In both of the caverns, the Heroes who were in charge of deploying the formation and saving the resources of the continent of Angaria prepared to take the final step.
These were the respected personages who had spent decades and decades immersed in the mysteries of formations, learning all of the intricacies that went into understanding just how the complexities of interweaving patterns of Elementary particles worked. If Daneel were likening this to his life on Earth, then these were like the foremost academics who had the most qualifications, and the most abbreviations beside their names.
They even had arrogant expressions on their faces which had become so natural that they didn't even put them on consciously, and the others understood right away that they were not to be messed with. Those who had gathered to witness this event which would most probably kick off a very desperate phase for the continent all maintained the distance, and only looked on while communicating through trinkets as they were afraid that speaking out loud might disturb these eminent individuals.
"Look. I think this is the perfect time to notice the differences in quality and attitude between the Heroes of the Big Four and the Order. Don't you think so, Celine?"
The two who had been hovering in the air before had returned, and this time, they were more corporeal, almost as if they were here officially.
They stood apart from the others, and they were actually one of the few groups who also seemed to command considerable respect from the others. There was a certain area near them into which no one dared to walk into, and only a few nodded at them as they recognized this famous couple.
Indeed, these two were one of the only Hero-level couples on Angaria, and their story was something that was told again and again in the halls of the seeds and even the members of the Order. This was so because they were part of both the High Council and the higher echelons of the Order, and they had never been too shy regarding just how they had fallen in love.
The man seemed to have no mood to reminisce about these things, though, because he continued, saying, "It still doesn't feel right. Why couldn't we have waited until the last moment? Even if there is a small chance that we can save more resources, I think that we should have taken it. In this way, we're basically shooting ourselves in one foot just so that we don't have both feet cut off. It sucks!"
The woman only had a small smile on her face, and she had not deigned to reply even before, because she knew her husband's impulsive questions which often did not require answers. Now, though, seeing his mood, she gently caught his hand and moved closer to him before saying, "Calm down. Whatever happens, we'll deal with it together. Isn't that what we've been doing so far?"
This did make a smile crack into life on the man's face, but it melted away in the next moment as he said, "Nice try, Celine, but you're just saying that to make sure that I don't act impulsively. Don't worry, I have nothing like that planned."
This made the woman look at her husband with one eyebrow cocked up, and she spoke in a jesting tone.
"Oh, really? Remember that marriage between the fifth strongest Hero level fighter and that woman who had such a high potential, but had been infatuated by that man and then trapped by him? We all knew that something might be up, but no one was interested in interfering and making his wrath fall upon them. You told me you would be nice, but then what happened?"
A slight blush appeared in the man's face, but he shot back, saying, "Hey, that's different! I just hated that smug look on his face when he thought about how he would be binding that woman to him for a long, long time. But I was in the right! He had been using an infatuation spell, and I broke it!"
With a laugh, the woman lovingly patted the man's shoulders and said, "Yes, my dear husband, but that does not mean that each and every impulsive action that you take results in happy endings. I only chose that one because it was recent. Still, when you did go and attack, you told me clearly that we might have to go into hiding for a time. That doesn't seem like someone who was confident in knowing that it would all work out."
She had struck on the thing for which he had no answer, so the man folded his arms and humphed, but he stopped as they saw that the Heroes were waiting for the final go-ahead.
Both of them took deep breaths, and their actions almost seemed mirrored as they let them out.
They had been together for centuries, so it made sense that many of the things they did looked exactly similar, and this was one of the things that their friends teased them about often.
No more words needed to be said, but the last moment before the Heroes launched the formation… A voice was heard in the area.
"Ladies and gentlemen! What do we have here? Are all of the prestigious Heroes of Angaria so incompetent that they cannot even find a different solution from blowing up half of everything that we will need if even want to stand a chance against the Church? It's deplorable… Just deplorable, I tell you!"
For a moment, there was a stunned silence, but that was followed by angry shouts from most of the Heroes who had gathered.
As Arthur and Celine had their bodies in both of the caverns, they saw that the same voice had appeared at the same time in both of them.
The difference in reaction was that in the cavern in which the Heroes of the Big Four were present, there was so much more arrogance shown right away.
"Who the f*ck you? Whoever you are, get ready to eat my foot!"
"You dare be arrogant here? Which newly ascended Hero has become so bold?"
"I'll eat my hat if anyone can suggest something better! I've tried everything, and I can say with confidence that there is no other way!"
"Yes, surely, our Heroes have conducted all the research that they could! Make yourself visible, and they will show you, with force, just how thorough they were!"
"Yeah, screw you for making light of other people's hard work! Can you do anything else except spew bullsh*t?!"
Their anger started to grow with each second as no one appeared in response to all of these challenges, and even Arthur and Celine had started to look around, wondering just who had been dumb enough to make such a large group of Heroes angry. Even the air had started to hum with destructive energy, and anyone would be terrified if they witnessed such a thing.
As for the cavern where the Order's resources were located, a few Heroes had acted in the same way, but most simply raised their eyebrows and stood silently.
Mainly… This was because these Heroes were at a power level which they had gotten to after surpassing their arrogance. They had been in the grip of this emotion before, but that was when they didn't even know the Order existed. They also had more information about the Mainland, apparently, and hence… They knew very well that they actually had nothing to be arrogant about.
Of course, this was completely unlike the Heroes of the Big Four, who thought of themselves as the leaders of the continent.
The silence stretched on, and it even started to look like a prank by someone. Yet, this didn't make sense at all, because it was such a crucial time.
Even the Heroes who were supposed to launch the formations had stopped, because they were the most infuriated of the lot. Only they knew just how much they had worked to try and look for alternatives, and they had even had thoughts on their own mind about how they had probably failed the continent by not giving any better options.
After a few more seconds, it looked like there really was nothing to follow it up, but just as the Heroes were about to resume what they were doing with the intention that they would get it done first and then handle the troublemaker later… The voice was heard again.
"Are you all done? I was waiting, because I really didn't want to interrupt children arguing that they are gourmet chefs when all they've done is make a pile of wet dirt and put a cherry on top. Oh, I'm not saying that you all are just incompetent, no, I guess I have to add disillusioned, stupid and even naïve to the portfolio. And as for the rest of your questions… Ha ha, my friends want to give you an answer!"
At the same moment in both the caverns, the figure of a man appeared out of nowhere in the air.
This, in itself, was quite puzzling, because the airspace was supposed to be so perfectly regulated that only those who had been given permission should be able to appear.
Yet, this doubt did not appear in anyone's mind, because of the scene he was accompanied by as he made his appearance.
Behind him… were hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights which were all moving in place oh so slightly, which almost gave the impression as if they really were the shining stars in the sky that had descended to the Earth to heed this man's call.
Both of the caverns were mostly shrouded in darkness, so this sight was all the more incredible to see. There he was, his figure slightly illuminated by the halo that fell on him from all those twinkling stars, and his hands were raised aloft, as if he really was a God who had brought down the sky to prove his heavenly identity.
Unable to control themselves, the Heroes cast spells which threw light on him, and what they were greeted with… Was a face with such a cocky smirk that those who couldn't control themselves almost flew up into the air to bury their fists deep within it.
Seeing them, he actually… Laughed out loud, and his laughter echoed in the caverns, reverberating again and again until it felt as if it was coming from everywhere.
With just this one action of his, he had completely diverted all of the attention to himself, and as he slowly started to descend, that arrogant smirk only became clearer.
The Heroes were split into three groups: those who were too angry to do anything else but stare, those who were inquisitive, and those who were in-between.
None of them were ready to speak, though, because they were all completely infatuated by those twinkling lights which had revealed themselves to be Golden-Red Mosquitoes that were more inquisitive and intelligent than anything they had ever seen.
Laughing again, the man said, "All those who insist that no other way is possible…watch!"
With his declaration, the hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes all started to attack the mountains and mountains of Ker Gems that were present, in both of the caverns.
Each Hero could only watch, dumbfounded, as the mosquitoes naturally drilled a tiny hole in the Ker Gems and squeezed themselves through.
After doing so, these mosquitoes traveled around and around the swirling mists before finding something almost invisible.
This…thing, which looked like a mix between a beetle and a spider, was first cautious, but after a weird dance by the mosquitoes which shook their legs and their undersides invitingly, the creatures ventured out from their hiding places which were innovatively in the lining of the Gems, which made them impossible to spot.
What followed was a love story to be sung by the bards and poets of Angaria. The mosquitoes and the creatures waltzed and had lovely meals of the Energy around them together, and naturally, the moment came for the final bond to be made.
As it began, varied expressions of disgust and interest could be seen among the Heroes, but all of these instantly changed to shock a moment later, when they saw the mosquitoes use that ultimate moment of vulnerability to pierce that creature full of holes and then proceed to suck it of all of its insides.
Many men caught their crotches as they saw this, as some of the mosquitoes had even decided to start with tearing off that part during their 'assassination'. As for the women, many started to retch.
The man seemed to take great delight in all this, for he took it all in and smiled to himself.
After waiting for a few moments, he made a statement, and it, too, echoed in the room while his 'friends' continued on towards other Gems.
"So…how's my answer? This way, there's nothing destructive required! Well, true, in this process, my friends absorb a portion of the Energy in each Gem, but that's still much better than blowing up half, right? As for all that Energy…Oh, how amazing would it be if it was possible to absorb or use it even after it was ingested? Alas, sadly, no one can do that, or they would really have benefited from all this!"