Hero of Darkness

Celine now stood in front of Kahn's lifeless body which was bleeding profusely from the heart after she sneak attacked Kahn when he turned his back on her to search for the tablet on his own. 

As for the reason why she killed Kahn… it was because of her own jealousy towards him. 

In the past decade, she was always compared with Kassandra Mikealson no matter what she did. 

Celine also felt inferior because despite being a worthy fighter herself… Sometimes, people said that compared to Kassandra… neither was she strong nor was beautiful enough. 

In the past 8 months… her name had been completely forgotten by the people of the Rakos Empire and nobody even cared if she was nicknamed as the Dual Sword Saintess among the young generation. 

And after Kassandra's heroic deeds in the Kaldris region of the Verlassen fiefdom when she faced a legendary rank monster on her own and Kahn glorifying her bravery throughout the empire… 

Those two became a thorn in her eyes. 

With each passing day… Kahn had risen to popularity, public support, and authority while Celine was being looked down on by her own clansmen because she didn't even make it to the finale. 

And after she was oppressed by Kahn in the Aesir whether it was his Throne hall or when she was forced to work under the semi-saint commander Nadia Cenmiko… she had become basically someone without any authority and prestige as if she wasn't a semi-saint prodigy but a roadside beggar. 

This ended up in Celine developing an inferiority complex and hence, she hates Kahn to her core. 

But with her father's permission to act on her will in the forbidden region… she had a perfect chance to let out her anger while acting as an ally with Kahn. 

And now… the Raven Sorceress, who was her biggest competitor lost her ability to use magic while the strongest semi-saint of the empire lay in front of her… completely dead. 

"Sorry, Salvatore. My clan's fate depends on it. If you deliver the tablet… It will be the Mikealson Clan who will benefit the most. 

You will become their son-in-law and enter the clan and once Damon Mikealson becomes the faction leader… my clan will be on the losing end. The damage you could do to my clan and me… I hope you understand. 

Besides… You should've known your place since the beginning. If not for your arrogance, you wouldn't be here and I wouldn't have had to kill you." spoke Celine with a condescending look. 

Celine gave a last look at Kahn's horrified face and then departed for the ruins that seemed to be the final path. 

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Right at this moment, a man in a black and gray longcoat along with a silver-haired man with four katanas on his waist were in front of a maze. 

"Man, I understand their circumstances but it hurts to be backstabbed all the time." spoke the real Kahn. 

[How's the situation there? Did you record it all?] he asked through the Telepathy Link.  Panda Novel

[Yes, master. We finished the task perfectly. She didn't suspect anything.] replied Ronin. 

An invisible barrier was deactivated as 3 figures appeared at the site of the crime. 

Ronin, Ceril and the dead Kahn on the ground whose appearance suddenly started to change. 

And the man who had his heart stabbed by Celine and died a horrible death was… 

Ezekiel Nabi. 

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After learning from his experience with the semi-saint mage, Kahn already expected Celine to betray him for the Tablet of Arcana as well. 

But given her usefulness because of her Imperial bloodline which opened all the doors for them till this point, Kahn had been acting all trustworthy and clueless. 

After they finally found the ruins at the bottom of the castle, he knew that it won't be long before the dual swords saintess turned on him as well. 

But rather than acting on an impulse… he decided to use her instead. 

When they entered the ruins… Kahn created a doppelganger while he left with Omega using Shadow Walk skill. 

And right when he suggested to part their ways, the doppelganger Kahn who was just real Kahn in an extra body, quickly used the Lucid Reality skill he got from Bjormngandur on Celine without her noticing. 

This ability was something that messed with all senses of the enemy during a battle and temporarily put you under an illusion for one minute. 

And during that one minute, Ceril put Ezekiel, who was chained and gagged in Kahn's position. 

The doppelganger Kahn then disappeared and just as they expected… Celine chose to betray him at that moment when he looked without any guard. 

The one she thought to be Kahn was actually the semi-saint mage and the clan heir of the Nabi clan while the real Kahn had already traveled 20 kilometers deep in these ancient ruins thanks to Omega's gravity law skills that stopped all the traps and spells from attacking them as the duo was simply levitating in the air. 

On the other side… Kahn had ordered Ronin to record this whole scene of her killing Ezekiel. 

This was to create evidence of her killing Ezekiel which Kahn could use later to either blackmail her or have the Nabi clan and the pureblood faction hunt her down in case she got the tablet. 

He had no intention to be understanding of her situation and simply didn't care if she lived or died. To him, other than Kassandra, all the top prodigies of the Rakos Empire only seemed like power-hungry brats who betrayed and killed in the name of ambition and helping their clan. 

As for the traitor snake named Ezekiel who sacrificed Kahn to lure the guardian dragon and almost got him killed… 

Karma was a bitch. 

[Keep the body. We will have some use for it.] ordered Kahn to store Ezekiel's body because at the end of the day, he was a semi-saint and Kahn could get a useful and strong subordinate if he was in need. 

Using the Earth Sense skill that was his 10 kilometer wide radar system which allowed Kahn to inspect and map out the ground and all living beings on it… he directly found a pathway to the end of this maze ruins without falling for any booby traps. 

And Omega got rid of anything that stopped their advance. After half an hour… both of them reached a white door. 

Omega simply slashed it apart and finally, both of them reached a dilapidated hall that had broken and worn down magic formations and a massive golden tablet was placed in the center of it. 

Omega destroyed these worn-down magic barriers but before they even reached the halfway… 

"Ah… finally, one of my kin is here." 

An ancient and tyrannical voice resounded in this massive hall. 

"Wait… you're not my kin. You…" the voice continued in a furious and ghastly tone. 

"You're a chosen Hero!"