Insight

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Seeing the thoughtful expression on his face, Zelretch knew better than to expect his grandson to answer.

Instead, he turned his attention back to the monitor.

"Anyway, onto other matters, I reviewed what occurred in the Spider's island and I noticed some things. Would you care to enlighten me about them?" Zelretch asked.

"What do you need to know?" Hadrian raised a curious brow.

"First, how did that spawn hit you? I've seen what happened through the Kaleidoscope. You were on guard, and the next moment, you got hit and were already on the floor. Was that spawn too fast for your eyes to track?" Zelretch inquired, curious to his grandson's answer.

The old magician had seen his grandson spar with his retainers before, and he has confidence that his heir was capable of going up against strong opponents on the level of Heroic Spirits and even high rank Dead Apostles. Not the ones that Zelretch was infamously a part of, but the ones that served under them.

To be specific, the Dead Apostles' minions and the small fries that served them.

Thus, it was surprising to Zelretch that his heir would get injured by a mere spawn that fast.

"Yes, and there seemed to be some sort of bounded field around that island. I think that fog was the cause." Hadrian sighed.

"Oh? What do you think of it then?" Zelretch leaned back in his chair as he asked.

"That fog was literally everywhere in that island, so I had the automaton scan it before the others and I retreated back to the Watch's headquarters. The result wasn't perfect though due to its alien origin, but I got the gist of what the bounded field was capable of." Hadrian stated.

The young mage looked a bit displeased by the recollection, causing Zelretch to smile faintly in amusement.

"The bounded field has the effects of weakening the physical and magical attributes of any creatures that enters the island. When I first step foot in that place, I didn't even noticed that my physical strength was less than it was before. All I had felt so far was dread during the entire time I was walking around that place. The magic energy in the air was too strong, nearly drowning my senses as I ventured deeper into that strange forest. With these effects, I was weakened to the point that only a single hit was enough for that spawn to break my ribs." Hadrian explained with a distant look in his eyes.

"That's unsurprising, but worrisome. The island is a nest to an Ultimate One. Thus, this is really not anything new. It just confirmed what was already suspected." Zelretch mused aloud.

Hadrian blinked.

"Ah, that's right. You went there first, opa." The young mage recalled.

"Yes, I did set up a bounded field that covered the Watch's headquarters and the island. Thus, I know the exact feeling you'd experienced." Zelretch confirmed with a nod.

The old magician sighed wearily, taking off his spectacles to clean them with a small white cloth.

"I had to set up that bounded field to prevent the fog from spreading out too much and risk the chance of normal folk noticing the abnormality. Before, the fog had bothered the locals living near that island, causing the Mage's Association a lot of trouble to maintain the situation under wraps for months. And so, they turned to the one person with experience in dealing with situations related to Ultimate Ones. Me." Zelretch smiled wryly.

Lifting one gloved hand, the old magician swept his hair backwards in exasperation.

"Of course, I didn't do that damning task for free. I demanded a great reward from the Lords of that time before I had that bounded field up and running. Then again, I suppose it was alright too since I did it to help out an old friend. Edward's father, I mean." Zelretch elaborated at Hadrian's look of confusion.

"Anyways, it seemed like that bounded field of mine is still up and fine. However, I didn't expect for the Spider's bounded field to be that powerful and sophisticated. It has been years since I stepped foot into that island, so the alien magical energy infused in the air must've only became stronger in time, probably poisonous to creatures of earth. Were your servants affected by it?"

"No, they sensed it, but I don't think they were affected like me." Hadrian answered after a moment of contemplation.

"It's most likely due to their true natures as Heroic Spirits. Even though they have bodies, their magic resistance probably helped in nullifying the weakening effect of the fog. Then, that leaves the creatures of earth. I suppose that's an Ultimate One for you. An average mage wouldn't have survived that place in under a minute. Thank the Root for your magic circuits, enkel." Zelretch exhaled.

"Yeah…" Hadrian nodded solemnly.

"I take it that's also how the spawn almost got to you?"

"Yes." Hadrian affirmed with narrowed eyes. "After that thing attacked, my glasses came off and my senses felt like it was being overloaded with too much information. The headache I got was quite painful; I barely managed to open my eyes after that. Even I thought I was going to die with Arash there and then. But… that happened."

Wordlessly, Zelretch lifted a brow in silent inquiry.

"Fou, she protected me. She literally made that spawn back off. And what was even stranger was their reaction to her. They were screeching, almost as if they were terrified of her. There was also that weird static in the air that came from somewhere and the spawns just ran away." Hadrian frowned in thought as he recalled the scene into mind.

Blinking once, he turned to his grandfather.

"Why would the spawns be afraid of Fou? What is she, opa? Does she have a connection to those things?" Hadrian's bright cyan eyes alight with determination and curiosity.

"Hmm…" Zelretch turned his head slowly to left.

In turn, Hadrian followed his grandfather's gaze and saw the white furry creature watching them along with her fellow familiar, Ryu.

"Fou…"

"Kyuyu…"

The two familiars cooed questioningly at their stares, causing the grandfather and grandson to look at each other instead.

"Well… I guess you could say that." Zelretch settled, sounding unsure.

"How is she related, opa?" Hadrian pressed slightly, noticing the hesitance in his grandfather's voice.

"Err… you'll know in time, enkel. I can't say anything about her now since it's not really my place to do so." Zelretch reasoned.

In response, Hadrian stared at the old magician with a suspicious glint in his eyes, as if doing it longer would slowly break down his grandfather's reluctance to answer his question.

Unfortunately, his grandfather's walls remained strong and Hadrian was forced to put away his curiosity on the matter in the back of his head.

Still, he won't let the old magician get away with it that easily. He might not get it now, but someday, he will.

Of this, he promised to himself.

'Again with the suspense and mystery. I wonder if he had been a detective in some previous life or so, he's almost like that detective, Sherlock Holmes. That dude also has a thing with being mysterious and suspenseful with his answers…' Hadrian thought in exasperation.

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