Even though Daneel had been witness to many sights of death on even a different scale, the sight of burning bodies just had something visceral about it that would shock anyone.
Taking a few moments, he finally calmed himself down and then focused on other details.
All around him, there was a generic landscape of a town out in the middle of nowhere while beyond that, there was only darkness.
Puzzled, he asked the system why this was the case, and got his answer.
[The illusion is created from the memory of the one being targeted. In the target's memory, if only this much information is present, the rest is shown in this way.]
Well, of course, with something so horrendous happening, anyone would be hardpressed to remember more details.
In the town, it looked like most of the houses were made from stone, and at the moment, most of them were either destroyed or burning.
The area they were in looked like some sort of town square or gathering area where hawkers would typically gather. It was also the place where townsfolk gathered in case they needed to discuss something.
In the edges of the scene, people could be seen fleeing, all while the little kid kept shivering with fear and flinching every time another fireball was launched.
Indeed, the man hadn't stopped yet, and it didn't look like he would stop any time soon. It was as if he was taking pleasure in seeing the bodies burn, as he even resorted to targeting the corpses below him when he ran out of living targets to attack.
Droning out his maniacal laugh which was quite grating on the ears, Daneel focused his eyes and tried to pick out clues.
There were no clues in the garb of the man or the kid. They were wearing the clothes of commoners, which didn't make much sense as the madman in the air looked like he had the strength of at least a Peak Human Mage. If so, he should have been flush with gold and Ether, but they were in this state.
It was only when he focused more on the details of the houses did he finally get some clues. Their style seemed familiar, and when Daneel juxtaposed their remains with his memories of typical houses in towns in Lanthanor, he realized that they were one and the same.
This town…was definitely one in Lanthanor!
"System, scan the records of the Kingdom for any villages or towns that were massacred and erased from the records for any reason."
Daneel instantly thought of this method, as he had recorded the real history of the Kingdom long ago, right after he had become King.
And when the system gave the answer, he felt a bit of joy that he had been able to pinpoint the best route to get his answer, but that was wiped away the moment he understood the contents of the message.
[Town Name: Northvale Town.
Population: 12,342 Individuals
Major Economic Focus: Farming, processed food production
Status: All information purged from the records after the incident that took place 15 years ago.]
Purged? What, it was purged even from the records only accessible to the King?
This was definitely strange.
It seemed as if someone really wished to keep this a secret, but Daneel was determined to uncover it.
Thinking for a bit, Daneel used the spell again to leave and immediately went to Kellor to ask him about it.
Alas, this was a dead end, as Kellor had only been the Court Mage at the time. Being lower in status, he hadn't been privy to most confidential details.
That left only one option.
The previous Grand Court Mage of the Kingdom of Lanthanor, who had once sided with the previous King but had then tried to get back in Daneel's good graces.
Daneel hadn't bothered to respond to these attempts much except to give him the resources he needed while waiting for him to do something that would prove his loyalty.
After all, he didn't trust the man, and the man was already bound by the oath.
In fact, when Daneel reached his room and saw the tidy surroundings along with the frustrated face of the man who still hadn't noticed that he had arrived, he saw that he was still a Peak Exalted Human Mage even though he had been able to use as many Ether blocks as he wished to try and advance.
Clearly, his talent was enough only to get him till here.
With a long, grey beard, he wasn't a youth by any means, even though he wasn't that old, either.
As soon as Daneel made himself visible, the man stood up with shock and stared for a few seconds before hastily getting down on one knee and saying, "My King! To what do I owe this honor! This humble servant-"
"Enough."
It hadn't been easy for Daneel to forget this man's allegiance to the previous King who had caused all those difficulties for his parents. Still, knowing that actions shouldn't dictate a man's fate, he had given him a chance, but that didn't mean that he liked him.
Closing his mouth and realizing that this wasn't someone like the previous King who needed to be flattered, the man spoke up again with a serious voice.
"Apologies. If this is about the resources that are being wasted on me, I can only say that I have stopped using them in the past month for I believe the path forward is closed to me."
Daneel would normally have dismissed this statement and just gone ahead to ask what he had come to ask, but the sheer depth of emotion that he heard in that one line struck him.
The Grand Court Mage had been a secretive character in the Kingdom of Lanthanor, not appearing anywhere and only being responsible for the safety of the King. Hence, Daneel didn't know much about his character except for the fact that he had been very loyal to the previous King and his father.
The man had even been trained by the latter.
Now that he saw this honest emotion, he wondered whether he shouldn't have forgotten about a Peak Exalted Human Mage who could break through and who wouldn't be a small addition, at all, to his present force.
Previously, Daneel had had no means to judge him, or to know whether he would be loyal. After all, oaths weren't full-proof, so he hadn't wanted to run the risk of allowing a potential traitor who was at the Peak Exalted Human level to run free and do as he wished.
It was different now.
Remembering all the things he had done so far to change his image, such as offering to behead those vile princes and daughters, Daneel said, "You once wanted to try and become a part of my retinue. You stopped right after you failed. Why was that?"
The man was still kneeling, as he hadn't been given the order to stand. As he started to answer in the same position, Daneel conjured a throne and sat before saying, "Stand and take a seat. I am not like the previous King who had to show his power by crushing those in front of him."
Daneel was, of course, referring to the incident where he had been made to bow right after his first tournament.
Although this man hadn't been present there at the time, he must definitely have been watching, which was something that got verified when a small expression of shame appeared on his face.
First, the man, whom Daneel remembered was called Declan, stood up and sat, before saying, "The deceased King did love to stroke his own ego in various ways. As for the answer to your question, My King, I realized that the best way to make myself useful was to grow stronger and show that I am worthy of being used. I knew that little gestures like those would probably not help, anyway, as you would remember the King whom you despise rightfully every time you see my face. In many ways, I am one of the last remnants of that era."
Daneel couldn't help but nod as he heard this.
He was wrong regarding his thinking, though. Daneel wouldn't have cared much whether he was a Human or a Warrior, as the latter case would only have carried even more risk.
However, instead of saying that which would need him to explain further, he cut to the chase.
"There are two things I wish to speak to you about. First, I have a way through which I will be able to know, for sure, that you will remain loyal to me if I lift your house arrest. Second, I want to know everything that happened in the town called Northvale."
The man's face had shown hope after he heard the first statement, but the second had caused it to change, almost as if he was remembering something horrific.
"N-Northvale? Wh-"
"Answer."
That single word was enough to make the mage shut his mouth and shudder where he sat, as the majesty of the King in front of him seemed to be radiating in waves that threatened to drown him in their power if he did not obey.
Looking down, he finally spoke.
"Northvale was…wiped out in the span of a single day due to the actions of one of the scion of the previous King. 10,000 people were burned to death, and it was such a huge scandal that it could potentially have set off a riot that would have engulfed the Kingdom. With the intention of concealing it, the surviving 200 or so people were sworn to secrecy using the Oathstone, but were then killed as the King was paranoid that the tale could still somehow spread."
10,000 people, burned.
The number did match the scene he had seen.
Although the massacre by the King was shocking, Daneel still didn't know just what had led to it.
So, he asked, and the mage needed a few moments to answer during which he gulped and contorted his face as if he was remembering a bad dream.
"During those days, you must be aware that the scion of the King loved to go to random towns where they would **** or take away any women or men they liked. This was supposed to be a similar incident, but…the husband of the woman was away, and no one knew exactly what he did , except that he worked in a different Kingdom. Not wanting any trouble, no one in the town even tried to protect her. After having his fun, the prince in question killed and burned the woman's body, but when he was about to leave, the woman's son tried to kill him using a knife he snatched from somewhere."
Here, the mage paused, as if even he couldn't stomach the rest of the tale, but Daneel only gazed at him with his piercing eyes, waiting for him to continue.
When he did, he did so with closed eyes.
"The prince was infuriated, and he decided to stay back at the town and torture the kid. For 9 days and nights, the kid was burned, and then healed. All of this happened in the town square, where the rest of the town was witness to it all, but again, no one stepped out. It was said that his screams echoed throughout the town, not letting anyone sleep, and that many even started wishing that he would die so that this nightmare of theirs would end. However, the boy looked like he was clinging on to life as if he was waiting for something, and that 'something' appeared on the 10th day. A man appeared from the Kingdom of Axelor, where he had been working as a spy for the government while cut off from all sources of communication. As someone close to becoming an Exalted Human, he was pretty valuable, but his identity had been completely confidential, and at the time, the commander of the spies had also been away on a mission. Finding out everything, he lost his mind, allowing him to reach the Exalted Human level in an instant. First, he burned the prince to ashes, but he wasn't satisfied. Then, he burned all the guards of the prince's retinue, but he still wasn't satisfied. Finally, he targeted the people, who had done nothing. In his rage, no one could explain to him that they weren't directly responsible. On that day, the town burned, and his son had apparently been on his last breath- his body wasn't found, and the man, himself, was said to have turned to ashes as he expended his mageroot too much. Fearing backlash from the army and the people, all records were purged. No one except me, the King and his father knows about this, as even the clerks were killed."
No one?
Hearing this, Daneel breathed out the air he had been holding in without even realizing it.
No, one man, or one kid, knew about it all, and he had been hiding it in his heart while acting jovial and easy-going on the outside.
Aran.
Without giving any response, Daneel teleported back to the room where Aran was lying on a bed, bearing witness to that horrific scene.
He had a lot of questions regarding just what had happened after that scene, but at that moment, all Daneel could do was marvel at the man's fortitude, and decide that he would help him get through this, no matter what he had to do.