In the distance, it was as though a pause button had been pressed. Everyone stood frozen in place, their eyes glazed and vacant, their bodies suspended in whatever posture they'd occupied seconds before.
"The people inside the station too," Wayland said.
Pascal nodded with a smile and flicked his other wrist. A magical circle, spinning like a miniature frisbee, zipped through the shattered station entrance.
"Hear my words, obey my will."
Pascal softly intoned the incantation, and a larger magical circle expanded outward from his position. The air began to vibrate with elemental energy that unspooled from the circle's intricate lines, lacing through the air like invisible threads before anchoring themselves into the bodies of everyone in the vicinity.
A collective shiver ran through the crowd, like a sudden jolt of electricity.
Pascal spread his fingers wide. Faint lines of elemental energy formed puppet-strings that split once, then twice, then again, eventually extending into dozens of individual threads. He then slowly drew his hands together.
The frozen crowd began to move. Their steps were slow and deliberate as they walked toward Pascal, eventually forming a circle around him and Wayland. Within minutes, over two hundred people had been gathered.
"There. Your turn."
"Excuse me?"
"Memory erasure," Pascal said with a shrug. "Can't you see I'm busy controlling them?"
"There are over two hundred people here!" Wayland protested. "By the time I've finished wiping that many memories, I'll be a dried-up husk!"
"Nothing to be done about it. Think of it as a noble sacrifice for the cause. I'll even list it as an on-the-job injury on your report."
"???"
"Hahaha!" Pascal's laughter sent his thick beard dancing. "Alright, enough joking. I've already contacted the Oxenholme branch of the Department of Policies. Just handle a few for now. They should be here in a few minutes to take over the cleanup."
Wayland let out a long sigh of relief and began the tedious work of memory erasure.
Shortly after, a team of twelve field agents arrived. After a quick exchange of greetings, they immediately joined in the work.
"Done."
Wayland wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to look at Pascal, who was busy giving instructions to the cleanup crew.
"Alright, Wayland. Let's head out. They'll coordinate with the local authorities to label this as a massive fire caused by a technical failure at the station."
"Understood."
Wayland followed Pascal to a waiting car.
"Things are looking a bit complicated," Pascal's expression turned serious as they pulled away. "As you've likely realized, a 'Pride' rank magus with multiple high-level Mystic Codes is unlikely to be a simple rogue or a mercenary. And those white robes... they suggest he belongs to some kind of organized group.
"We're already in the middle of an escort mission that has us in direct conflict with one major organization. If this attacker was acting on his own, we might be fine. But if his organization is involved, it could spell a lot of trouble for our mission. So, tell me,how did you manage to piss him off?"
"..." Wayland let out a weary sigh. "I was just sitting in the waiting room, minding my own business, when a spell came flying through the door and slapped me in the face. What was I supposed to do?"
"Your luck is truly something else." Pascal couldn't help but chuckle as he patted Wayland on the shoulder. "Well, it doesn't matter. In terms of size and power, the Mage's Association is the biggest player on the board. Once we reach the hotel, we'll start an investigation. Anyone who dares to ignore the 'Secrecy of Mystery' is an enemy of the Department of Policies. I'll report this to the Captain and see if she can send some reinforcements."
***
"The Magician's Hotel?"
Wayland stepped out of the car and stared at the plain, direct name on the building's facade. He was momentarily stunned.
'What happened to the first principle of Magi?'
'Aren't you even going to try and hide it?'
"Something wrong?"
Pascal pointed to a metallic relief sculpture to the right of the hotel's automatic glass doors. "The hotel was named in honor of the great magician who stayed here in the year 2000."
Wayland walked over to the sculpture. It depicted a middle-aged man with short black hair and a square, honest face.
"Who is he?" Wayland asked.
"He's widely regarded as one of the greatest magicians of our era."
"???"
Wayland spun around to stare at Pascal.
He wondered if he'd heard wrong.
'The greatest magician?' In his memory, that title was reserved for legendary figures like Merlin.
But he didn't recognize this man at all, and his features didn't match any legendary magus he knew.
"That's David Copperfield!"
"..."
Wayland pressed his palm to his forehead.
It was a terrible, ice-cold joke.
'Stage magic' was a world away from 'Magecraft.' Even someone who wasn't a fan of the performance arts would recognize the name David Copperfield as one of the most famous illusionists in the world.
'I'm going to start charging you for these puns.'
Without another word, he walked straight through the doors and into the lobby.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
Pascal had been about to go into a detailed explanation of Copperfield's famous 'Disappearing Statue of Liberty' trick, but when he saw Wayland was already inside, he scrambled to follow.
The lobby was a vision of opulence and grandeur.
In the very center, a massive, ornate chandelier hung from the ceiling like a gargantuan crown.
"Where are Bazett and the others?" Wayland asked as Pascal caught up.
"On the second floor."
Pascal stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the second floor, his voice dropping to a low whisper. "We've rented out the entire hotel. It's the 'hidden in plain sight' approach,they won't expect us to be staying in a place actually named 'The Magician's Hotel.' But it won't last long. They'll find us soon enough."
"Who are 'they'?" Wayland asked. Pascal had been uncharacteristically vague about the organization they were up against.
The elevator doors slid open.
Pascal took a deep breath. "Executors from the Holy Church."
Wayland froze for a fraction of a second.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]