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marinesusmc · Games

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432 True Intentions 1

Index

Book

On the day that Daneel was set to leave the Sect of Hedon, Ashahell was standing on the real top floor of the Central Tower with his eyes closed.

However, unlike his usual countenance, his eyes were flickering, and there was a strange golden halo around his long brown hair.

In his mind's eye, he was currently in a place that looked like it was in the sky.

All he could see were clouds all around, along with 8 massive chairs on which hazy humanoid figures were seated.

He was his normal size, so all of these individuals looked like giants that were at least 20 feet tall.

"What is it now, Ashahell? Another plot to 'save' Angaria?"

These words were said in a languid tone by the figure to his right, and the hazy figure in that chair seemed to be casually lounging on it, with one leg over the armrest.

Chuckles sounded across the area, with only 2 individuals not joining in on the laughter.

"Yes, I hope that is not the case. If I need to hear one more time about how the Energy on the continent is decreasing and how we need to stop mining Ker Gems from its core, I'll revoke your privileges to call for a meeting."

"Halfax, come on! Ashahell has a point. You know how hard he has tried over the decades to find a way to stop it. He only wants to save Angaria!"

The one who said this was clearly female, and she was to Ashahell's left.

More laughter erupted from the others as they heard this.

"All right, all right, enough. Don't take this to heart, Ashahell. You are prophesized to save Angaria from the Church, not from itself. You will be leading the charge against the Church when the time comes, so I hope you haven't been neglecting your training even though we can't give you all the resources you want. Anyway, what is this meeting for, again?"

Usually, if Ashahell heard such statements which belittled his sincere efforts and passion to save this place that he considered his home, he would have felt frustrated.

Since his parents had died, that had been the only motivation that had pushed him forward.

It was a known fact that Energy resources were decreasing throughout the continent.

The average power level of people in this era was a far cry from those in the ages past, where Heroes had been as common as Champions now.

In his investigation, he had found that it was because the inhabitants of Angaria were ruthlessly mining away all the Energy resources, leading to such an overall decrease.

If this continued, the continent itself would surely die.

Since he had discovered this, he had made it his life's work to save his home, as he believed that that was his purpose.

No matter how lonely he felt on his path, or how much resistance he faced from these old geezers, he had strode forward with his head held high.

However, after that incident where he had absorbed the power of those 10,000 people, he had started to realize that his method had been wrong.

Since then, he had devoted himself to finding a way to save his home, no matter what he needed to do in the process.

Finally, he was at the last step, and although what he was going to do made him sad, he told himself that it was necessary and looked up to meet the gazes of the 8 in front of him.

All of his efforts would come to fruition soon, and all he needed to do was go through with his plan.

Taking a deep breath, Ashahell began to speak.

"I called this meeting to submit my plan to unearth the lost inheritance and trinket from the Angarian Empire. I set off in 5 days to meet the King of Lanthanor, and obtain the first parts of the trinket and inheritance. After that, I will be bringing them back to the Sect of Hedon, where I humbly request the physical presence of all the members of the High Council, as per the ancient rules."

"Oh, it's that. Well, that didn't require this meeting. Sure thing, we will be there. If that's all, I need to get back to my maidens."

As more laughter was heard, Ashahell nodded, and when his consciousness returned to his body, no one saw the despondent smile that appeared on his face, accompanied by a sigh that was filled with regret that there was no other way.

….

Five days later.

Daneel was sitting all alone in the Royal Court, mulling over a data trinket in his hand.

It held the information about the power levels of the Domination Corps, more specifically, of all the individuals who had gone to the Hidden Kill Sect for training.

This was practically the most powerful and effective group of soldiers that he had, and he had no intention of leaving them alone and letting their power dwindle.

After coming back to the Kingdom, Daneel had made simplified copies of both the Art of the Withering Leaf and the Basilisk's Breath before passing it on to the Domination Corps.

These were individuals who had already sworn an oath to not disclose any information about the training techniques that they had, but there was still a risk that someone could notice them when they were fighting and identify the inheritances they were using.

However, Daneel didn't really care about this, because if the time came when they really had to go all out and use these techniques, it really wouldn't matter who was seeing them, as everyone would be too busy trying not to die.

Of course, he hadn't really been able to completely hide the news that he had exited the sect, and the Watcher had been repeatedly trying to get in touch with him using the communication trinket.

Daneel had been ignoring the man, but he knew that he couldn't do that much longer, as this was a Champion level individual and he might resort to doing something extreme if he saw that he had no other option to talk to him.

Thankfully, that hadn't happened yet, as it seemed that even the Watcher had gotten wind of the meeting that was going to take place soon in the Kingdom of Lanthanor.

Three days ago, the senior official of the sect had arrived at the Kingdom of Lanthanor and asked for an audience with the king.

When Daneel had talked to him, the man had been very polite, which had been quite surprising.

After telling him that he was from the legendary Big Four, he had simply notified him that the leader of the High Council and the sect leader of one of the Big Four wanted to have an audience with him, as he needed to discuss some very crucial matters.

Of course, Daneel had readily agreed, after showing the appropriate amount of shock by using the system.

The meeting was set for today, which coincided with the schedule that Ashahell had initially announced.

He was nervous, to say the least, as there was a lot riding on this meeting.

Even in these past five days, he had been very distracted, and he had even repeatedly gone over everything he had seen inside the central tower to no avail.

The meeting was supposed to happen at noon, and to make sure that he wouldn't arouse any suspicion, Daneel had even asked the system to relinquish control of the Court formation of the Palace of Lanthanor after putting back the items he had found reluctantly.

After all, a Champion was required to take control of it, and there was no such individual in Lanthanor.

If Ashahell discovered that there was nothing inside, suspicion might fall on him, and he was not ready yet to face up against a bunch of Heros and a Peak Champion, especially when he didn't even know what a Hero was capable of.

As soon as the clock struck 12, a man appeared in the center of the Royal Court.

He was wearing the same black robes with a golden trim that Daneel had seen him in during the audience in the Sect of Hedon, but that genial nature that had been present in him both when he interacted with Daneel and during the sect meeting was absent.

Instead, his long face was set with an expression of indifference, sadness, and…hope?

The last part confused Daneel, but he discarded it, thinking that he had seen wrong.

This was clearly a show of force, as the formation of the Palace which was supposed to stop teleportation had been broken through in merely a fraction of a second.

Of course, if Daneel were in control of the core formation of the sect, he could have redirected resources to stop this, but he would obviously not do so.

Instead, all Daneel did was appear as if he were seeing one of the most shocking things in the world, before controlling himself and bringing back the dignity of a King.

Even though he was much less powerful than the individual in front of him, he decided that a King like himself would definitely protest at least a little bit at having his Court intruded on in this way.

The proper method would have been to appear at the entrance, before being led the Royal Court.

However, as Daneel was about to open his mouth to speak, he realized that he had lost all control of his body.

Only his eyes could still be moved by him, and they widened with genuine shock when he saw Ashahell folding his hands and looking at him with an indescribable expression on his face.

Daneel felt his skin crawl when he looked into Ashahell's eyes, and he already realized that things were developing in ways that he could never have foreseen.

He had expected for this to be just a normal meeting, but that clearly wasn't so, as he had just been bound to the throne and rendered immobile.

With growing horror, Daneel wondered whether he had been foolish and naïve in even accepting this meeting.

This was because his gut was repeatedly screaming one thing at him, and it had been a long time since he had felt hopeless in changing what was going to happen using his power.

It was screaming that he was going to die.

Index433 Ashahell's Ultimatum 1

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Just the concept of having one's control of one's own body taken away was a horrifying thing to think of.

Daneel could feel everything: from the invisible ropes that were binding him in place to the air that brushed against his skin.

Only, it was like he was a passenger in his own mind: only able to move his eyes while the rest of his body refused to follow his orders.

"System, is there nothing that can be done?"

[With clone body, no action can be taken. With original body, time to disable spell: 10 seconds.]

That was just great.

Using simple common sense, Daneel had chosen to meet this man using his clone, but his guts had still begun warning him about his impending death, which had made him panic the most.

Even if it was his original body, in 10 seconds, he could possibly be killed countless times before he even mounted a resistance.

However he thought about it, if this man wanted to kill him, he was doomed.

At this point, Daneel truly understood just how much farther he had to go if he wanted to be anything greater than an ant in this continent.

True, he was a once-in-a-millennium genius who could match an Exalted Warrior even though he had just stepped into the Warrior realm himself, using all the inheritances and tricks he had.

However, standing up against a genius who had apparently been born with more talent than him, he could do nothing.

The man in front of him was a Peak Exalted Champion, but he could tell that even if he was just an Amateur Champion, Daneel wouldn't be any better off.

With panic surging through him, he began running from his personal chambers, where his original body was.

He had already shifted his consciousness, but because he wasn't in control of the core of the Palace's formation, he couldn't disable the anti-teleportation part of the formation and immediately leave.

Only, as soon as he raised his foot, he felt the same thing happen to his original body.

He hadn't even wasted any time: as soon as he had felt the warning from his gut and as soon as he had lost control of his clone's body, he had shifted consciousness, but apparently, Ashahell was even faster.

"You're cautious. I like it. But that's useless."

As Ashahell uttered these words in a cold voice, the chill that was creeping up Daneel's back only grew in intensity.

The next second, all three bodies vanished from the Palace, and because both his personal chambers and the Royal Court were sealed off on his orders, no one was none the wiser.

Something even more horrifying was that he couldn't even send any message through the oathstone. In all the situations he had been in on Angaria so far, the mystical oathstone's connection to all those who had sworn oaths to it had never been cut off.

As he realized this, he finally understood that all routes of escape were completely sealed off.

His last hope had been to contact the Watcher with the hope that the man might be able to help, but clearly, that was no longer possible.

The clone disappeared as soon as Ashahell attempted to teleport it, as during the teleportation, the distance between it and Daneel easily exceeded the limit in which it had to stay in.

So, when Daneel opened his eyes, he only saw Ashahell beside him, whose arms were still folded.

Looking around, Daneel realized that they were actually in the area outside the Valley of Mist.

Barren ground was all around them, and this was coincidentally near the spot where Daneel had first stood and wondered why the Valley was the only place inhabited by plants when the area all around it was almost completely devoid of life.

He was propped upright like a robot, with stiff limbs, but one thing had changed: he could move his neck around.

However, the rest of his body, including his lips and mouth, were still the same.

Hence, twisting his neck, Daneel looked all around before finally focusing his gaze on Ashahell after realizing that there was no one and nothing else around them.

"Have you never wondered why this place is so peculiar?"

Daneel was still in a major panic due to the fact that his life might end soon, but he still chose to answer.

Back on Earth, he had seen TV shows where it said that in the presence of a crazed killer, it was always better to follow their instructions and not infuriate them, as that would only lead to a quick death.

Of course, he had no idea whether that applied here, but Ashahell really did seem like a maniac, for some reason.

As Ashahell saw him hurriedly nod, he smiled slightly before saying, "Don't worry. I won't kill you…yet. At least, it'll be your decision regarding whether you live or die. For now, just enjoy the ride. So, you did wonder about the reason?"

Daneel didn't know if that statement was meant to calm him, but it definitely managed to do the opposite.

However, he had been in many high-risk situations so far since he had transmigrated here. So, drawing on all that experience, Daneel assembled his thoughts and nodded slowly, knowing that if he at least wanted to keep the possibility alive that he could get out of this unscathed, then he had to keep a rational and quick mind.

"That's better. This place is of special importance to me. 20 years ago, when I was a little kid, I used to play here. You wouldn't be able to believe it: that Valley stretched many hundreds of kilometers out, and there were many animals that became my companions. Whenever I got too bored of training, they would accompany me. There was one bear in general which loved it when I patted it on its head."

A lush forest here? Just 20 years ago?

Daneel hadn't really gone through a detailed report of the area, so he had no idea whether this was true.

However, from the way Ashahell was speaking, he could tell that the man wasn't lying.

After a pause, when Ashahell resumed speaking, his tone had a cold edge to it, like a blade that had just been unsheathed.

"Everything was fine…until one day, when I saw a red rock shining in the sun. I was so naïve. I just reported it to those who had escorted me, and I saw as their eyes went wide open. Like primitive beasts, they pounced on the rock and clawed it with their hands before remembering their powers and breaking apart the rock using magic. They pocketed all they could, and when they reported it to the sect, many, many mages descended here.

"Did you know that a red rock peeking out of the ground meant death to the land? I didn't either, and I learned this fact on that day.

"There was apparently a massive Ker Gem mine underneath, which drew the attention of even the Hero level elder of our sect.

"In one night, it was all over. By the next morning, everything still looked the same from the outside, but no one could have guessed that a cave tens of kilometers in width and height had been dug out in a single night. All the Ker Gems were emptied, and from then on, the forest began to die."

As Daneel listened to the tale, he couldn't help but notice that Ashahell's voice was getting colder and colder by the second.

"The animals became listless. The plants started to wilt. The very air felt like it was rotting, as it had lost that which had sustained it. You see, Ker Gems energize elementary particles for a large area around them, allowing nature to thrive. When they were suddenly removed, it caused too catastrophic a change which ended up…killing everything. That was just in one area; one forest. Imagine what would be the effect if this happened all over the continent. Have you never wondered why those in the ancient times seemed so much more mighty compared to us? Why we can only learn from them and pick up their scraps with lofty aspirations of reaching their heights? IT'S BECAUSE OF OUR GREED!"

As the last sentence was shouted out, Daneel flinched, but that was completely in his mind.

He suddenly thought back to his first days on Angaria, when he had learned from the library about this very thing: that the general Energy level of the continent was depleting, and no one knew exactly why.

Of course, immediately, Daneel drew a parallel with Earth.

Even these, excessive consumption of natural resources had led to a global crisis, but no one was ready to seriously face it and look for solutions on a global level.

Clearly, that was also the situation here. The Big 4 had mined away all the major deposits of Ker Gems and possibly other materials, which explained why they had so many resources in abundance while the Central Continent fought over scraps. They had only been left with the most basic of resources, barely enough to sustain them.

There, it was the global leaders and massive corporations which only cared about themselves.

Here, it was the Hero-level individuals of the continent, who, for some reason, didn't care at all.

Of course, at this moment, Daneel felt very angry.

As that anger became reflected in his eyes, Ashahell actually…smiled.

He had been observing Daneel closely all this while, so when he saw the expected reaction, he felt happy that he hadn't been wrong.

"I was right. You are angry, too, just like I was when I found out! You are someone who cares about the continent. I saw all of your efforts in saving your people. I even tested you using those doom mosquitoes, to see just what you were capable of. King Daneel, people like us, we just want what's best for the continent. For too long, I have been walking alone on this path. I ask you to join me. Join me, and I will show you what you have been doing wrong. Join me, and I will show you the right way. Join me, and…we will save Angaria together."

As Daneel finally realized why this man had taken a special interest in him, he heard one last sentence.

"And, oh, yes. Join me…or die."

Index434 Ashahell's Ultimatum 2

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As soon as Daneel heard the last part, he regained control of his mouth.

First, he coughed to make sure that he could speak again.

After that, seeing that Ashahell was looking at him with an expression of hope on his face, he really felt like laughing at his own situation.

Here was a man who had taken a special interest in him because he thought that he wanted to save Angaria, too. And if he didn't join him, he would die.

What was he supposed to say now? That's great, let's be brothers and let's go save this continent together?

No!

Daneel could tell that there was a lot here that he wasn't being told.

However, he had no idea how to ask.

This wasn't a multiple choice question: if he said no, he would most probably die.

As the gears in his mind turned, he tried to find a way out where he could live and find out more.

After a few seconds, he finally got an idea.

"If we are truly going to save all the people of Angaria together, then I would not hesitate to join you."

In response, Ashahell shook his head, and Daneel felt as if his heart had dropped like a rock.

"No, King Daneel. I never mentioned the people. No matter when I talk about my mission, I only talk about saving Angaria. Angaria is the land we live on- the land we take for granted. The people are just insects who happen to be on it. For Angaria to be saved, they have to be eliminated. I know it's sad, but sometimes, we have to do what is necessary to get what is needed. This land gave birth to us and allowed us to gain power using its breath and soul. In return, all we do is plunder. That has to end. Angaria will be rid of all that plagues it, and there will be a fresh start under my helm, and yours, if you agree."

There is was.

Hearing this, Daneel sighed inwardly.

There was the typical extremist.

At this moment, he fully understood this man, and he also understood why he had even gotten that doubt in the central tower before, about whether he should follow him.

Ashahell truly believed in his cause to save the continent. In fact, when Daneel thought about it, he realized that he really hadn't heard him ever mention the inhabitants of Angaria whenever he spoke about saving it- not once.

He should have picked up the clue then, but it was too easy to miss.

Right now, Daneel saw an extreme "Save the planet!" protestor from Earth inside Ashahell- only, it was one who was insanely powerful and also had the means to get what he wanted at all cost.

What was he supposed to do now?

He could tell what was going to happen if he chose to follow Ashahell: at best, he would have to swear an oath, which would definitely be binding enough that it would take a lot of time to find a way to circumvent it. By then, Angaria would mostly be lost.

In the worst case scenario, Ashahell might even have something even more binding, which Daneel would have no hope of getting out of.

And if he chose the other option to refuse, he would simply die.

It was a lose-lose situation, and Daneel cursed himself for even getting into it, even though he saw no way in which he could have done things differently.

All too often, one would only find out one's true nature when it was too late.

Wait…was it too late?

At this crucial moment between life and death, his mind worked faster than ever before.

All of his experience, drive and urge to save the people who believed in him transformed into a singular need to find a way to get out of this predicament.

Suddenly, he got an idea.

"I refuse."

As these words sounded over the empty plane, the expression of hope on Ashahell's face disappeared and was replaced by one of disappointment.

"That's a foolish decision. It's just too bad. I was really looking forward to finding someone else to save from Angaria, so that they can help me when it is time to rebuild. You could have saved your family and friends too. Now, along with you, all of them will also die. King Daneel, goodbye."

As he said this, Daneel once again started to lose control of his mouth and throat, but before it left, he quickly shouted, "WAIT!"

Thinking that he was changing his mind, Ashahell paused and gave back control of the ability to speak.

"Why are you killing me? Don't you have a policy to not involve yourself in the Central Continent? How will you explain yourself to the High Council?"

This was what the young King wanted to say?

Frowning, Ashahell just took it as the last struggles of someone who was about to die.

"I'll just place a clone in your place. It really doesn't matter; all life on Angaria will end soon. All I need to do is not let anyone get suspicious for a little while. Originally, this was going to take some time. However, a certain prediction allowed me to move all of my plans forward. I assume that you got this information from that Xuan. You have to thank her for dying so soon, too. If that's all, we can proceed."

"WAIT!"

When Daneel once again felt control leaving him, he shouted just like before.

With a deeper frown, Ashahell asked, "What?"

"Let me speak like one who wants to save this continent to another. You and I want the same things, but in different ways. So, you and I understand each other. I only have one wish. I want to die with my people, along with the knowledge that I did everything in my power to save them and reach my goal. I think you can understand just how much I want that. You, of all people, should. You said that it doesn't matter. Isn't there any other way for me to live, but not hamper your plans? Any way? As a King, it is not right for me to beg, but if necessary, I'll do just that."

As Daneel spoke these words with such passion that even tears appeared in his eyes, Ashahell's frown lessened, but he furrowed his brow.

Seeing this, Daneel rejoiced that his plan was working.

This was a man who strived for his goal more than anything, so he was just appealing to that very strong part of him that knew how it felt when one walked forward on the path to fulfilling their dream.

Ashahell was, indeed, moved by this speech.

He liked to think that he was a very reasonable man. In fact, before that incident where those 10,000 people had died, he had even been very kind and fair to others.

Of course, after that incident, his thinking had changed, but he had still refrained from causing unnecessary deaths for the most part.

He could understand this last wish of this King who really did only want the best for his people. He was right: they were the same, and that was why he had hoped to recruit him.

So, he thought for a moment whether there was a way to fulfill his wish without taking risks.

He was also someone who pursued perfection, so there was no way that he would leave loose ends.

"Isn't there a way to wipe my memory, maybe?"

As Ashahell heard this, he realized that there was, indeed that method that he hadn't thought of.

Only, many said that it was worse than death.

"Now that you mention that, there is a way. If you completely relinquish the defenses around your mind, I can use my mageroot to enter your consciousness using an advanced spell to wipe away this meeting. I can even replace it with a fake meeting where I would only tell you about the Church's threat and ask for permission to examine your core formation-that's what I'm going to do with the other rulers, anyway. You were just...special."

"Then I chose that!"

"Don't be hasty. If you let me do that, it means that I will have access to all of your innermost secrets. I will be able to go through each and every moment of your life, starting from birth. You will feel as if your mind has been…violated. You will feel that something is wrong, but you wouldn't be able to explain it, and you would eventually go crazy. Of course, if you don't die first, that is. Many prefer death. It's your choice."

Hearing this, the King in front of Ashahell shuddered, which was the typical reaction.

However, after a few seconds, resolve shone in his eyes.

Yes, this was someone that he had chosen as worthy to follow him.

It really was a pity.

"Do it. You said everything will end anyway, right? If I'm going to forget this anyway, can I know when and how that is?"

"I have no need to answer that. Let's just say that I'm looking forward a lot to a very important meeting. Brace yourself. This is going to hurt a little at first, and a lot later. Goodbye, King Daneel."

As screaming started to echo throughout the barren area, blood started to flow from the King of Lanthanor's eyes, nose, and ears.

….

An unknown amount of time later.

"Thank you for your cooperation, King Daneel. I hope you take my advice to heart. The Church is no small enemy. We will need all the help we can get."

"Of course. Farewell, and good luck with your quest."

As Daneel saw off the very respectable sect leader from the Big 4, he clutched his head, feeling that something was wrong.

The man had already disappeared, so he was now alone in the Throne Room.

Looking back in his memories, he felt that something was…wrong.

He was just a regular boy on the streets who had worked hard to become King, and had found a lucky inheritance which aided him on his journey.

Crack!

As a sound akin to a glass being broken appeared in his mind, he felt memories flood back into him, making him collapse on the ground while howling in pain.

A few minutes later, he raised his head and eyed the space where Ashahell had disappeared from with bloodshot eyes.

Due to the pain, he had bit down so hard that his entire mouth was filled with blood, so when he grinned, a visage of one who looked like a ghost with bloody teeth could be seen.

In the empty room, he exclaimed, "Who's foolish now, you f*cking bastard?"

Index435 Counter-Plan

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Taking large breaths, Daneel slowly rose up from the ground using one hand while he used the other to check whether there was any remnant blood on his face.

His skin was a pale white, as if he had just had all of his blood drained out of him.

Wiping away the blood on his teeth using the sleeve of his red robe, he hobbled to the throne before sitting on it, using its back for support.

Although he seemed very pathetic right now, his eyes were shining with the glorious light of triumph.

This had definitely been the closest shave of his life yet, and when he thought back to just how even a small mistake would definitely have lead to his death, he couldn't help but shudder.

Still, the smile didn't leave his face.

When he remembered the way in which he had panicked, he actually scolded himself.

From all he had been through, it should not have been that a mere face-off with death caused such fear to attack him.

How many dire situations had he gotten out of using his wit and skill?

Daneel made a promise to himself: from now on, no matter what he faced, he would keep the cool head of an experienced senior who had seen the passage of time filled with enough awe-inducing events to numb him to any and all fear.

With that out of the way, Daneel still couldn't make that remnant chill in his spine leave.

If he hadn't gotten that idea to use what he had heard from the Watcher in passing, a clone would definitely have been sitting in his place on this throne right now.

The Watcher had said that he had a way to make the real Travis forget everything that he was subjected to. This meant that there was definitely a technique in the Big 4 to alter one's memory.

Using that crucial hint, Daneel had asked the system and rejoiced when he heard that there were records of a technique which bared all memories and left one scarred.

Choosing this option like a man clinging to the last vine left before he fell into a ravine, Daneel had ordered the system to make a fake life for himself.

His memories from Earth had been replaced by those of the original Daneel from Lanthanor, and as for the rest, each instance where he used the system had been tweaked to show that he had only achieved everything using hard work, perseverance and a little bit of luck.

All of his original memories were locked up by the system using the tool that had already paid off its cost many times over, and even he had assumed that that had been his life for a second after Ashahell left.

After finalizing this plan, his mission had been to manipulate Ashahell towards 'allowing' him to choose this option, and for that, he had appealed to the man's passion which clearly meant a lot to him.

When Daneel had been giving that speech, he hadn't even had to use the system to make those tears appear. All of the passion he had shown had been genuine, which led him to feel joy that he had reached new heights as an actor.

Of course, he had acted from his heart, but Daneel didn't consider this fact.

After a minute passed, Daneel finally prepared to put the harrowing experience before him so that he could decide what to do next. After all, time was short.

Yet, before he did so, a single question appeared in his mind which refused to leave.

Ashahell was a Peak Exalted Champion, and an individual at that level would definitely be able to detect anything at the upper boundary of the Champion level in complexity.

However, he hadn't been able to detect the system at all.

Daneel had considered this possibility, but he had just put it aside as if that happened, then it would mean that all was lost anyway.

Thankfully, it hadn't come to be.

However, the doubt that he now had was this: just what level was the system at?

For a second, Daneel wondered whether to ask the system regarding this, but he discarded this thought, knowing that it would definitely just say that he wasn't eligible to know the answer yet.

Taking a deep breath and using a mirror conjured using water to check his appearance, Daneel finally started thinking about what to do next.

First and foremost: the Watcher was right, and Ashahell really was delivering something to the Church which would allow them to invade earlier than expected.

What could it be?

When he had asked, the man had simply said that he was looking forward to a meeting…

The meeting!

With all the knowledge that Daneel was in possession of due to infiltrating the Sect of Hedon, it didn't take a genius to figure out Ashahell's plan.

In the sect meeting room, Ashahell had announced that he would host a physical meeting with all the members of the High Council after obtaining the first part to ascertain ways to move forward in this project.

The Watcher had been wrong in one thing: he had assumed that Ashahell was delivering some "Thing".

No, what Ashahell was delivering…was the heads of possibly all the Hero-level individuals of Angaria.

In that meeting, he would definitely somehow kill all of them, which would leave Angaria completely defenseless.

After all, these Hero level individuals were definitely the last bastions of defense that must definitely be the ones stopping the Church from merrily marching in.

This was a guess which Daneel made when he thought about all the facts, but he knew that he was right.

It all fit! Ashahell had used the excuse of Sister Xuan's prophecy to suggest his plan to try and use the forbidden inheritance and trinket left behind by the last Empire on Angaria.

After they agreed, he had proposed this meeting, which needed to be carried out anyway.

If Sister Xuan's hadn't seen that vision, he would mostly have had to use more time to convince the High Council about his plan, which would make his "delivery" coincide with the timeline that the Watcher had told him.

With growing conviction, Daneel immediately regained full control of the core formation of the Palace of Lanthanor before disappearing from his place.

Before leaving, with a sigh, he saw that the items he had placed back were gone-taken away by Ashahell, but he had really had no choice.

This also made him curse that madman one more time. He was definitely more intelligent than any foe Daneel had ever faced, and something even more terrifying was just how driven he was. His goal was a noble one, but it was just his method that was evil.

When this thought appeared in Daneel's head, he grit his teeth and crushed it before using a few choice words to curse the man, as he was still very disgruntled about how close he had been to death.

No matter how smart he was, Daneel would have to be smarter, or Angaria was truly doomed.

….

10 minutes later.

In the hidden underground room of the Hidden Kill Sect, a very peculiar sight could be seen which would definitely shock anyone who happened to walk through the door.

A head, with nothing but air from the neck down, was madly hopping around the room and destroying various things while repeatedly berating a man who stood to the side with a sheepish expression on his face.

The head's favorite move was head-butt, which made sense because…that was the only move it could use. Apparently, it had forgotten that it could also use magic.

The headbutt destroyed almost each and every piece of furniture in the room before finally pausing and returning to the podium in the middle which was the only untouched item.

"All right, all right, I know I was wrong! I couldn't help but doubt you, OK? We can argue about this later! For all we know, Ashahell might be hosting that damn meeting right now! What do we do to stop it?"

Hearing the sense of urgency in Daneel's voice, the Watcher finally fumed before swallowing down the remaining curses that he had been about to hurl at the King of Lanthanor.

This kid had had the audacity to doubt him and ignore him for days, even choosing to meet the prime threat of the continent in secret without informing him!

Daneel had only told him about the fake meeting that had occurred, deciding not to say anything about the truth.

As for the part about figuring out Ashahell's plan, Daneel had said that he had noticed the man's special attention to the meeting, and had put two and two together.

Even then, the Watcher kept saying that it had been very foolish and dangerous, which Daneel couldn't agree with more.

"We have a day. It's 2 PM right now, and the physical meeting is scheduled at noon tomorrow. I still have some contacts inside the sect, you know. I heard this from a maid inside the Sect, who passed it on to her sister who left the sect and then talked to her husband about it. It will happen in the hidden floors of the Central Tower."

Daneel thought whether to ask just why he was watching every random maid's family, but he chose not to, knowing that the man greatly loved his job. Besides, it had shown admirable results.

"How do we stop it?"

Looking straight into Daneel's eyes, the Watcher replied, "You have to figure something out, kid. You will be the one returning to the sect, and you are the one with the most clarity about everything inside the sect. Force is obviously out of the question. A direct warning is also useless, as no member of any sect will choose to believe you. They might bring it up covertly with their sect leader, but Ashahell must definitely have countermeasures in place to make sure that he detects any and all potential danger to his plan. He can kill you before you blink if he wishes."

Hearing this, Daneel fell into deep thought.

He had indeed been thinking about all the possible routes to stop the man, and he had also discarded the choice of directly telling the Matron or Marcus.

He couldn't risk it. If it caused suspicion to arise in Ashahell, he truly would be killed, and that smart-ass would definitely even find some way to proceed.

No. There had to be some other way, which did not put him in risk, but would still get the job done.

Ideally, the plan would be foiled, and Ashahell would be caught red-handed.

As Daneel racked his brains for a few minutes, with a flash, an idea finally appeared to him.

Immediately, he took out a communication trinket to find out where Sister Xuan was.

That bastard had used a prediction from a seer to push forward his plan, and Daneel was going to use the same to put an end to it.

Only, this one…would be fake, but no one would know.

"System, begin to create a simulation where 9 people are lying around a table, dead, which is followed by the Church invading Angaria and killing everyone on it. Retrieve information regarding how a seer actually engages in visions, and begin the development of a spell to make a seer think they are really experiencing one."

Index436 Vision

Index

Book

"Sister Xuan, can you come to Lanthanor at 11:30 AM tomorrow? It's really crucial that you do. I have something very important to tell you."

As Xuan got this sudden message on her communication trinket from the King of Lanthanor, she froze for a few seconds, as her mind had gone blank.

The King of Lanthanor was definitely the most interesting man she had ever met. Even though she hadn't met that many men in the first place during her life, she could tell that there was something…special about him.

She had first gotten interested in him when she had gone on that journey in Lanthanor to find out his past.

His struggles, his achievements, his dreams-all of these resonated with her on some level or the other.

She had also been an outcast, and she had had to grow up alone while scorned by her entire village as they were all afraid that she was the incarnation of something evil.

She had never been able to help it. Whenever her ability acted up, her vision would first go dark, before she would realize that she was floating in the air, as if she were some ethereal spirit.

She would always look at a scene from above, and whatever she saw would always be hazy.

However, she would be able to make out a few details.

Also, whenever she focused, one or two very specific details would always appear much sharper than the rest, differentiating themselves and standing out to her, as if to inform her that they shouldn't be ignored.

Only, many times, even these sharp images would flicker and shift between multiple things.

One dead body could become 5, or 5 could become one.

Lastly, according to what she had been told later by the Matron, every seer would enter a half-asleep state during their vision during which they would continuously recite what they were seeing.

She had been told that seers came to aid the land in dire times, and that this was a mechanism set in place to make sure that the visions would never be forgotten or mistaken for something they were definitely not.

She had always had many questions. What caused seers to be born? Who put these mechanisms in place? Why did they do so?

Sadly, no one knew the answers.

Hidden under her skin, she would always carry a special trinket that was able to identify when she was having a vision by checking for signs.

When it did, it would immediately float out and broadcast her image and voice to the Matron, who was always in possession of the receiver.

This was something devised by the sects of old, where the belief was that every vision was crucial to save as many lives on Angaria as possible.

Many said that she was blessed to have this ability, as it meant that she was talented enough to smoothly become a Champion. Unlike those with Red and Gold comprehension level who were said to be able to become Champions, but were in fact, only eligible to increase their comprehension through the right means to become capable of reaching the Champion level, her path was smooth, like a river that flowed through the land with no obstructions. She would just have to absorb Energy, and she would automatically grow stronger and stronger.

It was only after a few seconds that Xuan finally regained her senses and quickly replied, "Yes! I mean, y-yes, I'll be there, King Daneel."

She had been itching to leave the sect and stretch her limbs anyway, and she had already gotten permission from the Matron for a brief excursion.

With her heart fluttering, she wondered what the reason could be for the King calling her.

The Matron was the only mother she had ever had, and she had taught her that those of the Goddess's Sanctum would always ask for what they want boldly, instead of feeling shy or awkward.

Hence, she had gone ahead and told the King of Lanthanor how she felt about him.

Could it be that that method could actually have worked?

….

The next day, at sharp 11:30 AM.

Standing outside the main gate that led to the Palace of Lanthanor, Xuan couldn't control her excitement.

For this meeting, she had even dumped Molan by trapping the woman with a pile of Ker Gems and a promise that she was just training in the next room over.

She had even worn the best dress she had: it was an enchanted gold gown, with embroidered birds that looked like they would take off into the air at any moment.

"Sister Xuan! Thank you so much for making it!"

Seeing the King of Lanthanor walking out of the large main entrance with a smile on his face, Xuan was just about to smile and go forward before she felt that something was wrong.

For a split second, she felt as if something was trying to invade her mind.

In fact, if she hadn't been distracted by the appearance of the King, she was pretty sure that she could have defended against it.

However, the feeling left as soon as she felt it, leading her to think that she might have imagined it because she was quite stressed right now.

Yet, when her vision suddenly began to go dark the next second, she finally realized that she was having a vision.

No! Not now!

She complained inwardly, but as always, her sight went dark before the eye-shaped trinket at her waist lit up and floated into the air before pointing at her.

….

Meanwhile, in a room in the hidden levels of the Central Tower.

The Matron of the Goddess's Sanctum, a person whose post was equivalent to that of a sect leader in other sects, was currently standing respectfully with her hands joined together in front of her navel.

Her head was slightly lowered, and if anyone from the Goddess's Sanctum, or for that matter, from any of the Big 4 saw her at this moment, they would shudder with shock on seeing an Exalted Champion, a woman who stood above all, bowing in front of someone.

That someone was sitting in a royal manner on a chair that looked more like a throne.

She had a glittering tiara made from what looked like Ker Gems on her head, and although she didn't look old, one would be able to tell that this was someone who had experienced the passage of many decades of time.

Even though her skin was smooth like that of a 20-year old's, it was her eyes which gave away her wisdom and age.

She had a beautiful countenance, but the frown on her face was enough to signal that she was in a very bad mood.

"Damn those old fogies! Why can't they just put their differences aside and increase the danger level?! Isn't age supposed to give one more wisdom? Why is it always like the opposite has happened to them?"

"Mother-"

"Quiet. I really thought the vision from Xuan would be enough. Actually, maybe I was just hoping for it. Damn them!"

As the Matron shut her mouth and looked down again, the room became filled with the grumblings of the seated woman, who was not acting at all like someone who had lived for over 300 years, and had at least 300 more to experience.

Beep!

As this sound suddenly echoed in the room, both women widened their eyes before looking at the triangle-shaped trinket that floated up from the Matron's waist and expanded to become a display trinket.

It showed the image of a beautiful girl wearing a pretty golden dress, and she was held in the arms of someone who was wearing red robes.

The girl's eyelids were closed, but her eyes could be seen rolling around and pressing on the eyelids occasionally, as if she were having a very bad dream.

As the two women waited in silence with expressions of slight fear mixed with hope for good news instead of bad, the girl began to speak in a halting voice.

"….a round stone room with no windows, no! There's one window, through which I see the sky…"

Between each utterance, there was a pause that varied between 3-5 minutes.

"…9 hazy figures…what are they doing? Are they sleeping?...No! They're dead!..."

"…No, no, I see one who is still alive, a man with long, brown hair…he's looking around the room and…smiling? I think? He did it! He did it!..."

"…the Church-descending on the sect…the Church! They're killing everyone! Rivers of blood! Headless bodies! Limbless children! Everyone, dead! Dead! Dead! Dead! Dea-…"

As the girl kept repeating the last word over and over again for at least 10 times, with the strength of her voice going down with each iteration, the 2 women in the Sect of Hedon stared at each other with horror on their faces.

Taking out a communication trinket, she was about to send an urgent message, but she realized that there was a message waited for her, that she had ignored because she had been too caught up in the vision from the seer.

"We're beginning 20 minutes early-this kid is being too impatient. Come at your leisure."

What?! How could Angaria itself be so unlucky at this moment?!

There was no more time for messages. Gritting her teeth, the woman in the chair closed her eyes for a brief moment.

The stone floor that was below the chair cracked, and a heavy pressure enveloped the entire room, making the Matron fall to the ground.

Outside the sect, a pink aurora appeared, and all those who were near the Central Tower got an odd urge to kneel and worship that they couldn't resist.

Crack!

With a sound like that of a wood beam being cracked in two, the Hero-level anti-teleportation broke, letting the woman vanish from her place and reappear in a round room with a single window.

"STOP AND GET OUT OF HERE! THIS MEETING IS A TRAP TO KILL US!"

Hearing this loud proclamation, various reactions could be seen from all of the people in the room, but none was stranger than that of the person sitting at the head of the table, Ashahell.

A frown which contained deep anger and desperation flashed across his face for the briefest of moments, before it was replaced by one of determination.

There were tea glasses present in front of all those in the room, and it seemed that his was the only one that was untouched.

Taking advantage of that split second of time when the others were busy teleporting away, he raised the glass and drank half of it.

Index437 Ashahell's Foiled Plan

Index

Book

1 hour before the meeting.

Glancing at the clock on the mantlepiece in his quarters that he seldom visited and seeing that it was 11 AM, Ashahell once again sighed before hearing a knock on his door.

"Come in."

Heeding the command, a man entered the door.

He looked just like one of the regular folk who serviced the Central Tower, but when he entered the room, he looked around carefully before closing the door.

He was holding a tray that had a teapot and many teacups. Setting it to the side, he touched the spot near his stomach.

On the surface of his body, Ashahell saw a bulge appear which moved eerily, as if it were some kind of worm that had been trapped inside the man's body.

After a few moments, he said, "It's clear."

"Yes, I know. I checked with the sect's formation."

"But my orders are my orders. The item you asked for is in the teapot."

Nodding, Ashahell carefully walked towards the tray that had been set down before.

The man had been carrying it casually, but when Ashahell neared it, he gingerly lifted the lid of the teapot to look inside.

Instead of tea, the pot only had a few tea leaves which looked ordinary.

They were the most expensive sort which were grown in the east of Angaria especially for consumption by the rich and influential, and many liked them because of the tea's incredible aftertaste.

Not even he could guess that these were actually objects which had been transported from thousands and thousands of kilometers away, from a distant land where those with his talent and power would be considered just slightly worth paying attention to.

There, according to what he had heard, even reaching the Hero level was just the first step to entering the higher levels of society.

Apparently, the cost of these tea leaves itself was something that couldn't be estimated in Ker Gems, as the number would easily reach terrifying heights in the range of tens of millions.

"You don't need to be so careful. I was told that they are effectively bound for one and a half hours more. After that, when their essence is released…"

Instead of continuing, the man only smiled sinisterly.

Nodding again, Ashahell picked up the tea leaves and carefully adjusted them in his sleeves.

Seeing him do so, the man walked forward and laid an arm on Ashahell's shoulder before saying, "Your cause is noble. Just march forward without a doubt. You know this is necessary. Purges are the way of nature. I don't think I need to give you a speech regarding them now. Just drop the tea leaves in the pot, and at 12: 30 AM, anyone who has had more than half a cup of the tea will die, even if they have somehow managed to reach the Exalted Hero level. This plan was completely designed by you; have more confidence in it."

It seemed that the man had seen the slightly glum expression on Ashahell's face, which must have led him to speak in this way.

Indeed, he, himself, had been the one to design this entire thing.

The Hero-level individuals of Angaria were elusive individuals who always secluded themselves in some or the other corner of the continent; reluctant to show themselves lest they be attacked by the Church or anyone who is capable of ending their long life which they had come to enjoy.

For a long time, he had been looking for a good enough excuse to host a physical meeting. He had slowly started to increase the pressure placed on the continent by the Church so as to make them panic, even going to such lengths as to have the Church invade those Olympics, even though they had been convinced that it would be a waste.

Ashahell had continuously persuaded them saying that it would all be worth it in the long run, and now was the time for all of it to pay off.

This trinket and the item which purportedly contained the inheritance were items that had brought the ruin of the continent before, so although these geezers were confident that they could find a way to use them properly, they still had to all appear physically.

As for the fear of dying, it didn't exist right now as they were confident that no one would be able to do anything when all of them were at one place.

In a way, a physical meeting would even force reluctant individuals to appear, as they would fear even more that they might be targeted if all the others were busy with something.

Hence, all in all, he had needed a proper, solid excuse to host one to get them all in place, and after doing so, he had chosen the simplest method to kill them: poison.

He knew for a fact that due to living for so long, all of these geezers had gotten used to the comforts of life, which included this tea which apparently also had some narcotic addiction effects.

So, he would just add in these tea leaves with the pretense of 'checking' the tea, and watch as the first step in the saving of Angaria began.

He didn't even need all of them to die. Within half an hour of the meeting, whoever had drunk more than half the cup would perish, and even the others who had had a little would be incapacitated. Hell, even if one or two didn't drink at all, the next step, which involved the Exalted Hero of the Church who was permanently posted on the continent arriving with deadly trinkets in two, would definitely be enough to allow him to reach his goal.

Everything had gone without a hitch. He had even started the meeting early so that there would be more time for them to have the tea, and although one of the newest additions to the Council would be arriving late, the others had already almost drunk more than a half-cup.

However, everything had been ruined when that woman appeared with that warning.

If she had chosen to at least use communication trinkets to send the message, he could even have tried to allay suspicion on her. However, her sudden appearance and the expression on her face had caused everyone to leave without hesitation.

In that split second, he had vowed to find the one responsible for foiling his plans, no matter what it took.

As for the decision to have the tea himself, it was to make sure that he wouldn't be suspected. He had known that it would be like going to hell and coming back, but he hadn't hesitated, as he knew that it was crucial that he retain the trust that the others had in him.

After taking this step, he, too, teleported away, reaching his quarters before sending a quick message to the man who had come before that the plan had failed, and that it was time for backup measures to remedy the situation.

With his countermeasure in place, Ashahell added mock panic to his voice before using the oathstone to communicate with the others.

"What's the matter?! What news do we have of the trap?"

He heard only silence in return, which made him worry a bit.

Still, he repeatedly kept sending messages before he finally received an answer that made him narrow his eyes.

It was from the actual head of the High Council, who was the strongest Hero-level individual on the continent.

"Ashahell, stay where you are."

….

Around 30 minutes later.

The woman who had warned everyone before was currently standing in front of a man with a short, grey beard and crafty eyes.

He had very handsome features, and one would be able to tell that he must definitely have been a lady-killer in his youth.

His grey hair was curly, and he was wearing the latest fashion on Angaria: a double-breasted vest over a white shirt.

In between them was the sect leader of the Sect of Hedon and the leader of the High Council of Angaria, who had been knocked out minutes before being teleported here.

Unlike what he thought, he actually wasn't the one in full control of the core formation of the Sect of Hedon.

The bearded man was poring over a data trinket, while the woman was looking at Ashahell with disgust on her face, as if she was resisting the urge to attack him.

"This rat! We gave him everything he wanted! Well, almost everything! But he still decided to side with the Church!"

"Calm down, Halle. This is only the interpretation of that girl. Yes, she may have seen him being alive while all the others were dead, but it may have been due to other reasons too. She can't be sure he's smiling. I don't even think that she can be sure that he was alive. The main thing that can be taken away from the vision is that we were all in danger, and you were right to warn us like that. However, I still don't understand what that threat is. That arrogant prick from the Church is still twirling his thumbs on the shore, and there are no signs of any attack, anywhere. We shouldn't act hastily-"

Mid-sentence, the bearded man's cut off as he clutched his heart in a quick motion.

His face started to turn purple, and he gagged as if he couldn't breathe.

Ashahell, who was on a podium in the air, also began to writhe violently, while foam started to appear at his mouth.

Similar scenes occurred all over the continent, but the bearded man was the first to recover.

With a quick motion, he changed his hand into a claw and struck his chest, extracting a beating mass of blood and flesh that was completely purple.

As he crushed it, noxious fumes perfused the air, while his skin turned back to normal.

Although he was slightly pale, it looked like he was going to be Ok.

Seeing Ashahell in that state, he quickly reached the kid before encasing him in a block of ice to stop the progress of the poison.

Glancing at the woman who had a shocked and worried expression on her face, he said, "Another reason not to suspect him. This poison is so potent that I doubt that he will survive. If he is the perpetrator, he would have fleed by now, as that prick can definitely save him. Let's not jump to conclusions regarding the vision. Go help the others. Leave the kid to me."

….

2 hours later.

Back in Lanthanor, Daneel was striding to and forth in his quarters with his brows furrowed.

As he finally got a message from the Watcher, an expression of relief came on his face, but it was replaced by one of frustration.

His main fear, all along, had been that Xuan's vision might be suspected to be fake. If Hero-level monsters came investigating, he knew that he would be found out, and that was a risk he hadn't been willing to take.

Hence, he had told the system to be subtle, as, per the records, visions could only show one thing clearly, while the rest were only half-truths.

The main goal was to save the Hero-level individuals, and catching Ashahell would have been a bonus.

Gritting his teeth, he couldn't help but applaud the determination of the man to swallow poison to absolve himself.

Shaking his head and realizing that this battle between them was going to be very, very tough, Daneel started to decide what his next step would be.

Whatever it was, it definitely had to involve that bastard getting his comeuppance in a way that he wouldn't be able to dodge this time.

Index438 Aftermath

Index

Book

1 day later.

As Ashahell stood at the same spot as always on the top floor of the Central Tower while looking out over the sky, his mind was a mess for the first time in years.

As someone who pursued perfection, he was always used to seeing his plans working out exactly as he imagined them.

However, what happened yesterday kept reappearing in his mind.

That damn vision! If it weren't for that vision, everything would definitely have gone without a hitch.

Suddenly, his heart completely stopped beating, making him fall back into a chair that had been placed there before.

Pain the likes of which he had never even imagined to be possible racked his entire body, making him almost wish he were dead.

Yet, knowing that his purpose had still not yet been fulfilled, he held on with all of his will.

A trinket at his waist suddenly rose into the air, before shooting towards the veins on his arm and shooting a solution into them.

This made the pain worse, and Ashahell gasped silently while his vision blurred.

This had been happening less and less frequently as the cure given by the Mad Doctor's master was working, but this pain still appeared at least twice an hour, leaving him dripping with sweat.

He had had to cling on to something so that he could retain his sanity, and he had chosen it to be the thing that had made him drink the poison in the first place without giving up and escaping: the need to save Angaria.

He didn't know for sure whether anyone had been responsible, directly, for the failure of his plan.

It had all been the fault of that vision and that seer, but Ashahell wasn't some foolish, vengeful idiot who would go after her because of something even she couldn't control.

No, if he wanted to blame someone, he could only blame providence and the heavens for making that vision appear in the first place.

If there had been any foul play involved in that vision, those in the High Council would definitely have sniffed it out, but apparently, it matched all the signs that had been left behind by their ancestors.

As the pain finally started to recede, Ashahell stood up again and looked out over Angaria with bloodshot eyes.

In the corner of his vision, he could see a tiny trinket that had been tied to him to ensure his "safety".

Of course, he knew that the real reason was because many on the High Council suspected him because of the vision, even though the actual head had said that it was most probably just a vague conclusion that should not be given much import.

The problem was that this meeting had only come about because of him, so there was a possibility that he was the culprit. In fact, if it weren't for him drinking the poison and the countermeasure he had placed, he might have been arrested already to undergo an 'investigation' by the member of the High Council who specialized in torture.

Thankfully, his meticulous planning had paid off, but this had been a very large setback.

However, there was a silver lining.

Two Hero-level individual had had almost the required amount of tea to kill them, but due to the quick help given by the others, they had survived, but gone into a coma from which they could not be awakened without killing them.

According to estimates, it would at least take 20 years for them to get healed and wake up, so they were definitely out of the fight.

Angaria had been significantly weakened, but it was not enough.

Caressing his chin, Ashahell began planning again with renewed vigor, thankful of the fact that no one knew with certainty about his true goal.

….

Meanwhile, in the Palace of Lanthanor, Daneel sneezed, and wondered just who was thinking about him.

In front of him were seated Kellor, Robert and Eloise.

Daneel had spent the day before with his parents, after finding out that Angaria had at least been saved.

Of course, the nagging frustration that Ashahell was only a suspect was still in his mind, but he was ignoring it for now.

His mother had been ecstatic on seeing him arrive, and she had even cooked all the favorite food that he had used to love when he was a kid.

When Daneel had seen his mother bustling about in the kitchen, he finally remembered something about the Warrior level that he had forgotten.

"Humans perish, Warriors march on."

This had been the slogan told to him to symbolize that only Warriors and those above could enjoy a longer lifespan, while the others would only have to let death take them after their time was up.

He was now someone who would live for at least 300 years, but his parents would be long gone by then.

Could he do nothing to stop that?

On asking the system, Daneel had found out that the only way was to have them train.

Although he still had a lot of core inheritances to go through, any method to solve this problem would definitely involve someone having an adequate power base first.

His father would be no problem, as the man was actually an Exalted Human already due to that bizarre ritual with that deserter's mark on his forehead, which Daneel now knew that it had been passed down from the Empire itself.

His mother had been born with minimal talent as a Mage, but she had never trained a day in her life.

Hence, he had entrusted his father the mission of having his mother train using the technique he gave, which would allow one to increase their mage comprehension level slowly.

Robert had already been using it since long.

His father had initially been quite startled, but he had nodded after that, while an unspoken communication passed between their eyes.

Mary Anivron was the most important woman in both of their lives, so they would do everything to make sure that she would live for as long as possible.

"My King, the Bank is running briskly, but I still believe that we should expand faster. Even though we are getting new customers from all over Angaria, there have been many frauds, as expected. Still, instead of steady growth, I would really prefer some sort of an explosion."

As Daneel got pulled back into the present with Eloise's words, he nodded before saying, "I'll think on that. Meanwhile, pump more money into the Network. In the near future, it might convert into something else. What has happened to the assignment to bolster our assembly line of mages and blacksmiths?"

Kellor answered.

"My Lord, we have basically exhausted our Kingdom. We have begun sending invitations to the other Kingdoms, too, but as you know, all mages, even if they are just poor citizens, are assets for a Kingdom. There is resistance, in particular from the Kingdom of Arafell. That also reminds me: the Queen of Arafell has requested a meeting with you to discuss some arrangement that you promised her during the Olympics."

Hearing this, Daneel sank into deep thought for a moment before saying, "Turn down the Queen for now using polite words; I don't have the time to deal with her. Eloise, how is our transportation network developing?"

"Quite well, My King. Norcet is in the Black Raven Kingdom as we speak, hiring a crew and quarters in anticipation of the launch."

Nodding, Daneel replied, "Good. Nothing says that our transportation work should only transport things. Tell him to speed up preparations in Arafell. If they don't want to let their mages and blacksmiths go even if they want to, then we'll just…help."

As Daneel said these, all three individuals in front of him stared at him as if he were a madman.

"But the inter-Kingdom tensions…"

"Leave that to me. If the tongue doesn't work, then we will use gold. From now on, our plans cannot stop. Even if we have to stoop to very low depths in order to make them happen, we must do so. Kellor can tell you two later why that is so. I'm getting back to training. Eloise, keep an eye on H&D, we don't want them to be targeted out of jealousy. Father, please keep checking Axelor. I feel they might move soon. This meeting is dismissed."

Saying so, Daneel nodded at the three and walked out of the room before teleporting away.

After a minute or so, he appeared in the underground room in the Hidden Kill Sect.

"Great job, kid. I still don't know how you did it, but I won't ask. Instead of killing at least 5, only 2 were disabled. That's a loss we can live with, but any more, and we might have to resort to desperate measures. That rat Ashahell got away, yes, but the High Council doesn't believe him blindly anymore, at least. So. What do you plan on doing next?"

Daneel had already prepared his answer.

"What happened to the plan to use the parts of the inheritance and trinket left behind?"

"Discarded for now, as they don't have a hope of getting it done with just 6 Heros. These things were supposed to be able to slaughter Heros with impunity before, after all. Instead, there is chatter that the danger level might be upgraded. Why do you ask?"

Daneel didn't answer, but he had just decided in his mind.

He was going to try and assemble this trinket and inheritance himself, and if that meant that he was going to turn into a burglar, then so be it.

As for Ashahell, Daneel had already started to cook up a plan that would hopefully see him exposed once and for all.

As long as this man remained freely breathing on the continent, Daneel could never sleep soundly.

Index439 News

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Book

"Nothing. First things first, I'll be going back to the Sect of Hedon. How's Travis doing?"

As Daneel asked this after coming out of his thoughts, the Watcher actually smirked before saying, "See for yourself."

After he uttered these words, a door on one side of the room, whose grooves were hidden, opened to reveal a comfortable room, complete with a bed.

As Daneel glanced inside, he saw a bookshelf and a blonde-haired kid enthusiastically poring over a particular book.

Beside him was a cloth bag, in which Daneel could see shining Ker Gems.

As he raised an eyebrow at the Watcher, the bodyless man chuckled and said, "What can I say? I took a liking to him! If it weren't for the oaths he swore to the Sect of Hedon, I might even have taken him under my wing to groom him as the next Watcher. I like the way he sucks up to me, so I'm allowing him to read through some of my experiences of training to become a Champion. He won't remember any of this anyway, when we decide to erase his memory and send him back to the Sect."

As the Watcher said the last sentence, Daneel senses sadness in the man's tone.

Why was he feeling sad?

As Daneel wondered this, he saw the Watcher turn towards the door, which appeared to be the type where the person inside wouldn't be able to know if someone were looking at him from the outside.

Noticing the way he saw the kid, Daneel understood after a few seconds.

Loneliness.

It was actually a loneliness that was similar to what he had felt from Ashahell.

It seemed that every Champion level individual he met was lonely for some reason or the other.

It was a known fact that the path to power was a solitary one, and that an individual had to be prepared to spend a lot of time alone if they wanted to reach the peak.

Back on Earth, he had been a loner, but Daneel had gotten used to company after being on Angaria for so long.

Whether it be the stoic Robert, the loving Mary, the enthusiastic and shy Eloise, the ever-loyal Kellor or the understanding Faxul, he loved spending time with them, and couldn't imagine living for so long that they would all return to dust, while he might still be moving forward, with no one near to talk to.

This was why those who had life companions on their path to power were considered very lucky, but usually, the problem was that those with the fortitude to reach the peak either as a Champion or a Mage would have very individualistic personalities, making it hard to sustain a relationship for a long time.

Hence, true relationships between those on the path to power which lasted against the test of time were rare and treasured.

Daneel had almost gone crazy when he had had to spend just 3 months in complete isolation. How could he even imagine living in that way for years, or even decades?

Besides, he wasn't someone who could quickly build relationships.

Should he seriously start considering the offers from Eloise or Sister Xuan?

As this question appeared in Daneel's mind, he shook his head before being surprised at the route his thoughts had taken just by seeing the sad gaze of the Watcher.

Well, he did understand the man.

So, getting an idea, Daneel asked, "Do you want to find a way to rid him of his oath so that he can become your disciple, if he wishes?"

As if the Watcher had heard his wish being uttered, he turned towards Daneel with a hopeful expression at first, before it turned into a neutral one due to realizing just how impossible of a task that was.

Noticing this, Daneel said, "I'll see if it can be done. Anyway, I'll be going back to sect. The Mad Doctor is also a part of it, and I plan to go kill the ones he wants to send after me before they prepare and start planning to kill me. Also, I'll keep looking for ways to incriminate Ashahell. I'll contact you if I need anything."

"Pulling out the weeds before they sprout! Good idea, kid, but be careful. Your safety should come first. Good luck. And don't bother about the oath thing. If it's meant to be, it'll happen."

Nodding and waving at the Watcher, Daneel teleported away after checking that all was well with the Hidden Kill Sect.

Contracts were coming in at a steady pace, and Daneel had already told Luther to try to reject contracts that targeted good, innocent people as much as possible.

Luther also seemed to be doing a great job of managing the sect, and it looked like the help from Skrrag was instrumental.

After leaving, Daneel took out the communication trinket that had vibrated when he had been talking to the Watcher.

Initially, his plan had been to spend a little more time in Lanthanor to launch another of his grand plans which would go a long way in mimicking one of the most effective means of propaganda on Earth to achieve the effect of building support and goodwill for him on Angaria.

On Earth, there were at least a host of regulatory boards and experienced people to notice the effects that entertainment channels had on people, and these people would fight and bring attention to such attempts.

On Angaria, as there was no such thing and no such people, Daneel had a free rein, and he intended to make full use of it so that when the time came, things would move smoothly.

However, this plan had changed after the realization that the communication trinket that had vibrated was the one that he had given to Percy.

If the kid was contacting him, then it meant that he must have some information about where the Mad Doctor was storing those disgusting cretins.

Hence, Daneel had announced this plan and left.

After reaching a point halfway beneath the Hidden Kill Sect and Lanthanor, Daneel teleported into the air and contacted Percy.

"Master! I can't stay outside for long. Please come quickly! I've completed your assignment, but my father is acting very suspiciously!"

Hearing the urgent tone in Percy's voice, Daneel quickly changed into the disguise of Master Novrain before heading to the same meeting place as before.

However, before he reached, he carefully used the system to check if there was a trap waiting for him.

Although he was impatient to get Ashahell acquitted for his crimes, he had already learnt from his mistakes so far that hastiness would only lead to ruin.

So, after checking that it was just Percy pacing around with a worried expression on his face, Daneel appeared in front of him silently before saying, "What did you mean by 'suspicious'?"

Startled, Percy almost tripped and fell before righting himself and saying, "Greetings, Master! Regarding that, something has recently occurred in our Central Tower. Yesterday, the Tower was sealed and all those inside were thoroughly interrogated. After that, all the Champion level elders in the Sect have been hurrying here and there with worried expressions on their faces."

"What does this have to do with your father being suspicious of you?"

"I was getting there, Master. 2 days back, I begged my father to take me to where elder brother and the others are. I had gone through some…events, and I was very pitiful, so I used that opportunity to appeal to his sane side. Luckily, he agreed, and as we discussed, I placed a locator trinket there covertly, in a place where no one would ever be able to find it. His 'suspicion' started with that event I told you about in the Central Tower, and because I don't know what other reason he could have, I think it might be me. He threw me out while shouting that 'Nowhere is safe'."

Hearing this, Daneel was quite surprised to see that two events instigated by him had led to him finding the location of those bastards.

First, he had targeted Percy using his scams, which had allowed the kid to use his pitiful appearance.

Second, he had caused Ashahell's plan to fail, and the repercussions must have ticked off the Mad Doctor, as someone had infiltrated the Central Tower and poisoned the tea.

Daneel knew that the suspicion was definitely not on Percy, but he couldn't tell the kid the same.

However, he decided to use the opportunity to bluff.

"Don't worry, kid. I'll protect you if you're outside even if that Mad Doctor tries to kill you. Great job with the trinket. After the deed is done, you'll get your reward."

Percy's face lighted up when Daneel said these words, while Daneel scoffed inside that he was only saying this because he knew for sure that the Mad Doctor wouldn't come after Percy right now.

"Thank you, Master! Here is the accompanying trinket. Please ask eldest brother to be careful."

Handing over a small button-shaped trinket, Percy bowed before disappearing, and his last words indicated that he was trying to show his intelligence.

Chuckling lightly, Daneel switched disguises before heading to the Sect of Hedon behind Percy.

Coincidentally, they both entered the Sect at the same time, but Percy was too busy praising himself for a job well done to notice Daneel.

Getting back to his dormitory, Daneel noticed that things did seem stricter, and although it meant that his next mission was going to be harder, he looked forward to it.

The items were definitely inside the Central Tower, and there was no way that he was going to accumulate and pay another 10,000 Ker Gems to enter it.

So, it was time to use true corruption to worm his way into the upper echelons of the sect, while waiting for an opportunity where he could be sure that the Mad Doctor wasn't around so that he could go pull out those proverbial 'weeds' before they sprouted.

Index440 Worming In

Index

Book

"We…are going to get posts inside the Central Tower."

"Nope."

As Daneel made this announcement in his dormitory room where the Shameless Sect was gathered, their reaction was something he couldn't have expected.

After exchanging glances between each other, all 4 of them said that word in unision before walking out the door.

Finding himself alone in the room and still staring at the door, Daneel couldn't believe what had just happened.

As the fatty's head popped into his vision, he realized that he wasn't seeing things.

"Hey, no hard feelings, but success has gotten to your head. We have no intentions whatsoever of flying too far into the Endless Sea and dying. In fact, you don't even need to repay those Ker Gems you owe us! If you need any other help thought, feel free to ask. Bye!"

As Daneel heard the fatty's words, he felt a vein throbbing on his head as he realized that this sect was living up to its name.

They really were shameless!

Well, looking at the facts, he had to admit that they had their own reasons.

The minimum power level required for someone to enter the Central Tower was to be an Eminent Warrior, but some of them were still only Exalted Humans.

Besides, there were stories about how some people had overestimated their abilities and challenged posts inside the Central Tower, which led to their ruin.

There were only two methods to get such a post: one, the challenger had to defeat the one holding the post in direct combat or two, the one holding the post had to willingly hand it over.

All jobs inside the Central Tower paid very well, and there was also special access to a host of techniques which would send any Warrior drooling.

Finally, it was said that those who showed promise in their posts might be selected to receive Tier 3, or even Tier 2 inheritances.

In the Big 4, inheritances were separated into three Tiers in ascending order of importance.

Tier 3 meant those inheritances which gave the user a significant boost in combat potential.

Tier 2 covered the inheritances which gave even more of a boost-categorized as those which would allow one to jump over their power level to fight opponents.

And lastly, Tier 1 inheritances were those which fundamentally changed the working of the body or mageroot to give a boost that was incomparable to the other two tiers.

Typically, Tier 1 inheritances were all 'core' inheritances, such as the Basilisk's Breath.

In a challenge for a post in the Central Tower, although killing one's opponent wasn't allowed, forfeits were also forbidden to dissuade those not serious, and to make it so that those who had the posts wouldn't be pestered by challenges all the time.

Some sect members who pitied their opponents might leave them after a beating, but other, more twisted ones would opt to severely disable their opponent to the farthest extent that the rules allowed.

Although healers would be able to get such people back to their prime, it would require time, during which the individual's peers would cross them in power level.

All in all, it was a very serious and risky business, so there was a valid reason for Daneel's 'friends' abandoning him.

They were only a group of people who had banded together because of their common origin and for their common good, so when a task came along which involved too much risk, then they had no obligation to stay, even if Daneel had made it possible for them to earn more than they ever could have alone.

Should he call them ungrateful? Cowardly?

No, Daneel just decided to call them 'shameless' and let it go.

After all, self-preservation was one skill crucial for all those on the path to power.

Besides, he had no more debt to pay!

As he arranged his thoughts in this way and leaned back on the chair with a smile, he noticed a conundrum he had overlooked.

He also had no Ker Gems to train with!

He had dumped everything he had for the key to the Central Tower!

With one eyebrow twitching, Daneel considered going to these 4 and using emotional blackmail to get more Ker Gems, but he was a King! He couldn't possibly lower himself to such levels…

Still, he fondly stared at the door as this was the easy way, but he finally gave it up after a little while and got off his ass to go earn some Ker Gems.

….

4 hours later, Daneel was happily munching on some Energy infused bread, that tasted excellent.

Due to his increased status that Ashahell had been so kind to grant, he was allowed to eat this food that was usually reserved only for Eminent Warriors.

Of course, his side dishes were the many jealous glares from the Exalted Humans and Amateur Warriors that were also having their meals.

He had spent the past 4 hours finishing up some simple tasks, such as checking on the quality of trinkets and ensuring that formations weren't being worn down.

All formations, unless they reached the level like those that protected the Palace of Lanthanor, were subject to being ruined by time, hence, this was a daily sect mission, as there were numerous formations all over the sect for miscellaneous purposes like plumbing, etc.

The pay wasn't much, but it was an honest day's work.

Daneel had basically been scrounging up enough Ker Gems to visit a very special place that one could go to to acquire information in the field he wanted, so although he had grumbled a bit and wondered just why he had let his 'friends' off so easily, he had continued his work.

Besides, it felt like a nice change of pace compared to all the hair-raising action he had been going through lately.

He could have sold this meal for Ker Gems, too, but he had chosen not to as he realized that he had truly become a foodie for Energy infused foods.

According to the secret archives, these were plants that required extensive resources and care to grow, but unlike the demonic plants that had been grown on the land of Lanthanor, these didn't destroy the earth.

After having a hearty meal, Daneel made his way outside and headed to a remote corner of the sect.

It was a 3-hour walk or 2 teleportations for an eighth of a Ker Gem each, so he chose the former, also using the time to recall all he could about corruption on earth to give him ideas.

The main thing he remembered about corruption was that it was all about greed. On Earth, greed had shown that it could bring down entire organizations and countries, if one man became prepared to do anything and everything necessary in order to get what he wanted.

Also, Daneel was reminded of the importance of keeping the hierarchy of an institution in mind before trying to infiltrate it.

Of course, there was still the route of directly challenging someone above his level, but Daneel didn't want to take such risks and draw attention.

Besides, there were records of Amateur Warriors gaining places in the Central Tower through their enormous contributions, or their wit.

Only, it was so rare that it had been deemed important enough to be written down in the secret archives, which was how Daneel knew about it.

The place he was going to was a 2-story villa overgrown with creepers which looked abandoned.

After reaching it, he knocked twice on the door before scratching it with his nails.

This…was the weird secret signal that was recorded in one of the journals he had recorded during his extensive sweep of the Central Tower.

He had donned a typical black mask, and when someone opened the door 15 minutes later, he noticed that the other party was masked too.

This 15-minute wait was the second secret signal: if someone stayed in place without leaving for that long, then it meant that they had the right to enter.

After entering, Daneel saw 5 people, who were also masked, with the one who opened the door simply waiting with an outstretched hand.

After handing over all of his hard-earned money, Daneel heard a scoff from the man as he said, "This much only gives you 1 minute. Good luck memorizing more than 10 of the over 500 sect members who work in the Central Tower. Be careful: you don't want to jumble up information and bring disaster upon yourself."

In response, Daneel nodded before entering the room and reaching a large, 10-foot wide display trinket on which faces and names, along with various information was written.

Indeed, this was an underground information dealer who specialized in providing information to those who wanted to challenge or obtain a seat in the Central Tower.

Each person was described very extensively, from their likes and dislikes to their weaknesses in combat.

Only, because there were so many people, the flashing and changing, making it so that one would have to examine for a long time if they wanted to get all of the information they wanted.

Also, the one in control of making the letters appear was carefully watching each person's eyes to make sure to make things difficult for them so that they would fork out more Ker Gems to stay longer.

1 minute of time required payment of 15 Ker Gems.

This was why the two in the room looked at him like a madman, and when they saw him vaguely glancing at the list without paying too much attention, they became convinced that this guy was here to either cause trouble or fool around.

Well, if he wanted to stay longer, he would have to pay.

However, to their surprise, the blond-haired man walked out even before the one minute was up.

Of course, with the system, Daneel had no reason to be confused like the others.

Simply ordering the system to list prospective subjects, Daneel started walking back to the dormitory.

After thinking for long, Daneel had realized that he had two ways to reach a top position that would give him free rein in the Central Tower:

One, he had to convince someone to give up their job willingly after either making them commit a crime and ensuring to cover it up, or two, he had to give them enough reason to leave their post.

Either way, this was going to be fun.

…..

Meanwhile, in the covert underground room where Percy's elder brother was advancing quickly to become an Exalted Warrior.

Everyone was bored while just enduring the pain and waiting for themselves to grow stronger, so they had gotten to talking.

Right now, the topic they were discussing was quite strange.

It was the topic of why Percy had spent so much time in the bathroom, when he had come here accompanied by the Mad Doctor.

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