Second Floor, Devala Headquarters.
"I-Intruders! Notify---! Gah!"
Thud!
"How did they---!?"
Thud!
Inside a particular hallway of the second floor, two women, one younger and one older, were currently swiftly knocking out the stationed guards that remained.
The younger one with short, pink hair hand-chopped the last grunt that was still conscious on his neck, catching him smoothly as she dragged him towards a inconspicuous dimly lit area.
Piles of bodies that shared the same fate can be seen alongside the older woman with long, black hair, who's currently holding a orb on her right palm. However, there was something that stood out the most, aside from the pair taking down numerous guards on their own.
A destroyed wall separated the room and the hallway, yet it seamlessly blended with the background. No hint of rubble or dust was seen, making it a strange sight.
It was as if the wall was pried open like a cage, combined with the baffling look that seemed to have reversed to when it was being built.
"Targets down." Meredy added the poor fellow on the pile. "There's only a few of them here like the first floor… I suspect it would be the same as we continue to go upwards."
"Hm." Ultear agreed with her foster daughter's guess. "We'll just have to take advantage of Paramount Tide's divided attention to the fullest." She walked through the opening with Meredy.
Then, she nonchalantly waved her hand, repairing the wall as it closed. "But don't let down your guard because of this, the rigged spell traps and surveillance lacrimas we avoided made up for it."
"Affirmative."
"Stop acting so stiff and formal, Meredy."
"... I'm sorry, it's a force of habit."
Ultear sighed and gently patted Meredy's head, causing her to grumble in embarrassment. "I should be the one who needs to apologize for stringing you along with this so-called redemption journey of mine."
"Please don't say that, Ultear!" Meredy snatched the older woman's hand, holding it firmly. "Even though I'm young, I was still apart of Grimoire Heart, so that doesn't make me innocent in the slightest!" Her voice rang with determination.
"You truly know what words to say all the time." Ultear wryly smiled. "Alright, I'll stop my frequent douse of self-loathing for now." She softly let go of Meredy's grip.
"It's better if you stop it altogether." Meredy harrumphed as she tried to hide her concern. "But that's never gonna happen, right?" Biting her lips helplessly.
There was a slight paused after that was said, until Ultear responded. "Life can bring about unexpected surprises, maybe something will influence me more than I can imagine."
"I'm noting that." Meredy deadpanned.
"Be my guest." Ultear chuckled as she turned around to boop her nose, making the younger woman pout in annoyance.
A while ago, Ultear and Meredy successfully infiltrated without problem, since they witnessed the rest of the staff getting escorted out in an orderly fashion after entering the premises of the first floor.
This gave them time to trace sources of unusual magical energy, focusing on ones that could reveal their presence instantly.
Once that was done, they shifted their attention to stealthily entering the offices and rooms that may store crucial evidence. Additionally, the pair eavesdropped on those who either remained, or were on their way towards the exit.
Luckily, there were incompetent grunts who genuinely couldn't keep their mouths shut.
They've based their current approach from what was said: There were four hidden and established private sections that were spread throughout the structure.
Devala Headquarters spanned nine-stories, and each floor was wide enough to accommodate various professions that were supporting the workload and development for the commerce.
On a normal day, this place would be bustling with activity and disguised Paramount Tide wizards who was in charge for monitoring and maintaining order.
Although it would make their jobs harder, Ultear and Meredy were confident that they could still slip across the tiniest of gaps.
However, due to the situation that was brewing, manpower was needed for an impending pursuit. As a result, almost all areas would be vacant with the exception of those who were strictly ordered to stay and protect all significant places of interest.
Naturally, they welcomed such a thing and fully leveraged on the dark spaces to cover their tracks. Ultear also used her magic to cut corners, leading Meredy as she opened and closed walls to spare them the hassle of alerting enemies.
She also made sure to not make the openings too wide, or else the aftershocks would definitely echo loudly under the silence.
But there was a problem regarding these private sections. Only a select few knew the exact locations, which were obviously the four S-Classes that were following Vandis.
To put it simply, it would be like searching for a needle within a haystack. Both of them were aware that recklessly going in blind wouldn't help, so they formulated a strategy that was the only efficient option for this predicament.
They decided to completely focus on tracking any sign of concentrated types of Ethernano other than the spell traps or surveillance lacrimas. Although it could still be considered as roaming needlessly, it was better than nothing to say the least.
The two then scoured the whole first floor, trying their luck if there was any sort of presence that could be pinpointed towards a private section. They just had to make sure to not miss anything, since potentially any floor may conceal these places.
Fortunately, they managed to uncover a layer of built-in compartments that lead to a pathway swarmed with outlines of intertwined magic seals that masked the existence of a door.
These magic seals resembled streams of water that emitted strong ripples. Ultear at the time frowned, feeling the quality of its essence. The complexity alone made her extremely vigilant, because she easily deduced that the wizard who created it was in a league of their own.
By process of elimination, there was only one individual who could possibly do this: Paramount Tide's Guild Master, Vandis.
This prompted Ultear to change her approach on how to breakthrough its impenetrable security.
Generally speaking, the capability of her magic made her the perfect wizard for reconnaissance tasks, even matching the skills of those with Stealth Magic.
Well, anyone who had knowledge about Arc of Time would definitely be filled with envy. The ability to manipulate time to fast-foward, rewind, and stop all manner of non-living objects may look unbeatable in paper, yet it still had its limitations.
Its effectiveness on magic itself will depend on the situation, especially when pure energy-based spells were to be considered. Magic seals in particular was something she could negate thanks to its environmental factors.
But there was a catch for it to work, Ultear needed to pinpoint specific blind spots to disrupt the flow of Ethernano and render the seal useless. Adding to the fact that it was stronger than average, utmost caution must be practiced.
Given her experience in dealing with them, Ultear was aware that it was common knowledge for every seal to be linked to the creator themselves, so when one gets destroyed, they would be immediately alerted.
Which is why her Arc of Time was a type of Lost Magic that could overcome such an obstacle. Usually, when she invokes it to an efficient degree, her series of actions were enacted in quick succession.
No matter what ability Ultear conjured, it was with the intention to make sure that the seal itself would not register that it was tampered with. This meant that the caster wouldn't realize their seal was quietly dismantled, then repaired again to its normal state at the same time.
However, the scene in front of her presented a challenge. A singular mistake would force them to engage against a powerful wizard, while also not forgetting that Nullpudding is somewhere within the headquarters.
It took Ultear a few minutes to figure out the components of the seal alongside Meredy's assistance. Once they discovered these potential blind spots, the time wizard decisively aimed at them, finally opening the door in the process.
As soon as they entered, Ultear swiftly reversed their work. They've already memorized the seals' patterns, so it wouldn't be difficult to relocate the blind spots from within.
What the duo saw was more than enough for Paramount Tide to be branded as a dark guild. There were quantities of queries that were focused upon expanding their connections using Raven Tail's underworld network.
It displayed anonymous clients' requests that were deemed illegal by the Magic Council, whether it would be assassination, slavery, smuggling… Parchments of more receipts of deals, images within larcimas, and a massive bulletin board that included every person of status from each faction within Welbor island.
This was just one out of four sections, and it made them assume that each private section were assigned to Vandis' most trusted confidants, who were obviously the four S-Classes.
After recording the evidence, the duo exited the place without any struggle and continued to seek the other three sections by going through the remaining eight floors.
They're currently almost finished with sweeping the entirety of the second floor.
"I'll send what we've gathered from the first floor to the Rune Knights within the island." The time wizard tapped her orb, which then manifested a web of lines in response, showing miniature texts that overlapped seamlessly.
It's blue outlines of Ethernano intertwined without complications, prompting it to produce waves of activity.
When she acted as a spy for the former Magic Council thanks to her guise while she 'worked' with Jellal, her position within the upper echelons was nothing to scoff at.
Becoming a councilor gave her enough authority to be granted access to the council's Archive System of Communication, notably for the Rune Knight Units that were under her supervision.
Each person of high status, especially those at the very top, are required to do a Body-Link to be used a sign of their identity, making them genuine admins that could control and influence a portion of its inner workings.
During the procedure, Ultear discreetly modified it to split at least just a flicker of her magical signature, sending it directly towards the depths of the system. This was so that she could still access it successfully, even after dropping her role in the council altogether.
Well, it worked in her favor, courtesy of her destroying their previous headquarters once Etherion was fired. Fortunately, the system wasn't that affected during the chaos, letting her nonchalantly scan through it like usual.
However, she was also baffled, since her having access meant that the same Body-Link spell is practiced, considering that it permanently stores magical signatures under its functions.
They could have rebooted the entire thing, erasing previous holders' traces to commemorate their fresh start as the newly reformed council.
You know… with her being a planted spy and all, she wondered if there was no genuine thought of common sense to make their security more complex after what she did?
Ultear could only praise their unrivaled… intelligence.
"Do you think they will believe such information, Ultear?" Meredy asked as she trailed the woman in front of her.
"Whether it would be to brush if off or take it seriously, the choice is theirs like always." Ultear circulated her magic power to complete the process. "Although I'm pretty sure that the sudden evacuation of the headquarters' staff is enough to raise suspicion."
Obviously, her rigging of the system wasn't without results. The small signature she left was brought to light the moment she entered it again, which brought profound panic amongst the higher-ups.
This was especially the case for Gran Doma, the new Chairman who was determined to repair the Magic Council's reputation in the eyes of the public.
It was unacceptable for even an unknown variable to exist within the system, so Ultear already expected their attempts to reverse-track her location.
Naturally, the council gritted their teeth in failure every time.
Ever since then, Ultear brazenly took advantage of their incompetence to notify them of her exploits with Meredy about exposing and punishing criminal organizations within these two months, and dark guilds were seen as the main priority.
Basically, she mockingly declared the government body of the magic world to be the clean up afterwards, essentially confirming information and arresting the culprits.
Once they realized that it would be a waste of time to seek out the sneaky duo's trail, the council unanimously and begrudgingly accepted their defeat. They simply let them do their own thing and were categorized as independent rogue wizards.
It was impossible to accommodate every part of Fiore during this massive influx of dark guilds who wanted to rise in power. Any type of assistance is good news, no matter how, where, or who's it from.
Although maybe their opinions would change if they knew of their identities…
"That's true…" Meredy scanned their surroundings, her vigilance not dropping within this peaceful and tranquil atmosphere. "I still can't comprehend as to why Vandis announced it through the speakers, it will just attract more attention at this rate."
"He's definitely unpredictable and cunning." Ultear finished transmitting the evidence. "Explaining it as a friendly skirmish between guilds is somehow an acceptable reason for the staff."
"We've failed to account on how much his words weigh for the masses." Meredy softly sighed. "One could say that Paramount Tide is basically an individual branch of the commerce at this point."
"Half a decade of continuously accepting job quests from the locals works wonders." Ultear responded. "Their partnership with Mack Devala also played a role in it."
"Trust and ignorance is a deadly combo." Meredy said. "They're truly good in manipulating those aspects."
After scouring the second floor and concluded that there was nothing, the duo resumed their navigation towards the upper floors, knocking out more clueless guards while avoiding the numerous traps and surveillance lacrimas to pass through.
Similar results were seen in the third and fourth, making the fifth one the next breakthrough. Ultear and Meredy observed the seal in front of them with solemn expressions.
The exact same outline of intertwined patterns were displayed, but the atmosphere felt completely different.
"This smell…" Meredy narrowed her eyes. "It's blood."
"And it's not just coming from a single source." Ultear began scanning the place for its blind spots. "I sense a bunch of living signatures, and all of them are the verge of disappearing."
"Then we need to hurry!" Meredy swiftly moved around as she assisted the older woman in her search.
"Careful now, Meredy." Ultear reminded her. "You might accidentally trigger the entire thing." Noticing the amount of magical pressure that the young wizard unleashed due to her emotions.
Meredy sheepishly apologized, regulating herself before it could mess up their progress.
Compared to the previous seal, they managed to bypass this one quicker due to its familiar structure. Its blind spots maybe at different locations, but the principles were the same.
As soon as both of them stepped inside, their eyes soaked in the sight in front of them.
The stench of blood became even more pronounced, yet its interiors were devoid of any hint of crimson.
This chilling scent came from the thin rows of tubes that were embedded everywhere, alongside batches of weapons and even bigger transparent containers that acted as storage.
A few lacrima generators could be seen, seemingly providing the power to run this place perpetually. However, Ultear and Meredy focused on the true source that glaringly symbolized the purpose for everything here.
Humans.
Rows of unconscious humans were bounded strongly by anti-magic cuffs, supported with more chains around their bodies to never even give the slightest opportunity to breathe peacefully.
Meredy hastily sprinted towards a captive, checking her pulse to decide if first-aid was feasible for the rest.
"A slave collar." She gazed at the thing around the woman's neck, then glanced at the others to discover each person had it. "All of them are slaves."
"Yeah." Ultear clenched her fists as she was forced to remember her depraved deeds. "From the looks of it, they're being drained of their magic power to manufacture high quality weapons like what we saw on the restricted area."
"Is it still possible to save everyone here?" Meredy hopefully asked.
Ultear analyzed their current conditions, hesitating for a moment. "I'd say with the way they are currently, there are still chances for completely recovery."
The orb glowed under her control. "But if we try to help them now and attract enemies, it would be the least ideal scenario. We can't just rule out the possibility of them becoming hostages, or worse, getting erased to hide the evidence."
She continued. "Goading the Rune Knights currently within the island is our best bet, so we need to maintain our priority to gather evidence."
"That's better than not being able to do anything." Meredy took a deep breath, calming her restless emotions. "I'm aware that I maybe too optimistic about it."
"I don't blame you for having such a reaction." Ultear used her other hand to rub the young girl's pink hair. "Don't worry, this kind of nightmare will end sooner or later."
Meredy nodded. "I understand." She passed by the time wizard. "Let's go, Ultear, I'm ready to resume our search!" Slapping her own face with both of her hands.
"That's the spirit!"
The pair roamed the entire section, managing to find various information related to the inhumane scene. They've discovered specific data that contextualizes these 'experiments' in detail.
Most of it were sprawled on the desks that were put here, so they didn't need to meticulously factor in every nook and cranny, which saved them the hassle fortunately.
"Siphoning them beyond the known threshold?" Ultear unconsciously clutched the log in her hand, her expression showing sheer disbelief.
"What's wrong, Ultear?" Meredy paused for a moment, glancing at her foster mother.
Ultear rubbed her forehead in mild distress. "I just didn't expect Vandis would take it to extremes that even I never thought to do." She returned the parchment while looking at the captives in sadness and pity.
"Did Hades give you details regarding Magic Deficiency Disease?" She followed up with a question.
"Yes." Meredy remembered her lessons when she was under his tutelage. "It is an illness that sprouts if a wizard uses substantial amounts of their magic power, or if drained forcefully by another person."
Ultear hummed a tone of approval. "Then I'll get straight to the point." Formulating a summary in her mind. "The tubes connected on them can be seen as good and bad at the same time, and that's also including those bigger transparent ones at each end."
"Good and bad?" Meredy inquired confusingly.
"Good in the sense of having their magic power restored, and bad in the sense of getting deprived of it in the next second." Ultear explained, directing her gaze at the Ethernano Conduits. "They were modified with sensors to detect their magic reserves in real time, meaning it can accurately and autonomously regulate its output functions into a nonstop cycle."
Meredy being of sharp mind pieced it together. "… Does that mean they're being healed the moment the disease hits?" She could only reel from such a revelation, her stoic features crumbling even more.
"And when their reserves are full again, those conduits responsible for absorbing their magic power will light up swiftly." Ultear gritted her teeth in anger.
Granted that she wasn't the right person to feel remorse on their behalf, having a changed mindset after Tenrou instinctively shifted her emotions to say the least.
In fact, during her time in the Baram Alliance, Ultear saw many inexplicable things that could make even the most hardened of criminals raise eyebrows. But even with all that stored in her mind, what was hidden here can still be place among the top in that category.
Ethernano in general was integrated into daily life, whether it would be for convenience or the essence of magical foundation.
The latter especially, since a wizard's magic is spiritually in broad terms, which converts and refine the Ethernano they absorb into magical power by the common practice of meditation.
One could say it's a lifeline, something that would be etched into their very being.
This was also why the disease is so fatal to wizards, because their magical container is an integral part that could never be fully separated.
Yet what the duo just read completely mocks the concept in the form of extreme cruelty. Torture wasn't new in the underworld, and even Meredy wasn't that naive. But… this? It could only be described as pure sadism, there was no other way to put it.
They couldn't imagine the dread of having to experience near-death repeated processes frequently.
"Punishment must be administered." Meredy spat with venom, eager to switch her focus towards Vandis himself.
"Calm down, Meredy." Ultear said, but also understood her wrath. "We're already making good progress to strike at them from this angle… All their efforts will come crashing down once everything is revealed to the public."
"Hmph! I don't mind doing it the old fashion way." Meredy clicked her tongue childishly. "Dark guilds, no matter how organized they may seem, will always follow the motto of might makes right."
"We'll resort to that if the situation demands it, but just bare with it for now." Ultear giggled in amusement, knowing that is the case for factions that simply wanted to cause chaos.
After finishing this specific side of information, they went to other desks that held descriptions pertaining to the captives themselves, alongside numerous receipts that could shed light about how they quietly came here in the first place.
Meredy frowned as she read their recorded identity. "Bosco Wizards from the New Dawn Resistance?" Going through documents regarding this entry.
"Prisoners of War." She muttered loudly. "What's happening over there in Bosco? There's an ongoing resistance that's openly in conflict against the kingdom's Royal Family…" Reading the text with slight surprise.
"Who knows?" Ultear replied from another desk. "Slavery can be considered as legal within their laws, but such a controversial thing will obviously questioned by most."
Grimoire Heart's ship had an abundant library area that housed basic rundowns of different kingdoms. She skimmed through them during her breaks, gaining a rough understanding of their culture and customs.
Based on what Ultear knew, although Bosco's Royal Family supported such practices openly, that doesn't mean its legal influence could be applied for other kingdoms. This was how its numerous hidden slave routes came to be, banking in on lucrative deals between Bosco's upper society and anonymous clients.
"It seems like Vandis received these prisoners from Ivan." Ultear's eyes scanned a document. "Luckily for us, Ivan considers their partnership beneficial enough to share the trade routes Raven Tail uses."
"I've found more mentioned here, Ultear." Meredy added as she organized another stash of files. "He's also being quite cautious by switching routes constantly and not recording their supposed dates of shipment."
"That's fine." Ultear looked over. "This trip has been fruitful for the most part, so we just need to analyze what we've discovered." Her orb floated around, saving everything as images that can be stored inside it indefinitely.
A few moments went by before it finished, then called it back to her palm. "It's time to go, Meredy." She gazed at the young woman who still felt hesitant. "We need to keep moving against the clock."
Ultear immediately walked towards the entrance, already beginning to pinpoint the seals' blind spots in this side.
Meredy on the other hand, quietly stood in front of the captives who probably endured immense suffering for an untold number of days, weeks or even years. Their unconscious states indicated the worst possible outcomes, although she wished that they could recover properly after being freed.
"Help will be on the way soon." She spoke as if they could hear her, even if that wasn't the case. "Please just wait a little longer." Softly sighing since she understood Ultear's point about how risky it was to personally free them now.
Needless casualties were the last thing they wanted, but Meredy still felt distressed for leaving them here without providing first-aid assistance. She steeled herself as she turned around, also scanning for blind spots to smoothly exit this private section.
Cough!
A sudden sound stopped both women in their tracks, prompting their eyes to glance at the source.
"... Y-You don't… need to be… so remorseful, young miss." A weakened man surprisingly woke up from his imprisonment. "I-It's… a miracle… in itself… that people managed to bypass that scum's seals…" His eyes trembled, doing his best to stay awake despite the pain.
"Kghk!" The man gritted his teeth. "I… may not r-represent… for my comrades here… but… we're very grateful… t-to… you guys in… advance…" His voice got lower until it returned to silence.
Meredy never moved from her location, showing a calm expression while still processing about what happened.
Well, Ultear knew that there was more to her reaction, considering that she understood her foster daughter the most. She returned her attention to the seals' pathways as she gently smiled.
"We can't let them down now, can we?"
"Mm."
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A bit later than usual, ehe.
I'll prepare a fixed schedule starting next year, so for now, I'll try my best to pump out a few more chapters before December ends, hopefully? Uh, yeah, hopefully...