Chapter 78: Entering The Palace

Daneel wished he could teleport, but the people pressing against him stopped him from doing so. Getting an idea, he ordered the system to teleport him to his destination as soon as an instant of time came when he wasn't in contact with anyone.

After wading through for a few more minutes, by chance, that instant finally came.

Stumbling onto the ground near one of the walls of the Inner City, he adjusted his clothes and looked up to see Laravel waiting.

Yes, Laravel was the key through whom he would enter the palace. His plan right now was pretty simple: get to the palace and analyze the formation with the upgraded Phenomena Analysis Module.

All of his observations beforehand had been from outside as he had had no way to enter and thus be in the presence of the formation, thereby accelerating the process of development like in the case when he had endured the Weighty Gaze of the King during the First Year Assessment Exam.

Daneel needed to do two things: first, he had to allow the system to crack the formation with its upgraded ability while being in the presence of the formation. Second, he had to turn public favor towards his side if he wanted to be King.

Thus, he had contacted Laravel and asked him about the secret passages into the palace like the one he had seen in Elanev's manor.

Although all the passages leading in and out of the palace would mostly be blocked when the fight commenced, Laravel had said that he had a way to enter.

Thus, after formulating a backup plan in case Laravel's plan didn't work, Daneel confirmed the time at which they would meet.

Although Laravel had asked why the 'master' himself wouldn't come, Daneel had simply answered that as a powerful figure, he was bound by rules and could not take part directly in conflicts like these. All he could do was help his disciple and give him everything he needed in order to win.

Of course, this was hogwash thought up by Daneel after remembering the common excuses used by mysterious masters back on Earth. Yet, Laravel believed him because it did make some sense.

Still, he looked at Daneel with a skeptical expression on his face.

"You sure you have a plan to beat everyone else?"

Checking his pockets to make sure everything was in place, Daneel answered, "Of course. I made the plan, and master gave me everything I need. All you need to do is get me in."

The 'master' excuse couldn't be used forever, thus he had already decided to start giving more credit for himself.

Nodding, Laravel turned around and pricked his finger with his nail.

Stretching his hand forward, he drew a symbol that was similar to the royal crest on the wall.

After a few seconds, the symbol glowed and disappeared into the wall.

The stones on the wall magically moved to the side, opening a door that could fit one person at a time.

Daneel followed Laravel in after making sure that no one was spying on them. It seemed that the Grand Court Mage was quite busy with some other matters.

The doorway closed as soon as the both of them entered. In the pitch black darkness, Daneel conjured a fireball and looked around at the moldy cavern they were in with steps leading forward.

Gesturing Laravel to lead, the two started traversing the passage in silence.

As he saw Laravel's back in front of him, he could not help but think back to all of their interactions.

Even Kellor had said that his problem was arrogance, but it was outside of Daneel's expectations that he would have such a change of heart.

As someone who was still new to the matters of loyalty and character, Daneel had never placed any hope or belief in the possibility of one's attitude undergoing such drastic changes in just a short span of three years. In fact, he even had a small suspicion that he was being led into a trap, but Daneel was already prepared for that possibility, especially with the power of the upgraded system.

Concluding that he still had a lot to learn, Daneel opened his mouth to ask how much longer it would take to reach the palace.

BOOM!

The whole passageway they were in shook as if some enormous being had hit the earth above them, causing an earthquake.

Dust fell from the ceiling while the two tried to keep their balance, waiting for the shaking to stop.

Daneel was horrified. What kind of force was needed to cause such a massive disturbance?

As subsequent BOOMs started sounding from above, Laravel screamed "RUN!" as he took off at frantic pace.

Daneel decided to follow. It was too risky to teleport forward with the shaking and the rocks that were starting to fall from the ceiling.

The outer city was quite large, so traversing it all would take quite some time. After 30 minutes of running at full speed, the duo finally reached an opening from which light was spilling through.

Lunging forward, Daneel and Laravel got out of the passageway just as it completely collapsed behind them.

Panting for breath, Daneel asked, "How can the passageway be so flimsy?"

"This one has long been abandoned with no maintenance. I only know of it from a story my grandfather told about his childhood."

Getting up and dusting off the dirt, he said, "Lets go. The Palace is right ahead."

They were in a round, domed room, which seemed to have been excavated long ago judging from the weeds that were creeping into the stones. With the ceiling at least 20 feet in the air, Daneel wondered the purpose behind this room.

Just as he was about to ask Laravel the same, he looked forward to see that the kid's back was quivering, as if he was seeing his worst horror.

Noticing just what Laravel was staring at, a similar expression of shock appeared on Daneel's face.

King Richard Lanthanore stood right in front of the door which apparently lead to the palace.

With an expression of rage beyond anything Daneel had ever seen, the King roared, "LARAVEL! HOW DARE YOU BRING SOMEONE THROUGH THE SECRET PASSAGE ONLY MEANT FOR THE ROYAL FAMILY??!!"

His roar echoed through the room, but Daneel's attention was drawn to something that puzzled him.

The King's image seemed to be fizzling in and out of existence, as if it were merely a projection.

Yet, in his shock, Laravel did not notice this.

The horror morphing into an expression of stoic determination, Laravel found his voice and replied, "The noble name of our family cannot end due to your foolish actions. I will do whatever is necessary to ensure that."

Now, it was the King's turn to be shocked. Seeing his own son talk back to him, King Richard temporarily became speechless and could only stare into Laravel's eyes.