The Storm Arrives

"But I'm scared…" Little Minos said after a moment's pause, his head lowered, eyes red.

"So am I."

"Re-really?" Little Minos asked with astonishment, having long since thought his father was invincible.

"Of course, I'm still human, aren't I?" Minos replied with a smile.

"Then what do you do when you're scared?"

"I think of your brilliant little mind, I think of your sister's joyful laugh, I think of Tinka's mesmerizing eyes, I think of my parents who always squabbled over nothing but loved each other deeply, I think of my teacher who first taught me about this amazing world."

"I think of all those, and the moment they come to mind, the fear evaporates, because as strong as fear is, how could it ever overcome love?"

"Find what you love, son, who you love, and fight for them, because they will give you strength and courage you never knew you had." Minos smiled, pulling his son in for a deep hug.

"I'll try!" Little Minos said, returning the smile as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"I believe in you, but for now, we've got to restore your loyalty." Minos said, before suddenly shooting his hand out and pulling Little Minos's sword from its sheath on his waist.

Before Little Minos could even figure out what was happening, Minos took the sword and stabbed it deeply into his stomach, causing Little Minos to reel back in horror.

"W-What are you doing!" He cried out, quickly trying to tend to the wound.

"You're a smart boy, you'll know in time, and remember, when you are confident that no one's following you, go to this location, I left something for you there." Minos smiled, before chopping Little Minos's neck hard, knocking him unconscious.

Grabbing his son before his body hit the floor, Minos gently laid him down, pulling the sword out and tossing it aside before quickly running out through a secret exit.

Almost immediately after Minos left, a shadowy figure quietly opened the door, his eyes shocked when he saw the unconscious Little Minos and the blood stains that surrounded him.

Worried, he quickly ran up to Little Minos's body, relieved to discover that the blood wasn't his.

Looking around for a bit, he soon found Little Minos's blood-drenched sword, a scene slowly being recreated in his mind as he put all the clues together.

'Did the Crown Prince use his familiarity with Rovo to sneak attack him? But then why didn't Rovo just kill him instead of knocking him unconscious?'

'From the records, Rovo is a kind person, but that isn't to say he's illogical, in fact, quite the opposite, he may be the most logical person in the empire.'

'On that basis, one could assume that he realized killing the Crown Prince would actually draw much more fire, making his escape infinitely more difficult, hence knocking him unconscious was actually the better move.'

Seemingly satisfied with such a conclusion, the figure proceeded to call his higher ups, ironically enough using a Rovo, before making his findings clear.

"The Crown Prince attacked? I didn't think he had it in him, but it seems he may be better emperor material than first expected. His Majesty will be pleased to know."

"What should I do now? Follow Rovo?" The shadow asked as he stood guard over the Crown Prince's unconscious body.

"No need, just make sure to bring back the Crown Prince in one piece, leave Rovo to the experts."

"As commanded." The shadowy-figure said, before picking up Little Minos and hauling him back towards the palace.

Meanwhile, deep underneath the massive estate, Minos, Tinka, and Rinka were all gathered in a secret bunker.

The moment Minos knew the Emperor was after him, he already sent a signal out to Tinka and Rinka, so they had arrived here even before he had.

"Dad, what's going on?" Rinka asked in a panic, not sure why her father suddenly forced her and her mom to escape to this secret room.

"I got too big for comfort. Just like how two tigers can't be kings on the same mountain, this empire only has enough room for one emperor." Minos explained.

"Then what are we going to do? Where are we going to go?" Tinka asked, though she seemed much calmer than her daughter.

"The world is wide, where can't we go?" Minos laughed, causing the two girls to look at him with annoyance.

"Maybe you find this situation humorous, but we're worried!" Tinka said in exasperation.

"Don't worry, my wealth has long since been transferred to several hidden locations, so as long as we get it, we can go wherever we want."

"You knew this would happen, didn't you?" Tinka asked.

"It was only a matter of time, now come on, the earlier we leave, the easier our escape will be." Minos said before taking the lead, his two girls following behind him.

…

While Minos and his family were sneaking away in their underground labyrinth, the world above had entered a massive turmoil, news about Mister Rovo's supposed treason attempt spreading everywhere.

However, unlike the loyalists expected, most people took Mister Rovo's side, not believing the man would ever attempt such a thing.

Some people even went so far as to say that it would be a good thing if he usurped the throne, believing he would be a much more competent emperor.

Despite attempts to silence this discourse, Minos's popularity was just far too massive, to the point riots began all over the place.

Soon enough the army had to be called into action, the guards no longer having the strength to quell the chaos.

Of course more people saw this as an opportunity to take advantage, so they began looting Rovo stores like crazy, knowing full well that without Mister Rovo, the stores themselves would also lose control.

And they were exactly right, without Minos as the helmsman, the Rovo store workers had no idea what to do, some even joining the looters and trying to sneak away with as many goods as possible.

If it was just Rovo stores the problem may not be that big, but one shouldn't forget that MInos owned industry all over the place, amounting to thousands of stores, which all were given the same treatment.

As if the people had gone mad, the streets were filled with opportunists running from store to store, just looking for something to snatch.

…

"That's everything that's happened so far your Majesty. What shall we do?"

Sitting in his throne, Loyfin seemed unaffected by the news, but the vein that was bulging nonstop on his forehead betrayed his true feelings.

"To think my people would go crazy over such a small matter, it seems I've been far too lax with them…" Loyfin said, causing his advisor's to all nod with agreement.

"Have the soldiers apply military law, I doubt anyone will have the courage to steal after they see someone lose an arm for it."

"Brilliant! I'll be right on it, your Majesty."

"What I'm more concerned about is Rovo, has anyone found him?" Loyfin asked, putting the matter of the civilians to the back of his mind.

"No, though we have found some secret tunnels, but there are dozens of them and each stretch for miles, making it clear that Rovo had long since planned for such an event."

"Hahaha, clever bastard, but I suppose one doesn't reach heights like his without at least being that smart." Loyfin said with a wild laugh, seemingly not minding Rovo's escape.

"How about the property, have you found anything?"

"Uhh, about that… We have yet to find any real wealth, just some chump change." The advisor said awkwardly.

"Nothing? What about his bank? There must be hundreds of millions in there!" Loyfin said, his joyous mood disappearing instantly.

"Uhh…"

"Uhh, uhh what? Out with it!" Loyfin shouted, causing the advisor to step back in fear before finally forcing the words out.

"Nothing, the vaults were completely empty, not even a spider's web…"

"Impossible! While he may have known I was coming for him eventually, there's no way he could have known exactly when. That bank of his was clearly running with no issues, which means the money was there until only recently!"

"Which one of you bastards betrayed me, who!" Loyfin said, standing up from his throne, his overwhelming aura forcing everyone in the room down onto their knees, their foreheads drenched in sweat.

"Your Majesty, we haven't even left the palace these past few days, we couldn't have possibly snitched!" One advisor shouted.

"But you could have told someone, who eventually told that Rovo bastard! Damnit, who ruined my plan!" Loyfin shouted, punching the wall beside him so hard that it collapsed.

"Relax your Majesty, regardless of where or how that money went, as long as we capture Rovo, it'll all be clear, he's the key!" One advisor said, causing Loyfin to pull back his arm with a slightly raised brow.

Thinking for a moment, he sat back down on his throne, his elevated emotions quickly calming down as he thought over the words.

"Good point, gather all the soldiers and have them track him, I want the entire army on his back, understood?"