After what happened to Drummonds' enemies, what's remained of Dmitri's family and the Viscount quickly left Josephine's house and returned to their own homes, frightened.
Arthur and Aria took some time to prepare and follow them half an hour later. With the map Josephine gave them, they head directly to the house of Emilio. Moving like shadows through alleys and over rooftops, they swiftly arrive there unnoticed.
"I think this is the place," Aria comments as she looks at the map in her hand and at a large mansion bigger than Josephine's, hidden behind a high wall of colored stones, both she and Arthur tucked in the shadows of an alley across the street.
"It is; Nyx has already located the Viscount with her magical senses," Arthur says with pride and gratitude in his tone.
"Uh? That's a pretty useful ability for you, I see..." Aria's tone is positive, but there's a certain glint of jealousy in her eyes.
Arthur ignores that comment while scrutinizing the house in detail. "There are many guards around, mostly Elites and Fighters, but there are also some mages inside..." He sees men like the old bodyguard of Anastasia guarding the gates and patrolling the area.
"I could make them disappear in the blink of an eye," Aria shows her fingers glowing with grey light.
"Wouldn't that be too risky?" Arthur remarks. "If we start a battle, you might end up destroying the city. I could lure them inside and take them out one by one in the shadows."
"Do you want to do this alone?" Aria's expression is concerned.
"Well, Liam, I mean, I... I've never had a partner, so I only know how to do it alone. Sneaking in also seems easier alone."
"I won't let you do it alone," Aria says with determination. "There are dozens of Elite Warriors in there; they wouldn't hesitate to kill you."
Arthur smiles, leaving Aria puzzled, then he promptly clarifies, "It's comforting to have someone watching my back... but how will we pull this off?"
"You're worried I'll reveal your location, aren't you?" Aria inquires, swiftly starting to etch symbols into the ground surrounding her. "I get it. You did things one way in your previous life, but things are different in this world..."
Arthur attentively observes the lines and symbols Aria rapidly sketches out. He recognizes it as an enchantment, 'But for what purpose?' he ponders.
Aria finishes the symbols, which begin to glow, then she looks at him with a self-assured smile and whispers ancient tongue words, 'Absconditus Visum, Neque Vidi, Neque Visus,'
"Ohh..." Arthur doesn't grasp those words, yet it becomes unmistakably clear to him what it's about when he sees Aria's body turn transparent and then completely disappear before his eyes. "Incredible..."
"Fufufu~" Aria's melodious laughter sounds right in front of Arthur's face, and he can smell the delicious scent of her breath but can't see anything of her, not even a shadow.
"Are you impressed, darling~?" She asks in a proud tone. "You have no idea what your Mommy can do. This way, I won't blow your cover-"
Aria stops talking when she sees Arthur stretching his hand forward, heading towards her enormous fluffy mounds, making her blush.
*Pah*
Arthur feels the touch of his mother's soft hand on his, and her voice sounding surprised and embarrassed, "What are you doing, darling~?!"
Although it's a light slap, he can't prevent his body from enjoying it. Still, he pulls back his hand and smiles, "Sorry, Mom; I just wanted to know if I can still feel your body like this."
"You naughty boy~! Who's going to believe in your pure intentions??" Aria tries to sound upset, but her tone is half loving and half shy, "If you want to know, yes, my body is as it always is; only it and the clothes touching it cannot be seen by naked eyes."
Regaining herself, her gaze grows determined. "Don't worry, with Mommy here, you'll have the perfect partner-" She stops and blushes more, 'Oowww... what are you thinking, Aria...'
"Oh?" Many things cross Arthur's mind as he nods. "What a nice spell... will you teach it to me one day?"
*Plooop*
"Huh?!" The guard hears the noise and sees some of the fountain water splashing out. "Something disturbing the fish?"
The man walks up to the fountain with his sword in hand and peers into the water. "Are you all right, little friends-" Under the moonlight, the guard sees the reflection of a hooded figure emerge behind him.
*Shoossh*
The guard tries to react, but no sound escapes his mouth as Arthur opens a deep gash across his throat from one side to the other with his curved dagger, one of Aria's gifts.
'NO!!!' The poor man barely comprehends what happened before his vision darkens. His blood flows rapidly from his body, falling into the fountain and turning the water red.
Arthur skillfully catches the body of the guard, letting it slowly sink into the fountain without making a noise.
Witnessing the scene up close, Aria silently claps her hands and smiles proudly. 'That's my boy~!'
Arthur doesn't pause and swiftly moves toward his next target using the position reports from Nyx. The garden around the mansion is vast, and he uses it to silently take down several guards, all Elite Warriors, killed before they can even understand who the enemy is.
After dragging the last body behind a bed of tall plants, Arthur eyes his next targets, two guards around one of the mansion's back doors.
Taking out the two guards isn't a problem, but there are other guards in the area, so any noise might alarm them.
'I could help him...' Aria almost uses her magic but decides against it. 'But I want to see how he handles this.'
Arthur doesn't need much time to think; he quickly picks up a stone like before, but this time, he throws it at an apple tree in front of the guards, causing a fruit to fall to the ground.
"What?!" The guards are initially alert but quickly relax when they see the apple rolling on the ground.
"Another squirrel stealing apples?"
"Damned animals..."
One of the guards walks over to the apple and bends down to pick it up. "Where are you-"
*Whoosh*
Arthur emerges from behind the plants like a shadow and leaps over the guard, slashing his throat with the curved dagger. Simultaneously, he uses his other hand to throw a kunai infused with his intent.
*crush*
"WH-" The second guard is shocked, but before he can draw his sword or shout, the kunai pierces his throat.
In the midst of his movement, Arthur controls the fall of the first guard and then lands in front of the second, also preventing him from hitting the ground hard and making noise.
Two more instantaneous and silent deaths. Arthur quickly drags the bodies back into the garden, and no other guard is alerted.
Aria watches everything with a proud expression.
'I've met assassins in the past, but he sure is good. Perfect awareness, silent movement, ruthless and lethal. Just like a machine.' Her eyes grow hazy with worry and sadness for a second, 'How much did you have to kill to become so good, darling?'