', that Arash was able to notice the slight gap on the ground.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to see it.

Unfortunately, they quickly realized that it was protected behind a powerful barrier, which prevented them from taking a closer look.

But, it was a good thing that Dia was in their group. Or else, they would have no choice but to inform their Master and wait for him to get to their location.

With the help of one of Dia's weapons, the male trio was able to enter the passage safely.

Beneath the passage, there was a short hallway and twin doors at the end of it.

When they opened those doors, they found themselves inside a large private study, and adjacent to it was another large room.

The study appeared like any other ones they had seen before. It has a large desk with a small lamp on it, a chair, a burgundy carpet, and etcetera.

What stood out the most are the items that were on display on the shelves located in the left side of the room.

Oddly enough, the bookshelves on the right was not the one that was filled to the brim with books.

Instead, it was the one on the left that was full, but on display were the glass jars with various objects inside them that looked disturbingly familiar.

Upon closer inspection, they quickly realized that the 'objects' were actually different parts of an animal and a human's anatomies.

Inside each of the glass jars, there was an eye, a brain, a hand, an organic tissue of some kind and more.

Some of things inside the glass jars seemed to be alive, which seemed to disturbed Yan Qing the most, seeing as he went green for a moment when he noticed a brain twitched.

Arash and Dia felt pity for him when they noticed that his skin was paler than usual when the long-haired retainer saw a grotesque-looking heart had white worms infesting inside it.

On the other hand, the second room has a different setting as it has a tiled flooring and white walls.

It has a clinical theme to it, and the various equipment within has helped them realized its true purpose.

"Well, it's official. This is a Magus's workshop, alright." Arash stated with a sigh.

"Oh gee, I wonder what gave it away, dude. Is it these things that did?" Yan said sarcastically, pointing at the disturbing things on display.

Arash was about to reply, but he stopped and chuckled when he saw the long-haired retainer retracted his finger quickly once he saw the white worms crowding closer to his finger, despite the barrier of the glass jar.

Shaking his head at his antics, Arash shook his head, restraining his laughter at his fellow retainer's look of disgust as he glared at the worms.

"Ugh, I can only thank the Buddha that our Master is not like most Magi. I don't I can take more of this kind of shit." Yan g.r.o.a.n.e.d.

"I thought you've seen these kinds of disturbing things before?" Arash asked, curious.

"I did, but not to the extent of being grossed out. Even this is too much for me, man!" Yan complained.

Feeling mischievous, Arash looked at the shelf and saw something interesting.

"What about this one? It doesn't look bad." Arash said, his head titled slightly as he stared at it.

Yan walked closer to Arash and stared at the one glass jar that his fellow retainer pointed out.

"Oh? Yea –" Yan stopped and inspected closer, then his comely face soured. "Dude, that's a head in a jar. That's disgusting!"

Nearby the two was Dia, who appeared to be observing the room with a calm and stoic façade.

Ignoring Arash's laughter and Yan's reprimands, Dia walked around the study and noticed a lone painting to the left of the desk.

It was an image of a man who was nailed on a cross. His features were obscured, blurred more like, but his pain and suffering was clear to be seen.

The painting was beautiful yet eerie at the same time, but there was something peculiar about it that made him suspicious.

With narrowed eyes, Dia came up to it and slowly worked on taking it off of the wall.

Noticing their fellow retainer's actions, Arash and Yan stopped their antics and walked towards him.

Having an idea of what Dia was doing, the two can't help but make comments on his actions.

"Hey, Dia, you do know that that only works in the movies, right?" Arash asked, a bit skeptic.

"Yeah, man. So, c'mon, lay off the painting." Yan added, equally skeptic and also looking a bit bored.

Instead of answering, Dia merely continued his actions and silenced their doubts when he finally took the painting off of the wall.

The two skeptic retainers became quiet as a mouse once the appearance of a black safe was revealed before their eyes.

After setting the painting to the side, Dia turned to look at the two gaping servants with a small smirk.

"You were saying?" The spear user inquired, looking pleased.

Shaking off their surprise, Arash and Yan crowded around Dia, who was staring at the safe with a thoughtful frown.

"I thought this shit only happens in movies. I call bullshit on that, man!" Yan exclaimed, grinning.

"Ha ha ha, I second that." Arash chuckled, amused.

"Still, how'd you know it was there in the first place?" Yan asked, curious.

"There's a dark energy within the safe." Dia answered, looking solemn.

"Ah, so that's how." Arash said in surprise.

"And here I thought you were just playing around, man. Was about to scold you too." Yan chuckled.

"Ha ha, same here!" Arash grinned, unrepentant.

The two easy-going retainers were unmoved by the mild glare that Dia gave them before the latter turned back to the black safe.

"Then, I should get to work now. There must be something worth of value in that safe, and it might help with milord's investigation." Dia said as he took a few steps forward.

"Well, shit. Don't let us stop you there, man." Yan said with a grin as he stood to the side.

"Yeah, do your thing, Dia." Arash encouraged, following the long-haired man's action.

The two male retainers watched as Dia stepped closer to the black safe, and summoned a red spear in his right hand with a magnificent display of little gold particles.

The scarlet spear was two meters long, and it was wrapped in a purple talisman cloth to seal its abilities, but the sharp blade of the weapon was exposed. The spear in question was 'Gάe Dearg', and it has the ability to severe the ties of magical enhancements and projections, nullifying them.

In this case, the spear was the perfect tool to be used, just as he had done before.

Once he got into a stance, Dia shoved the scarlet spear to stab at the black safe permeating a black miasma.

When the tip of the spear made contact with the black smoke, the dark magical energy dissipated immediately, which was the typical reaction that they all expected.

What happened after though, was something unexpected.

After Dia had opened the safe through brute force, they saw a small stack of papers lying inside.

Before he can take it out of safe, they heard a beeping noise that pierced through the air and all three pair of eyes widened in shock and realization.

"Move!" Arash shouted in warning.

Using their enhanced speed, the three servants quickly ran far away from the safe and towards the hallway.

Then, a second later, a loud explosion echoed throughout the warehouse while a large cloud of dust and black smoke permeated in the room.

The three retainers coughed, waving the smoke away from their sight as they tried to see through it.

Inside, greeting their eyes was a room filled with small debris of either cement or wooden furniture.

They turned look at each other, shock and surprise clear on their faces.

"Well… shite." Yan said slowly, a bit astonished by what they experienced earlier.

"Indeed…" Dia agreed with a sigh, brushing off the dust and debris off of his suit with one hand.

"Someone is clearly looking for trouble." Arash commented, scratching his head.

"No shit, man." Yan retorted that lacked any real heat.

"Anyways," Arash continued, ignoring Yan for the moment as he turned to Dia instead. "Did you take the files out safely?"

Raising his other hand up, Dia showed the two the stack of papers in his right hand, which looked a bit dusted but not damaged at the very least.

"Of course. I have it right here." Dia stated confidently, smirking a little.

"Good." Arash sighed in relief.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dia noticed the experimental Mystic Code hanging from Arash's belt.

"Arash, the Finis is blinking." Dia pointed to item.

Surprised, Arash and Yan swiveled their gazes to the former's belt.

"Whoa, it is blinking." Yan said in amazement.

As if to mock them, the Finis stopped flashing its light, causing the three to raised their brows in surprise.

"Now, it's not." Yan added in a deadpan voice.

Taking it off of his belt, Arash grabbed the object in his hand and inspected it closer.

"Didn't Master said that the Finis would only flash its light if there's an intruder nearby?" Arash asked, brows furrowed slightly.

"Yeah, that's what he said." Yan confirmed with a nod.

"Yes, that is also what I recalled as well." Dia added.

"Hmm…" Arash hummed in thought. "So, Master was right."

"About what? You mean if the possibility of enemies stalking us in this city?" Yan asked with his brows raised for emphasis.

"Yup, sure seems like it." Arash turned to Yan with a teasing smile. "So, you noticed it too."

"Of course I did, I'm not like Pinky and the others, ya know." Yan said with a roll of his eyes.

Dia and Arash chuckled at the long-haired man's comment about their more naïve fellow retainers, which the tension in the room somewhat.

The three servants were still on guard should anything unexpected happens, despite their relaxed and casual mood.

Having his fill of amus.e.m.e.nt, Arash sighed wearily.

"Well, at least it's clear now that someone is really out there watching us." Arash stated, waving the object in his hand. "And this thing is damn good at detecting than any of us too."

"Yes, it is fortunate that Master has given us the Finis." Dia agreed with a solemn nod. "Otherwise, we would not have even known."

"We should get going then." Arash announced with another sigh, observing the mess in the room wearily. "The faster we get those papers to Master, the better."

"Amen to that, brother." Yan said in a faux solemn tone.

A moment later as they ascend the stairs that leads back to the entrance, Yan restarted the conversation with an offhand comment.

"Hey guys, ever think that Master is becoming all-knowing lately?" Yan began with a lopsided grin.

"Well, he does have that thing fused with him." Arash agreed with a small grin of his own.

"Ha ha, our little Master is growing up. Now, if only he can notice the flirty gazes in his way, he'd be a full grown man!" Yan laughed.

Even Dia, who would usually defend his liege from any negative comments related to him, was unable to deny the comment.

In the end, he didn't speak and added his cent, but merely nodded his head in agreement.

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In another district…

"Achoo!"

A young man with bright, golden hair and cyan eyes used his white handkerchief to cover his nose and mouth as he suddenly felt the urge to sneeze.

Beside him, Arturia looked at him with concern in her beautiful emerald eyes.

"Are you okay?" She asked, laying a hand over his left arm.

Hadrian turned to look at her and smiled.

"I'm fine." Hadrian reassured her, sniffing a little. "Someone was probably talking about me."