JohnWillStab was up already, the effects of the smoke seemingly disappearing in an instant the moment Darby was defeated.

"Hey, are you guys alright?" asked Alex stepping over the passed-out bodies of the armoured men who previously chased them, he was holding Thal in his hand.

"Yeah, what did we miss?" asked John.

"I took care of the smoker dude and his talking blunt," Alex explained.

"So I wasn't imagining that part..." John said surprised before looking over to Jordan.

"Damn, I was knocked-out again!" he exclaimed irritated.

"Relax, man. It's not like you could help it!" Alex assured him.

From behind, all the armoured men got to their feet, it was a dozen and aside form them another dozen came from behind.

"Shit! I wish Rootin' was here to help!" John said.

"I got this!" Jordan said standing up, "After all, fire should be a decent way of keeping them at bay!" Jordan exclaimed cracking his knuckles.

"I'll back him up, we shouldn't leave a ranged DPS alone to fight an army of melee fighters!" Alex exclaimed.

John looked at them, "I guess I'll back you guys -" John was cut off by both Alex and Jordan "Don't be stupid!" they exclaimed making JohnWillStab take a step back.

"We're counting on you to beat the shit out of Harry on our behalf!" Alex exclaimed.

"And get your dick back so Alex doesn't go red every time we reach a body of water!" Jordan laughed.

"Hmph!" Alex said drawing Thal.

"Fair enough!" JohnWillStab turned away from them and began running towards the distant stairs up to the next level.

"You three better be alive when I get back!" John called out.

JohnWillStab ran up the stairs and down the second-story hallway, the wall to John's right was covered in massive windows allowing him to see Rootin' sitting next to a pile of corpses, the ground littered with hundreds of arrows.

"Looks like he's alright!" John thought as the large door appears on his left.

The floor a neat tiled pattern of black and white, it was covered in a silky purple carpet and the walls displaying a fancy wallpaper with elaborate gem patterns.

He kicked the door down having no time for the golden handles on the door.

"My, my, how rude..." said the person sitting on the large throne, he swirled a chalice of gold in his hand.

He had long grey hair that turned red towards the tips, a grey mini-robe and a black skin-tight shirt and trousers.

"HaremHarry, is it?" John asked marching up to the man.

He drew his blade back and aimed it at him,

"Nope." his reply stopped John.

"I am the person running this wreck of a faction," he laughed twirling one of the long strands of hair around his finger.

JohnWillStab eyes the man.

He drank from his chalice.

"If you want to see Harry you'll want to go into the room on the left," he gestured to a wooden door on his left.

"So you're the ruler? You're responsible for all the shit going on?" asked John.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... what exactly am I guilty of?" he asked.

"The war!" John exclaimed.

"It's the A.H.A that attacked me, my actions before the first attack were totally peaceful," he replied.

"What about the rap- the..." JohnWillStab looked over his shoulder to make sure no RoyalRoad moderators were listening in on him, "You know, the struggle-snuggles?" asked John.

"That was a one-time event and the person behind it has been executed permanently... it was just a noble who got a little too cocky," he replied with a shrug.

"And the nobility system!" John exclaimed.

"What's wrong with the title of nobility? Unless you're just a hippie who believes in a magic sense of equality," the man replied.

"I do believe in it!"

The man's face turned from a smug smile of a disgusted frown.

"How naive..."

"Even if there is no law there will always be a divide between people, money, talent, race, gender, religion, genes, nationality even simple beliefs!"

"That's... that's not true! For the most part... I mean... we could fix those issues!" John exclaimed, he was starting to feel confused, nothing the man said felt wrong per se.

"And what about you and I? Do you not consider your beliefs better than mine? Don't you want to take me away from a position of power because of my beliefs? Something I developed irrespective of my will,"

JohnWillStab looked at him blankly,

"Fuck... somehow I know he's in the wrong! But how!..." he began to sweat.

The man got off his throne and walked over to John.

"Do you know why you think I'm wrong?" he asked stepping over to John.

"It's because deep in your heart you refuse to believe that you're the bad guy."

"You fight for equality yet refuse to accept its consequences."

"You don't see the truth, you see the holes in your logic and choose to ignore them."

JohnWillStab looked the man in the eyes.

"I may not know why..." John began.

"But I know I have to kick your ass!" he exclaimed swinging his dagger at the man who effortlessly side-stepped his strike, from seemingly nowhere he produced a long wooden staff.

It looked like it was made from coiling roots and had many large holes within.

"So you're not even going to pretend to have a justification for your action?" laughed the man.

"I guess there is something worthy of respect in that..."

The man spun around on his heel and placed one hand over his forehead dramatically.

"A primal feeling of the heart!"

"A magnetic draw from the very soul to one's cause!"

"So poetic! So beautiful! So... naive."

Once more the man's smile disappeared revealing a bitter frown.

"The one thing I hate more than acting without reason... is acting on emotions... guess those two go hand-in-hand, eh?"

He let out a sigh.

"If I fight you now, you'll certainly die..." the man began.

"Oh really? Try me!" John said raising his dagger.

The man let out a sigh and smiled before tapping on the floor with his staff, a small crack formed in the ground.

JohnWillStab looked around for any pillars of collapsing bits of the building.

"Heh, you think you can intimidate me by cracking the floor a bit?" John laughed.

The man looked around.

"Give it a moment," instructed the man taking a sip of his wine from his chalice.

Moments later JohnWillStab saw it, in the distance out the window, a crack zooming on the ground and eventually back to the place where the crack started.

"What did you-"

"I cut around the planet like a plum," he explained casually.

"If I so wished, I could slice it in half," he added.

JohnWillStab looked at the man, he didn't even break a sweat, he was a creature of confidence.

John looked to the crack on the ground and began to shake.

It was as if he was facing a cosmic being, a god, "What kind of magic is he using!?"

"What level is he?!"

"Is it some stat?! Strength? Perception?!"

The man came close to John.

"Ah, fear... such a logical emotion..."

JohnWillStab sliced at him with his dagger only for it to shatter into fine metal dust.

"You see me circumnavigate the planet with my spell and you still refuse to give up... how naive..." he sighed.

The man leaned in and tapped JohnWillStab on the forehead, John's brain splintering into bits but not quite killing him.

Blood began to flow from John's nose as he fell down to the ground.

"What separates us is more than beliefs... it's power..."

"I do hope to keep you around... you do have something akin to a talent... though for now, I think I've had enough playing the strategist... guess I should leave that to the professionals." the man smirked before himself cracking into bits and disappearing.

After about fifteen minutes JohnWillStab healed back enough to be able to move.

"What the fuck was that?!" JohnWillStab asked standing up, still in total shock at what transpired.