Chapter 280: The Paranoid King, Rebellion
"Julian and Julia vanished," Marcus announced to the group. "Derek’s team never returned from Aethelgard. Voranthar is completely losing his mind over the noble assassinations. We need a survival plan today."
"He thinks Duke Lupis is behind the murders," Mason pointed out. "Sophia and I could just alter the King’s memories to make him trust us again."
"He barred his doors to everyone," Noah replied. "He will kill anyone who gets close."
Before Marcus could suggest a tactical retreat, a dozen fully armored Tarnstead knights marched into the foyer. The captain drew his sword and pointed it directly at Marcus.
"The King demands your presence in the throne room," the captain ordered.
The knights escorted the fourteen heralds through the locked-down corridors. They entered the massive throne room to find Voranthar standing entirely alone before his golden seat.
He looked disheveled and deeply paranoid, his crown resting slightly crooked on his head.
Voranthar glared at the group. He examined Noah’s shadow manipulation and Mia’s sound nullification. He looked at Emma’s blood combustion and Mason’s illusion magic. A horrifying realization washed over the monarch’s face.
"You possess the exact abilities required to bypass my guards," Voranthar stated loudly. "You manipulate shadows, silence your footsteps, and alter memories. You are the perfect assassins."
Marcus stepped forward and raised his free hand peacefully. "We fight for you. We did not kill Soros."
"You conspire with Duke Lupis!" Voranthar yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Marcus. "You harbor the Vanguard cult to orchestrate a coup! You stole my crimson artifact and slaughtered my loyalists to steal my throne!"
"That makes absolutely no sense," Liam argued, stepping up beside Marcus. "We have nowhere else to go. The Vanguard wants us dead."
"Lies!" Voranthar screamed.
He looked at the fourteen Heralds and realized they possessed enough firepower to level the entire palace in seconds. The paranoia completely consumed his rational thought.
"Arrest them all!" Voranthar commanded his royal guard. "If they resist, execute them for high treason."
The Tarnstead knights raised their weapons and surrounded the Earthlings, forcing Marcus to draw his broadsword to defend himself.
The Tarnstead knights closed the circle around the heralds. Liam stepped in front of Emma and raised his hands. He refused to be chained and thrown into a dungeon.
"I am done taking orders from a madman," Liam declared.
He activated his magic. White bone spikes erupted directly from the marble floor beneath the closest knights. The calcified spears pierced right through the steel boots and greaves of the guards. The men screamed and dropped to the ground.
Emma capitalized on the opening immediately. She pointed her palms at the bleeding knights. The spilled blood instantly superheated and combusted into violent crimson flames.
The explosion threw the surrounding guards backward and completely shattered the royal formation.
"Kill the traitors!" Voranthar yelled from his throne.
The room dissolved into absolute chaos. Marcus swung his golden broadsword, using the blinding light to disorient a charging knight before knocking the man unconscious with the flat of the blade.
Elena stayed close behind him, mending a minor cut on Noah’s arm as the scout dodged a spear thrust.
Logan created localized gravity pockets to pull armored guards onto their backs while Ava removed the friction from the floor, causing an entire squad of reinforcements to slip and crash into the stone pillars.
’We cannot fight the entire royal guard,’ Marcus thought. He parried a sword strike and pushed a knight away. ’Hundreds more are coming right now.’
"Mason! Sophia!" Marcus shouted over the clashing metal. "Get us out of here!"
Mason nodded and slammed his hands together. He channeled his mana to cast a massive, room-wide illusion.
A horde of terrifying Vanguard beasts materialized out of thin air. The phantom monsters roared and charged directly at the Tarnstead knights. The guards panicked and swung their weapons wildly at the empty air.
Sophia focused her magic on the captain and his lieutenants. She aggressively altered their short-term memory, completely wiping their spatial awareness. The commanders suddenly forgot why they had drawn their swords and started shouting contradictory orders to their men.
"Move!" Ethan commanded. He generated a kinetic barrier at the front of the group and charged directly at the reinforced oak doors.
All of them followed him in a tight formation. Ethan’s barrier smashed right through the wooden doors and sent splintered wood flying across the corridor.
The Heralds surged out of the throne room. They utilized their combined magic to break through the barricades Voranthar had set up that very morning.
Lucas shaped the metal hinges of the palace gates to force them open, while Isabella unleashed a massive cloud of poison mist behind them to deter any pursuers. They burst out of the royal estate and sprinted directly into the starving, panicked streets of the capital.
Voranthar stood alone amidst his confused and bleeding guards. The King had just forced his best weapons into open rebellion.
Marcus sprinted down a narrow alleyway while the remaining thirteen Heralds followed closely behind him. His golden broadsword remained drawn, catching the stray lamplight of the frantic city streets.
Behind them, the distant shouts of the royal guard echoed through the brick corridors, but the chaotic crowds rioting over food shortages provided a natural shield for their escape.
"Where are we going, Marcus?" Elena panted, keeping pace beside him while checking her silver robes for any damage.
Marcus turned a corner quickly and gestured toward a massive stone estate situated on the wealthier side of the inner district. "Duke Lupis has been vocal against Voranthar’s madness for months. The King suspects him of a coup, which means Lupis is the only one with enough security and motivation to hide us."
Noah slipped out from a pocket of darkness ahead of them to scan the estate gates. "The perimeter guards are distracted by the riots. We can breach the side entrance without alerting the main patrol."
Ethan quickly generated a brief kinetic film to mask the noise of the latch snapping open, allowing the group to slip into the courtyard unnoticed. They moved through the gardens and filed into the dark foyer of the estate.
Fortunately, the interior remained entirely quiet, completely removed from the shouting outside.
Marcus lowered his weapon and exhaled. "We need to find Lupis immediately before his house guards discover us."
