Raul"s words were quite shocking to hear, but what stood out to Daneel, even more, was the way in which he said them.
They were the sincere words of a man who had nothing more to lose.
Curious, Daneel asked, "Do you think I"ll kill you?"
This question made Raul look at Daneel and humph, before saying, "Either that, or I"ll rot away here for the rest of my life. You may be a just King, but no-one like you who has risen to their stage step-by-step, by scheming and utilizing each and every opportunity presented to them, would ever trust me, no matter what I say. At least, if I were in your boots, I wouldn"t trust me. First of all, I"m your bargaining chip. If you don"t keep me hidden, my dad might be tempted to try and break me out, or even ask for the Head"s help in the matter, no matter how much he hates him. I may be an Exile, but the Head wouldn"t sit for a King of the Central Continent using me to command a Hero under him. His means are unimaginable, and I would advise that you not get on his bad side. Secondly, even if you did trust me, what would you bind me with? We both know oaths aren"t good enough when it comes to the matter of life and death. And it is a matter of life and death, as, even though you managed to defeat and capture me using that Paragon spell, I doubt that you have enough confidence in yourself, as a Warrior, to actively always be capable of defending yourself against an all-or-nothing blow from me, an Amateur Champion. With all that in mind, even if you did trust me right now and ask me to follow you, I would always have the suspicion that you might have some other ulterior motive, which wouldn"t allow me to trust you. Third, there would be no way to hide that me, a Champion, is following you, an Exalted Warrior, from the Big 4. Even if I used a camouflage spell, I would be busted easily, which is something you definitely would not prefer. Even if you wish for me to operate discreetly, it would be too big a risk, as a Champion in the Central Continent would stand out like a fish in a clear lake. The Big 4 might look like they don"t actively care about the Central Continent, but they do have their eye on everything, you know. Of course, this cell is special, as I suspect that you used the Core formation of your Palace, which is an ancient formation that they typically do not pierce. So…that"s that."
As Daneel listened to this long, carefully a.n.a.lyzed and logical explanation from Raul, he couldn"t help but sit back and chuckle, thoroughly impressed.
At the same time, he couldn"t help but wonder if he was lucky right now, as he had come across two capable people, one after the other.
Indeed, even if the question regarding what he would do with this guy remained, Daneel was definitely impressed by his capabilities.
What he understood from this exchange was that Raul was a calm, collected, a.n.a.lytical person who would keep his cool no matter what was happening.
In other words, he had all the traits of a leader.
Which…had exactly been his role before he met Daneel.
"Did you prove yourself capable of leading all those rogue Warriors by showing your a.n.a.lytical skills? Or was it through fear of your power?",he asked, as there was no doubt that this man was also not lacking, at all, when it came to the matter of power.
With a smile at the corner of his lips, Raul said, "A little bit of both."
Nodding, Daneel folded his arms and waited for a moment, after which the door which he had just entered through opened to allow in a replica of his, who handed him a trinket in the shape of a square coin before disappearing.
Raul raised an eyebrow on seeing this. Typically, splitting one"s consciousness and being capable of controlling multiple versions of oneself at once was an advanced skill that only Champions and those beyond were supposed to be capable of. Yet, this King who wasn"t even halfway toward the Champion level had just displayed it?
Indeed, he was definitely full of surprises.
At the same moment as this thought appeared in Raul"s mind, he was also reminded of what had happened which had led to him being in this cell in the first place.
Deciding that despite what he said, he wouldn"t underestimate this man, Raul braced himself for anything that might come.
Daneel couldn"t help but smile as he saw the vigilance in Raul"s eyes when he intentionally displayed this feat.
Of course, the system had been the one controlling the clone, and, even to Drakos, it just looked like a skillful adaptation of a Champion level spell which he wasn"t supposed to be capable of.
Taking the trinket, he asked the Ancient Dragon whether what Raul had said was true.
Soon, he got the answer.
"Yes, Young King. It is hidden well for someone of his level, but this formation does look like it will cause an explosion on the surface, but, in fact, it will only give the illusion of one while not hurting anyone."
Nodding, Daneel put away the trinket and refocused his eyes on Raul, trying to decide what he should do.
One option was taking the man under his wing, but this reminded him of the a.n.a.lytical explanation he had just been given.
All that would apply…if he were a normal King, and a normal Exalted Warrior.
So, if Daneel wished, he could choose this option.
The others were all unappealing, and, if he had to be honest, he would admit that this speech and the revelation that he wasn"t going to hurt the citizens, even before, were swaying him in that direction. After all, this was a Champion, who had inside information on the Big 4!
However, Daneel decided to be prudent, as decisions taken in haste were never good.
After thinking for a bit, he decided that what option he chose would depend on Raul"s answer to his next question.
Putting down his leg, Daneel leaned forward and placed both of his hands on his knees before asking, "What was your endgame? Why were you so desperate to get to the Champion level quickly? The way I see it, this was a risky mission which might or might not have worked. People could still have died, and you clearly do not want that. But you still want ahead. That shows me that you have something you want to achieve in your mind. What is it?"
This time, it was Raul"s turn to be surprised that the King had deduced this from his actions.
For a moment after he heard the question, he remained silent with a neutral expression on his face, but, after that, fire began to burn in his eyes.
Daneel was taken aback. This was only the second time he was seeing this man"s composure break, and, from his personality, he could tell that this was something that definitely did not occur often, if at all.
The first time, of course, was when he had been defeated by him, a "mere" Warrior.
Those smoldering flames weren"t born because of fury, or pain. At least, that was what Daneel felt when he looked at them.
Instead, the tinder that was making them burn was…regret. Regret and anguish.
What had this man done which had led him to have such a strong motivation which had been tucked away deep in his mind until now, when he had been asked this question?
Daneel received the answer after a few seconds.
"I need…to kill a Hero."
As soon as he said this, Raul burst out laughing, and it was such an uncharacteristic break of character from that calm person that Daneel couldn"t help but widen his eyes with shock.
It was, however, a mirthless laugh, which cut off abruptly when he spoke again.
"Sounds impossible, I know. In fact, you are the only person in this world who is hearing of this. Even my father doesn"t know. But…as long as I live, I will always keep working toward that goal, However, I have another one, too, which is to stick to the ideals taught by my father and save as many humans as possible. I have been following the second one all my life, but it is the first which always feels so…unreachable. I feel that even more now, as I am a Champion. I thought something significant would change, but no…I am still as powerless as before in the face of a Hero."
The moment Raul said that last sentence, that fire in his eyes fizzled out, and he returned to the same man he had been when they had begun this discussion.
Daneel sighed as he heard this. Clearly, there was a tale of tragedy here, which he wasn"t going to ask about. Even if he did, he doubted whether he would get a response.
Why was it that all those he met recently were those who had been through a lot of pain in their lives?
Maybe…it was because tragedy and pain were effective in molding one to become capable of achieving great things.
Shaking his head, Daneel got up and headed to the door.
Raul saw this and neither said or did nothing, as it was clear that his deductions had been right.
However, to his shock, the last moment before the King stepped outside, all the formations surrounding the cell…vanished, one by one.
Last to vanish was the one which constrained his Mage powers, and as Raul realized it, he got up immediately.
Still with his back to him, the King stretched out his arms wide and said, "I"m an open target, unaware that I am going to be backstabbed. Take your best shot, Champion."
Raul had to admit that he was puzzled. Was this overconfidence? Or was there something he wasn"t seeing?
First, he tried to teleport away, but found that the anti-teleportation formation was still present.
Then, he decided that he would attack anyway, just so that he could rid his father of slavery while also reobtaining the chance to forge ahead toward his own goal.
Yet, he really didn"t want to King, now that he was no longer obliged to prove anything to anyone, as no one was watching, unlike back then when he had been defeated.
As speed was most important, he decided to use the same attack: two rays of blinding light emanated from his hands, which joined together at a point before heading toward the King"s leg.
At this moment, Raul witnessed an incredible scene.
He saw the King conjuring a barrier, but he scoffed at this, as no barrier conjured by an Exalted Warrior at the same time as his attack would ever be able to stop his, as the level difference was too big.
Only, in front of his eyes, before the ray reached the King, his spell…amplified.
Two times, three times, four times, then…a whopping 5 times.
At this degree of amplification, the gap was easily closed. When the ray hit the King"s barrier, it simply broke it, but it"s Energy was also dispelled at the same time.
At the same moment, the King leaned back with a movement so quick that Raul"s eyes almost didn"t catch it.
He was so fast that he became a blur, and, before he knew it, Raul felt pain as a blade nicked the skin of his neck.
The King was now standing behind him calmly, with his hand holding a blade that was ready to kill him at a moment"s notice.
In that position, the King whispered, "Listen up. I can always defend against you, no matter what I"m doing, no matter if I"m defenseless, no matter what my level is. And if you join me and serve me well, I can give you a promise that you will become capable of killing a Hero. So, I urge you to sc.r.a.p all those deductions, and make a choice. Follow me, or rot here and die."
…
Meanwhile, in the capital of Lanthanor, Eloise was standing outside a large mansion which could house more than 50 people.
The logo "H&D" was carved into the door, and as she knocked, she heard the sound of laughter from inside before a cute, little girl opened the door.
Smiling at this kid, Eloise asked, "h.e.l.lo, little girl. Who"re you? Is Helena home? Or Dalia?"
The kid first smiled back politely before answering, "No, Miss. They are both at the factory. Today, there are a lot of s.h.i.+pments to send. I"m Dalia"s sister."
"Oh? I didn"t know that Helena had relatives?"
Eloise asked this casually, but when she heard the little girl speak, she regretted asking it.
"We aren"t related. Aunt Helena adopted me from the slums after my parents died in a robbery."
Immediately bending down and patting her on her head, Eloise said, "Oh, I"m sorry. Can you hand this to either of them when they come home and tell them that I asked that they contact me as soon as possible?"
Handing over a gold-trimmed envelope with Helena and Dalla"s names, Eloise watched as the little girl "aah"ed and took it into her hands, before asking, "What is it?"
"It"s an invitation to a very special event."
"Wow, can I come, too?"
As she heard the little girl ask this, Eloise couldn"t help but smile wide and pinch her cheeks, before answering.
"Of course, little one. All of Lanthanor is invited. And believe me, it will be fun."