Chapter 857 Return of the Infamous Dummy 1 - Please read below
Looking at the two individuals who had been given a couple of fish to ensure that they would first pay back their loan and take care of all of their matters before becoming available to handle of the tasks that they had promised to do, Elanev asked, "Do we really need them? Wouldn't we be placing them in a lot of danger?"
Shaking his head, Daneel, who had disguised himself so that no one on the continent would be able to recognize him said, "Not at all. At most, I'll be using them to go to places where there might be surveillance. In that case, it's better to go as a wisp of consciousness rather than to risk using a clone and alerting the Order that we might be close by. Absolute caution is required, and I was meaning to find someone for this purpose anyway. Rather than just abducting people, I thought that it was better to give someone a choice. Don't you think so?"
Faxul directly nodded, and seeing the two kings agree with each other, Elanev resumed his grumbling, which was what he had been doing for the entire day.
"Damn mages. Spells for every damn thing. Just wait till I breakthrough! I'll make sure I use all kinds of spells, too. Fighters should be able to use even more spells. All of you are going to be jealous! And why can't I have a damn Bloodline! It's not easy to wade through all that water without transforming into a Black Raven or a f*cking shark, you know!"
He had been saying these words under his breath for the whole day, and seeing him finally say it out loud, Daneel and Faxulk looked at each other and then burst out laughing.
Their moods seemed to be much more relaxed than what they had been a day ago, when they had seen the plan of the Order, but still, it was obvious that everything was not back to normal as the laugher cut off in a few more moments, as if they had remembered the situation that they were in.
Still, the brief moment of elation managed to relax them quite a lot, and they nodded in response to Elanev's words.
It really was not easy to go through the terrifying whirlwinds and treacherous waters of the Endless Sea without having a Bloodline to call upon, or Champion level strength to depend upon. The two of them had been having it easy, which was why even their clothes hadn't been touched, but Elanev had been finding it quite difficult.
Still, they had been told secretly by the old man in his head that they should not give him any help whatsoever, as it would motivate him further to break through to become a Champion sooner. They had agreed that it made sense, so they had just said that he should breakthrough if he wanted to have spells cast on him.
Out of pride, he had not asked again, and thus, they had entered the situation that they were in, at the moment.
Still deciding to defer to the old man's words, Daneel changed the subject, and although Elanev grumbled some more, he started to listen with interest because the king had finally decided to shed some light on the task that they had been engrossed in ever since he had made the declaration that it was time to power up.
From the way he had said it, they had almost expected that the King might have some sort of pool lying around nearby which they could dunk their Head in and come out as Heroes or Champions.
Of course, it was Elanev who had assumed this more than Faxul, who was usually more sensible, but still, seeing that that was not the case had made them both wonder just what his plan was.
Instead of telling about it, though, he had said that he wanted to make a few trips out and clearly see something by himself, before telling them what was up. Apparently, this was so that he would know whether it was a worthwhile expedition or not, and because they had to be very, very careful to not be caught by the various methods being used by the Order and the Big Four to detect and corner the now most wanted criminals of the continent, they had had no time to talk.
Daneel saw that his parents were still asleep. It had only been half a day since the discovery of the plan of the Order, and it had not been spent in vain. Right away, he had recognized that his objective should be to break through the plateau of power that he had found himself in after the incident where he had killed the Mad Doctor.
He had started to believe, before, that the power he wielded was enough for his present situation, and that it would give him enough time to look for and safely obtain the means to break through again, but he had been proven egregiously wrong.
Still, all was not for naught. The whole reason behind him making the declaration was that he had found something in the original library that he had scanned using the system, and the expedition's purpose had been to check whether it was true.
The result was not conclusive yet, but still, Daneel decided that he should at least tell those under him regarding just what they would be looking for the next few days.
However, just as he was about to start… He detected another change in the kingdom, which led him to activate a display trinket that once again showed the scene of the Kingdom of Lanthanor.
The last time this had happened, they had heard personally the words of those two Champions which had made them so angry that it been very hard to control themselves, and thus, slight panic appeared in both Elanev's and Faxul's faces as they hoped that nothing untoward was happening in their home again.
This sucks.
This thought passed through all three of their minds.
Having to watch like thieves while the actual enemies roamed freely in the continent had been so frustrating that the three had had to drastically change their own characters to be able to even act normally without devolving into a permanent fit of anger, but now, as another conversation reached their ears, they realized that they might have to go through all that again.
"He has always hidden his power, right? Even now, he told no one where he was going. Maybe it's possible that he… Chose other means to break past his own limits?"
These words were spoken in a tone which made the hairs on the back of their hands stand up, and in the next second, the sound of a tight slap being delivered echoed in the Chamber of Golden Lightning.
Following this, Eloise's sweet, sweet voice reached them, but it was now tinged with fury.
"Watch what you say! Another word like that, and I'll make sure you're thrown out! Leave! If you weren't the maid I've known since my childhood, you would already be locked in prison! Go!"
"Apologies, Your Ladyship. I'll make sure of that. I'm sorry for overstepping my boundaries, I'll make sure to watch what I say from now on. I'll take my leave."
These words which were delivered in a meek tone were followed by the sound of someone walking away, and after that, a low sound reached them.
It was that of someone sobbing softly, and as they recognized that it was Eloise who was probably once again letting out the feelings that she didn't even know why she had, Daneel let out a sigh of sadness and cut off the connection.
"Just a maid overstepping her boundaries, right?", asked Elanev, but when Daneel give him the answer, it looked obvious that he was really tempted to fly out right now and let it all go to hell.
"If it was just that, I would not have noticed it. No, this conversation tripped the sensor which indicated that Hero-level spells were being used. That means… That that voice was definitely using some or the other spell which probably works to convince the one it is targeted on into believing something they would never have considered before. It's possible that they've taken the next natural step to turn all of my former comrades against me, in the hopes that it will make me angry enough to come out of hiding. Or maybe… They just want to see the very people whom I've always trusted and depended on deciding to turn against me and call for my arrest, or replacement. Now that… Seems like something that is worthy of the mind of the Overseer."
Daneel spoke in a sardonic tone, and it was obvious that he was trying hard to control his emotions, too.
Elanev had to pinch himself to ensure that he wouldn't burst out, and it was only after a few moments that the three managed to get back to a mood that at least resembled normalcy.
Following this, Daneel spoke the answer that he had been about to give before.
"Listen. I was not joking around when I said what I said yesterday. I truly want to dominate, and for that, we need power. Originally, the plan was to use the rewards that we so painstakingly obtained to get the mysterious substance that even the Empire did not know about which would have enabled me and Faxul, and you, after you broke through to become a Champion, to reach the peak of the Champion realm and directly aim for the realm of Heroes. Knowing the absolute potential of both mine and Faxul's Paths and Bloodlines, we were confident that we would be able to stand against most in that realm even if we were newly broken through. After that, we could simply have bided our time and kept gaining power using the resources of the Order, but of course, all of that is now thrown out of the window. All of the rewards are wasted, and we can no longer delve into the deep reserves of the Order which I was targeting before. That leaves us with very, very few options. It is most obvious that it is not an option, at all, to calmly train using the training chamber we have here, or the Natural Energized Training Chamber I retrieved before our…exile. It will take simply too long, and by the time we gain enough power, the war would already have ended with the Church, or someone else emerging as the victor. Honestly, at this point, I don't know, and I don't care, because we need to get this done with first. If the magical solution that allows people to reach the peak of the Hero realm could be made using Ker roots, I wouldn't have hesitated to break down the Training Chamber, but alas, it apparently requires something which is not documented anywhere. Very few supposedly know how it is made, and it is a closely guarded secret that only those who are bound watertight by multiple Oaths of the Order have probably been allowed access to it. But in the Library of Origin… I found a different place where we might obtain information about it. At first, I was only focusing on finding out the identity of the false Overseer, but I still collected all of the information, just to be safe. This has paid off, because there are a lot of indications about a mysterious place in the Endless Sea where one can go to if all hope is lost, and if there is nothing or no one else that they can turn to for help. It is written that if it is not one's last hope, then they will directly perish, and even if it is, there is a very big chance that they will still find themselves living out their last days wishing that they hadn't ever embarked on the journey. Well… I thought that this really fits in with our situation. Even if half of what I've read about this place is true, I would never have wanted to get within 100 km of it if I were not at the peak of the Hero realm- that is how dangerous it feels. But now, boys… we no longer have a choice. Just like that couple, we have to throw our fate to the heavens."
As the king said the last sentence while shaking his head, Faxul asked, "What is it, anyway?"
The answer… Made both of them widen their eyes and wondered if it was even possible that what the king was saying was true.
"An offshore stronghold of the continent which was built during the Empire- and abandoned after the Apocalypse. It was meant as the ultimate doomsday shelter, but it transformed into the deepest pit of hell as the monstrosities there took complete control. Now…we march into its maw. Whether we snatch fortune from between its jaws, or perish within its fiery depths is unknown. But whatever the case…you can be damn sure that I won't go down without a fight."