720 The Stage Is Se

A few days later, in the Sect of Hedon, a man was calmly sitting in a large room while the waters of a fountain lapped peacefully in front of him. There were two maids beside him dressed in frilly frocks who were serving him chilled drinks, and he was gazing out of the window at a large training area where men and women could be seen hurting themselves to grow stronger.

The man seemed to be reminiscing about the times when he had had to go through the same process, but he was actually doing so fondly.

The maids looked like they had happy and cheerful expressions, as if this was the best job they could be doing in the entire world, but these expressions slipped occasionally, especially when their faces were turned away from the man.

The truth was that they had been abducted from the village that was outside the Sect of Hedon and connected to it, and even though they had said with their mouths that they were going willingly, the truth was that they had been forced. The man had simply entered their rooms, and the next second, they didn't know what happened, but their minds were completely in his grasp.

He could make them feel anything he wished, and even though he wasn't a cruel master, even the slightest hint of disobedience led them to having nights that were spent sweating, as it would feel as if tiny bugs were crawling up their skin. No matter how much they scratched, this feeling wouldn't leave, and by the next morning, their body would be filled with wounds which were caused by themselves.

The man would heal them, and say that they should not repeat what they had done with a smile, and a cheerful tone that did not fit his actions at all.

He seemed to be anticipating something, because there was a calendar in the room in which he ticked off the days. The sooner the date he was looking for approached, the more he got jittery, but he did not put that on display much.

A few days before the date that was circled, though, he came into the room laughing very happily, and on that day, these women had been awarded a lavish meal.

Except for the fact that it was uncertain whether they would leave with their lives, he wasn't what they had imagined – they weren't harmed in any way, so they slowly got into a schedule of just doing what he wished without messing up too much.

This was finally the day that had been circled, and the reason that they were so afraid was that they feared that he would kill them after he was done, as no matter how much they thought about it, it did not seem like this journey of theirs would end peacefully.

In that fear, one of the two maids slipped, and as she fell, the wine bottle she was carrying fell along with her, smashing into the ground and making the red liquid splash everywhere.

A transparent wall suddenly sprang up around this area, collecting all of the wine, and then disposing of it cleanly in the dustbin.

With trembling shoulders, the maid turned around, and curtsied before apologizing.

They had been taught this the first day, itself- that this was how a proper apology should be given to those above them in status, and although she had no idea from just where this guy had come to have grown up with such strange customs, they had learned.

As he saw it now, the man laughed and said, "If this was any other day, there might have been punishment, but as it is the last one, and because you two will not be seeing tomorrow's down anyway…I'll let it go. Oh, don't look so horrified. That will happen regardless of what you do, unless… You betray the continent. Go to your rooms, and think about whether you wish to continue to be loyal to this place which hasn't done much for you, except giving you birth and then leaving you to fend for yourselves. It was the same for your parents, and it will be the same for your children. If you make the right decision, you will not have to settle for the same fate, and no one shall be able to harm you, no matter where you may be. Leave. I've placed a book which details the doctrine of our glorious institution in your rooms. Read it, and you'll understand."

The two girls didn't really understand what he was saying, but they knew that they were excused.

And, of course, they understood that they had been right – the time of their death would soon be upon them.

The only consolation was that there seemed to be a way in which they could avoid it, and, of course, as was any being's base instinct, they wanted to grasp it and live on.

As for the part about betraying the continent… Even though it sounded really bad, the words said by the man had been right – it hadn't really done anything for them.

And besides, if there was no other choice, then it might be one that they wouldn't need to think too much to make.

Still, the two girls picked up the books with gleaming golden covers and bold words in a strange tongue written on top, and at first, they couldn't comprehend anything.

A second after that, though, the letters seemed to rearrange themselves, and they could read them in the common language of Angaria.

"The life and teachings of St. Rectitude."

By now, they had guessed that this man belonged to that organization that had become famous before for offering salvation to the poor and the downtrodden.

That was all they knew about the organization, though, as its motive had not been propagated throughout the general population.

They opened the book, and from the first line itself, they were hooked.

The words in the book captivated their entire attention, and each line seemed to contain so much meaning that they felt as if their horizons were being broadened, even while their understanding of the world, itself, was being pushed forward at a speed that was unrivaled and unseen throughout their lives.

Of course, because they were too absorbed in it, they hadn't noticed that their fingers had been pricked by a tiny needle the moment they had opened the books, and after that, an invisible cloud made of different types of swirling elementary particles had been formed by the book which had settled around their minds, and started to influence them in ways that most on the continent wouldn't even be able to comprehend.

Even though the truth was that this thing's purpose was only to put one in a receptive mood, if they knew that it was the instrument with which the Church had obtained a lot of the power it had on the Mainland, they would definitely have been more impressed.

The man in the main room of the building, though, who had taken it up after subduing the original owner and making it seem as if the guy had become injured in training and was now resting inside, idly watched the scene in the maids' bedroom that he had seen countless times.

Preaching and pulling people into the Church was one of the main duties of all the members, no matter how high up or how down low they were in the ranks of their glorious organization. And this… Was one of the most simple methods. All that was needed was to put in one the fear that they would have to become a part of the Church if they wanted to live, and this would open the mind and make it more… Suggestible.

Many times in life, that was all that was needed to push a certain agenda or thought, and hence, the Church had managed to flourish.

Putting aside these thoughts, the man activated a display trinket, which showed the image from the front of the medical bay in which the Mad Doctor was housed.

Soon, there would be something going wrong here, and he had already made sure that it would all happen smoothly.

A split second was all it would take, and it was for this second that he had toiled so hard for, for so long.

However, seeing that it all would finally be coming to fruition felt both good, and bad.

It felt good because he would be able to send a very detailed report to the mainland, and be awarded with quite a few things that would help him along, or make his life easier in this backward continent which they needed to conquer for purposes he didn't even understand.

It would be bad because his period of only having low stakes missions to finish would be over, as after this, he could tell that he would soon be getting assignments which would need him to probably risk his life. When compared to that, this was definitely preferable, and even though he had faced difficulties, when he looked back on it, it hadn't been too bad.

In a few hours, the opportune time would arrive, and as the continent descended into temporary chaos, all he would have to do was simply sit here and gaze out to see what would happen. It also felt quite good to be getting back at the Head in this way, and it actually felt great that he could act as the puppeteer behind the scenes who had manipulated it all, and was then sitting calmly while everything played out in front of him.

Reaching for his glass, he saw that there was no wine, which led him to make a bottle float over. Taking a sip and once again cursing this backward place which didn't even have proper winemaking techniques, the man closed his eyes to take a nap, with nary a care in the world.

…

Meanwhile, Rayen was in the second meeting that had been called after the first in which they had discussed exactly what they were going to do regarding the situation that would soon unfold in Angaria.

He had already given the notification to the king, and the man had sounded strangely confident and easy-going, as if he wasn't the one who was being targeted by a Champion who embodied his moniker.

If it was him, he would probably be extremely anxious, but that was when he understood that confidence in the face of conflict was also something that one must be trained in if they wanted to be King.

He was sitting idly and thinking all these things mainly because the main person who had called this meeting hadn't arrived yet. The other two were here, and they looked equally irritated, and because Rayen was supposed to have the outward personality of a brute, he stood up and banged on the table before shouting, "The audacity! You dare think that our time is so free that you can call us and make us wait? I know you're listening, so if you aren't here in 5 seconds with an apology, I'll be leaving!"

Almost as if he had been waiting for this outburst, the man with his iconic skull instead of a normal head appeared in the chair which had been empty till now.

Raising his hands, he said, "Apologies! I was just finishing up, and it took just a bit longer than expected. Anyway, the plot to distract the Head is finally in place, and each of you have small roles to do. I promise that no matter what happens, suspicion will not fall on you, because I have chosen to take up the main risky part of this plan. Well, I was the one who proposed this in the first place, so this is how it should be. Hell, if I could, I would have done it all by myself and taken all the credit and the joy. If I didn't need your help, you wouldn't be here. Anyway, these are the things you need to do…"

…

A few minutes later, as Daneel received all the details of what was going to happen to the Head, he actually… Burst out laughing.

There had been a slight grey area in his entire plan, and with this information, it had become filled in.

This was going to be another complex one which would have a lot of aspects, but in the end… He looked forward to the result, as it would be so stupendous that he would have outdone himself in all manners when compared to almost everything he had done since his arrival on this continent.

It had slowly been forming to become what it was, and he had only been able to come up with it by considering each and every factor so far, including ones that he hadn't thought about for quite a long time.

Picking up a communication trinket, he contacted his Sovereigns one by one, and on getting the messages that they were all ready, he got up, and prepared to leave.

By the time he was back in his quarters again, everything would have changed.

So… Saying farewell to the beating Dragon heart, the King of Lanthanor teleported away.