The room fell silent as Jellal’s mocking laughter echoed. Justin stepped forward, each sound of his step echoing, his eyes cold and determined. “Jellal, you have a lot to answer for.”

Jellal’s smirk didn’t falter. “Do I? Or are you just wasting your time?”

Maximus clenched his fists, but Justin raised a hand to stop him. “We need information, not a fight,” he said calmly. He turned back to Jellal. “Where is Nino?”

Jellal chuckled. “Kill me if you want, but the moment I am dead, the princess is dead as well.”

Just as he finished speaking, Maximus moved with blinding speed, appearing right in front of Jellal, with his fist inches from Jellal’s face. The sheer speed made it look like he had teleported. Ray, Kai, and Mono were left speechless.

Hiro quickly intervened, grabbing Maximus’s arm. “Calm down, Max,” he said in a steady voice.

Ray’s eyes widened, mind racing. “Such speed…” he thought, awestruck.

Kai, equally impressed, thought to himself, “So that’s a former hero, huh.”

Maximus’s fist tightened, his knuckles white with tension. He looked over Hiro once, who slowly shook his head. Staying still for a while, Maximus sighs as he pulled away, his eyes never leaving Jellal. “Fine,” he said, slowly moving back and sitting back down. “What do you want?” he asked, his voice cold and controlled.

Jellal’s smile widened, looking straight at Maximus. “The Rainbow Feather.”

At the mention of the Rainbow Feather, Maximus, Hiro, and Justin’s faces turned to shock. Ray and Mono exchanged confused glances, while Kai observed the reactions closely. “Rainbow Feather?” he thought, trying to piece it together. He looked at Ray and Mono, “It seems like Ray and Mono don’t know what it is, but...” He looked at Justin, Hiro and Maximus. “Judging by their expressions, it’s a valuable item.”

Justin stepped forward, his voice tense. “Why do you want the Rainbow Feather?”

Jellal’s eyes gleamed with malice. “That’s for me to know and you to find out. But if you want the princess back, you’ll bring it to me.”

Maximus’s jaw tightened. “We don’t negotiate with criminals.”

Jellal shrugged. “Then say goodbye to the princess.”

The room fell into silence, until Hiro looked at Justin, his expression grim. “We need to discuss this.”

Justin nodded, looking back at Jellal. “Rest in the prism for now.” Saying so, magic circle appeared again below Jellal, teleporting him somewhere else.

“For now, I have sent him to the magic prism, so we can discuss it now.” As he said so, Ray turned to Justin. “What is the Rainbow Feather?”

Justin looked over him, sighing, rubbing his temples. “An ancient artifact, one which if got in the wrong hands can destroy the world.”

Kai’s eyes narrowed, his mind racing. “Now I am curious what this rainbow feather can do…”

Maximus stood up, his resolve clear. “We’ll find another way. We can’t give him the Feather.”

Mono, her voice trembling, asked, “What do we do now?”

Justin looked at each of them, determination in his eyes. “We prepare.” Slowly, another silence fell upon the room. The atmosphere tense and filled with fear for Nino.

After some time, Kai, Ray, and Mono walked back through the academy’s corridors, the weight of recent events heavy on their minds. As they reached a fork in the path, Mono turned to them. “I’ll head back to my room. I need some time to think.”

Ray nodded, giving her a reassuring smile. “Take care, Mono. We’ll figure this out.”

Kai added with his projection coming up, “Everything will be fine.”

Mono nodded, giving a small smile, slowly walking away. As Mono walked away, Ray and Kai continued down the corridor in silence. Ray’s thoughts were a whirlwind of worry and frustration. Kai glanced at him, then looked ahead, recalling a conversation he had with Hiro some time ago.

Flashback:

Just before the three exited the room, Hiro approached Kai, asking him a question.

“Kai, I wanted to ask if you have you seen the adventurers who defeated the calamity-class beast?”

Kai sat in silence for a while, as he slowly shook his head, indicating no.

Hiro wondered for a while, as he slowly nodded to him. "Alright, you should go rest now Kai."

Back in the present, Kai’s face remained serious as he sat in his wheelchair, pushed ahead by Ray. Suddenly, he noticed a guy in a butler’s uniform approaching, struggling to carry a large stack of papers. Kai nudged Ray, who looked up and saw the guy just as a few papers began to slip from the stack.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Ray quickly stepped forward, catching the falling papers. The butler managed to steady the rest of the stack. “Ahh… thank you so muc—” he began, then looked up and froze. “Oh my! Crown Prince Ray! I’m so sorry!” He bowed deeply, causing the papers to scatter again.

Ray looked at him in surprise, then started to laugh. “It’s alright, really. No need to be so formal.”

Kai smiled at the sight, coming forward in his wheelchair, helping to gather the scattered papers. “We have met before right?” He asked, his projection floating above.

To this, Ray too looked at the butler, remembering it was the guy who they met on their first day in the academy. "Ah right, aren't you the one who bumped into Lala..."

The butler, still flustered, straightened up. “Ah, yes... Thank you, Your Highness. And you too, young duke.”

Ray, taking the papers Kai collected, handed them back to the butler. “Last time we didn't get it, but what’s your name?”

The butler bowed again, more carefully this time. “Ah, yes. My name is Fenrir Lennon, Your Highness.”

Kai and Ray both looked at him for a while, as a thought hit them at the same time, “...Fenrir... as the Legendary Monster...? Quite an interesting name…” They glanced at each other, realizing they had the same thought.

Fenrir laughed a bit awkwardly. “Umm… I know it’s a bit of a weird name for a guy like me.” He laughed again, nervously.

Ray looked back at him, as he smiled warmly. “No, it’s a unique name.”

Kai nodded behind Ray, smiling at Fenrir. Fenrir looked up at them and smiled a bit. “You can call me Fenn in short, Your Highness.” He bowed.

Ray nodded. “Alright, Fenn. But if I may ask, where are you heading with all those papers?” he asked.

Fenn looked over the papers, as he replied, “Ah... these were supposed to be delivered to the teachers’ lobby, but when I got there, the teachers were busy with some other work, so I’m taking them back now. I wonder what happened…”

As Fenn said so, Ray’s expression grew worried again. Kai noticed and looked at Fenn before asking with his projection, “By the way, Fenn, did you see any strange people walking inside the academy’s grounds?”

Fenn thought for a moment but shook his head. “No, I don't think so. Did something happen?” he asked, looking at the two of them.

Ray looked back at Kai, to which Kai nodded to him. Ray again looked back at Fenn, as he said. “Let's talk somewhere else...”

After some time, under the night sky in the garden. Kai, Ray and Fenn seated, as Ray explained the kidnapping to Fenn.

Fenn’s eyes widened in shock. “The first princess has been kidnapped!?”

Kai and Ray nodded, as a heavy silence fell upon them. “If only I had the power to find her…” Ray said in a low voice, looking over his hands.

Both Kai and Fenn looked at each other, as they tried to cheer him up. Kai continued to pat Ray’s back, while Fenn looked at him worriedly. “I’m sure someone will find their base, so don’t worry, Your Highness,” Fenn said, trying to reassure him.

Kai looked over at Fenn, who smiled at them. “Just have faith that she will be fine, and you will see that she's alright by the morning.” Fenn added, smiling at him.

Ray looked at him for a while, as he nodded his head smiling, feeling a bit more hopeful. The three talked for a bit more before slowly parting ways. As they walked away, Kai looked back at Fenn walking off. He watched him for a while before slowly looking forward again.

After returning to their room, Ray silently went to bed, his mind still racing with thoughts of Nino. Turning his back to Kai, he started to sleep, as Kai watched him with a blank expression, sitting on his wheelchair.

In the moonlight, an awkward silence fell over them.

After a few seconds went by, without looking back, Ray asked. “Aren’t you going to sleep?”

Kai just stared at his back for a while, as he slowly projected his words to him. “And let you go out to look for Nino, right?”

To this, Ray stayed quiet for a moment, then finally sat up. “If you already know what I plan to do, then I should just leave, right?” He walked to his wardrobe, as he started going through his belongings, pulling out a red cloak. Putting it over himself, Ray walked towards the window, standing by looking at the night sky, as he prepared to leave.

But as he was about to jump out, Kai’s projection moved in front of him. “Wait,” it read.

Ray didn’t look back, as he give his response. “Don’t stop me this time, Kai. Please…”

To the response, Kai’s words changed, and Ray’s eyes widened as he read them.

“I won’t stop you, so at least let me help you a bit.”

Ray turned back to look at him, surprised. “What do you mean to help?”

To this, Kai took of his wig and smiled at him.

Kai wheeled himself closer to Ray, his expression shifting from blank to determined. His words started to change, as it says; “Before you go, there’s something you need to see.”

Ray watched as Kai brought his right hand forward, where suddenly a chip-like object manifested out of the thin air. Ray was shocked, wondering where that chip like object appeared from, as it slowly landed on Kai's left hand palm. It's surface glowing with intricate patterns of light.

“What... is that?” Ray asked, curiosity piqued.

Kai smiled faintly. “Just something to help you find Nino,” the words changed in his projection.

Ray’s eyes widened, as he looked at the small chip.

Kai nodded, as he looked over the chip. As he did so, the chip activated, and a holographic map of the empire appeared in mid-air. The map was detailed, showing various locations, different structures of the buildings, with lots of different colored dots moving around in it.

Kai pointed to the dots, as the words formed in the projection. “Ignore the grey dots for now, and focus on the colorful ones." Ray was shocked, as he looked at Kai, who is gesturing his hand, zooming into the hologram. "The blue dot is me, and the yellow dot is you,” his words changed, as Ray just looked at it in surprise, as Kai gestured his hand zooming out, showing more of the lands, going to the outskirts of the city. “And there she is, that green dot far away is Nino, and the red dots surrounding her are the kidnappers.”

Ray stared at the map, a mix of relief and amazement washing over him. “...You found her just like that...? How!?" Ray asked, as Kai just looked at him with a annoyed look. "You want answers about this or to bring Nino back?" To his question, Ray sighs. "Right, Nino first. But this... is incredible… How come you have this?”

To this, Kai just smiled at him, his projection changing words. "I will explain everything later. For now, we need to get her back."

The hologram disappeared, as the chip slowly changed it's form to another ear piece. Kai handed Ray that earpiece, who looked at him in surprise. “Take this and place it in your ears. It will allow us to stay in contact. I’ll tell you if any enemies are nearby and help you safely exit with Nino.”

Ray took the ear piece, but hesitated for a moment before placing the earpiece in his ear. As he did so, he immediately heard Kai’s voice, clear and calm through the ear piece. “Can you hear me, Ray?”

Ray nodded, still in awe. “Yes, I can hear you. This is… your voice?” He exclaimed, looking at Kai, who just smiled at him when he heard again.

"My thoughts," Kai replied in the ear piece.

Ray smiled at Kai, as he nodded and his voice came in Ray's ear piece again. “Now with this, I’ll guide you to Nino.”

Ray took a deep breath, feeling a renewed sense of hope. “Alright, let’s do this.”

With a final glance at Kai, Ray turned back to the window, ready to embark on his mission, knowing he wasn't alone, with Kai to back him up.

-To be Continued