Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

"Where is he?" Ophelia murmured, her heart racing with angst.

It was far past the time by which he would be back in his chambers, for some reason today was different. Not only was he ignoring everyone but also spent far too much time sparring against wingless griffins, his own soldiers, and countless other caught monsters. His body was soaked in blood, his veins rushed with adrenaline, and his mind fixed on nothing but the utter annihilation of his enemies.

Stranded alone in the coliseum with nobody left to be thrown against his iron club, he stood there panting and screaming his heart out over and over again. He was abandoned by what he had deemed his god at a time when he needed it the most. And although he couldn't see her, he knew that she was present and witnessing his battle prowess.

"GIVE ME ANOTHER CHANCE! CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT THIS BODY OF MINE CAN MUSTER!" He called out to her screaming again, however, there was no response from the nun in white.

But to his dismay, she didn't humor him a response. Instead, her eyes closely followed Raven's clones jumping from shadow to shadow and sneaking their way deeper into the coliseum's internal structure. They'd already snuck past the guards and were making their way to Isaac as well as the queen as Razor had painted her as the only other reasonable person in Gara's inner circle.

"DAMN YOU! DAMNNN YOUUUU!" As for Gara himself, he was freaking out from a lack of response, and after an entire day of bloodshed, he was making his way back to his room.

However, like no other night, his body smelled not of sweat drawn out of hard work, but that of the guts of griffins, orcs, goblins, and plenty of his own mindless people. His red beard matched his skin even, and what guts had remained on his skin had already begun to rot.

Even so, after raging all day, he desired the flesh of a woman–the smell of her perfume and the softness of her innards which he would soon gore as well.

But before he reached his chambers, Isaac was already right by Gara's chamber to discuss something with his brother's wife. Covered in wounds and bandages, the advisor to the king wasn't exactly in the best of moods, in spite of that, he wanted to help Ophelia and his brother's slaves escape before the party arrived tomorrow morning.

He also planned to set free some of the dungeon prisoners as well, but that had to wait until the party went in there to rescue them as the amount of guards in the dungeons was too much for someone like Isaac to handle.

The moment he entered the room, his eyes laid on the woman hiding behind Ophelia. Their eyes were focused on him, almost as if they were cowering in fear while expecting Gara to be coming over. But since it was Isaac, someone who'd helped them every once in a while, the tension in their bodies eased a little.

"I…" Shutting his eyes for a moment, Isaac faced away from the sight of Ophelia's lewd outfit. He'd seen the other women nude countless times, but never his brother's wife so it didn't feel right for him to look at her at all. "I didn't expect…well, this."

Moving closer to her with his eyes staring at his own feet, Isaac hugged his ledger tight and heaved a heavy sigh. His body was aching and his mind had grown anxious after the assault from his brother, especially since the man who was supposed to help him had wandered off into the city to get him help from someone else.

"Did you need something, Isaac?" Ophelia asked.

"The party must be really close to the coliseum, my queen. I would suggest you leave this place before they get here," he suggested, not wasting a moment with formalities.

Shifting his attention to the slaves, he lifted his head and tried to assure them of their safety as well.

"Anyone who isn't a centaur will be spared most likely, and it pains me to say this, but some of you will die to sate my brother tonight, the rest will survive to see his reign fall."

"ISAAC!" Ophelia didn't mind his conspiring behind his brother until he'd said the part about Gara's death. She may have been suffering under the rule of a tyrant, but in her eyes as abusive as he might be, he was her husband and the man she would fight to redeem until her last breath. "You better hold your tongue! You may be his elder brother, but he's still the king! The very beacon of our race!"

"No!" Looking at her directly, Isaac's eyes were as wide as an owl. "No abused wife thinks her husband is a tyrant until it's too late Ophelia and I'm giving you a chance to escape the same murderous fate that befalls those women!"

"What in the hells are you insinuating?!" Getting up on her feet, her nose scrunched in anger, she stomped her hooves to make the blasphemer back away. "Are you saying he's brainwashed me?! Is that what you're trying to say?!"

Pressing his lips shut, Isaac looked Ophelia in the eye and began walking away backward. A pained smile took over his lips as he struggled to find a way to pull Ophelia out of her delusions that her husband could be redeemed at this point.

"You were ready to curse him and his children just this morning and now you wanna honor the title of being his wife?" Having gone through the same denial of trying to save his brother until Razor made him realize just what kind of monster he was trying to spare, Isaac knew what Ophelia was going through, but he was not the man who could talk her out of her delusion.

Stung sharp by his words, the queen–red in her face simply pointed at the exit for him. Recognizing that there was no saving her, Isaac didn't waste time leaving the place as he could already hear Gara's footsteps slowly approaching the chambers.

Settling down on the mattress, Ophelia tried to calm herself and pretend she never had that talk with Isaac. Unbeknownst to her, however, there was another guest who'd witnessed it all–a dark clone of Raven being controlled by his fairy nature.

Hiding in the shadows around a corner, it was about to witness a lot more as Gara would enter his chambers which would force Raven to take over his clone and take matters into his own hands.