Three hours later.
In the command room, many sets of eyes were gazing intently at the image in front of them. Some were filled with scorn, while others shone with amusement.
Among them, only one set showed concern, and of course, these belonged to Jonah.
After being shown the message sent by his disciple, he had devolved into a stuttering mess that had been sent away by the Saint. The man had tried to electrocute him twice to make him break out of the trance he had entered, but after seeing that it was having no effect, he had simply waved his hand and made him disappear.
Until ten minutes ago, Jonah had still been in that state. He thought he had found out what shock was supposed to feel like when he had seen Angaria win battle after battle, but he realized now that he had been wrong. This…was what shock truly was, and try as he might, he could not get rid of the sight in his mind that captivated all of his senses.
In it, his disciple could be seen kneeling in front of the Saint who smiled triumphantly, before ending him with a single wave of his hand and then conquering Angaria as easily as if he was swatting a fly. He knew that he shared this image with the others in the room, too, but where he saw it with dread and fear, they enjoyed it with pride and joy.
They also saw it as a desperate move on Daneel's part. They even ridiculed his disciple's claims, but as they didn't know the exact details of his rise to power, they couldn't be blamed.
Jonah knew the truth behind it, and from his mind, so did the Saint. He had seen the way the man's eyes had glinted when Daneel had talked about how the Church would have another Saint, and from this, he knew that the man thought that it was possible.
Only…potential was one thing, but the certainty of the future he painted was another.
There was one strong reason behind Jonah believing that the image in his mind would come to be, and no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out why his disciple had not thought about it, too. It was glaringly obvious as it was a scenario that had played out on Angaria many times, albeit on a much smaller scale, so for someone who had seen it happen with his own eyes, how could it be a mystery?
Loyalty was a fickle thing when one reached the peak of power. On Angaria, before his disciple had remolded it into the united continent that it was now, those who showed great potential were often shackled by powerful forces so that they would serve them in perpetuity. However, there were multiple cases when these individuals would throw off the shackles using the power that they obtained, before going on a killing spree to obtain the revenge that they had only postponed, but not forgotten.
After becoming a Saint…was there a method to guarantee that Daneel wouldn't do the same?
When looking at it in this way, Jonah knew that the decision was not between whether they would get a Saint or the Energy of a continent, but whether they would be risking the possibility of destruction in the future, or ensuring the safe transmission of power from a conquered continent.
And hence, no matter how he looked at it…the decision of the Saint seemed obvious.
He tried to still these thoughts when the image in the room changed to show the patch of sea that had been decided on beforehand. Instead of waiting above the water, the Bishop and the Saint were both standing just a few meters below the stormy sky. The Bishop had an Artifact that was holding back its fury, and from the way the body of the Saint flickered every time a bolt of lightning struck them, it seemed that he was in a form that could only speak, and do nothing else.
However…not even a second after many in the room got this thought, the Saint waved his hand and made them all stare with awe.
The sky stilled, and then changed to take the most pleasant and calmest form possible. They had been standing on an invisible barrier, but on his command, earth appeared out of nowhere before becoming filled with grass and exotic plants that came to life and bloomed.
Instantly, the maelstrom of destruction had changed into a pristine pocket of beauty. Taking a deep breath, the Saint seemed pleased, and as he stretched forward his hand and brushed a flower near him, they all saw that it was not a mere projection, but a real flower that bowed as if prostrating to him.
It was then that he finally laid eyes on the Bishop, and understood what was going on. Her entire body was rigid, as if she was tied up by invisible coils of rope. Her face was as red as a ripe tomato, and as she blinked fiercely as if she was trying to hold back something, a spot in the middle of her forehead glowed with dim light.
She was being used as an Energy source.
It was always said that Saints were capable of things that one couldn't even dream of with just the smallest amount of Energy, and now, everyone present saw that it was true.
As they marveled at the insane complexity of each and every spell that the man had used, they almost didn't notice the arrival of a third individual.
Yet, when he flew into the image casually and landed with an expression of curiosity on his face, they all focused their eyes on him and gasped with surprise when they saw that he was the same monster who had destroyed the Tenebrous Knights with his bare hands.
Jonah had been hoping that it was all a trick… but seeing how Daneel had kept his word, he almost broke down then and there.
"Oh? From all the tricks you've played so far, I thought that you might try to attack us. I reckoned that you might have sent that message with the temptation to lop off the head of the one in charge…but it seems that I was wrong. This…does not happen often."
Raising an eyebrow, the Saint spoke in a calm voice that stood in contrast to the thundering hearts of all those present in the room. It was difficult to forget those moments when the man they were seeing had massacred all those Knights who had seemed unbeatable, but when they saw how vulnerable he looked as he stood in front of the Saint, they slowly began to understand that the war… might be over.
Jonah's eyes were firmly fixed on Daneel. As his disciple shot a glance at the Bishop who was still frozen before turning his gaze to the Saint and replying, he bent forward to see what he would say with the hope that a hint of his plans might be revealed.
"What's up with her? Anyway…I knew that you would be here, so it was futile to think that I would be able to do anything. An attempt to kill would practically be suicide…so here I am, to keep my word. I trust that you've thought about what I proposed?"
When Jonah and the commanders heard him speak, it felt more like he had proposed a dinner party. This was most probably the first time he was talking to a Saint, but still, he stood unflinchingly with his composure completely undisturbed.
Even the Saint seemed to be impressed by this, as a small smile played on his lips before he said, "Of course. The claims you make might seem far-fetched to many…but your potential is visible for all to see. In fact, it is one of the things that we discussed before even beginning this assault, but the decision was taken that it would be too risky. Tell me. If there is no way for me to ensure that you will not turn on me after becoming a Saint, if that is even possible, then why should I take you up on your deal?"
When Daneel laughed in response, Jonah and the rest almost jumped out of their skins as it was a sound they had never expected to hear in this encounter.
"Ha! This is why I love talking to the one in charge, directly. You can get straight to the point! Yes, that is a risk…but have we forgotten that Angaria will be under your control even then? It would be the simplest thing to install countermeasures that would ensure its destruction if I even thought about turning against the Church. Don't you agree?"
The flash of realization that was visible on the faces of Jonah and many of the commanders made it obvious that they hadn't thought of such a simple thing. They couldn't really be blamed as this was a situation that they had never expected to see, but when the Saint smiled again and spoke after bending his head, it became clear that unlike them, he had already seen this scenario.
"Good. Yes, that is something that we can do. Tell me. If I give you my word to stop all war efforts now while I take you to the headquarters here so that I can see for myself whether your claims are accurate, will you bend the knee and come with me meekly? I know that you split your consciousness so that only half of you is here, but that is enough. I'll give you a minute to think."
Run away. Run away, Daneel!
Jonah wished that he could tell this directly to his disciple instead of repeating it in his mind. Even though he knew that Daneel had placed himself in a situation that he could not hope to escape from now, he still kept wishing that there was some plan behind it all.
Only…before he could even think of anything else, he saw something that he never thought he would witness in all his life.
With a flourish, the Godking of Angaria got down on one knee and bowed low. When he raised his head again, one hand was on his breast and the other was held aloft.
"I don't need a minute. The decision was made before even sending you that message. Holy Saint, I'm yours!"
As he announced this with a grin, a single thought that was almost loud enough to be heard came in the minds of almost everyone present.
What the f*ck is going on?