Rise of the Godking - Chapter 80

Daneel was lost in his thoughts as he reached the border of the town. On the way, he had seen many of the dwarves collapse on the ground, wherever their will gave out, and where he could, he had offered sympathy and support before returning to his journey.

With his knowledge of everything he had learned on earth returned to him, he knew that there were multiple ways to accomplish what he wanted. The main problem was… information.

He didn't know much, at all, about the conditions surrounding the town, the obligations they had, and the enemies who were still hidden who would definitely arise if he did anything too flashy. He had just begun to contemplate about what his first move should be when he suddenly heard a voice calling from somewhere to his right.

"Over here!"

He had heard many such calls from the dwarves, so normally, he would have just turned to it in time. Yet, the voice was strangely familiar, so when he snapped his head around, his eyes slightly widened when he found the succubus standing with her hands behind her back, a small smile playing across her luscious lips that were as red as they had ever been in the Pit.

She had apparently had the time to change. She was no longer wearing the course coveralls in which she had fought the minions of the master. A green, velvet dress covered very little of her body, once again exposing more than what would be called decent anywhere on earth, and normally, if he was still the 'Daniel' prone to embarrassment due to such things, he would have blushed and turned away.

He was different now, though. He was a king, an Emperor who had wed two wives and enjoyed the ecstasy of marital bliss before being separated from it. He merely looked at her impassively and stood his ground, waiting for her to see what he meant… and sure enough, a few moments later, the smile slipped, a grimace appeared in its place, and she stomped over in his direction.

As soon as she reached within earshot of him, she opened her mouth, but with a single gesture of his hand, he silenced her. He had known that she must have been about to launch into some sort of admonishment about how she was being treated, but he was in no mood to hear any of it.



"What is it? Be brief."



Various expressions flashed across her face. Unwillingness seemed to fight with anger, frustration, and something else that he couldn't read, and finally, she smoothed her features with visible effort and said, "We need to talk. Come with me."

Daneel was still too caught up in his zeal to get started on the goal he had set for himself. Waving his hand dismissively, he was about to say that they could do it later, but before a word left his mouth, the succubus stepped forward swiftly, turning almost into a blur as her hand flashed in the direction of his neck.

He was curious about what she was doing, so he allowed it. He wondered whether she was doing it to show that she was more powerful, and if so, he prepared to use the Will as there was no restriction right now, with the departure of that kid and his guard. Yet, when her soft touch made something he had forgotten until now materialize and then drop to the ground with a 'clang', he raised one eyebrow and blinked, watching her face that was so close, reminding him of those intimate moments they had shared in the Pit.

She appeared to understand that she had rekindled those memories, and with a sensuous look, she licked her lips, as if wanting to take him under her control, again.

He snorted with disdain and moved his leg to hit her precisely on the leg she had ended up supporting her weight on while she was bent forward to have her finger touch Daneel's neck.

For a moment, surprise and shock flashed across her face, then she fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that Daneel waved away. Casually taking a step back, he spoke as brusquely as if he was commenting on the weather.

"Lead the way. And next time, you will be eating dirt before you can lay a hand on me."

Grumbling and cursing under her breath, the succubus got to her feet and looked as if she was tempted to pounce on him and put his claim to the test. He merely looked at her impassively, neither wanting her to give in to the temptation nor seeming scared or anxious about what might happen. It was just the uncaring look of a monarch completely in control of a situation, and eventually, her shoulders slumped, her eyes darted all over his body, and her lips opened speculatively before she said, "Lord Burrow was right. But I don't think even he knows how right he was. He said that becoming a slave changes people… but this is too much change! For crying out loud, you're just 16! This isn't how 16-year-olds are supposed to behave!"

Daneel's cool persona finally dropped, resulting in a small blush as he had almost forgotten that he was supposed to be a teenager. She seemed to take pride in the fact that she had caused this, though, and with a spring in her step, she turned around and walked in the direction she had come from.

Saying nothing, Daneel followed, only turning back once to see the shackle that had left his body. It was a testament to how frantic things had been that he hadn't even thought about it once; everyone had taken it for granted that they wouldn't be a problem, and sure enough, that had been the case.

It was obvious now, in the aftermath of the battle that if the succubus hadn't been on their side, Daneel and Reese would have been rendered unconscious or worse the moment they even tried to do anything against the master.

He remembered clearly what the system had said about the effectiveness of those magical items. Because they hadn't presented a threat, at all, they had all but disappeared from his mind, and now that they were on the ground, he couldn't help but marvel once again at all the preparations that had gone into that pivotal moment when those five had lea[ed out of their hiding spots to attack the master.

Soon, he was led to a mansion that was supposed to be empty. As soon as they entered, though, the sounds of a heated discussion taking place reached his ears, and as he understood their contents, anger flashed across his mind.

"—must be put back to work! We might have a small store of processed crystals to use… but the Pit has to begin churning out unprocessed ones now!"

"We've seen their mood! Anyone who goes to tell them that they have to go back to being slaves might just be torn to shreds…"

"Then I say just use the shackles! Or convince those dwarves that this is what is needed of them! One way or another, it has to happen, or we stand to lose everything!"

"You—"

The man from the Courtyard, who had been heatedly about to oppose Lord Burrow's comment stopped, midsentence, as he felt Daneel's hot gaze on him. He quieted down and began to stand up, and seeing him, the others turned around to see who had come and mimicked his actions.

Daneel's only response was a sneer of contempt for Lord Burrow, though, who had made the sacrilegious suggestion. Turning to Madeira, he asked, "Like you've done for me, can you deactivate all the other shackles?"

The two who had been speaking until now began to say something, but Daneel completely ignored them. His eyes were fixed on the succubus, who frowned and answered, "Yes. I don't need to touch them, either… I can just do it from here."

"Then do it."

"Wait a second!"

"We should talk about this!"

Both the man from the Courtyard and Lord Burrow shouted, but Daneel simply turned in their direction… and touched upon the Will that searched up, more than ready to help the one who had helped it take its revenge.

Both the men froze and fell hard on their seats, sweat beading their faces. Lord Burrow even began to mutter something under his breath, but Daneel ignored him and turned to the succubus who nodded, hurriedly.

She shot a complicated look at the others in the mansion and then turned her eyes back to his. Whatever she saw there seemed to make her flinch, but a second later, she raised her hand…and closed her fist.

From all over the town, shouts of surprise rang out that echoed into the mansion they were in. A small bubble of happiness floated up inside him as he recognized

the astonished joy in them, and turning around, he began to walk out the door.

He just had one thing to say, and it was directed at the Lord. After he spoke, the words hung in the air, sharp as a knife, and even after he disappeared, only silence remained in his wake, stuffing the room as heavily as if it had been given form.

"I respect you, Burrow, for everything you've done. But it seems you have forgotten what it means to be a slave. No more shall there be shackles, or orders given. From now on, no matter what happens, it shall be with the assent of the people. You say the Pit has to begin working again? I'll make it happen. Follow me, and learn how one acts when they truly love their people."