Point-of-View: Argent Stryker

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"Wait, so you guys knew my parents? And you met my brother and helped him escape?" I responded in surprise.

"Yeah, sure did. And damn, was he strong for a twelve year old! Even with the element of surprise and them underestimating him, taking down those high ranked Knights was seriously impressive," Remarked Phyurio, the taller one.

"Yes, he was pretty powerful. When we helped him escape, he was considering attacking the castle to save your father, but we convinced him not to...strong as he was, getting past the castle’s security, finding your father and then escaping would have been next to impossible," Phyurio shook his head with a grimace.

"In the end, he decided to escape instead, and look for his brother, which we now know is you. I gave him a cellphone to use, but it looks like the two of you haven’t crossed paths yet. I’ll write down the phone number of the device I gave him, you should contact him once you leave the capital," Remarked Gior, as he took out a sheet of paper from his Pocket Dimension and wrote down the number.

"I was hiding and training down in the Labyrinth during the time after his escape, it’s no wonder he didn’t find me. And after I ranked up to Diamond, a receptionist mentioned that the Guildmaster of the Marri Town Guild wanted to inform me about someone who was looking for me...I assumed it must have been the Knights so I left before meeting the Guildmaster, but it might have been my brother instead," I sighed wistfully, before taking the sheet of paper from Gior and folding it up.

"Diamond rank, huh? Gotta say, it’s pretty awesome, and not at all surprising, that both of big sis Lycia’s kids turned out to be so powerful," Laughed Phyurio cheerfully.

"Gotta say, I’m surprised to hear that Larrk has both Attributes...I mean, his appraisal showed that he had the Dark Attribute, maybe the Status Bar crystal was defective or something," I sighed in relief.

"He said that he’s able to switch out which of his Attributes are active at will, which is unheard of...but enviably useful, he could easily blend in both the Dark and Light Continents with ease. Definitely wish I had that ability. I’m glad you don’t irrationally despise Heretics, it would’ve been pretty awkward if you were. Then again, considering that you’ve befriended a Monster, it’s not surprising," Replied Gior with a slight, wry smile.

"I probably have the way my parents raised me to thank for that...most other people have fear and hatred towards Heretics instilled in them from a young age, it becomes common sense to them. And once that happens, it isn’t exactly easy to change their minds," I sighed wistfully.

"Now, then, let’s cut the small talk...the two of us have been taking down corrupt Nobles for the past five years, and we’ve evaded the Knights successfully by making sure we don’t act too frequently, in order to fly under their radar, plus we’ve got some Skills that are useful for hiding.

Naturally, the Royal family is at the top of our list of targets, they’re the root of the problem. But attacking the castle would have been suicidal, the chances of succeeding were slim to none. However, with you two, that’s no longer the case...and we have a good idea of where they might be holding your father as well," Gior informed me.

"Wait, really!?" I exclaimed, hope rising up inside me.

"That’s right, we’ve interrogated some of the Nobles we targeted before killing them, especially about the layout of the castle. There’s a underground dungeon where they hold their most dangerous criminals, a place that’s supposed to be impossible to escape from. It’s likely that your father is being held there," Remarked Phyurio with a smile.

"So, what do you say? Are you willing to join forces with us and attack the castle?" Offered Gior, raising his hand towards me.

I have absolutely no reason to refuse...these guys knew my mom, and they helped Larrk escape. I began to reach out to shake his hand and respond-...

"YES!!! That sounds like a lot of fun!" Exclaimed Izzy eagerly, having been silent with a bored, and kinda sulky, look on her face this whole time, before turning to me, "Hey, is this Royal family stronger than that Knight lady?"

"Uh...I don’t know?" I responded sheepishly.

"The Royals are all powerful Spellcasters and are also trained in physical combat, however, they have little to no real combat experience, so they might not actually be all that capable of putting up much of a fight," Mused Gior thoughtfully.

"Hm, well, so long as I don’t kill them right away, maybe they’ll be able to entertain me at least a little bit," She sighed optimistically.

"Sorry about her, she really likes fighting," I remarked with a wistful smile, as I patted her head.

"Well, just so long as she’s on our side...," Grinned Phyurio wryly.

"What are we waiting for? Let’s go!" She shook my shoulder impatiently.

"Hold on, first we need a plan of attack," I pointed out objectively.

"Oh, I already have a plan of attack."

"Let me guess, your plan of attack is to just attack."

"Yeah, how did you know?"

I let out an exasperated sigh at her genuinely innocent question...she’s not really one for tactics or strategy, but we can’t just go into this blind.

"Just wait a little while, okay? You’ll probably be just fine without a plan, but the rest of us need to be more cautious with our approach," I reasoned with her.

"Hmm...fine, I’ve waited a week, I suppose a little longer is okay. But don’t take too long," She frowned as she relented.

"Uh, glad that’s settled...now, then, the guards at the castle are all high ranked Knights, none lower than Lieutenant Generals, the fourth highest rank. And the instant we attack, they’ll waste no time in calling for reinforcements.

Now, the entrance to the underground dungeon is hidden deep inside the castle, and unfortunately, we don’t know where it is. The dungeon spans across about eighty percent of the width of the area under the castle, so you’ll be right over it shortly after you get through the entrance of the castle. Busting down through the floor could be an option, but it’s several meters thick, so unless you have a highly destructive Spell or Skill at your disposal-...," Began Gior with a frown.

"Oh, there’s no need for that. I can pass right through instead," I replied with a grin.

"Ah, the Intangibility Skill, is it? That’s a pretty rare and useful one," Responded Phyurio with a nod.

"Mhm, that’s right. If I can sneak into the castle through a wall and make it to the dungeon unnoticed, that’d be the ideal outcome. Though, coming back out along with my dad will be tough, I can only use Intangibility on myself and any inanimate objects I’m in contact with. It doesn’t work on anything alive that isn’t my own body though. So...once I’m in, I’ll need a distraction on the outside," I surmised after mulling it over.

"Oh, that’s where I come in, right!?" Izzy tapped my shoulder with a gleam in her eyes.

Wow, I’m surprised...she’s actually listening to the plan.

"Yeah, okay, just try not to overdo it," I replied with a wry smile.

"Not sure what counts as overdoing it, but I’ll try!"

"Hm, once she begins her attack, the two of us will use the ensuing confusion to sneak into the castle...our targets are the Royals, most importantly the Crown Prince, Drakkar Dianus.

Most of the Royal family only enable the actions of the other Nobles, they don’t discourage mistreatment of Commoners, but they don’t encourage it either, they simply remain indifferent and neutral.

But the Crown Prince actively encourages it...if he becomes King, things will get much, much worse for Commoners. Killing him will be our top priority. Don’t wait for us once you’ve rescued your father, make your escape if it looks like you’ll be able to leave the capital. If not, come back down here," Gior advised me.

"Wait, won’t Miss, er-...," Trailed off Phyurio as he turned to Izzy.

"Izzozon," She responded after a brief pause to figure out why he was looking at her.

"Miss Izzozon here will be on a rampage outside the castle, won’t she? Do you have a way to signal here when you’re almost out of the castle, to avoid being caught in her crossfire?" He pointed out.

"No need, I know Argent’s scent, I can identify him from a distance easily," Izzy replied confidently.

"Anyway, let’s hope everything goes according to plan. However, things rarely work out perfectly, so we should discuss what to do if certain parts of our plan don’t go accordingly," Suggested Gior, as I nodded in agreement.

Finally, I’m almost there...it won’t be much longer now, until I save my father...I can’t afford to let this fail, I’ll rescue him no matter what...

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