novelDaneel v Elanev 1
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The Head froze as he heard this, and with the backdrop of multiple voices loudly debating which other Inheritance the King must have obtained which enabled him to end the fight in that way, he slowly calmed his heart that had started to beat faster due to the Chief's statement.
'Guests who weren't friendly' could only mean one thing, especially due to the fact that he hadn't detected anyone.
The Church.
The Church always had been equipped with advanced spells and trinkets that allowed them to spy on Angaria and even stay on it, with the Big 4 only being capable of repelling them if they showed themselves and decided to attack.
If so... how had the Chief been able to detect that there was someone near?
The Chief understood the unspoken question, and quietly sent a reply while making sure that he didn't expose anything to the outside which could be used to infer that he had become aware of their presence.
"As someone who survived the apocalypse, the founder of the Fortress was a big proponent of the method of using normal means which did not involve any kind of magic wherever possible, as an enemy would not be expecting them. As someone who was taught his ways, I know of a particular weed in Angaria which has a very pungent smell when it is ground into a paste. Few know of this, and even fewer know that when it attaches itself to any substance, be it a weapon or even one's clothes, it has a notorious property of continuously clinging on and emanating that odor even if the object is washed countless times. Many stop after a few times, though, as they feel that it is gone, but the Founder identified that it is still present and can only be detected if one uses a Fighter technique or Mage spell that enhances one's senses."
The Head began to understand where the Chief was getting at, but he waited for the man to finish his explanation out of respect.
"You know that I was the one who repelled one of the attackers from the Church during our last battle, right after this little kid became a King. In that battle, you know that I bit his hand off to obtain victory, but he reobtained that hand using a counter-attack. I had enough time to apply that substance to his skin. He must have reattached it, as I smell it again. My senses are always enhanced, as yours should be, too. Anyway, Heroes often forget that all kinds of covert formations and barriers are designed to allow air through, as it wouldn't be very conspicuous if the airflow is blocked whenever someone is trying to hide. They are somewhere above us, as the air in which I smelled that scent has come from there. What is the best thing to do here, Head?"
The Head had always known about the eccentricities of the founder of the Fortress. In fact, if it weren't for them, he probably wouldn't have survived the apocalypse and built such a flourishing sect.
So, once again impressed by his innovative techniques and also awed by the Chief's presence of mind which had allowed him to use that opportunity to put in a tracking method which had just shown its worth, the Head pondered deeply on the question he had been asked.
After a moment, he answered.
"Let them be, maybe? They must just be here to watch, just like us. We have always known that the Church is on Angaria, anyway, even though they are too weak to be a real threat unless they are reinforced."
"If so, why are they here with their real bodies? If it was a clone, the smell would not be present."
"Maybe..."
"No maybes. You've grown soft, Head. Don't you want to take out the frustration that filled you last time when you were trapped by a one-use Peak Hero-level trinket so that you couldn't join in the fight?"
This caused even the usually calm Head to almost burst out with anger, but he controlled himself and said, "Of course I do, Chief. But they'll simply run away when confronted."
This made a smile appear on the Chief's face.
"Exactly. So what better way to motivate all these young seeds than to show the Church scurrying away with fear? A gloom has come over the Big 4 recently, with many even believing that loss is certain. They are keeping these thoughts to themselves for the time being, but when these voices grow stronger, we will collapse from the inside out. This is the perfect opportunity to try and stop that from happening."
A flash of realization crossed his face, followed by a smile that looked very similar to the one on the Chief.
With a nod, he said, "Even after all these years, I still have things I can learn from you, mentor. Let's do it. Let's give these young'uns something to remind that we Big 4 aren't pushovers, at all."
...
Unaware of this crucial conversation that had just taken place above him, Daneel watched as Elanev started removing the rolls of dark bandages that covered his whole body.
From the information given by the system, he had guessed that their purpose must be to hide the damage done to his body due to him training in the'Overdrive' Technique.
Still, he could never have expected the extent of the injuries that would be exposed by this action.
Each and every inch of Elanev's skin was either scarred, or bleeding. It looked like he had been cut up into tiny pieces, and then reattached before being healed half-heartedly by some bored mage.
How could anyone fight in this state?
Even those in the pavilions let out gasps of shock as they saw Elanev show what he had been hiding all this while.
Many had been thinking that he might be hiding some special weapon which he wanted to save till the end. Yet, now, all that was in front of them was a broken man who looked like he was very close to death.
The bandages seemed to have some property to absorb blood, as a puddle formed under Elanev's feet the moment he took them off.
Only, despite his pathetic image, if anyone saw the burning flames in his eyes, they would never mistake this man for someone weak.
And the next moment, he proved this by raising his leg and stamping down hard on the ground.
BOOOOOOOM!
His leg seemed to flash oddly for a moment, and a moment later, it was as if an earthquake had erupted in the small area that they were standing in.
Cracks appeared in the ground, radiating out from the spot of the impact and making Daneel raise his arms to stabilize himself so he wouldn't fall.
All the trees surrounding them were either uprooted or thrown away by the sheer force radiating through the ground, and when the shockwaves died down, a true battle arena was formed which was empty of almost all sorts of obstructions.
Even Daneel was shocked by this sight, and together with those on the pavilions, he looked at Elanev as if he was looking at a monster.
So this was what he had been through all that pain for?
Such power...
Only Champions typically wielded the might to cause small-scale natural disasters in this way.
Yet, Elanev had somehow reached that level.
"System, how the f*ck is'Overdrive' this powerful?"
[Replying to host. Stored Energy has reached the level of a Champion. This means that the target will always have strength many levels above his level. Phenomena Analysis Module is assessing target. Gathering data. Conclusion: This is only possible if target has trained with this goal in mind since the beginning of the Warrior level, itself. ]
As soon as Daneel heard this, images flashed through his mind.
A room filled with bloodstained equipment of all sorts.
His elder brother, bleeding and putting himself through torturous training day in and day out.
The old man... promising that it would all be worth it.
Well... it definitely was.
If the old man's son was present to see this day.... he would definitely have been very, very proud of his father, who had proven that his technique wasn't a failure, after all.
Those on the two Pavilions who could no make sense at all about what was going on instinctually turned toward the seats of honor, only to find that they were empty.
Huh? Where had the Head and the Chief gone?
BOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!
As the sky pealed with sudden thunder, all those present looked up as one.
...
A few seconds back.
The two from the Church had similarly been impressed when they saw the King defeat that'Angel' using that method of being patient and creating the right opportunity which he used perfectly.
One of them was just about to comment that this was someone with pretty good battle awareness, when he suddenly stopped and realized that they weren't alone.
Turning around, he saw two men genially smiling at them while knocking on the formation that they had set up around them.
At the same time that he did, another formation sprang up around theirs, preventing them from leaving directly.
These two men were radically different from each other, but they both looked eager, for some reason.
One of them was dressed immaculately in regal robes and had a perfectly-cut short beard with sharp features.
The other was dressed in loose robes and his face had as many wrinkles as the stars in the sky, yet he radiated a kind of wisdom that could only be adored.
Seeing that this was the one who was responsible for him having to go through the excruciating pain and humiliation of losing his arm and then having it reattached, anger appeared on his face, but he paused when he heard his companion speak.
"I guess they are more skilled than we give them credit for. Come in."
The last two words were meant for the two outside, and as the formation became dispelled, they merrily walked into the airspace around them as if they owned the place.
"Greetings, and welcome to Angaria. I see that you're the other useless Hero who was sent to be stationed on our continent as your companion is only fit to run around and hide from our sight like the rat he is. Oh, by the way, how's that arm of yours?"
A low growl emanated from his mouth, but he controlled himself and waited for the higher ranking member to speak.
"I guess this must be the first time that you so-called'Big 4' actually walked out by yourselves instead of just defending like turtles in your layers of formations. What's the occasion?"
The one who answered was the Head, who was the prime target of the Church at the moment, right in front of the one beside him.
"We just believe that it's high time things change regarding our... relationship. By being passive, it seems that we have given the wrong impression to our disciples."
"Oh? And you believe that you can change that, now?"
The response... was given in the form of a single punch by the Head which caused numerous streaks of lightning, each as thick as a man's waist, to shoot toward his opponent- the man in purple-colored priest's robes, who had spoken till now, which made it clear that he was higher in position and power when compared to the other one.
This caused the sound that redirected everyone's attention to the sky, and at the same moment, the system sounded in Daneel's head.
[Hero-level intruders detected! Analysis under way. ]
Oh? So that was the reason behind that feeling of his before?
Daneel felt glad as he realized this, as it meant that he had one less thing to worry about.
Looking at Elanev who was also looking up, he said, "That fight doesn't concern us. Let us begin."
Elanev turned to Daneel and nodded, which made Daneel drop that hammer as it was time to be serious.
Before, he had been reasonably confident that he would be able to defeat his elder brother using all the advantages he had.
Yet, now, after seeing that display of power... he could no longer say that, as it wouldn't be true.
This only made his blood boil even more, though, while he sent an order to the system.
"Activate'Supreme Fighter' subroutine."
[Acknowledged. Activating subroutine. Retrieving and activating multiple techniques and inheritances... ]
| ← Ch. 0645 | Ch. 0647 → |