Grand Commander Valerius lived in a sector of the capital known for its inaccessibility: Watcher's Hill, a personal stronghold fortified by layers of magical and physical security. The Ash Queen didn't want his death; she wanted his emotional destruction.
Kaito received the final briefing in the strategy chamber, alone with the Ash Queen.
"Valerius is unwavering in politics and combat," the Queen said, her voice cold. "His only vulnerability is his son, Lucius."
"Lucius is a student at the Arcanist Academy. He is an ambitious young man, but lacks magical talent. Valerius is obsessively protective of him," Kaito added, recalling the information he had gleaned from Ren.
"Exactly. Valerius has been desperate since the shield sabotage, searching for the traitor." My plan is simple: frame Lucius as an agent of the Shadow and sow doubt that his son's magical weakness is a cover for his connection to Chaos.
The Queen handed Kaito a small obsidian sphere.
"You will use your Cloak of Infiltration to enter Valerius's house. You will place this sphere under Lucius's bed. The sphere will emit a signature of Controlled Chaos that only the Light's detection matrix will be able to identify. Once the sphere is discovered, Valerius will be forced to choose between his loyalty to the Conclave or to his son."
The mission was high-risk. Kaito had to infiltrate the most secure residence in Aethelgard.
The Final Infiltration
Kaito donned the Cloak of Infiltration. This time, he did not copy the image of a Paladin. Based on Lysandra's knowledge, he copied the signature of a low-ranking Supply Guard, an invisible profile filled with access permits.
The infiltration of Watchman's Hill was a ballet of silence. Kaito used his Chaos to disrupt the detection runes—not nullify them, but make them flicker with random glitches, simulating a technical problem.
He arrived at Lucius's room. The young man was asleep, his face tense with the pressure he felt over his father's failure at the Conclave.
Kaito moved quickly. He slid the sphere under the bed, and just before leaving, he felt the need to inflict additional damage. He opened the Ashen Bond and, using Ren's memories of Lucius (the Paladin had been a mentor figure to the young man), projected an image into Lucius's subconscious. An image of his father, Valerius, speaking contemptuously about his son's magical weakness.
The gesture was needlessly cruel, but it satisfied Kaito's instinct to ensure the arrow in Valerius's heart was poisoned by familial distrust.
The Capture
As Kaito left the house, he felt the Infiltration Cloak falter. He had exhausted too much psychic energy to maintain the illusion and manipulate the runes.
A squad of Elite Paladins, commanded by Captain Vorlag, intercepted him in the courtyard. Vorlag was one of the few who distrusted Ren's rapid fall and had secretly stepped up security.
"Halt! Identify yourself, Supply Guard. Your transit signature has expired."
Kaito tried to project the signature of a shift relief. He failed.
"You're an intruder!" Vorlag shouted.
Kaito had to fight. He drew a pure Shadowforged blade, his Cloak dissolving, revealing the Spectre. The Paladins, though brave, were trained in the Light. Kaito used Zylpha's method: lethal force and efficiency.
The fight was swift. Kaito didn't kill, but rather disarmed and paralyzed the Paladins, using controlled bursts of Chaos. However, he could not subdue Captain Vorlag, a formidable warrior.
"You are the traitor who destroyed the shields!" Vorlag shouted, his Lightforged blade glowing.
Kaito knew he could not win a protracted fight. He sent a blast of Chaos that exploded a nearby rune crystal. The distraction allowed him to escape through the dense magical fog of Watcher's Hill, leaving Captain Vorlag furious but alive.
The Queen's Reward
Kaito returned to the Citadel, wounded, but with his mission accomplished. The Queen awaited him with an expression of intense admiration.
"You did it. The sphere is in place. In a matter of hours, Valerius will face the dilemma: expose his son as a traitor or betray the Conclave. Chaos has already been sown."
The Queen approached Kaito. Her satisfaction was absolute, not only for the victory, but for the proof that Kaito was an agent capable of operating alone in the nest of Light.
"Your price for success, Spectre, will be great. You have risked yourself in the heart of the beast."
She didn't question him, didn't punish him. She simply claimed him, her absolute power merging with Kaito's success.
The Queen led Kaito to her private chambers. She removed her armor, revealing her unchallenged authority. Kaito's victory was hers, and her reward was the affirmation of her dominance. Kaito's success elevated him not only in power, but also in intimacy with the central figure of his Harem.
The Queen taught him the true price of dominance in the Citadel, a pact of power where pleasure and servitude intertwined with ambition. She strengthened her control over Kaito's Chaos, anchoring him even further to her will. The Spectre, though a protagonist, accepted the Queen's domination as a means to solidify his position, his power growing with each act of strategic submission.
The attack on Valerius has been executed. The conflict in Aethelgard is about to turn personal and bloody.