Daneel had been holding his breath as he heard all this, and he finally let it out as he realized that most of the suppositions he had had before were right. He couldn't even begin to express the amount of satisfaction that came from having them confirmed, but he stopped all these thoughts when he saw the Emperor continue.

"Now, to understand why they wish to ma.s.sacre the inhabitants of the continent in order to get this Will, I ask you to simply think of something: you are a King who has definitely swayed a lot of people toward your side with great difficulty in order to reach this stage. Instead of that, imagine a race of people who are brought up while being taught a single thing: to revere you like a G.o.d, and always support you while keeping you in their hearts no matter what you do. Wouldn't this directly allow you to wield the Will without fearing the backlash, and also let you rest a.s.sured that outsiders cannot steal away the right to wield the Will?"

Daneel nodded without hesitation when he heard this. He had just now experienced this firsthand when he had tried to sway the citizens of Axelor. They had been brought up while being taught to support the King. Hence, even when they saw that that man was responsible for them losing their loved ones, they had still needed time to betray him.

"That is their objective. It is, in fact, two-fold: one, by killing millions of people, there is a certain power that is born which they can use. Two- they can quickly populate an empty continent and raise those people to support them, allowing them to easily wield the Will as they wish without having to go through any difficulties. As for why they want the Will: I am unclear about this, too, but one reason is that there is always a struggle in the Mainland, which can be won by those who control more Wills, and can hence defeat their opponents using overwhelming power. Another is that it is said that a Will can be used to prolong the life of those who stand above the level of a Hero. Continue. What else do you wish to know?"

Daneel decided to first to ask and get all the answers he wanted, before mulling over them later. So, after thinking for a bit, he asked, "If this risk still stands, why did you even leave behind the Grand Inheritance? And from what you said before, I can gather that you know that loopholes can be used to take control of it. Why did you allow that? And how did you even discover the Grand Inheritance? And what happened in this fight? Why didn't they return to attack again?"

This made a smile of sadness appear on the face of the Emperor.

After letting out a sigh, he spoke.

"Let me answer your last questions first. In my time, I was blessed with more talent than most others, and I went ahead to grow stronger and stronger until I reached the farther edge of the Hero level. There had never been anyone before who reached that level. Excited, I forged ahead. That…was when I was exposed to the Grand Inheritance, as my mind reached a complexity which allowed me to detect it. I found it in a spot at the center of the continent, and when I realized what it was- I acted like a fool. In my quest to grow stronger, I used it just a little bit without caution, and this…was the thing that attracted the attention of one of the organizations on the Mainland. You see, until that point, Angaria had been veiled. In other words, I am the fool who is the reason behind our continent being targeted by organizations from outside. In this final fight, I used the Grand Inheritance even though I didn't have the required amount of support to gravely injure their strongest weapon, and also ensure that the veil that was originally around our continent would come into existence again, at least for a time. I wasn't strong enough to make it stay forever. I knew that it would dissipate one day. I knew that Angaria would once again become a target. And that is why I left behind the Grand Inheritance, and the Empire Spirits so that our descendants would be able to learn from our mistakes. You have the chance, now, to do right by Angaria, and defend it without causing the catastrophe."

Daneel couldn't believe it. But he stood by the decision he had taken before, and just listened.

"As for why I allowed those loopholes, it was because I could not jeopardize the existence of this continent on my faith that one such as you would arise who could use the correct method to reach the level where the Grand Inheritance could be wielded without the risk of causing the catastrophe. You see, until I actually used it to get rid of the threat, even I didn't know the exact criteria that it used to judge the 'worth' of someone. I just thought that it needed people to be happy. I gave them everything they could ever dream of. But that was not the answer. You seem to have found it. I used everything I learned to make the seals. The objective of leaving behind the loopholes was that in the case where Angaria was once again under risk of being destroyed, one would be able to use the Will to defend it, even if it meant that they would reach the criteria by using horrible means to get to the required satisfaction level. Isn't it better to have a few die when you can save the rest, as opposed to letting everyone perish? It was always all about the satisfaction level. The seals, the Race- all of it. I simply wished for one to come forward who could use the Grand Inheritance to wield the Will without causing the catastrophe, like I did. And as for the Ruler's Inheritance, it was my creation based on how the Will worked. It was supposed to be used for practice by those who were using the correct method-such as you, for the time when you obtain the Will. Those who used other means would not have obtained that technique. In either case, Angaria would have been saved. I feel…that I have succeeded. Don't you?"

Daneel was tempted to just continue to ask questions.

But he decided to speak his mind.

"No. You failed. Those who used loopholes to get the Will might have used it to defend Angaria. But such a person…might opt to give up Angaria anyway, to obtain the knowledge to reach a higher level and live for even longer. How could you not think of this?"

In response to this, the Emperor looked to the side, and actually…smiled.

Only, it wasn't one of mirth.

"Of course I did. I didn't become an Emperor by being foolish, King. I set up a secret backdoor in the Grand Inheritance. Anyone with that intention…will perish right after defeating the threat."