Standstill
"Grant!" shouted the king.
"You know it, old man, nobody's faster than me here," nonchalantly said Thunder.
The king let go of the guard and used his fingers to put pressure between his eyes as he closed them.
"You're giving me a headache, Thunder. Is this treason? Again?" sighed the king.
"Leviathan and I have signed a divine pact, his life is linked to mine," answered Thunder.
Levi frowned as he pieced together Thunder's plan.
"Grant, would you be able to reach Leviathan before he gets me?" asked the King.
Thunder turned around with a smile as he looked at Grant.
Grant rolled his eyes, taking a deep breath.
"No, your majesty," he exhaled.
Levi noticed Thunder waving his hand at the princess. Upon closer look, they were similar.
"You're taking the life of a Guild Master, today, Thunder," said the king.
"Tama is fine," replied Thunder.
"...T- How did you know?"
"You never send me in the tower. Yet, today, of all days, you did. I caught them as they tried to smuggle Tama out of it," replied Thunder.
The king put the scepter back in the socle.
He then took a step closer to Thunder. In one motion, he tore open Thunder's shirt.
After a long sigh, the king stepped back and let himself fall onto his throne.
The princess who watched the scene turned around.
Grant who had moved little had his halberd gone. He was now standing upright, looking at them with a slightly concerned look.
The king, slouching on his throne, closed his eyes for a moment.
"How many?" he asked.
"A dozen," replied Thunder.
"That is it? Then how?"
"They had a triple S with them this time."
The king was holding his forehead with his left hand while he contemplated.
"Why can you not simply follow orders?" sighed the king.
"This is our golden ticket," said Thunder as he turned around and pointed at Levi.
"How? We have a few apostates in our ranks, how is he different?"
"He's able to summon his Goddess," replied Thunder.
"Well, he's not the first to summon an effigy. That botched summoning barely survived Grant," stated the king.
The room's light was already dimmed, but it got even darker.
Grant and Thunder instinctively put a knee on the ground as the others remained as they were.
"What? Now you show respect for your king? A bit late."
"That is not an effigy, Theodoric, that's the real deal," said Thunder.
The king laughed loudly, slapping the armrest of his throne at the same time.
As he glanced at everyone, he noticed Thunder's awkward smile.
"Oh."
The king sprung out of his throne, a knee to the ground as well.
The room's light slightly improved. Thunder painfully got back up, while Grant did the same. Only the king remained there slightly longer.
"Is this her domain, then?" asked the king after getting up as well.
"Yes, he seems unable to unleash its full potential, but even a triple S can barely unleash this much," said Thunder.
"Could you eventually do this?" asked the king.
"I can do around 10% of what he's currently doing, and even if I managed going from S to triple S I'd probably at most reach his current domain. I don't think he realizes his own potential, but with some work he could become stronger than me, or Grant even," said Thunder.
The king's forehead heavily wrinkled.
"Do you think so too, Grant?" asked the king.
"Yes, Your Majesty," replied Grant.
"This changes a lot."
As the king was pensive, holding his nose bridge again, Thunder turned around and signaled the guard to start moving and help Syllia.
As he glanced at Levi, he realized he was standing almost perfectly still in the embrace of the Goddess.
"...Good thing you did that divine pact, Levi will make a fine asset," said the king, bringing Thunder's attention back.
"Ah, that was a lie, didn't do it yet," casually replied Thunder.
Grant's eyes rolled further than his skull allowed, while the king lifted both arms and let them fall.
His face and breathing felt like he was going to complain deeply. The king's arms were doing a weird thing, as if he was going to throw a tantrum, yet kept giving up.
"You're... You..." the king started, unable to finish his sentences.
Every time a word came out, he closed his eyes, making sure what he'd say next was appropriate, yet that didn't seem to be the case once.
The king simply threw himself on his throne again, while the princess walked up, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiling.
"...At any rate," sighed the king, "since you saved the guild master, Levi's execution is unnecessary."
The king looked at Levi who stood still in the same spot, uneasy about everything that transpired.
"I, Theodoric, king of Sungrove, officially offer my sincerest apologies to you and your Goddess. It was bad judgment on my part, and for that, I ask for forgiveness."
As he apologized, the councilors started whispering to each other, while the princess kept reassuring the king that he was doing the right thing.
"You will be given a barony and the title of Baron. As such, you will be allowed to form your own crest and rule over your land however you sit fit as a noble."
The councilors lost it, in full discontent, until the king brought them back to order with a hand gesture.
Thunder's eyebrows arched, as this turn of events surprised him.
"And you, Thunder, you are to form that divine pact. Levi is your responsibility now."
"Yes, Your Majesty," bowed Thunder.
The lack of response made the king frown.
"Is this not enough? Is there something else he wants?" whispered the king toward Thunder.
Thunder shrugged, turning around to face Levi.
"Levi? This old man will probably give you anything you want, now's the time to wring him dry," playfully said Thunder.
Grant turned as well, but as all eyes were on Levi not a single movement came from him and his Goddess whose eyes were closed.
As the King and Thunder looked at each other puzzled, the princess was the first one to move.
She descended the stairs from the platform and walked straight toward Levi.
She got closer to Levi, slightly trembling as she glanced at the Goddess.
Once right before him, the princess's eyes glowed white for a few seconds.
She turned around, all stared at her.
"...He's gone," she shakingly said.