Hero of Darkness

A chill ran under Kahn and Omega's spine as they heard this ancient grim voice that instantly put them on a high alert. 

Omega quickly activated Gravity Domain to get an upper hand in case a surprise attack came their way. Kahn on the other end had Survival Instinct on high alert and was ready to activate somir scales, Drakos Armor and even Asura Mode if they were to be attacked. 

"Who… who is it?" asked Kahn as he had Lucifer equipped in hand and tried to use Earth Sense to notice this entity whose voice they heard just now. 

"Why is a chosen Hero here? Ymir said he took the necessary measures. 

And why hasn't anyone visited this place from over a century? What about the Imperial family?" asked this majestic voice which even made Omega feel a threat to his life. 

"Hate to break it to you but there is no Imperial family anymore. They were massacred in a coup 100 years ago. 

Everyone, including the previous emperor, Norodogir has been killed." revealed Kahn. 

[Make sure she doesn't find a way to come here.] he commanded Ronin & Ceril who were 30 kilometers away and tailed Celine. 

"What?! How dare you speak such nonsense, boy?! How can the Imperial family be massacred? 

What were the founding clans doing? What was the Mikealson clan doing?!" shouted the entity and asked in a furious tone. 

"Well… most of the founding clans as well as the Mikealson clan were the ones who led the coup. 

The three 7th stage saints joined hands and killed the 8th stage emperor, Norodogir. The Rakos Empire of now is run and controlled by the factions that formed after the founding clans separated themselves. 

There are currently three factions… Pureblood, Demi-Human and the Neutral faction. Each of those saints who killed the emperor is currently their leader." revealed Kahn without hesitation. 

Because if he wanted to leave out of here alive… he at least needed to show that he was on the side of the Imperial family. 

"Then how come you are here? This is a place that can be accessed only by the Imperial bloodline." spoke the ancient voice. 

"Tell me… the new Hero of Darkness. How did you manage to come here? And why are you here in the first place?" asked this being in its tyrannical voice. 

"You… you know who I am?" asked Kahn with an alarmed expression. His identity was already known to this ancient persona he couldn't even see. 

"Of course. I knew a lot about the cruel and overly prideful imbeciles called the chosen heroes. 

Otherworlders who were brought into our world for that so-called mission of killing the Demon God. 

Those pretentious and entitled scums… I fought and killed many of them in my time." revealed the grim and deep voice with a domineering tone.  Panda Novel

[The fuck! Who am I talking to? He isn't Ymir for certain and neither is he Norodogir. 

But he found out about me and knows about the chosen heroes very well. 

If I don't play my cards right… I might as well get killed here.] thought Kahn with an aghast expression. 

"You… how did you know I was the Hero of Darkness so quickly?" asked Kahn with an alerted face. 

"Because there was a time when I fought the 6th Heroine of Darkness… Aponia Welschimer. 

And we once fought together against a common enemy as well. She was a very remarkable and admirable woman compared to all the heroes I came to know. 

You give off an exactly similar aura of darkness just like her. But you're hundreds of times weaker than her. 

Tell me, which number are you?" said the ancient voice. 

"I'm the 9th." replied Kahn with a cautious tone. 

"Tell me something… what is this place? And why are there so many barriers and monsters guarding it? 

Do you have any idea how many millions of people have died in the past hundred years alone?" asked Kahn as he was finally seeing a way to get the answers he wanted for a long time. 

"Well, since you've managed to reach her despite all these adversities. It doesn't hurt me to tell you the truth. 

This region is where the Imperial family trained, raised their levels and ranks after gaining the right. This place has always been unknown to all the other clans and factions of the Rakos Empire. 

But two hundred years ago… The Hero of Lightning from a nearby empire found this place. At that time, the 6th Emperor, who was an 8th stage saint magician, fought with that invader." revealed the voice that echoed in this 300 meters wide hall. 

"But unfortunately… Ymir was mortally wounded in order to kill that bastard. The injury was so grave that he had only a few weeks to live. 

This whole region, which is around 3 thousand kilometers, was actually their battlefield. It completely changed the terrain and created different environments because of their clash and powers. 

And to protect the fate of the Imperial family, he made arrangements and used the Hero of Lightning's core as a source to create a barrier that would bar any saint, who does not belong to our family from entering inside the Verlassen mountain range since a soul of a chosen Hero is many times stronger than ours. 

He placed various legendary rank creatures as guardians in the outer layer to stop armies of semi-saints and forces from other empires to come for the Tablet of Arcana. 

And finally, he sacrificed himself to provide a source for all the barriers in the inner region to keep it running. So that no one other than the members of our Imperial family, who reached at least a 5th stage saint would be able to enter this place." revealed the ancient entity. 

"What the hell?! He killed a chosen Hero on his own, someone with divine abilities, and used his core to create the barrier over Verlassen fiefdom?!" exclaimed Kahn. 

"The barrier over Verlassen, the six hotspots of monster tides, and the mythical rank guardians. 

All of that to protect the Tablet of Arcana." spoke Kahn with a baffled tone. 

And top of it… this ancient entity knew about one of his predecessors as well as killed other heroes on his own. 

"O' great elder… may I ask who exactly you are?" he asked. 

"Me? I'm not someone worth mentioning. Well, I'm sure no one even knows my name since my kin have been eradicated." responded the entity. 

"Please tell me… it is only right for me to address you properly." said Kahn as he tried to goad the archaic persona into revealing his identity. 

"Well… I had many names and outrageous titles. This weak and humble old me is called…" replied the ancient entity as he finally revealed his identity. 

"Rathnaar Whitlock, The First Emperor."