Teleporting hundreds of kilometers at a time, the Matron quickly appeared in the air above where Angaria"s grandest event had been taking place till now.
All she saw was a humongous barrier that was like a bubble that had covered the earth. It encapsulated an area of over 500 kilometers, and as she flicked her finger to make a 1-kilometer long icicle appear beside her, another man teleported to the spot a few meters away from her.
"Matron. My son is in there."
He was bald, and if someone saw him and the man inside who was currently engaging those from the Church, they would see a strong resemblance.
Only, this man also had a white beard, and his body was much bulkier than the other.
Also, crisscrossing scars covered all of the muscles visible, and they formed a mesmerizing design that would make anyone want to keep looking.
"I know," replied the Matron, whose face was covered by a veil.
She was wearing a long grey dress over her slender body, and the hem of the dress was floating playfully in the air even though there was no breeze.
With another flick, the large icicle collided with the barrier, but it was like a toothpick trying to upend a large bowl.
It simply shattered and didn"t cause any damage to the barrier.
"What do you think? Hero level, at least?", asked the Matron, while the fist of the man started to shake with anger.
Veins started to appear on his face which had turned red, and the tight half-sleeved s.h.i.+rt he was wearing till now tore into shreds due to his muscles swelling.
His lower body, however, remained the same, clad in orange pants.
BOOM!
In an instant, the man shot forward and broke the sound barrier.
BOOOOMMMM!!!
Barely a second later, the sound of impact reverberated throughout the surroundings.
Looking down, the Matron saw that the man"s upper body was now double the size of his lower. He looked like some malnourished giant which had only managed to grow half of its body, but the rippling muscles which were visible displayed an aura of strength that would make those watching feel as if they could be crushed by a whim of this man.
His two fists were in contact with the barrier, but at some point of time, he had put on gloves which seemed to be made of some sort of skin.
Steam was coming from the point of contact, but it looked reddish, as if its origin was something sinister.
With another sonic boom, he reappeared beside the Matron and said in a measured tone, "Yes, Hero-level. I"ve already received authorization to use the communication linking device. Will you do it or should I?"
The anger from before seemed to be gone, but knowing him, the Matron could tell that it had only been swallowed down.
"Let me."
Saying so, the Matron seemed to pick something out from thin air.
It was a flute that looked like it was made from bamboo, and it had floral patterns all around it.
If one looked closer, they would observe that the patterns were actually real flowers that had been somehow been inlaid in the flute.
Raising her veil, the Matron exposed full, lush lips which she used to blow on the flute.
No sound came out of it, but from one end, it started to disintegrate.
A few seconds later, her hands were empty, as if the flute had never been there in the first place.
"A one-time Exalted Champion level trinket. Gone, just like that. Did it work, though?"
In response, the Matron took out her communication trinket before saying, "Respond, Xuan. I"ve arrived at your location, but I"m blocked by a barrier. Activate the communication eye I gave you."
A second later, Sister Xuan"s excited voice came through the trinket.
"Matron! Thank the heavens! The situation? Oh…I"ll activate the communication eye."
The Matron was puzzled by her star disciple"s tone, but she just took out another trinket from thin air.
It opened into a large display panel, and as the image flickered before becoming clear, both the Matron and the man gasped with shock.
The point of view was from the air. After getting over their shock, the thing that caught their notice was that millions of people were all gathered in one place, but they were all looking up with fear in their eyes.
And the sight which seemed to have cast a spell of silence over them: a s.h.i.+ny, golden globe that was squirming and moving, made of mosquitoes of which each looked more ravenous than the next.
"Are those…"
As the Matron"s voice floated off into silence, the man spoke with the anger returning to his tone.
"Yes. The aptly named "Doom mosquitoes", but their strength seems to be locked. WHICH IDIOT FROM THE CENTRAL CONTINENT WAS ABLE TO OBTAIN THEM AND THEN SET THEM LOOSE?"
"Marcus…the epidemic last time…"
"Yes. Millions died, and Angaria was almost lost. We tried to completely get rid of them, but we couldn"t. Call Ashah.e.l.l. He"s the expert."
Nodding, the Matron began to send the message, but she froze when she heard the voice of her disciple coming from the communication trinket.
"Matron, the King of Lanthanor is in the center of the globe-he"s keeping all the mosquitoes in check. He says he has a plan to stop them, but he needs our help."
"Xuan, what foolishness are you talking? Those mosquitoes cannot be controlled by any method known to us! There aren"t even any Hero-level texts that say that this is possible! That man is taking you for a ride! Apprehend him before he causes more damage!"
"NO, Matron! He"s the one whom you said deserves to be in the Big 4! If he says he can do it, HE CAN!"
Being shouted at for the first time by a mere Warrior, the Matron almost burst into a fit of rage, but the man laid a hand on her shoulder.
This instantly calmed her down, as his touch invoked memories that calmed and soothed her.
"Is he the one you said has an inheritance?"
"Yes. But no inheritance from Angaria could possibly…"
"You know what your master used to say. In times of strife, Angaria always finds a way. Maybe HE is our way right now. Trust him for now. You"ve never been a bad judge of character either, just like your disciple."
Hearing this, the Matron took a few seconds to think but nodded in the end.
"All right, Xuan. Find out what he wants. You need to know that there is a different barrier surrounding the one set up by Marcus"s son. And if you ever raise at me again, even if Angaria itself is sinking, I will tie up your vocal cords for ten years. Clear?"
After a few moments of silence, the response came.
"Yes, ma"am."
...
In the globe surrounded by hundreds of thousands of bloodsuckers, Daneel sighed with relief when he heard that the Matron outside was ready to listen.
However, his face took on an ashen expression when he heard that there was another barrier outside. His original plan had been to contact the one outside who was fighting with those from the Church and ask him to open the barrier for a second or so that his mosquitoes could get in.
Yet, they had to get there first to make this happen, but it seemed like this might not be possible.
Still, he asked anyway, as there was no other way.
"Ask the Matron whether it is possible to breach the barrier outside at least briefly so that I can have some…insects come in. I need them to stop these things."
When the response came from Sister Xuan, Daneel gritted his teeth with frustration.
"It"s not possible. The barrier outside is Hero-level, and although those from the Big 4 have begun the process of breaking it down, it will take an hour."
An hour. He didn"t have that kind of time.
Racking his brain and thinking about everything he knew about barriers, Daneel got an idea.
"Is it possible to make a tiny hole? Just for the briefest of moments?"
The Big 4 had been protecting Angaria for millennia, and he refused to believe that they didn"t have the ability to even accomplish this.
Thankfully, his hunch turned out to be right.
"Yes. But it will require the use of a trinket that is 10 times more valuable than all the wealth in your Kingdom, according to the Matron. She is asking if you are sure. If you aren"t you will have to answer to the Big 4."
Ignoring the jibe about the cost, Daneel smiled and answered, "I"m sure. It should be enough to let one insect through. Now, I need to address everyone here."
Saying so, Daneel asked Ca.s.sandra to magnify his voice and also to activate the communication eye to make his image appear on the large display trinket in the center which was still there.
On Earth, times of great peril were marked by leaders making speeches which went down in History as being instrumental in either uniting unwilling allies or bolstering the courage of soldiers to achieve victory.
He could never have expected that he would have the opportunity to make one like that, but right now, he was going to seize it with all his might.