Chapter 906 Aftermath
"Widespread panic was only reported in a few places. Still, because we have troops standing by, and because we also had a team of Heroes who seemed like undefeatable, inscrutable experts, we were able to break them all up. Even non-mages wanted more details, so we contacted the administrators of all settlements and give them copies of the official press release regarding this attack. A curfew has been implemented for the safety of the citizens, and I expect these measures to be enough for the entire continent. It is only Arafell in which we do not have any news, but from the information that we got from the Watcher who can see the people even though he cannot peer into the Palace, those who had the trinket and saw what happened were apparently not very surprised, which is quite surprising, in itself. As per your instructions, rallies supporting you and advertisements which call for people to join the war and do their piece were allowed, while being carefully monitored. Overall, the continent is stable, and we are poised to begin the next phase."
"Next phase? What's that?"
Eloise was reading out the report in a room with the sovereigns, where the Head was also present.
As she paused, the Head asked this question, and leaning forward, Daneel got a smile on the corner of his lips before answering, "Oh, just a little thing called unification. You needn't worry about it."
Aaron and Elanev both chuckled as they heard this, but the Head had a flabbergasted expression on his face for a moment.
After that, though, it was replaced by a hearty laugh.
"Of course. When you think about it… It makes a lot of sense. There will be problems, though, but I guess that you must have already made plans to deal with them?"
Daneel simply nodded in response, before motioning at Eloise to continue.
"Our surveys have established that that video of Arnold being pelted with stones-turned-arrows and screaming with pain has a lot of psychological effect, showing the power of Angaria over those who wish to destroy it. Hence, it has been stylized as a clip that will be repeatedly played during Network broadcasts, and also, we have started creating shows which glorify a career in the Army. Finally, the Network trinkets are finally ready for mass sales. We have enough units to equip one in every 10 Angarians, and all that is left to be decided is the price."
Saying so, Eloise sat down, and Daneel sunk into deep thought for a moment before responding.
"I have some thoughts on this, but we can talk about that later. First… let us speak with our guest."
With that, taking the cue, the Head flicked his fingers, and a bed was teleported into the room.
On it was a man who looked to be in severe pain, but the moment he found himself in the room, he made a conscious effort to make his expression neutral, which was actually quite commendable, as Daneel knew what he must be going through.
If one could imagine having a bomb set off in their head, then they would be able to find out just how much pain the minister must be in. In fact, Daneel had been even sure that there would be no way to save him, but surprisingly, the system had told him that the man had hung on with a sliver of his life.
Daneel's entire plan had revolved around shock and awe, so what he had needed was that Arnold wouldn't be able to erase his consciousness. Hence, he had identified a loophole in the spell cast by the Church which allowed him to 'freeze' the consciousness. If an attempt was made to manipulate it in any way, the implosion would have been triggered, but because all that happened was that Arnold's form, which was a fake one created by the system before putting his consciousness in it, was attacked incessantly, there was no effect on the psyche.
It had been an incredibly complex spell, and also a unique one, so normally, it would have taken anyone years to run tests before being able to cast it without any problems.
Of course, as Daneel had the system, it was able to create the spell and run simulations in a short span of time, which led to Arnold realizing that Daneel was in possession of some other fantastic power which had allowed him to do so.
Thankfully, the man had no way to contact the rest of his consciousness which was far, far away, and hence, he had only been able to scream in his mind and glare before finally imploding, after the limit of what his system-created body could take.
Half of what the people saw was fake, and half was real. Daneel had orchestrated it like a drama to achieve the best effect. Arnold would never give anyone the satisfaction of seeing him in pain, so he hadn't made a sound, no matter how much pain he was in. Hence, his screams and expression of agony were fake, synthesized by the system, and at the end, his body exploding into pieces while accompanied by fireworks that were visible from the other end of Angaria was also fake.
However, it had made for the perfect end to this event, and millions had cheered on seeing this sight.
Alas, even though Arnold's consciousness had seemed to be temporarily separated, it still imploded in the minister's mind. The man had been healed by the most talented healers in the Order, but even they had said that the trauma that was caused at that moment, of having a consciousness blow up in one's mind, was not something that they could really actively head, no matter how proficient they were in the medical arts. In the end, they had said that it would all depend on the tenacity of the individual who had gone through it- if his will to live was strong, he would suffer through the pain and survive until it healed enough, and if not, he would give up and let his own consciousness fall apart.
Obviously, in the case of the one in front of them, it was the former.
The Minister made a motion as if to stand up, but Daneel raised his hand and said, "Please rest. If it were not for the urgency of the situation, I would have decided to wait until you were better. But right now, we need to find out everything we can about Arnold - we know that you were with him, all this while, and must have seen everything he was doing. Even though we do not expect you to know anything personal about him, the hope is that we can gain something from this dumb move of his where he exposed himself in such a cocksure manner."
A moment after Daneel said this, the minister did not reply, but after that, he still continued in his attempt to get up.
Daneel was about to speak again, but he was stopped by his father, who sent him an urgent message in his mind.
"Daneel… Doesn't it remind you of someone? I'll spare you the effort… He reminds me of me, when I lost everything. This is a man who had to watch himself being used for so long. He has had nothing until now. But finally, he has his freedom, so all he wants to do is stand on his own feet, on his own terms, even if it hurts. That is what I tried to do after my expulsion from the Army, too, when our family had nothing. You must respect his pride, my son. Wait, and I guarantee that he will succeed."
Hearing this, Daneel looked into his father's eyes and saw the nostalgia there before stopping himself, and sure enough, in a few seconds, the minister had stumbled onto the floor. He wavered, looking like he was about to fall, but a second later, he righted himself and was able to look Daneel straight in the eye.
Daneel had to resist the temptation to gasp as he looked into this man's eyes, as it was definitely the first time that he was seeing so much regret in one place. It looked like this man was just one step away from taking his own life, but from the rigidity of his stance and the determination represented by the firm expression on his face, it became clear that this was something that would never happen.
"My King, it is my duty to help you in every way that I can. Thank you for what you did for my people. If not for you…yes, Axelor, and even Angaria would be no more. This is what happened…"
In an unwavering tone, the minister recounted everything.
Even he didn't know when Arnold had entered his mind, or how, which was really perplexing to Daneel, as that was not supposed to be how Empire Spirits operated. They needed permission, so how had Arnold succeeded?
The active possession apparently began after the death of the King. It happened without any preamble, apparently: according to the minister, one second, he was shocked, and the next, he had lost control of his body.
Each and every individual in the room tensed and reacted in different ways as they heard this, as it was such a horrid thing that it might even affect their nightmares.
After that, most of the story was what Daneel had guessed it to be: he had won the election and started secretly creating the Blood Sacrifice formations around all of the major settlements in Axelor, and as for the reason behind him even choosing to side with the Church…it was powerlessness.
Arnold had apparently hated Daneel with a vengeance, and felt powerless to defeat him. Hence, he had chosen the one force that would succeed, and they had used the opportunity perfectly.
There were a few other little points of interest, but after reciting everything, the minister instantly fainted, which led the Head to cast a spell and place him back on the bed before teleporting it away.
Letting out a sigh, Daneel said, "The man seems hellbent on doing something- that's why he's clinging on to life. Keep a close eye on him. Notify me when he is awake. And sovereigns, disperse, for now. I have a few small matters to take care of. After that, we can begin, even though its going to take 2 more months for me to be healed."
With nods filled with anticipation, the sovereigns vanished one by one, and finally, the Head left, too, leaving Daneel's apparition alone in the room, which was situated in Lanthanor.
Taking a deep breath, Daneel first asked the system about something that had been bothering him.
"System, what happened to the Word I gave regarding my return?"
Of course, he was talking about the module he had activated and used after his departure from Angaria, when he had said:
'I don't know exactly, but I do know one thing. When it is time for us to return…I want it to be that we stand above all, and below none. I want it to be that we can do whatever the f*ck we want in this continent, without there being even a single person who will dare to question us. I want it to be that this World bows to me, and even the very air should ask permission before it makes it course through the land. I want…to dominate, and nothing shall stand in my way. Such is my word…and my word shall be done.'
Going through what he had said, itself, he got the answer, but Daneel needed to be sure.
[Conditions set by module not fulfilled.]
Indeed. Daneel's position was much different than before, but still, had he dominated the entire continent?
Definitely not.
Still…that was exactly what he was going to do next, so he looked forward to keeping his Word, and earning enough EXP to have the system upgrade.
Next, Daneel took another deep breath and sent a message to the Head, who did his bidding.
A woman was teleported into the room.
Her once-gorgeous hair was now a mess, looking like it had even been pulled out in multiple places, and although a lot of it covered her face, what one could see of the skin beneath made it clear that she was very, very pale.
As soon as she appeared in the room, though, an eye which was severely swollen as it had been shedding many, many tears opened, and it stared in shock at the man in front of it.
In the next moment, the sound of running was heard, and Daneel was engulfed in a tight, tight hug, before Xuan started sobbing, uncontrollably, on his shoulder.