Chapter 65 Church Of Rectitude Attacks
Try as he may, Daneel could not escape from the clutches of the earth that had just trapped him. Yet, he struggled to keep a cool expression.
A wide crack appeared in the ground between them, while the King and the Grand Court Mage controlled their expressions just like Daneel.
"System, how do I get out?", asked Daneel urgently, sensing that he would have to get out of this predicament soon if he did not want his cover to be blown.
[Host has been trapped by a Human Mage Spell: Earth Prison. The solidified earth can be cut by using the modified fireball spell.
System informs host that the "Space Lock" spell is also active in host's location. Due to the activation of this spell, the surrounding space has been locked. A variation of the teleportation spell can be developed in five minutes which will let host teleport out of the location. Would you like to develop this spell?]
"Yes!", shouted Daneel in his mind, while five people wearing clothes similar to Radagasts' appeared out of the crack.
All five started chanting together in a strange language that Daneel had never heard. Between them, two small tornadoes started forming as he looked on trying not to panic.
These were no normal tornadoes. Bolts of lightning could be seen swimming around inside, as if they were snakes that would devour anything that entered.
"Selfish King, how did you dare to come out of the city when you know that the presence of your ancestor is the only thing stopping us from purging the nation of the corrupt nobility?", came Radagast's voice as he too stepped out of the crack.
Without giving the King a chance to answer, he turned around and looked at Daneel.
"As for you, which organization do you belong to? State the name, and we will spare you if it is an allied organization. Is it the Divine Elements sect? Your product is similar to one made by them. Are you perhaps an exiled disciple who is exploiting their secrets for some resources?"
Hearing Radagast speak, an expression of realization appeared on the King's face. Could this be true? he seemed to be wondering, making Daneel think fast about how he could remove the suspicion.
He was a powerful personage, after all. And wouldn't a powerful personage have his pride?
"Hmph, you have no right to know. Attack me and it will be a mistake which will make the Arch Bishop above you come to seek forgiveness. Let me go and I'll forget that this ever happened."
Daneel had studied the parchment about the Church of Rectitude, thus he knew the hierarchy of the members. An Arch Bishop was definitely higher in the list, so he decided to use that name to try and scare these priests away.
"An Arch Bishop? We will see about that. I believe that you are only an exile, and the great Saint Rectitude always instructs us to follow our instincts. Either leave if you are capable of it, or die at the hands of the lightning tornado. If the Arch Bishop does need to descend, I have no problem begging at your feet then." Saying so, he joined the group that was chanting.
Alas, his ploy had failed. This was the problem with zealots: their faith, both in their chosen leader and themselves, was often quite strong. In some cases, it was strong enough to even bet their lives on.
Cutting the earth and running away was no longer an option, because that would simply let the others know that he was not who he claimed to be. Besides, Radagast might decide to attack personally, and Daneel knew he could not beat him in a straight up fight. As for using the needle to kill the priests, the system had warned him before that it was not a threat to even Exalted Human Mages. Although it looked very impressive and had incredible penetrative power, it moved too slow and someone with enough power could easily dodge it even if he surprised them with it. Of course, it had been perfect for impressing the two because they had been fixated more on how he had even made the needles appear in the first place.
"Is there a way to stop the tornado from affecting me until the spell is developed?", asked Daneel, seeing that the tornado was slowly growing taller than him.
[Data about spell not present in database. Analysis in progress. Please wait.]
The wind and lightning would soon tear him into pieces, and the system was asking him to wait. At this moment, Daneel realized that he was depending on the system too much. Almost every time he faced a problem, he had gotten used to asking the system for a solution.
The current situation forced him to use his own brain for once, like the time when he trained on his own during the hell training in the Fists of Justice Training Hall. Only, with time, he had forgotten that feeling of depending on himself.
Strong winds were being spat out of the tornado at regular intervals, making Daneel's eyes water. Yet, he stared right at it as if he were looking for something he had lost inside.
As he did so, he noticed that although the earth all around had been disturbed, the spot at the center looked normal.
"Of course! The eye of the tornado is the safest place!", he realized, but he had to find a way to enter the eye without being swept away or killed by the cutting winds and the lightning first.
However he racked his brain, there was no way he could use a spell which would allow him to survive long enough to enter. The only passable option was a barrier spell that he had developed using the system: it made a transparent barrier above his skin protecting him from danger. Yet, due to his present level, the barrier was quite weak and would only provide him with a moment's protection.
Shifting his thinking, Daneel tried hard to remember everything from his previous life hoping to find a clue from it. Finally, he got an idea that might work.
It had only been a couple of minutes since the priests had appeared. What was weird was that the King and the Grand Court Mage had relatively calm expressions on their faces, and they had not even deigned to give a reply to Radagast.
"Jeiz!"
With a weird intonation from the chanting priests, the twin tornadoes starting moving towards the two of them.
Daneel simply stood there, but the King had already activated a barrier around the two of them.
Deciding to focus on saving himself first, Daneel commanded the system to cast the two spells he had decided on.
Hidden from the view of the priests, a tiny tornado similar to the one that was going to assault him came into existence in the air behind his back.
Since he had the parallel processing tool, Daneel also cast the barrier spell on himself for protection.
At the instant that the priests' tornado with swirling sand and rock came near him, Daneel bent back and entered the one he had made using his barrier for protection.
Only, his was revolving in a direction opposite to the one that was attacking him. A cancellation effect started to take place, lessening the speed at which the enemy tornado was revolving.
He had made sure to keep it hidden from the priests, who were completely focused on the king's actions.
The barrier protected him momentarily, before losing its effect and exposing him to the myriad sand particles and lightning bolts that were trying to destroy him.
At that exact moment, he heard the voice he had been waiting for since what felt like a very long time.
[Development complete. Lock-breaking Teleportation Spell developed.]
"Use it!", he screamed, vanishing from the spot before his tiny tornado lost all of its effect from trying to fight against the larger one. 2 needles of fire had already cut the earth trapping his feet.
The last thing he saw before he vanished from the scene was a very old man appearing in front of the King and the Grand Court Mage.
Daneel had no idea if he remembered correctly, but he could swear that he had seen the swirling particles and lightning bolts stop in mid air as the man raised his hand and pointed it at the tornado.