For the first time in his life, Jonah experienced the pain of wanting to talk but physically being stopped from being able to.
The longest period of silence yet had followed the end of the transmission, during which all of the commanders had collapsed to their seats and lost themselves in the turbulent seas of their thoughts.
The Bishop was hit the hardest. She remained standing, staring at the spot where the transmission had been and looking like she was waiting for it to come back and reveal that it had all been a prank.
This was the first time he was seeing her so unhinged, but if the sudden loss of a force many times stronger than the first wave didn't faze her, then nothing would.
Her lips kept opening and closing as if she wanted to say something, and those eyes that had enjoyed his pain so many times were now filled with the unwillingness to accept reality.
She was devastated, and this was visible for all to see. She had placed all her hopes on this force she had hidden so expertly, but now that it had been wiped off the face of the world in such an unbelievable manner…Jonah was sure that she must be rethinking everything all of her thoughts regarding Angaria.
She just kept staring and staring until a trinket on her body distracted her, after which she sat down, too, and became engrossed in the little disk that she had taken out of her pocket.
But just before she began receiving the message that was surely what must have made her move, she had flipped her fingers and cast the spell on Jonah that prevented him from moving even an inch.
Even the muscles on his face had been fixed in place, so to the room, he could only show an expression that was trapped between surprise in elation.
No one cared about him much, though, as they were all absorbed in thinking of their own future. The only thing he could move was his eyes, so using them, he looked around the room and it was almost as if he could hear all of their thoughts.
The first wave was done. It had been eradicated so thoroughly that no one would be able to believe that the Church was going up against a single continent whose size was nothing compared to the vast area that they had control over, and as they were the commanders, it was very possible that their fate would be much worse than that of the Bishop.
In her case, at least her life would be guaranteed, but the commanders might be sent to the front lines of other, more dangerous wars where they would have to prove their mettle again.
Jonah didn't know the exact details behind everything that had happened, but all he cared about was that Daneel had risen to the occasion and torn the forces of the Church apart. He didn't know how he had done it and even whether that bloodthirsty monster they had seen was him, but his happiness knew no bounds and he really wished that he could at least cover his face and smile to himself.
"Get in here."
The Bishop's anger-filled words made everyone look up and see that a few individuals had been ushered into the large command center. They were wearing a cassock of the Church that was colorless, which meant that their rank was supposed to be hidden.
Typically, this was the case for powerful individuals who might wish to hide their prowess, but these four men and women would definitely not of that sort as they all huddled together near the door with frightened expressions on their faces.
Many of the commanders frowned and wondered who they were, so when the Bishop spoke again to give the answer, they listened with apparent interest as if they had taken the decision to use this opportunity to take their mind off the dire situation.
"Meet the analysts. I know what you're thinking… generally, analysts are just normal, bottom-ranked members who are only sent to control the equipment of the Church. Because this operation means a lot to me, I took the great pain of paying for these four pipsqueaks who were supposed to be one step away from taking their positions in the analytical wing of the church. I kept them far away from the conflict so that they would have time to study the situation and find enemies whom we should know about… but they've done nothing."
The two words 'analytical wing' sent a wave of whispers through the crowd of commanders. Jonah knew the reason behind this very well: this wing was one of the most famous on the Mainland as it was said that they were one of the main reasons behind the rapid ascent of the Church.
Just like Angaria in his time, the Mainland tended to favor only those with power. However, instead of adhering to this, the Church had taken the wise decision to recruit those who were smart even if they had very little talent, and this had paid off in spades as they had some of the sharpest minds on their side today.
Ascending to the analytical wing meant that one would be set for life, so it could be estimated just how costly it must have been to get these four on the mission.
Yet, even they had been useless, and this realization only brought more distress to the commanders.
As if sensing this, the Bishop hastened to stop it from happening.
"I brought them here because one of them claims to understand what we just saw… you, reptilian pipsqueak. Speak."
On her bidding, one of the females in the group walked forward hesitantly. She seemed to be a hybrid between a reptilian and a human which were two of the most predominant races on the Mainland, and in her case, her skin had chosen to favor the former but her eyes had been loyal to the latter.
It was into these human eyes that Jonah looked while waiting with the rest of those in the room to find out what had happened.
Her fear for her life seemed to be fighting with the fear of the pain that the Bishop might inflict on her if she didn't follow the orders, but finally, the latter won out.
"I… I only heard rumors about it.I… n-never thought that I would see it happen. H-he-."
"Just give the damn answer!"
The Bishop's shout made her jump, but after a moment, she steadied herself and obliged.
"Continent are formed in many ways… but it is common for life to be born when a lucky beast from the Sea happens to make a connection with the Will of a particular continent that has newly come into the world. In that case, that beast assents to become a 'Mother', of sorts, for all kinds of comparatively inferior beasts to which it gives birth. It also holds the key to the absorption of the endless Energy of the Sea in the bounds of the continent, as that is where it has come from… so, in theory, if someone obtains its approval, they can use this key and unlock the secret to invincibility. When in the Sea, they would be able to absorb as much Energy as they could contain. They would not need to take the form of any beast, as they would directly be able to use the distilled power of what all beasts are capable of in its rawest form. They would also be able to control a large number of the beasts which have resided within the domain of the continent for a long time, as after all, the Energy in their bodies is also theirs to command. It goes deeper than this…but this is what he should be capable of. If I'm right… that monster was simply his Energised form. Any battle in the water will be lost. The only weakness is that he cannot draw on that Energy when on land."
Invincible.
Yes, that really was the perfect word to describe the being they had seen before.
For Jonah, it felt as if his eyes had been opened. Looking back, he saw now that it had been obvious, but because the creature had been as comfortable in the Sea as if that was where it had spent its whole life, he, like the others, had assumed that it might be some beasts that they didn't know of.
It had had four limbs, true, but all four had been moving so quickly that none of them had gotten a good look at them. Now, he could see that they were definitely the hands and legs of a human, and as for the face… even though it had been constricted into a rictus of monstrous anger, if the swelling veins and the shark-like teeth were taken away… what would be left was his disciple.
It seemed that he shared this realization with the others, too, as they began to mutter between themselves until the Bishop spoke again to make them fall silent.
"It's a setback. It was unexpected… but that was only a third of our force. We still have two more waves to go. They will be enough. Begin building strategies to counter this new information."
She was putting on a brave show, but Jonah could see the slight twitch in her eyes which meant that the stress was getting to her. That was when she looked at him, but as if he reminded her of the indomitable being they had just seen, she instantly turned away.
The disc was still in her hands, and clutching it to her chest, she muttered something that very few could hear before disappearing.
Jonah was one of those whose ears picked up what she had said, and when he understood them, he had to stop himself from slapping his forehead and wishing that she would just give up.
"I need to speak to the Saint. He'll know what to do. He definitely will! But…at what cost?"