Jonah's words echoed in the cave for a few seconds, and the silence that followed them was filled with him cursing to himself. He used curses he had learned in the Mainland, and so, none of them really understood what he was saying, except for the fact that he seemed to have a big problem with someone's underside.
It was Kellor who first spoke in an attempt to find out more.
"What are you talking about, Jonah? Blowing up our Energy resources? How would they even manage that with just two individuals? In them, one is even in our control! How can they possibly-"
"That's what Daneel found out! I need to know how he did it, and what plans he made in case his suspicion did come true! I know my disciple, and I bet that he made something! So first, tell me where the f*ck he is!"
On seeing the question asked for the second time, Eloise finally gave the answer.
"He's in a 5-star mission in the Order, so his communication methods must be blocked."
At that moment, it became obvious that Jonah was cursing himself for placing the goal of finishing 5 5-star missions.
Still, after a moment, he asked, "Which one is it?"
"Nightmare Dungeon."
As Aran gave this answer, Jonah's eyes widened, and his voice reached an octave higher than anything he had used so far.
"A F*CKING NIGHTMARE DUNGEON?! WHAT THE F*CK WAS HE THINKING?? HE KNEW THIS WAS SENSITIVE, BUT HE STILL-"
"Jonah, calm down, first. Nothing can be gotten by screaming. Daneel is not with us, so we must do what we can in his absence. Tell us exactly what is going on."
Robert looked like he had had enough of Jonah's emotional outbursts, so he stepped forward and said this.
Seeing the stern expression on the man whom Jonah had once treated as his mentor, he nodded and closed his eyes for a moment before letting out a deep breath.
Following that, he opened his mouth and spoke in a tone that was still tense, but was intent on getting the information out as quickly as possible.
He detailed Daneel's query, and seeing that no one knew how he might have gotten it, Jonah sighed and said, "After I was done, I went to the records section of the Church. It wasn't easy- there was an attempt to hide all information regarding ongoing conquests as someone had apparently suggested that people from the continents being targeted might arrive in the Mainland and try to waylay these campaigns. Thankfully, the record-keeper is someone I became thick friends with, so he let me take a sneak peek at the list of purchases. In that list, during that timeframe, one item stood out- a purchase from the Bug King."
Bug King?
This underwhelming name did not have any effect on those present in the Chamber, but Jonah shivered and looked in the distance before saying, "The stories I heard about that man are so horrific that his name is even spoken in whispers. Apparently, he had always had a fascination with bugs, so he chose his Champion and Hero Path with respect to these creatures. In the Mainland, the information about one's Path is some of the most restricted information- no one knows what his Path exactly is, but it somehow gives him the ability to make new species of bugs which he uses for various purposes. His crowning achievement was a bug the size of a mote of dust which can enter someone harmlessly through their ear, or nose. It travels up, and as it reaches the brain… it takes root, and obtains complete control."
Complete control?!
These words made wonder finally appear in the eyes of most who were present, and in the others, it was horror.
The idea of enslaving people simply using bugs seemed a bit too overpowered, but it looked like Jonah wasn't done.
"Among his notable inventions is another species: it is one whose members can enter Energy Materials, and…blow them up from within."
Appalled expressions could be seen all around, but as if oblivious to them, Jonah continued.
"They can burrow into the ground and move slowly, until they find the root of a certain Energy deposit. It might take years, but they will persevere. Even barriers would not be able to stop them unless they are specially designed, and hence, they can even make their way into the hidden reserves of the Big Four and the Order, wherever they are. After all, the bugs enter the resources, and the resources are the ones that are stored. If even one bug-infested Energy resource enters a room filled with them, the bug can reproduce by itself and spread its brethren through the area. In one word: it is a scourge that should never have been invented, and the Bug King was even reportedly said to have stopped putting it up for sale. The only thing he can control is when it detonates: he can't even deactivate them, so if one uses them, it is a death sentence for a certain place. So far, no remedy has been found. And it is exactly this species…that the Church has mostly deployed in Angaria, and might be ready to detonate."
The idea that such a species could exist, itself, was so absurd that most of those present needed a few moments to come to terms with it, but more than that, the possibility that their own continent had been infected by it was pretty damn horrifying to think of.
After staring at him wide-eyed for a couple of seconds, Kellor sputtered, "B-but why would the Church even do that? Wouldn't it hurt them, too? Wouldn't they want the Energy resources to be present for when they recolonize the continent?"
With another deep sigh, Jonah said, "That's what I thought, too. But when you think about it, the answer is obvious. We all know that continents have cycles of low and high Energy. We are at the deep end of a low cycle, and this…will actually hasten the shift to one of high Energy. Besides, the amount of Energy resources they lose by detonating is nothing compared to what they will obtain if they smoothly take control of Angaria. They weaken us significantly, and they get what they want. It's a perfect win-win, and just thinking of that is so disgusting that it makes me want to retch."
As the entire thing was revealed, Robert spoke quickly.
"What are we waiting for, then?! We should make it public, so that the Energy resources can at least be isolated!"
Surprisingly, Jonah nodded.
"I agree. If Daneel was here, I would have wanted to hear of his plan, first. But now, we have no other choice. All of you-leave, first. I will contact you with updates when I have them. In the meanwhile, make sure that major Energy resource caches are kept far away from areas of mass population. And if Daneel comes out of the mission, tell him to get here right away."
The others looked like they wanted to say something more, but seeing the expression of resignation on Jonah's face, they relented. They had already understood that they were powerless in this case, so they left to do what had been told to them.
A second later, the Head once again appeared in the Chamber, and he looked around before spotting his Master sleeping peacefully.
He got an odd expression on his face, but it cleared when a voice spoke up.
"I used his trinket to call you. Angaria is in danger. We must-"
"Is this something regarding the Energy Resources?"
This time, it was Jonah's turn to be surprised.
"We intercepted the information that there is a plot surrounding this by relentlessly torturing that person from the Church. But we do not know what the threat is."
"Then listen up. It-"
A minute later, the same shock that had been present in the sovereign's eyes was apparent on the Head's face, too, but he needed the least time to recover.
He was a man of action, so he said, "I will assemble a team comprised of experts right away. I gather that you have already notified the Order?"
With a nod, Jonah said, "Yes, I've sent the message. The War…is much closer than we think. In merely a couple of years, everything will change. So, I guess we should not be too surprised that something like this is already afoot. Every moment from here on to that point when first contact is made will be precious. Head, we must be alert to thwart all the plans of the Church. No matter how many there are, we must identify each and systematically make sure that they only taste failure. Only then…will we have a chance of victory."
With a grim nod, the Head disappeared, and on the entire continent, an urgent atmosphere took hold.
Energy resources began to be moved, and experts who had been hidden for centuries finally showed themselves.
Research began, plans were made, and curses were thrown.
Yet, oblivious to all these things, the King of Lanthanor was pleasantly humming to himself as he walked down the road to his university.
He had departed the orphanage with a bright smile and a promise that he would be back soon, and after taking a train and a couple of buses, he had reached the city where his university was.
In his memory, today was the day that the nightmare began.
His plan was to have the same thing happen. Yet…only the target would change.
It had been 2 days since the time when Daneel had woken up in his bed, and he hadn't wasted a single second.
His time was spent either putting in place multiple plans, or enjoying himself fully in the company of those he loved, and those he had missed sorely all these years, even though he had never really allowed those feelings to creep up on him.
He knew they were all but figments created by the memories in his mind, but his joy felt real, and that was all that mattered.
Interrupting his thoughts, his phone suddenly rang, and Daneel saw that it was one of the plans he had set afoot.
Reading the message he received, he veered off of the path he was going on and used a dark alley to change his clothes.
By the time he walked out, he was completely unrecognizable: even his features looked slightly different, and his face was mostly hidden by the jacket he had worn. Because of his back being straight, even his height looked like it had changed, so there was possibly no way that any one would associate him with the harmless and meek Daneel who was supposed to be on his way to university.
He first went to a coffee shop where he received a parcel filled with information, and his next stop was a news station nearby.
His third stop was to an unmarked postbox, and his last one was in front of the back entrance of a bar.
It was evening by the time Daneel was done with his tasks, and instead of making his way to his dorm, he used the money he had saved for a long time to rent a room discreetly in a motel nearby.
After a full night's sleep, he woke up…to absolute chaos.
The papers were full of it: a prominent social activist had received a tip about a prostitute who was unfairly handled at the hands of a powerful politician's son, and the man had started a protest right outside the politician's gates.
This was the truth shown in the papers. Whereas in reality...things were completely different.
Daneel had paid off the prostitute, telling her that the activist was setting it up to secretly target the politician.
Daneel had tipped off the activist acting on behalf of the 'victim', saying that she wanted justice but was afraid.
And finally, Daneel had even set up the protest by spreading a rumor that the politician would pay big to hush it up.
His work done, he beamed due to the way things were going before checking on whether they had had the effect he desired.
A few minutes later, he got another message which confirmed this. The son of the politician had hurriedly been called to his home, and hence, he had put aside the plans to target Daneel.
The King of Lanthanor couldn't help but laugh out loud when he heard this. Compared to Angaria, manipulating things to make them play out as he wished seemed so much more easier here, and he almost wished that he had obtained the same quest to dominate the world, but one that targeted Earth.
Putting that aside for now, though, he began to work on the final two steps. They would be simple, but the conclusion…would be infinitely satisfying.
Looking forward to it, the King of Lanthanor set off.