Meanwhile, at the location in the air where the man shrouded in darkness and the Hero from the Big 4 were sitting.
On seeing the sudden, unexpected development below, the former stood up with shock, while his eyes started to glow brightly.
The bearded, regal man also stood up, with his eyes sharpening.
Yet, after viewing the scene for a second, he sighed and said, "So he really did achieve it. I must say that I"m surprised. However…"
That last word of his spoken in a strange tone. It made visible reverberations appear from his mouth, which bounced infinitely on invisible surfaces before coalescing into a solid, transparent cage around the man shrouded in darkness.
All of this happened in the span of less than a second, and even though the other man was about to retaliate, he found himself trapped before he could even conjure an attack.
This man…wasn"t the head of the Big 4 for nothing.
"It"s sad that we cannot interfere even if he becomes a Hero. An exile is an exile. He bears resentment toward us. True, he is talented, but he isn"t talented enough to warrant a departure from the customs which have allowed us to exist to this point. You know as well as I do that we cannot step in. So…just sit, and hope that he can escape. His chances do look better, you know."
As soon as he said the last sentence, a formless force made the other man enter a forced sitting position, while the glow in his eyes took on a dangerous aspect while he looked at the Head of the Council.
Chuckling, the Head said, "Don"t look at me like that. You know I"m doing this for a reason. Come on, let"s watch the show together."
…
Meanwhile, the system had just sent a message in Daneel"s mind which made him smile with delight.
[Champion level Paragon Constructs a.n.a.lyzed. Ready to deploy.]
"Young King, as you"ve asked, I"ve given you the copy of the Champion level inheritance that definitely exists somewhere in this world. That man was my disciple…he told me that he would place it at a place where only those with determination could find. I a.s.sure you that it is at a similar level to those that must have been found by the Big 4 so far. You won"t arouse any suspicion even after you defeat this man. It will be a bit tough, though."
"Oh, that"s all right. It has to be tough so that our spectators believe that it"s all real."
Replying in this way, Daneel first made sure that Eloise and the rest of the crew were at a safe distance. After that, he checked on the communication eye that he had placed on his chest so that it could have the best view.
Any communication eyes floating around in the air would definitely turn to dust due to the aftershocks of their fight. So, placing one on himself, where it would be protected by the barriers protecting him, was best.
After all his checks were done, he laid his eyes on his opponent, who was just looking at him with an indecipherable expression in his eyes.
He spoke after a few seconds.
"Must we fight? The objective that I came here for has been fulfilled. If you allow it, I"ll just take all of these Warriors and leave."
As soon as he said this, hope appeared in the eyes of all those who were still bound below.
However, following that hope…was fury, which made it clear that these weren"t the sort of people who would just let this humiliation go.
They had been put on display like circus animals to produce tricks for the amus.e.m.e.nt of those whom they considered to be insects. Till now, because they had thought that they had no way out, all the Warriors had put that to the side and focused on the attempt to win and live.
Yet, now that they saw that there was an opportunity, they could only think about one thing: revenge.
In fact, some even planned on going on a killing trip where they would seek out and kill all those who had done the voting.
All of this was clear in their expressions, even if they tried to hide it. Many didn"t even try, as they knew about the gap between a Peak Exalted Warrior and an Amateur Champion.
It was such a qualitative leak in power that there was almost no match between the two, and, besides, they had all seen the incredible ability that Raul"s Champion Path had made him capable of.
So, they looked forward to when they would be free.
The only exception was the woman who had won the semi-finals- she was only looking at Raul with eyes that contained awe, with none of the bloodthirst that was apparent in the others.
Daneel didn"t even need to give an answer. There was no chance that he would let them go, especially after they had made their intentions clear.
This became clear to Raul, too, who sighed again and said, "All right, then. You were right to defend your Kingdom"s citizens, but putting us all on this kind of show really is inexcusable. I"ll give you a swift death. Let the vendetta between us end with this. All of you- if you target the innocent people even after I kill this King, then I will come after you. Understood?"
That last sentence made Daneel raise an eyebrow, while the 19 Warriors tried to curb their anger and nod.
It didn"t look like Raul bought it, as he had a sad expression on his face when he said, "Let"s get this over with."
At the end of the day, Raul knew where his allegiance lay. These were only a few of the rogue Warriors on this continent: he knew for sure that there were many more.
He had his own goals, and for them, he had to stay on the side of these people even if he didn"t like most of them.
Daneel, on the other hand, was just smiling when he watched this whole show.
At this moment, he truly understood why an Empire Spirit was considered to be the ultimate treasure trove, and why the Big 4 feared those who connected with one so much.
Apparently, the seals were ordered in such a way that the first seal, which he had already broken, was meant to give access to myriad Champion-level techniques, spells, and information.
The second seal was meant for Hero-level, and this was what the Queen of Arafell and, supposedly, the King of Axelor had broken.
As for the third and final seal, it seemed that even Drakos didn"t know what was behind it.
Of course, there were loopholes, such as simple Hero-level spells that Drakos had been able to give him.
Yet, Daneel felt as if what he had just received surpa.s.sed everything that Drakos had given him so far.
In fact, he even felt like kicking himself for not telling Drakos to dump all the Champion-level stuff he knew so that the system could record it.
Regardless, Daneel decided that that was what he would do as soon as this fight was done.
With his hands behind his back, he watched as Raul conjured one barrier, which made another appear.
Even if it was the second time he was viewing it, Daneel was thoroughly impressed.
This was different from the Champion abilities that the Mad Doctor and Ashah.e.l.l had displayed, but he could tell that each had its own advantages and drawbacks.
In succession, Raul deployed an array of barriers around him, before raising his hands.
Between his palms, a small, fist-sized glowing ball of light appeared, which started to grow brighter and brighter as time pa.s.sed.
At the same time, a similar ball came into existence beside it, which also started to grow brighter at the same pace.
"Young King, this is the Warrior-level spell "Sun Ray". By concentrating light elementary particles, a destructive ray of energy is shot at an opponent at a blinding speed. Now that it is being channeled by a Champion, it is even more powerful, and the effect of his Champion Path doubles its power. If you were just a normal Peak Exalted Warrior, you would stand no chance at all."
Nodding inwardly, Daneel only chuckled in response.
Raul couldn"t understand what was the reason behind the King"s confidence. He had been a Peak Exalted Warrior himself, so he knew that this attack would definitely have killed him.
Looking around, he noticed a few Paragon constructs coming into being, but he was confident in the defensive power of his barriers. Besides, it was known that the King was a Paragon, but he was sure that no Paragon construct could even come close to defeating him.
So, he just shrugged and continued gathering power to make sure that this would be a sure-fire kill.
Daneel, on the other hand, had even conjured the Throne on which he had been sitting while watching the show.
After a few seconds, the system sent a message, which was accompanied by a shocked remark from Drakos.
[Anti-Mage Ultimate Paragon Quagmire "Starry Skies" ready to deploy.]
"Amazing, Young King! I didn"t know that your learning ability was so quick! If my disciple were here, even he would be amazed! Back in the day, each and every Mage, even if they were at the Eminent Champion level, would flee as soon as they saw these Paragon Constructs form. The most horrifying thing was that my disciple used these even when he was just an Eminent Warrior! True Paragons really are that scary. But it is just too difficult a path. I confess that even I tried it, and failed. My disciple could also not cross the chasm that separates a Champion and a Hero because he chose to be a Paragon. But he had no regrets."
Hearing this made Daneel almost rub his nose with embarra.s.sment, as it was the system that was responsible for this feat.
While Drakos continued his recounting of the memory of his disciple, Raul had become ready to fire.
Daneel had been prepared for a slugfest, just like the one when he had fought against the mad Black Raven King.
However, he really had to thank Drakos for giving him a way to win while putting on a show that would give the best ending possible to "Mercy for the Wicked".
The moment Raul fired his attack, Daneel waved his hand and said in his mind, "Deploy".
At that moment, it was as if the world, itself, stood still, while the spectators witnessed the most glorious scene of their lives.
Raul"s attack was in the form of a thick, burning jet of light that wanted to reduce the King of Lanthanor to dust.
It shot out at a blinding speed which made it look as if it would have no problem accomplis.h.i.+ng its task, but after it got to the halfway mark between them, it…halted.
The reason was that multiple stars had come into being at some point behind the King, who was royally sitting on his Throne. All of these stars were shooting similar attacks back at the opponent"s Sun Ray, effectively nullifying Raul"s attack by using quant.i.ty over quality.
Meanwhile, the King looked like he was just taking a random stroll in the park, and everyone could see this clearly as Eloise had made sure that there was an additional Communication eye broadcasting the scene from a third person"s point of view even if it was from far away.
They really did look like stars- glowing in the night sky, eclipsing the real ones which seemed to dim as if their light had been stolen from them.
They were arranged in some sort of pattern which made it look as if the hand of a giant was gently cupping the King"s Throne from behind and protecting him, and as more and more "stars" came into being, Raul"s attack even started to be pushed back, despite the fact that his Champion Path had allowed him to layer both of his attacks into one.
This sight- of the King sitting casually while handling a Champion"s attack as if it was nothing, made hundreds of thousands of people wonder whether they were dreaming.
As for Raul, he simply couldn"t believe it. His eyes were open wide, and his face was fixed into an expression as if he had been struck by a Champion level thunderbolt.
Each star was comprised of many, many elementary particles seamlessly joined to create the construct, which actually seemed to be…feeding off the energy of his attack to grow stronger.
Wh-what the heck kind of G.o.dly attack was this?!
Even as he asked this question in his mind, the two Heroes from the Big 4 stood up with astonished expressions on their faces.
The man shrouded in darkness remained silent, but the other one couldn"t help but speak.
"A Warrior-level Paragon, undefeatable even by Champions! H-how did this kid find THAT inheritance?!"