Disclaimer: I don't own MGLN or any other works shown in my fanfic as they belong to their respective creators. But I do owned my OCs and all other non-Canon stuff shown in this fanfiction.

One more thing, NO FLAMES!

Driving on the highway with Vice as the driver, the others chatting among themselves to waste some time, most of their discussions are about everyday activities to their opinions about Minroz. But in their minds, they haven't forgotten their important mission in Al-Hira. They're on their way to the hotel where Chrono had booked for them. After checking-in, they will be meeting Verossa, Agito and Arf at the lobby at the appointed time.

The van kept on driving for hours until they abruptly halted at the big security checkpoint that functions like the toll booth station and security posts and it's crowded with other vehicles of locals and foreigners alike. To the heroes, it made them very apprehensive...and for good reason.

"This is bad." Shari gripes.

"You tell me." Vita grunts, narrowing her eyes at the security devices.

"Calm down. Don't bring out your devices; we cannot afford to get into trouble." Hayate said telepathically to the others.

"If we did, there'll be harsh consequences…" Signum warns. Everyone got quiet and play it safe by acting 'normal', pretending to be Mid-Childan tourists. But some doesn't feel confident about it.

"But what if they scan our identity?" Teana mentioned feeling bit worried.

"Don't worry Lanster. Rein got it covered." Hayate assures with her smile.

In response, the younger members looked a bit dumbfounded, they're not confident enough about it. Still, they're quite wondering what Rein is going to do? To help them getting through the Highway security checkpoint. They may have performed well in the JS Incident…but infiltrating one of the most powerful and most secretive nations in the TSAB is a much different matter.

As soon as it's their turn, the large scanner brings itself up and begun making scanning procedure over their van. Those who're anxious on being discovered had braced themselves for the worse. They tense a bit when the whole van is being scanned. Once the scan is over, so far nothing happens, much to their surprise. The Security scanner gave a green light signalling the heroes' rental van to pass through.

"Phew, that was close…" Shari gave out her sigh of relief.

"Man, I thought we were a goner." Subaru remarked.

"Hayate-neechan, is this what Rein did?" Erio asks.

"Eeyup!" Hayate answer happily. Rein wriggles out of the brunette's bag.

"All I did is hacking the system a little bit and did some alterations on its systems so you guys don't have worry about not being detected!" The palm-size device quips.

"Illegal...but that's how covert operations work if you all wonder." Griffith points out. "At least we didn't get into trouble with the local authorities."

"It's not something we should be proud of." Fate agrees. "But this is for the sake of finding our friend."

"Hey, at least we don't have to worry about the Guoanbu chasing us." Vice said. Sadly, he is dead wrong. The heroes didn't realised they're being followed…yet.

Meanwhile, someone is watching them from afar, like a predator who founds its prey.

A young Asiatic boy perched on the building rooftops as he observes our heroes' van with his binoculars. Zooming into his binoculars' sight to take the closer look for confirmation, for some reason, he can tell the people he observed are Nanoha and her friends. Another boy of Middle-Eastern appearance walks up behind him, carrying a backpack.

"Gorey, we got new orders from Dragonhead. We are diverted to Qatari District to continue observations." He spoke.

"Understood Berkal." Gorey replies lazily. "I'll meet you there in five minutes."

Berkal nodded his head in acknowledgment and walks away. Gorey went back to his observation, mulling in his thoughts about the Mid-Childans. Moments later, the boy puts away his binoculars into his pocket. He then suddenly jumps off the building, vanishing into thin air.

Sensing something Nanoha whips her head at the building where the boy at. Strange, she thought. She had sworn that someone is watching her and her friends. Feeling bit suspicious, she doesn't like it one bit.

"Are you okay, Nanoha-san?" Fate asks her best friend.

"Oh, oh no, I'm fine. Nyahahaha~" Nanoha replied in assurance. She decided to forget her earlier suspicion because she doesn't want to her worry her best friend.

"Are you sure?" The blonde asks again, feeling concerned.

"Yes." The redhead nods as she continued, "Well, just admiring this place. It has its own charm. Honestly, it's an interesting experience, visiting a foreign country. For once, I never heard TSAB having a massive empire as its member."

"I see. You do have a point about it. I was surprised like the others. After all it's our first time, visiting this strange country."

"It is, Fate-chan~" Nanoha smiles.

"However…" Fate frowns. "I cannot help thinking this is too easy. Minroz's security system is one of the most secured in the universe. I'm suspecting we may be falling into a trap or they just let us in and wait for one of us to make a mistake. I don't like this, Nanoha-san."

"Then let's hope it doesn't come to that." The redhead said, maintaining her optimistic personality. "Remember, we always risking our necks for everyone?"

"Yes, I do remember when we first join TSAB." Fate smiles as she began to have reminiscence on her memories.

"After all we had gone through. I'm sure we'll find Yuuno-kun in time, safe and sound." Nanoha nods her head. "This time we return the favour. I wanted to thank him again for teaching me Magic." She looks back at the scenery with the smile of fondness. "For me able to meet everyone... and for the new life he gave me."

"You're not the only one." Fate chimes. "Like you, I too want to thank him for everything. He helped me get where I am. I can't imagine myself being in TSAB if it wasn't for him."

Nanoha hums in agreement.

Hotel Four Seasons

After five hours of manoeuvring through traffic, they have finally arrived at the hotel. Hotel Four Seasons is one of the most popular and most luxurious establishments in the Empire. In Minroz, it's considered three-star. But by TSAB-standards, it's a four-star hotel. Most of the more impressionable heroes are quite astounded that Chrono had booked this hotel for them. They don't really expect it to be one in the first place.

"Wow!" Caro and Erio gave out their awes.

Vice whistles, feeling impressed. "It's not every day we get to be in the hotel...even if it's a luxurious one that is..."

"I thought we're going undercover." Vita said.

"We are." Zafira answered her.

"Well, by posing as tourists." Subaru quips happily.

"Remember, we're not here to goof off." Teana scolds her best friend.

"Awww~" The cyborg tomboy moans in disappointment.

"Why not? We can also relax here at the same time." Nanoha pops up behind her former students.

Griffith, Signum, Fate and Hayate are busy unloading the team's luggage and passing them over to the hotel porters.

"Here are your tips." Hayate smiles as she gave some TSAB Credits to one porter.

"Thank you Miss, you're too kind." The porter replies in his Chinese-accent, smiling back.

"Hehe, you're welcome." The brunette giggles. The porter went back and joins his fellows in carrying the team's luggage. "My, my, he's so friendly."

"Who's going for the reception?" Signum asks.

"I will." Griffith volunteers. "Well, you're all famous in TSAB. Chances are high that you'll be recognised." He looked around the area cautiously.

"You mean…with our profile, we'll be easily attracting the Guoanbu." Fate deduced.

"Correct." The violet-haired man affirmatively nods. "Better to keep low-profile. I'm going together with Vice first. Then we'll arrange our rooms accordingly." He smiles as his hand holds up the docket which is the receipt for their hotel rooms. He then went off with Vice over at the receptionist counter.

"Too bad, the guys at the Claudia aren't here to enjoy this." Vita said. "Well, even the Belkan Knights like me need a break once a while."

"Can't argue with that statement Vita." Shamal agrees.

"Like you're having fantasies being in the hot tub, full of hot naked studs." Rein made a joke via telepathy. This causes the Iron Hammer knight to fluster so bright that she almost trip over. Hayate and the rest of Wolkenritter notice it. They smirk in amusement at her embarrassment.

"Rein! Why you little…AARRRGH! Shut up!" Vita screams in denial. Her puffing cheeks are tinge with reddish embarrassment. She felt her privacy is being invaded by the mischievous device. It seems Rein is not always innocent. In response, the fairy-like device giggles like cheeky child.

"I wonder if she's becoming like Agito." Signum wonders.

Nanoha looks around the place in amazement. "I am sure little Vivio will enjoy this place. She's always keen to be adventurous."

"She will, Nanoha-Senpai." Subaru pipes up. "Just like her mother. Vivio will not mind it at all."

"Nyahaha ~ of course, she's my little girl." Nanoha gleams.

"Minroz is a very big place. For long time, they have incorporated many civilizations into its fold. Because of this, the locals are quite tolerant, for a religious country." Shari adds.

"Although I seriously doubt it's always peaceful." Teana said.

"Well, you got a point." The brunette bridge bunny admits. "Like many empires, Minroz was one of the typical expansionists during its heydays. But their national policy is depending on the reigning Emperor."

"Who is the Minrozian Emperor today?" Caro asks.

"Holy Emperor Altanmurr Khan." Shari answers. "He's said to be a great man by his people and a war hero in Minroz-Belkan War. Aaannnd he's also a total hunk, teehee~"

"How do you know that?" Teana asks. The bespectacled brunette simply points her finger at the propaganda poster on the wall, showing a handsome oriental man in his mid-thirties, silver-haired and orange eyes. Underneath the picture is the slogan said 'Long Live His Imperial Majesty, Our beloved Emperor'. The gunslinger-mage is surprised by his appearance; she was expecting the Minrozian ruler to be a frail old man. Everyone else who had seen the picture is surprised as well. The girls even admitted he's very handsome and would not mind dating him.

"Believe it or not, he's over 390 years old." Shari mentions.

"Really!" Subaru exclaims in amazement.

"Wow!" Caro and Eriol made unison awe.

"No way…" Teana utters in shock. "It's not possible for him to be that old."

"Actually the Minrozian royal family uses the combination of genetic engineering and little cybernetics enhancements to help extend their lifetime and retaining their youthful appearance. Up to some point, they're being considered a divine being by the Minrozians." Shari explains. "This practise is used by many Minrozian dynasties in the past. For over fifty-thousand years."

"I guess this explains his age." Eriol deduces. "Still, I find it amazing."

"What are you guys talking about?" Hayate joins in.

"Oh, I was explaining a few things about the Emperor especially his good looks" Shari giggles at it. "He's also a father of three kids, one girl and two boys. Despite living a life of royal luxury, he's a very modest person. Although I've heard he's bit…eccentric. But despite all that...he's a family man, all in all."

"I guess his wife the Empress must be the luckiest woman in the universe." The Japanese brunette remarked.

"She is. But…" Shari's expression turns morose. "She died fifty years ago."

"Oh…" The Mistress of the Night Sky utters in surprise, feeling bit morose at the news. "How did she died?" She asked.

"According to Minroz's Official report, she died of illness. That's all I could get." Shari answered.

"I wonder how their children feel..." Caro wonders, feeling a pang of sympathy. Erio puts his hand over the pinkette's shoulder for comfort.

"Probably like anyone who lost their loved ones…especially at early age." The redhead knight said.

Griffith Lowran and Vice had return back to the group.

"We're back!" The mage-marksman and helicopter pilot announce cheerfully. "And we got keys to our rooms!"

"Hurray!" Subaru and Shamal hops joyfully together into the air. Caro and Erio sweat dropped at her outburst. Everyone else looked on in amusement.

"Save your excitement once we reached our rooms." Teana sighs.

"Let's get going everyone." Signum said.

"And don't forget your stuff." Vita adds in. As everyone walks over to the elevators, however Fate stayed behind. With serious expression, she was scanning the area for anything suspicious. The blonde enforcer is sensing that something…elusive is watching her friends. Fate doesn't like to think she's paranoid but her gut feeling says otherwise.

"I don't know. I had a bad feeling about this…because something is not right. I cannot help myself thinking we're being watched." Fate contemplates. She then walked away with the others. Amidst the busy crowd in the hotel, someone gingerly peeks out behind the large pillar watching them get inside the elevator. He is a blonde young teenager with Slavic features and clear blue-eyes, dressing in the typical casual clothes for youngsters.

"Shit! That was too close for comfort, thank god." 'Someone' mutters. "Those guys at the Intelligence aren't kidding about her."

"You got that right, Milo." Gorey appears next to him, looking relaxed.

"Gorey, I'm nearly burnt my cover this time." Milo grunts. "I should've brought Mergen along but nooooo. I had to do this alone, spying on them." He sounds sarcastic at the last part. Gorey gave a mild chuckle.

"Well, you're a better infiltrator than us in the team." He assures. "That's why we vouch for you, brother."

Milo snorts, "Tch...and this coming out from a mouth of a fellow infiltrator. You do know that we are the infiltrators. It's what we designed for, anyway."

"Yes, yes, I know, Milo. We got a mission to accomplish." Gorey waves his hand dismissively. "Say, you reckon these Mid-Childan girls are cute?"

"Remember the hot-spring incident in Tanabata." Milo mentioned with a look of dismay. "For us trained soldiers, we got owned by the hordes of angry young girls."

"Hah! Don't be silly my gwailo brother, it's just only inaccurate intelligence." The boy made a nervous chuckle as his attempt to change the subject. At the same time, denying the truth that it happens.

"Liar…" Milo thought.

A black-haired woman in her late thirties, dressed in black business suit suddenly appears behind them. Gorey and Milo snaps their attention at her. They smile warmly upon greeting her. She put her hand on her hips.

"Done chatting gents?" The woman smirks in amusement.

"Yes big sister Liao." Gorey replies.

"Sorry for our ineptitude, big sister." Milo glances at her, giving out his sheepish smile. "My cover is about to be blown and nearly jeopardize our operations. I'm sorry."

"That is forgiven, Tadic." Liao assures. "At least you've done your part, don't worry about it. With the observations finished, Command orders us to rendezvous at Al-Hakim district. You lads know what to do from there."

"Yes ma'am." The boys nod their heads affirmatively. The trio soon left the hotel.

Few moments later, Lobby, Hotel Four Seasons

Everyone return back to the lobby, they have finished getting acquainted with their rooms which is at thirtieth floor. All are here except Hayate as she still back in her room. While waiting for her, the heroes are waiting for Verossa, Arf and Agito to show up. The latter have been staying in Al-Hira for quite a while, gathering info regarding Aman's whereabouts.

"Hayate-san isn't back yet." Nanoha utters.

"She says she'll be down here shortly." Shamal says. "It will not take too long...I hope."

"Even so…" Signum glance over to the local crowds. "We need to watch out for State Security agents. They didn't make any move against us…yet. I'm suspecting a trap."

"Same here…" Nanoha agrees as she observes the locals. "I don't like this."

"Whatever they do, we should get ready." The pink-hair knight adds.

"Who knows," Zafira pipes in. "It's been many years we fought the Minrozians. I doubt they're the same ones we fought long time ago. Unlike Belka, Minroz must've been grown more developed than before. It will be hard fight if we got in trouble."

"You got the point, Zafira." Fate agrees. "Especially possessing Mass Weapons, it will be hard fight indeed. Let's hope it will not come to this."

"That will depend on our approach with Aman." Signum stated.

Meanwhile back to Hayate, she puts on her sunhat and gave a smile to the mirror. "That should do it. Maybe Al-Hira's summer isn't so bad after all." She muses. Satisfied with her look, she exited her room into the elevator. She then presses the button for Lobby floor making the elevator moving down to its destination.

"Yuuno, I hope you're alright." Hayate murmur softly, fearing for his life.

The elevator stops, she awaited patiently for the door to open. Once she looked up at the number…it's not the Lobby floor, its twenty-fifth floor instead. Hayate felt dazzled because of it. The elevator doors open, revealing a young oriental man in his grey businessman suit. Upon seeing Hayate, he gave her his smile.

"Hello there Miss." He said in his fluent Mid-Childan. "Are you going downstairs?"

"Yes I am." Hayate said, smiling back. "Please do get in."

The man enters the elevator, standing next to her. He pressed the first floor – the one above the lobby. The elevator once again is continuing its destination.

"Your first time in Minroz?" The man asks.

"Yes. I think it's an interesting country. The people here on Al-Hira are quite so lively and friendly." Hayate quips. "I think I wouldn't mind visiting here again."

"I see. Glad to hear that."

"Ah~ forgive me for not introducing myself." She giggles. "My name is Hayate and you are?"

The man pulls something out of his pocket and calmly shows it to her. To her shock, it's the badge of the Guoanbu. She was now facing a Guoanbu agent.

"I'm Agent Feiding of the Guoanbu, Colonel Hayate Yagami…" He introduces as he puts back into his pocket. "Yes, we've know all about you and had been watching you, along with your friends ever since you step foot on Al-Hira."

Feeling her cover is compromised, Hayate is about to grab her device. Until Feiding puts up his hand telling her that he's not an enemy and no intent on harming her…she hoped. Raising his hand down, the agent clears his throat.

"Calm down, I'm not here to arrest you nor to kill you." He spoke in professional tone. However Hayate is not sure whether to trust his words or not, but she knows it's not a good idea to fight him. That way, it will attract the unwanted attention of the Imperial law-enforcers – especially the Guoanbu themselves.

"Alright sir…what do you want?" She asks him politely. Hayate choose her words carefully, not wanting upset this agent. Much to her surprise, Feiding smiles in response.

"Well, how can I put this?" He said, putting his hands into his pocket.

Meanwhile the others are chatting to pass time. They're still waiting for Hayate's return.

"Regarding Minroz's Limiter system, let's just say they're quite loose comparing to ours." Shari explains. "In other words, Minrozian mages don't really need authorisation to help their magics. The Imperial government trusts their mages to be more responsible with their magical powers."

"Although partly they think Limiters are too expansive to implement on the national scale." Griffith adds in. "Then again the Minrozian Magical System are much different from us."

"How so?" Subaru asks.

"Well, it involves martial arts. It's more or less about manipulation and channelling of five classical elements which are Water, Fire, Air, Earth and finally Aether or Energy.

Each of them is manipulated through certain fields which are based on the qualities of the elements themselves. Individual Minrozian mage can channel these elements by using your mind and sheer focus although it's very difficult to learn that it takes many years to master. Minrozian Magical Arts as a whole, you can channel more than one element depending on what you learnt or through genetic inheritance. In short, anyone can use magical elements they wish to use, provided they learn or inherited. "

"You're saying Minrozian Magical Arts is the fusion of Martial Arts and Magic?" Eriol presume.

"I think that's cool!" Subaru beams cheerfully. "I cannot wait to see them in action."

"Yup, that's sums it up on their magic system, Erio-kun." Shari said.

"It will be difficult to find Aman on this world. That's why Verossa, Agito and Arf got there first before we arrived. So we can ascertain his whereabouts." Rein inform the others.

"Yeah, at least that beats 'comb the desert', get it." Vice half-joked.

"This reminds me of hunting sandworms long time ago." Vita grumbles.

"What an adventure we have." Zafira quips.

"Still it's better than nothing." Shamal pipes up.

"Hey! There's Hayate-chan!" Nanoha noted the brunette's arrival.

However, Hayate doesn't look herself, she looked disturbed. It's as if something is bothering her mind. Noticing her despondent state, her friends are pretty much concerned about it.

"Hayate, are you alright?" Shamal asks her mistress and friend.

"Oh, yeah...I am fine." Hayate make a fake chuckle. She doesn't want to worry her friend by telling them that she had met a Guoanbu agent in the elevator. Those see through her act can tell something it's not right with her. Most particularly the Wolkenritters, Nanoha and Fate, they're quite suspicious for Hayate's sake. Not pressing the matter, they decided to let it be because their contacts Verossa, Arf and Agito have finally arrived.

"Sorry we're late." Verossa calls out as he catches up with the heroes. Agito, the redhead device peeks out of his pocket with her iconic smile of mischief.

"Hey guys!" She beams.

"Rossa, Arf! It's nice to see you both." Fate smiled.

"Yo!" Arf greets them.

"Have you located the subject in question?" Griffth asks.

"You betcha!" Agito quips in response but she lowers her volume. Because she realised there're lot of people around. Zafira, Signum, Vice and Subaru cover the group up by standing around them, blocking the view where the locals cannot see Agito or Rein's appearance. Although intelligent devices like Agito and Rein are common in the Empire. Origin-speaking, we're not common. It will be bad if the locals find it odd – meaning this attention will attract the Guoanbu themselves. They talk anyway, pretending to chat like tourists.

"Good work Rossa. You're the most reliable and most wonderful guy to have as the investigator." Hayate praises. "I don't know what we do without you."

"Hahaha, you flatter me Hayate. I'm just doing my job that's all." The green-haired man chuckled. "Anyway, you can guess why I'm here everyone."

"Of course." Vita smirks. "Have you found Yisiganda yet?"

"We have." Arf answers telepathically. "Although it is a pain in the ass tracking him down especially when those Minrozian men-in-blacks sniffing around. You would not believe how many close-calls we had with them." She's referring to the Guoanbu.

"Don't worry; we know where he is now." Verossa gave a sly smile.

Al-Hira Mosque, Al-Hakim district, Xin Mekka

"Alhamdulillah. Praise be to God and his Prophet." Aman utters as he rolls up the praying carpet and puts it inside the compartment. He has done his afternoon prayers. As the people inside the mosque exited the building complex, Aman walks outside. Walking out in the courtyard, Rein is spying him from the rooftops. She's holding a tiny binocular meant for her size.

"The suspect is here. Rossa's Intel is confirmed, switching to alternate position." She spoke via telepathy.

"Copy that." Vice said, scoping his rifle-device at Aman. He's doing observation on the rooftop on another building adjacent to the Mosque complex. "Be advised, Rein. There are a lot of people around. You don't want to blow your cover by getting too close to the suspect."

"I know that." Rein pout childishly.

"Eyes on the target, guys!" Hayates scolds.

"Sorry." They apologise. The others are in positions. Down by the street by the mosque, the Wolkenritters and their mistress Hayate are pretending to be a group of friends chatting amongst themselves. At the park by the opposite of the street, Fate and her ex-forward subordinates are posing as the mother and her children. Griffith and Shari are on the rooftops, spying on Aman like Rein and Vice earlier.

"The suspect has moved inside the alley. Don't lose him." Griffith radios.

"Roger." They reply quietly.

Meanwhile, Aman went into the alley, making a casual stroll. He was planning to buy snacks from the nearby foodstore at the other side of the alley. From there, He bought a packet of rice crackers and lemonade soda. He finished them all on his way into another alley. It's the quiet one he wanders into.

"I hope Mas Yuuno is alright." Aman mutters. "That bastard Choi better not screws us around. God have mercy on his soul if he broke his promise. Hmph! Typical spooks."

Suddenly he stopped in his tracks mid-way. His senses are telling him that somebody is following his trail. And his senses are never wrong ever since he joins the Imperial Army as a combat mage.

"Well, it seems somebody wanted my head." Aman thought. His hand went slowly into the pocket of his jacket.

Turning back, he's facing Hayate, Fate and Nanoha themselves. Aman frowns as if he disapproves of their presence. He doesn't need mathematics to know why they're here for. Tense silence hangs in the air between them. It's almost like a showdown between cowboys. He senses there're several others in hiding nearby, waiting to support the trio.

Sighing, Aman chooses to break silence.

"Alright madams, how can I help you?" He says.

"We're from Mid-Childa. We have coming the long way…to find our old friend." Fate answers.

"Who?"

"His name is Yuuno." Nanoha said.

Pausing for long while, Aman gave an unexpected answer.

"Go home." He said bluntly, turning away from the bewildered trio.

"What was that?" Hayate growls, feeling annoyed at his response. Fate clenches her device in hand, her facial expression may look stoic to others but her glowing eyes said otherwise. Nanoha… she isn't happy. It's quite uncharacteristic of them to get mad that easily. But Aman's tone had somehow tick them off.

"I said go home." The tanned-skin man shrugs. "You have no business with him anymore. I don't think ferret boy wants to see you. Sorry to say this…'Go home' is all I could give you."

"Please, we wanted to know if he's alright." Nanoha pleads.

"Please," Fate joins in.

"I'm sorry, sister. It's best you leave Mas Yuuno alone." Aman sighs. "He doesn't want anything with you guys anymore. Scrya has finally fed-up. Goodbye."

Flinching, this blunt statement stabbed Fate's and Nanoha's hearts. He starts walking away until…

"In that case, you leave us no choice." The brunette pulls out her device. The trio transform themselves into their mage forms. It has caught Aman's attention.

"Aman Yisiganda, you're under arrest for kidnapping Chief Librarian Yuuno Scrya. This violates one of the Laws of the TSAB." She announces. "Lay down your weapons and surrender!"

"Say what!?" Aman looked on in disbelief and outraged. He decided to voice his protest, "I didn't kidnap him! He just comes along by his own free will. What happen to my rights?"

Nanoha lift up her Raising Heart at him. "Again, lay down your weapons and surrender, we need you for questioning."

In response, Aman bellows in laughter. Not a mocking one but one of who is impressed. He could not believe they're this serious….all for the trouble of one guy.

"Oh really? O Ace of aces, Mistress of Dark Tome and Investigator Testarossa-Harlaown." He jeers. "You know what? It's funny you gals say that. But your threats of authority don't work on me. This is Minrozian soil, not Mid-Childa. Don't you have better things to do? You all are going far just for him even though you all neglected him in the first place. Is it because you're guilty for not paying attention to him and finding him will satisfy your goody-goody two-shoes ego? If so...I'm quite disappointed." He sighs, shaking his head. However his latest remark has only made the heroes mad, those who listen to the conversation.

The Magical ace trio however, with shadow casted over their gaze, gripped their weapons hard. They didn't show any signs of infuriated expressions.

"That may be true." Hayate admits before giving off her look of resolution. "But Yuuno is our friend. We'll be willing to use force to get to you to listen. Now, don't you dare underestimated us."

"Indeed." Fate agrees as she aims Bardiche at amused Aman.

Now, it's Nanoha's turn. And what she's doing is breaking one of the most important TSAB protocol.

"We have fought demons, monsters, robots, and summons; we have faced down the darkest depths and rescued our precious ones from its grasp. There is no obstacle we cannot surpass, no foe we cannot defeat." She's charging her Divine Buster spell. "And we. Will. Find. Yuuno-kun!"

"Ooooh~ what're you going to do? Befriend me?" Aman sneers with a sarcastic smile.

"As a matter of fact…yes." Nanoha stated. She then fires off her most iconic spell at him. However, for some reason, Aman doesn't seem to be afraid of the large pink laser-beam, coming at him. Inevitably, a big explosion happens where Aman stood on.

"Is it over?" Hayate asks with look of skepticism. She knows Aman supposed to be captured. But the Intel about him is telling her gut feeling not to take him the conventional way. She discusses it already with Nanoha and Fate beforehand. It's to test Aman's strength as a combat mage.

"No, I don't think so." Nanoha replies, glaring at the smoke around the crater.

"Guys! I'm sensing a huge surge of energy. Coming from Aman! He's not dead!" Rein informs. By the sound of it, she sounds like she's panicking.

"Same here." Agito express, sharing Rein's sentiment.

"What on Earth?" Teana utters.

"My god..." Verossa breathe.

The three mages kept their guard-up, watching the smokey fog clears out. Once the smoke dissipates, Hayate, Nanoha and fate widens their eyes in shock. What they see is Aman holding up his crimson-coloured magic barrier. But what stands out this barrier is the menacing crackle of red electricity around it.

Surprised by what they've seen, the others in their hiding spots could not believe that there's such spell is capable of making the caster invulnerable against any sorts of attacks, even powerful ones like Nanoha's Divine Buster.

"What the heck?" Vita utters in disbelief.

"I've never seen such anything like it before." Griffith remarks in worry.

"I have the same idea as you are, Griffith-Kun." Shamal frowns. The Wolkenritter and the ex-Forwards wanted to step in and help but refrain from doing so. They've been ordered on stand-by in case things has gotten out of hands for Hayate, Nanoha and Fate. Not to mention, it may lead to collateral damage for the locals.

"There's nothing we can do but watch." Signum affirms. "Let's hope they'll succeed. But it'll be a difficult fight. Have faith in them."

"No doubt about it." Arf agrees, her eyes fixated in Aman. "I do have a feeling that he's more than a average mage in the first place."

Back to Aman, his barrier dissipates. His mage costume is much different comparing to the Mid-Childans. Consisting of black military trench-coat, black gloves with metallic plates, black boots and hauberk-like body armour. Holding in his hand is his intelligent Device, a red-coloured guan dao glaive of menacing design.

"What I did is called Iron Curtain, a spell which allows me to protect myself from any high tier attack like your Divine Buster but only works for short time." Aman explains. "And this…" He introduces his Intelligent Device. "...is Hong He or Red Tiger in your tongue. She's one of the latest advancements in the Minrozian military. To keep things short, you better not think she's second-rate, nor she's just for show."

"Yes, my master." Hong He announces in feminine Chinese.

He went into his fighting stance, after spinning his polearm weapon. It seems Aman will not be taken…without a fight. His body posture indicating he's confident enough to take on the three heroines.

"And thus you're all going to lose." Aman bluntly stated, with the cool expression.

"Very well, if it's for Yuuno-Kun." Nanoha says as she aims Raising Heart. "Then I'll make you help us find him."

"Fine by me. I don't mind three-against-one battle." Aman shrugs casually. "Don't expect me to take an easy on you just because you're women. Get ready!"

He then leapt towards them and came the clashing of blades between Aman and the three heroines. It's the matter of time and the strength of will to decide who the winner in the end is.

However…

"All Rat Teams, move in! Go, go, go!" Lurking in the alleys, the mysterious group of shadows are moving towards the Nanoha and her group who are preparing to fight Aman and what will come next won't be a pleasant experience for our heroes to face soon enough.

Dun, dun, dun! Cliffhanger! Obviously. :3

But I do apologize to those who're really offended by it. (Gave apologetic bow)

But...Who are the shadowy folks stalking Nanoha and the crew and they do seem pretty intent on stopping them from finding Yuuno. Or so it seems. And is Aman really a villain? Stay tune for next chapter!