Reaching the spot where they had disappeared before to reach the prison of the Protector Raven, Daneel and Faxul both took a deep breath before closing their eyes.
SQUAWK!
This loud sound that reverberated in their ears made them smile as they felt happy that their worst fears hadn"t been confirmed.
The Raven was still alive, and it was still here.
Yet, on opening their eyes, both of them saw a scene that shocked them to their core.
The Protector Raven which had looked so magnificent before now had a hole in the center of his head.
Through the hole, even the surroundings behind the Raven could be seen.
It was collapsed on the floor in a pool of its own blood, and its ma.s.sive body was twitching with pain.
Running towards it, Faxul placed a hand on its wing while Daneel ordered the system to a.n.a.lyze what was going on.
After all, if that hole had appeared hours ago when the old man died, it was impossible for any being he knew to survive for so long.
But without needing the system, Daneel realized how the Protector Raven had stayed alive till now by himself.
At the edges of the wound, flesh was slowly regenerating.
Clearly, the Raven was healing itself.
"It says that… It needs help."
Hearing this from Faxul, Daneel immediately bent and placed his hand on the Raven after ordering the system to deploy the healing technique.
With this, the recovery of the flesh spread up. In fact, it was almost like the Raven itself was directing even Daneel"s spell to maximize the effect.
A half-hour or so later, the tissues completely regenerated. It had taken a ma.s.sive amount of energy. Even with his Exalted Human Mage level strength, Daneel stumbled back with exhaustion on seeing that the Raven was returning to normal.
All that remained was a surface wound.
[The Warrior level beast has enhanced levels of regeneration which do not correspond to its strength. For further information, please upgrade the system.]
This was the only information he got from the system.
Listening to this, Daneel realized that he truly needed to upgrade the system as soon as possible if he wanted to be in control of the things that were happening around him. Clearly, the complexity of peak Warrior level was no longer enough.
A smile came on Faxul"s face on seeing that this old friend of his father"s was fine. Immediately, he used the trinket given by Daneel to initiate a connection with it.
Watching this, Daneel frowned as he felt a suspicion that the old man"s plan definitely wasn"t so simple.
As someone who had full information of almost everything else, he surely must have known about the Raven"s enhanced regeneration. After all, he had battled it and imprisoned it here.
Why would he opt to injure it in this way if he knew that it would survive?
Suddenly, seeing anguish on Faxul"s face, he realized that something was wrong.
Indeed, the smile was gone, and in its place was now fear.
He had used his hand to plunge the small needle into the Raven"s body before. Now, he repeated the same thing multiple times, as if it wasn"t working.
"What"s wrong?", asked Daneel, bewildered at his friend"s actions.
After doing so for five more times, Faxul"s hand finally collapsed by his side as he said, "It says… It can no longer connect with anyone. The old man"s attack managed to critically injure the part of its body that is responsible for initiating the connection. Even though it healed itself, it says it cannot regenerate that part."
In response, the Raven also made a sad sound while a single tear slid out of its eye.
"Is this true?", Daneel asked the system.
[Although a detailed a.n.a.lysis of the anatomy of a Raven is required for a definite answer, based on the designs of the trinket that host has manufactured, there is a high possibility that a physical component of a Raven"s body enables the connection in the first place. This is also the defining feature which separates the Ravens of the Black Raven Kingdom from normal ones which exist in the Angarian Continent.]
Before, Daneel had wondered what made these Ravens special. Now, he had gotten the answer.
Thinking for a bit, he asked Faxul, "So it cannot leave this place?"
Last time when they had come, the Raven had told Faxul that it needed to connect with someone if it wanted to leave.
Quite obviously, if it couldn"t accomplish this, then it would be trapped here forever.
Seeing Faxul"s nod, Daneel"s brows furrowed as he realized that they were truly in a sticky situation.
This Raven was both the symbol of the Kingdom and also its protector. If they lost it in this way, the Black Raven Kingdom would be in ruins soon.
Rifling through all the abilities he had, Daneel tried to think of a way that he could remedy the situation.
As he did so, he hit upon something that he had just recently developed and not tested out yet.
After thinking for a bit more, he said to Faxul, "I have a way."
…
The next day, at noon.
The crowd that had come the day before to witness the connection ceremony had only grown in number to occupy all the streets of the Black Raven Kingdom. Even in the area outside, there was a sea of people who were spectating the ceremony via the display trinkets that had been deployed on the walls of the capital.
As was tradition, the connection ceremony would take place in the sky above the Royal Palace.
This was always the final step before someone ascended the throne. Hence, this location was chosen so that it would signify one"s arrival into their role as soon as they got the acknowledgment of the Protector Raven.
At the exact time when the sun was highest in the sky, a figure appeared in the air above the Palace.
He did not have anyone beside him, so it meant that he was standing in the air using his own ability.
Those who weren"t aware of the new King"s mage prowess were shocked at this moment, gladdened by the fact that the one they had chosen was also so talented in the path of magic.
As the cheers started again with renewed energy, a loud squawk silenced them all.
It came from above, and everyone craned their necks trying to see just where exactly it was coming from.
Finally, a few managed to notice the enormous bird that had just broken through the clouds to appear in front of the people of the Black Raven Kingdom.
"All hail the Almighty Black Raven!"
As one, the people said these words and prayed as if the one descending was their deity itself.
Instead of the raucous cheers before, a solemn atmosphere came over the location as the Raven flew to Faxul.
Stopping in front of him, it started looking into his eyes.
An intense staring match ensued between them, as if each was trying to figure out the other.
The ones who had been present during the last time the ceremony happened and who were learned in the ways of the Kingdom explained to the others that this was when the Protector Raven a.n.a.lyzed the person to see where their true loyalty lay.
As everyone looked on with awe, Faxul hesitantly stretched his arm forward to lay it on the Raven which was the same size as him.
A tension diffused in the air as everyone saw the hand reach closer and closer to the Raven.
Finally, as the hand touched it, a resounding squawk emanated from its beak before it moved forward and nuzzled its head against Faxul"s.
At this moment, a voice from the Palace reverberated throughout the capital.
"The connection ceremony has concluded. Our King has obtained the blessings of our Almighty Deity! All hail King Faxul Coronis, and may his reign bring glory to our Kingdom!"
"My King!"
"King Faxul!"
"Hail!"
Shouts like these thundered throughout the Kingdom, ushering in the era of new King.
Magically, a black crown made of some sort of glistening material appeared in the beak of the Protector Raven which it placed on Faxul"s head.
As the cheers reached a new crescendo on seeing this sight, Faxul waved at them before descending into the Palace to take the throne.
Meanwhile, Daneel, who was also among the crowd watching everything, smiled wide as he saw his friend officially take the throne in front of all the people.
Yet, he couldn"t help but think back to the decision he had made before in the place where the Protector Raven had been imprisoned.
"Status of the link?" he asked again for at least the tenth time since leaving that place.
[Human-beast link functioning successfully. Backdoor in place. Host can take control of the beast at any time he wishes.]