Inhuman Warlock

Arthur was simply taking a casual walk while observing the preparation when he heard a commotion in his surroundings. 

Curious, he looked to his left to find a person running in his direction, calling for him. 

"Hmm? Isn't he that person who was with Lucifer? That's interesting."

He observed Salazar curiously, not interfering. He was having fun seeing Salazar use his powers to get to him. It not only gave him an idea about Salazar's powers, but it was also entertaining. 

"Amusing. So he can slow down the people in his surroundings. That's not a bad power."

"Hmm? What?" Just as he felt like he understood the abilities of Salazar, he saw something entirely different.. 

"That's new. Even the attacks are slowing down around him? So he can not only affect the enemies but even the attacks in his surroundings. It's as if he can... slow down the time around him. But his range is still small. That should be the limitation," Arthur muttered, signing. 

Within minutes, Salazar reached Arthur to stand before him. "Are you going to stop your men or not?"

Upon Salazar's request, Arthur lazily nodded. He raised his right hand as he called out. "That's enough. No one shall attack him."

Since Lord Arthur had spoken, all the Nobles slowed down, ultimately stopping their attacks. 

"You can go back to your positions," Arthur further commanded the Nobles, who respectfully went back.

"Alright. Now, tell me. What do you need?" he asked Salazar after they were given privacy. 

"I wanted to ask you about the whereabouts of Lucifer! Where is he?!" Salazar asked directly. 

"Hmm? How would I know where he is? Shouldn't he be with you? Or are you telling me that he didn't return after he left with me yesterday?"

"No. He did return; he's been missing since the evening. Apparently, someone came to meet him, and he's gone since then. Tell me where he is!"

"Hmm? Someone came to meet him? Who? Can you give me more details?" Arthur himself grew confused. Who could have taken Lucifer? That guy was certainly strong. For him to leave and not return, things seemed complex. 

Moreover, the timing seemed to be right after he had informed Milena about his meeting with Lucifer. Could it be that she was behind it? Or another Noble?

Salazar told him about the words written on the page and the torn letter. He also talked about the open window and everything else that he managed to discover. 

"That doesn't give many clues for me to play around with. I don't think I can help you here. The letter doesn't mention who he was talking to, so I can't investigate," Arthur replied, shaking his head. "So you have any spies in the Divine Empire? Maybe he met his informant?"

"We don't have any informants here. It was only four of us. So the person who he caught spying on him must be a Noble. Who else would spy on us?"

"That does make sense. I'd try asking Her Majesty if she sent any Noble to spy on Lucifer. But I doubt that would be the case."

"One more thing. Not only Lucifer, but even our maid has been missing for a long time. In fact, we found her missing the same time we found Lucifer missing. So she might be involved too," Salazar further said, remembering one more detail about the case. 

"Your maid?" A deep frown formed on Arthur's face as he heard about the missing maid. He remembered seeing the maid in the Royal Palace yesterday. She seemed concerned and wanted to talk to the Queen. 

But on being interrogated, she did say that the thing she wanted to talk about wasn't related to the Warlocks. Could it be that Lucifer's disappearance is related to the thing she wanted to talk about? Was she there to talk about the person who took Lucifer?

It seemed like the only person who knew what was happening here was the maid. Moreover, she went to talk to Milena, so she should have known too. But it was strange. Why didn't the maid return after that?

Just to be sure, he decided to ask Salazar. "Did the maid not return since last evening?"

"Nope. We had to cool dinner ourselves and even breakfast. She isn't at the Palace. It's like she disappeared in thin air, just like Lucifer."

'That's intriguing. She came to talk to the Queen, but that was a long time ago. Why didn't she return after that? What's the mystery? Only Her Majesty can answer.'

"Alright, you can go back to the stands. Take part in the event as usual and leave everything else to me. I promise I'll find out the whereabouts of Lucifer, no matter where he is. So give me time," he told Salazar, patting his shoulder. "You can go back for now. Leave the rest to me."

Salazar nodded. "You really should find him. Because I don't want to threaten anyone, but the consequences would be really bad if he isn't found. He's not an Ordinary Warlock whose disappearance would be ignored by others. That's all I'll say." 

Turning around, he started going back. That was all he could do at the moment. He needed to keep his calm. 

Salazar went back to his seat, leaving the rest to Arthur. He was an insider, but he also seemed a bit just. Even though Salazar didn't trust Arthur entirely, he did have some faith that this guy could at least find the information and share it with them. 

If he didn't, even that was fine since that was going to prove that Milena was behind the disappearance of Lucifer.

Salazar walked past a noble who was glaring at him. He had just tried to chase after Salazar only to fall to his face and fail. Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything but glare at Salazar at the moment. 

Salazar completely ignored the Noble and jumped over the fence to get to his seat in the first row. 

"How did it go? Did you find out his whereabouts?" Caen asked as soon as Salazar reached him. 

"He doesn't know, it seems. He says he'll find the whereabouts of Lucifer and ask Milena himself. We should have our answers soon," Salazar replied. "And if we don't get our answers, then that would just mean that these people are involved."

"Do you think Lucifer is killed? I mean, without that, how could he be missing for so long? No barrier or prison should be able to stop him if he's alive. His decay is just that powerful. Moreover, he could've also sent us a signal through his lightning. But he didn't. Something doesn't seem right." Caen let out, sighing.