Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix C.308: Taking the lead

"Still, there are some ways for you to prove your allegiance, and that will make all doubts about your loyalty vanish," The king said. "First of all, you will call that subordinate of yours… the earth mage that fights with his body as well and then make him bring those three that you invited to our lands. If you do so, we will all forget this."

The king's words made the atmosphere on the tunnel change, an unmistakable aura of hostility swelling among the sea folk guests, Seadir, Coraline, and Sirenus. The king's ultimatum, demanding the capture of the sea folk warriors, had incited an intense anger in them.

Seadir's muscles tensed, fingers twitching, hinting at a desire to reach for his weapon. Coraline wore a determined expression to follow Seadir no matter what, and Sirenus was ready to kill everyone in the room.

Rain harbored a mix of emotions. He felt no allegiance to the king and had not that much personal connection with Esmeralda, the king's daughter. He had always been loyal to his values, his family, and his own thing. Still, the weight of responsibility bore down on him. The suspicion that the king might be linked to the sea folk kidnappings fueled his curiosity.

Rain knew that if he were to take action and eliminate the king, it would drastically alter his life's course. Yet, he couldn't allow a perceived threat to his family and the peace he cherished to persist. If it came to that, he'd have to ensure it appeared as an accident, a tragic twist of fate. Would that be simple?

In the stifling tunnel, the tension hung heavy. Rain stood on the brink of a monumental decision, one that could determine the kingdom's fate and his own. He needed to tread carefully along this treacherous path, as many lives hung in the balance.

"Your Majesty, are you ordering me to do the same that the traitor of my family did?" Branden asked. "Do you want me to lie to them for personal benefit?"

"I want you to show your loyalty to the kingdom and to the royal family," the king said. "What is the most important thing to you right now? Loyalty toward strangers or toward the kingdom and the royal family."

"... I am sorry, your Majesty," Branden said after he lowered his head and then showed a regretful expression. "But I can't do that. Putting my honor aside, I believe that it will be far worse to start to start another war and make ourselves enemies of the sea folk as well… you also might not believe this, but you don't want to make an enemy out of Rain, too."

"... It is regretful," the king said. "Perhaps a few days in the dungeon will change your mind. Seize them."

As the tense atmosphere in the tunnel thickened, Orcis and Lorene found themselves rendered silent by Branden's decision. They exchanged a brief glance, their expressions reflecting a mixture of resignation and understanding. It seemed they had anticipated the path Branden was taking, and while they may have had concerns, they remained outwardly composed.

The repercussions of Branden's actions weighed heavily on the political landscape of the realm. With Branden distancing himself from the king's orders, it was clear that the dynamics within the nobility and military would shift dramatically. However, one crucial factor remained in the king's favor—control of information.

The king's authority allowed him to manipulate the narrative, ensuring he bore the least responsibility for the impending upheaval. He held the power to shape how the events unfolded in the public eye, minimizing his own losses while potentially throwing others into turmoil.

Rain and the others returned to the tunnel, and then he immediately used his magic while everyone around was ready to attack him if they had to. Still, Rain ignored that and just kept searching with his mana in the area above. Soon enough, he found the dungeon below the castle and began to dig there. However, at some point, his magic stopped working.

"I need to study this anti-magic substance…" Rain thought. "There a lot of things I need to do aside from that as well..."

After a while, Rain began to dig with his hands, and since he was already used to that, it didn't hurt that much, but he had to be extra careful in order not to make any noise since, thanks to the anti-magic substance, he couldn't sense what lies ahead.

Still, before long, Rain reached one of the cages, and thanks to a small hole in the ground, he was able to find Orcis. The dungeon smelled quite a bit, so it seemed that it either hadn't been cleaned in a while or it had been used recently.

While looking around, Rain saw Lorene in another cage and Branden with his head down. All of them were in complete silence. It seemed that there was a guard nearby, so they had to be mindful of him. After digging a bit more, Rain approached the cave where Branden was and then whispered to avoid the guard.

"This isn't exactly like I imagined a suit in the castle would be," Rain said.

"What the… how?" Branden asked. "I suppose this still is something easily achievable by an earth mage of your level."

"What is the plan now? Are you going to escape?" Rain asked. "I can help with that and make it look like you all just vanished into thin air."

"... Did you hear that conversation? What about the others?" Branden asked. freёnovelkiss.com

"Yep, they heard it," Rain replied. "It seems that our king is quite bloodthirsty even though he isn't the one doing all the fighting."

"This is insanity… this isn't like him at all," Branden said and then sighed. "There is a high chance that this could cause the end of this bloodline, but he still thinks that it is a risk worth taking… I need to investigate it more so I can't escape. We can't escape… we can still make the king change his mind."