Why Are You Everywhere?

The scene within the memory played on.

A ghastly green light burst across the room, reflecting in the eyes of everyone present. When the glow finally faded, Shalu collapsed forward onto the long table with a dull thud, knocking over his wine cup. The crimson liquid splashed across his chest as he slumped lifelessly to the floor.

Behind him, Shalu's first mate staggered forward, his face pale and trembling as he knelt to check for signs of life.

"Th-The Captain… is dead!" the man shrieked in disbelief.

The hall erupted into chaos. Chairs scraped violently against the floor as pirates stood en masse, drawing pistols, rifles, and daggers, all weapons aimed squarely at Jarek Ivor, the black-robed stranger.

Rivalries among pirates were common—but for an outsider to kill a captain inside a formal pirate assembly? That was unforgivable.

In the memory, Cruise heard his own voice bellow across the chamber:

"Grimma, what the hell is going on? Who are these people?!"

Facing down the barrels of dozens of guns, Jarek Ivor only sneered, uttering two words laced with disdain:

"Muggle weapons?"

Shalu's first mate, hands shaking violently, stood up, drawing his pistol and firing repeatedly at Jarek, tears in his eyes.

"I'll make you pay for my uncle's life!"

The hall exploded into gunfire. The first mate's shots sparked chaos as every pirate opened fire at the black-robed figures seated at the head of the table.

But Jarek and his two robed companions remained unfazed.

With perfect calm, all three raised their wands in unison.

"Protego."

Invisible magical barriers shimmered into existence, stopping every bullet in mid-air. The rounds deflected harmlessly in every direction, some ricocheting into the ceiling, others embedding themselves into the walls. A few bullets even struck nearby pirates, turning the scene into chaos.

Grimma, who had been standing nearby, caught a bullet in his arm. He shrieked in pain, diving for cover behind an overturned table.

"Cease fire! Idiots, stop firing!"

But even before his frantic cries, some pirates—those with sharper instincts—had already lowered their weapons, stunned by the impossible sight of bullets hanging mid-air, repelled as if by an invisible wall.

A handful of the more reckless, furious pirates—especially Shalu's friends—kept shooting wildly.

One of the black-robed figures gave an exasperated sigh, raising his wand. Bright arcs of magic erupted in the room, sending those few still firing flying backward. They crashed into furniture and crates with bone-breaking force, instantly unconscious.

Suddenly, the hall fell into dead silence.

Grimma, still clutching his bleeding arm, forced a grotesque, fawning smile despite the pain. His face twisted with panic and opportunism.

"You… fools… hiss… these distinguished Wizards are here for business. If they wanted you dead, you'd all be corpses by now."

Just minutes ago, most would've laughed him off. But after witnessing their bullets deflected like pebbles and Shalu's corpse still sprawled on the floor, no one dared object.

"Listen closely," Grimma warned, voice cracking. "I'll only explain this once…"

—

The scene fast-forwarded.

In the dimly lit present, Cruise sat hunched over a chair, panting heavily, his forehead slick with cold sweat.

Across from him, Kai Adler sat at ease, sipping tea from a fine porcelain cup as if this were an ordinary afternoon meeting.

"So… they told you to hunt some magical creature in the Indian Ocean," Kai summarized, setting his cup down. "And your reward for finding it was becoming a Wizard?"

Cruise massaged his temples, his face weary.

"At least… that's what they promised. All I remembered clearly was: 'Find a transparent, giant sea creature, deliver it to Black Island, and your fortune will be made.' But everything else… it was all fogged over until now."

Kai chuckled lightly.

"You were tricked."

Cruise's head snapped up.

"Tricked?"

Kai shrugged.

"Wizarding ability manifests early. You're what, thirty?"

Cruise nodded warily.

"Exactly thirty."

"Even if you were eighteen, it wouldn't matter. If your magic doesn't erupt naturally by age eleven, you'll never become a Wizard."

Cruise deflated, disappointment etched across his face.

"Is that… really true?"

Kai smirked slightly.

"That's the accepted rule in the magical world."

"Still… who wouldn't want that kind of power?" Cruise admitted quietly, his gaze falling to the floor.

Kai's expression remained unreadable as he watched Cruise.

"Even without the lie, you'd never have claimed the reward. The Ivor Family's leader—Jarek Ivor—he's currently rotting in a magical prison. Mad as a hatter."

Cruise visibly swallowed, sweat beading along his brow. He remembered all too well the towering, invincible image of Jarek from his resurfaced memories. If that man was considered defeated, then what sort of monster was Kai Adler, casually sipping tea before him?

Before he could ask, Kai tilted his head, smirking.

"Don't look at me like that. I don't kill people… much."

Cruise shifted awkwardly, his gaze wandering.

"'Not much'… so you have killed people."

Kai's eyes glinted mischievously, but his mind drifted elsewhere.

A transparent, giant sea creature…

It reminded him, absurdly, of that octopus he'd scared away during his first encounter at sea—with nothing but spicy Berlin street food wafting off the deck.

But the timeline didn't add up. That creature… no one had found it in all these years of searching the Indian Ocean. And yet Kai, on his first trip beyond the European coastline, stumbled across it?

And those black-robed figures in the memory… Jarek Ivor had been the leader, sure. But the other two?

Their wands, especially one of them…

The craftsmanship, the silver serpent detailing—

Kai's gaze darkened as recognition clicked.

"Lucius Malfoy… you really do get everywhere, don't you?"