Daneel felt shock, and then fear coursing through his body with just the mention of the possibility that the Church could descend sooner than expected.
No! It couldn"t happen at any cost.
Angaria was just…not ready.
Daneel still had so much to do, and if the Church really did attack and wipe everything out before he even had a chance to carry out his plans, he would never be able to forgive himself.
According to the timeline that his Master had given him, there should at least be 4 more years before the Church attacked.
However, he was never one to fully trust timelines, especially when the stakes were so high.
For example, back when he was still a struggling student in the Academy in Lanthanor, he had been told that the last Warrior level individual of Lanthanor would have 10 years to live.
Of course, the man had died much sooner, teaching Daneel the lesson that he should always have backup plans available.
As of now, Daneel had a plan to make sure that Angaria would at least have a hope of defending itself if he was given just two years.
If even that was not possible, then he did not know what to do.
Seeing the panic in Daneel"s eyes, the Watcher said, "Calm down first, kid. I said "sooner than expected", which doesn"t mean that he will cause the Church to descend in just a month or so. By my best guess, if someone doesn"t sabotage his plan somehow, then the Church will attack in…just one year."
One year?!
Not! That"s too short!
The panic intensifying, Daneel was reminded of the ghastly scenes he had seen when he had met his Master for the last time.
He had always kept that image of Lanthanor"s streets flowing with blood in the back of his mind, but now, as it was thrown to the forefront, he tried hard not to give in to the fear.
Till now, most of his plans had been going on quite satisfactorily. Even if there were problems, he had handled them, and right now, he was on track according to his own plan.
However, if the Church really did attack in just a year, then he would have no chance to watch when his family, friends, and citizens started to be slaughtered.
That thought itself affected Daneel so much that he stood up suddenly and shouted, "NO!"
It was just too sudden. Just now, he had been feeling happy with himself because he had managed to upgrade the system and take control of the Hidden Kill Sect. He was looking forward to the training he would soon go on, and also all the secrets that he would uncover soon with the system.
Now, all of that was wiped away from his mind and was replaced by a singular urgency.
No matter what he had to do, he had to stop that man.
But wait…who was he in the first place?
As if on cue, the Watcher said, "Sit down, kid. Panicking without listening to all the facts will just lead to a waste of time. Sit down, and let me tell you a tale. A tale of the most talented man that the Big 4 has seen in centuries."
Somehow, the Watcher"s voice had a calming tone to it, which made Daneel take a deep breath and sit down.
Yes, he had to listen to everything first.
Forcefully shoving aside that gory image in his mind, Daneel said, "Continue."
With a sigh, the Watcher started to speak.
"They say that when he was born, Angaria itself welcomed him. The sun darkened during the day, and thunder could be heard even though there was a clear sky. For miles around, the beasts fell silent, as if to welcome him in all his glory. The descriptions go on and on, but the truth is that everyone understood that this was not someone who was going to be ordinary. Ashah.e.l.l, he was named, after an ancestor of the sect who had been instrumental in its rise to prominence."
The [email protected]@k?!
There was someone like that?
Daneel couldn"t believe what he was hearing, but he listened anyway with a dubious expression on his face.
The name sounded vaguely familiar, and just as he was about to recall where he had heard it earlier, Daneel forcefully strangled that line of thought.
He was already uncomfortable with someone knowing so much about him. So, there was no way whatsoever that he would allow the fact that he had heard this name before be known to the Watcher by allowing the thought to come to the front of his mind. So, deciding to think on that later when he was alone, he didn"t give any clue.
"I know it"s unbelievable, but believe me, if you meet him, you will understand that it must have been true. Anyway, his talent was off the charts. Literally. He trained faster than those decades older than him, and although I don"t know his exact rate of growth, I can tell you that he was lauded to have a training speed that was only mentioned in the legends.
"The only drawback was resources. He also consumed 10 times more resources than a someone else with top-grade talent, and although this wasn"t a problem initially, the reserves of his sect started drying up by the time he advanced to the Warrior level.
"I don"t know exactly what happened, but rumors say that his Sect Leader said in pa.s.sing that they had to consider decreasing the resources available to him, as it was simply becoming too much to bear. The next day, the sect leader had willingly abjudicated his seat to this man. No one knows what happened, but to this day, that sect leader is still a loyal follower who carries out Ashah.e.l.l"s every order."
Frankly, Daneel had a hard time believing that someone capable of performing so many awe-inspiring feats could even exist.
All along, he had thought that he was someone unprecedented in history, capable of doing things that others could only dream of.
Now, seeing himself pale in front of this Ashah.e.l.l, Daneel smiled wistfully.
"With unlimited resources at his disposal, Ashah.e.l.l became the youngest Champion in thousands of years, and his rise through the ranks of the High Council is meteoric. No one knows how he does it, but when he wants something, he obtains it, as if the heavens themselves will it so that he has his way.
"Understand that I"m only telling you all this in the hope that you do not underestimate him. If you do, then that is probably the last mistake you will make. Take it from me, kid. I underestimated him, and now, I have no body. With all the resources of the Big 4, it is only possible to grow back a few organs. In regards to a full body, even they were stymied. The fact that I can live in this way, itself, is a miracle. If it weren"t for an inheritance that I obtained by chance, you would have had no option but to watch Angaria be destroyed in a year with no power to change anything. But now, you have me."
At this point, an expression of deep sadness appeared on the Watcher"s face, as if he was remembering something very tragic.
"I won"t go into the details of what happened too much. Suffice it to say that I overheard a conversation I shouldn"t have. Instead of reporting to the High Council, I confronted him, believing that he could do nothing to me. After all, I was an Exalted Champion, while he was just an Amateur one. I couldn"t have been more wrong. He defeated me in a single attack, but I managed to flee."
Defeating someone 2 minor levels above him….with a single attack?!
As Daneel heard this, he felt a tingling in his spine.
From everything he had heard so far, he could deduce one thing: this Ashah.e.l.l was not to be messed with.
Alas, it seemed that he would have no choice.
"Kid, let"s come back to you. What I overheard concerns something that Ashah.e.l.l needs to deliver to have the Church attack in a year. I have a preposterous request. I need you to infiltrate his sect, and find out more about just what that something is so that I can work out a way to stop him. For now, get back to your tournament. Think on it. We can chat again after it"s done. Good job setting this event up, by the way. I was almost going to bore myself to death, watching those deadpan a.s.sa.s.sins beat each other up day after day in the stadium. So, for now, goodbye."
Seeing the abrupt way in which their conversation had ended and the absurd request out of the blue, Daneel was quite surprised.
However, he noticed something.
While they were talking, the Watcher"s face had been becoming paler and paler, so much so that it was now as white as a sheet.
Clearly, there was something stopping him from continuing their talk.
It was just too much information at once, so Daneel really was reeling from the feeling of his mind being so stuffed that he couldn"t get a thought out.
Yes. He needed to think.
Standing up, Daneel nodded and walked to the door, but paused there as a thought finally did force its way out.
"How do I trust you?", he asked, eliciting a chuckle from the head.
"Just talk to Marcus. Make him tell you the name "Ashah.e.l.l" himself, and ask him what he thinks about the man. Marcus is someone who doesn"t lie. His answer should be enough to make you trust me."
…..
After returning to the special booth in which all the top a.s.sa.s.sins were sitting, Daneel looked like his mind was somewhere else.
However, when he heard Stefan speak, he shoved all of his thoughts aside and responded with gusto.
"Sect leader, we are all ready to make our bets. I bet a Warrior-level defense trinket and 10,000 Gold Coins that Skkrag will win the entire thing. Would you like me to decrease the amount? I will do so, if you feel that it"s too much. If you lose, you need to pay me the same, after all."
"Pfft, decrease? Are you kidding me? I was expecting more from the so-called top a.s.sa.s.sins! All of you should be ashamed that you can"t even a.n.a.lyze such a simple compet.i.tion!"