Chapter 303

To my surprise, the guild leader didn't stay at the outpost.

Instead, he went to the vault, and placed the spear into the vault. No, not the spear, I corrected myself as I used the vault wards to check the integrity of the weapon, and realized that it was a replica.

Amusingly, it was the same replica I had used to trick the spies of the second prince. An amusing trickery, but it didn't answer why he was in such a hurry. Especially since he disguised himself as a guard once he went to his room before leaving the complex.

Interesting.

Luckily, my luxurious cell might as well be a private palace at this point, as I teleported away easily without alerting any of the guards, and started following them.

The guild leader, disguised as one of the guards, left the complex in a great hurry, escorted only by two others. And, to my surprise, he met with another spy, accompanying him into another hidden location near the capital.

This new hidden location was defended even stronger than the previous location. For a moment, I thought that I wouldn't be able to sneak inside ... but a slight examination changed my mind. It was easy to slip in ... because most of the wards were actually targeted inward.

They were trying to keep someone prisoner. Someone strong, it seemed. Most of the wards were actually dedicated to internal defenses, and the rest were dedicated to keeping the location secret. It might even be useful ... if a very excited guild leader didn't lead me directly there.

I had some suspicions about who might be inside the place, a suspicion that was enough to anger me, but I didn't explode. I needed to make sure first.

The misaligned defenses didn't even slow me down as I entered the complex, quickly disguising myself as a servant to follow my target closely. He entered a room, and I stayed outside, using magic to eavesdrop.

"The spear is here, my prince," he said as he knelt. I wasn't able to see them, but the way his knee hit the ground was rather distinct. "You can use it to steal some of her Divine Essence and use it to bargain with the Eternals. I'm sure they will be happy to accept such an exalted person as a part of them. And, with their help, your ascension will be guaranteed."

"Oh, interesting," the prince said. "You seem to be rather enthusiastic about giving such an opportunity to me. I would have expected you to take it for yourself," he said. "It's not exactly something I expected from one of the leaders of the guild. Your organization had always been rather protective about your independence."

"Not at all, my prince. You're the next in line to the throne, and you have the necessary vision to finally stop the constant collapse of the Empire. The support of the Eternals is just insurance."

I had to admit, I was impressed. The words of the guild leader implied that he was the crown prince.

Meaning, he managed to trick both the second and the fourth prince in the process of their operation and ended up with the spear.

"Good, and I'm sure that, as the next Emperor, I couldn't leave anyone that knows about such an important secret," he said.

"Wait—" the guild leader gasped, shocked, but that was all he was able to say before the prince activated the wards he had arranged beforehand. Similar to my initial imprisonment, but actually used to deliver a hit without a warning rather than used as a threat.

His sole words turned into wordless cries. His level was high, and as a blacksmith, his physical stats were nothing to scoff at. The combination resulted in a high HP ... unfortunately, that only extended his suffering.

It took a minute for him to end up dead. At a distance, his guards experienced the exact same end.

I made no motion to save them, just used the opportunity to hide better.

"Are you sure that was wise, my prince? What if the spear he brought is fake?"

"Doesn't matter. If it's fake, the real one has to be hidden in the other hideout. There's no chance that he changed it halfway. He wouldn't be stupid enough to trust such a treasure to another guild member. If it's fake, it would be in the hidden base of my brother, and we will just use our forces to raid." He took a deep breath. "Not exactly what I prefer. It would mean revealing my hand, but better than the alternative."

"What about the Emperor. What if he decides that it violates the limits he had set."

"Doesn't matter. My father is a dead man walking. He barely had weeks remaining. And, he won't take such a risk close to the ultimate date. Certainly not to protect my most useless brother. Just make sure that he's nowhere near the hidden base while you launch the assault."

"Hopefully, it won't be necessary, my prince," he said.

"Hopefully," the crown prince answered. Soon, the door opened and he entered to the corridor, giving me the first glimpse of him. He was tall and broad-shouldered, creating an imposing sight. Wearing armor and a crown, he made an imposing sight.

Charismatic and competent, he made an imposing sight. He would make a good emperor ... assuming that this facility was not built to host one of the few people I really cared about.

If that's the case, I doubted that he would enjoy a long reign — or even last until the demise of his father.

Sneaking into the inner parts of the prison would have been challenging if the prince hadn't removed every detection ward in place. Hidden behind an illusion, I followed him. Illusions were hardly foolproof, but luckily, the prince felt no need to check his surroundings.

Of course, I wasn't exactly betting my life on the prince's carelessness. Unlike the guild leader who had just met with his demise, I wasn't lacking in magical abilities. I could take down the whole hidden base if needed.

It wouldn't be silent, and it would reveal more than I wanted ... but facing the possibility of saving one of my girls, was an acceptable risk.

After we passed another ward, we arrived at a huge location. At the center, there was an unconscious angel.

A familiar face.

Mariel.

My dear headmistress.

However, even as I looked at her, I could see that things were not exactly well. Her wings. Instead of pure white, her wings were filled with a mismatching crisscross of black lines.

Darkness Spark.

Well, it explained where the Darkness Spark that was used to power her unique wards had gone.

My first instinct was to just rush forward and take down the prince and save her. However, I held back. It looked bad, but she had managed to resist whatever that was going on for months. Keeping a few more minutes to see what was going on was even easier.

I waited passively, with one exception. I cast a small spell, one that would have struggled to light a candle. However, targeted one of the traps I had built into the spear, breaking one of its vital parts, and turning it into an ornament.

Despite the tenseness of the situation, watching the expression of the prince as he approached Mariel. It started confident, almost smug, but as he stayed close nothing happened, It first melted into surprise, then shame.

"It seems that our partner was craftier than I had given him credit for," he said as he looked at his loyal retainer, and in his eyes, I could see murder. The retainer kept his eyes down, loyal to a fault.

Our future emperor clearly had a fragile ego.

He stayed silent for a few seconds before giving the order. "Activate our kill teams. I want that base burnt to the ground, and the real spear with me. I need this spear. I can't give up her without stealing some of her Divine Spark."

Ironically, I might have saved his life by intervening. Even without examining, I could see that Darkness and Light Sparks were currently on a weird balance on her body, a situation that was only possible due to the opposing nature of those sparks and centuries she had used Darkness Spark to keep her Light Spark in control.

If the crown prince managed to do what he wished and started poking around, it had the chance to destroy the fragile balance of the opposing Sparks.

The prince started walking away. At the same time, I cast an illusion that would take Mariel's place, adding a few new wards to fake her presence in the many detection wards. With the most important wards temporarily turned down to enable the prince to approach, my job was easier.

Soon, I was out, Mariel with me.

As much as I wanted to return and teach the crown prince a lesson about trying to target my people, Mariel's safety was more important. After wrapping her with a layer of protective mana, I started flying toward the capital.

I had two reasons for not teleporting to Helga's domain. I didn't know how being in another Divine Domain would play with her situation... And I didn't know how teleportation affected her state. Going to a place where I could fly in short order was the logical choice.

The next step, a medical examination... And, if everything was well, playing the doctor game...

—

{Strength: 45 Charisma: 45

Precision: 45 Perception: 45

Agility: 45 Manipulation: 45

Speed: 45 Intelligence: 62

Endurance: 73 Wisdom: 45}

{Purified Divine Spark: 58410}

{Pseudo-HP: 15000 Mana: 20000}

{ADDITIONAL SPARKS

Light - Chosen 7.4

Nature - Chosen 10

Knowledge - Chosen 10}

{MINIONS

GODDESSES

Elven Goddess

Goddess of Knowledge}