As the saying goes, "An enemy surprised is half beaten" but as the story goes forward too many characters are at play and neither allies nor enemies knows what happens next ,even the great Rexcarius Valhalien the true Grim Strategist cannot completely grasp the situations as from his perspective everyone seems to be against him, his slave, his bestfriend and, and even his own children. Not knowing who to trust Rexcarius remains on defense, only time will tell who are truly in his side.
Meanwhile Spade Escroc is in conflict with his own house as his pawns are doing the wrong things for the right reasons and both Crystal and Blade choose a harmful way of going about saving him being as aggressive as they possibly can and now it has become a crucial point for Spade because should he let this coup de ta play out then he might once again be put in a trance by his bracelet knowing that there is no defeating Vengeance without the king nor his army. But with two squads each being led by his pawns attacking in opposite points of the palace he has only enough capability to stop one so it isn't just the choice of whether to save his allies or himself but also the dilemma of which ally to save, his trusty and loyal knight, Blade or his reliable and loving princess, Crystal.
The only side that benefits from all this conflict is the very one that instigated it, Vengeance and its hidden strategist Perseus Bloodeon but like the other sides to this war, there is also inside conflict due to the absence of Lacquer Tidelode their leader who remained in Mt. Monaxia to recover from his fight from Dante the Inferno where he took head on one of the most powerful fire spells to protect the citizens of Filgras. The only one Lacquer trusted with his location is Perseus himself who was never supposed to play a role other than his spy to Alfron, but Perseus had other plans and now he was to put this plan to action.
Perseus almost defeated Spade not long ago after trapping him and leaving him to the wolves but like the dogs they are, they prioritized the pack first. Perseus would have been frustrated if not for the golden opportunity that came forward, people of the Cebunilla fighting against the Palace. Perseus immediately gathered the anxious Vengeance members and changed Lacquer's plans, they attack now while his poison is still in place, the healers are over worked, and while they are still under inner conflict with one another. The rebellion despite given the perfect opportunity became conflicted, without Sabre and Lacquer their powerful leaders they are merely villagers who are led by a measly hunter. By the end Vengeance was divdided in two, the pawns of Lacquer who regarded themselves as Tidelodeans and those who intended to rebel from the very beginning and they regarded themselves as the Cebunilla Freedom Fighters who were composed of war veterans and unsatisfied youths and their objective is as Lacquer suggested, free Cebunilla from the grasp of King Rexcarius but unlike Lacquer's ideals they upon the attack and their leaders absence chose to put forward a new ideal, to make Cebunilla free from rulers and become a free from all rulers so that they never again become pawns for anyone.
With its members diverging, Vengeance disbanded and the Tidelodians looked for the Star Saint, where ever he may be they trusted that he will have the answers and if need be they will follow him to hell. The CFFs however started sharpening their weapons and preparing their spells, by the noon that they after the inner conflict has ended and the Palace in shambles they shall sweep in with the second wave and destroy the remains. Their only obstacle left is King Rexcarius who was a powerful as Lacquer himself as the rumors stated and the war veterans among them clearly stated that at all costs hey should avoid Rexcarius. Perseus however had a different idea, he finally revealed that it was he who poisoned the palace and that his poisons are potent enough to bedridden even Princess Zyderine, at first people were doubtful but the longer they thought about it the more it made sense, Perseus was the bestfriend of Prince Alfron which meant that the Palace had trust in him which made it easy for him to smuggle the poison inside without posing much questions, he was also very knowledgeable of local poisons being a hunter that often uses it to hunt his prey and lastly in all of that happened, Perseus proved to be the most informed.
The CFFs were in awe of Perseus and decided to put in trust in him, their trust was misplaced however as Perseus had other plans for them. For Perseus he had no interest in destroying the Palace completely, like in chess his aim was the king and to hell with everything else so like any good chess played he was wiling to sacrifice all his pieces to capture the king. Perseus deceived his pawns and told them that the death apple he had was enough to kill the king and they should coat their weapons with this poison and attack him but naturally Rexcarius has enough magic to defend his body from an attack at any point and despite Rexcarius unknowingly drinking a glass filled with sap from the manchineel tree he remained unharmed. Perseus intends to wipe out the entire CFF but in doing so ruin Rexcarius' image, more and more would support Lacquer and when Rexcarius is overthrown, Lacquer would be a much easier target, as well as by him being the ruler the threat of Spade Escroc would not be too difficult to deal with.
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*Three hours ago*
While resting in Mt. Monaxia, the altar constellation Ara left a vision from the future to Lacquer and what he saw was unbelievable. It were just quick imagery of different occurrences in Cebunilla, the first one is one in the Palace and it was barely recognizable, the palace was in tatters and the only ones standing were Rexcarius who emitted a terrifying aura that was probably the cause of the destruction in the palace and from afar was Crystal and another man with a noteable scar in his face who were impaled by by debris from a possible explosion and behind them is Spade Escroc who was bloody and armless. The next image was one in the town square of Gilgaras where a vision came of Perseus beheading a dark cloaked Alfron and in front of him was Sabre and Zyderine with a murderous look towards Perseus. The final image was the one most ambiguous, it involved the maid Claudia bowing down to a deity like figure who Lacquer only saw in a book once and her name is Minerva.
The final vision aside, Lacquer saw disaster from all fronts and he immediately rushed back to Gilgaras, the constellation Ara is his most powerful familiar and it has appeared in his visions only once before and it was during the time Rexcarius lost his wife and destroyed the Heidcheysers in his anger, this was the first catastrophe that Lacquer failed to change and that mistake led to his child's death. Lacquer was determined to never again let Ara's visions come true as this was a mistake he did once and it resulted in him losing everything, this time it might be worse.
Meanwhile back in the castle Crystal tried everything she could but saw that there was only one option left in saving her beloved, this was to betray her own father using his own troops. Lacquer's past subordinates would have been ideal but all of them had been thrown into the dungeons out of suspicion so Crystal turned to Spade's allies however Blade and Claudia was nowhere to be found and her sister was in bad condition so Crystal couldn't possibly burden her. Losing hope Crystal was desperate for anyone, she couldn't do it alone and the only people who could help were doing things their own way.
Crystal walked sadly back in the gardens and in her walk, she ended up in the garden and as if controlled by her longing for Spade she felt the urge to go to Spade's horse Stallion, the only ally he has remaining. As Crystal walked towards the unruly horse she came upon a certain soldier, Ria Limnoula who from Crystal's memory is also one of Spade's soldiers.
She gloomily looked at Stallion and sighed in disappointment.
"If I remember correctly you are one of Spade's allies aren't you?"
Ria looked at her and knew immediately who she was.
"If I am will you imprison me as well?"
"What? N-no"
"Don't act so defensive princess, I know that's what all 'leaders' do. The moment you're faced with dealing with your own incompetence you just find someone else to blame, someone else to take the fall for your mistakes. First it was my father and now Master Spade, how many good men will have to be lost until you start taking responsibility damn it?!"
Crystal looked at her and saw hope that there are still people who believe in the truth.
"I agree with you completely, would you help me free this innocent man then?"
Had this been anyone else they would be hearing the own heir of the kingdom betraying her father but for Ria she saw the last remaining honest royal and without a hesitation she agreed and immediately went to work. If Princess Crystal holds true to her word then Ria would not mind serving her and even putting her's and her subordinates lives on the line.
A new resolve for her has been found, to make Crystal the next Queen for unlike her siblings she isn't blinded by the twisted ways of the Palace. To Crystal's surprise, there were still people who believed in Spade, mainly the 50 young soldiers of whom he berated and looked down on. Although in the beginning none were wiling to side with Ria and Crystal, through their resolve the two subleaders Gabriel Ironblade and Candace Vasileia offered their service, this had less to do with Spade or morals but with their pride in their families. Ria openly criticized the royal families which they are part of and they simply could not let that and Spade's comment that they were nothing but spoiled brats stand. They may come from privileged lives but they are more than that, they are the proud royals that came from honorable ancestors that once led this country to greatness and if it takes getting a bit of blood in their hands to prove it once more then its a small price to pay.
Crystal and the rest were amazed by the three leaders that stood before them, one fought for justice and the other two for glory. Gabriel and Candace rarely joined forces but when the pride of their Families are involved they will not think otherwise, they are children with many things to prove to themselves and to others, they are not just spoiled brats but royal children with their pride always in the line.
The followers naturally joined together, inspired by the allegiance of their three leaders, too naïve to truly understand the weight of their actions but wise enough to know that they should never waver for something worth fighting for, may it be for love, justice, or glory.
For Crystal's army it has become personal for them in one way or another and for those who followed, they were simply blinded by the glorious leaders that stood before them. Everyone has a story to tell, may it be kings or slaves, there is no such thing as side characters in reality because there is no one person who exist solely to validate another, no in the game of life everyone has a part to play and a role to fulfill and it is often the pawns that decide who truly receives triumph.