Affinity:Chaos

The man involuntarily told them everything that happened. Luckily, the man didn't know of Malachi's involvement, which meant they didn't have any knowledge of him being the one instigating everything. This was a good thing since it meant the Second Prince will never find out about it as well.

Grey was very careful with his questions, ensuring he didn't draw any suspicion while also making sure he got all the information he needed.

After getting everything he needed from the man, he stood up.

"Where do you think you're going?" The man asked coldly.

"To solve whatever this issue is. I wasn't sent here to babysit you, but to do what I was asked of by my Prince." Grey didn't stop, but he took the courtesy to explain to the man.

The man's expression turned ugly when he heard Grey's words, he reigned in his anger and asked, "What were you asked to do?"

"Fix this issue, whichever way I know how to." Grey and his group disappeared from the man's tent. By the time the man came outside, they were nowhere to be seen. He finally understood why Grey told him if he didn't want him to know of their presence, he would've never sensed it.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was inferior to them. He was a Gnome in the First stage of the Sovereign Plane, yet he felt inferior to a group of Necromancers who looked younger than he was.

Grey didn't care what the man felt, he was relieved there was no way this could be traced back to the Seventh Prince, at least for the meantime. Now he just needs to deal with Malachi. The die has already been cast, there is no way to stop this war now, unless the Second Prince can confirm that the First Prince isn't the one behind this. However, if Malachi disappears, there's no way they would be able to know who instigated it since the First Prince didn't see Malachi.

….

In the woods on the border of the First and Second Princes Kingdoms.

"What do we do now?" Klaus asked.

"Kill Malachi and cause more mayhem." Grey replied matter-of-factly.

"Since he's so good at this, why don't you send him to the other Princes Kingdoms? It'll be better if all the Princes are fighting at the same time. More chaos, a greater opportunity to deal with them secretly." Alice suggested.

"We can't deal with all of them at the same time." Grey said.

"I'm not saying we should, I'm just saying we keep them busy so none of them can interfere with what we have going on right now. We can also quickly deal with another one of them as soon as we settle the matter of the First Prince." Alice elaborated on what she thought about.

"That's a good plan. Making Malachi more useful. Of course, there's a chance his involvement in the other Kingdoms might be linked to this one." Grey didn't have any issues with the idea, he just felt there's a small chance it might be connected to this case.

"That's why he shouldn't use this same tactic. He should use assassination for the other ones. The other Princes don't have Sovereign Plane people under them with the exception of the Fourth Prince who is rumored to have a Gnome Sovereign on his side, he should be able to at least deal with the rest Venerables." Klaus spoke after a while.

"We'll handle those with Sovereigns, the rest will be left for Malachi. Even though he is a Gnome of a humble background, he is very ambitious." Grey chuckled.

The reason Malachi is doing this for the Seventh Prince is far from his loyalty to him, rather, it was all for his personal gain. He wanted power and status, and there's no way he can acquire that without involving himself with any of the Princes vying for the throne.

According to what Grey has gathered about him, he met with the Second and Fourth Prince, but he was outrightly rejected, and not given any audience. He managed to gain the attention of the fast rising Seventh Prince. With Grey bringing up the suggestion of taking out the other Princes, Malachi felt his opportunity was finally here.

Grey suggested what he had been planning to do all this while, the only thing holding him back was that the Seventh Prince didn't have any legitimate Sovereign behind him.

In the history of the Gnome world, there have been instances where the battling Princes take each other out. It was nothing new, although it is largely frowned upon by some, those within the Royal Family didn't see anything wrong with it. They wouldn't want someone who is weak to become the Emperor.

Knowing the ambitions of Malachi, Grey wanted to use it against him. Send him out to carry out these missions. Grey and the others will also spread out after making sure this particular incident has been dealt with.

Grey and the others sneaked into the neighboring Kingdom which was under the jurisdiction of the First Prince, and after ensuring there were only two Sovereigns present, and none of them was above the Third stage, they sneaked in and took Malachi away from the camp.

….

Outside the camp.

"What are you doing here?" Malachi asked with a confused expression.

"You've done exceptionally well. The Prince sent us over to assign you to another task while we ensure this issue is sorted out." Klaus was the one who replied.

Malachi looked at Grey, as if to confirm from him. Among the group, Grey was the one he has had more encounters with and he also believed the Seventh Prince listened to him.

Grey didn't show any reactions.

Seeing Malachi waiting for a reaction from Grey, Klaus feigned anger, his face turning red he yelled, "Would we take the risk of bringing you out of that place if this was a joke?"

Malachi thought about it and realized he was overthinking.

"What are His Highness' orders?"