Rise of the Godking - Chapter 116

From his vantage point, normally, Daneel should not have been able to hear the conversation between the beggar king and his guards. However, he had the system which could easily amplify all the sounds nearby, so without any problem, he could clearly understand everything that transpired between them.

At first, the man paused at the door, trying to get a grip of himself. Daneel could only catch the slightest glimpse of his face. After all, if he stood in full view of the man, he would be seen by the guards, too, so he had no option but to hide himself, for the most part. From just what he could see, though, he was able to watch the man still his shoulders forcibly then raise his head high like a ruler, and as if everything was right in the world, he opened the door with a straight back.

The captain waiting beyond first gave an update about everything that had been going on in the city. Apparently, the beggar king had already been appraised of the situation before, so the captain didn't need to start from scratch.

He talked about how the letters had been a clear attempt to draw the guards away from the central island. They had succeeded in their goal as riots had broken out on all six islands, but he was happy to report that there were no deaths, at the moment. Many bones had been broken and there was much bleeding to be staunched, but apart from that, none of the fights had resulted in mortal injuries.

There had been a lot of anger, of course, that had been satiated after the captain made the split decision that all the guards should tell the people that the letters were fake. Questions did arise about how the handwriting of those who had supposedly sent them had been perfectly replicated, but in response, all that the guards told them was that it was an operation years in the making, and hence, the rebels must have taken time to study the people so that they could mimic them perfectly.

This sort of talk had created its own set of problems, though. Many of the groups of people who had been fighting a moment before suddenly joined together, lusting for the blood of those who had dared to test them, and even though they did show a bit of embarrassment due to the fact that they had been at each others' throats a moment before, they had swept it under the rug as easily as if it were something minor.

This made Daneel understand that his observation had been right. No matter what kind of a man the beggar king was, the truth was that he had created a true paradise where the people all saw themselves as one family, united under one cause, lead by one man. This was the ideal end form of what he wanted to create on Graiton, too, and even though that town was very far away from this state, he suddenly felt a surge of untimely excitement go through him as he looked forward to putting in his own efforts to replicate the man's results.

Finally, the captain gave the news that all the rebel bases had been found, and the pattern was that all of them looked like they were newly inhabited. He had no idea what to make of it, and when he heard the confusion in the man's tone, Daneel almost chuckled, proud of his own plan.

At the moment, teams of guards were carefully combing through each and every inch of each and every base, and the captain put on a false front to confidently say that he would find the culprits even if it killed him. The conversation almost ended there, with the beggar king applauding the man for his tactical decisions, but just before he closed the door on the contingent that had arrived…he called two of the guards by name, and asked them to stay in the library as he had a few errands to be run. 



This made Daneel tense. It made no sense, whatsoever; if he wanted backup, wouldn't he ask everyone to stay back?

The man was already veering off from what he had promised, but because he was more curious about the situation than cautious, he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. The guards stepped inside, the door closed behind the rest, and before Daneel could reveal himself…the two newcomers rounded on the beggar king and shouted together.

"What have you done with the guard who came here?"

"Where is our companion? Out with it!"

Daneel almost didn't see the beggar king raise his hands to calm down the two. He felt faint wetness in his eyes, and his fists clumped together so tightly that his nails dug into his skin.

'Idiot. Idiot! Look how much they care about you! And you were playing at false egos, not pardoning someone who wanted to become a better person. What a fool you are!'

The two guards raised their spears as if they wanted to attack and ask the questions again, so suddenly snapping out of it, Daneel stepped out of the vault and made the both of them freeze.

The beggar king heaved a sigh of relief as he saw Daneel emerge. Shaking his head, he said, "Couldn't you have come out a bit sooner to alert your friends? I picked them out easily by their charms, and I only chose to do what I did because I saw the same charm just now, on the floor. Do you mind taking them off, now? I've already seen your friend's face, and if possible, I would like to see, in reality, whom I will be exposing my secrets to."

A familiar smile coming to his lips, one of the guards immediately obliged, raising his hands to his face and peeling away the mask that transformed into one meant for partygoers. It was the elf, of course, and although Daneel didn't know why he had chosen to forsake the spell he had been using before for the magical object that he had been dismissive of, it felt great to see him.

Alex made no move to do the same, though. With a sigh, the beggar king said, "An elf and one who does not wish to expose their identity. I'm in no position to bargain, of course, so I'll take what I've been given. Perhaps… it is actually a stroke of luck that I have an elf with me! Tell me, Alfur, do you know any of the spells of body modification? A murder has occurred, here, and it needs to look as if skilled assassins have been the ones who committed it. Of course, a perfect rendition might not be possible, so I intend to burn the body after the injuries have been made. The problem is that I don't even know how attacks from assassins look…so can you help me?"

He spoke in a calm tone, as if everything was alright, now. He turned to the body, as if completely having forgotten Daneel, and suddenly, at that moment, he couldn't take it any longer.

Striding in his direction, he caught the man by the scruff of his neck. Hoisting him into the air as easily as if he was a toy, he looked straight into the man's eyes and demanded, "Enough! Everything else can come later! Answer me, first, or we will just kill you and leave!"

In response… the beggar actually smiled, but it was a smile filled with sorrow, frustration, and deep, deep regret.

Daneel shook him, and finally, he spoke, each word a dagger that seemed to pierce his mind, and make it go blank.

"Which question do you want me to answer first? Well, I'll choose the one that is most important, at least. You asked me what I am. I'm nothing but a puppet! Before, I was a slave, and when given the chance to rule, I thought that I could do what I wanted…but they wound me up with so many strings that I can't even count them! All I do, day in and day out, is try to save as many as possible while enacting the cruel will of the Garbonor family! This city is the only thing that I control…but apart from that, everything else needs to stay the same! That's why I came to kill you, even at the expense of those who are innocent! You are exactly the kind of rebel who must not live! You wish to know why? Because if such a leader is truly given a chance on any island…his attempts will end with the massacre of each and every living soul on that scrap of land! I've seen it happen myself! So don't talk to me about morality! If I can save thousands by killing one, ten, or even hundred innocent souls, then I'll do it without hesitation! So put me down…or just kill me, and let's be done with it!"