The Master of All Magic soon reached Yokohama Station, but on the platform where the meeting had been set, no one was there. As a matter of fact, while the regular station was full of life, this abandoned train platform was perfect for the shadiest meetings. The few broken turquoise artificial lamps randomly blinking were the only sources of lighting here. It gave the place an atmosphere of mystery.

Suddenly, the Master of All Magic’s natural fighting instincts warned him that someone was lurking in the shadows.

Behind one of the support pillars, a stranger walked into the open. He had a collection of scars on his face and a missing arm, which led him to think that this stranger was probably some kind of war veteran.

Without a word, they made sure everything was in order. In this kind of business, even a tone of voice could be used to track someone, which is why such precautions were needed. After nodding, the teleporting magician invited him to put his hand on his own shoulder.

The Master of All Magic complied and closed his eyes, keeping them shut for around ten seconds.

He suddenly felt the change of climate as a surge of warmth came through his body. After all, midnight in Japan was noon in Chile. The Japanese magician went from a humid and cold night to a dry and warm weather, bathed in sunlight.

The Master of All Magic was now at Santiago Station, in Chile. He remained there for a couple of minutes to let his body get used to it.

This part of Santiago Station was still in function, but this specific corner had been chosen for its few strategic hidden spots. It allowed the Master of All Magic to safely make his way out of the station without meeting too many people.

Following his exit, the disguised magician took his GLASS in hand and looked at the details regarding his business trip. An apartment had been reserved for two weeks at the very south of his current position, near the location of his target in Valdivia. Because the transportation service he was accustomed was working internationally, he ordered a self-driving pod to get on his way.

Over the course of his travel, the Master of All Magic gazed at the outside view. Despite his many business travels, this was his first time in Chile. Enjoying the change of pace, he saw the uniqueness of all the cities he passed through with his own eyes.

The Master of All Magic was completely exhausted after arriving at his own apartment in Valdivia. With the weight on his mind and body, he did not take time to visit the apartment and directly looked for the bedroom. At around 5 PM, sleep already got the best of him.

Monday, October 7th to Wednesday, October 10th, 2063

The Master of All Magic slept a whole fifteen hours.

After waking up before his alarm, the magician slowly got up to his feet. It has been a full day since he last took a shower, so he spent half an hour cleaning himself to fully wake up. Then, he checked the multiple drawers in the kitchen for something to eat and settled for some toasts and boiled eggs.

It was then finally time for him to start working as he could not afford to go running. In his eyes, neither the Master of All Magic nor Tatsu Jin must be seen on any security cameras. Things would be going down in Valdivia in a couple of days, and he did not want both his persona to get associated with this.

The Master of All Magic put his GLASS on the wireless dock of the Video Entertainment System, which displayed Kaito Shinka’s intelligence team report on a wide holographic screen.

The shirtless Master of All Magic was still able to go through his pre-combat routine, with an overwhelming quantity of musculation exercises. He started with sit-ups on the floor, looking at the holographic screen every time his body went up. At that precise moment, both his brain and muscles were working.

The Video Entertainment System was displaying satellite pictures of a modern real estate hidden in the middle of the dense Valdivian forest. This place had been booked to lodge the Shinka Group’s newly appointed CEO before the transaction.

South American forests stayed relatively the same over the last few decades. Acquiring worldwide protection under the name of “Earth’s Lung”, it was now strictly forbidden to practice deforestation on the Valdivian forest.

Due to that, this forest was still dense in both fauna and flora, making it really difficult to see beyond a few meters. Accessing the estate was also not a small feat as only a small road connected the estate to a more open road. It would be a nightmare to try and reach the luxury house without using this path.

Still, this environment made reconnaissance easy. His miniature drone would be able to spot the building from the sky and record the security’s pathing and routines. Formulating an effective plan would take his whole Thursday and Friday. He would also of course be looking at what kind of equipment they were rocking, to formulate a counter-initiative.

However, the Master of All Magic thought that his target made a huge mistake by staying away from a city. Thanks to this, the magician did not need to worry about casualties or reinforcements. He had experienced the difficulty of raiding a house in the middle of a city and was happy to avoid doing it again.

The Master of All Magic shifted his focus on the physical description and psychological profile of his target. The former butler was thin, had dark eyes, and rocked a salt and pepper hairstyle. For a man in his fifties, he seemed in good physical shape. The transition to a handmade tailored suit also made a huge difference in his appearance. In the latest pictures taken, his eyes betrayed how worried and stressed he had been after taking over.

Kaito Shinka also provided a note that he wrote himself. Describing how his old butler once was hardworking and kind, but slowly changed into someone driven by greed. He had been a valuable adviser for his late father, often providing wise guidance and emotional support. A lot of problems had been solved in the Shinka group following a discussion between these two.

But what he wanted was to prove he was worthy of a more significant life than being a simple butler. For years, he was never offered the job he wanted, pilling up anger and frustration. The butler cracked after the CEO’s death, deciding that the company was now his for the taking and that he deserved every part of it.

Over the course of a few months, the kind and hardworking butler changed into a mischievous conman.

The Master of All Magic understood his anger but did not support his actions. Still, this clearly was not a crime that deserved a death sentence. He agreed that teaching him a lesson would be a proportionate punishment.

Aside from getting back in shape, the magician spent the rest of his Monday analyzing these files to make accurate deductions. He also meditated to improve his focus, as well as practicing some combat movements. The Master of All Magic, who heavily relied on practice and preparations, had faith in his skillset and intelligence.

When he woke up on Wednesday, the Master of All Magic realized that he finally received what he was looking for. This particular file was extremely well guarded, which explained the time it took for him to get it.

Not that the satellite pictures given by Kaito Shinka were bad, but the Master of All Magic was used to dealing with extremely accurate information. The same contact that helped him during the Elite Magic Academy heist also managed to get his hands on this estate’s plans.

It was a well-designed house that almost looked like a mansion. The building was focused on height and multiple floors, therefore rocking an important number of staircases. All its equipment and features inside betrayed how expensive this place was. It even had a modern design infinity pool going over the full length of the estate. The inside matched the outside with even a lobby that would put many high-class hotels to shame.

Basically, ninety-nine percent of the population would dream to spend their days here.

The Master of All Magic also noticed how exploiting the weak points of this building would be easy. There were a lot of open balconies and staircases, which compromised security for luxury. While making annotations on the file, a plan started to form in his mind. The next two days would bring him the final pieces of the puzzle.

Thursday, October 11th to Friday, October 12th, 2063 After meditating and practicing, the Master of All Magic moved on to the next step. He grabbed his miniature drone from his belt and powered it on. It was small, almost the size of a fist, and made a discrete sound in fly mode. Maneuvering through a dense forest with a drone was not going to be an easy fit, but he needed some information about what kind of security was in place to make his plan.

(I have to be extra careful about not being greedy. I get the information I need, and that’s it.)

Sitting in the living room with his GLASS in hand, he spent a few hours piloting the device. He alternated between different angles and the stationary flight mode to take notes. The Master of All Magic often flirted away from disaster, a few centimeters from vines and branches.

At around 7 PM, the Master of All Magic was too relaxed and the drone hit a branch, potentially giving away important clues to the security team. The Master of All Magic’s heartbeat went through the roof for a few seconds. He hastily flew the drone behind a tree and out of anyone’s sight before breathing in relief.

While the security guard did not spot the drone, he still felt that something was wrong. Communicating with his teammates, the drone managed to pick up what the security member said out loud.

- Yeah, you’re right. Must have been the wind.

The Master of All Magic was now extra careful and decided to fly the drone from a greater distance. He kept gathering intelligence for at least half a day more, stealing some time from his equipment preparation for Friday.

With the intelligence he had gathered, the file was now full of annotations. Crossing his thoughts with the security guards’ routines, the Master of All Magic chose four locations that made for decent surprise attacks.

However, something bothered him.

Kaito Shinka warned him that his target might have a top-tier magician to ensure his protection. However, the Master of All Magic had seen no signs of heavy protection. He made a mental note to be mindful about someone hiding his presence. To him, keeping some resources for a potential late fight could be the right move.

Reviewing over two hours of footage, the Master of All Magic got a hold of what kind of equipment the security team was using. He was relieved to see that there were no Magic detectors nor thermal vision. This squad of guards only relied on a regular model of camera.

Nevertheless, they were still attached with quite the troublesome piece of equipment: vitals monitoring. These ten soldiers were monitored with physiological device tracking. Basically, the squad was aware of everyone’s situations at all times. With this on their wrist, it would be very difficult for him to rack up stealth kills without attracting attention. Even knocking them unconscious would trigger some suspicion.

Other than this, the security guards held the latest military-grade weapons, capable of damaging even Magic barriers. That made him hesitate between a full-blown aggressive strategy and a plan that involved a stealthier approach. What made him go for the latter was his wish to not kill for a reason. Disarmaments and incapacitation would hands down be his go-to if he had a choice. He would of course not hesitate a single second to pull the trigger should his life be in danger.

The Master of All Magic decided to go for a hit-and-run guerrilla strategy, to not allow his opponents time to breathe or pinpoint his location.

His Friday afternoon was dedicated to making sure all his equipment was in order. Invoking his usual enchanted staff, he laid his right hand where the runes formed the enchantment. The Master of All Magic pressed some of his own Ether inside the scepter to excite the runes, triggering the spell.

Come and rise, Winds cutting through Heaven and Hell.

A breath of wind appeared all around the staff and began to vibrate, forming an insanely sharp Wind Magic blade.

His scepter was working appropriately, alongside his enchanted coat. The Master of All Magic coat was one of his favorite pieces of enchanted gear, as he spent hours talking with the designer to create something unique. All around the mantle were pieces of aluminum and silver, that allowed for such a lightweight piece of equipment to still receive an enchantment.

The Master of All Magic used its enchantment only on rare occasions to protect his life. He had complete faith in the Defensive Magic spell stitched into his famous coat.

Svalinn, Protective Barrier forged within Ether itself.

Everything was functioning well, although he spent less time going over the rest of his enchanted gear. His Invisibility Magic medallion, two Ether infused rings, and bracelet dedicated to Item Summoning Magic were still in a perfect state. Attached to his waist rested the sword he had chosen from his weapon cache back in Yokohama.

Now, it was time for him to rest before the decisive day.

Friday, October 13th, 2063

The Master of All Magic got up from bed fully rested and ready to tackle his routine even harder than before. The Ether inside his body was at its peak, taking an absurd amount of concentration and body pressure to move around. Happy about his performance, he smiled despite gasping for air.

One after the other, he went through his exercises with mastery, effectiveness, and consistency. There was envy in his eyes, betraying the hunger for his future reward. He also ate at regular intervals to ensure that his body would have the energy it needed for tonight. Basically, the Master of All Magic was at the peak of his physical and mental power.

At the luxury estate, the security team experienced no issue for more than a week. Every day, they would wander around the building, doing their rounds with seriousness. However, as the days went by, they started to slack off a bit. In their eyes, no one would ever venture onto such a lost piece of land.

Over the last two days, they joked about being more useful packing stuff for the final departure. On Monday, they would finally be able to leave one of the most boring places they have ever worked at.

When the sun started to fade away, leaving traces of bright sunset light, one security guard was gazing onto the horizon. Looking at this landscape, he whistled a small lullaby, which entertained his fellow colleagues. After two hours guarding the North entrance, it was finally time for his break, so he made his way towards the basement dedicated to camera overwatch.

The night was now in full swing, and he entered the basement with a swipe of his wrist. After passing the door’s threshold, he felt a breeze of air on his neck but decided to focus his energy on joking loudly with his colleagues. These three security guards had a good moment together, sharing a few jokes that cracked some smiles.

After fifteen minutes, it was time for one of these three to go back to work and his own shift. Right now, two guards were looking towards the security camera for anything suspicious. The silence in the room was heavy as their eyes were focused on the holographic displays. The Master of All Magic was behind his two future victims, silent and invisible. Glancing at the cameras for a second, he focused part of the Ether inside both his hands and reached the security guards’ necks with them.

The intruder launched two Sleeping Magic spells at close range, where its effectiveness was almost absolute.

The security guards’ heads rested on their desk chairs, meaning that they would be out for a long time. The intruder decided to spend a few more minutes triggering a specific security feature. With it, the door of basement door would remain locked from the inside once he exited it. With that, no one would be able to use the camera feeds.

With the moon casting its light onto the estate, the artificial lightning kicked in, bathing the place in warmed yellow lights. There was a decent quantity of shadows to exploit for the Master of All Magic’s Devil’s Shadow Magic. Being one with the darkness, he moved freely around the estate to the first point of interest he pinpointed during his intelligence gathering.

The Master of All Magic was now hiding near an open staircase, listening to the steps of his future victims. To prevent his heartbeat from quickening, he practiced some breathing exercises to remain in control. Meanwhile, his senses alarmed him that the two guards heading in his direction were getting closer and closer.

The staircase stood in front of a wall, but was not connected to the wall itself. The empty space between the fence and the wall was large enough for someone to go through it. While gazing onto these few stairs, the Master of All Magic almost had to repress a smile, a symbol of a memory lost to time. A decade earlier, the apprentice magician that he was had fall to the exact move he was now planning on using.

Two security guards approached the stairs to head towards the security basement downstairs. They have been aware that their colleagues in charge of camera monitoring had weird vitals, and wanted to verify this was just a false alarm. Their faces did not betray any kind of worry and they were actually pretty relaxed about it. It was not that rare for them to take a short nap once in a while lately.

After going down half the stairs, they turned right and slowly got to the third floor.

These two shared one last laugh together before suddenly falling unconscious, not having the time to process what happened. As a matter of fact, everything happened within the span of a few seconds.

Under his heavy Support Magic spells, the Master of All Magic had used the wall behind the staircase to assist a powerful jump. Above and behind them, the magician had taken advantage of the momentum of his fall and turned it into strength. With his two hands, he had grabbed the mercenaries’ heads and slammed them onto the grounds. With open helmets, the shock had been too much and they now remained down on the floor, nearly lifeless.

The Master of All Magic grabbed his scepter, who had been resting under the staircase, and used its enchantment. The ambient air gathered and quickly formed a sharpened blade around his staff.

The Master of All Magic could not allow these guards to interfere once again. Contrary to when he used Sleeping Magic, he had no idea when these two would wake up, so he had to act fast.

He sliced one leg and arm from their bodies. Despite the cruelty of this act, cybernetic parts were now common enough for him to make that decision. Losing a member was not the same disaster it was a hundred years ago. Sparing a single thought for these two soldiers, he still focused on the task that was ahead of him.

(Four down, six to go…)

With four teammates boasting weird signals, the remaining guards finally started to take the situation seriously. Three guards protected the upper garden, where their target rested in the master bedroom.

Communicating and clearing every corner of the estate, the remaining three guards wandered around in a defensive formation. The fact that the guards were moving as one made the situation difficult for the Master of All Magic, who had to consider retreating.

Even he would have had a hard time fighting three professional mercenaries head-on.

Under the protection of his Invisibility Magic, his brain was completely focused on a way to solve this puzzle. The Master of All Magic went back to his early teachings and remembered one of his master’s lessons.

(The answer to every riddle lies in your memory, even if in a line within a book you read years ago…)

A single look at their equipment was enough for him to settle on a solution. He jumped on the roof and concentrated Ether inside a Master-Class Magic. Using the main generator as the principal power source, the Master of All Magic was able to save a decent amount of his inner resources. Still, adapting the imagination pattern of the spell required a huge concentration.

Sweat started to fall down his forehead and, under a minute, he was ready.

Sparks started to emanate from all the building’s lamps, giving the security guard a bad feeling. After a while, the entire light infrastructure stopped working, and darkness enveloped the estate. The moon perfectly reflected on the infinity pool’s water, a few meters away from the guards’ formation.

Putting aside this unexpected turn of events, all three guards stayed focused on finding the threat. Clearing the infinity pool area, they got together again with their weapon ready to fire.

Suddenly, a condensed explosion of electricity enveloped their surroundings. The sheer force produced by this phenomenon was enough for them to lose balance.

More so, a man in a coat stood around them, and they started to panic. They were not in command of their body anymore, and their weapons got knocked out of their hands.

At the beginning of their career, all three had cybernetic enhancement transplants to raise their effectiveness. This technology indeed helped them throughout the course of many missions, but it was not unbeatable.

Today, it was the cause of their downfall. The main objective of the electricity explosion, a Lightning Discharge Magic spell, was to trigger an Electromagnetic Pulse. Even with all the begging, the cries of pain and suffering spread throughout the building following the loss of their members.

The Master of All Magic wasted no time and reached the upper garden. He menacingly gazed at the final three guards, threatening them with his scepter.

- All who want to leave… can do so now. The rest will suffer.

The sound of his colleagues’ agony and the sheer terror that the Master of All Magic was producing in him made the first mercenary run away without a second thought.

Unfortunately for the Master of All Magic, the unwavering determination of the third guard seemed to spark some fire inside his remaining colleague. Despite his fear, he decided to stay here, witnessing how his colleague would handle the situation. The guard stood alert for an opportunity to assist his fellow mercenary if there was any way to do so without risking losing his life.

The Master of All Magic witnessed the bloodlust in the third guard’s eyes.

Knowing that his Support Magic was slowly wearing off, he decided to act on it quickly. Rushing forward, the Master of All Magic leaped from side to side to remain hard to target. When the Absolute Trinity member finally got close enough, the vibrating blade of his enchanted scepter went through his opponent’s head with ease.

Gazing into his very soul, the Master of All Magic slowly walked towards the final soldier.

Every hair on the guard’s legs and arms stood up, and his preservation instinct kicked in. With the rush of adrenaline, he ran as far away as he could from that life-threatening experience. Later this week, the last soldier would describe him as the envoy of death itself.

The magician let him run, knowing that he had to save his Ether.

All of a sudden, someone opened the door to the master bedroom and went outside. A man in red armor was now standing in the garden with a serious look on his face.

With a slight breeze teasing the ends of his hair, The Master of All Magic expressed his disbelief.

- Of course… It had to be you…

End of Chapter 15

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