Reivan, wearing one of the many faces he'd used while he was experimenting with the Favor stat in the republic, sighed as he rested all his weight on the back of his armchair. He and a few others were using one of Ouroboros' many safehouses for their impromptu meeting, though in this case, a safehouse meant a relatively posh apartment in the middle of Vellasinna, a fancy Arkhanian city they had decided to meet in randomly.

Mordred was there with him, idly snacking on peanuts with her legs crossed while Valter had shown up at some point to take Reivan's report. Apparently, another one of the Twelve Helms was in the area but left on some kind of business. The ruby-eyed little girl who wasn't actually young in any sense of the word assured Reivan that he wasn't really losing out, because Gallahad — the aforementioned missing member of the Twelve Helms — had a stick shoved very far up his ass twenty-four hours a day.

Her words, not his.

Xanthus, Valter's descendant and the knight-turned-spy Reivan trusted with Ouroboros' security, was there too. Though, the poor soul was visibly stiff as he stood by the wall. Considering his present company — a prince, a living legend, and the progenitor of his bloodline who was also a living legend in his own right — Xanthus, otherwise known as Xander Suprana, was quite understandably reluctant to take a seat even though Reivan invited him to do so. He was the one responsible for getting them to the safehouse without alarming the Ouroboros employees who were maintaining the place.

"The information has been sent on a relay to the palace, Your Highness," Valter informed him after a time, a dream crystal in hand. "This was a monumental discovery. It warrants an assassination attempt on the Sage King."

"Assassination?" Mordred rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I would hardly call the effort it would take to kill the Sage King an assassination. We'd need to blast that giant cock he lives in open before Sir Rolf can take the old wizard on. Maybe with some help from the Gladiator King too."

Valter frowned. "Language, Dame Mordred."

"His Highness knows what a cock is by now, Sir Valter.” She giggled, sending Reivan an impish glance. "Pretty sure he's used it a lot since coming here. Everybody knows Arkhanian city dwellers are horny monkeys by default. It’s why their population can support the empire's constant harassment and the occasional monster stampede."

Reivan cleared his throat, deciding to shift the subject away from cocks and whatnot. “How long will the information take to get to my brother?”

“A few minutes at the latest, Your Highness. We’ve established a dedicated relay for this issue.” Valter placed the dream crystal on the table and sighed. “To be honest, your information simply served as a confirmation. The crown made a similar assumption a few days ago and handed me instructions to pass on to you.”

“...My brother did? Did he suddenly develop prophetic powers without my knowledge? I'm not complaining if that's the case though.”

“No, Your Highness. Actually, the incident you encountered in Lageton was…”

Valter then explained the encounter between the Gold Cloak and Lancelelot the Everpresent near the border, as well as the mysterious prisoner they managed to snatch away from the republic. By sheer coincidence, at that. The information extracted peacefully from the captive truly did confirm what the Tower was up to. And Reivan found himself growing even more convinced that he wasn’t just some crazy bastard chasing conspiracy theories.

‘So the latest plan was to leak the information to the empire as I finish the trade with Aguru.’

It made a lot of sense. Their improving relationship aside, the empire would undoubtedly be the first to receive retaliation if the Tower ever went to war seriously. The enmity between the populace of both sides was just too immense due to frequent border skirmishes. Diplomatic improvement didn’t matter as much to the families who’d lost people to imperial expansionism or were affected by the war front’s proximity to their homes.

As for Aguru, the process of Transcendence itself would likely keep him busy for months — maybe even years. Sir Rolf, at least, took a while to go through the process, according to the man himself. It was akin to how a mortal took around a year or a half to complete the Ascension process. Power was not gained instantly, after all. One had to change so they could contain it.

In any case, a year was more than enough time for the kingdom to finish its conflict with the Sage King. And if, by some miracle, Aguru managed to Transcend faster than a normal human would, then maybe Reivan could ask the ape for help of some kind. Since Aguru was a pacifist, simple aid through the form of transportation or protection would be more than enough. Maybe even scouting of some kind.

The aid of a Transcendent, even while limited by the notion of avoiding violence, was something nobody could scoff at. They were quite literally gods among men, after all.

There was also the added bonus of removing a chaotic element. Aguru wouldn’t know of Aizen’s plot to assault the Sage King, after all. So with its newfound strength, the sagely monkey would hopefully reveal its true colors. Depending on what those colors were, Aizen could either make use of him or eliminate him before moving on to the Tower itself. It was a much more preferable development than having to simultaneously deal with the Sage King and an Aguru — who could become a Transcendent at any time.

Divide and Conquer, a wise man once said. It might have been Sun Tzu. He couldn't quite remember.

With all that said, Reivan didn’t miss the doubt his brother placed on his discernment of Aguru's temperament. But rather than be offended by the lack of faith, he actually thought that this level of caution was exactly what a king needed. A king couldn't just believe everything he heard, even if the words came from family. Truly, Aizen was better off with Roland on the throne than a brute like Reivan. He was only good at hitting stuff and maybe seducing girls.

Or not. Probably not, yeah. He got lucky with the last part.

“Provided the assault is successful.” Reivan traced his lower lip with his thumb in contemplation. “What do we do about Arkhan itself? I mean the lands, its people... everything.”

Valter shook his head. “There was no mention of occupying the republic's lands.”

“A good thing, if you ask me.” Mordred shrugged with a snort. “We don’t have as much ancient stuff laid out in these lands, so the order will bleed if we try to protect it. Taking Arkhan’s lands will mean that Sentorale will basically be split in half — the empire and the kingdom taking one piece each. It’s too big a place to protect for a lone Transcendent, so Sir Rolf will obviously be stationed back in the motherland. At most, we could leave Ascendants here, but those can’t stand up against the War God if that crazy old fool decides to stroll the south.”

“What about the Tower?” Reivan raised a brow. “Without the Sage King, it’s just a bunch of land with a bunch of people and a bunch of Ascendants.”

“It’ll collapse by itself.” Mordred crushed a peanut shell and popped the edible bits into her mouth as every other bit evaporated into nothingness. “Their government is a joke. I don't speak for all of them, but most of these politicians will probably try to flee to Aizen or Pentagoria. With no Transcendent protecting the nation's interests, Argonia can just threaten the republic's remaining leaders into being annexed. They'll probably absorb the Tower too, while they're at it. Which is why we’ll have to either absorb the battlemages and take them all back to Aizen, or level the Tower and hunt down all the powerful battlemages before we return. I vote for the latter, honestly. Cleaner that way.”

“Do not forget, there’s also a possibility that the Star of Fortune will make a bid for Arkhan's lands,” Valter suggested. “It’s a great opportunity to go from a mercantile enterprise to rulers.”

The other Ascendant nodded. “That too. If that doesn’t happen, however, Argonia will go after the Pentagoria Continent afterward. Those poor saps don’t have a Transcendent, as far as I know. When that’s done, the empire will devote their full attention to us. Again. Boy, those guys really have to find something better to do than bother us... All we're trying to do is raise another Transcendent so we can take over the world. Why can't they just stay quiet and let us?”

Reivan chewed on his lower lip. Mordred's sarcastic musings aside, having their border with the empire doubled was most definitely not an ideal outcome. If that was true, Aizen’s entire north and western sides would be under threat. Not to mention the non-zero possibility of war with the continent-spanning nation to the east. And the threats trying to burst out of the portal too.

‘Surely, we can’t just leave it like that… right?’

Valter seemed to sense his troubles and shook his head. “Don’t worry, Your Highness. Even if the borders with the empire double, when it comes to true war, the only players that truly matter are Transcendents such as the Sword Star and the War God. Mortals and Ascendants are just there to keep the peace and serve as seeds for future Transcendents. If we huddle up and focus on protecting mainland Aizen, there are two Transcendents constantly in range to protect everything. While Argonia will have too much land to protect. The dynamics of war between kingdom and empire haven’t changed much, if you think about it.”

“We endure,” Mordred spoke up with a smirk. “Grab a tiny part of the world and protect it with all we’ve got. Rather than try to grab too much and end up losing it all. That's always been the kingdom's way, Your Highness. Argonia’s pool of Ascendants may be doubled but at the end of the day, Aizen is an unassailable rock. While Argonia will have very big and juicy flanks for us to assault whenever we want to. Their War God can’t be everywhere at once, after all. Their forces will be spread too thin to protect all their new territory. Especially if we actually decide to kill all the Tower’s Ascendants or take them with us.”

“What about the pontifex?” Reivan drummed his fingers on the arm of his seat. “Aren’t they allied?”

“Allies is too strong a word.” Valter shook his head, the beginnings of a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. “The Orthodox church despises the Saintess. And the Saintess is in Aizen. That’s all. They have a common interest in invading the kingdom. Protecting Arkhan is not in the interest of the church, as republicans are godless folk. They probably will send missionaries, however. But their core followers are in Argonia, so they won’t invest too much to protect Arkhan.”

Reivan hummed in acknowledgment, his head starting to hurt from processing so many continental considerations. “What about the possibility of the Star allying with Argonia?”

“Unlikely." Mordred was the one to answer this time. "I spent a lot of time in Argonia, once upon a time. It’s not the kind of place a mercantile power like the Star of Fortune would like. It’s why they mainly buy imperial goods but sell elsewhere. If they choose a side when the dust settles, they’ll either continue being neutral or side with us. And though I’m not sure how much they know, they’re probably aware of our budding relationship with the Orcish Chiefdom of Sutherim.”

“How so?” Reivan tilted his head.

“Because I saw some of their people hanging around down south,” she said. “The Star tries to profit from business with as many sides as they can. Obviously, they’ve extended their reach to Sutherim. Wasn’t sure, though. I didn’t bother to investigate. The orcs didn't mention anything, so relations must still be at the beginning stages between them.”

‘Huh. Interesting.’

If the Star knew that Aizen secretly had ties to Sutherim, then they would know that the kingdom wouldn’t be on the back foot even if Argonia takes most of Sentorale and the entirety of Pentagoria. That would make them less likely to side with the empire as the “winning side”.

Reivan hummed in thought for a few more heartbeats until he cleared his throat. “Enough about that. It’s up to my brother to think about all the politics and overall strategies. How can I help things along?”

“You don’t plan to return home, Your Highness?” Valter cocked a brow.

“No. I want more of that spirit dew before we maybe blow up the Tower.”

"Personal?"

"Yes... However, I was also hoping to modify it. Perhaps I can refine a version that works on Ascendant spirit beasts."

Valter's brows rose, a clear sign he realized that Reivan was talking about his avian partner. “Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness. If you are adamant about this, we can simply negotiate for it instead. Whatever the plan ends up being, the horns of war won’t be blown in the following month, at least. The Tower will push the Arkhanian government to negotiate for the return of the prisoner we snatched. We simply time the switch with our assault.”

“By Sormon’s light… We're like villains.” Mordred cackled as her feet kicked out, and Reivan tried very hard not to look like he’d noticed how her feet dangled from her seat, unable to reach the floor. “Talking in a secret base owned by an underground organization. All while plotting to kill the Sage King, planning for the eventuality of the republic’s collapse, and now, we’re talking of robbing them under the treaty of extradition. We even have wine and peanuts. All we're missing is some fat bastard stroking a cat!”

“We are the villains of Arkhan and Argonia’s stories, yes.” Valter nodded. “But we are the heroes of Aizen’s tale.”

Mordred smiled as she reclined on her seat. “Eh. Works for me. I like it this way.”

Reivan let the somber silence hang in the air for a moment before he reluctantly spoke up. “I think I’ll go back to the Tower for now. I might be able to get more information. Who knows?”

At this point, the knowledge stored in the Tower’s archives was no longer important to him. After the Sage King was dead, they could just loot the place for everything it was worth. Even if they couldn't it would also be fine, for there would no longer be an organization of sorcerers to threaten Aizen when the Sage King was gone. In exchange, his priorities had shifted to finding out anything else that could help smooth over the coming assault.

“Here’s an idea.” Mordred raised a finger in the air and set a glance toward Reivan. “Let's really lean into the villain role while we're at it. Why don’t you bring that girl over to Aizen? Mira, or whatever her name was. The one with the spirit king seed.”

Reivan’s brows shot up. “What for?”

“What not for? You can feed her spirit beast to yours, Your Highness. Or, we can abduct her and use her as bait to draw out some more of those pesky Ascendants before the assault. Maybe we can even bait the Sage King out of his Tower! Old man Rolf said Transcendents are always stronger in their chosen battlefields. So if we draw the Sage King out of his, then the old man will have an easier time.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

'That's genius! And also really villainous! It's a good thing she's on our side...'

“There is merit in that endeavor.” Valter agreed with a slow and deliberate nod. “How many did you say your bond needed to devour before Ascending, Your Highness?”

“Three.” Reivan thought back to the information about Dom’s spirit king seed ability. “But he’d already eaten one before we met, so he only needs two more.”

“Excellent.” Mordred clapped her hands together with a smile. “Have yours eat hers, then you’ll only need one more to have an Ascendant guard dog that comes back even after getting killed. Everyone’s happy.”

Reivan didn’t bother to point out that Mira likely wouldn’t come out of that exchange with anything resembling happiness. The Sage King too, would be too dead to be happy. Instead, Reivan thought of the probability he’d successfully smuggle Mira into Aizen, even if she probably had an Ascendant watching over her at all times.

He didn’t know a whole lot about the Tower, but they would likely be reluctant to let yet another one of their spirit king seeds into Aizen, even if they didn’t know that the kingdom was aware of their modus operandi.

‘She seems really interested in the kingdom though. So her willingness to go isn’t much of a question. It’s whether her watcher will allow her to go at all.’

In which case, it meant he’d have to abduct her while they were still in Arkhan.

“You think it’s possible, Your Highness?” Mordred asked him with a smile. “Doing it quietly, that is.”

Reivan shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Really? Can’t you just seduce her into coming along? She’s nineteen, presumably. She can’t be that hard to woo. Girls that age are so gullible. Sormon knows I was.”

Valter frowned. “Not all of them are. It’s best not to take yourself as a basis for generalization.”

Mordred rolled her eyes. “This is coming from a man who married when he was in his hundreds.”

“This coming from a woman who didn’t marry at all?”

‘Oof.’

That did some damage, if the stiff twitch in Mordred’s temple was anything to go by. In Valter’s defense, she had walked right into that one.

She cleared her throat after a moment. “That matter is beyond my control.”

Valter dipped his head respectfully. “I’m sure it is, Dame Mordred.”

Though they both appeared cordial, Reivan noticed how the teacup Valter was holding vanished without the man showing any signs of noticing. Mordred impishly smirked as she sent Reivan a wink.

A moment later, Valter tried to take a sip from a cup that wasn’t there, throwing an annoyed glance at the culprit. “Four hundred years old, but you still have a youthful spirit, Dame Mordred.”

“It’s one of my selling points.” she sneered, taking a sip from the cup she’d stolen from Valter. “What an odd taste, this tea has. It tastes like old man. Almost as if it was a thousand years old.”

Reivan watched the interaction with mild amazement. He’d already been informed of Dame Mordred’s ability to manipulate perception, but seeing it in action was better than a thousand-word essay on how it worked.

‘Which reminds me, I haven’t taken a look.’

They’d only met face-to-face recently, and Reivan’s mind was filled with other thoughts than sating his curiosity about her special gift. Now seemed as good a time as any to do so.

But just as he was about to use [Supreme Insight], Mordred suddenly turned to look at him with a squint, her crimson gaze as sharp as a naked blade. The abruptness of her action made his shoulders jump.

Her face eased up and she smiled a moment later though. “Were you just about to do something, Your Highness?”

Reivan cleared his throat and nodded. “I was just about to use my ability to examine you… My apologies.”

“Oh, you haven’t already done so?” Mordred tilted her head. “I thought you would’ve done it while we were on the train.”

“To be honest, I had other things on my mind.”

“Fair enough.” She demurely covered her mouth and giggled. “Well, please feel free to do so, Your Highness. I’m curious about what you’ll see as well, so I’d love it if you could share your findings with me.”

“Certainly…”

Reivan awkwardly loosened his collar, slightly shaken by the fact that someone other than a Transcendent sensed his use of [Supreme Insight]. However, perhaps it could also be chalked up to the sharp intuition cultivated in most knights.

~^+— Unit's Statistics —+^~

Name: Mordred Suprana

Species: Human

Realm: Ascendant

Age: 397

Sex: Female

Special Abilities [Deception] [Envy]

Might: 13,743 Extra Skills Elemental Affinities: [Darkness] [Fire] [Qi: Unleashed] [Paranormal Intuition]

[Malevolence] [Limit Break]

[Elemental Resistance]

Favor: (Loyalty / Goodwill / Curiosity) 100 / 100 Threat Level: N/A (This unit's favor is too high)

“Oh. There are two special abilities…” Reivan muttered.

Mordred, who was supposed to know, looked equally shocked. “There are?”

“...You didn’t know?”

“Honestly, I thought it was just one gift but with multiple applications. Never imagined anyone could have more than a single gift, after all.”

‘She has a point. Anyway, let’s see what these babies actually do, then.’

[Deception]

Because the truth is overrated

Passive:

Every entity or object within the user's perception range is marked, automatically revealing them while ignoring perception-modifying effects.

Sub-Skill #1:

[A Vanishing Act] Active: Surrounds the user or a "marked" in a veil of deception that makes them imperceivable to the orthodox senses of all other marked entities. This effect wears off when they initiate hostilities and can be used on multiple targets with sufficient control and focus. Sub-Skill #2:

[House of Mirrors] Active: Upon activation, a "marked" is perceived as another "marked". This effect wears off when they initiate hostilities and can be used on multiple targets with sufficient control and focus.

Reivan made a noise of understanding, finally figuring out how one of the most troublesome gifts — responsible for Mordred’s slipperiness when deployed behind enemy lines — worked.

[Envy]

Bring them down to your level

Passive:

The user is inherently more perceptive of beings who possess special abilities and when they are about to activate them.

Sub-Skill #1:

[Envious Rage] Passive: The user will operate at increased efficiency and power when fighting against entities that possess special abilities. Sub-Skill #2:

[Heavenly Castration] Active: When a sufficient number of wounds have been inflicted on a target, the user may activate this ability to disable their capability to use special abilities. This effect does not have a duration, but lasts only while the user is in the general vicinity of the target. Sub-Skill #3:

[Curse of Envy]

Passive: Objects can absorb the user’s blood, bestowing a curse on it that will nullify special abilities with sufficiently prolonged physical contact.

‘Ah. Here it is. The source of Aizen’s special shackles.’

Reivan hadn’t forgotten how he had his special abilities utterly nullified during his first mating season. Those shackles had made a deep impression on him and he now confirmed their source. It was Dame Mordred’s doing all along.

This special ability also explained how she sensed that he was about to use [Supreme Insight] on her earlier.

At the diminutive knight’s urging, Reivan listed down the abilities on paper and she nodded in acceptance.

“Seems about right.” Mordred smiled. “I’m glad I didn’t miss anything, but I was actually hoping there was more to them than what I’ve already figured out. Well, at least I can stop thinking about them too much now. Thank you for helping shed light on the subject, Your Highness.”

Reivan smiled and stood up. “That’s about it. I think I should go back now. Ah, and Sir Xander? Are you still with us?”

The man who’d been trying very hard not to be noticed by everyone else in the room twitched. “I await your commands, Your Highness.”

“Please try to procure some spirit dew for me. Don’t bother telling Elsa. Use disposable intermediaries that have no ties to us. Trainees only get them through missions and I hardly have the time for that now, given present circumstances.”

“By any means necessary?”

“Yes, as long as secrecy is still kept. Make sure any fallout doesn’t spill over to Ouroboros. Ask Dame Gwendolyn for help, if you need to.”

Xander saluted. "Thy will be done..”

“Dame Gwendolyn is somewhat occupied, at the moment,” Valter said with a bit of hesitation.

Reivan raised a brow. “With what?”

“There is a rebel faction sprouting up everywhere in Arkhan, and they’re troubling tourists from Aizen. The crown is even thinking of banning travel to Arkhan for a while — an act that is more than justified, seeing as even the republic is aware of the issue.”

“Ah. Right… I’ve had a few run-ins with them too. As myself and as Clover Salwyn. You haven’t found much about them?”

“They’re like rats.” Mordred snorted. “Also, our Ascendants can’t really move around Arkhan as they please to investigate this, so we’re leaving it all up to the republic. I would investigate it myself if I wasn’t handling a much more dire issue, which involves being stationed here in case you need help.”

Reivan grunted. Sending Dame Mordred to handle an issue so small was too much. Like chopping meat with a greatsword instead of a kitchen knife. “How is it going so far?”

“Progress has been slow,” Valter admitted. “That boy you picked up has been our only agent in this matter.”

“Filth?”

“Yes.”

“Huh. Man’s working hard, I see.” Reivan nodded approvingly. He wished he had the free time to give the guy a pat on the shoulder, but he was a bit preoccupied at the moment. “Well, just do what you can, Sir Xander. If you can get Filth's aid, he can help confuse anyone trying to investigate.”

“I will do my utmost.”

“Thank you.” Reivan smiled. “Dame Mordred, shall we go? We still have to pay Aguru a visit before I switch back with Clover's clone.”

“Yes.” She hopped out of the chair too high for her height. “Let us go so you can return to the Tower and start seducing that girl.”

‘I won’t... Maybe. Eh, I'll think about it...’

Reivan frowned but didn’t correct her. He signaled Valter with his gaze and his trusty guardian knight conjured a portal that would take them where they were supposed to be. Or somewhere close to it.

And with that, Reivan headed back into enemy lines once again. Because a life of peace and quiet was overrated anyway. Who the hell wanted to get married to the loves of his life, have a bunch of cute kids, maybe write a book, and just be all around happy all the time?

He did. And a whole lot of other people too, probably. But everybody had to work hard to get nice things.

'Ahhh... I wanna go home, goddamnit!'