A half-hour later, Daneel strode out of Faxul"s chambers with a wide smile on his face.
His next stop was Elanev"s room, where he asked his big brother to pack up and get ready to leave. Although Elanev knew that they would be returning to Lanthanor soon, he had thought that they would stay for a little while in case Faxul needed them for something.
Yet, seeing the happy smile on Daneel"s face, he knew that something was afoot. Of course, no matter how much he asked, Daneel didn"t say anything and only smirked, saying that he would find out soon.
Grumbling, Elanev got ready to leave and followed Daneel as they left the palace. It seemed that Faxul had already sent the order to not stop them, as they met no resistance on their way outside.
After reaching an empty alleyway outside, Daneel grasped Elanev"s shoulders before teleporting them both away.
A few minutes later, Elanev grinned widely due to the feeling of being back home.
After multiple teleportations, they had just reached the palace gates where Kellor was waiting for them.
Just as he was about to walk forward and hug Kellor, he saw the troubled expression on his face which indicated that something was wrong.
Daneel also noticed this, and as he asked Kellor what had happened through the oath stone, his smile was wiped away from his face and rage replaced it.
Eloise had actually been hurt by Sister Xuan?!
Since coming to this world, Daneel had done everything he could and worked so hard because of his dream to make a world where he would never have to worry about the ones he cared about being hurt.
Although he did care for all the people of Angaria, the actual individuals who were truly a part of his life were few.
If they were touched, it was akin to touching his reverse scale which would infuriate him so much that he would be prepared to do anything that was necessary in order to take revenge for them.
This circle of people was small. Until recently, it had only comprised of his parents, Elanev, Kellor, and Faxul along with a few others.
It was only now when he heard the news about Eloise getting hurt did he realize that she had also been added into this circle.
Always dedicated with the intent of helping him reach his goals without caring about how much ever work she had to put in, Eloise had truly impressed him and made her place in his heart.
The fact that those who had hurt her were actually the guests whom he had allowed into the Palace angered him even more.
It no longer mattered whether they were backed by the Big Four. If anything happened to her, he knew that he wouldn"t hesitate to use everything he could to take them down.
As thoughts like these swirled through his head, he commanded the system to keep the Dragon claws at the ready while quickly walking to the room where she was.
Of course, he did not need any instructions as the system was in full control of everything inside the Palace.
Although he had the option of asking it about her condition, he did not do so as he wished to find out himself with his own eyes.
BANG
As the door of one of the rooms near his chambers opened explosively with his kick, the two women standing inside turned around with shock.
Seeing Daneel who looked like he was ready to destroy everything in his path, Sister Xuan"s face went white as she stuttered for the first time in her life.
As for Molan, she was similarly silenced due to the sheer rage that she saw in the King"s eyes.
Although he was tempted to deploy the Dragon claws right now to trap them, he resisted the urge and looked at the bed where a woman was sleeping peacefully.
Reaching the bed, he rudely shoved Sister Xuan to the side by her shoulder before holding Eloise"s arm and feeling her pulse.
"a.n.a.lyse her body and tell me what"s wrong with her."
A few seconds later, hearing the system"s answer, the anger on his face disappeared and shock replaced it.
[Metamorphosis state detected. The person examined has ingested an ultra high-grade energy source. Unable to identify the energy. Properties: mild, const.i.tution building. Data added to system"s database about an ultra high-grade energy sources which can also act in this way. The energy is rebuilding the person"s body into one with highest potential both as a Mage and Fighter.]
Metamorphosis?!
Such a thing was actually possible?
It was almost as if Daneel was rediscovering the continent he had thought he knew, both by seeing Faxul become an exalted human Fighter in seconds and now seeing Eloise turn from a normal human into someone like him who had talent that was almost unprecedented in the history of the Central Continent.
A cold voice beside him answered the question in his mind.
"I have used a sect preserving treasure to save her life. Because she is only a normal human, the treasure is also changing her body and giving her top potential in both the paths of Fighters and Mages. Hence, it can actually be considered as a stroke of luck for her. I apologize for losing control of my emotions. It is what led to this situation in the first place. I"m ready to bear any punishment, and I"m truly sorry for hurting someone so close to you. Just because I didn"t mean to, doesn"t mean I"m not responsible."
"Sister Xuan! Punishment?! How can this ANT be WORTHY of-"
"QUIET, Molan! It is only right to pay for one"s actions. Stay quiet."
Grumbling under her breath, Molan did not control the indignant expression on her face while looking at Daneel.
Meanwhile, Daneel finally calmed down from the emotions that had consumed him till now.
The last time such emotions had taken control of him, he had made the resolution to topple the King, and had actually ended up doing so.
Now, if something really had happened to Eloise, he wondered if he really wouldn"t have hesitated to bring down the wrath of one of the Big Four on his Kingdom just to take revenge.
Of course, it was useless to think along these lines now, but Daneel knew the answer.
Putting it aside for now, he first turned around to Sister Xuan and said, "I apologize for acting rudely just now. Anger had consumed me. Please understand that I value nothing more than those who I"m close to. It is this love that has enabled me to achieve everything I have so far. Can you please tell me what exactly happened?"
Sister Xuan, who had been looking down till now with a guilty expression on her face, actually blushed as she heard this question.
There was no way that she was going to admit that she had lost control of her emotions because she felt… jealous.
As she was scrambling for words to answer the question, Molan, who had been ordered to stay quiet, answered.
"This woman got into a staring match with Sister Xuan. The air heated up because Sister Xuan got a little angry at being challenged by a normal human while being one of the youngest Warrior level Mages in the continent. The heat caused her to collapse, but Sister Xuan did not hesitate to use the sect preserving treasure which is definitely worth more than your entire Kingdom put together to save her. That"s what happened."
Ignoring the glare from Sister Xuan, Molan answered like so and humphed before looking to the side.
Seeing the actions of the two, Daneel realized that there was definitely something else that he was not being told. Yet, there was no meaning in pressing for an answer.
As for the fact that this young woman in front of him who did not look a day over 20 was a Warrior level Mage, he added it to the list of things that had shocked him today, along with the statement that whatever she had used to heal Eloise was worth more than Lanthanor itself.
Thinking for a bit, he smiled at Sister Xuan, startling her.
"I sincerely thank Sister Xuan for saving my friend"s life instead of just leaving, which is definitely something you were capable of. There is no talk of punishment needed, as you really have changed Eloise"s future completely. I have something pressing to attend to right now, so please excuse me. I will come back later, and we can talk further then."
Saying so, Daneel nodded at both of them before taking one last look at Eloise who actually seemed to be glowing.
Feeling happy for her, he turned around and strode out of the room.
From Sister Xuan"s expression and her words, he had understood that she truly hadn"t done it on purpose. Knowing when to take a step back and when to advance, he had acted in this way after deciding to dig deeper into the matter later on.
But, for now, it was time to initiate the plan which he had discussed with Faxul to unite the Black Raven Kingdom and Lanthanor.