[Moments Earlier]
Within the Royal Estate, in one of its many beautiful buildings, there existed a particularly lustrous one.
It had very amazing architecture, and the colors shimmered with pure white and gold, even if it was being shrouded by the darkness right before breaking dawn.
It was very large—like a mansion—and it's immediate surroundings were made to be gardens.
This was home to one of the members of the Royal Council.
Lord Knox.
As his garden brimmed with life, despite the darkness, he was currently at the topmost floor of his home, along with three other people.
These were his accomplices—the two other members of the Royal Council that ran the underworld with him.
They were all seated in a round chair within the meeting room, eating and discussing the future of their business.
The only one who stood and paced around was Knox himself.
After all, he knew the kind of dire situation they were in.
"Right now, we're running out of time."
As Knox said this, his long beards twitched as his aged fades began to have more wrinkles.
His gaze swept through the room, looking at how well-furnished his surroundings were, and how much more he wanted to decorate even further.
But the Alliance was meant to be broke, so he couldn't just go around splurging cash.
Those things would have to wait.
His small eyes rested on the other two men in the room. They also shared worried expressions, but it didn't seem like they were taking things as seriously as he was.
'They've captured Evals Redarts. If he talks, we'll be disrupted by those two…'
By 'those two', Knox meant Conrad and Vida.
They were both eyesores that stood against what he stood for.
'Recently, they've amassed too much power and recognition. It makes me, and the rest of us, seemingly irrelevant.'
From the summoning of Otherworlders, to the relationship made with them, and other issues of varying scale—Conrad and Vida always took the initiative.
It infuriated Knox without end.
That was why he had to nip things in the bud as quickly as possible. He recognized that.
The problem was that it wasn't yet time.
They had to very meticulous about their planning, else a lot of things would fall apart even if they succeeded in their task.
Unfortunately for them, Evals Redart just had to get caught.
'If he spills our secrets, things will get quite problematic…'
Knox sighed and looked at the very luxurious and spacious ceiling above him.
Beyond it was the sky, and the ceiling itself took on a color of purity—with its chandeliers glimmering brightly.
If he and his comrades were caught, he would have to kiss this place goodbye, and they would also be the same.
He couldn't allow that.
"We've come this far already "
'After relinquishing my position as king, just so I could be a part of a council… I've lost a lot of my power, authority, and wealth.'
Most of it went to the lands that were now part of the Alliance's combined territories.
He always spent a lot of time deliberating policies, thanks to four other individuals who shared his position and rank.
In the end, the position of the Royal Council was nothing more than a useless badge.
He couldn't really do anything on his own.
Knox missed it—the old times when he was a King and he was treated as one.
'The only reason I agreed to this whole thing was due to the desperation of the time…'
Dragons had just recently wiped out the entire North Continent, and even took down a Kingdom in the West.
Everyone was scared,
That was when Conrad approached everyone and decided to make humanity a converged unit under the same banner.
'Now that I think of, Conrad and Vida were the first two to join the Alliance…'
It all made sense why they seemed to be the true rulers of the Royal Court.
'I only joined because I knew his father, and Conrad's plan seemed like a fair one.'
But it was hell for Knox—and for the remaining seared with him.
"We need to completely eradicate that slave trader!"
"I think we can all agree on that. The problem right now is how to go about it."
"Conrad has that man completely under his watch. There's no way to sneak in and go about this."
As Knox heard his allies talk, he nodded in acknowledgment.
They weren't wrong.
'To get to the prisoner, we have to get Conrad first.' As Knox thought this, his eyes flashed with a murderous glean.
'Is it finally time…?'
"My Lords!" A man bathed in on their meeting, his face and entire body drenched in sweat.
He wore light armor, but the scar on his forehead, his hardened eyes, and overall muscular physique told anyone who saw him that he was capable.
Still, no matter how capable he was, he couldn't just barge into this building.
"Who gave you permission to—!"
"There's been a sighting of a Dragon here in the Royal Capital!"
The moment this man said this, all the angry faces froze.
For a moment, they didn't know how to make sense of all they had just heard.
"D-do not be so preposterous!"
"Dragons aren't anywhere close to the Capital."
"Quit messing around!"
Despite lashing out like this, the terrified look on the announcer's face convinced them even more that he was telling the truth.
A man like that would gain nothing from lying.
"W-where is it…?" Knox asked, his voice nearly inaudible.
He could feel his heart racing and his body shivering thanks to the news.
'Maybe… this is the right time. If we operate now, when attention will shift from the Evals to the Dragon, it would be the golden opportunity.'
Knox smiled for the first time since the meeting, quickly telling the guard to stay on standby.
"My comrades. This is it!"
As Knox said this, he approached the table where the other two sat.
This was the moment he—no, all of them—had been waiting for.
"My comrades, it's finally time to strategize."
The orchestration of their loose end's demise, Conrad's dethronement, and what to do about Vida.
There was a lot to do in such little time.
"Right now, we have been presented with an opportunity. We need to hurry."
He was met with some very hesitant and conflicted faces.
"R-right now…?"
"B-but the Dragon…!"
Knox gritted his teeth the moment he heard all theee excuses given by his supposed comrades.
"You think I don't know all that?!"
Sure, a Dragon was attacking, but that didn't mean appropriate measures wouldn't be taken soon.
If they didn't have the resolve to do what they needed to, they would be screwed even if they survived the Dragon attack.
"Do not forget why we decided to invest in the underworld and amass our wealth through illegal channels."
It was because they were all hungry for power, and they would do anything possible to attain it.
"Dragon or no Dragon, we must continue our task with—!"
~BOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!~
Before Knox could complete his thoughts, a crashing sound loudly echoed in the room, and the entire place shook violently before the next shocking thing occurred.
A massive scaly form broke through the ceiling above all of the four—the Councilors and the guard—crushing all of them before they could even take a single step.
They had artifacts, but even before those could be activated, they were already dead men.
It all happened in a flash, and their demise was at the hands of the very enemy that Knox had dismissed.
'A-ahhh…' In his last few seconds, the old man had a fleeting thought.
'… What the hell just happened?'
He didn't know, right until he breathed his last and his mangled form grew cold.
Death claimed him and his allies.
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Thanks for reading!
I'm sure some of you actually thought this entire Royal Council conspiracy would be like another Arc or something.
Well, bummer to you!
