The completely shocked expression on 5"s face when he saw that he lost was the final straw that broke the camel"s back.
All of the cheers and excitement that had disappeared from the people returned, making them jump with glee along with those smiles of joy that just wouldn"t leave their faces.
This would definitely be a lesson that they would remember forever, and when the King made that comment, his words also got branded into their minds.
Throughout the show, his repeated appearances really had gone a long way in making him feel more and more familiar to all of the people who had used to think of him as some distant figure whom they didn"t know much about.
Familiarity always bred comfort, and when they viewed how impressive he looked as he was in control of everything going on even though he was dealing with people of this level which was supposed to be undefeatable on the Central Continent, their impression of him started to grow more and more. At least, in those who hadn"t felt much about the king except knowing that he was someone famous, Daneel had succeeded in building the foundation of the image that he hoped would grow into something so much greater.
Meanwhile, after hearing Daneel"s comment, Raul remained silent, just like he had been throughout the show so far.
He only observed everything as if he was a spectator himself, while he repeatedly went through everything that had happened in his whole life until now.
He didn"t think much about winning, as something told him that even though the king had stated that he would let the victor go, things definitely wouldn"t be that simple. After all, why would this man give someone the opportunity to target him again by letting them go, now?
Along with being the most powerful, he was also the oldest among all of the rogue Fighters and Mages, and because of his special position beside the King, he could tell that this was all just a ch.o.r.eographed play whose only objective was to further some goal of the King"s. As for what the specific goal was, although Raul had a few suspicions, he didn"t know the answer exactly.
He had already a.s.sessed that all of the formations and spells binding all of them were at the Champion level, which made him wish that he could cross the final step stopping him from becoming a Champion and breaking out of the bindings in one go.
All he needed to do… Was understand what the essence of balance was, and cast a Mageroot-less spell that would result in the advance of his Mageroot to the next level.
That had been his whole objective behind targeting the King in the first place - the King had awed everyone by casting a Mageroot-less spell during his Olympics, which had resulted in a fire being lit up in Raul to find out just how he had done it.
If he could receive even a few tips regarding the process, then he was confident that he could finally achieve what he had been trying to reach for the past 10 years.
Accompanied by the King"s smile, the contest continued for another hour during which those in the loser"s bracket also fought with everything they had in an attempt to get more votes.
The exception was 5 - initially, he tried to put on dazzling performances in the hope that he could overturn the impression that he had given to the people, but each time, he lost without fail.
In his last match, he didn"t even bother to put up resistance, resulting in a forfeit.
In the end, the victor was quite surprising - it was the woman who had that mesmerizing style of magic.
She wasn"t the most powerful, but there was just something about her that made the people want to vote for her. One thing was for sure - she always put forward the best effort, and she was always graceful when she saw the result, no matter if she won or lost. In fact, she had lost once with a very small difference in votes to a Fighter who had managed to strike her down in a very short span of time, but she fought her way through the loser"s bracket and even won the semi-finals, as she seemed to have a towering advantage over all Mages.
Her battle style was peculiar - she seemed to be an expert in nullifying the spells of her opponents, which obviously didn"t work against Fighters as there were no spells being cast.
Also, her own attacks didn"t use any of the typical elements - instead, they employed some sort of sound based medium that sought to lull the opponent into a dizzy state in which they could be defeated.
All in all, she stood out, which was a major factor in her victory.
After the end of the semi-final match during which he emerged the victor, Daneel walked onto the ring where so many fights had taken place.
Seeing this and knowing that it might be time for the most brilliant fight yet, everyone in Ophelia"s household held their breath, looking forward to what the King would say.
First, Daneel gestured toward the woman who had won, who was standing beside him in the ring.
She was wearing a white dress with many ta.s.sels around her hands and legs, which artfully flew around her even when she was standing still.
"Number three, congratulations on reaching the finals. I must say that for someone who was about to take part in an act that would have gone down as one of the most horrific in the history of my Kingdom, you really managed to turn your impression around and strike a chord in even the people whom you would have killed if you hadn"t been stopped. Really, this show is more of a grand success than I could ever have imagined, and I think the citizens all over the continent agree when I say that I have shown them fully just what my Network is capable of. What do you all say?"
The final question was, of course, addressed toward the communication eye. In Ophelia"s house, everyone stood up with broad smiles and even started to applaud, even though they knew that the king couldn"t see them.
They were just too…moved. This was definitely the best show they had ever seen in their entire lives, and it had all been made possible by the man whom they saw in the trinket. The way in which he had stopped this threat and even made it into such an exciting show for all of them was something they would remember forever, and in their hearts, the image of the King of Lanthanor started to solidify into something that wouldn"t budge no matter what anyone said about him.
"I can hear the applause even though I"m not with you, and I can only say that I am humbled. However, like all good things, this must also come to an end. It is time for the final match - between the victor, number three, and their leader who put this entire operation together. I have chosen to give him the special Number zero. He is special… Because he is the most powerful man to have ever set foot in my Kingdom. He is a Peak Exalted Warrior- just one step away from becoming a Champion - and I don"t think I need to tell you all just how legendary a level that is."
Gasps of surprise and shock sounded throughout all the households who were witnessing the show, as they had only heard about Champions in stories. Just like the King had said, that was a level that was legendary. In the stories, such people were capable of rending the earth and splitting the heavens if they wished, and many had even thought that the Champion level was just a hoax.
Antic.i.p.ation grew to the next level when they heard this, making the people move even closer to the trinket so that they wouldn"t miss even a single move.
"Still, I implore you all to judge in the same way that you have been judging so far. You will be the ones to decide the fates of these two people - one will live, and one will not. Let the match… Begin!"
As the king said this and disappeared from the ring, the eyes of the spectators sharpened as they prepared to take part in the final judging.
However, even though seconds pa.s.sed one after another, both individuals just stood on two corners of the ring and looked at each other without doing anything.
Daneel was also perplexed. He wondered whether he should step in and threaten these two again, but he had set the stage so beautifully that doing something like that would spoil it.
He had referred to these people"s initial objective so that he could remove any impressions of favor that might have formed for the woman by making the people remember that she had been about to merrily kill them all just a few hours ago.
He wasn"t too worried about the fight being one-sided, as he had noticed that this woman"s peculiar style would let her stand up to Mages who were more powerful than her. So, he was looking forward to a good fight, even though he knew that Raul would most definitely be the one winning.
After a minute, he finally chose to intervene.
"The hammers will descend in one minute. Begin the fight," he said coldly, which did not elicit any response from either contestant.
Well, if they wanted to feel pain, then he couldn"t do anything.
Meanwhile, Raul was staring at the woman whom he had known for more than two decades.
How could he rais his hand against someone like that?
Unlike the rest who were just acquaintances with each other, the two of them had always been close. In fact, she was the one who had introduced him to the circle of rogue Warriors after he had been exiled from the sect.
He had been pursuing balance all his life… But he had now reached a position of such imbalance.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn"t imagine this going in a different way. In his pursuit of balance, he had thought that he had already taken care of all aspects, but there was no possible way in which he could have known that the King"s inheritance was something much more powerful than he had thought.
Wasn"t balance all about considering all factors and placing them on either side of the scale?
He had done that, but failed spectacularly.
What if… That wasn"t all that was there to balance?
What if… True balance wasn"t actually impossible in this world, where there was chaos and uncertainty everywhere?
If that couldn"t be taken into account, then what was the point of trying to achieve equilibrium?
But… If he incorporated imbalance as a factor, then wouldn"t the entire pursuit become moot?
Complex thoughts revolved in his mind, as realization slowly started to dawn upon him.
He couldn"t get rid of the chaos, and the chaos would cause imbalance.
Then what was the only solution?
Once again, he remembered the powerless feeling that had filled him when he viewed all of his comrades fighting each other. He went over this entire experience, and what he had learned from it.
His pursuit had always been to find balance in everything, but he had never accepted that that was impossible.
True balance… Was only possible when he accepted the universal fact that nothing could be completely certain.
He could only seek to measure what was visible in front of him, while being cognizant of the fact that the chaos was something he couldn"t quantify or take into the equation. His pride, his power, his magic… All of them were useless in the face of that chaos.
At this moment, he understood that he had been seeing it in the wrong way.
His whole pursuit of this Champion path had stemmed from one sentence he had found in the records of the sect: "The path of balance can only be sought after by those who tread on it while trying to keep away from the shadow that is imbalance."
He had a.s.sumed that this meant that everything had to be in his control so that he could achieve balance… yet, a shadow was something that was always present, no matter if it was visible or invisible. Hence, he could only know of its existence, and move on.
The moment he understood this, his Mageroot started to go through a metamorphosis that allowed him to view the world in a different way.
He raised his two palms, and when a fireball appeared in one, another fireball came into existence on the other palm even though he hadn"t cast the spell for it.
This fireball… Had appeared because of his understanding of the concept of balance, instead of being conjured by his Mageroot.
So this was the power of this Champion path.
It was the power to influence the world itself to be in equilibrium, by making it move in order to set right any imbalances that he created.
In essence… All of his attacks would sp.a.w.n copies.
When Daneel viewed this, a chill pa.s.sed through his spine, as he could see with his Elementary Vision that this man hadn"t cast the spell for the second fireball. No… His surroundings had moved by themselves.
The next moment, the barrier broke, as he had only been using an Amateur Champion level barrier given by Drakos so that he wouldn"t set off any suspicions in the eyes of those who might be watching.
Of course, that bit him in the a.s.s, now, as Raul had become a true Amateur Champion who broke through everything in a flash.
Initially, Daneel frowned, wondering what he should do, but he suddenly got an idea.
After asking Drakos a question and receiving the answer he had hoped for, he messaged Eloise, saying, "Keep it running. I wanted the show to end with a bang, and it seems that the heavens have answered that prayer of mine. No matter what happens, don"t let the broadcast stop."
Saying so, Daneel rose into the air to face the man who had been his captive till now.