Chapter 1059 The Fate of the Family 2
They had chosen him to blame for their current situation, so seeing this, Daneel spoke.
"You arranged your own downfall the moment you decided to abandon Angaria, as if it was a sinking ship. Do not blame Mark for your folly - you have no one to blame but yourselves for your current situation. Mark, once, I made a promise to you, and in my name, the promise has now been fulfilled. Normally, this is the judgment that I would have passed - first, all of the members of the family would be made to swear oaths to the Artefact created by the emperor. They would be made to recount all of their sins, after which the worst of them would be relegated to a certain period of torture. This would be the case only for those with the gravest of sins - such as mass murder and the like. As for the others, they will be given a choice to willingly swear themselves over to me, to serve the continent. If they agree, they will be put into service, and if their sins are few, they will even be given a chance to regain their freedom… After the war."
As soon as the members of the family had heard the words "regain their freedom", hope had filled their eyes, but the moment he said that it would be after the war, that hope disappeared, as they knew the chances of them surviving were low, especially if they were to be placed on the front lines, which was expected of those being forced to fight.
When Daneel had said the world "Emperor", a faint hint of worry had entered his tone, but no one had detected it.
Before he continued, he checked the system to see what he was doing.
Apparently, for the first few hours after he had been healed, the Emperor had spoken at length with Arafell to find out about a few things on the continent. She had apparently only given a faint overview before, so now that he had the chance, he had listened to everything, including regarding Daneel's meteoric rise, his past, the fate of the continent in the past few thousand years, and also the foe that they faced now.
After finding out everything, he had said that he needed to meditate and sort out a few problems that were still present within his mind. He was still absorbed in this, and after finding this out, Daneel really hoped that he would be done soon, as he wanted to carry out the tests as quickly as possible.
Pushing away these thoughts, he focused his eyes on Mark, who had gotten a difficult excision on his face, and continued.
"I want you to know that what they're thinking is incorrect - they will not be forced into the front lines of the war just because they will swear oaths to follow every command that given. Their capabilities will be used in the best way possible. Mark, this is the fate that awaits your family… If you choose not to step in. The situation is special, as I am in your debt for your help in the Order before. So, I have chosen to do this - I know of your brother, so I give you the freedom to take revenge. You can take time to think - and if you wish for any other changes to the judgment, too, you can let me know, so that we can come to a decision together. Go ahead. Once again, thank you."
Hearing Daneel give him the power over his family, Mark was surprised, at first, after which he turned around to the 60 individuals kneeling, and saw that most of them were looking at him with the hope that had once again returned to their faces.
As if he was unable to meet their gazes, he looked down at his hands, but when he spoke, it became clear that this was not the case.
"My brother held these very hands and taught me to use magic for the first time. He was brave. He was kind. He was righteous. And he should NOT have died for doing the right thing!"
He screamed the last few words, letting out all the anger that he seemed to have been hiding for all these years, and as soon as his words swept over the members of the family, fear replaced that hope, as they realized that their situation might actually be about to get worse.
Mark began to walk forward. Seeing him, the members of the family who were at the front tried to shy away, as they did not want to be the target of his wrath, at all.
He ignored them, though, and waded in deeper and deeper, until he got to the very end, where there was someone who had not stirred at all in all this time, even though so much had happened.
It was… his father, the High Seat.
As if feeling his son approach, he looked up, but his eyes were filled with poison.
"He should have died in the womb of that common whore I picked off the street to give me a son… I even talked to him, you know. I tried to convince him to swear the oath. He resisted. So I had to wring the life out of him with these hands. And what are you going to do about it? You were always weak and pathetic! Did you think I would grovel just because you got lucky, now? You thought wrong! As far as I am concerned, both of my sons died long ago! You're nothing!"
Saying so, he spat on the floor in front of Mark, whose face became blank as he heard this.
"I always thought that he died instead of being captured in the hands of those you send… You were the one who killed him? You?"
These words were met with a laugh, before the High Seat said "Of course it was me! And I benefited from the situation, by making sure that everyone knew about it! How do you think I became the High Seat, you naive fool? At least for that, I must thank you brother…hahaha!"
Madness had clearly taken ahold of the man, as he continued to laugh after he was done speaking, as if daring Mark to do his worst.
That laugh died instantly, though… When Mark conjured a sword, and put it to his father's neck.
The eyes of the father and son met, then.
Poison met fury.
Regret met pain.
And finally… pride met sorrow.
The pride was the sort that could be seen in those who gave it importance even in the face of death.
But it was twisted, as it was also the pride that had led him to kill his son.
In Mark's eyes was sorrow, as he wanted nothing else but his brother, alive, in front of him.
He raised his sword, and in the minds of everyone present, the fact that he was going to take revenge became clear.
Only… Before it swung down, the High Seat fished out something he had been hiding somewhere in his mouth, and spoke.
"I might be shackled, but I will never let myself be judged and sentenced to death by such a powerless, pathetic traitor as you. We sold out the continent, but you sold out your family. May you join me in the Heavens soon so that I can kill you there, you bastard."
It was only Daneel who had taken note of the look in Mark's eyes and had seen what he was going to do.
Sadly, it was too late. Seeing only the sword, and not understanding his son until the last moment, the High Seat bit down.
The object he had hidden in his mouth was an explosive trinket. With a loud 'BOOM', his head burst into a million pieces, showering Mark with its remains.