A few seconds ago.
Looking at the pile of scorched flesh that had once been one of the kindest and bravest women on Angaria, Jonah felt like tearing his hair out and falling to his knees, sobbing.
He did no such thing. Swallowing emotions that could easily have broken lesser man had become an old game to him, and now, he played it with the grace of a seasoned veteran. He let nothing show on his face as the Bishop paced in front of him, reminding him ironically of his disciple who had the same habit.
In front of them, the gigantic body made of mist was still hammering on the continent-wide formation of Angaria. Jonah had been surprised to see that the Bishop didn"t need to be inside to control it, but on hearing her mutterings, he had understood that it was only the case if the mist was doing something simple like repeating the same motion over and over again.
Her mutterings had been filled with excitement when she had seen the continent lose all semblance of discipline. An army was the weakest when such a thing happened, so the frustration that soon followed had been palpable when the barrier still stood strong, stopping all of her advances.
Jonah still remembered clearly how her face had looked when she had seen all of her remaining soldiers go up in flames.
"H-how do I answer for this? Even if I win…"
This thought had escaped her lips, and Jonah had hoped that it would lead to her collapsing… but instead, her eyes had gone red with anger and she had tightened her fist until her hand shook. She had fixed her eyes on Daneel"s motionless body, and from the way she set her jaw, Jonah had understood that she had decided to take him down, no matter what, without thinking of the future.
Since then, the hammering had gone on and on. The people had been all but running around like headless chickens, and the more the Bishop saw them, the more she seemed to wish that she could lay about and kill millions.
All of that changed when the vortex emerged.
The first signs of it had been felt by the Bishop, whose senses were much more attuned to the subtle changes in the atmosphere. Such a skill was required if anyone wanted to ascend to her level, so when she had stopped pacing around and turned to the continent with confusion, Jonah had wondered about the reason.
Then, he had felt it too. It had been as if a large sinkhole had opened on Angaria that was calling to all the Energy in the vicinity. Even though the overall amount of Energy that could be felt traveling from where they stood was small, he calculated that if it was added to the rest that was being drawn from all around the continent…the quant.i.ty was extraordinary.
The vortex had even made her ignore the gaggle of G.o.dbeasts that had appeared out of nowhere to join the battle. If they were bigger, they would have represented a greater threat, but after seeing that most of them were just 10 to 20 feet tall or wide, she seemed to have written them off as just a weak backup force.
All of her attention was on the vortex, and its source was unmistakable. At its center was the G.o.dking of Angaria, and even though the Bishop seemed to have been antic.i.p.ating his return to reality, she had definitely not expected something like this to happen.
With each second that pa.s.sed, the rate of Energy being absorbed grew…and as she looked on, Jonah could see her hopes being sucked away, too.
If this was the first time that this was happening, she might have had a much more p.r.o.nounced reaction, but it had already become a familiar feeling since she had begun this foray to his homeland.
She did pause for a bit, though, where it seemed as if her mind was trying to come to grips with the fact that this plan had failed, too, and after that, she moved.
The corners of her lips rose, but it wasn"t for a smile. Her hands rose, but it wasn"t in celebration. Her brow cleared, but it wasn"t because she felt peace, and her voice shook, but it wasn"t due to happiness.
She needed a few moments to recover. When it did happen, it was because she seemed to have found one last hope to hang on to.
"They"re all the signs of a breakthrough… but even if he got to the Hero realm, what does it matter? What can one extra Hero do against one of the top weapons of the Mainland? Nothing much has changed. Nothing much has changed! I just need to destroy this barrier and kill a few hundred thousand people… and the guilt it will make him vulnerable."
She seemed to be trying hard to convince herself, and it even worked for a few seconds.
But then, the vortex disappeared abruptly, and so did this rope that she was hanging on to.
At the center of the continent stood a man that almost seemed a stranger to them.
His skin glistened like diamond mined afresh from the earth, and he stood 10 feet tall, his body the very symbol of what strength would look like if it was given human form. He was clad in tightfitting robes they were made of fire and water and earth and air, their surface rippling with unconcealed power. The elements played together in harmony across his body, frolicking in his presence as if they were lucky to even be near him. No magic was making this happen. As he stood there, he seemed to be a part of the continent, as immovable and permanent as a mountain.
He took in a deep breath, and Angaria, itself, seemed to tremble. All of the people had already abandoned their confusion to look at the center, and when they saw him, their shoulders unconsciously straightened with pride and their heads rose even further with confidence.
His every breath affected the entire continent. From where they stood, Jonah and the Bishop could see all of the land and the sky pulsating with energy, as if they were ready to move and do anything he wished even though they were supposed to be lifeless parts of nature. This pulsating stopped when the G.o.dking turned his head and looked in her direction, and at once, the Bishop took a step back.
She needed a few seconds to find her voice, and when she did, she said, "One with the world. His Champion Path had already been in that direction… but even the a.n.a.lysts said that there was no way that he could improve upon it. They even mocked him, saying that he chose a path too perfect for the Champion realm… but he proved them all wrong. If they were still alive, I would kill them again… but why does this keep happening to me? Why can"t this have been a normal mission? He"s integrated himself with the world so much that he can use the energy of the entire continent without needing the Hivemind… and that"s just one thing he can do! What can I do? Use some mist to smother him? Ha…ha ha ha! Hahahahaha! Ha-"
As she lost herself to mindless laughter, they both saw the G.o.dking stride towards them in the air.
Jonah did not understand how Daneel"s face was calm even though his master and queen were dead. It was the kind of emotional control that he had never been capable of, but still, he could tell that all the feelings were there, inside, waiting to destroy him if he gave them a chance.
His heart went out to him. In a normal world, he would have just been a talented Angarian who could easily have lived a perfect life. But instead, he had been thrust into the limelight, forced to become the leader that they all needed, and on his shoulders was a burden that no one could understand.
But right now…why does it feel as if he has shrugged off all of it?
This thought puzzled Jonah, but he had no time to think on it as the Bishop stopped laughing.
He looked in her direction, and right away, he knew that she was up to no good. He had wished that she would just attack blindly and go to her death, but it was obvious that she was going to do no such thing.
"Well, if I can"t have it…no one can. Here"s my gift to congratulate your breakthrough, G.o.dking!"
This was the first time that she had used that name, so Jonah could tell that even she had been overwhelmed by respect. It was a sort of respect that could only come out of an achievement that everyone had believed to be impossible, and even though they had no idea regarding how it had happened, they recognized its importance.
She flipped one finger to the sky, but nothing changed. She started laughing again, though, but after forcefully controlling it in few seconds, she shouted, "No matter what I throw at you, you overcome it. I doubled my army. You used clever traps to destroy them. I secured an attack from the Saint. You used the Paragons of the TriCobra sect to nullify it. I tortured your countrymen and told no one so that it would not be leaked, but you overcame it, too. h.e.l.l, I can see that their pressure was what led to your breakthrough! Oh, look at all that power! You move, and the d.a.m.n continent moves with you! If you were on the Mainland, you could have ruled with me by your side…but to your bad luck, you were born here. Well, it doesn"t matter any more. Come. It is high time we end this. I just…want to rest."
When the last word escaped her lips, her last ploy became visible to the world.
Far, far above Angaria, a large object could be seen falling, falling, falling to the ground.
It looked vaguely familiar, and after a few moments, Jonah recognized it.
It was the headquarters that she had packed away, saying that they would either return victorious, or not return at all.
It had not been set up, so only individual blocks of the marble that made up the headquarters could be seen. Yet, they had all the ma.s.s of a gigantic building, and they were even protected by formations to boot.
A sphere of fire had already engulfed it, making it look like a comet that was streaking down to the earth. But what it was bringing… was death.
If it met Angaria at that speed, the continent would be no more.
But shaking his head, Daneel spoke casually.
"You don"t give up, do you? Yes, in another life, I would have been tempted to work with you. You"re right… it is high time. But this last threat shall be dealt with by Angarians, for Angaria. Look at them. They all rose to my call, but most of them have not even experienced what power is. Don"t you think that it would make a great gift?"
When he was done, he waved his hand.
Tendrils of energy instantly emerged from the ground, snaking up the feet of almost all Angarians. They looked around, stupefied, before slowly grinning or gasping with shock as they closed their fists and felt the power coursing through their veins.
This…this is the strength of a G.o.d.
The Bishop seemed to be feeling the same thing, as she couldn"t take her eyes off the people.
"I wanted to destroy them. But you"ve made them indestructible. d.a.m.n you. d.a.m.n you!"
She screamed and leap forward, but as Jonah saw her back… he could see her shoulders slumped in defeat, and in his ears, her curse had a sense of finality to it that made him feel as if she had accepted her end.
His shoulders felt lighter, instantly, and for the first time, he let himself relax.
The journey had been one filled with so many twists and turns that it would take a huge book to record them all. People might not even believe that a battle that was supposed to be simple had turned out to be so epic, but he knew that those who were going to survive would definitely pa.s.s it down, tongue to tongue, for all of eternity.
Will they know of my role? Well, it doesn"t really matter.
He had no wine, so with the small fraction of his Mageroot that he could access, he conjured a gla.s.s with water and a chair.
Sitting down, he swirled the water and took a sip, and as the Bishop and the G.o.dking neared each other for a final bout, he thought:
I hate her, but I do agree with her in one thing. I…just want to rest, too. I might have been useless, but my job is done. Now…time to sit back, and enjoy seeing the seed I planted bear fruit. Long live Angaria!