At an unknown location hundreds of kilometers beneath Angaria"s surface, the man shrouded in darkness had his eyes fixed on the Head, who was carressing the wine bottle that he had unearthed after great difficulty.
They were currently sitting in a large, open room with a high ceiling which was filled with bookshelves everywhere.
If anyone looked into this room, they would never be able to guess that it was underground.
That was because there were multiple, huge windows which showed different scenes around Angaria.
One showed the image of the Endless Sea, where the furious waves were cras.h.i.+ng against the sh.o.r.e, warning all those who dared to enter that their only fate would be to be overwhelmed by the silent might of the water.
Another showed a forest much like The Valley of Mist, complete with trees which reached the skies and beasts that were going about their lives.
All of these were views from above, which was something that would shock all who viewed them except Mages.
A Mage would be able to tell that all of these were teleportation portals that were actively being maintained at the expense of Ether blocks.
Such extravagance…was only possible in the abode of a Hero.
After looking at the bottle from all sides, the Head expertly removed the seal, took away the cork, smelled the aroma that was peachy yet laced with a spicy scent, poured it into a gla.s.s and finally swirled it before taking a gulp and exclaiming in satisfaction.
Filling up the other gla.s.s on the table, he said, "Drink up."
Of course, currently, the man didn"t care about the wine, or the fact that he was forcibly under house arrest.
Flashes of memories of his son kept revolving in his mind, fanning the flames of his fury which demanded blood.
However, he had already used a clone to scout Lanthanor. Just like the Head had said, there was a formation all around the Kingdom which would detect if any Hero-level individual or clone stepped foot inside.
All he could do was circle the Kingdom like a helpless, starving dog whose food had been placed behind an impa.s.sable cage.
At least, that was how he felt.
With a knowing smile, the Head poured himself another gla.s.s and said, "You can put those clones away, and relax! That kid definitely won"t leave his Kingdom. Just take a sip, or it"s all going to be over!"
With frustration, that was exactly what the man did.
He knew that the King wouldn"t be foolish enough to appear outside even after being warned explicitly by the Head.
Even though the Head was powerful, it was impossible for him to constantly monitor large tracts of land for something specific like this. All he could do was lay down a formation the size of a Kingdom, and keep an eye on it while handling all the other responsibilities he had due to his role.
If the King put even a foot outside, the man was confident that he could end his puny Warrior life even though his main body was under lockdown.
Yet, it was ridiculous to hope for something like that to happen, unless one was suici-…Wh-what the f*ck?!
Choking on the mouthful of wine, the man watched as the King calmly appeared on the border wall of the Lanthanor Kingdom.
"What"s wrong? Too bitter for you? Want me to break out some of my stock?"
The Head had too many things he was handling at once, so he wasn"t paying any active attention to Lanthanor except for maintaining that formation. So, he wasn"t seeing the same image that his "companion" was gazing at with an incredulous expression on his hidden face.
Yet, the shock soon gave way to even more fury, as the King looked up to gaze at the stars casually.
This f*cker was taunting him after killing his son!
And to think that he had gotten all excited on seeing the King appear on the border…Of course he wouldn"t be dumb enough to step outside!
Making elaborate plans about how he would torture this pompous runt when he got his hands on him, the man completely dispelled the excitement and just shook his head before swallowing down the wine accompanied by a cough.
"All right. Have another, then."
Saying so, the Head refilled his gla.s.s, which the man took into his hands again while cursing under his breath.
However, when he threw this into his mouth, too, he couldn"t help but choke again.
"Ok, really, Rayen? Don"t waste this bottle because of your anger…let me get one which is dispensable."
This time, even the Head frowned and said this, as it obviously wasn"t normal to choke not once, but twice on a swig of wine unless one was going crazy due to strong emotions like anger.
Understanding that that might be the case even though it was strange, the Head disappeared and reappeared with a silver-colored gla.s.s bottle.
Yet, the man was still in a daze.
"You look like you"re seeing either your worst nightmare or your greatest hope appear in front of you. Surely, you can"t still be thinking that you can reach that kid, right? If this daze is because you came up with something…"
Hearing this, Rayen, as he had been called, snapped out of the daze with a start and said, "No! No, its nothing like that."
He was trying hard to act normal, but his mind felt like it was being battered by those same waves of the Endless Sea which were visible in the window behind him.
That was because…the King, who had looked as if he would taunt Rayen and then leave, had just stepped out from his border and was now standing, unguarded, in an area which wasn"t under the eye of the Head.
What the f*ck was going on?
Surely, he can"t be looking for a way to reconcile things, right?
Even then, why would he give up the safety of his Kingdom and throw away all the chips he had?
It just didn"t make sense, and this had been the reason why Rayen had had to fight to not let his jaw drop, lest he alert the Head.
That couldn"t happen at any cost. So, after taking a sip of the second grade wine that the Head had brought, he came up with an excuse.
"I-I just remembered something I always wanted to tell my son before he died. Now, I no longer have the opportunity. Curse you, Head."
Yes, this was definitely a normal reaction.
Throwing back his head, the bearded man whose age couldn"t be deciphered by any known means laughed uproariously.
"I"ve lost count of the people who said that. Curse me all you want, but you won"t be getting your way. I"m bored. Wine should be enjoyed with tales of intrigue and mystery! Why don"t you tell me about your son?"
This made red hot anger explode again inside Rayen, which wiped away all the disbelief and caution that he had felt after seeing something that was so absurd.
Screw all that. He would just kill him, and ask questions later.
So, gritting his teeth, Rayen split his consciousness. Most of it stayed in his main body so that the Head wouldn"t be alerted- but the rest took active control of the clone.
While he began telling the story to the Head, the clone shot in the direction of the King like a comet.
…
Meanwhile, Daneel was covering his mouth with one hand and yawning.
Where was this guy? He had more important things to do, but he was being held up by this vengeful Hero.
Your son was killed! Shouldn"t you be abandoning all notions of being safe?
Well, this was really important, too, but currently, Daneel"s main focus was to get out that highlight reel of the show as quickly as possible.
It would be replayed at night every day, so that those who might have missed it would get a chance to be influenced, too.
Besides, he was pretty d.a.m.n confident in the plan he had made with which he would handle the conceited Hero that had threatened to kill him if he didn"t do what he said.
Right when he started to wonder whether he really should shout out some inane things like "HAHA, I KILLED YOUR SON, BUT YOU"RE A SPINELESS FOOL WHO WON"T EVEN DARE TO ATTACK!", he saw a large, arrow-shaped projectile heading in his direction at a startling speed.
This thing was strange: wherever it pa.s.sed, it caused the darkness in those areas to become even darker, which made for a pretty breathtaking scene that would have given birth to terror in most men.
Of course, Daneel wasn"t most men.
Knowing that the Hero could hear him, he yawned again and said, "Yeah, yeah, I killed your son, I can"t do anything that"ll change that, you"ll chase me to the ends of the continent if I escape, your thirst for vengeance can only be quenched by my blood. Have I covered everything?"
Viewing the cavalier att.i.tude of the King which was something that no one had dared to adopt in front of him in centuries, Rayen couldn"t help but skid to a halt.
His senses told him that something was off, so he first sealed off the area they were in completely.
Even the Head wouldn"t be able to see them now if he threw a cursory glance in this direction.
Now that he was completely certain that there would be no interferences or tricks whatsoever, he allowed his body to appear and say, "No matter what you might have planned, it won"t work."
Clapping his hands and interrupting him with that madly infuriating smile on his face, the King exclaimed, "Right! I forgot that one!"
Again, Rayen was stumped.
Seriously, what the f*ck was going on?
He decided to wait and see, but he could never have expected that this scene which was already crazy would reach a different level of insanity that made him scratch his head and wonder if this was all some rage-induced fever dream.
"Anyway, here are my conditions. One, you give me the inside scoop over everything that happens in the Big 4. Even if one of the Heroes is going on a vacation by the beach with their harem, I want to know about it."
Raising his hand which was balled up into a fist, the King looked straight into the eyes of Rayen, which were the only things visible, and raised his index finger.
With each "condition" that he listed, another finger would rise up from his fist.
"Two, you give me all the information about the continent and Champion Paths that you have. I know you Heroes must have some secret stashes of knowledge, so I want copies of all of them. I don"t care whether you have to beg, plead or bargain with the other Heroes. I. Want. It. All."
Rayen"s eyes started to widen more and more with each condition, as each was more ludicrous and laughable than the last.
"Three, you hand over any resources that I ask. I ask for something- you give it, no questions asked."
With this, Rayen chuckled madly inside his head while prepping the attack that would end the existence of this arrogant King on this continent.
He also prepared to say something fitting to commemorate his son before he avenged his death, yet all of that was lost in the rage that erupted like a volcano when he heard the last condition.
"And lastly, four, you bend the knee to me, Daneel Anivron, King of Lanthanor, and swear your undying loyalty. Also, spare the sh*t about how you"re a legendary Hero and I"m just a "puny" Warrior."
"YAAAAAARGHHHHH!"
Rayen couldn"t take it any more. At this moment, he felt as if he would die from frustration if he had to look at the King"s c.o.c.ky smile for one more second.
Coalescing all the darkness into a ma.s.sive scythe, Rayen flung it toward the King"s neck, ready to reap his life and soul.
Yet, as if he had expected it, the King of Lanthanor curled the fingers that he had raised while listing the conditions back into a fist. Only the index finger remained, and right before the moment when Rayen"s scythe would reach his neck, he placed that finger on his lips and said:
"Shhhhh."
Initially, Rayen scoffed, thinking that there was no way in which he would stop this attack.
Only, the shus.h.i.+ng sound made by the King was accompanied by a display trinket activating behind him.
It enlarged into an enormous one, and the sight it showed made Rayen desperately halt the attack while his roar of fury was cut off midway.
It was his son, strung up by all four limbs, with razor-sharp blades pointed at all of his vital spots, ready to mince him into a b.l.o.o.d.y heap of flesh and bones.
"R-Raul…"
Stuttering, in disbelief, the esteemed Hero of Angaria turned his gaze toward the King, whose finger was still pressed against his lips.
At that moment, Rayen could swear that he was staring into the eyes of the Devil, Himself, in all of His diabolical Majesty.