The hearts of the three were still beating furiously when their eyes adjusted to allow them to see that they had been teleported to a dark room.
A musty smell, akin to one that would appear when a place hadn't been visited for eons and eons was present, and Faxul had even begun coughing as it entered his nostrils.
Daneel first cast a spell to get rid of the putrid air around him, before conjuring a globe of light that revealed to them an extraordinary image.
They were in a small room, with a single door in front of them that was artfully carved with various Godbeasts that were so life-like that they looked like they would come to life at any second.
Tasteful furniture could be seen all around, and it looked like this was some sort of reception area that those who were entering a place would be housed.
Thick layers of dust had caked over everything, though, and even the walls only had a few signs of the tapestry that had once proudly adorned with this place.
Almost as one, all of their eyes became fixed on a particular corner of the room, where there was a table that almost looked like one that would be present in front of a receptionist back on earth.
And the reason behind their astonishment… Was the woman who stood behind it, smiling.
"Welcome to Elysium! I see that yours is an unscheduled arrival. Please stand by while I intimate the welcoming party. Your re…"
Suddenly, she froze, and in the next moment, something that startled the life out of all three of them happened.
BOOOMMM!
With a loud sound, the woman burst into nothingness, but instead of covering them with the remains of her mutilated body, there was only a curtain of dust that fell over them all.
Yet, her image was still fixed in their minds.
She had been wearing a light pink colored dress, but it, too, just like everything else in the room, had been in a state of severe neglect.
Her face had been the most striking of it all: it had looked exactly like one that belonged to someone who had somehow been dead for a long, long time before suddenly waking up and not even bothering that their body had rotted over time.
"What the hell, Daneel?", asked Faxul, finally, to which Daneel answered, "I heard about them, but it's my first time seeing them, too. If I'm not wrong, it is a human construct which was made to welcome people. In the age of the Empire, such things were used for mundane tasks like these where manpower could be substituted without compromising on performance. There must have been an activation sequence where someone who enters would be greeted, and the abrupt activation after so long must've caused a problem in the formation. Well, whatever the case… Wasn't that a fitting welcome?"
Faxul couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle as he heard this, but just before Daneel was about to do the same, he heard a thud from beside him.
Elanev had fallen to the ground, and with worry clouding their faces, both Daneel and Faxul bent over him to see what was wrong.
It was strange even before that they had not heard any reaction from him, but they had been too busy adjusting themselves to where they had arrived.
Daneel took in a sharp hiss of breath as he touched Elanev and saw that the man's skin was so hot that it had almost burned him - if any normal human had reached such a temperature, they would already have died by now.
On his skin, though, there weren't even any blisters, and the only sign of the heat was the slight reddish color that it had taken on.
It was most prominent on his face, which was fixed in an expression of pain.
This entire thing has started during the chase, and it looked like it had reached the next level.
"Like I said, it's the final step! But it's going to take time! He needs to stay undisturbed for now! That was so f*cking close!"
Daneel could hear the relief in the old man's voice, and after finding out that this was normal, he, too, let out a breath.
He repeated the same to Faxul, who nodded and then actually smiled.
It looked like he was looking forward to having a sparring partner who wouldn't crush him with one move, and Daneel actually couldn't blame the man, as there weren't many to whom he could reveal his Champion level power.
Just as he was about to relax and look around more, though, he got an urgent message from the system.
[Countermeasure formations placed by host have been activated. A party of Heroes have entered the Endless Sea, and are heading in the direction that host was last present in.]
For a moment, he stayed silent, and after that, he couldn't help but swear out loud.
"What the f*ck?!"
Seeing the abrupt change in his mood, Faxul wondered what the hell was going on, but he held his tongue.
Daneel started to pace around, wondering what might have caused such a reaction.
He had checked using the system whether there were any surveillance formations placed by the Order in the location that he had been carrying out his mission, and he had been glad to find out that that was not the case. It was what he had expected, too, because it was hardly possible, even for the Order to cover such a large swathe of area.
Deciding to look at the whole thing objectively and see if he had made any mistake, Daneel went back to the beginning, and recalled just how he had come up with this plan that had miraculously worked.
By doing this, he hoped to find some mistake due to which he might have tipped off the Order.
His entire idea had sprung from one very known fact in the entire continent of Angaria: where there was power, there would be reverence.
The place he was looking for was supposed to contain some of the most powerful beings, and even if a long time had passed… It did not mean that the grandeur that was afforded to them due to their power would completely dissipate.
And such a thing… would definitely be very effective in keeping a few fish away.
After getting this idea, Daneel had asked the system, and he had found something which was very reassuring: back during the age of the Empire, when this place had been frequented by normal people, it had been noted that each time it was opened, the sea creatures would automatically clear out as they could feel the power of those within.
Of course, this only applied to those at the Champion level, which were plenty at that time. Initially, it was found out that this was a side effect of the formation that was supposed to conceal the entrance not working properly, but then, it was decided that it would stay, as it would remove the hassle where those coming to the place would have to fight through multiple beasts each and every damn time.
Daneel had been hoping against hope that this particular feature was not messed with at the time before the sealing of this last bastion of Angaria. If his suspicion was right, then the best way to find the door would be to direct the beasts which had much finer senses than him to that place, and look for any reactions in them.
All he needed was a hint that he was close, and the system could transmit the key and open the door.
It had always been that the wild species of Angaria, and in fact, of any developed world, would have many senses honed to the extreme. And in some cases, this would even be to a level that would seem almost unattainable to others.
That applied to these sea beasts, which had to have perfect senses if they wanted to continue their lives without being gobbled up continuously by those that were more powerful than them.
Even if the aura of those within would dissipate and become very, very faint with time, it was Daneel's hope that he would be able to see at least some kind of reaction that he could use if he unleashed a horde in the area where the entrance was likely to be.
And of course, the reason behind him even wanting a horde was so that the chance of at least one beast in all those that gathered would be high.
The result was obvious: after having to go through a large patch of the Endless Sea, he had managed to find the exact place, which had allowed the system to get them inside.
And that… Was how he was now in his present situation.
Yet, even after going through all of it, he could find no reason behind him having a bunch of Heroes behind him now.
As if on cue, the system sent him another message right at this moment.
[Countermeasure of the second level has been triggered. 9
Heroes and 15 Champions are heading in the direction of the Door.]
The second level!
That meant that they were coming quite fast, without really looking around, as if they knew exactly where they were supposed to go!
Daneel's heart which had calmed down started to beat faster again as he understood this. He had placed detection formations at certain intervals, and the higher the number of the level, the closer it was from where he had disappeared.
An argument could be made that even if the Heroes arrived, they would not be able to find the entrance.
Also, even if they found it, they might not be able to enter, because the system only knew the passcode because of the memories of the Emperor.
Indeed, Daneel had known about this place for a long time, but he had not focused on it as the information regarding what had happened to it after the Apocalypse had not been present in all the data that had gathered. Hence, the logical conclusion had been that it must have been destroyed.
Even to the system, it had not appeared very important according to the parameters that Daneel had given, and it had only told him about it after he had asked whether there was a place where he could get stronger, even if it meant that he might die.
Coming back to the matter at hand, Daneel decided that it was too great a risk. The Overseer could have means that he could not possibly estimate, and that meant that he could not rule out the possibility that they might find the entrance and even enter it. Hell, what if it was him entering Elysium that had called upon these Heroes, in the first place?
If he just decided to rely on hope, and if the Heroes found their way in…The three of them would definitely be doomed, and along with them, the last hope of Angaria would also perish.
That could not happen!
Quickly, Daneel decided to look for things that he could do.
Suddenly getting an idea, he asked, "System, we are already inside, right? Can you estimate when the entrance will shift again?"
[Analysing. Looking for formation that handles the geolocation of the Door. Formation found. Time to next shift: 15 minutes.]
Daneel had been about to rejoice when he heard that it was found, but after hearing the time… a deep frown instantly appeared on his face.
15 minutes! That was just too long!
Judging by their speed, the Heroes would be here in barely 5!
Would he have to abandon his plan of delaying until the location changed, because it was surely not possible for them to find it again? He, himself, had had to go through so many pains to do so, and there was also a chance that they must have identified him using all the disturbance that he had created, probably with the help of formations that he must not have been able to detect.
If the entrance changed, everything would mostly be solved! But how could he ensure that they would not find it until then?
Suddenly, a radical idea came to Daneel, but it was so dangerous that a slight chill crept up his spine the moment he thought about it.
Yet, looking at Elanev who needed to stay undisturbed, and their own condition which was pretty abysmal, he realized that he didn't have much of a choice.
Shaking his head, he spoke in a tone that was trying to appear casual while hiding the worry that was present, but on seeing Faxul's expression, he knew that he had failed.
"Well, it'll be great, or I'll die. Either way, it'll definitely be something for the bards to sing about! Wait for me and take care of Elanev, Faxul."