Chapter 14: Tunnel

Perseus POV

Since the hero is meant to help free us here...this probably means that I have to help speed the process. 

Well, that's if the prophecy is correct. I'm clearly not of noble blood, so I'm no hero in that prophecy, and if he was born around the same time as me, he's not powerful enough to be able to help everyone here yet.

So, I'll just have to take responsibility to help quicken the process if that can work.

*****

As everyone awaited the king's response, their tension mounted with each passing moment. And then, with startling swiftness, there was a loud announcement of the king supposedly arriving.

I see him in the distance, he was accompanied by a large entourage of noble advisors and powerful mages of expert rank.

But as I watched the king and his entourage approach, there was this weird tingling suspicion.

The armor worn by the guards was flashy and expensive-looking, but as I studied it closer, I realized that it lacked the signs of wear and tear that one would expect from a seasoned warrior.

It was flashy, yes, but it lacked the practicality and durability of true battle-worn armor.

And the mages, though they carried themselves with an air of authority, lacked the aura of power that typically surrounded the so-called king, heck...the king is supposedly rumored to have either a group of grandmages or the archmage.

This guy is an imposter, a body double.

If anything were to happen to this false king, they could easily pin the blame on us, using it as an excuse to crack down even harder on the rebellion since we had intentions of harming the king.

And any agreements or treaties that he signed might not be worth anything, leaving us vulnerable to further manipulation and deceit.

I might have to fight soon, so I went to get leather armor and a dagger.

*****

I made my way back as they started the negotiation, I spotted Zenis and tried to signal her to come my way. Only she and Harold would believe me about the king being a body double, and I do not want to show myself now.

As selfish as it sounds, my job here is more important than anyone else, I'm an assistant hero, and I'm to operate from the shadows, so I will.

She came over and then I gave her my explanation, which she then rushed to tell Harold immediately as I retreated. On my way back outside, I sensed a group making their way through one of the more secretive entrances into the cave, to attack us from behind.

I knew that I had to act quickly. Without hesitation, I activated my eyes and grabbed nearby rocks, imbuing them with the power of wind magic as I hurled them toward the approaching guards at first sight.

There were 3 of them, probably sent to scout out the area and to see if the tunnel was trapped.

The rocks sliced through the air with deadly precision, with a sharp crack, one of the rocks struck a guard squarely in the stomach, sending him staggering backward with a pained grunt.

The impact of the blow knocked the wind from his lungs, leaving him gasping for breath as he struggled to regain his footing. As he doubled over in agony, I seized the opportunity to press the attack, charging forward and closing the distance between us.

I seized his dropped sword from the ground, feeling its weight in my hand as I prepared to strike. The guard, still reeling from the force of the blow, looked up in alarm as he saw me, his eyes widening in fear as he realized the danger he was in.

But before he could react, I lunged forward, driving the sword toward him with all the strength and speed I could muster. A nearby guard intercepted the blade and knocked my sword away.

I used magic to turn the rocks in my hand into dust and throw them at their faces, while blinded, I charged in and picked up the sword. I used it to stab the first one in the stomach, as it would take too long to pull it out and stab the others, I used my dagger to slice the other 2 up.

Due to the enhanced strength given by the eye of Ra and cladding the dagger with an uncontrolled large amount of mana, I was strong enough to cut the other 2 up across their legs.

I stabbed one guy's hand, grabbed his sword, and used it to finish all 3 off. The fact that those guards had managed to sneak in through a secretive entrance meant there were likely more lurking outside, waiting to strike when we least expected it.

I grabbed any equipment I could and with magic, I sent the rocks tumbling down on the corpses, blocking off the tunnel and sealing it shut by making look like a dead-end, and if they somehow use magic and find the bodies, they'll just think they set off a deadly trap.

I don't have time to think of my first kill, I've already been surrounded by death, I've killed a couple of dangerous sea creatures, and these guys are monsters, I feel no guilt.

It was a crude tactic, but it would buy us precious time and hopefully dissuade any further attempts to breach our defenses. I need to seal these secret tunnels, to think that they know of these tunnels...there's a spy within our midst.

*****

"You killed 3 guards?" Harold questioned after I told him what I had done, "I knew that shaking earlier wasn't nothing, but I have a hard time believing that you did all that and utilized magic this well as a 7-year-old."

"Doesn't matter, there's a spy, no one should know of these tunnels apart from a couple of those in the whale team."

"And how did you find out about it?"

"Like I said, doesn't matter."

"Shit, we need to weed them out...but at the same time...it'll more likely destroy us from the inside instead."

"I can just go seal the tunnels."

"I don't think you have enough mana for that."

"I got dynamites if I don't."

"Where di-"

"I got dynamites."