The deeper Leo ventured into the castle, the better his understanding of the overall chaotic situation became.
Apparently, the most tumultuous areas within the castle currently were the four main diagonal halls that connected every corner of the palace.
These passageways had become a battleground, as the majority of snakes had emerged through sewer vents leading to the castle's bathrooms, a majority of which opened into these four main connecting hallways.
A smaller number of snakes had surfaced from pipes connected to kitchen sinks, remote taps, and other isolated outlets, but the concentration of chaos remained firmly centered in these diagonal corridors due to the sheer volume of toilets located there.
In contrast, the smaller hallways connecting individual rooms were relatively less affected. However, with the constant screams and battles raging throughout the castle, most guards had abandoned their posts, leaving their assigned positions unguarded, providing Leo with ample opportunity to sneak past their posts unnoticed.
Using [Vanish], he slipped past watchful eyes with ease, while Dumpy, now in his tiny frog form, was practically invisible to anyone not actively searching for him.
Together, the duo made their way from the west entrance through the winding chaos, moving stealthily and undetected, until they finally reached the Emperor's quarters.
But as Leo stepped into the chamber that was supposed to house the Emperor, he was met with an unexpected sight: the room was eerily empty, with not a single guard stationed outside or within.
"Where is he? Where is the damn Emperor?" Leo muttered, his voice low but filled with frustration. He had fully expected to find the Emperor here, yet there was no sign of him.
"Think, Leo, think... where could they have taken him?" he whispered to himself, his sharp mind racing.
Then, drawing a parallel to protocol he'd read about in his own world regarding the president of the United States in emergency situations, his thoughts landed on the idea of a panic room.
"If I were the Emperor, I'd be taken somewhere secure—likely underground. It'd be idiotic to stay above ground where a dragon could just swoop down and incinerate everything," Leo reasoned aloud.
"Most panic rooms are built below ground, away from aerial threats... I need to hence find a passage leading to an underground floor," he muttered, piecing together common sense with the conventions of web fiction.
"Yep, the entrance has to be somewhere close to his room or the throne room… the two places that the Emperor frequents…." Leo reasoned, as he made an educated guess.
"Dumpy, find an underground entrance, it may even be hidden behind a fake wall, but find it anyhow–" Leo instructed, as he took a quick look at the in-game time, and realized that 7 minutes of the 15 he had to find and kill the Emperor, had already passed.
If he did not find the man fast, then all of his effort so far would come to nothing, as the royal army would swarm the palace, making it impossible to touch the Emperor.
******
(Meanwhile Ben)
Unlike Leo who struggled to find the Emperor, Ben had no trouble finding Nathan D Evanus, who was chained in the basement of the royal palace, in one of the only four detainment cells there.
The security leading to his cell was minimal, and Ben only had to kill a couple dozen men to reach it, making the overall difficulty of the mission relatively easy.
*Slash*
*Creeek—*
Slashing open the chains barring entry to his cell and also slicing apart the door lock, Ben opened the door to Nathan's cell, as Nathan looked back at him with soulless eyes.
There was no fear in his eyes when he saw Ben, and although he recognised the legendary assassin, there seemed to be no shock or surprise in his eyes to see him come.
"Are you here to kill me?" Nathan asked with an emotionless voice as he raised his head and exposed his neck for Ben to slash.
"Yes–" Ben replied calmly, as he took a dagger slowly upto Nathan's throat.
"You plotted to kill your own father…. You deserve this—" Ben said, as a soft tear escaped Nathan's emotionless eyes.
"Yes I do…. I regret plotting to kill my father and definitely deserve to die, however, my half-brother deserves it even more!" Nathan said, as his entire body trembled uncontrollably at that moment.
He seemed to have long accepted his fate of death while inside this prison, however, something had forced this change in him, and it did not appear self-induced.
"Oh?" Ben asked, as Nathan began to speak his final words.
"That little bastard, he's not as innocent as he seems! He's a sick pervert and a complete wackjob at the head.
I only wanted the throne for my own ambitions, but Marcus doesn't even care for it.
Even Though he's only 14, he is sick in the head.
He, or someone under him sends men down here to rape me on the regular.
Although I'm a man… I'm drugged, raped and stripped of my dignity on the regular…..
I'm a fucking prince, yet I'm fed dog-food and forced to pee in a jar.
I-I don't want to live this life. I was wrong to kill my father, but I don't deserve to live like this… I would rather die!" Nathan said, as bringing his own neck to the blade, he slashed it on his own free will rather than Ben doing the job.
*SPLAT*
Blood splattered all across the prison cell, as the shallow wound that Nathan inflicted on himself was not clean enough to grant him a clean death.
*Gag*
*Cough*
Gagging and Coughing blood, Nathan struggled on the floor as Ben looked on with pity.
"Fool—" Ben said, as he bent over and granted Nathan a quick death, severing his arteries completely so that he did not have to suffer anymore.
It was one of the most unexpected deaths that Ben had ever witnessed, as he had never seen a royal as broken as Nathan.
Ben could still remember this kids intelligent eyes back at the master's banquet less than a year ago, however, a lot seemed to have changed since.
"While I don't think his brother the Emperor would be aware of what's happening down here, I'm sure there's someone within the castle who took out their frustrations with the royal family on poor Nathan…." Ben said, as just for a moment, he felt genuine pity for the troubled soul he just killed.