A few seconds before the little girl's decision which acted as the spark that started a wildfire.
The hundred Heroes who had arrived had slowly begun to be joined by more and more, until their total number reached 250, and in the group, even though many were controlling their expressions, there were some who made it clear just what kind of emotions were surging through the minds of all of these individuals who had ruled like Kings for all these years.
Rage. Pure, unadulterated rage.
And of course…alarm.
"Everyone, calm the f*ck down! First, call anyone who's left! If we're going to do anything, it needs to be together!"
Calming themselves down, more and more Heroes began to hastily contact those who had decided that the show wasn't for them.
These were individuals who had completely steeped themselves in the strict training regimen that was required if one wanted to move forward in the realm of Heroes, but the moment they heard what was going on, their consciousnesses which allowed them to think and analyze things at a much faster rate than anyone else on the continent allowed them to see the graveness of the situation.
One by one, they started to arrive in the area, and it looked like there was no stopping the gathering of all those who did not wish for the war to happen.
This was happening unbeknownst to those below as camouflage formations had been set up to ensure that no one else would be able to see what was happening in their location, but Daneel had easily pierced through their veil.
With a sneer, he watched as panic began to beset even the most stoic of individuals.
What he was seeing was a sight that would probably never come to be on Earth: it was the moment before the downfall of the established order, and with it, the downfall of the system where one stratum of society hoarded most of the resources and left the rest to struggle for what was left.
Indeed, here, it was Energy resources, and on Earth…it was wealth.
It was an extremely complex issue of distribution of wealth that would even bring in discussions regarding the very essence of capitalism, but the way Daneel saw it, this was the bottom line:
If luck was the thing that determined whether one was born into a family where they would die of hunger with almost no opportunity to make their life better, or into one where the toughest decision they would make would be regarding the number of supercars they wanted to buy, then something was definitely wrong.
That was not to say that Daneel abhorred the idea of talent, or even the advantage one had by being born in the right family, but when 26 people held more wealth than half the rest of the planet…it was definitely a system that might need to change.
On Earth, he was pretty certain that he would have died without changing anything, whatsoever, but here…he had a chance, and there was no way in hell that he was going to waste it.
"King Daneel! Stop this farce! We now know what you want to do! You want to take the wealth of the Big Four and the Order for yourself! You might claim it's for the people, but we know the truth! The one who controls the Energy resources of the continent controls its fate! Until now, it was in our hands! Now, you want to take it away for your selfish reasons! Stop this now, or you will have to face the wrath of all of us!"
"Yes! What we have in place has withstood the test of time! It is effective! If we redistribute Energy, there definitely isn't enough to give to all those maggo-I mean, people, below! It will only be wasted!"
"Isn't it obvious? By giving resources to those who can utilize them the best, we ensure that the power level of the continent is the highest it can be! Instead, if there aren't enough for those born with talent, we will only go downhill!"
"You've gone too far, King! Take everything back! You don't know what you're doing! We are willing to forgive you, and even help in changing the memories of all those who have been affected by this! Take the opportunity to make amends, now!"
Daneel felt like chuckling as he heard the loose arguments of the Heroes who had finally begun to speak.
There were now 400 of them, and in fact, even some of those who had staunchly supported him due to his actions that had saved the continent were in this camp.
Hearing them, voices began to be heard from the camp of the Big Four, too.
"It would just be like watering weeds! Even if they grow up, what can they do?"
"Oh prestigious Heroes, please stop this madman! His love for the common folk has really gotten to his head! If we let him continue, he will only bring Angaria to ruin!"
"Energy is for those who are blessed by Mother Angaria with the talent to use it properly! The rest can only lament, and trust us to protect them! It is our duty, and their fate!"
That last statement made Daneel raise his eyebrows, and with a gesture of his hand, he made the one who had said it rise from the ground.
He was currently in two forms: one was going among the people and bringing their stories to light, and just now, that one had reached the little girl.
The other was in front of all of these individuals who did not want their way of life to change, no matter what.
The one who rose into the air was a tall, good looking individual who had long hair, and slight panic on his face as he came face to face with all of the most powerful forces on the continent.
However, after glancing at a certain spot among the Heroes, he found courage, and stood his ground.
"You can't scare me into submission! That is my view, and I know that I'm right!"
"Silence."
A single word from Daneel was like a blow that landed across his back, and if the man hadn't already taken precautions by activating barriers, it would have been enough to make him bow.
At the same time, a seething expression appeared on the face of one of the Heroes in the group, and he had to be actively held back as it looked like he would burst forth with all of his power at any moment.
"So your argument is that you deserve the Energy as you were lucky to be born with talent, and so that you can keep the over all power level of Angaria high, as Energy would just be wasted on all these people?"
'So you deserve more wealth than you can ever spend as you were born into it, and because the rest would only end up wasting it?'
"Yes! You can't refute it!"
"Yes! Stop this!"
Shouts after shouts rang out from everywhere, and seeing them all, Daneel…grinned.
It was a grin filled with malice, and seeing it, everyone could not help but be silenced.
And in that silence…the King gave his decree.
"Very well. If what you say is true, they will lose. If they do, I will apologize, and even hand over all of my Heroes, as I am clearly not capable of controlling them well."
Instantly, desire and greed sprang up in the eyes of many of the Heroes who were watching.
The one thing they were still apprehensive about was this force, as even though they had gathered like this, those 100 Heroes had something that they might never have: the willingness to fight with everything on the line.
In such fights, even if the opponent was outnumbered, there would be casualties, and no one among the Heroes who all had long lives to look forward to wanted to be the sacrifice to obtain victory.
Hence, for a moment, there were discussions, but before they could speak, the one who was still in the air spoke.
"Bring it on! They can do nothing against us!"
He was followed by more shouts from the crowd of the Big Four below, and they were all in the same vein.
"They're nothing! Watch as we show them their place!"
"Yeah, they're all trash! We are superior, and they seem to have forgotten it!"
"Esteemed Heroes, allow us to show our worth! We will make you proud!"
Temptation was always something that had brought the downfall of even the mightiest of civilizations. And as Daneel heard the Heroes' response, he smirked, as it had struck again.
After conferring once again with the rest, the leader of the Sect of Hedon declared, "Very well. We will watch the battle so that there is no foul play."
It was clear that they wanted to resolve things without risking anything, and as soon as Daneel heard them, he nodded and said, "Good," before disappearing.
At the same time, the three sects of the Big Four all began to activate their trinkets, and Paths.
Elementary particles could be seen arranging themselves in dazzling patterns all over the place, and just as this was happening…the little girl's shout rang out over the battlefield.
"Chaaaarrggeeeee!"
It brought derision on the faces of almost all those from the sects, and without hesitation, they began to ready their killing blows.
All of those from the sects were ready for a beat down. They knew the limitations of human formations which used the power of many, and hence, they knew that there was no way for their opponents to be able to face them in battle.
In fact, the man who had been in the air until now had returned to the ground, and now, it became clear that he was a part of the Sect of Hedon.
With a flourish, he flew to the front of the group, and turning his back to the people of Angaria, he declared, "Today, we show them once and for all that they are only fit to be beneath us! Please allow me to take pleasure in leading our offense!"
Saying so, he prepared a spell that would silence anyone who tried to oppose this, but weirdly…no one spoke up.
He had always been a pompous arse whose father allowed him to do what he wished, and today, he had been told that he should make his name.
He was prepared to step over anyone who tried to stop his parade, but why weren't the rest of those like him rising into the air to fight him for this honor?
Focusing, he saw that their expressions were changing, one by one, as they were looking at something behind him, and this made him say, "The Heroes will keep the King in check! Prepare to charge!"
Once again, he was ignored, and so, he realized that his assumption that they were looking at the King, who was definitely a force to be reckoned with, might be wrong.
With a frown, he turned around, and finally…he found out the reason behind the change.
A gigantic meteor had started to come into existence above the people. It was so large that it looked as if it could encompass an entire Kingdom on top of it, and even though only its outline had formed, all kinds of destructive elementary forces could be felt all over its surface.
His mind went blank, and he could only stare as more and more of the meteor started to form.
"What are you doing? Lead the charge, son! It's only an outline! It looks scary, but it can be stopped!"
His father's words appeared in his ears, and hearing them, the man broke into action.
He mustered all of the Energy he had and cast a spell to speed him up, but as he shot forth…it was in the direction of the forces of the Big Four.
"I'll hang back here. Good luck!"
Shouting these hurried words, he dug a hole in the ground and disappeared from sight, and while his father watched on with shock…the voice of the King rang out over the continent.
"When the oppressed rise, all shall cower. Angaria's Fury, strike!"