Chapter 164: "You Are Muse?"
Luis became disheartened that in the end, he couldn't defeat all the enemies on time. 'Sigh… There's no point thinking about it now. Let's just deal with this woman first. She seems kind of tricky.'
Her previous display of ease in deflecting his attacks. Made Luis certain that she differed from other traffickers, realizing that confronting her would demand a considerable display of strength on his part. He got serious and stopped holding back. He raised his hands high in the air while observing her with caution.
"You are strong. Very well, I'll also get serious!"
"Wait listen-"
She wanted to say something, but Luis cut her mid-sentence by using his spell.
"Thunder Javelin!" (x50)
The next moment, she found herself surrounded by fifty Thunder Javelins aiming at her from midair, blocking all her escape routes. Surprise flashed through her eyes, witnessing the unexpected strength displayed by the other party.
"No, no, WAIT A MOMENT!"
She raised her voice to be heard by him.
Luis was just about to launch his attacks and see whether she could deflect them this time. However, he paused when he heard her shout.
"What?! Do you have any last words?! Sorry, I'm not interested."
The woman's lips twitched in annoyance, sensing his imminent attack. In a rush, she interjected.
"Wait, listen. I'm not affiliated with them."
Luis didn't lower his raised hand, nor did he revoke his spell. Still on guard, he said in a small whisper.
"Lily, check her identity."
If she wasn't associated with these criminals, wouldn't she already have a registered identity? Verifying it was a breeze for them.
{Master, her name is Muse, and she is the one who dealt with all the documentation process with the Port Authority.}
Upon hearing this, a smirk played at the corner of Luis' lips as he responded with a touch of sarcasm.
"So, you claim not to be involved, yet you do the secretary's work very well. Quite amusing, Muse."
Muse seemed taken aback by his words, then chuckled and clarified.
"I am not Muse. I'm merely controlling her body, infiltrating their ranks."
Luis' eyes became sharp when he heard her response and a certain character appeared in his mind. 'Is it her?! Hena Gravell? No wonder Professor Olivia was so confident, but this also means they could have saved the kids much earlier… Sigh… Alicia is going to hate her for this… Well, she already does.'
Now that he had guessed her identity. He willed to talk and confirm it just in case.
"Are you the backhand left by Professor Olivia?"
Muse nodded, also surprised that he didn't question her about the body control.
"I am Hena Gravell, just like Olivia. I'm also a professor at the Oracle Academy."
'Sure enough, it's her. I suppose it's over at last.' he sighed. Then his eyes glinted as he thought. 'Hmm, perhaps I should seize this opportunity to win her favor. After all, I'm very interested in her mind techniques. Mastering them could give major enhancement to my Illusion Magic. If my memory serves me well, she appreciates compliments.'
After planning on how to approach her, Luis showed a surprised expression on the surface and said in disbelief. "Wait, are you THE Professor Hena?! The master of mind?!"
As he expected, after hearing his praise, a wide smile appeared on Muse's, or rather Professor Hena's, face.
"Fufu~ I am surprised that you know of me. However, I'm not that great." She said while waving her hand.
'Her words are modest, but her expression says otherwise.' She had an expectant look on her face, as if asking for more compliments. 'Sigh, this narcissist.'
"No, professor. I admire you a lot. I've always wanted to meet you."
"Fufu~ It's nice hearing such words from the younger generation." Hena smiled, then squinted her eyes. "So, now can you take back these spells? Although my original body should have no problem, Muse's body can't handle these things."
Yes, as of now, she still had fifty Thunder Javelins surrounding her, aiming at her and ready for launch.
"Don't worry about it, professor. They are just to guard the ship from the attacks of Sea Monsters. You can just ignore them."
Although he said so, their aim was still at Hena.
Hena's lips twitched as she understood the indirect meaning behind his words. 'I still doubt your identity, so I won't lower my guard until I've confirmed it.' Though she agreed with his suspicions about her, she was still very dissatisfied. Especially after his statement before.
'Is this how you treat the person you admire?' She pouted but kept her complaints to herself.
---
After gathering all the live and dead traffickers together. Luis stood in front of one of the containers and cut it using the lightning swirling around his fingers.
Inside the container, just as he expected, he found those familiar drums. After opening the seal of one of those container drums, he found two unconscious kids inside.
'Same condition. Drugged by hallucination herb.' Luis pressed his lips and right then he wanted to free all the kids, but he calmed down his impulse as this was in the middle of the ocean. If he tries opening the containers, the clamps might get loose and the containers on the upper part might fall into the ocean.
---
Luis went to the control room, and Lily hacked into the control system to stop the ship. "Now, we just have to wait for them to arrive, then let the naval officers take this ship back."
***
A short while later, Luis noticed the arrival of the boats alongside the ship. The next moment, the figures of Diana and Alicia leapt high in the air and landed on the ship's deck.
"Luis!" Alicia called out his name with a wide smile on her face. "You did it!"
Luis smiled back at her. "Hehe~ isn't your hubby handsome?"
"Very handsome!" She nodded.
He grinned at her honest words and was about to say something, but Diana interrupted.
"Luis! How did you catch up with the ship so fast?!"
Olivia, who had just landed on the deck, also looked over when she heard Diana's question. She was very curious about Luis' method, as even she couldn't figure out how he did it. So, she also waited for his answer.
Diana's interruption annoyed Luis, as he was just about to tease Alicia and flirt with her.
He looked at her and said with a serious expression. "I am very talented at surfing."
Alicia on the side had a neutral expression on her face, and she didn't speak. She knew this must be the work of Luis' invention. After going back, she would ask him to show it.
Olivia's brows twitched when she heard Luis' lame answer. However, to everyone's surprise, Diana showed a look of understanding and nodded.
"I see. No wonder. Maybe I should also try to learn to surf. It will work well with my water element."
She contemplated, while thinking back to the scene where Luis caught up with the ship. 'After I learn it. I will also look cool.' Thinking of this, a wide grin appeared on her face.
Luis was unaware of her thoughts, regardless he cheered for her. "You've got this."
***
Once the naval officers boarded the ship, they swiftly assumed command, coordinating efforts to maneuver the vessel and redirect its course.
As their coordinated actions took effect, the ship gradually pivoted, facing the direction leading back to Pharmos City. With the change in direction set in motion, everyone began the return journey, sailing back along the route toward Pharmos City.
Olivia came up to Hena and chatted with her.
"Thanks, Hena, I troubled you a lot."
Hena pouted, then said in a complaining voice.
"I was more troubled when you asked me not to take action! Do you know how difficult it was to restrain myself from killing those bastards?! They laid hands on those kids! It's an unforgivable sin!"
"Yeah, they will get the punishment they deserve."
When Hena heard Olivia's assurance. She paused for a moment, then asked in a serious tone.
"… Olivia, what about the people behind this kidnapping? When are we going to take action against them?"
Olivia didn't answer her immediately but faced the sea, then after a few seconds, she murmured.
"… Let's wait for now."
Hena frowned. "You are being indecisive again."
"Maybe… but you know better that they are all connected. If we try to uproot them all… It's going to be a war."
Hearing this, Hena looked at her lost expression, then sighed. Because she knew what Olivia said was indeed right. However, she still couldn't let it go. If it wasn't for their fast response. These hundreds of children would have had a miserable ending.
She was just about to say something, but then they both turned back in unison as they sensed the arrival of another person.
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