The Crown's Fire - Chapter 129

Chapter 129: Too Easy
The day had finally arrived for Ezekiel and Nikolai to infiltrate Helion Castle. However, they knew they couldn’t undertake such a dangerous mission alone. They had Zoran with them to guide them through its halls and provide occasional spellcasting to help them remain hidden throughout the endeavor.

And… that was pretty much it, something that Zoran was honestly pretty apprehensive about.

“Look, I know we have more than enough firepower to handle anything with just the three of us, but are we sure we’re not taking anything else with us?” Zoran couldn’t help but ask as he prepared for the journey. “Are there any other failsafes we can use?”

“Weren’t you in charge of that stuff?” Nikolai pointed out, adjusting his usual battle garb. “You’re here to help us through this, so shouldn’t you know what to do if something goes wrong?”

“I’ve already taken all of that into account. What I’m talking about is potential backup plans in case we’re caught off guard,” Zoran insisted. “I know what I’m doing, but there are still unforeseen circumstances. Plans are only plans until the enemy suddenly destroys them.”

“You know, you’re too worried,” Ezekiel chuckled, placing a reassuring hand on Zoran’s shoulder. “We trust you to know what to do in case of a sudden problem, like what you just said.”

“And besides, we do have a plan in place if we’re ever caught out of position,” Nikolai added confidently. “You were there when the plans were made, right? So you know we literally have a plan for every conceivable scenario.”

Zoran couldn’t help but agree with the two kings in front of him. After all, they were both speaking the truth. In fact, he himself had declared that they’d done enough planning for what they were about to do. They’d done all the preparation they could handle, and doing any more almost felt like overkill, to the point of even being detrimental to the mission.

“I know,” Zoran sighed. “Still, I can’t help but feel like we’re missing something. Like we’re walking into a trap somehow, despite knowing they would never see us coming.”

“That’s just your nerves talking,” Ezekiel commented. “Now, let’s get things started. We’ve wasted enough time as it is.”

“Indeed,” Nikolai agreed with a hum. “If we want to get things done quickly, we need to move now.”

Shaking his head, Zoran did his best to shake off all the doubts swirling in his mind. The kings were right. Perhaps he was overthinking things, and they’d be able to complete the mission without even getting discovered.

With a deep breath, Zoran raised his hand to cast a portal leading to one of the lesser-known corners of Helion Castle. Since he knew where all the blind spots were, none of the castle’s inherent defenses managed to spot them. Thus, they arrived at a nondescript hallway without a welcoming party to greet them.

Taking the lead, Zoran stepped forth, with Nikolai and Ezekiel following close behind. He scanned the area to ensure nobody was present before casting another spell to muffle the noise of their footsteps and allow them to whisper without being heard by any nearby guards.

“Stick close to me,” Zoran instructed the two kings. “The secret room where all the magical artifacts are kept should be right beneath us.”

The two kings nodded at him, and he took it as his cue to lead them forward. Ensuring they were light on their feet, Zoran kept a keen eye on every corner they turned, ensuring they wouldn’t be spotted before they could lay hands on the books they needed.

Eventually, they arrived at their destination. Deep within the castle, they stood before an enchanted door shimmering with power, blocking their way. Clearly, brute force wouldn’t suffice to open it, meaning Zoran had to resort to the old magical way.

“Give me a second,” he told the kings as he raised his hands. “Watch my back.”

They nodded, and Zoran focused his attention on the magical door barring their progress. With a deep breath, he began to channel his magic through the door, manually unlocking it by exploiting every crack and loophole he could find, before releasing an exhausted sigh of relief.

“Done,” Zoran called out to the kings.

“That was fast,” Nikolai complimented him.

“I did say to only give me a minute or two,” Zoran chuckled. “Still, opening that thing took over half of my reserves. I probably won’t be able to fight properly if we were to get caught.”

“Then let’s not waste any more time,” Ezekiel firmly nodded. “Let’s get what we came for and leave.”

With the three of them sharing a determined nod, they entered the secret chamber and began their search. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for each of them to find the arcane books they wanted from this mission, and soon they were on their way back home.

“Let’s get out of here,” Nikolai said. “We got what we came for.”

Zoran nodded and promptly began casting his teleportation spell. To be honest, he didn’t think it would be this easy. In fact, it was almost too easy… as if…

“Anytime now, Zoran,” Ezekiel urged.

Zoran simply nodded as he continued casting his spell. All the while, his thoughts returned to the ease of their mission. Devon wouldn’t leave massive gaps in his security like this. Sure, he could chalk it up to hubris and negligence, but surely there was something they were missing…

It was then that his teleportation spell fizzled out.

“Zoran?”

Zoran’s eyes widened as Nikolai’s voice urged him forward. Unfortunately, it didn’t help as his spell died right in front of him. Slowly, a gnawing fear began to grow within him as he attempted the teleportation spell again. This time, not only did it fail, but it didn’t even manage to start.

“What’s wrong?” Ezekiel asked.

“The spell died before I could even cast it,” Zoran worriedly replied. “Something’s wrong. We might be—”

“Well, well… It looks like you all actually had the guts to try and steal things from right under my nose.”

The three of them froze as a foreboding voice echoed from behind them. They turned around, and sure enough, Devon was sitting on a chair they hadn’t noticed prior to their attempted escape.