Chapter 683 Damned if you do, Damned if you don'
After Erin said these words, a silence descended over the cave during which she unflinchingly stared into Daneel's eyes, while he could only keep looking, taken aback.
She had spoken almost as if she was talking to some toddler, and beside her, Daneel even spotted Drakos blushing and turning to the side.
"I apologize on her behalf, Young King. She has always been pretty outspoken, and she is famous for saying whatever comes to her mind."
Daneel could definitely see how she had gotten this reputation, so he simply chose to not respond to this, as he wasn't confident enough that he could say something that didn't reveal something about him which would also count as a great comeback. He might have shot back right away if this wasn't the Empire Spirit that had given him such a big scare just now, but in this case, he chose to take the gentleman's route.
Clearing his throat, he said, "The Church really has infiltrated the Sect of Hedon. They want to wake the Mad Doctor up and set him on me. That seems to be the only plausible explanation behind the words of the infiltrator."
Hearing this, Erin got a very serious expression on her face, and even Drakos adopted a grave one while he looked at him.
"Tell me everything that happened," Erin said, following which Daneel began to repeat the same things he had heard from Percy.
After he was done, Erin sank into deep thought, and Drakos looked very troubled.
Daneel waited to see what she would say, as she was one of the most unique existences that he had ever met. She had been the sect leader of one of the Big Four for a long, long time, and along with that, she was also an Empire spirit who had once been among the top in the Empire. All of these experiences must definitely have made her someone who had a very acute understanding of the continent and the threat of the Church, which was exactly what Daneel needed right now.
For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why the Church was doing this. By all accounts, they should mostly be infuriated with the Head for defeating them like that, and although Daneel had considered whether this was because the Head was clearly showing favor for him, the Church did not seem like those typical antagonists who would go after small fries like him with the hope that it would affect their main enemy.
He had also considered whether this was revenge for what had happened in Lanthanor before, but if they had that intention, he could guess that they would have moved much sooner. This was a golden opportunity for them as they had managed to infiltrate the sect, so it didn't make sense why they were taking so much risk to do this and target him when they could be doing a lot more to destabilize the continent.
Finally, Erin spoke up after a few seconds.
"King… I have bad news and even worse news. Which do you wish to listen to, first? Of course, this my analysis, and you can choose to listen to it or not."
As Daneel heard this, he was reminded of her statement before where she had said that he was free to judge her if he wanted. All of this made it clear that she was, for some reason, hostile towards him, and he wanted to know why that was the case.
"Did I offend you in some way? Putting aside the fact that we cannot fully trust you yet even though you laid out your story, I respect your opinion as an Empire Spirit and the trusted advisor of the Emperor who has a host of experience. Besides, you've also been the sect leader, so I expect that you will also be able to speak from the perspective of one who knows almost everything regarding what is going on in Angaria. The reason behind me not trusting you is not because I suspect that something might be wrong with your identity, but because with Empire Spirits, my experience has mostly been that they are dangerous beings who warrant a lot of caution. No offense. Of course, it is different with Drakos, but you already know why that is."
Hearing this, Erin raised an eyebrow and asked a question that made Daneel widen his eyes with shock.
"Are you referring to Arafell, by any chance?"
What the hell? So she knew about Arafell?
He had to take a moment to come to terms with this.
Why the f*ck was it that almost every time she opened her mouth, there was always something or the other that made him feel this damn emotion which kept surprising him even though he thought that he had become numb to it?
As he thought about it, he realized that it changed… A lot.
Daneel blurted out the first question he got.
"Wait… Are you the one who is giving Arafell inside information regarding the Big Four?"
Daneel remembered that Arafell had said that she knew almost everything regarding the Big Four, and it had sounded like she had a pretty strong lead on the inside. As he thought about it, it became obvious that the strongest lead would definitely be one who was at the level of the sect leader.
Shrugging, Erin said, "Of course! We've been working together for a long, long time. We didn't get along that well during the Empire, but in this age, we have mutual goals - both of as want to save Angaria. I want to do that by making a sect that will fight when the time comes, while she wants to take control of the continent. I promised her that I wouldn't stop her, but that I wouldn't help her actively, either. So, she asked me whether I could give her inside information, and I found nothing wrong in that. Our relationship has become much better because we've been talking for so many years, but even if that wasn't the case, I would have talked to you in the same way as I really detest those who use other's feelings against them. True, I do that myself, and a lot, too, but I try not to especially when one's feelings are as deep and sincere as Arafell's. Her love was known throughout the Empire as the purest to have ever existed, and you've now besmirched that. She hasn't even responded to me since then! I tried to reach out to her to support her, but all I got was silence. She is probably lying somewhere, completely broken, all because if you! True, she might have been your opponent, but you should really have acted with the knowledge that we will need her if we want to face the Church and win in the future! You-"
"Erin. Calm down."
With each sentence, the Empire Spirit's tone had started to become more and more heated, and toward the end, she had already gotten up and was pointing a finger at Daneel while taking steps toward him, almost as if she wanted to attack him out of anger.
It was Drakos's calm tone which interrupted her and made her take a few deep breaths, all while Daneel looked straight into her eyes.
Oh. So that was the reason.
Initially, he had felt that it was a little hypocritical, as he could guess that her role obviously entailed doing similar things day in and day out. However, as she continued, he saw the reason behind her being so enraged, and behind that, he gleaned that there was quite a bit of anxiousness that had probably been eating her up because she hadn't been able to reach Arafell.
In fact, he could guess that even she found it hypocritical as she did not seem like someone was unintelligent, and that she was mainly angry because she was worried.
Daneel had been keeping quiet and controlling himself so that he wouldn't expose anything about himself, but now, the Empire Spirit had gone ahead and done exactly what he had been trying not to do.
First of all, she was clearly an emotional person who wasn't afraid of speaking out and following her feelings, instead of being cold and calculating all the time. Of course, this had been hinted at from the way she had been with Drakos, too, but this confirmed it.
Secondly, she was someone who valued bonds, because in her own words, she hadn't liked Arafell initially, but talking for such a long time must have created one that was the reason behind her angry outburst right now. This wasn't just the worry that one of the assets that would be most effective against the Church might have been injured permanently - no, it was the worry felt for a friend who must be grieving, alone.
Also, this perfectly fit into Arafell's every statement when she had talked about taking over Angaria. In any war, information was key, and if she really did go up against the Big Four, she would be fighting from a very advantages position as she would have someone on the inside at a very high level to give her all the information she needed. Along with spells from the third seal and proper preparation, Daneel could see how Arafell would almost find it easy to take over the continent, especially if she also won the Race and used the Grand Inheritance to rebuild her body. She would be more powerful than any Hero on Angaria anyway, and with all the information at her disposal, it would be a piece of cake.
After taking a few more deep breaths, Erin sat beside Drakos again, who caught her hand and said, "The king had no choice. She was using underhanded methods, too, and he couldn't let her win, especially because he knows everything about the Grand Inheritance. It was too risky to allow her to break the third seal, especially when she did not seem like someone who would listen to others. Besides…"
As Drakos was about to continue, Daneel raised a hand to stop him.
He knew what the Dragon was about to say, but he wanted the revelation to have more effect on the Empire Spirit.
He had to say that although he had been quite cautious about her until now, that outburst of hers had actually made him understand enough about her to feel that it would be excellent if he could get her on his side.
Well, he had one Empire Spirit under him, who had already become indispensable in each and every one of his pursuits, and who had also turned out to have an excellent perspective that helped him in almost every situation. Why not add another who wasn't bound by the shackles of innocence?
This was great to think about, but Daneel knew that it would not be an easy task, especially after seeing the personality of this Empire Spirit which did not seem like that of one who would be ready to follow just anyone.
Still, he had to try.
"How do you speak to Arafell, by the way?", He asked, following which she frowned and answered, "There's a special spell that allows her to materialize here."
"Alright. Try messaging her again, but this time, tell her that if she doesn't come, then I'll tell you about what happened the last time I met her. Just try it."
As Erin heard this, she didn't seem convinced, but Drakos nodded encouragingly beside her.
This pushed her to take out a trinket that was shaped like a golden flower, and not even two seconds after she sent the message, a voice was instantly heard in the cave they were in.
"King Daneel, if you even think about doing what you just threatened me with, I swear that we will become irreconcilable enemies!"
With this thunderous statement, the woman who had already entered the hearts of many, many Angarians appeared in the room.
This was another physical apparition that looked just like her, and she was fuming while looking at Daneel.
Raising his hands as if to show that he was surrendering, Daneel said, "I'm sorry! Erin, here, was accusing me of 'breaking' you, so I needed to show what that you were at least… Not broken. Which reminds me, can I get the answer regarding what exactly happened that day?"
Daneel had to admit that he was still really, really curious regarding why Arafell had thanked him and cried on his shoulders for such a long time, but it looked like he was destined never to find the answer.
With a smile appearing on the corner of her mouth that looked exquisite, Arafell said, "Dream on. You'll NEVER find out. But if you even refer to it one more time…"
The warning didn't even need to be given. Daneel was still a bit guilty regarding what had happened, so he only got an expression of extreme frustration on his face, which delighted Arafell, before he shook his head and looked to the side while grumbling something under his breath.
Smiling wide as she saw this, Arafell walked over to Erin and said, "I'm sorry I didn't respond for so long. Is there anything wrong? I'll explain about everything later, when this cave is not so crowded."
Right as Arafell said these words, another realization appeared to Daneel which made him stand up and point at Erin before exclaiming, "Wait, if you knew Arafell, you must already have known about me and Drakos!"
Erin had gotten a very relieved expression on her face after seeing that Arafell was fine. So, when she saw the King say this, she actually burst out laughing.
After her laughter echoed in the cave for two seconds, she controlled it momentarily and said, "Yup! In your shock, I knew that you would forget that Hero-level camouflage spells erase all signs, including smell. I got you! I just wanted to see how the famous King who had managed to sway my beloved burning Dragon and even break all three seals would fare in front of pressure and panic, and I must say that I was pleased. Anyway, I'll make the choice for you. The bad news is that the Church now thinks of you as a threat, and they want to test your power. The even worse news is that…no matter what you do, you're screwed! Your only options are to either die in the hands of an Exalted Champion, as that is the only outcome which will not cause suspicion to arise in the Church, or show your strength and survive, in which case they'll treat you as a real threat and try even harder to kill you! You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't! Oh, and before you die, please do me a favor and give me my Dragon's consciousness…we have a lot more 'conversations' to share!"