Rise Of The Godking

"System… a.s.sessment?"

[Responding to host. Risk a.s.sessment in progress.

Conclusion: Depending on the type of energy used and the undetectable method by which the targets are in the air, it has been decided that the probability of the risk being high is greatest. It is recommended that host"s capabilities, and host"s connection with the Will of Graiton are hidden, as utilizing them might alert the targets and call down danger upon host.]

Daneel couldn"t agree more. But first… who the heck were these people, and how had they come at such a bad time?

He had been happy with his speech, he had been confident that he had given the people what they deserved. But now… because they had been interrupted, he saw doubt and fear returning to many of the faces in front of him, so right away, he knew that he had to do something.

As he watched, the two figures slowly floated down. He studied them, hoping to find some clues about their ident.i.ty, but even though he failed, he noticed some interesting things.

First and foremost, the one who had spoken was small, merely the size of a child. He couldn"t have even been half of Daneel"s height, but the arrogance on his face knew no bounds. His skin was somehow different from that of all those he had seen until now; it almost seemed to be sparkling, a bit, as if he was a proponent of the beauty products from Earth, and his head was fas.h.i.+onably styled into spikes that made him seem taller than he was.

The other figure was much, much bigger. He was easily 7 feet tall, with a heft to him that made it obvious that he was hiding a lot of muscle behind his clothes.

And this brought him what they were wearing. They were both garbed in loose, hooded robes, with the hoods thrown back and the sleeves folded up to their elbows. The robes were the color of the night; so dark that they even seemed to be somehow drinking in the light all around them, giving them a disconcerting image that added to their menacing nature which made the people close to the wooden platform shy away, as that was where they were headed.

The second man was bald, with plain features that hadn"t moved since Daneel had laid his eyes upon him. Only his eyes betrayed the alertness with which he was scanning his surroundings, and from this, Daneel understood that he was some kind of guard to the one in front of him.

As for the kid, it seemed that he was interested in what he was seeing, but he was trying hard to make it seem as if he had seen it all before. When he landed in front of Daneel, he swept his gaze over the people, and when a few s.h.i.+rked away from it, even going so far as to shove into those behind them to escape his eyes, he smiled at the corner of his mouth which was a gesture that Daneel did not mess.

"A typical spoiled young master, maybe? I was hoping that I would not have to contend with them in this new world… but I guess they are like weeds that pop up everywhere."

He hoped that he was right, because it would simplify things. He had quite a bit of experience regarding them, so if the opponent was simpleminded, he was sure that he would be able to make a plan to take advantage of the youthful arrogance of those with too much background to rely on.

He opened his mouth to greet the newcomers and find out more. Their ident.i.ty was now apparent: they were the people to whom Harrold"s descendants had sold out, so they needed to be handled with care and patience, two qualities that could be used effectively in the right hands to avert danger.

Yet, before he could say anything, a voice from the people of the town broke the silence in the air.

"No! We are free!"

The newcomers had been about to turn to Daneel. They stop, now, and moved to face the people again while Daneel cursed in his mind.

He could see that things were going south. He even raised his hand to stop them… but the kid was quicker.

"Bongo, crush."

"HUMPH!"

With a loud grunt, the big man raised his hand… and the air in front of him seemed to congeal, and gather weight, and press down.

Daneel had caused the same thing to happen in the throne room, but he had used a subtle method that targeted one"s mind. Here, sheer strength was being deployed, and all at once, all the people of the town felt their knees buckle and their bodies kiss the ground, many heaping on top of others as there wasn"t enough s.p.a.ce for all of them to lie down on the ground.

Moans of pain began to be heard, but they were stifled as it seemed that the big man would focus more strength on them to shut them up. Silently, the people struggled, their faces fraught with peril and despair once more, and Daneel saw all the hard work he had put in start to be destroyed.

If the people broke now, they might forever remain broken. He needed do something… but without using the Will, what could be done?

He racked his brain, that was much faster and much more capable than it had been a few hours ago. A moment later, a path revealed itself to him.

In his journey through Angaria, he had seen that words sometimes had the power to do something that might seem as if it could only be accomplished by brute force. He had to use his words, now, to stop these two from teaching a lesson to the people… so raising his voice, he said, "Tell me. You"ve been sent here by someone in charge, right? How do you think they would react after they find out that you injured all the people of the town, which would be the reason behind us not being able to deliver the number of crystals expected? I"m pretty sure they"ll be displeased… so if that"s alright, please go ahead."

It looked like his plan would fail for a second… but then, a faint shudder went through the kid"s back, and Daneel knew that he had hit the nail right on its head.

"Bongo, stop!", he growled, clearly unhappy about the fact that he couldn"t see the suffering continue. The people began to let out sighs of relief as they felt the pressure disappear, which were all observed with a sneer by the kid.

As he began to turn, Daneel put on the most honest face possible, with a wide brow, hands clasped together and back slightly hunched.

"If you look simple, and act simple… people tend to believe that you are simple."

As if echoing his thoughts, the kid folded his hands and said, "You"re right. But… if you"re even a day late, or a crystal short, I"ll happily continue what was going to happen here. Bongo, fetch!"

At the command, the big man flew into the air once more and shot off in the direction of Harrold"s residence. Many of those watching were amazed at his speed… but for Daneel, it wasn"t very impressive.

After all, he had once possessed speed fast enough to rival the airplanes of the Earth, whereas here, the man was merely going at the top speed of a normal human, albeit in the air.

He returned a minute later with a bag in one hand… and a body in the other.

It was Harrold, his hands and legs tied securely and his mouth gagged, abject fear still clearly showing on his sweaty face and soiled pants.

The kid smiled when he saw what his servant had returned with. After the big man landed in front of him, he stretched his hand forward to catch Harrold by his hair and yanked him up.

"I can"t kill the others… but this guy is useless. He let a rebellion succeed, even after we sent him help to locate the rebels! Worthless. Completely worthless. So…"

His hand became a blur. "THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!" Echoed the sound of flesh meeting flesh, and when the kid stepped back, Harrold fell on the wooden platform with three clean, fist-sized holes on the two sides of his chest, and at the center of his stomach.

"We"ll be back in a month. Remember: not a crystal less."

Throwing the words over his shoulder, the kid floated away. After reaching the same alt.i.tude they had appeared at before, they leaned forward…and disappeared, leaving in their wake a town that looked the same, but had changed in ways that no one had foreseen.

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