novelThe Test of Self 5
| ← Ch.0827 | Ch.0829 → |
Jeff woke up to the sound of someone cutting something with a knife.
His head felt as if it was on fire, and his body seemed to be strangely paralyzed. He had to wait for the control of his body parts to be restored to him, and as he did so, the sound continued.
Along with that, the sound of someone happily biting into food was also heard, which made him clearly understand just what he was hearing.
He was extremely puzzled, but that was when the images that he had seen right before he passed out came to him.
That kid!
His anger made him forcefully open his eyes, but he had to close them again due to the light that almost blinded him. Squinting, he waited until they adjusted before finally laying his eyes on the kid who almost looked like a different person as he dug into a plate that was in front of him.
When he finally saw that what he had realized was right, he shouted, "What the f*-AAARGGHHHH!!!!!"
Another surge of electricity suddenly passed through his body, making him get flashbacks of what had knocked him out. It made him scream with pain and then shut up, before he understood that he was tied to a chair with two wires attached to two sensitive parts on his body. Those parts hurt like hell, now, but just as he was about to curse out loud, he swallowed the words, because he realized what shouting had just made him go through.
Daneel had just taken another bite of the heavenly meat covered with perfectly seasoned jus, and he allowed himself a smile of satisfaction. These tastes were not those that he could find on Angaria, so he had decided to indulge in them before he left.
Swallowing, he said, "Ah, you're a quick learner. Yes, shouting and speaking when you're not supposed to will give you some very pleasant experiences, so unless you're a masochist, I suggest that you stay quiet and listen. First, though, give me a few moments to finish."
A tide of emotions appeared in Jeff's mind, and most prominent of them was disbelief.
He had never been wrong in his life so far when he judged someone, so what the hell had happened here?!
Still, though, listening and deciding not to speak, he looked around the room and saw a few items on a table which made him gape.
There was a phone, beside which a familiar box with a switch could be seen. It also had an antenna, and the reason behind the shock was that he had recognized it to be... a portable signal jammer.
"Y-You-"
unable to control himself, he said this, but thankfully, the electricity did not assault him again. Taking another bite and seeing that his eyes were fixed on the jammer, Daneel said, "Yes, I blocked the signal so that you wouldn't be able to contact anyone. No one knows that you are here, either."
It-it had been a trap!
This thought came to Jeff, and as if to prove it, he spotted something else in the room: cameras.
Cameras were fixed in many hidden corners throughout the room, but if one looked closely, they would be able to spot them. In his rage before, Jeff hadn't spotted them, but slowly, the reality of his situation started to dawn on him.
Looking around, he saw that the woman had disappeared, but the fragments of her clothes which he had ripped were still present.
And that... Was when he finally understood.
As he thought back to just what he had been about to do to that woman, and just what had been caught on tape... Jeff realized that he had probably made what was fiction before, real.
As this revelation appeared in his eyes, Daneel spotted it and even clapped before saying, "Congratulations! It seems you do have a brain in there, after all. Yes, you've just created the proof that will damn you and your father permanently. Condemning those like you lot is all the rage in the world, now, so there is no way that you'll be able to escape. If you had done nothing, there really would have been no proof, but you just had to show your base nature. I'm afraid your story is done, dear Jeffrey."
As if having said something casual, Daneel went back to his meal, but all kinds of thought started to appear in Jeff's mind.
He imagined what would happen if the photos became public. He could see his father's downfall, and him being blamed for it all. He could see himself being beaten every day, and then probably being killed in a rage, just like his mother had been. He could see his rich lifestyle, which was the only thing which had allowed him to stay sane, leaving him, and he could see his entire life amounting to nothing.
At that moment, a spike of strength unlike any went through his body, and he tried to break the zip ties that were keeping him in place.
Alas, he failed, and a dejected expression appeared on his face.
Finally done with his meal, Daneel neatly threw the plastic plate in a bag and put it to the side before fixing his gaze on his prey.
As Jeff met his eyes... he received the biggest confirmation yet that he was not dealing with someone simple.
"Did one of my dad's enemies send you to conceal yourself?", he asked in desperation, making Daneel widen his eyes and then heartily laugh out loud.
After that, though, an extremely serious expression came on his face as he said, "No, I'm just someone who is soon going to taste death at your hands. Let's put that aside for now, though. Tell me. And I want an honest answer, mind you. Why would you want to hound some random student endlessly and even cause him to be thrown on the street just because he spilled some water on you?"
This was something that had always stuck in Daneel's mind. It had been a minor thing, and although the original Daneel of Angaria had weirdly died of a similar reason, it was at least expected in his case because the then royalty of Angaria had been used to killing as they wished. Here, though, even if there was anger, Daneel had been tortured and deprived of everything, which felt like an overreaction.
Remembering the plans that he had laid out for this kid before all this had happened, Jeff's brow furrowed with worry, but concealing his emotions, he said, "I wou-AAAARGHHHH!"
Daneel unhesitatingly flipped the switch beside him, making electricity race through Jeff's body again. It wasn't as strong as the taser he had used before, but he could see that it still hurt like hell.
He let it continue for longer, this time, and only stopped when it looked like Jeff was trying to say something.
As the flow finally ceased, Jeff shouted, "Fine, I'll tell the truth, just stop it!"
Taking a deep breath, he continued.
"You threw water on my crotch area, and that made my friends see that I have a small... argh! They teased me, so I wanted to take it out on you! I'm so-WHHHYYYY!!!"
Daneel flipped the switch again, as he had no intention to hear a fake apology.
The answer he had heard summed it up quite nicely. He knew that even this information was something his subconscious must have overhead when he was on Earth, and he was only finding it out now because he had never asked the system to scan his memories from then and give him this answer.
It was petty, and childish, but this was what happened when power was given to those who did not deserve it.
With a sigh, Daneel prepared to end it.
Everything he had done so far was what any normal person would have done, if they had enough confidence to pull it off well. He had placed his foe in a difficult situation to distract him, before trapping him using his own emotions to obtain evidence that would surely destroy him. All he had needed was a few simple things and a little bit of money.
At this point, there was a simple way to end it: he could simply kill this guy who would definitely go on to kill many more, and it would be done.
Yet... Daneel had chosen something different, which he felt was more fitting.
Standing up, he stretched, and looked like he was about to say something.
A phone call interrupted him, making him frown and pick up the phone before walking into the corridor.
In the process... he knocked over a scissor on the table by mistake.
Jeff had been dejectedly sitting in the chair, but as he saw the scissor slide into his vision, excitement appeared in his eyes.
He controlled himself, and it was only when he saw that the kid was talking outside that he used his legs to carefully pick it up.
A few moments later, he was free, and he could hardly believe it.
The first thing he did was tiptoe to the table and pick up his gun, before confirming that the infernal taser that had immobilized him was also there.
His opponent was unarmed, and waiting to be slaughtered.
Yet... the room was such that there were two doors. One would lead him to the spot from where that kid had walked out and was talking to someone on his phone, and the other lead directly to a staircase that seemed to go to the entrance of the house.
That meant... that he could get away.
He checked for his phone, first, but stopped when he realized that he had broken it.
Cursing himself, he tried to decide what to do.
He could leave with the photos and the memory cards of the cameras which were all piled on the table, and there would be no proof against him. This matter would be done, and he would be free to do what he wished.
The other option, though... was that he could pump the overconfident kid's body full of bullets.
As Jeff remembered the way he had been humiliated, anger coursed through his veins, and he chose the second one.
His main reason was revenge, but he told himself other reasons, too, such as that he couldn't ensure that there wasn't another copy of the photos somewhere.
His elated smile made it clear that he was lying, and he let it spread across his face as he tiptoed to the door.
Looking forward and craving to see the fear that would once again appear on the kid's face, he made a sharp motion just as he got to the door and turned to aim his gun.
Only, with shock, he saw that the corridor was empty save for a speaker from which the voice of the kid talking was coming.
He didn't know what the heck was going on, but before he could think, he tripped on a block of wood that had been hidden from sight.
He lost control of his body, and promptly fell sideways... into the scaffolding which gave way and sent him flying through the air.
It was only the first floor, but what lay below him was a pile of construction materials.
Four beams impaled his body, and even as the life faded from his eyes, he couldn't understand what had happened.
Meanwhile, from above, Daneel shook his head and watched.
"I gave you a chance, but your destiny was already decided by your character."
He said this while the simulation began to fade away, and he prepared to calmly return to his body with the peace of mind that he had acted justly, even though he had had every justification to just kill his enemy.
However, when he did regain control, his mind flooded with a host of messages which made Daneel stare into the air with abject shock.
After going through them all, he could only shake his head and say, "I'm gone for a little bit of time, and all of you are ready to burn down the continent. Sigh, what will you even do without me?"
| ← Ch. 0827 | Ch. 0829 → |