Affinity:Chaos

"We're all from the Aurora Continent, I don't believe we've started keeping animosity against each other." The man replied with a smile.

"Here, we're not friends or brothers. The only reason you're here is because your Prince has tried to investigate my background and has been unsuccessful, so he sent you here to probe and see if I'll disclose the backgrounds of myself and my companions." Grey had a deadpan expression as he explained, he saw the look of surprise on the face of the man and shook his head.

How dumb did they think he was? They might've gone to Klaus and the others, and since they were locked in their rooms, they searched for Grey and found out he was in the Library. In truth, Grey expected this, hence the reason he made sure to keep Malachi under his control as well. If the other Princes were to find out Malachi didn't even know the identity of Grey and his friends, it might raise some suspicions, so he went for the safer option.

"You're right, geniuses like you and your friends are rare, we're curious as to where you guys came from." The Necromancer said, he looked at Grey and said seriously, "I'm Nigel, and the Second Prince is willing to offer you more than whatever the Seventh Prince offered. You look like a smart guy and should know how the hierarchy works here."

"The Second Prince has a higher chance of becoming the Emperor, even slightly higher than that First Prince due to his outstanding wisdom."

"Oh, I'm not interested." Grey answered coolly.

"Why?" Nigel couldn't understand why Grey would reject the offer. People like them in the Sovereign Plane would naturally align themselves with people who would be beneficial to them and their growth to the next stage.

"How will the Second Prince trust someone willing to betray the person that brought him here without a second thought?" Grey's question stunned Nigel, and he couldn't help but rethink it. It then clicked.

The Second Prince wanted to break up Grey and the Seventh Prince. He never had the intention of getting Grey, he just wanted to test his loyalty. As long as he sensed anything that would break it, he would use it against them.

"You're a smart man." Nigel couldn't believe Grey understood this instantly, now he understood the people they were fighting against were not simple.

He was about to leave when Grey suddenly stopped him.

"I do have something interesting to tell you though." Grey said mysteriously.

"Oh, and what might that be?" Nigel raised a brow, hoping to get something good from Grey.

Grey motioned for him to come closer. Nigel did without even thinking, and the second his ear was beside Grey's mouth, he felt his vision fade.

"I feel like sacrificing their humanity for the ability to become Necromancers automatically makes them dumb."

Grey couldn't believe Nigel didn't even think about the danger of getting that close to Grey and stupidly drew closer to him. A few minutes later, Nigel was placed under Grey's control, but he didn't control him. After ensuring he got the conversation from before, letting the Second Prince know about what they were dealing with, he let him leave without doing anything else.

With Nigel gone, Grey grabbed his head softly.

"I'll have to give up control of a few people if I want to put more people under my control." He contemplated as he massaged his head.

He felt a strong pain after putting Nigel under his control. From the look of things, it was clear that he couldn't put too many people under his control, and the stronger the people, the more mental energy required.

'This is the Gnome world, since I'm here, they should have special means to improve mental energy.'

Grey thought to himself.

Malachi was a very important figure, and any Gnome under his control was too. He might decide to release the guard outside the library in a few more days after he has gathered enough information.

While he was there, he couldn't help but think about the God's tomb, wondering how his parents were doing. He didn't have anyone under his control there, so there was no way for him to know what's happening there.

'I hope they're doing well.'

He left the library to pass the news to his friends. They needed to be extra careful, Grey was safe, but they weren't. Since these guys wanted to search for their backgrounds, it would lead to them having multiple clashes with these people.

****

Alice's room.

"What's the next course of action?" Klaus asked.

"I have the Second Prince's Necromancer under my control. I'm thinking we should start big." Grey said to them.

"Targeting the Second Prince will show the Seventh Prince's ambitions, but that would alert the First Prince who not only has more authority, but he's also stronger." Alice said.

"Who says we're going after the Second Prince?" Grey grinned evilly.

"The First Prince?" Reynolds and the others were shocked.

"Yes. With Nigel under my control, who else can fight with the First Prince if not the Second Prince?" Grey didn't see anything wrong with his plan. Before he came, the two Princes, being favorites for the throne, had had multiple clashes.

They both had territory close to each other which made them quarrel and even resort to fighting due to some resources. Both Princes can not be physically involved in the battles, but they could plan everything, this is where the smartness of the Second Prince always trounces the First Prince. The First Prince has a larger territory, yet he was always beaten tactically by the Second Prince. This is the reason the Second Prince was regarded very highly by the Emperor, and on equal footing as the First Prince.

Grey has done his research with Malachi even though he was reading in the library all this while.

"What about us?"

"We poison their minds against each other, this time, one of them must die, and it can not be traced back to us."

"They are fighting each other, so the chances of either of them being accused will be very high."

"Correct."

"Who are we attaching ourselves to?"

"The winner, of course."

The group started their plan to get the First and Second Prince to start fighting each other. Both Princes have never had a physical alteration, and according to the Royal rules, they never will. However, almost anything is allowed in the fight for the throne.

The reason the Princes haven't been killing each other was because it wasn't time to announce the person who will succeed the current Emperor, there's still a year or two remaining. So they were all doing their best to outperform each other. At the moment, the most coveted treasure was Grey, but it was impossible to get him since he was in the God's tomb.

Grey took the matter to the Seventh Prince with Malachi's present.

When Malachi heard Grey's plan, he couldn't help but look at him in awe. This human was even greater than he thought he was. He never thought Grey would start thinking of ways to push the Seventh Prince up the line. If the Prince becomes Emperor, then his status would be elevated as well. Now he understood the reason the Prince paid special attention to the four.

Grey peeked at his expression from the side and couldn't help but smile. He needed an excuse to send Malachi away, and the best thing to do was to send him on this mission. The Prince had more people under his command, but only Malachi had access to most of the information concerning the Prince. Grey didn't want to take any chances, so the best thing to do was to send Malachi away, killing him while he's away.

Without Malachi present, he would assume the position as the Seventh Prince's right hand man, taking care of everything in that Palace for him. This will give him more freedom around the Palace.

Malachi didn't know the person he held in high regard was planning to kill him without anyone finding out.

The Prince quickly went ahead to give the order, sending Malachi out to start the plan.

Grey tagged Malachi a long time ago and was sure he could track him wherever he went.

His plan was simple: once Malachi had achieved his mission, he would end him.

After getting to the Palace, Grey understood that the Princes, although it looked like they were all called according to their ages, actually, they weren't. There are a few men between the First and Second Prince, but these guys didn't have the capabilities to be involved in this battle. Only those who were willing to get involved in the fight for the throne were called in this manner, the rest were referred to as normal Princes. Most of them will end up ruling a kingdom in the future.

Grey didn't care how the Gnomes lived their lives, his main objective was to destroy their peace, as they've done to the humans.