Hero of Darkness

After the recordings of Celine Armitage killing Ezekiel Nabi of the Nabi clan, one of the two most powerful and influential clans of the Pureblood faction was released… another rumor about Neutral faction being the one to kill Kahn Salvatore as well was spread across the whole Rakos Empire. 

In the eyes of the public, these two cases seemed completely unrelated to each other… but Demi-Human faction was spreading this rumor with added spices to it for three main reasons. 

One, to remove the suspicion of them being involved in the death of the Kahn Salvatore who had a bad history with them. 

Two, to use this opportunity to infuriate the Nabi clan to act against the Armitage Clan of the neutral faction since their clan heir and the grandson of the clan leader was killed by the heiress of this Demonkin clan. 

Three, to put fuel into the fire and force the Pureblood faction to act along with them since one of their clan's prestige was on the line. 

But little did they know, that Kahn had sent the same two recordings to the Pureblood faction as well. 

He already knew that the Demi-Human faction would be forced to reveal the recording to protect their already ruined name otherwise they will have no place in the empire. 

And by doing so, even if the Pureblood faction tried to keep the matters secret between them, they'd be forced to act against the Neutral faction as well. 

That was the main reason he sent the recordings to both sides. 

On top of it, they both now knew that the Neutral faction had the tablet of arcana. So obviously, both the factions and their seventh stage saint leaders would use this opportunity to pressure them. 

And now… there was a war brewing between these three factions that was definitely going to affect their futures. 

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Meanwhile in the Pureblood faction headquarters… 

A very loud and heated discussion was happening among the faction council as well as all the members who were leaders of their respective clans and forces. 

Kahn's recording already royally fucked them over and majority of them had gone through a lot of trouble. It was one thing if just one faction was affected like the incident with the Demi-Human faction. 

But now… let it be the normal traders, employees or any local business… none of them wanted to work along with anyone associated with noble clans and the three factions. 

This time, no brute force or some army of soldiers was going to help them because as things stood… 

The elites of the society who ruled over the poor and helpless citizens of the empire now had the whole empire's population standing against them. 

Everyone who was infuriated and thought that the factions crossed the one line they shouldn't have, cut off all ties with them. 

Even the government officials were receiving death threats, the military soldiers who protected the borders had refused to help these forces to maintain order since the incident with the Berawaa region in Verlassen fiefdom and the policies Kahn created for the families of the martyrs were still etched in their minds. 

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"That's it!! I don't care about your bullshit lies anymore! 

The Nabi clan has already declared war with your Armitage clan! 

It won't be long before the Pureblood faction itself gets mixed up in it. Do you have any idea how many people will die if we fight against both factions? 

Just tell us, where is the Tablet of Arcana?!" shouted Stalin Joseif, the Tigerkin faction leader of the Neutral faction. 

Just an hour ago, they received a recording from their spies inside both the opposing sides. And it showed Celine talking with Rathnaar's soul and taking the Tablet with her. 

The three factions already knew that the way to use the tablet of arcana was to extract Rathnaar's soul and control it to obtain the secret of how to become a Demi-God and also use the tablet to make a breakthrough. 

But suddenly… the Armitage clan said that they didn't have it. According to Celine, she got the tablet from the final barrier but when she returned, it wasn't with her. 

"She's being questioned by the clan leader himself. Please give us some time." spoke one of the Armitage clan's representatives. 

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Inside a cold cell under the main family castle of the Armitage clan… was a young woman tied in chains. 

Celine Armitage, the heiress of the clan who betrayed Kahn in the final region… 

Was now in a completely sorry state. Her battered and bruised body was currently enduring intense torture and agonizing pain at the hands of her own clansmen. 

Her body was riddled with wounds and multiple lacerations and her once beautiful face was now swollen black after being hit too many times. 

"Arrhhhh!!!" wailed Celine loudly. 

Cough! 

Cough! 

She coughed out blood as a small knife was pierced in her thighs and one of the people carrying out the torture punched her in the gut. 

Step! 

Step! 

A purple demonkin man, donned in regal red robes walked in.

"Has she talked yet?" asked the man. 

"No lord clan leader. She keeps denying it." replied one of the demonkins. 

"Father! Ple... Please stop this! 

I don't know what I've done wrong! But please spare me!" spoke Celine while her mouth kept coughing blood while her eyes were full of tears. 

"Tell me… where did you hide the tablet?" asked her father. 

"I don't know where it is! It was with me when I escaped the forbidden zone. 

But it suddenly disappeared when I came to hand it over to our clan's elders." spoke Celine with a distraught and sullen look. 

She had lost a lot of blood so her appearance had turned very ghastly. 

"Let me ask you then… did you kill any of the other two?" asked the clan leader. 

"Yes! I killed Kahn Salvatore!" she quickly replied to solidify her story since by now, it'd be clear that he died in the forbidden zone. 

"Lies! You have been lying to us all the time!" shouted her father in an enraged tone. 

And the next moment, he activated a projection artifact they received just a few minutes ago. 

And a recording hovered on a holographic screen above the artifact. 

It was the video of Celine killing Ezekiel, not Kahn. 

And then her talking with Rathnaar's soul and getting the tablet with an exhilarated expression on her face. 

"You selfish runt! Did you plan to keep the tablet for yourself?! Do you know how much trouble we're in?! 

Because of you, the Nabi clan is preparing for a full-on war with us! 

The faction leader is furious with me and the Mikealson clan is pressuring us to give the tablet to the faction council." he yelled at his daughter. 

Her admitting killing Kahn and not Ezekiel already threw away her credibility because of which, even her father thought that she was lying to keep the tablet for herself. 

If she did not reveal the truth… Celine and their entire clan were doomed. 

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At this moment, while the whole empire was in chaos… Kahn with a changed appearance was casually sipping tea in a high-end restaurant and looked outside in the direction of the border. 

"Master… it's done. It's time for us to leave." spoke Ronin who suddenly appeared out of thin air. 

At this moment, other than Albestros, Sirius, Tobias and Kassandra… no one knew that Kahn was still alive. 

Kahn spoke with a content voice as everything was going according to his plans. 

"Alright then… it's about time we finally leave this empire."