The Prince Of Magic

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Leaving King Hassan to watch over the Flamels' estate, the next day found Hadrian arriving at the abandoned warehouse.

Just as Yan Qing had described, the warehouse was abandoned, only accompanied by a few boats that were already rusting and in less than fortunate conditions. The location of the abandoned warehouse was from the city, somewhat isolated from the people living nearby, which was a boon for them as it was a perfect area to seclude the man that Yan Qing had subdued.

After Hadrian had arrived to the warehouse via car (where he left his two familiars, but not before telling them to behave), he immediately moved to secure the premises by casting a few active bounded fields, all of which he layered on top of another.

The first was a silencing type, which will prevent any sound made inside the barrier and prevent the outsiders from hearing it.

The second was an illusion: this bounded field prevents outsiders from seeing anything, or anyone, within its range. It was a type of bounded field that many mages favor to use in his world. One of its main flaws was that it would not prevent anyone from entering the bounded field.

For example, if a bird were to fly through the barrier and a passerby was present by chance, the latter would see the little avian creature disappear as it goes through the illusion.

This is where the third bounded field comes into play.

The last produces a malicious aura to prevent people from entering the area. Invisible to the eye, but any onlookers would feel dread for even looking in the direction of the warehouse. If there was one thing that Hadrian knew about humans, it was that fear was more effective to dissuade them from doing something out of curiosity.

Of course, the possibility that some might be curious enough to try and enter remains, but that's one of the reasons why he left Astolfo and Charles outside to keep watch.

Speaking of which…

"You two, stay here and guard the area." Hadrian ordered, facing the two retainers in question.

Seeing the pouts on their faces, it was obvious that the two were not in accord to his command.

"Eeeehh…" was the response he received from Charles.

"But – But I wanna see Yan do his thing to that guy!" Astolfo cried out in childish protest.

His choice in words caused Hadrian to stare at him with a deadpan expression, an action followed after by Charles.

"Do my – The f.u.c.k are ya talkin' bout, pinky?!" The assassin sputtered, stopping by his master's side.

"He said he wanna see you do ya thang, Yan~" Kieran drawled, smirking as he came to a stop at Hadrian's left side.

"Yeah, do ya thang!" Arash teased, grinning in amus.e.m.e.nt.

"F.u.c.k off, ya shitheads!" Yan cursed, flipping the two retainers off.

Then, he turned to Astolfo with an annoyed expression.

"I hope you're not implying what I think it is." The assassin said lowly, an ominous shadow falling over the upper half of his face, making his lime green eyes and his glare to intensify.

Bewildered by this reaction, Astolfo can only look up at the taller man with big round pink eyes and knitted brows that was the embodiment of naivety and confusion.

"I'm not the one who said it, it was Kieran."

Startled by this unexpected admission, Yan's face gradually turned blank, then morphed into righteous anger as he quickly move to face the shock-looking Kieran.

"Kieran! You motherfu–"

"Ey, ey!? It ain't me that said that! Stop pointing shit at people, pinky!" Kieran denied, sputtering and laughing in between.

"Well, I'm not lying!" Astolfo returned, frowning childishly.

"Hm, he's right…" Charles drawled, backing up his longtime friend.

"Sure, sure." Arash nodded in agreement.

The Archer and Saber class servants stared at their fellow retainer with a grin and smirk, their arms crossed over their c.h.e.s.ts.

With Yan looking about to throttle Kieran, Hadrian had decided to interrupt before their antics could blow out of proportions.

Knowing his retainers, anything that was caused by them can easily grow out of control.

"Okay, that's enough prattle. Do remember that we are not here to chatter, guys. We have a man to interrogate, so let's get on with it, shall we?" Hadrian stated firmly, the sharp sternness in his voice easily rendering his retainers to stop and turn to him in attention.

Seeing them quiet down and mumble their agreements, the young mage swiftly moved passed them as he began to walk towards the abandoned warehouse.

The warehouse was made of steel, wood and stone. The roof has glass panels, some of which were broken, shedding a bit of light inside the spacious building.

The interior of the warehouse was messy, as there were dirt, broken glass and bits of rotten wood situated here and there. Some pieces of trash can be found around the area as well.

All in all, the warehouse was truly well and abandoned.

The building was a two-story type, and it was there where Hadrian was led by Yan Qing.

On the far side of second floor, the young mage immediately zeroed on the person strapped to a metal chair.

Since it was still early in the morning, Yan left a lamp (which he happened to have found somewhere in the warehouse itself, luckily enough) on to keep the prisoner in the light.

The light was positioned in the center of where the prisoner was facing, which was done on purpose to disorient and prevent the man from seeing who's coming up the stairs.

Hadrian also suspected that it might also be a method of intimidation, in the case the man on the chair wakes up by chance without their awareness.

Stopping once near, the young mage titled his head idly as he observed the prisoner from head to toe.

Judging by his broad shoulders and slightly heavy physique, he seemed to be fit enough to fight his own battles. Literally speaking, that is. The man has short dirty blonde hair and a stubble that caused him to looked rugged and have an unkempt appearance. Speaking of the man's appearance, he seems to be a Caucasian with a hint of European descent in his facial features.

Similar to his features, the man was dressed in a dark brown coat with a white shirt, black pants and shoes. His black tie was a bit loosened, causing his entire appearance to look even more unkempt.

Curious of the man's identity, Hadrian initiated a 'scan' on the man's background.

While he had not established a link to this world's moon, the automaton still has the ability to manifest a target's record by observing (reading, more like) the latter's life-force in a smooth, systematic fashion within a span of seconds. In addition, the records that the automaton had kept and observed via their alternate counterparts in different versions of themselves were secured in reservation.

Of course, this meant that Hadrian literally had to do a 'scan' on everything that he wants info on, and he has to do so by sight.

The one glaring flaw that he never had to endure back in his world.

Hearing that familiar chime rang in his mind, the results were found and Hadrian now knew who this man is.

Turning his head to Yan, Hadrian met his gaze and gave him a nod, signifying that he was to start the interrogation.

With a slow, evil smile on his face, the assassin turned to Kieran, who met his glance with sly smirk of his own.

Seeing the two retainers' expressions, Hadrian can only let out a resigned sigh.

Ironic how these two were about to tear each other's throat earlier, yet get along when they were about to do something malicious.

His retainers are weirdos, truly.

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