Before he could finish the sentence, his voice was drowned out by a roar of fire and death and destruction.
The Gravesap tree that had been sent was also swallowed by the explosion, so as the image disappeared, darkness took its hold over the room, and over the faces of all those present.
Only one face glowed with joy, and as its owner realized that he could leave the Bishop"s fate to his disciple without thinking anymore, he sat back down and once again thanked the Heavens of his home for sending that young, curious boy into his hands all those years ago.
…
For Daneel and the rest of the Heroes, it took only a second to be teleported, but that second felt as if it lasted for an eternity.
This was mainly due to the incredibly odd feeling that one would experience when they were teleported dimensionally, mainly because it was so different from what they were used to. No one knew this better than Daneel, but because of his prior experience, he was the first to open his eyes and look around after the teleportation was completed to see that they were still above the Endless Sea.
Just a few moments after this, he was forced to turn in a certain direction as a shockwave followed by a tumult of wind and heat and steam buffeted his face.
The scene that was waiting for him when he turned was a fearsome one. He was instantly reminded of pictures of nuclear explosions that he had seen back when he was on Earth, and in many ways, the gigantic cloud of fire that could be seen a few kilometers away from them was very similar.
It was in the shape of a mushroom, and it had shattered the atmosphere above so that its highest point could not even be seen. The smell of burning flesh reach him next which was so intense that he had to ask the system to block his sense of smell, and without further ado, he turned around again to find the three a.s.sa.s.sins who were surely the ones who had saved his life.
However, when he laid his eyes on them, he could see that that was not the case, as their faces were similarly filled with confusion.
But when Daneel continued to watch the place to which they had been teleported, a fourth individual appeared beside them.
The three a.s.sa.s.sins did not feel her presence at first, but when they did, they instantly prostrated themselves and did not dare to raise their heads.
Alistair"s eyes locked on to Daneel, and in them, he could see pride that was surely because of the expression of awe mixed with relief that was still present on his face. Apart from this, there was also weariness, which made him understand that whatever she had done must have been very, very tiring.
"This is a great victory. The Bishop was so afraid of you that she wasted her own resources to send a force disguised as one that was coming to erect a base. I only found out about it in the nick of time. She does not know how you escaped, so now, she will be even more unnerved. You have already taken the first step toward winning the war with my help. Address your Heroes, and then, we can speak."
As soon as he heard her, Daneel recalled the decision he had taken to make Xuan speak that false prophecy, and not for the first time, he felt happy that he had succeeded in getting the support of this powerful friend.
If not for her, today, all would have been lost.
He fell the wariness with which he had viewed the Ancient Basilisk and her a.s.sa.s.sins melting away, as there was surely no way that someone who could easily have let him die would go to such lengths to save his life unless they truly wanted to help him.
Turning to the heroes and seeing that they were still very confused, he said, "Heroes of the Order! Today, we have achieved a great victory! I know the danger that you felt, as I felt it, too, in my very bones! The only reason we are alive right now is an ancient friend who has come back, at this crucial time, to help her homeland! The Bishop tried to kill me by hiding a bomb inside the base, but by thwarting her plans, we have struck fear in her heart! The war is coming, but when we march with bravery, they will come with fear, and die at our hands! In these coming weeks, let us work harder than ever to make that happen! For Angaria!!!"
The Heroes were still puzzled, but hearing him, almost all of them set aside their apprehensions and cheered.
The relief that came from escaping a near-death experience filled them all, so the cheers came easily.
"For Angaria!
"For the Order!"
"For the G.o.dking!"
"For Victory!"
Hearing shouts like these, Daneel"s face was filled with joy.
Hence, when the system spoke in his mind, he listened with the smile still present on his face.
[Cognition Module has decided that a notification that was suppressed due to host"s state of mind must not be stopped. Should the notification be given?]
Thinking that it was just something related to the dimensional magic that the system had once again been able to a.n.a.lyze, he said, "Yes, go ahead."
[With the data a.n.a.lyzed when scanning the Grand Inheritance, a new module has been created using the base of host"s Path. Host"s Path requires those who are loyal to host to be present in a certain area around host. With the upgraded capabilities of the system and the new data present, the module created can detect the "loyalty level" of those in host"s vicinity by manipulating the Will of the World, which they must be in contact with to use their power. The level starts at 0 and goes both backward and forward, with negative values indicating negative, or murderous intent.
In host"s present vicinity, 12 targets have been found for whom the value is negative.
Of the 12, 3 have a negative value near 0.
5 have a negative value between the highest negative level which can be detected, which indicates the strongest urge to kill, and 0.
3 have a value near the highest negative level.
1 has the value of the highest negative level.]
His smile instantly soured as he heard this.
He was pleasantly surprised that the system could create such a useful module, and after thinking for a bit, he saw that it could be expected that some might still hate him for things he had done.
Such people could simply be watched, but he was most interested in those near the highest level.
He could guess that the three a.s.sa.s.sins must definitely fall in this category, but the fact that there were 4 near the highest negative level meant that there was a Hero hidden among those from the Order who might have come to kill him.
This person had to be stopped, at all costs, so Daneel asked the system to tell him who the 3 were, first.
[The 3 targets are the three a.s.sa.s.sins from the TriCobra Sect.]
Well, that part of his guess was right. So, he asked the system to give him the name of the one who wanted to kill him the most, while preparing to detain that person and question them thoroughly after they went back.
Only…when the system gave the answer, Daneel"s mind went completely blank, and as if he was once again just a tiny kid who knew nothing of the world, he almost fainted from the immense amount of shock that overwhelmed him.
[The target with the highest negative level is the individual known as "Alistair".]