After giving the Hero the shock of his life, Daneel put his hand behind his back and waited for the man to recuperate.
It was actually pretty funny. His gaze shifted between Daneel's eyes, which were shining with delight at the idea of having a Hero-level individual under him, and the image of his son who looked like he would die if he so much as moved an inch.
It seemed that no longer how powerful one grew, the way they processed shock was the same.
Disbelief, followed by confusion.
"H-how did you…"
"Remember that flash in the end? Didn't you notice that it blinded everyone from looking on with elementary vision?"
Realization flashed across Rayen's face when he heard this.
Indeed, that flash had resulted in that effect, but it had been so minuscule…
"Yes, it was only a fraction of a second, but I was prepared. Besides, I knew that you wouldn't be expecting much from me, because I'm 'just' a Warrior."
This made Rayen grit his teeth while he continued staring at his son.
Indeed, they had all been hoodwinked by this kid whom they had thought nothing of.
Yet, all along, this kid had been controlling everything in the palm of his hand.
However, the frustration was momentary in Rayen. It was followed by endless floods of relief.
His son was still alive!
But it looked like he had to agree to these slave-like conditions if he wanted that to remain a fact…
Daneel was keeping close track of the emotions on the Hero's face.
Toward the end, the man looked at him with clear eyes, which meant that he had understood the situation that he was in.
"Good. I see that you're cognizant of your position. If you don't agree to even one of those conditions, your son will die before you can even say 'Wait'. I need an answer, now. It's costly to maintain all those sharp blades for such an extended period of time, you know."
Daneel said the last sentence in that same idle tone that was designed to elicit extreme frustration in the Hero.
So far, it had all been deliberate. Of course, even though that was the way he felt, he was acting in this way for a reason.
He had realized that the best way to treat these bull-headed Heroes was to catch them by the horns and wrestle them to the ground.
He couldn't talk to them as equals, as they did not view him in that way.
There was no way that he would suck up, and this route would mostly be disastrous anyway.
Hence, the only way left was to stay in a position of power while demanding their respect and obedience in the most straightforward way: by hitting them over the head until they were senseless, and ready to listen.
His 'casual' dialogues had all been a method of implementing this plan. For any Hero, someone whom they could dispose of in a thought speaking to them in this manner would have the same effect as being bashed on the head with a hammer.
So far, it was working brilliantly.
As for using Raul as a bargaining chip: that had been Daneel's intention ever since he saw that thunderclap in the air.
That had all been pure anger, and Drakos had even said that it was from a Hero whose power was being constrained using some means.
Hence, although initially Daneel's plan had been to talk to Raul and make him submit in some way before using him, too, to convince his father, he had decided that this method would be most effective mainly because of the pure love that this man felt for the captive in his hands.
As they said on Earth: "People do stupid things for those they love."
And, seeing the way in which the Hero was looking at him and understanding that it meant that the man was seriously considering the conditions, Daneel felt elated that he had taken the right decision.
Of course, on the outside, he still remained as that cocky guy who was treating this like a waste of his time.
Indeed, Rayen was seriously considering the conditions.
All these years, he had been keeping an eye on his son. He had been watching even when Raul went on this expedition into Lanthanor, and he had hoped that his kid would find the final clue to break through to become a Champion in this journey.
Yet, he had gotten captured.
Even then, he had known the consequences that both of them would be subject to if he stepped in. So, he had decided to wait until the final moment and do it anyway if it meant that there was no other option.
Only, that damn Head had shown up.
He couldn't put into words just how proud he had been when he saw Raul break through to become a Champion. In fact, he had had to try very hard to not let this show on his face, as he didn't want the Head to see it.
And as for when he saw him die…it had just destroyed him.
A Hero's life was lonely. Of course, there were many who built personal harems to counter this, but that was all physical pleasure and temporary love that meant nothing.
A true companion was rare, and couldn't even be sought after actively. The luckiest would find one in the form of life companions. Those like him, who weren't that lucky, would have to settle for looking for the same kind of fulfillment and companionship in family members.
For him, it had always been his only son. All the others had died due to old age as they hadn't had enough talent, but Raul showed signs of being someone who could break through to become a Hero.
That was when that disaster had happened, and although he was proud of his son's decision, he had had no option but to agree to an exile.
Still, he had kept watch, and felt happy.
Now that he thought about it, Raul's death had destroyed him so completely that he wasn't even confident that he could live on after obtaining revenge.
True, he was a Hero. But at that moment of powerlessness, it had dawned on him that all of that meant nothing.
So, revenge had been the only thing that kept him going, but now that he saw a ray of hope in the darkness, he wasn't willing to let go of it, at all.
He had to admit that at this moment, he was like a broken vase that had attached itself together temporarily, but wouldn't be able to survive another fall.
So, to avoid that, he was ready to do almost anything.
As for this kid's cocky and arrogant attitude, Rayen accepted that he would just have to deal with it, at least, for the time being.
Of course, it would all be until…
"Don't even think about it."
As if he had read his mind, the King spoke out, interrupting Rayen's line of thought and making him look up with an incredulous expression on his face.
After the consideration, Daneel had observed that the eyes of the man, which were the only things visible, had slowly narrowed by a fraction, which he would have missed if it weren't for the system.
It was obvious that the Hero was thinking about accepting now, and finding some way later to bypass everything and save his son.
So, he decided to put an end to that.
Also, seeing the way he had considered it with seriousness, Daneel had just reevaluated the value of this deal.
Earlier, it had been just something that he hoped would succeed. At worst, he would get an unwilling slave who would give him scraps of what he asked for. That was because both of them knew that if Daneel really did go ahead and kill Raul, it would mean game over for him, and Lanthanor.
After all, even though there was anger, Daneel couldn't have accurately judged what kind of man the Hero was. If he was someone whose ego surpassed the love, Daneel would have been in for a lot of trouble.
The best case was exactly what he was seeing right now: this Hero apparently cared more for his son than Daneel had expected, which was inferred from the act of consideration.
A deal was something that was fluid: according to the conditions, it could change.
If this Hero could be a wholehearted slave instead because of his overarching love, then it meant that it would be worth it to make sure that the deal went through even if it meant that he would have to take an additional, considerable risk.
Daneel only took a moment to decide whether he should do so.
"Here, let me tell you a secret. Empire Spirits don't work in the way you Heroes from the Big 4 think! All of you think that only a full possession is possible, right? That you'll be able to detect one easily, so you don't have to worry too much about keeping a very close eye on the Spirits?"
Wondering why the King was bringing this up now, Rayen nodded and hesitantly said, "Y-yes…"
The next moment, he choked for the third time today.
The King held his hand up, on which a miniature dragon claw had just been conjured.
It was a lot like the one that the Royal Palace of Lanthanor used to keep enemies at bay, but it was a lot more realistic.
If one looked closely, they would be able to see blood vessels, veins, individual hairs, sections of scales and more.
To laymen, it might appear like a trick.
Yet, Rayen knew what it was.
"A H-Hero level construct! It's weak, but the complexity…"
"Yes, Drakos, the Empire Spirit, says Hi. Oh, and he also wanted me to tell you that he has placed a very nasty spell in your son's mind. So…"
With a flick of his finger, the image changed.
All the blades vanished, and Raul fell to the ground.
"All this is unnecessary. You so much as think about betraying me, it will activate and eat your son. If you want a demonstration, dispel the barrier for a moment."
Unable to believe it, Rayen did so after making sure that the Head was still busy listening to his story back in his house.
At that moment, one of the contestants who had taken part in the show appeared beside them, bound and gagged.
It was Number 5.
Seeing that his surroundings had changed, he tried to plead silently with his eyes, but Daneel just coldly pointed at his head.
As Rayen watched, a single, deviant elementary particle that had hidden itself in the Warrior's brain started to multiply on its own accord at a startling speed.
It degenerated all the tissues around it, resulting in the brain of the man to melt into a puddle as if acid had been poured on him.
In barely a second, only a red-colored pile of slop was left.
Seeing the sheer complexity of that spell and understanding that he could do nothing- nothing at all to stop it, Rayen just let everything go and fell on his knees.
He had already seen that all his pride was useless. He didn't want to make the same mistake twice.
The moment this happened, a message sounded inside Daneel's head.
[Achievement: 'No Matter Who You Are, Kneel-1' Obtained.
No Matter Who You Are, Kneel-1: By making someone who surpasses you in power by a large margin kneel in front of you, you have proven that for a World Dominator, nothing is unachievable. March on!
20,000 EXP Awarded.
Pending Notification:
Satisfaction Level has reached the second threshold.]
The pending notification that he had missed in all the excitement made Daneel's heart beat faster.
Could it be…?
"Drakos, have I unlocked the second seal?"
"Err…Young King, I have no idea. I need to be in my podium to access the seals."
Daneel was almost tempted to say, "You don't know it, but I do. Now, dump all that Hero-level stuff on me! ALL OF IT!", but he controlled himself.
As soon as this was done, it was time for a major upskilling of the system, and Daneel couldn't wait for it, at all.