188 Exodia 188: Countdown to Zero (2)

"Who would've thought that it was that easy to infiltrate Altria? Using the port as a way of infiltration..."

Regulus muttered to himself.

"So, when will we go to retrieve the Key?"

Argent asked the white-haired man.

"We'll go right away, though... We're going to need to get in with false IDs... Ophelia, you can hook us up, right?"

The maid nodded.

"I can ask Mike to create IDs but our faces will be the problem."

"Don't worry, I've been around the world. I have all sorts of Singularities. I can disguise the four of us when it comes to your faces."

"Wait,"

They turned to Faith.

"We'll be getting the Key all by ourselves? Merlyn, Maria, Kamish and the Black Emperor are on Altria. If we're discovered then..."

Faith stopped herself.

"Sure, there are some powerful people in Altria. Altair won't be too much of a problem. Seeing what he did to Judgement, I'm guessing he's weaker than me by only a little bit. However, White Exodia gives me an edge."

"Are we just going to ignore the fact that he has Black Exodia?"

"Yeah, we are."

Regulus joked.

"Jokes aside, the only problems will be Maria and Merlyn. Maria has Puppet Mastery and Merlyn has her Reality Shift. We'll have to do our best to avoid them, especially since we'll be getting the Key from when she's in school."

"Well, do not get cold feet, Father."

Argent said to him.

"Yeah, I know. Let's go to the underworld and then the designated port."

Regulus led the three out of the safe house. They were headed for the place where information was gathered quickly—the underworld.

·———·

They were able to gather information about the boats, secretly, going to Altria and were able to buy into staying on one.

The boat was filled with many underworld bosses, who would occasionally go to Altria for trades and businesses. None of them would cause trouble because they would be chewed out immediately.

Using one of his Singularities, Regulus changed the faces of himself, Ophelia and Faith. The only people who would recognise Argent would be only around two or three students.

There was one disadvantage of hiding himself. Regulus could not use any of his other Singularities while one was active. He could also not use normal mana arts. He was practically powerless as he disguised himself. Of course, that would be a different story for his maids.

They approached the ferry, which would be their ride to Altria. As they walked up the stairs to the entrance, a man stopped them.

"Never seen you around here before. ID and tickets."

"My pleasure."

Regulus was disguised as an old man, who appeared to be a mafia boss. Ophelia and Faith were disguised as his young wives.

"Mr Bullet, is it? Seems like you're not from around here. What makes you want to enter Altria? Illegally, at that?"

"I have... business to attend to if you will."

The inspector nodded.

"If I may ask, how does this ferry work? One would think that it would be impossible to even get near Altria due to the multiple watchtowers, surveying the ocean."

"You sure know your stuff, old man."

He chuckled.

"Altria has watchtowers, sure, but they don't matter. Since once we get closer to the island's barriers, we dive underwater. The ferry converts into a special type of submarine. The barrier only goes down to 500 feet deep in the sea. Because the bottom is the weakest point, we can enter without suspicion as we would be seen as ocean life. We have a hidden underground dock where you can depart and enter the city safely."

"For its complexity, it sounds awfully simple!"

Regulus laughed alongside the inspector before they were invited into the ferry.

They had successfully entered the ferry. Now, they had time to relax before entering Altria. Due to the complex route and sea currents, it was estimated that they would arrive at Altria in 8 hours.

"Changing my voice into an old man is easier than altering it to someone else."

"Well, Master, it certainly doesn't make us look any better."

Ophelia commented.

"Yeah, we just look like some bitches who want money."

Faith added on.

"You two should both deal with it. No matter what form you take, you both still are bitches."

"Shut up, twerp!"

"Maybe I should tear that tongue of yours out, Argent?"

The women glared at Argent, who simply teased them by sticking his tongue out, before looking away.

"Why, you!"

As Faith went to grab Argent, Regulus grabbed her arm, stopping her from reaching him.

"Master! Let me get a piece of him!"

"Give it a rest."

They arrived at the upper deck and found places to sit, so they would enjoy the view as the ferry left.

After half an hour, the ferry started to sail—the sun began setting. The amber light of the sun shone vibrantly. It was a beautiful spectacle. One that Regulus had seen many times before.

However, not Argent.

"The ocean is... it's sparkling..."

He was always training. Always. If he was not eating, he was training. If he was not sleeping, he was training. He was one of the most disciplined Tarots in the Major Arcana.

He did not know the beauty of the world. Even when he last went to retrieve the Key. He disregarded everything else and only looked toward his goal.

Regulus put his hand on Argent's head and rubbed him.

"After we complete our mission, I'll take you and the rest of the Major Arcana outside to play. As my children, you'll need to know fun once in a while. Though, some of them already know what it is and messes around."

"Father, I have not heard it yet, but... what is your mission? I shall assist you until the end but even I get curious."

"I would also like to know."

"Me too."

His other servants spoke.

"I can't tell you everything yet but... the most I can say is..."

He turned back to look at the city.

"The least I can say is that I want to create a world where everyone can live safely. For that, we need the Key and we need to stop the unsealing of Solomon."