When they got to the point where Jonah's true allegiance was revealed, Daneel was almost convinced that he could feel the red-hot rage that filled the atmosphere.
Its biggest source was his best friend, who stood in one corner of the room while staring sullenly at the images that were being displayed in the middle of it. Instead of choosing to show them everything that his master had gone through at the center of the continent, he had decided to do so in the planning room of the Kingdom of Lanthanor, and now, as he saw the emotional reactions of all of his sovereigns, he felt that he had made the correct decision.
Even if it could be explained, it was not good to show such a front to all the people whose bravery was already wavering due to the events of the assault of the second wave. He could have cast a spell to hide them all, but that would have been bad for the morale of the continent, too, as all the people were wont to look up at the throne that stood there to remind themselves of all those times when they had seen the brilliance of their Godking in all his glory.
Daneel had already gone through all of these memories before placing them in front of his sovereigns, but still, the same anger was coursing through his veins, too. This was the man who had first shown him that there was so much more to magic than he had ever thought there could be, and before he left, Daneel had even begun to think of him as a father figure. This was why his 'betrayal' had hurt so deeply, and if the truth behind it hadn't been revealed, he knew that all of his future relations would have been affected by the trauma that he had felt then.
To see such a man have his skin peeled off while he was wide awake… tempted him to agree to Faxul's request that they change their plans and somehow ensure the death of the Bishop.
So far, the objective had only been to damage the forces of the Church as much as possible. The only thing they had wanted was to be left in peace, but now, the fire of revenge had been kindled within all of his followers.
The rest weren't as close to Jonah, but as they had all watched each and every moment he had spent with the Church since his departure, it was obvious that he had taken a position in all of their hearts, too. They had watched as he maneuvered through all of the obstacles the Church had placed in his path to obtain a role in which he could have truly helped Angaria if not for the bishop and just like him, they were all awed by the quick wit and incredible potential of this man whose life had been filled with tragedy.
He had given them a spell that allowed them to watch what was going on at their own pace, so they had managed to go through the years he had spent in just the span of a few hours. All of the images were also stored in their minds so that they could see them whenever they wanted, and so far, most of them had focused on only the highlights of the time he had spent on the Mainland.
The main reason behind Daneel even choosing to do this was the hope that his sovereigns might be able to see something within these memories that he hadn't. The system had already extracted all the points of data regarding the Church that could be used for war simulations, but apart from that, he had wondered whether there might be something that both of them were missing.
If he wanted, his master could have given him only the data about the Church he had gathered. True, they already knew most of what he had gathered as the Tr Cobra sect had already provided them with an extensive catalog of everything they knew about the Church, but there were a few very important pieces of information that had already helped them to fine-tune their plans. Yet, instead of doing this, the man had given him a complete set of all of his memories along with a quick message that he hoped that Daneel would find something useful within them, and that was what had led him to believe that there was some nugget of truth in there that might even change the very course of the war.
There were still 12 hours to go for the scheduled attack of the third wave, so it could be said that they had plenty of time. They finished going through the memories after three more hours, and as the images that were being flicked through in the center of the room stopped at the scene of him desperately cradling Daneel in his lap as if he was his long lost child, tears could be seen in many of the pairs of eyes that were fixed on it.
No one will ever forget what you have done for us. Your name will live on forever, Master… This, I promise.
Holding these words deep in his heart, Daneel stepped forward to begin the discussion.
Only, before he could do so, the system sent him a message that also echoed in the minds of all the sovereigns.
[Anomaly detected at the eastern edge of Godnet.]
They all looked at each other askance before immediately teleporting to the east. Not a word needed to be said, and a few seconds later, they all stood together above the Eastern Shore with their faces twisted in confusion.
What in the name of…
Swallowing the curse that formed in his mind, Daneel asked the system to explain exactly what they were seeing.
Far off, over the horizon, it was as if a dark storm had suddenly brewed out of nowhere. It was quickly moving towards them, and as they all saw its relentless onslaught below the stormy sky that was somehow ignoring it, they felt nervousness group their hearts. Everything that had happened unexpectedly so far had always been disastrous for the continent of Angaria, so it could be expected that this sight was making them all remember the cries of anguish that had covered the skies of Angaria after the sudden attack of the Tenebrous Knights.
[Data has been gathered. Analysis underway. Analysis completed. Anomaly has been identified to be a famous Artefact of the Mainland that ensures the protection of those within it for a limited period of time. It is said to be able to bear the attacks of even 10,000 Heroes, but the fact that it is a single-use item deters many buyers who tend to opt for objects that can be recharged. The item also has no offensive properties, and one of its drawbacks is that it cannot hide the Energy signatures of those within it. Hence, analysis has also revealed that the total Energy level of all the individuals inside the Artefact suggest that around 100 individuals whose power is slightly beyond the Hero realm of Angaria are approaching. Multiple unequal sources of Energy were detected, which means that they are not part of any known squadron of the Church. Further analysis is underway to detect the threat level of the anomaly.]
This only served to deepen Daneel's confusion. The system had shown him the last image he had seen before leaving the Headquarters of the Church, so he knew that the numbers of the third wave that were left were much greater than what it had detected inside the storm. True, they were of the type where their power level was not carefully calibrated like the members of the first wave, but if the Bishop was attacking early, why would she bring only a small portion of them?
At least 600 of them had been left alive after the Saint had made his move, and it had also been obvious that they had been completely unharmed.
What the hell are you up to?
"She might be thinking that attacking early would disrupt our preparations… Well, that's just sad, because everyone is on standby. All of our trump cards are ready to be deployed. Let them come!"
The courage-filled words of Faxul did not garner any answers from the rest, as at the same time, they received the same information that Daneel had just heard from the system. He had asked it to spread it to see whether the others might have any ideas, but just like him, they were completely stymied.
Together, they had no option but to wait and see what would happen. It didn't take long for the massive black clouds to reach within 10 km of the shore, and although this was so dangerously close that Daneel could feel the others start to breathe heavily due to their nerves, he did not give the order for them to do anything. In this situation, it was better to be on the defensive as they knew nothing about this threat that has newly emerged, so with bated breath, he waited for the enemy to reveal itself.
Filled with anxiety and restlessness, a pregnant few seconds passed during which everything seemed to be standing still. The massive rolling clouds just stayed there, as if unsure about what to do, and the sovereigns all stood side-by-side with their eyes firmly fixed on it.
Finally, a few seconds later… the clouds vanished all of a sudden to reveal a very familiar throne.
Before any of them could comment on it, they saw that the Bishop was present on the seat on which they had gotten used to seeing their Godking. She had abandoned her white cassock for pitch-black robes, but none of them paid any attention to them… due to what they saw right in front of the throne.
With their hands, legs, and mouths bound by invisible ropes, around 100 individuals were squirming on a platform just a few meters below her. Only a single, shining lasso was visible that traveled from their necks to the Bishop's hand, and as all the sovereigns watched with shock at a scene that they could never have imagined they would see today, the Bishop flicked her hand and made all 100 individuals scream despite the gags on their mouths.
She opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, and they all stiffened as they prepared to listen to the explanation of some diabolical plan that she must surely have hatched. Only… she closed it in the next second, and an instant later, a wide grin appeared on her face.
At the same moment that it spread across her lips, she flipped her hand again, and this time… all of the lassoes disappeared, and all 100 of the bound individuals were thrown in the direction of Angaria.
They thudded against the defensive barrier that sprung to life and fell in the Sea, but the Bishop looked like she couldn't care less about their fate. She did wink in Daneel's direction, though, and with a wave of her hand… she turned around and left in the same direction she had come from.
Daneel was so bewildered that he could not move for a few seconds. The splashing sounds that reached him from the Sea finally made him snap out of his reverie, but still, it was only after the system told him that no threats were detected on the bodies of all hundred individuals that he allowed them to be brought inside Angaria.
He made them all float in front of them, and with a start, they realized that they had just seen all of these faces a few minutes ago. They…were all the commanders that had accompanied Jonah in the Headquarters of the Church until now.
Daneel didn't know whether to laugh or cry as this was revealed. These were all powerful cards up the Bishop's sleeve against whom he had made many plans, but now, they had been delivered to him in this manner.
He scanned them again, but just as the system had said, there was nothing hidden on their body except for an Artefact that was stopping them from using either the power of their body or their Mageroot. They had practically been offered up on a silver platter… but why?
It was with this question and all of their minds that they saw the Bishop vanish on the horizon, and together, at that moment, there was only one unsettling conclusion that they could reach, and it was something that none of them liked.
Either she's gone mad…or we're screwed.