1 day later.
As Ashahell stood at the same spot as always on the top floor of the Central Tower while looking out over the sky, his mind was a mess for the first time in years.
As someone who pursued perfection, he was always used to seeing his plans working out exactly as he imagined them.
However, what happened yesterday kept reappearing in his mind.
That damn vision! If it weren't for that vision, everything would definitely have gone without a hitch.
Suddenly, his heart completely stopped beating, making him fall back into a chair that had been placed there before.
Pain the likes of which he had never even imagined to be possible racked his entire body, making him almost wish he were dead.
Yet, knowing that his purpose had still not yet been fulfilled, he held on with all of his will.
A trinket at his waist suddenly rose into the air, before shooting towards the veins on his arm and shooting a solution into them.
This made the pain worse, and Ashahell gasped silently while his vision blurred.
This had been happening less and less frequently as the cure given by the Mad Doctor's master was working, but this pain still appeared at least twice an hour, leaving him dripping with sweat.
He had had to cling on to something so that he could retain his sanity, and he had chosen it to be the thing that had made him drink the poison in the first place without giving up and escaping: the need to save Angaria.
He didn't know for sure whether anyone had been responsible, directly, for the failure of his plan.
It had all been the fault of that vision and that seer, but Ashahell wasn't some foolish, vengeful idiot who would go after her because of something even she couldn't control.
No, if he wanted to blame someone, he could only blame providence and the heavens for making that vision appear in the first place.
If there had been any foul play involved in that vision, those in the High Council would definitely have sniffed it out, but apparently, it matched all the signs that had been left behind by their ancestors.
As the pain finally started to recede, Ashahell stood up again and looked out over Angaria with bloodshot eyes.
In the corner of his vision, he could see a tiny trinket that had been tied to him to ensure his "safety".
Of course, he knew that the real reason was because many on the High Council suspected him because of the vision, even though the actual head had said that it was most probably just a vague conclusion that should not be given much import.
The problem was that this meeting had only come about because of him, so there was a possibility that he was the culprit. In fact, if it weren't for him drinking the poison and the countermeasure he had placed, he might have been arrested already to undergo an 'investigation' by the member of the High Council who specialized in torture.
Thankfully, his meticulous planning had paid off, but this had been a very large setback.
However, there was a silver lining.
Two Hero-level individual had had almost the required amount of tea to kill them, but due to the quick help given by the others, they had survived, but gone into a coma from which they could not be awakened without killing them.
According to estimates, it would at least take 20 years for them to get healed and wake up, so they were definitely out of the fight.
Angaria had been significantly weakened, but it was not enough.
Caressing his chin, Ashahell began planning again with renewed vigor, thankful of the fact that no one knew with certainty about his true goal.
….
Meanwhile, in the Palace of Lanthanor, Daneel sneezed, and wondered just who was thinking about him.
In front of him were seated Kellor, Robert and Eloise.
Daneel had spent the day before with his parents, after finding out that Angaria had at least been saved.
Of course, the nagging frustration that Ashahell was only a suspect was still in his mind, but he was ignoring it for now.
His mother had been ecstatic on seeing him arrive, and she had even cooked all the favorite food that he had used to love when he was a kid.
When Daneel had seen his mother bustling about in the kitchen, he finally remembered something about the Warrior level that he had forgotten.
"Humans perish, Warriors march on."
This had been the slogan told to him to symbolize that only Warriors and those above could enjoy a longer lifespan, while the others would only have to let death take them after their time was up.
He was now someone who would live for at least 300 years, but his parents would be long gone by then.
Could he do nothing to stop that?
On asking the system, Daneel had found out that the only way was to have them train.
Although he still had a lot of core inheritances to go through, any method to solve this problem would definitely involve someone having an adequate power base first.
His father would be no problem, as the man was actually an Exalted Human already due to that bizarre ritual with that deserter's mark on his forehead, which Daneel now knew that it had been passed down from the Empire itself.
His mother had been born with minimal talent as a Mage, but she had never trained a day in her life.
Hence, he had entrusted his father the mission of having his mother train using the technique he gave, which would allow one to increase their mage comprehension level slowly.
Robert had already been using it since long.
His father had initially been quite startled, but he had nodded after that, while an unspoken communication passed between their eyes.
Mary Anivron was the most important woman in both of their lives, so they would do everything to make sure that she would live for as long as possible.
"My King, the Bank is running briskly, but I still believe that we should expand faster. Even though we are getting new customers from all over Angaria, there have been many frauds, as expected. Still, instead of steady growth, I would really prefer some sort of an explosion."
As Daneel got pulled back into the present with Eloise's words, he nodded before saying, "I'll think on that. Meanwhile, pump more money into the Network. In the near future, it might convert into something else. What has happened to the assignment to bolster our assembly line of mages and blacksmiths?"
Kellor answered.
"My Lord, we have basically exhausted our Kingdom. We have begun sending invitations to the other Kingdoms, too, but as you know, all mages, even if they are just poor citizens, are assets for a Kingdom. There is resistance, in particular from the Kingdom of Arafell. That also reminds me: the Queen of Arafell has requested a meeting with you to discuss some arrangement that you promised her during the Olympics."
Hearing this, Daneel sank into deep thought for a moment before saying, "Turn down the Queen for now using polite words; I don't have the time to deal with her. Eloise, how is our transportation network developing?"
"Quite well, My King. Norcet is in the Black Raven Kingdom as we speak, hiring a crew and quarters in anticipation of the launch."
Nodding, Daneel replied, "Good. Nothing says that our transportation work should only transport things. Tell him to speed up preparations in Arafell. If they don't want to let their mages and blacksmiths go even if they want to, then we'll just…help."
As Daneel said these, all three individuals in front of him stared at him as if he were a madman.
"But the inter-Kingdom tensions…"
"Leave that to me. If the tongue doesn't work, then we will use gold. From now on, our plans cannot stop. Even if we have to stoop to very low depths in order to make them happen, we must do so. Kellor can tell you two later why that is so. I'm getting back to training. Eloise, keep an eye on H&D, we don't want them to be targeted out of jealousy. Father, please keep checking Axelor. I feel they might move soon. This meeting is dismissed."
Saying so, Daneel nodded at the three and walked out of the room before teleporting away.
After a minute or so, he appeared in the underground room in the Hidden Kill Sect.
"Great job, kid. I still don't know how you did it, but I won't ask. Instead of killing at least 5, only 2 were disabled. That's a loss we can live with, but any more, and we might have to resort to desperate measures. That rat Ashahell got away, yes, but the High Council doesn't believe him blindly anymore, at least. So. What do you plan on doing next?"
Daneel had already prepared his answer.
"What happened to the plan to use the parts of the inheritance and trinket left behind?"
"Discarded for now, as they don't have a hope of getting it done with just 6 Heros. These things were supposed to be able to slaughter Heros with impunity before, after all. Instead, there is chatter that the danger level might be upgraded. Why do you ask?"
Daneel didn't answer, but he had just decided in his mind.
He was going to try and assemble this trinket and inheritance himself, and if that meant that he was going to turn into a burglar, then so be it.
As for Ashahell, Daneel had already started to cook up a plan that would hopefully see him exposed once and for all.
As long as this man remained freely breathing on the continent, Daneel could never sleep soundly.