In modern society, Aether,the fifth element of the primordial world,no longer exists outside of a handful of ancient, isolated ruins.
Wayland watched the ritual, a sudden thought occurring to him. 'Why was that linden leaf in Aozaki Touko's possession?'
He remembered Hishiri Adashino mentioning that Byron, the head of the Iselma family, had purchased a blood-stained linden leaf at an auction. At the time, they'd speculated that he hadn't bought it for the Holy Grail War, but for the sake of his "Golden Princess" and "Silver Princess."
He began to piece together the plot of the Twin Towers of Iselma.
'Does this mean the Golden Princess has already died?'
And Byron had commissioned Touko to create a 'second' Golden Princess to ensure their upcoming social debut wouldn't be a disaster.
'The plot is about to begin.'
Soon, Reines and Gray would be invited to the Iselma towers for the debut of the two princesses, only to find themselves embroiled in a major incident.
The bead of liquid Prana Touko was holding was likely the result of a massive ritual array set up at the Iselma estate,specifically at the artificial lake in the Mysthille Gardens,designed to siphon Prana from the local leylines and compress it into a portable form.
The black ash from Siegfried's catalyst spiraled into the hairline fracture of the blue bead, dissolving into the liquefied Prana until the entire sphere was stained a deep, pitch black.
Touko retracted the bead and tossed the Stone of Destiny back to Bazett with the casual indifference of someone throwing a piece of trash. "My commission is complete. The rest of this has nothing to do with me. You can handle the cleanup yourselves."
With a flick of her fingers, the Crystal Mayflies swirled around her like a shimmering silk ribbon. A pair of pale blue wings manifested from the swarm, and with a soft, rhythmic pulse of light, she vanished from the courtyard.
"Thank you, Miss Aozaki!" Wayland shouted after her, though he had no idea if she could even hear him.
He turned back to the others and clapped his hands together. "Well, that was surprisingly painless. Our mission is officially a success."
"I thought I was going to die!"
Pascal clutched his chest, his heart hammering against his ribs so hard he looked ready to collapse.
Of the three of them, Bazett had remained calm because she possessed the strength to potentially escape even a Grand-rank magus, and Wayland had remained calm because he knew Touko's personality. Only Pascal had been genuinely, physically terrified.
To him, she was the legendary Puppet Master who had evaded a Sealing Designation for years. If she'd held even the slightest grudge against the Clock Tower, the three of them would have been nothing more than corpses in an abandoned yard.
Pascal took a series of deep, shuddering breaths. "We got lucky. Truly, incredibly lucky."
"We can't afford to be complacent," Wayland cautioned. "Don't forget the Seven Holy Paladins. We managed to wound the Magus at the station, but a group like that is bound to have advanced healing methods and reinforcements nearby. We need to move while we have the chance."
Bazett nodded, her eyes fixed on the distant city skyline. "We split up here."
"Why?" Wayland asked, surprised. "It would be safer to return together. We have strength in numbers."
"No," Bazett said, her tone firm. "The Stone of Destiny is the priority. As you said, the Paladins could track us at any moment. You still have wounded agents in the city hospital; if I stay with you, the detour will waste too much time.
"I'll take the Stone back to London alone. Even if the Paladins find you, they won't find the artifact, and they won't risk open war with the Association without it. The Stone has reverted to its original form; it'll be much easier for me to transport it covertly on my own. Your assistance mission ends here. Your rewards will be waiting for you at the Bureau when you return."
Wayland and Pascal shared a look. "You have a point," Wayland conceded. "The Church and the Paladins are likely still recovering. Team leader Hishiri Adashino should be arriving in Oxenholme within the hour; once she's here, we'll be fine."
Bazett gave a curt nod, then turned and vanished into the rainy evening without another word.
Wayland had a suspicion she wasn't heading straight back to London. He suspected she was going to find Caren Ortensia first.
"Let's go," Pascal said, patting Wayland on the shoulder. "Grab the sleeper from the room. We'll head back to the local branch and wait for the Director."
"Got it." Wayland nodded and walked toward the house.
The young man,Ariel Dumas,was still unconscious.
The backlash from having a ritual of that scale interrupted was devastating. While he showed no outward signs of injury, his internal magical circuits were likely a shattered mess.
Wayland felt no sympathy for him. He cast a simple [Floating] spell on the man, raising him into the air like a human-shaped balloon, and led him out into the yard.
In the distance, Pascal's figure was growing smaller as he walked toward where they'd parked the car. At five hundred meters, he looked like a tiny black ant against the grey horizon.
Wayland glanced at the corner of his vision to check the time, but the system was still offline.
'Hey, Irigal. Everyone's gone. You can wake up now.'
A few seconds passed.
[System booting... Self-protection mode deactivated.]
["Master! Look out!"]
Irigal's voice rang in his mind, sharp with sudden, desperate urgency.
"What?"
Wayland turned his head, and his entire body went rigid.
His EX-Rank Luck had triggered.
'You've got to be kidding me!'
Standing only a meter to his right was the white-robed man who had attacked the station. Jax Eaton was staring at him with a grin of pure, animalistic malice.
Beside him stood an elderly man, also dressed in white robes. He radiated an aura of danger that made Jax's look amateurish by comparison.
Jax looked at the floating form of Ariel Dumas, then back at Wayland. His voice was a mixture of hatred and sadistic joy. "It seems Lady Luck has smiled upon us after all. Not only have we found the traitor, but we've found you as well. This is a double joy. This time... I'm going to carve the meat from your bones, inch by inch."
"Jax. Wait."
The elderly man's expression suddenly shifted. His calm, detached demeanor was replaced by a look of profound, complex emotion.
It was a mixture of shock and a joy so intense it was almost feverish.
Within the recesses of his white robes,invisible to the naked eye,the Holy Bell was vibrating with a violent, frantic energy. It was ringing with excitement, with desperation, with a warning that bordered on a scream.
The old man swallowed hard. In all his long centuries of life, he had never felt a tension like this.
"It's you!"
He spoke the words as though they were a prayer, stepping past Jax to stare at Wayland with wide, wide eyes.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]
I wont be able to upload chapter for a whole week, so across all the ff i currently worked on, i will upload 7 chapter in advance to cover for it. also, this will be the schedule too, 7 chapter at once, per week, same day and same hours (Currently it is, Sunday, 15 march, 23:00 Indonesian time For Me) if you found any mistake do tell, but ill fix it next week, lastly please do give these ff a review or two, be it good or bad and gimme ur stone while ur at it lol. 1 bonus chapter for all.