Chapter 766 'Kooky Percy'
The next day, Jessica could be seen pacing around frantically in her cell.
She had been at this ever since the plan of the King had been revealed. Multiple ideas kept appearing to her, but she could only keep discarding them all, as none of them felt as if they were good enough.
Not even for a moment did she pause to accept that she had been beaten, as that had never been her character. She knew it in the back of her mind, and it filled her with so much anger that she was only driven forward to win, once more, no matter what she had to do.
The best plan that had come to her, so far, was to try and have someone attest that it was all false. She had already confirmed easily that it was all an act as the King hadn't even used spells that truly worked against those who were powerful, but again, in this method, she would still be passive, and it might not even work in the end.
The King had hit her directly where it hurts- as she was controlling the trading families who had never had much love among the commoners, his plan was all the more effective, as it corroborated with what one could expect from these families which only cared about themselves. There were some families which didn't fit this mold, but even they had been grouped together with the others now, and reports kept pouring in that all their businesses all over the continent were repeatedly being attacked.
Jessica even knew that some of these attacks were being carried out by the King, as he must be looking to gain their resources as they were in a vulnerable state that could be exploited.
From this, it was clear that he had planned out every step from here, and that must include all counter-measures she could take, too.
What he had effectively done was place her in the same position as the one in which he had been before this entire thing had happened, and Jessica almost caught herself wishing that she hadn't set herself against such a difficult foe.
She quashed that, though, and just refocused on her zeal for revenge.
It was probably best to forsake the trading families and the coin business, as it was evident that the masterstroke of the King had ensured that the people would not be trusting other sources any time soon. She had also considered having the same happen to his coins, but that would seem too obviously fake.
Just as Jessica started to identify what other businesses she could aim to bring down the King, she saw a call coming in from Nolan.
The man whom she had helped on a whim had turned out to be quite the steadfast supporter, and as she answered the call, she prepared to tell him that they would just be shifting their focus.
Yet, to her surprise…she saw that he wasn't alone.
His back was facing the display trinket, and it also looked like he had sent the call secretly. In front of him was someone whom Jessica didn't recognize, but he was wearing maroon colored robes which were iconic in the Sect of Hedon.
Hmm? Nolan wasn't supposed to have any connections in the Sect of Hedon, right?
Puzzled, she watched on, but as their conversation floated into her ears, shock appeared on her face.
"Nolan, Nolan, Nolan. You are one of the know transgressors who attacked his own brother out of scorn. I decided to start my righteous campaign with you. From here on, I will target all those who do wrong by their family instead of appreciating the gift given to them by Mother Angaria. Perhaps, in this way…I might get closer to being accepted by my father, bless his name, wherever he is at the moment. Mad Doctor was his name, and with his inspiration, I have chosen mine to be 'Kooky Percy'. It has a certain ring to it, don't you think? Now, prepare to die."
Knowing Nolan's past, Jessica could expect that it might sound like the biggest joke that he had done wrong by his family. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and from Nolan's reaction where he replied in a tone that was tinged with anger, it was clear that he was quite adversely affected by having the tragedy of his life parodied in this manner.
"You're still a puny Peak Warrior. And you speak of killing me? I'll throw you back in your sect, but not before taking a few limbs as recourse for what you have said. You-"
Just as Nolan was about to raise a hand, though, an object appeared between the hands of the one who had just called himself 'Kooky Percy'.
Jessica's eyes widened in alarm as she recognized what it was, and the first thing she did was send a message to her mentor.
Alas, she wasn't quick enough. The object was in the shape of a tiny, golden bow, and the moment it appeared in the world, an arrow was shot out that moved faster than any speed that a Champion could reach.
It was an incredibly precious one-time use Hero-level attack trinket, and the only thing that Nolan could do was frantically try to teleport away.
It seemed that knowing that placing any anti-teleportation trinket would tip Nolan off, Percy hadn't bothered, and had only depended on the speed of the attack trinket which was guaranteed to kill most Champions.
If Nolan's Champion Path, which was kept secret for a long time, didn't deal with reaction time, he would definitely have met his end.
Still, he wasn't fast enough, and even as his body began to disappear into the space door he had created to teleport away, the arrow arrived.
He had taken care to enter with his vital organs first, so he had turned to the side and already placed his head inside, making it so that his body was now a strange amalgamation of human body parts with the rest having disappeared through the space door.
Delight still appeared on 'Kooky Percy's face, though, because as soon as the arrow impacted Nolan's shoulder, his teleportation was forcefully interrupted, and he was blown back with an amount of force that made it seem as if he had been hit by a thousand battering rams at once.
His body, from his shoulder, was mangled horribly, and the damage was only not worse because of the many, many barriers that had sprung up and been destroyed.
At least half of his body was affected, and as he lay on the ground gasping for breath, he looked like someone who had been half-crushed by an unstoppable force.
Even the clothes had mixed into his skin and flesh until the two were almost indistinguishable, and with a grin, Percy approached him while saying, "Ah, guess I'll just have to finish the job…"
"Stay your hand!"
It was at this moment that a golden light cascaded down from above onto the spot where they were standing.
After being blown out of the room, Nolan had landed in a field nearby where Percy had quickly arrived to finish the job.
With frustration on his face, Percy looked up to see that a woman had arrived, and she was actually someone that Daneel would have recognized.
It was the Matron of the Goddess's Sanctum sect.
Simmering anger was clear on her features, and after checking on Nolan, she immediately enshrouded him in some sort of a formation. He rose into the air and began to be healed, and even as despair appeared on Percy's face as he saw this, he was addressed by the Matron.
"For attempting to kill a Champion of the Big Four, you have been summoned by the High Council for judgment."
Forcefully teleported away, Percy found himself in a dark place where whispers could be heard around him.
He could feel that his hands and legs were shackled to a chair, but it was as if his vision of sight had been taken away. Even his Mageroot was somehow unavailable to him, and this was something that would cause desperation to appear in any Mage of Angaria.
Yet, living up to the nickname he had given himself, Percy grinned and shouted, "All transgressors will die! He is only the first!"
"Quiet! You have been brought here to be judged for the crime of the attempt to kill a Champion of the Big Four, who I understand is now stable, but will be out of commission for quite some time. What say you in your defense?"
The voice seemed to be coming from right in front of him, and it was a strong one, with a hint of the quality of one who was accustomed to giving judgments.
In response, Percy gave a curious answer which gave rise to even more rumors.
"Hehe, I won't say anything, but give me back control of my Mageroot, and I'll show you something…special. All of you are Heroes, right? So a Warrior like me should be able to do nothing to you…"
The request was definitely a strange one, and it was something that was heard seldom in the hallowed halls of the High Council, which one could only hear of, and not see.
The one in front of him seemed to be discussing something with those that were near him, and finally, Percy found himself able to feel his Mageroot again.
He heaved a sigh of relief, as the feeling was as sweet as that of nectar sliding down one's throat.
Regaining his crazy smile, though, he did something which, for the first time since he had arrived, caused absolute silence to appear in the place he had arrived.
It was just a spell, and to the layman, it would seem like a children's trick.
A globe of water appeared, which transformed into a globe of fire, and then earth, and then continued to change into many different types of elemental particles.
After the hush, the man right in front of Percy spoke in an almost petrified voice.
"T-The Elemental Transformation Path! How?!"
As an uproar began after he said these words, Percy smiled, as everything was going to plan.
…
An hour later, Jessica was waiting for news from her other subordinate above ground, who was just a Warrior.
"He is stable, ma'am. The best healers are being deployed, and because he was one of the most powerful in the sect, the Goddess's Sanctum is sparing no expense. He is expected to make a full recovery, and the perpetrator has been hauled in front of the High Council."
Extreme relief appeared on Jessica's face as she heard this.
She did care about those who were willing to follow her faithfully, and Nolan had always been one of her best subordinates.
She had only been able to watch as he was attacked, and it was her message which had swiftly deployed the Matron to save his life.
Hoping that the perpetrator would be punished very severely, Jessica lay down on the bed nearby and prepared to get some sleep so that she could tackle this problem of hitting back at the King afresh the next day.
Right before she drifted off to sleep, though, she heard the sound of people walking outside.
Her cell had no doors or windows, but she could hear things from outside.
To her surprise, someone was marched past her cell and placed in the one beside hers.
Hmm? Had some seed gotten into a fight, or something?
Well, what does it matter to me. King, just you wait. My counter-attack will crush you!
Telling herself this, she fell asleep, and as was normal in these past few days, the man she was thinking about day and night appeared in her dreams.
Typically, it was the scene of her dreams being crushed that she relived, and although it could be said to be a nightmare, she instead found inspiration in it which spurred her on more and more to fulfill her goal.
As always, she was in that corridor where she was prepared to kill the other seeds in front of her, and as she found herself frozen due to a spell, the Head appeared along with the King.
She waited for the dream to take its natural course, yet…something was wrong.
Contrary to what had happened, the King actually began walking towards her, and try as she might, she found to her horror that she couldn't move, even though she had been able to before because it was her dream.
Thud Thud Thud
The sounds of his footsteps seemed to reverberate in her ears, and as he reached closer and closer, for some reason, Jessica started to feel more and more panic.
After he finally appeared in front of her, he did something which made it clear that this was definitely not the nightmare she had been having every day.
He took a step back, and taking a deep breath, he…punched.
It was aimed straight at her stomach, and Jessica had the wind knocked out of her.
Unable to understand what the f*ck was going on, she looked on even though her eyes began to water, but as the King opened his mouth and said something which seemed to echo in the corridor, a chill unlike any she had felt in her life crept up her spine.
"Aah, that felt good. Now, then. Let's have some fun, shall we?"