The Prince Of Magic

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As if summoned by his thoughts, a mass of dark blue flames suddenly appeared a few meters away in front of them and out came King Hassan, who had his long double-edge sword in one hand while the other held something that was perched on his left shoulder.

Kieran tilted his head as he zoomed in on that 'something', then realization dawned on him when he saw that it was a person.

"Old man, what the f.u.c.k?" The retainer began, pointing at the person on his shoulder with his index finger.

"T'was the young mage's request." The old assassin answered, putting down his burden gently on the ground once he was near.

"Of what? To kidnap people?" Kieran asked in a deadpan tone, hands on his h.i.p.s as he stared at the old man with an incredulous expression.

"Rescue." King Hassan corrected in a stern tone, meeting the amber eyed retainer's gaze with a challenging one of his own.

Noticing that he was out of line, Kieran was quick to let of the subject and raised his hands up in defense, to which the assassin simply huffed at.

Their attention shifted to the person, a man in his early twenties with average features. By his appearance, it seemed that the man was Canadian. Most likely a local, Hadrian assumed.

"Mmmmph!" The man said, his voice muffled due to the cloth covering his mouth.

The poor sap was scared, and it was obvious with the way he flipped his wide-eyed gaze from Kieran, Hadrian and to his savior King Hassan.

Both retainers had no urge to sooth the man's worries, but their master had no such reservations as he was slowly went down on knee and spoke to the man with a smile and gentle tone.

"Ah, sorry 'bout all this." Hadrian said, then pointed his left index finger at the man's forehead.

"Mrph?" The man was confused, brows furrowed as he stared at the finger, almost cross-eyed.

"Just think of this as a bad dream." Hadrian said with a mysterious smile.

The young mage muttered something under his breath and the man's features slowly slackened, relaxing as he was quickly lulled to the realm of dreams. His eyes closed shut and his head lolled to the side as he was put to sleep.

Hadrian sighed as he slowly stood up from his kneeling position, dusting off the dirt from his pants.

"So… who the hell is this?" Kieran asked, gesturing to the sleeping man on the ground with his hand.

"I don't know, but he was kidnapped by one of the intruders." Hadrian clarified.

"Ugh… those f.u.c.k.i.n.g dirty asses." Kieran g.r.o.a.n.e.d, face-palming.

"Yes, well, anyways, we have another one coming." Hadrian said, causing the retainer to look at him in confusion.

"What ­–"

The sound of feet padding against the surface of the ground interrupted the amber eyed servant for the second time of the day.

Said servant waved his hands in front of him, cursing loudly as he turned away even as Dia appeared from within the crystal forest and dashed towards them.

"Ya know what, f.u.c.k it!" Kieran griped, wide-eyed and disgruntled. "I'll just stay my sorry a.s.s to the sidelines then. I'm nothin' but a minor character anyway."

Three people reacted to his low muttering, but only two were amused by it. The other didn't even so much as blinked at the younger retainer's irritation.

After giving the sulking retainer an amused glance, Dia stopped in front of his liege and bowed his head slightly in greeting.

"Milord, I have arrived with what you have requested of me." The Knight of the Love Spot said, straightening his posture a moment later.

"Yes, thank you, Dia. You've done well." Hadrian complimented with a genuine smile, much to the knight's joy.

The knight's elation didn't last long as the young mage directed his gaze at the bundle that was wrapped in a black cloth, to which the former had been cradling gently against his c.h.e.s.t.

"Now, let me see what you have there." He instructed, nodding his head slightly to the bundle.

"Ah yes…" Dia said, pulling it away slowly from his c.h.e.s.t and presenting it to Hadrian.

Kieran craned his neck slightly to look over his master's shoulder, curious what the knight had brought with him, only to inhale sharply when he saw that the bundle was a sleeping infant.

Hadrian, Dia and Kieran found that as a fortunate thing as it would be troublesome if the baby had been awake. Infants can be quite unpredictable with their moods, especially when they are in an unfamiliar environment.

Who knows how the baby would react when the first thing he or she saw were three strangers and a giant with a scary visage and a big sword.

"The hell? Another one?" The amber eyed retainer muttered.

"Foufou!" The squirrel-like creature on the young mage's shoulder agreed.

"At the risk of sounding repetitive, yes, it's another one." Hadrian replied, a bit distracted as he looked over the babe.

Like before, the young mage casted a spell on the sleeping infant. But this one was designed to search for any abnormalities in the baby's body and spirit.

Hadrian feared that the intruders might have done something strange to the man and the babe, so he simply wanted to make sure that they were truly healthy.

Fortunately, nothing seemed to be amiss apart from one.

Earlier, he noticed that the man appeared to be having a difficulty in breathing.

At first, Hadrian assumed that the man was having a slight panic attack, seeing as it can be a natural reaction when one gets kidnapped.

Then, he realized that the source of the issue was actually their surroundings.

The air around the island was infused with the Spider's unique magical energy.

Magical creatures such as spirits and Phantasmal Beasts would be right at home in the isle, but humans like the man and the baby would not be able to last long if they stay anymore.

Breathing in the air here would be akin as to inhaling poison, slowly killing a person in the inside.

It was one of the reasons why the Watch had only observed the Spider from a distance and not up close, seeing as they have yet to find a safe method to do so, even with their resources.

Hadrian himself had only managed to resist the effect due to his magical circuits being partially activated.

When he arrived to the island, Hadrian had already activated about five percent (5%) of his circuits.

It was embarrassing for him to admit it, but he did not realized the effect of the magically infused air until he noticed the man's condition before he had hypnotized him to sleep.

He was warned about it by the Chief before he and the others had departed, but it slipped from his mind in favor of his planning and concern for the others.

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