Chapter 905 Making History
"Should I bring in more Heroes, King?"
As Daneel heard this question in his mind which was from the Head who had moved to imprison Arnold in this way using the contingent of Heroes that he had come with while being hidden perfectly from everyone was present, he shook his head and said, "No, this is enough. The body he is inhabiting is too weak to be able to do anything. Like he said, he's only here to gloat. And I suspect that we cannot even do anything to him - this seems to be a spell where he can end himself if there is even a sign that we are going to do something to affect his consciousness."
Daneel's response was based on the message from the system, which had just scanned Arnold.
It wasn't sure, though, because the spell that it was seeing resembled one that had been theorized and implemented to some extent in the age of the Empire, but which was being cast in a different way, making it apparent that it must have come from the Church.
In the silence that followed Arnold's statement, everyone stared at the Minister who had seemed so kind, and had done so much to change Axelor for the better over all these years.
At least, that was what they had thought, whereas in reality… They were being manipulated all along.
His face had changed from the kind one of the Minister to one that was filled with extreme pleasure, and everyone had already recognized it to be the one that belonged to the man who had been in the air before, at the time when their Kingdom had been destroyed.
Just like Daneel had told Arnold, he had been thinking about it quite a lot during the week when he had been out of action. As someone who always liked to implement perfect plans, such a failure that had led to such dire consequences was not something he could live with.
After identifying the Minister, Daneel had asked the system, and had found out that it was possible for an Empire Spirit to remotely possess someone if they were close by. At that time, all signs had pointed to Arnold being present in the King's Head, and now, it was obvious that it had all been a ruse.
Hell, it was even a multilayered ruse - he had given off many signs to show that the podium which was all-important to all Empire Spirits was located in the Throne, and this had also been what had led to Daneel blowing up the Palace, and he had even thought that he had definitely resolved the issue of this Empire Spirit in these two ways.
He had been fooled. Or maybe… The right term was 'screwed right in the arse', just like Arnold had mentioned.
However… Wasn't it true that his plan had been thwarted, too?
Looking around, Daneel saw that the expressions with which people were watching Arnold were changing from shock to fear and then even extreme sadness, as they were remembering those that they had lost.
Even though those abducted by the Church were only a small proportion of the Axelorians when compared to those who were here, it was a known fact throughout the continent that Axelor had always been a Kingdom with very few family lines, which meant that people living very far apart would be related in a lot more ways than would be expected if they were living normally in the Central Continent.
The sentiment of a large group was a powerful thing. And so… Daneel was not prepared to let Arnold have another victory.
But what could be done?
He looked around a bit more, and suddenly, he got a brilliant idea.
First, after reaching Arnold, Daneel reached down and caught his hair before raising his face to face him.
From his investigations, he knew that the one who was being possessed was actually a very decent and honest man, and that he really had the good of his Kingdom in his heart. He had apparently been the voice of reason and logic in all of the angry outbursts of the king, before, and hence, when he had taken up the mantle of leadership after the king's demise, everything had seemed perfect.
The introduction of democracy had also been a uniquely interesting thing that Daneel had been quite amused by, but he had simply thought that the people deserved this after suffering for so long. Of course, now, it was clear that Arnold had always possessed the one with the most probability of winning, so in the end, he had been able to become the leader, again.
And perhaps… the love that everyone had for the minister had also come in handy when implementing such a plan so secretly.
Well, all of these things could be uncovered with time, but first, this Empire spirit had to be handled.
Daneel's purpose behind catching the minister's body using his apparition was twofold - first, it was to show his dominance over the one whose laughter still seemed to be echoing all over, and sure enough, being mistreated in this way after being in command for so long infuriated Arnold and made him look up.
The other purpose… Was to let the system scan him, and in a second, it sent him a message.
[Analysis has been confirmed. Target is using a variation of the theoretical spell from the Empire which allows a single, small piece of a consciousness to enjoy a heightened state of awareness where it can act as an individual unit of the one that it belongs to before imploding. This method was researched as it would be the perfect way to send messages. The implosion can also be triggered consciously, in case there is an attempt by anyone to take control of this piece of consciousness in order to obtain information from it. Also, in this case, a special spell has been cast where even if means which are beyond the reaction time of the target are used to imprison his consciousness, the implosion will still be triggered.]
Of course. For someone this smart, something like this was to be expected. It would be naïve to hope that they would be able to gain from this action of Arnold's so easily, but Daneel's idea would ensure that they would still do so, even though it would not be in a way that would have been expected by anyone.
Looking straight into Arnold's eyes, Daneel spoke.
"No. Angaria is safe. It is one Kingdom short, but what we have lost in that Kingdom which would have been glorious if not for you, we will gain in the unity that will be born from this event that was caused because of you. So, you need to know that you actually ended up helping Angaria, in the end, and repaying the Emperor for choosing to save you and give you this opportunity, which you only used to betray him and his trust. Oh, I know you feel no shame, and for the life of me, I don't know what he saw in you, but I do promise you one thing: I'm coming for you. No matter how much you hide, no matter in what corner of the Mainland you cower, I will find you, and I will make you wish that an eternity was not so eternal, as you will be howling in pain forever. This is what you deserve for betraying your motherland, and it is the same fate that I shall reward to anyone who even thinks about allying with the Church. Betrayal of this sort is the worst that can exist, so it must similarly be punished in the worst manner possible. And now… You're still cocky thinking we can't do anything to you, right? Well… You're wrong."
The King's speech was heard by all, and by his request, it was also being transmitted throughout the continent using the Network of Angaria. Eloise had already been contacted to set up this broadcast, and according to her, the entire continent was watching in rapture, as they had also heard a lot of things but had not gotten any confirmation regarding what had been going on in the continent.
Well, this was a perfect opportunity, then.
During Daneel's speech, Arnold had begun to laugh again, but he had been shut up using a spell from the Head. Still, he had stared with eyes full of cold happiness, and everyone had been able to see just how much hatred he had for Angaria, and the person who was speaking to him.
It was only during Daneel's threat that the faintest hint of apprehension appeared in them, but even that disappeared in barely a moment, making those who were watching wonder if it had even been there in the first place.
And when the King said the last words, mirth appeared in them, much more than there was before, and it looked like if his throat wasn't clamped shut, he would be laughing heartily right now.
Ignoring him at this point, Daneel turned around to face the communication eye which was transmitting his image to the continent.
Taking a deep breath, he said, "My dear fellow Angarians. You must have heard a lot of rumors about what has happened in the week before. Let me tell you the truth. Many have advised that I sugar coat it to not bring panic to you all, but this is what I told them: the blood of Angaria flows through us, and the sons and daughters of this land have never been known to be weak. Our continent… Is under threat of being destroyed by the Church of St. Rectitude, which you must already have heard of. Last week, they managed to kill hundreds of thousands of Axelorians and use their blood to arrive here, with an army that would have definitely succeeded in defeating all of us. Their goal is simple: they wish to kill each and every last thing here, and then populate the continent with people who will grow up while being indoctrinated by them to always follow the Church, without wavering no matter what happens. As for the reason behind this… It is to tap into the ubiquitous Will of our World, which can allow one access to an unlimited level of power. The mages who are listening can find out more later, but the rest of you just need to understand that it is the very essence of our continent, solidified, which they wish to steal away by killing each and every last one who even knows the name 'Angaria'. I know it is scary. I know it is difficult to come to terms with. But it is the truth. If we stay divided even at this crucial juncture, we will fall. But if we are united…"
Daneel paused, and in his mind, he said, "Begin."
[Deploying anti-control spell. Using external means to facilitate casting.]
Arnold had been watching Daneel give his speech with a sneer until now, but suddenly, shock appeared on his face, as he realized that he was being raised into the air.
If it was just this, it would be fine, but the problem…was that the one he possessed was still on the ground.
"H-how? What are you still hiding?! How did you make this spell!!!!!"
If he had a mouth, he would have screamed this, but all he could do was rage and lament that he had no way to contact the Church, where the main part of his consciousness was.
He could only scream silently as he rose higher and higher, and finally, he was in full view of all the people of Axelor.
"Axelorians! Today, I give you a chance to obtain the revenge you asked for! This is the one who is responsible for everything! Give your anger a weapon…and vanquish him! His fate should deter each and every Angaria who wants to sell their mother out! Let us show him what we are made of!"
For the first few seconds, the declaration of the King was too ground-breaking for anyone to understand.
But after that…even the King got a surprised expression on his face when a small pebble flew into the air, followed by a brave, yet squeaky voice which said, "That's for my father, you buzztard!"
Alas…the hand that threw it did not seem to have enough strength, even though it seemed to have courage aplenty, and it looked like the pebble would fall short.
Yet…on Daneel's command, an incredible thing happened.
The pebble instantly transformed into an arrow with a tip that was on fire, and as millions of Angarians watched on…it flew true
It went right into the thigh of the man in the air, who had been enlarged to thrice the size he had been on the ground, and the silence was broken by a sound that no one would ever forget.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! ALL OF YOU F*CKERS SHOULD HAVE DIED TOO!!!!"
It was a resounding scream of pain that seemed to jolt everyone awake, and it served the perfect purpose: to remind everyone of what the man above them had done, and what he would have accomplished if he had been allowed to.
In such an emotion-filled moment, would anyone care that the scream was fake, synthesized by the system using Arnold's voice to galvanize everyone into action?
Definitely not.
As stone after stone started to fly into the air, each of them were transformed into arrows, and the screams of the traitor were heard again and again, rising in intensity, giving solace to the raging fires of anger that were present in all those below.
It was a magnificent sight. Daneel watched on, extremely pleased, thanking Arnold for appearing in this manner, and giving him the chance to orchestrate this moment.
He knew that in the history books, this moment would be known as the one that changed everything. For once, a ruler had bared it all, and so, he had broken the age-old rule of separating the Central Continent from the Big Four, so that the former could be lied to and used however those more powerful wished.
For once, a ruler who could rule both of these sides of the coin that was Angaria had appeared, and this moment…would serve to cement his image in the hearts of even those who had been taught to hate him for years and years.
"For Axelor! For Angaria! For King Daneel!"
Hearing the slogans from the hundreds of thousands of Axelorians, the King of Lanthanor smiled, before getting a thought in his mind.
"Divided, we may fall. But together…we will dominate."