Aindeau was a brown-haired man. He walked behind Ayato, practically towering over him. He was around 6 feet tall. His hair went down to his shoulders—it was dishevelled. He had a scar on his left cheek and hazel eyes. He wore a waiter's outfit. A dark blue waistcoat with a black tie. He had an apron around his waist.
"....."
Ayato felt uncomfortable. Mao Zhao led the group in front with Yu, while Ayato and Aindeau followed. Behind them was a group of Anti-Magic soldiers geared with anti-magician equipment.
The presence of Anti-Magic wasn't what made him feel uncomfortable. It was the presence of Aindeau. The presence of the man who stared at him.
"Uhm..."
The boy turned to Aindeau. He was still staring at him.
"Why are you staring at me?"
"I'm not supposed to let you out of my sight for your safety."
"Ah..."
Ayato sounded like he understood. He didn't. He looked forward once more. He saw the sneering face of Mao Zhao. Ayato frowned.
"You know, I don't think she meant that literally. I think she meant that you should just be around me most of the time."
"Ah, is that so? I usually just follow the Queen's orders to the letter, so I don't get in trouble."
"Mhm."
Ayato felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Aindeau didn't look directly at him.
"Stop. We're here."
Mao Zhao ordered.
The Anti-Magic soldiers stopped without a sound. The equipment they were wearing was specific for stealth missions. They didn't even make a sound.
This was a secret bunker in South East London. It was fitted with a mana dampener. It was destroyed by the Anti-Magic soldiers before they went in.
"On three, we'll storm the place. Soldiers in first, Ayato and Aindeau after."
Mao Zhao said. Everyone nodded. The soldiers moved to the front. Yu walked and put her foot on the door.
"I'll do the honours."
"One, two..."
"Three!"
Yu kicked the door, causing it to fly to the other side of the room. The Anti-Magic soldiers stormed the room with their guns aimed. They searched the room. Mao Zhao and Ayato walked in after them, leaving the other two outside.
"Well, is she in there?"
"No, sir but..."
They stared at the ground. There was something painted onto it. Mao Zhao pushed through the soldiers and saw what they were looking at. He furrowed his brows and scratched his head.
"What the fuck...?"
Ayato looked back at Yu and Aindeau when hearing Mao Zhao's response. The woman shrugged. He went inside. The boy squinted looking at the ground.
It was a mark of some sort drawn in blood. It was smeared. It was obvious that the blood was fresh. It hadn't dried yet. It somehow rang a bell in Ayato's head.
"Hm?"
"What, do you know what it means?"
Mao Zhao asked out of curiosity.
Ayato couldn't put his finger on it. What did it look like? Where had he seen it before?
He had seen something similar not too long ago. A man wearing a mask. Pride. A jester. This meant that the Court was involved.
It was a jester's mask made of blood.
But, even knowing that, why did he feel so troubled about seeing this particular mask?
"...Shit!"
He figured it out.
The jester's mask was actually two. Two disturbing ones. It mixed Wrath and Greed's masks. From what he remembered, Wrath used...
"Get out of this room now!"
"Woah!"
Ayato pulled Mao Zhao back. Some soldiers pulled back too. However, the majority of them...
With a sudden flash of light and a thunderous boom, the room exploded, pushing the soldiers and Ayato back into the corridor's wall.
"Ack!"
Ayato yelped, as his back crashed against the wall. Yu ran over to Ayato and Mao Zhao. The Chinese man coughed.
"Are you okay, Mao?!"
She hugged him. Aindeau walked behind her with a confused look on his face.
"What was that?"
"Trouble. That's all I can say. We have some unexpected troublemakers on our hands."
Then, Ayato remembered what Pride had said:
'We Jesters do whatever the fuck we want.'
They were doing whatever they wanted. He didn't know them that well but that drawing was probably Greed's. He remembered how playful she was at the school.
The explosion was most likely remotely set by Wrath. Ayato had no way of knowing whether it was a Magic Seal or actual explosives.
"Troublemakers? Who?"
Mao Zhao asked.
Ayato stared at him, thinking about it.
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you."
For some reason, the boy was protecting the Court of Jesters. He didn't owe them a favour. It didn't even matter to him.
"Don't fuck with me! More than half of my men died right now!"
"I don't know much about them myself! That's why I said I can't tell you!"
Ayato shouted.
"I don't even know what that was! I'm not sure if it was a Magic Seal or explosives!"
He admitted. Mao Zhao closed his mouth, eating his next words. He slammed the ground with his fist. Ayato looked around. His eyes glistened blue.
He checked for any magic anomalies, specifically, irregular mana signatures.
"Huh?! Hey, move it!"
Ayato reached out for Yu's hand and grabbed Mao Zhao's collar. He pulled the two of them away from a small explosion. It exploded from where Yu was crouching.
"Again?!"
"That's the last of it. Anyway, I can sense two other signatures."
The boy said, looking up.
This bunker was underground. One of the two presences that he felt belonged to the Jester named Greed. He didn't read Wrath's mana the first time they met.
Splitting up to deal with them wasn't a smart idea. If they were working with Eunithus, their goal would be to lead them astray.
"We'll go after them."
"No, you find a trail on Ashley. Aindeau and I will deal with the two of them."
Ayato told the man. Mao Zhao slowly became irritated. He marched over to Ayato and grabbed his hoodie.
"Why are you calling the shots?! We're going after them! If we subdue them and torture them, we'll get the location!"
'They won't budge from torture. Though, that's what I think.'
Ayato needlessly added on mentally.
"You're too focused on avenging your men. I thought you knew better."
"You seriously don't want to...!"
He was going to snap.
"Instead of avenging them, focus on preserving the lives of the men you have left and your mission."
As Mao Zhao threw his fist, Ayato braced himself. Yu reached over and grabbed his shoulder, stopping Mao Zhao from hitting the boy.
"Enough!"
She shouted, distressed.
"You've never actually been on the battlefield, have you, Mao Zhao?"
Mao Zhao's glare wavered. What Ayato was saying was true.
"The battlefield is a cruel place. As the leading official of the Asian branch of a policing organisation, you specialise in capture, chases, short battles and other stuff. You may even encounter sour murders. The battlefield is different. The unpredictable can happen."
The Chinese man lowered his fist. He looked at Ayato sincerely.
"So, you're saying that London is the battlefield."
"Yes, for today, this city is a battlefield. You need to make sure that none of your men die. Like I said though, the battlefield is unpredictable. Instead of chasing needlessly, act in a way that is best for you, your men, and your mission."
"Me... My men... My mission..."
Strangely, Mao Zhao felt inspired. Never in a million years would he have expected a boy almost half his age to give him resonating advice.
Yu grabbed Mao Zhao's hand and walked to the opposite end of the corridor.
"We'll start searching from here. Good luck, Ayato, Aindeau."
The soldiers followed Yu around the corner. Aindeau cracked his knuckles.
"Do you know who the adversaries are?"
"They're jesters. It's best not to make light of them."
Ayato noticed the maniacal smile on his face. The boy remembered somebody he knew with a similar expression.
"Don't kill them. I don't want to kill them."
"Oh, uhm... Wait, do you know them?"
Aindeau asked curiously.
"Are they friends?"
"Nope, I don't like them at all."