The air in the Undercity Headquarters crackled with manic energy. Rian stood before the folding table, the adrenaline of pure, systemic revenge masking the deep, aching exhaustion in his compromised core. He was going to expose the rot at the heart of the Tower, and he felt a chilling clarity.
"Three days," Rian stated, looking at his assembled team. "Three days until The Grand Executor makes his final move. We will make ours at the Royal Economic Forum."
The team was a volatile mix of talent and antagonism: Seraphina Vast, the lethal Chief of Security, stood rigid and ready. Her eyes were fixed on Lia, the newly freed intelligence operative, whose silver gaze held a dangerous mix of excitement and calculating fear. Varya, exhausted but determined, was surrounded by the massive, incriminating ledgers.
"The Forum is the Executor's highest point of leverage," Lia reported, her voice regaining its professional coolness. "It's a high-security event, shielded by the combined Runic Wards of the Royal Guard and the Merchant Guild. He intends to use the platform to announce his consolidation plan—the final move in his hostile takeover of the Council."
"His moment of glory will be his moment of collapse," Rian said, pointing to the ledgers. "Varya, I need the three most undeniable pieces of financial evidence—the contracts that prove the coercion, the debt ledgers that show the interest fraud, and the names of the co-conspirators. Simplify the data. I need something that can be read and understood by a panicked mob."
Varya nodded, already working. "I'll create a single, clear infographic—a visual summary of his crimes, built into a Hyper-Runic Image file. Something so simple even the thickest nobleman can understand that they've been robbed."
"Seraphina, Lia, the infiltration," Rian continued, looking at his security specialists. "The Forum is a public event, but the Runic Command Array and control booths are not. Lia knows the physical security protocols of the Royal Treasury's data center; Seraphina knows the weaknesses of the Royal Guard's personnel."
Seraphina frowned. "I am a high-profile traitor, Thorne. I cannot walk into the Forum. My face is still on every bounty sheet in the city."
"You are not walking into the Forum, Commander," Rian corrected with a cold smile. "You are walking into the service tunnels directly beneath the Royal Auditorium. Lia has provided the schematics for the ventilation shaft leading directly into the Scrying Node Center."
Lia, who had drawn the schematics in minute detail, nodded. "The Scrying Node Center controls the live feeds to the massive Holographic Scrying Crystals throughout the Forum. It's lightly guarded—two low-tier Mages and a single security guard. They rely entirely on the surrounding security perimeter."
"Seraphina, you will neutralize the guards and secure the room. You will hold the control system until Varya's data is broadcast," Rian commanded. "Lia, you will go with her. Your expertise in Mana Cipher decryption is needed to bypass the internal data lock."
Seraphina glared at the newly freed spy. "I will not risk my freedom on the loyalty of an unproven traitor, Thorne."
"She is not unproven, Seraphina. She is proven by her desire for vengeance against her former employer," Rian countered. He pulled out the now-broken remnants of Lia's wrist chain. [INTERNAL WARNING: COUNTERMEASURE: DEMONSTRATE TRUST (IRREVERSIBLY).]
Rian looked directly at Lia. "Your debt to me is cleared, Lia. Your contract is now purely performance-based. Your freedom began when that chain fell. The cost of betrayal is the death of your new allies and the permanent loss of any chance at revenge."
Lia rubbed her wrist, her silver eyes assessing the profound gamble Rian had just taken. "I will not fail you, Auditor," Lia said, her voice quiet but fierce. "The Executor is my prey now."
Seraphina watched the exchange, her military mind registering the decisive, irreversible action Rian had taken. She finally gave a reluctant nod. "The team is ready, Thorne. Now, what about the most dangerous man in the room—you?"
"My role is crucial. I will be inside the Forum," Rian stated. "I need to deliver the trigger for the broadcast. I have calculated the perfect moment: the precise second The Grand Executor begins to announce his 'consolidation of power.' The shock will be maximized."
The day of the Forum was a blur of calculated movement. Rian, wearing the most expensive, slightly oversized noble attire Garl had procured, moved like a ghost through the immense, columned halls of the Royal Auditorium. He looked exactly like the sickly, unimportant heir he was supposed to be.
He took his seat in the back row, the entire hall filled with the power brokers of the Tower—nobles, Guild Masters, and the financial elite. The atmosphere was electric, heavy with impending change.
Rian's heart hammered, but his focus was absolute. He checked the Ledger: [ARCHMAGE CORE: DANGEROUS. LATENT MANA: 0.0001%. NO COMBAT CAPABILITY.] He was entirely reliant on the precision of his team.
Through his communication stone, he directed his security duo. "Seraphina, Lia, status on the Scrying Node Center."
Seraphina's voice was a low whisper in his ear. "We are in the service tunnel, Thorne. Lia has identified the ventilation shaft. We are minutes from the control room."
Rian looked at the elaborate stage. The Grand Executor, a massive, imposing man draped in gold-threaded black robes, finally strode to the podium, commanding silence with a mere wave of his hand.
"Citizens of the Tower," the Executor's voice boomed through the hall. "Today marks the final step toward true economic stability..."
Rian pulled out a seemingly innocuous silver fountain pen—his tool for the mission. "Varya, begin the file transfer. Seraphina, you have forty seconds to secure the control room."
Down below, Seraphina moved with brutal efficiency. She launched herself through the ventilation duct, landing silently in the Scrying Node Center. The two mages were neutralized instantly—one by a non-lethal, pressure-point strike, the other by a swift blow to the temple. The single guard was knocked unconscious by Lia's quick, precise dagger throw.
"Control room secured, Thorne," Seraphina reported, breathing hard. "Lia is accessing the Rune-Locked Interface."
Lia, fingers flying over the runes of the interface, found the live broadcast feed. "Lord Rian, the broadcast is running on a five-second delay. Varya's data file is loaded. We are ready to transmit."
Rian watched the Executor on stage, his face smug with impending victory. "Today, I announce the consolidation of the debt of the Lower Houses—a move that will streamline efficiency and establish my Council of Financial Oversight!"
"Now!" Rian roared into his comm stone. "Varya, FIRE THE PULSE!"
Varya slammed her hand down on her device, sending the clean, simple graphic data file soaring through the Tower's communication network.
On the massive, glittering Holographic Scrying Crystals flanking the auditorium, the Grand Executor's face was instantly replaced. The hall erupted in stunned silence.
The single image that filled the air was Varya's infographic—simple, clear, and devastating:
GRAND EXECUTOR'S TRUE LEDGER
LIABILITY: Forged Debts (12 Minor Noble Houses). ASSET: Stolen Tax Revenue (500,000 Gold Marks). ACTION: Coerced Consolidation (Treason Against the Royal Economic Council).
The bottom of the infographic listed the names of the corrupted nobles and the precise debt amounts.
Pandemonium. The nobles screamed, realizing their debt wasn't being cleared—it was being stolen. The Council members shouted in fury. The Grand Executor, seeing his entire life's work exposed, turned pale, his mouth gaping open in stunned disbelief.
"It's a fake! A magical illusion!" the Executor shrieked, pointing at the displays.
Rian, pushing through the chaos, threw the final piece of evidence onto the stage: the heavy, leather-bound financial ledgers they had risked everything to steal.
"The evidence is presented, Grand Executor!" Rian yelled, his weak voice amplified by the sudden silence of the paralyzed guards. "Your own private ledgers confirm the treason! You are running a Hostile Takeover of the Tower!"
The Royal Guards, overwhelmed by the public outcry and the physical evidence, moved instantly to secure the Executor.
Rian, knowing the chaos wouldn't last, immediately turned to the control room. "Seraphina, Lia, the mission is complete! Egress now! Use the sewage tunnel exit!"
The grand collapse was achieved. Rian had saved his domain and destroyed his enemy, all with a single, perfectly timed data packet.
He looked around at the chaos, the fleeing nobles, and the collapsing political career. He pulled his hood up and calmly walked out the back entrance, leaving the messy aftermath to the system he had just corrupted.
A/N: Rian just wiped out his main enemy with a single infographic! The debt is cleared, but The Grand Executor will want revenge. Next up: Rian gets a new business proposal! Chapter 16: The Proposal.