A day later, Ayato was standing on a rooftop, searching the city with his eyes. He couldn't see far and clear like the eyes of a hawk, but he could sense mana. He could lock in on and identify the mana. It did strain his eyes but he did so anyway.
Not that he had any luck.
The boy fell over on the roof, exhausted. His eyes were beating excessively as his vision darkened.
"Shit... If only I could use it like the heirs..."
He wanted to find Ashley. Not because it was his mission, but because a friend of his went missing. It was to no avail. It was like she had completely disappeared off of the radar.
Akari was at Buckingham Palace, working with the Queen. He didn't know how to feel about it because of her attendant, Morgan Le Fay.
He had no way of confirming whether or not it was her behind all of this but he had a hunch. Of course, Ayato knew better than anyone that having a hunch didn't matter in the face of absolute authority.
There was no way to connect the witch to these events. He heard about Haukea fighting a man on the River Thames but there was also no connecting that to the witch either.
Ultimately, as of now, it didn't matter who was the mastermind because he was searching for Ashley. Ashley came first above all.
One could argue that the lives of citizens were more important but Ashley's death would cause the deaths of 10,000,000 people.
"Are you overworking yourself, Japanese bud?"
Mao Zhao and Yu walked toward Ayato. The boy winced, trying to get a clear image of the two of them.
"...Yeah."
"Such a delayed answer."
Mao Zhao scoffed, separating himself from Yu. He offered Ayato a hand, helping him stand up. Mao Zhao pulled him up and patted his shoulders.
"Just rest. Anti-Magic are all over London."
"You still can't find her."
"We will."
"There's less than a week before Halloween. We need to find her before then."
The Chinese man sighed and shrugged his shoulders. Yu hugged Mao Zhao from behind with an enticing smirk. He patted her head. Ayato was disgruntled.
"Don't be so unhappy, Ayato Kyouya. Magicians from the Association are also looking for her. We'll find her before the week is out. When we do go get her, you'll be on the team that goes to retrieve her. Does that sound far?"
He asked the boy. Ayato struck the side of his head to get rid of the minor headache that he felt. (It did nothing.)
"Sure,"
Ayato grumbled.
·———·
In the palace, Arthur stopped. Ciel called out to him in the corridor.
"Hey, Arthur."
"Ciel, is there anything you need?"
She walked toward him with a thin smile on her face. Arthur stared at her nonchalantly. He knew, as well as the other members of the Round Table, that 'Ciel' was strange.
"I've been wondering since I'm new. I wanted to know more about your Excalibur."
"Excalibur?"
"You don't have to tell me everything about it. I'd rather you tell me about one of its features. I think Alicia mentioned something about cause and effect but honestly, I have no clue what that means."
Arthur's mouth rose in surprise. He thought that she would ask him a question that he couldn't provide an answer to. Even he wanted to hide some aspects of Excalibur from his allies.
"That's no problem. I can tell you more."
He offered.
The woman smiled.
"Could you then explain what cause and effect is?"
"Cause and effect, also known as causality. It is what it implies. When something happens, it leads to a cause. For example, when you shoot someone, they die. It sounds complicated but once explained, it's pretty simple to understand. Excalibur can nullify such cause and effect."
"Nullify cause and effect? But you can't bring someone back to life."
"Not reverse it. Not even reversing could bring somebody back to life. Of course, nullifying would only work on ongoing effects. For example, a fastball. Let's assume that Excalibur couldn't cut through it, even so, when sliced, the ball would cease to spin. That is such of Excalibur's ability to nullify cause and effect."
He explained pridefully with a smile on his face and his arms crossed. Ciel put her hand against her cheek.
"What a troublesome ability."
"Indeed."
The man admitted. Ciel looked away.
"I'm so glad that I'm on your side, Arthur. Being your enemy would be rough."
"I'm glad as well."
"...?"
"I'm glad that Excalibur chose me."
"I don't think it would matter either way."
Ciel left Arthur pondering on what she meant.
·———·
(2 PM — London — October 31st)
"We've found her."
Mao Zhao told the Queen. Ayato irritably tapped his foot as if to say 'about time.' The Queen felt the same way Ayato did. She closed her eyes.
"Finally, we don't have that much time. The lights shine at sunset."
"So we have 3 hours to procure Ashley."
"Save, not procure, Mao Zhao. She isn't an object."
The Queen scowled at him. Mao Zhao had no connection to Ashley and he used this language often, especially with prisoners and the like. Prisoners are not meant to feel adored and comforted.
Using such language in front of the Queen would, ordinarily, be the end of him but Alice brushed it off.
"So, you're going too, Ayato Kyouya?"
The man turned to the boy. He nodded.
"Of course. I'm going to make up for my mistake."
Ayato said, clenching his fist.
"I'm going to save Ashley and London."
"Oh, serious..."
Yu commented from the seat behind Mao Zhao. She didn't have a role in anything. She was simply there because Mao Zhao was.
Ayato wasn't the type to get serious often, at least without a legitimate reason. He also wasn't the type to get angry at others who simply couldn't be bothered. He just looked over at her with a satisfied expression.
"This is important to me. Currently, my wish is to save the lives of the people in this city. If I can accomplish that, I'll be happy."
"What if it doesn't work out?"
She asked.
"If it doesn't, it doesn't. That's just how the world works. I'm not some hero of justice, claiming to be able to save everyone. I don't have that much power. I'm just a slightly above-average boy who wants to save others."
"Calling yourself slightly above average is too modest, Ayato Kyouya."
The Queen told him with a warm smile. Ayato bowed as a sign of respect.
"It is not, Your Majesty. My life is what shaped me this way. In the end, I'm nothing more than a weak boy who wanted to find a place to call home."
Alice did want to ask him about his life but she was sure that it was nothing good.
"So, have you found a place to call home?"
"I... Yes, I have."
He answered.
"That's good. I am happy about your determination. I don't doubt your abilities but the people behind this may be somewhat too much. So, I'll assign a guard to you."
Ayato looked up with a puzzled look.
"I'm fine, Your Majesty. I don't need a guard."
"Don't worry, Morgan will be sure to protect you, right, Morgan?"
Alice put her hand on Morgan's shoulder. The witch's eyes widened in horror. The hand gripping her staff started shaking.
"Y-Y-Your Majesty... Who will protect you i-i-if I'm gone...?"
"Oh right, it can't be Morgan then. Sorry."
Morgan was shocked at the fact that Alice had forgotten her duty. She almost fainted because of that.
"Who then...? I don't trust Arthur... Alicia is trouble... Ciel is... well, Ciel... Ah, how about O—"
"We can have Aindeau guard him, Your Majesty."
Morgan suggested.
Ayato didn't like the smile she had on her face. The fact she was a Witch was beside the point. It wasn't a normal smile, more like a calculative one.
'This Aindeau is someone that I shouldn't trust.'
He thought as soon as he saw that expression.
"Morgan, you need to stop smiling like that. It's creepy. You do it all the time."
"Oh, sorry."
She relaxed her face. Mao Zhao and Ayato stared at her, dumbfounded. They both thought at the same time:
'That's how she usually smiles...?!'
'Perhaps I was overthinking it.'
Ayato thought once more. Still, he decided to be careful just in case. Especially after what Pride told him.
"Who's Aindeau?"
"I'll send him over to you later when you get to the bunker. For now, get over there."
Ayato nodded.