Chapter 429 Ashahell Speaks
If the room weren't so crowded, Daneel would definitely have been found out by now, due to how wide open his eyes were.
The reason behind him being startled wasn't the content of the statement from Ashahell. After all, he had seen his intention to 'defend Angaria' before, during his first meeting with the man.
No, his shock came from Ashahell's expression and the determination he heard in his voice, which made him understand that this was truly a feeling that was erupting from the bottom of his heart.
Before, Daneel had at least doubted whether the man had been putting up an act.
However, now, he was pretty sure that it wasn't.
No one could be this good an actor. It was impossible!
The room was circular, with gaggles of people standing all around while the central area was left empty.
There was only one chair in the entire room: and it was very much like a throne.
It did not have any decorations in the shapes of mythical beasts like what Daneel had seen in the other Kingdoms, but it was beautifully carved with flowing designs.
The back of the chair made it stand out: it was at least 20 feet tall.
The room itself had a very high ceiling at at least 50 feet, which gave it a very grand feel.
After the impassionate statement, a brief silence had fallen over the room, during which Daneel continued to stare.
His mind was muddled, and his thoughts were moving slowly, as if they were being dragged through thick mud. If Ashahell wasn't acting, then it meant that he truly wanted to save Angaria. Did that mean that the Watcher really was lying about everything, along with the black-robed man?
No. Before he decided either way, he needed to observe more.
The reason Daneel held off on making a decision was that his gut was telling him that there might be more to this man than what meets the eye.
Back when he had met him, his entire countenance made him appear like someone who was…sad.
He hadn't noticed this then due to the shock of meeting him, but when he thought back, this was what he felt.
As Daneel finally began to return to his senses, he noticed with alarm that Ashahell was turning towards him.
Due to long practice with the Basilisk's Breath, he had learned to notice moments where it was crucial that he use the inheritance.
Like now.
Quickly activating it, he ordered the system to change his camouflage to one of the bearded sect members he had seen in the Secret Archives.
At the same time, he ducked, and because there were at least 3 rows of individuals in front of him, he went out of the Sect leader's line of sight.
By the time he deactivated the Basilisk's Breath, Ashahell was already frowning slightly while looking at the position where he had been before, as if he had felt something and turned around, but there was nothing there.
With sweat appearing on his forehead, Daneel realized just how much of a close shave this had been.
The only way for a non-sect official to enter the central tower was through bribing that archive keeper, but that only allowed one to enter the room which held the Secret Archives.
If he was found here, it would become clear that he had some method to circumvent the sect's formation, which would make him a prime target.
Thankfully, his quick thinking had saved him.
Also, he had been quite impulsive.
What if entering the room had drawn the attention of everyone inside towards him?
What would he have done- waved and said that he was looking for the bathroom, before walking out?
Yeap. That would definitely have worked.
Berating himself and making a mental note to think and act even if the stakes were high, Daneel blended in with the crowd and finally noticed that the Matron and Marcus were standing in front of Ashahell.
The whispering from two individuals in front of him filled him in on the situation.
"I heard that seers appear only when mass casualties are about to occur on the continent. That damn Church is invading anyway, so that's pretty obvious."
"This seer is supposed to be pretty too. Her actual name is Xuan, but she is called 'Sister Xuan' on the orders of the Matron, 'cos she wants to protect her from distractions."
"Do you think she's exaggerating when she said that there wasn't a soul alive on Angaria in her vision?"
When Daneel heard this part, he couldn't help but take in a sharp breath, which interrupted the conversation briefly.
Thankfully, they resumed after glancing at him.
"Definitely. If it was that bad, the other sects wouldn't be so relaxed. They couldn't possibly send us all to our deaths, right?"
As one of the two in front of him said this, weirdly, the other didn't say anything, leaving the first chuckling nervously before the conversation ended in this bizarre fashion.
What could it mean?
Putting that aside, Daneel focused on the information he had acquired.
Sister Xuan, that bold girl, was some sort of 'seer' and had predicted something related to Angaria.
The system had been gathering data for quite some time, so he asked it what a seer was on the off chance that this information might already have been absorbed.
['Seer's appear when Angaria is in grave danger. 5 seers have appeared in the history of the continent…]
As the information about this ability flooded into his mind, Daneel realized why this news had warranted such a major gathering.
Only, he was puzzled why this hadn't sent the entire continent into a frenzy.
A few seconds later, he got the answer to this question.
"As per your request, I have conferred with the other members of the High Council. They have denied the motion to upgrade the danger level of the continent to the highest level. The reason being recorded is that no prediction in the history of Angaria has ever been accurate, at all. Final vote: 7-2."
Hearing this, the shoulders of both the Matron and Marcus slumped.
From their expressions, Daneel could tell that they expected this, but it still came as a disappointment.
However, the others in the room actually let out sighs of relief.
"The High Council knows best! If they say that it's not necessary, then it means that they must be confident of protecting all of us, at least. If we don't die foolishly during the war, that is."
"Although I doubt that, there is no way that I would train with those wenches from the Goddess's Sanctum. I would rather bend them over my leg than form a team with them. I can only say that I hope you are right."
As Daneel heard these two statements from the two in front of him whom he had eavesdropped on before, he was trying hard not to make judgments without knowing all the information.
He was the type who would consider a threat real and to be planned against if there was even a 1% chance of it happening, that too when the threat was on such a massive scale.
So, from his viewpoint, it just seemed foolish for the Big 4 not to escalate their 'danger level', whatever that was.
[Danger Level: 4 states of danger level have been decided on by the High Council-Yellow, orange, red and black in ascending order. Yellow is for situations where moderate loss of life is possible in the Central Continent. The rules state that secondary forces must be sent out to stop the threat. Orange is for threats to the stability of the Central Continent, which might lead to massive loss of life. All active duty personnel can be deployed. Red is for an active threat to the entire continent, which will definitely cause loss of life in both the Central Continent and the Big 4. Aggressive member hiring, trinket production, and strategical planning must be carried out. Black is for threats which will most possibly wipe out the entire continent. All of the Big 4 must unite, form combined armies, plan combined defense strategies and resort to extreme measures(including forbidden ones) to save Angaria.]
As this long explanation rattled through Daneel's head, he got a better understanding of why the two in front of him had spoken in that way.
Clearly, all this information was from the secret archive, which made Daneel feel relieved that the decision to gamble everything on coming here for data hadn't been wrong.
As the whispering resumed, Daneel assumed the meeting was over, as the Matron and Marcus were just standing there, looking down with defeated expressions on their faces.
However, Ashahell spoke after a little while, and what he said made both of them snap their heads up as if they had been electrocuted, while Daneel even had to bite his tongue hard so that he wouldn't exclaim due to finally uncovering a mystery that had plagued him quite heavily since he had taken full control of the formation in the Hidden Kill Sect.
"Don't lose all hope like that. I already expected this response from the High Council. Although I am its head, it's sad that I am powerless in the matter of forcing them to do anything. So, I plan to take things into my own hands. We all know the hidden history about of the Central Continent: the strongest inheritance and the strongest trinket that has ever been developed on Angaria was made by the largest empire which once sprawled across the entire continent, in all 4 directions. This was their greatest achievement, but this also led to their ruin. Hence, the Kingdoms and forces were broken up, and the inheritance and the trinket were broken apart and distributed among all of them in case Angaria ever faces a threat which will certainly destroy it. The reason behind their ruin is why we do not allow empires on Angaria, even today. I plan to collect them all and try to create a way where they can be used without danger. It is our last hope."