Daneel and Elanev could only watch with gobsmacked expressions on their faces for a few moments, before the King finally reacted and said, "I'll go after it!"
Jumping into the same hole that had been left behind by the creature, Daneel tried to fly as quickly as possible, but not even a few more moments later, he had no option but to come to a halt as the path branched into four different directions.
Asking the system, he found that this was to throw off anyone who might be following, and it was only because the system had actively been monitoring its location that he could guess just where it had gone. It was pretty terrifying that the Divine Cockroach was so talented at doing this, as each and every path looked completely legitimate, and there was nothing that anyone could use to guess which was the right one.
Without delaying at all, Daneel zoomed through the one that the cockroach had taken, and soon, he reached another fork, where he was once again able to use the system.
Yet, a few seconds later, he reached another one, and this time… The system was clueless.
The cockroach had left the area of surveillance, and it had apparently moved fast enough that Daneel wasn't able to catch up to it before it left the radius that the system could scan.
Daneel could only stand there, without knowing what to think.
He had just been feeling happy that something had easily fallen into his lap without requiring him to work too hard for it, and he had been ready to get a piece of its consciousness and finish all of his preparations for the arrival of the Mad Doctor.
Yet… Things had taken a twist in this manner.
First, he considered whether he should keep searching in every direction he could, but he knew that this would be futile as he had no idea just were the cockroach had gone. It could be on the other side of the continent, itself, and he would have no way to detect it.
Its speed was, indeed, greater than any he had ever seen in any creature on this continent.
It almost even rivaled teleportation, as it had burst forth with a speed that was easily at 150 km/h. He didn't know if this thing could maintain that sort of pace for a long time, but at least, so far, it had managed to do just that, which was why it had been able to escape even though the system had tried to keep an eye on it. In fact, his first thought had been to teleport to the spot where the thing had left the radius, but he hadn't done so, as if it were staying right near that point, Daneel would have been startled it, and it would have started running away again. Instead, his plan had been to first find where it had halted, and then make a trap so that he could approach it without running the risk of it scurrying away again.
Everything was in vain, though, because according to the system's estimate, even if he had teleported, there would have been no way for him to keep up with it. It was just that fast, and because he hadn't been able to update the system recently, the radius that it could scan was still not too large.
After finding this out, Daniel had no option but to go back to where they had started, only to find Elanev looking down that hole warily, as if he expected it to pop back up.
Seeing Daneel teleport near him, he asked "Did you catch up to it? The old man says that the aura of the Dragon around you might have scared it. They are especially sensitive to such things, and even he had forgotten that this was possible."
Well, that explained it, and Daneel had also guessed the reason. After all, he had just transformed into a real Dragon, so it made sense that its essence would still be lingering around him. When confronted by that species, this would be the first reaction for a lot of creatures.
Daneel didn't blame the old man, either, because he hadn't given anyone any time to think. He had been too eager to come here and finish the last step, and so he had himself to blame, partly, for what had happened.
All of that wasn't important right now, because he had to first decide on what to do.
Thinking for a bit, Daneel started to consider his options.
The most obvious one was that he should start scanning the entire continent, but this would definitely be quite suspicious, and he didn't want to draw the attention of the Big Four. Even the act of taking the part of consciousness needed to be completely discreet, so it would definitely not be a wise idea to come under anyone's eyes more than he already was.
Another option was to have Rayen look in his place, but the problem here was that he was the only one who had something as magical as the system, which would scan an area around him and allow him to even teleport into places which he couldn't detect. Traditionally, teleportation worked by using space elementary particles to take them to a place which was under their purview, and spells which expanded one's vision would not work under the ground. From the sheer skill that he had seen in the cockroach which had allowed it to burrow through the ground at such astonishing speeds, he knew for a fact that it would definitely choose a hiding place in this terrain that it was most comfortable in, and if so, he was the only one who could do the searching.
Although he could take great pains and try to search everywhere slowly, another problem was time.
The time for the Mad Doctor to awaken was quickly approaching, and he wasn't confident whether he would be able to cover the entire continent if he searched slowly while also being careful before that time was upon him.
Hence… Daneel was out of ideas.
Without having much hope, he turned to Elanev and said, "Ask the senior if there is any specific manner to look for this Godbeast. I need it. In fact, the survival of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of Angarians might just depend on whether I find it in time or not."
He said this with a very grave expression on his face, but Elanev could only frown and shake his head.
"He says that they are the most elusive of species, because they value their life above all else. They are supposed to have a very strong ability which enables them to detect if they are being watched, even by those above their level, and this makes it so that they can escape and keep escaping for as long as necessary even if one has very powerful means of searching. They also make the best of robbers for this very reason, and in the age of the Empire, thieves who managed to bribe or convince Divine Cockroaches to help them would almost always have very successful careers. That was, of course, until the Emperor took charge."
Daneel knew about that last part, and if he wasn't in such a bad mood, he would have been amused by it.
However, the frustration of losing such a golden opportunity still hung over him like a cloud, so he could only shake his head, too, and rummage his mind for ideas.
They weren't very forthcoming, though, so Daneel was just about to give up and get back to the quarters so that he could maybe call another meeting and see if they could brainstorm to find some method.
Just before he did so, he saw a couple approaching the place where they stood.
There was no chance that they could see them, so it meant that they must be coming to the Blessing Rock that their village was named after.
In the arms of the woman was a young child, and it looked as if he had just been recently born.
Elanev followed his gaze, and the old man appeared beside him and said, "Just like it is stated in the legend, the people of the town always come here to offer their prayers to the Rock and hope that it would bless their child to grow up strong and healthy. It is something that has existed for many centuries, and it would have for many more, but we scared away that cockroach. Well, the least you can do is make a fake one, so that they don't begin to panic. But it is possible that the special effect of more people being born with the ability to become talented Fighters will cease, but at least in this way, we can conclude that it was because of the presence of the Godbeast. This was something that was not seen even in the age of the Empire, so it will be quite a momentous discovery, but is it worth taking away the entity that has looked over this village for centuries?"
He seemed to be musing to himself, but Daneel was actually ignoring his words, as he had just gotten a very…unorthodox idea.
It was so unorthodox, in fact, that it scared him a bit, but he was desperate, and it was possible that it just might work.
Right away, he asked the system and got the confirmation, but when that happened, he actually felt quite a fair amount of… Disappointment, along with hope, almost as if he had been half-hoping that the system would say that it was impossible.
Hell, if he hadn't changed recently in the aspect that was related to this thing and had matured quite a bit due to all of his recent experiences, he might not even have gotten the idea, as his mind might automatically have shied away from such topics.
So, quashing all of these stray thoughts that kept coming in his mind, Daneel said, "Listen to me. I have a plan that will bring it back, but it's going to be quite difficult…"
…
Skrr was quite unhappy.
For quite a long time, she had enjoyed the place where she had been staying.
She was almost always in a state of hibernation, of course, but it always felt nice when people walked up to her and asked politely for her blessing.
She didn't know exactly what it was they were asking for, but she had always tried to do something for them, because her mother had always said that even though they were cockroaches, they shouldn't let the stigma around that species affect them.
She had taught her to be polite, and to value politeness. She had taught her to pay back anyone who helped her, and to find pleasure in the small things in life.
And before she had become mad during that dark time…she had given her one task. 'You're weak, my dear daughter, so you are spared of this fate. But you must live on. No matter what happens, live on, and wait. Wait for the right time to come, and when it does, make sure that our species survives. Make…sure. Got it? And please find a better name, too…'
She had said those words, and after that…she had attacked poor Skrr.
Skrr had been small then, so she had been able to escape into a small hole nearby. She had looked fearfully while her mother searched for her, but she had been instructed not to come out no matter what happened. She had cried, but she had obeyed.
In their species, they named themselves, and she had given herself her name which was a sound that she liked very much. Her favorite activity had been to dance under the moonlight, her mandibles swaying merrily in the air, and this was the sound that used to come when her many legs rubbed against each other.
Skrr was just about to continue the monologue that she told herself to pass time if she was bored when she was awake, but she suddenly stopped, as she felt something.
When she confirmed what it was, though, her many eyes widened.
Wasn't this…the mating call of a male Divine Cockroach?