"That really confirms it, Overseer. I had my doubts at first, but after seeing the way he is evading each and every method we use to search for him… There is no other way. Unless there is another organization with the same kind of means that we are capable of on this continent, which is absurd, the only logical conclusion is that this kid is being protected by the Church. In fact, I"m even prepared to bet my G.o.dbeast weapon that if we storm the Headquarters of the church right now, we might find him hiding like a rat inside…"
As these words echoed in the room which was usually filled with darkness, nods could be seen from all around.
The Overseer"s globe-shaped body with periodically changing faces was in the center, and surrounding it, there were multiple spots visible due to the halos of light s.h.i.+ning upon them which all contained the topmost Heroes of the Order who had been called for a meeting regarding updates on the search for the traitor, "Overlord".
As if he had had enough, one of the men who had not nodded before said, "Logical conclusion, my a.r.s.e. Something about this just doesn"t add u[."
He was an old man who looked like he had was standing above a pile of bullsh*t, and his face had many scars which indicated that he was used to being on the front end of a punch, instead of hiding beneath a barrier like Mages. If these weren"t enough to indicate that he was a Hero level fighter, then the way a low sonic boom appeared when he casually punched the air with his fist in frustration would make it clear that he was a man whose body could cause devastation the likes of which would be hard to imagine.
In response, a woman wearing a s.h.i.+ning golden dress who was right beside this man let out a derisive laugh and said, "Oh, shut up, you old loon. We all know about your paranoia. This time, there is too much proof against you! So even if you like going against the public opinion, in this case, you have to relent. Look at his life story! Each and every event where it looked like he had the interests of the continent at heart can be explained away by showing his ulterior motives - to burrow himself into the hearts of all the Angarians and then maybe cause a ma.s.sive turn of events, where they would all have pledged their allegiance to the Church and given as a shock that we would not have been able to recover from! We don"t know the means of the Church, but if they managed to invoke something like a pseudo-Grand Inheritance using that much support… It would be disastrous! I, for one, am thankful to the Overseer for spotting this snake who was in our midst before he grew into a Basilisk that would devour us all."
The last sentence was delivered along with a bow to the body of the Overseer in the middle, and seeing this, a man who was on the other side of the room spoke up.
"I would like to echo the sentiment, but without the sucking up part. I"m not a newly accepted member into this place, after all. Just because she is new, doesn"t mean we don"t need to agree with her. That"s why I"m speaking up. What she says make sense. We should redouble our efforts, and act as if this possibility of him hiding in the Headquarters is not present. After all, our surveillance has been watertight on it, and we would have spotted if someone entered. The chances are slim that he managed to do so. So just keep searching, and if you get tired, search some more."
These words were also greeted by a few nods, but still, some of the Heroes could still be seen grumbling under their breath.
In the silence that followed the statement, it looked like there was nothing more to add, but suddenly, the cold and almost alien voice of the Overseer was heard in the area.
Everyone suddenly snapped to attention as this happened, and their eyes turned alert. A few had begun to converse among themselves, but they completely stopped what they were doing and placed their full focus on the body in the center, and there was not one in the room who was not acting respectfully.
"The search shall continue, with renewed efforts and more resources. The Order shall also be deploying those from other realms, mainly to check in areas which Heroes need not waste their time with. No stone shall be left unturned to find this threat which is bigger than any that the Order has seen in recent times."
"Aye."
"Aye!"
Amidst the voices of a.s.sent, the Overseer continued.
"At the same time, efforts must be made to take control of the Central Continent which might already have been led astray by the traitor. In this vein, liaisons will need to be appointed who will handle the matters and ensure that the Central Continent is primed to play its duty in the upcoming War. Proposals for the same are now welcomed. Another meeting shall occur to decide on which proposal to choose. For now, the Conclave of the Order is adjourned."
With this, although faint surprise could be seen on the faces of a few, many only shrugged and acted as if they didn"t care about this minor piece of news before teleporting away on finding out that the meeting was over.
There were only some here and there who got expressions of interest on their faces as they heard this, but they, too, soon disappeared.
In a place far, far away, a man reappeared with a bored expression on his face.
He had to stifle a yawn, but as he looked out the window at a garden that was maintained carefully, he saw a young man sitting in a meditative pose while absorbing Energy from the Ker gems that had been placed around him.
Instantly, a smile came on his face.
Walking out, he kept looking at this image, as if he couldn"t get enough of it.
Finally, as if feeling his gaze, the young man broke out of his training and started before saying, "Father! You"ve returned! How did the Conclave go?"
As he was in such a good mood, the man answered without thinking much.
"The same old, my dear Grandson. The search is still ongoing, so he will be found. In the meanwhile, it seems they are targeting his kingdom, too. Well, all of that doesn"t concern us. It"s so good to see you training, finally! And having your name on the Board of Achievements is really great! You"re even at the top position now, as that guy"s name has been scrubbed! Oh, how my ancestors would rejoice if they found out that we have regained our glory! Did I tell you the story about…"
Seeing his Grandfather starting another session of storytelling, the young man sighed and was almost about to leave, like he usually did, but he controlled himself on remembering the one who had listened to him and given him hope, in a time when he had needed it most.
He stayed for the entire story and then excused himself, before going back to the Order on the excuse that he wanted to take up a few missions, or at least check them out and see if there was anything else that he could achieve.
After reaching his quarters, as Perfect looked into the mirror at his own reflection, he balled up his fists tightly, and anger appeared on his face.
"He is not a traitor! There"s no way!"
He said this in his mind, and with that, some of the frustration that he had been feeling left him.
It couldn"t be helped. He had finally, finally found someone who had given him hope, but for some reason, that person was now being targeted under a false pretense.
Even the idea to challenge this hadn"t come easily - those in the Order, and especially those who had grown up in the families that were an integral part of this age-old inst.i.tution were raised while being indoctrinated that the Overseer was always right. In the order of priority, the head of the family came first, and after that was the Overseer. Still, if either of them gave an order, then it had to be followed, and if either of them said something, then as far as they were concerned, it was definitely the truth.
It was this kind of brainwas.h.i.+ng that his brother had always denounced, and after his death, some had even ridiculed him saying that he must have died because he did not give respect to whom was due.
As thoughts of his brother began to fill his mind, he tried to make them stop, but just like always, he couldn"t.
Yet, after some time, just like it had been happening for the past few days, all of these thoughts ended with the image of the man who had listened to his story, and taken off such a burden from his shoulders that he couldn"t even explain in mere words.
Indeed, if he were asked why that man had made such an impression on him… then it was probably because he reminded him of his brother. Calm, confident, and always with a plan- these words used to be the ones that were used to describe him, and the same could be applied to King Daneel Anivron of Lanthanor.
He still remembered the moment when the news had come out- he had just ended a mission that he had gone on after being begged and begged by his girlfriend, and as soon as it had reached him, he had just stood there, in shock, until he had had to be shaken awake.
Even then, he had been convinced that there was a mistake- he looked through all of the proofs that were available, but still, he hadn"t been able to believe it.
From there, the doubts started to emerge. First, the companions of the Overlord had never been seen from that day, and after searching in the Central Continent, it wasn"t hard to identify who they might be, especially because he knew the ident.i.ty of the man, himself.
He tried sending a message, but he had been stopped by a strange reason- it was that these members had lost all memory of being in the Order, which meant that their members.h.i.+p was revoked until they took the test again.
So… It had become clear that the King had antic.i.p.ated this, and gone into hiding after deleting the memories of his followers.
But why? What was going on?
Perfect was determined to get to the bottom of it, but he didn"t know where to start.
In his unmotivated life whose only purpose had been to just take it easy, this was practically the first time that he had found something that he wanted to apply himself to wholeheartedly, and the feeling…pretty d.a.m.n good.
Walking out of his quarters, he was about to go to an Obelisk to do what he had said he had come to do, but suddenly, he was stopped by someone he didn"t recognize.
"Hey, are you the one who obnoxiously calls himself "Perfect"?"
This was the question he was greeted with, and if he were like his other brothers, he might directly have erupted with anger.
However, Perfect had always had an even temper, so he humphed and said, "Yes, but what seems obnoxious for someone might just be the truth that they cannot come to terms with. Why are you looking for me?"
The response…was something that made Perfect stare with shock, as for some reason, there was something really familiar with the encounter he was having now, and the one that had happened recently which had changed his life.
"Heh, truth is what one claims to see when they cannot even admit that they are blind. I"m looking for five-star missions to finish, and I found out that you had one before. I"m p.i.s.sed that that other guy finished it before me, so I"m going to take out my anger on you. Come on. Oh, and for reference, my name is the "Emperor". That"s better than "Overlord", isn"t it?"