The place where Ashley was being kept was a secret one. One beneath the River Thames. It was a space dug deep into the river. It was originally 20 metres deep but now 50 metres deep thanks to magic. At least in the area where Ashley was being kept.
It was an underground building made like an aquarium. It had a few rooms but the main one kept Ashley captive.
She was being kept like a test subject. Dressed in a white gown and bounded by iron chains. Above her was a large blade. At the appropriate time, it would pierce through her, activating her curse.
The automatic door opened up, and Eunithus walked through.
"Hello, Ashley."
He waved in a friendly manner. Ashley hazily glanced over at him. She fainted in and out of consciousness. The only food she ate was liquids given through her oxygen mask.
Despite her anger, Ashley didn't have the strength to act out. Eunithus walked toward her. He touched her chin with a satisfied smile.
The woman opened her mouth to protest but she didn't have the strength to. Not dead, but not exactly fully alive either.
"In a few hours, you'll be in extreme pain. Then, London will be destroyed. Isn't that nice?"
Ashley spat in his face. Eunithus felt a sense of déjà vu as he wiped his face. He wanted to punch her but it would be too dangerous if he hit her too hard.
"But, don't think that's it. It'd be silly if the meteorite was the only thing going around. London will be attacked in four other places before the meteorite, courtesy of the Boss."
The 'Boss' he was talking about was Morgan, although he didn't want to say that.
'Now, Ashley, despair. Despair and grow the curse within you.'
Eunithus internally sneered, watching Ashley's troubled look. Despair made curses stronger.
·———·
(South London)
Amid traffic, people ran across the streets, sprinting from danger. Some were dragged by small black dogs.
There was a large elephant in the streets. Its hide was red and its large tusks were curved like a scimitar. It massacred people and destroyed buildings.
Around the corner, in a car, a man appeared. He walked out of the car, taking off his jacket.
"London is so fucked."
It was Eugene Zarian, the overseer of the Mage Association. His younger brother, Gera, got out of the car as well.
"You shouldn't use that language, Brother. Instead of standing around idle, you should take care of the familiar."
"Right, I will."
Eugene Zarian is not special. He does not possess any law-defying Magic Seal of sorts. He's an ordinary magician.
"Activating Magic Circuits—Ragnarøk."
The man's arms pulsed with the glow of mana. They were marked with a unique pattern. Bioengineered Magic Circuits unique to Eugene Zarian—Ragnarøk.
He dashed toward the elephant and clenched his fist. With a thrust of his arm, Eugene struck the elephant with his Magic Circuits active.
The elephant stood its ground, using its trunk to hold onto the side of a building. It collapsed as it pulled away.
"It barely budged from Brother's Ragnarøk. That armour must be hard. I'm not a good match for it, then."
Gera adjusted his glasses, watching his brother fight the elephant. Eugene delivered a few more blows to its stomach. The elephant was pushed back slightly.
Eugene looked up at it. The familiar raised its trunk and puffed its cheeks.
"That's probably not good!"
Gera got a talisman out of his pocket. He tossed it toward Eugene. It stopped above him, converting into a curved wall of earth, reinforced by magic.
The elephant blew—a torrent of wind burst from its trunk, blasting Eugene backwards.
"It was wind?!"
The younger brother exclaimed while catching his older brother. The elephant was a unique familiar. It had a tough exterior and a large bowl of mana. That mana could only be accessed when blowing it out of its trunk.
"I think I can adjust to him now."
Eugene said, rolling his shoulders.
"Come, elephant. I'll dull those tusks for you."
·———·
"They didn't know..."
Ayato said while sighing extensively. He was running alongside Aindeau. The man looked at him with an apparent frown.
"What?"
"No, I'm just unhappy that they didn't have the location of the goal."
Truthfully, that wasn't what made Aindeau upset. He was unsure of the relationship between the jesters and him.
'Earlier he said that he didn't like them. I thought they wouldn't be able to converse like civil people.'
He thought to himself.
"You're wondering about my relationship with them, right?"
"Ah, no..."
"It's fine, I'll tell you."
Ayato said, opening the door to the underground bunker. They both walked down the stairs.
"We're not friends but we're not truly enemies either. If anything, we're simple acquaintances. Because we're acquaintances, we don't have a special relationship. One was adamant while the other realised the situation."
As they reached the basement floor, they saw an Anti-Magic soldier. Aindeau waved at him.
"Hey, did you find her?"
"No, we've searched the whole bunker to no avail."
He saluted.
"..."
Ayato stayed in silence. He knew. He knew where Ashley was being kept.
"Aindeau, could you go tell Mao Zhao that we haven't found her location either?"
"Okay, what will you be doing?"
The boy shook his phone as he was dialling someone. The person he was dialling was 'Old Hag.'
"O...okay..."
Aindeau was unsure of who he was calling but he left with the soldier. The person picked up.
"I've got a tip. It's unconfirmed but you should check it either way."
[Tell me. Anything is good at this point.]
Akari answered. Ayato did his best to hide the hostility in his voice. He wanted to go so badly but he held himself back.
"Under London Bridge."
[...You do realise that the Thames is under London Bridge.]
"That's what I'm saying. Ashley Renthral is—could be—held in the River Thames."
...
On the other side of the phone, Akari was in Trafalgar Square. She looked to the road and put her hand out as a taxi came toward her. She got in.
"I'm going there now, Ayato."
[Wait, how will you get down there? I thought you'd tell the Queen?!]
"You do it. It's fine if you don't want to."
She cut the phone before the boy could protest.
[Where to, Miss?]
Akari offered a £50 bill.
"Take me to London Bridge."
The taxi drove to London Bridge.