Chapter 8: The Royal Conspiracy and the Debugged King

The corrupted guard, his eyes glazed and his movements stiff, stood watch outside the royal family's chambers. Kaito, having read his corrupted orders, knew he was a puppet, a tool in a larger conspiracy.

"This is getting messy," Kaito muttered, his mana blade crackling with energy. "Time to clean up this code."

He focused on the guard's stats, and then edited the corrupted code to be removed, and the guards mind to be free.

[Object: Royal Guard]

[Corruption Level: 0%]

[Status: Guard, Confused]

The guard blinked, his eyes clearing. He looked around, confused and disoriented. "What...what happened?"

"You were under some... outside influence," Kaito explained, his voice calm. "Don't worry, you're fine now. But we need to get inside."

The guard, now free from the corruption, nodded, his sense of duty overriding his confusion. He opened the chamber doors, revealing a lavishly decorated room, its walls adorned with tapestries and portraits.

Inside, the royal family was gathered around a large, ornate bed. King Theron, the ruler of Aethelgard, lay pale and weak, his breathing shallow. The queen and their two children stood beside him, their faces etched with grief and worry.

"You've come," the queen said, her voice trembling. "Please, you must help him."

Kaito approached the king, analyzing his stats.

[Object: King Theron]

[Health: 10%]

[Status: Corrupted]

[Corruption Source: Mana Corruption Orb]

"The orb is the source," Kaito confirmed. "It's draining his life force, corrupting his mana."

He looked at the orb, its pulsating energy casting a sickly green glow across the room. He could feel the corruption seeping into the king's aura, slowly killing him.

"I need to remove the orb," Kaito said. "But it's heavily shielded. I'll need some time."

He began to work, his Debug Mode analyzing the orb's defenses. He found a series of arcane wards, complex spells designed to protect the orb from any interference.

He then looked at the code of the king, and noticed that the orb was slowly rewriting the king's code, to be corrupted.

"They are trying to rewrite his very being." Kaito said.

He focused on the orb's wards, attempting to bypass them, to find a weakness in their design. He then focused on the king's code, and began to rewrite it, to be immune to the corruption.

As he worked, he noticed a faint energy signature, a trail of corrupted mana leading from the orb towards a hidden passage behind a tapestry.

"Someone is controlling this," Kaito realized. "Someone in this castle."

He then focused on the tapestry, and then the passage behind it. He saw that the passage led to a hidden chamber, a place where the corrupted energy was being amplified.

"I need to check that out," Kaito said. "But I'll need to stabilize the king first."

He focused his Debug Mode, and edited the kings code to be immune to the corruption, and then began to remove the corruption from the king's body.

[Object: King Theron]

[Health: 100%]

[Status: Stable]

[Corruption Source: None]

The king's breathing steadied, his color returning. The queen and her children gasped, their faces filled with relief.

"You've saved him," the queen said, her voice filled with gratitude.

"For now," Kaito said. "But the source of this corruption is still active. I need to find out who's behind this."

He turned to the royal guard. "Guard, secure this room. No one enters or leaves without my permission."

He then turned to the queen. "Please stay with your husband. I'll be back soon."

He then walked to the tapestry, and then entered the hidden passage. The passage led to a small, hidden chamber, where a dark, pulsating crystal floated in the air. Corrupted energy swirled around the crystal, amplifying its power.

A figure stood before the crystal, their back to Kaito. They were cloaked in shadows, their face obscured.

"So, you've found my little toy," the figure said, their voice laced with malice. "I was hoping to have a bit more fun before you interfered."

Kaito analyzed the figures stats.

[Object: Unknown Figure]

[Level: 200]

[Class: Corrupted Mage]

[Alignment: Evil]

"A corrupted mage," Kaito said. "And you're behind this."

"Indeed," the mage replied, turning to face Kaito. "I am Vaelen, and I am here to bring chaos to this pathetic kingdom."

Vaelen then began to attack, unleashing waves of corrupted magic. Kaito, however, was ready. He was ready to debug this mage, and bring peace back to the kingdom.