Midnight Prince: Empire of Sin

Adam did many things during his preparation for the mission ahead. He polished the plan with Mark, perfecting some of the details and adjusting the minor issues, became closer to Luvia, and did his best to keep Tsubasa in check, restraining her so that she didn't lop heads off when he wasn't looking. All the while, even as he did many things big and small, he also pondered about some important matters by himself, in his mind.

Since about two days ago, he had the vague and ethereal feeling that he was somehow disconnected from the material world surrounding him. Thanks to his ever-growing soul, he had the impression that even one of his minds was enough to do the task of all four at the same time without much problem these days.

Weirdly enough, the more things he could do at the same time, the fewer things there remained that took up his interest, close enough for him to make his mind work for it actively.

'Say, Genesis, can I steal or copy the authority?'

His power, the power of Origin, seemingly had a random chance of activating. Even though it was his innate skill he had next to no control over it. It was truly a shame that after all this time, he still didn't have direct control over the skill that defined his existence. However, in hindsight, not much time has passed since he had awakened to his powers.

[Logically, you should be capable of doing that. But what the actual situation is, I am afraid I cannot say anything for sure.]

Adam nodded his head in acknowledgment… before shrugging with a wry smile. If worst comes to worst, he would just steal the damn thing and throw it in some deep sea to come and observe regularly. This was just one of the ways for him to deal with this matter, one of many.

"Well, Mark… Though there is still some time left for us, why don't we just head back? We have some luggage to prepare."

"All luggage has been prepared for you with new clothes and equipment added into the fray. After all, we do not know what kind of compromising objects you might bring out. The five of you will be forbidden from leaving the room. I know this cannot stop you but it's for the spirit of things. If you need anything else you simply have to call someone and they will buy it for you."

"The situation in France is extremely chaotic at the moment and the relationship between the EU and the USA is not the best it has been in recent times. Be it from the natural or supernatural side, the situation remains the same and we cannot afford to provoke them too much."

"I have the sudden urge to say that, this is not my problem."

"It isn't, of course. The association, unlike the Paranormal Department, is not under the direct supervision of the state they reside in. Nonetheless, we can't completely avoid being splashed by dirty water if it comes to it."

"Very well. Now let's finish the last bits of our preparation."

Once Mark returned to his post, things moved swiftly and with order. Mark, despite his rather complicated situation, had been more than ready for everything and was handling the situation like a maestro.

It was in moments like this that one could discern how precious having someone skilled could be even if said person was not particularly powerful in their destructive capabilities. They could take care of all the tedious matters that the truly powerful didn't have in them to care about, generally, that would only make things more efficient and seamless for everyone.

The ride afterward could only be described with one word— intense. Mark, the smart man that he was, immediately rejected transporting with them and gave the key of an SUV to Adam before telling them that he would be taking a taxi to their destination.

Now, driving carefully in the not-so-clogged road of Los Angeles, Adam understood why there was a saying that smart men lived the longest lives.

'The pressure is no joke.'

He wondered if the car would simply explode from the inside out with all the pressure it was being subjected to. It was a sound possibility due to their situation.

Adam's discussion with the girls, even in the room, had been one-sided. The girls had done the talking, the problem was though… they didn't talk with each other.

They would talk with him, answer his queries, and even ask him questions of their own in return and laugh at some of his stupid jokes. However, the whole flow of any conversations transpired only in his presence, and with him. They talked as though the other girls didn't even exist, even though every single one of them was present in the room.

A lesser man would have been scared by the attention.

Thus it was a relief that Adam was no lesser man, however, it didn't make the scenario any less scary.

It was to the point that he wondered if someone had somehow put some kind of illusion on the girls so that they would not be able to see each other or acknowledge each other's existence. Only his own.

That would make a hella lot of sense given the situation he had been observing for the past few days, but then again, if someone were able to pull them into an illusion with him present and not being able to detect it at all then it would be a problem in itself.

Currently, inside the black-themed SUV, Tsubasa was sitting in the passenger seat while Elysia, Luvia, and Makoto were sitting in the back seats.

The poor girl, Luvia, looked like she would faint any second now. However, the girl had some bravado in her at the very least, even though she didn't exactly have the strength to speak for it, as tried her level best to power through the pressure and simply ignore that there was anyone else beside her. It was sufficiently clear that she wasn't just some weak girl, her mentality and will were like cold and impenetrable steel.

"Okay, girls, we were given tickets for a first-class flight. I hope you won't create a scene in the airplane."

The Association was going through financial difficulties, yes, but they hadn't gotten so poor that they couldn't make sure that they at least traveled with the best service that was available for them. At least, they would be treated well on their journey toward surefire danger.

"Do not worry dear. We are all grown-up individuals. I am sure nothing bad will happen." said Tsubasa, chuckling as she looked at Adam with a mischievous grin. Adam was helpless, the only thing he was able to do was take her word for it. He was not fired up about the mission enough that he would play the bad cop of the group and warn them every ten seconds.

"Well. We are here, I guess. The flight will be long, I guess."

Adam had mixed feelings as he looked at the airport.

This would be his first time leaving the country. This was going to be an interesting experience, he was sure of it. Everything became tangled intriguingly once he was involved.