The Prince Of Magic

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Meanwhile…

Hadrian (with Fou and Ryu still hitching a ride on his shoulder and head respectively), Dia and Kieran were on the way to return to the control bridge.

Earlier, he had just visited one of the areas in the headquarters where he had set up something in case of an emergency, and now he and his retainers are walking their way back to the Edward and Hugo, who were both waiting for them inside the control bridge.

His furry familiars went along with them since they do not want to be left behind in the control room with a bunch strangers.

Leading the front was Hadrian, while Dia and Kieran were behind him two feet away.

All was quiet throughout their walk, aside from the quiet whirling sounds of the machinery that surrounded the headquarters.

The audible noises that came from the sea creatures that appeared behind the transparent glass every now and then was soothing enough to make the silence bearable, comfortable even.

That was, until a certain servant had decided to break it.

"Hey Boss, ya think that the guys are still up there?" Kieran asked.

Dia was silent, but he was also looking at their liege to see his response.

"Hmm, I do not know. I suppose we'll see once we return." Hadrian answered, not bothering to look back.

Without another word, the three of them made their way back to the control room within a few minutes.

Like before, Hadrian returned to his position beside Edward and Hugo, but when he arrived there, he noticed something peculiar.

The older magi were not paying attention to his presence.

Instead, they were captivated by something that was happening on the large monitor above and in front of the chair that Edward was sitting on.

"What the f.u.c.k?" Kieran muttered, causing Hadrian to glance at him.

The young heir noticed that his retainer has an odd expression that was caught between amus.e.m.e.nt and confusion, as if he didn't know whether to be amused or confused by what he was seeing. Not only Kieran, but Dia, Hugo and Edward also appeared to be in the same boat, much to his curiosity.

With a huff, Hadrian turned his head and peered into the monitor, only for his expression to turn flat as he finally saw what was happening on the screen.

The first thing that he realized was that Charles, Astolfo, Arturia, Rider, Scáthach, Yan and Arash were all on a black speedboat large enough to fit all of them.

The second was that Yan seemed to be tied up and gagged with a white cloth, lying at the end of the speedboat on his side with a grinning

Charles and Astolfo holding him down with one of their hands as they kneeled beside him.

The third was that Arturia looked determined, but somewhat apprehensive as she held on to one of the metal railings for stability.

The same can also be said with Scáthach, Rider, Charles and Astolfo, who were all holding onto to something while they stand near the edges of the speedboat, as if they were bracing themselves for any sudden movement.

Curiously enough, it was Arash who was attention-catching.

The tan skinned retainer was standing near Charles, Astolfo and Yan at the end of the speedboat. His expression still cheerful, but held a hint of steel-like determination.

What was interesting about him were the two straps attached to his belt, which Charles and Astolfo were holding onto with their other free hands.

'Yan looks annoyed and screaming something…' Hadrian can't help but make an observation.

The young heir sweat-drop when he saw Astolfo stuffed the white cloth in Yan's mouth even further, grinning like a loony as Yan struggled even further in his restraints, wriggling like a worm. He then heard a loud cackle (from Kieran) behind him when Hadrian saw Arash lifted one foot and landed it on Yan's downed form.

"The hell are those guys planning now?" Kieran wondered aloud, bemused.

Hadrian has an idea of what they were planning, considering as he noticed the runes etched all over the speedboat, which he knew was Scáthach's doing.

When Arash summoned his bow and Hadrian felt a slight drainage from his od reserves, the answer quickly became obvious to them.

"STELLAAAAAAAAAA!" Arash's loud voice came out of the speakers.

*BOOM*

A bright golden light appeared and overwhelmed the monitor's sight, blinding them for a moment. Then, when the camera's view came back, his retainers were no longer there.

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Silence permeated the control room for a few moments as they all stared at the one spot that was once occupied by the retainers in question before…

"Well… there's your answer, Kieran." Hadrian said with a sigh.

In response, Kieran snorted in amus.e.m.e.nt, taking in the way most of the occupants the control room were gaping at what just happened.

"Okay, even I was not expecting that." Kieran chuckled dryly.

Hadrian agreed, but he was busy wondering about one thing.

'… How did Arash convinced Arturia and the others to go along with his plan, I wonder?'

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