Hero of Darkness

Kahn read the letter that was delivered to him with a shocked expression because the first three letters were kind of… misleading. 

But then, he carried on reading the rest of its context but still was left with too many questions of his own as soon as he finished. 

"But why?" asked Kahn to himself. 

Just then, Throk contacted him through a communication artifact which was a cube and not an elliptical object unlike the Rakos empire. 

"Who was it?" he asked in a serious tone. 

Throk was a second-stage saint himself so he sensed the spy coming from 10 kilometers away. But since the others weren't reacting to it, he didn't bother interfering either. 

"A messenger by Venessa." replied Kahn in a stern tone. 

"What does she want?" asked the old dwarf through the artifact. 

Kahn then told him the matter mentioned in the letter. 

"Damn it! You can't avoid it. That's the biggest disadvantage of having the imperial family as your sponsors… you become basically like slaves to them." spoke Throk in an enraged tone. 

"Yeah… I'll have to meet her tomorrow." said Kahn with a worried tone. 

"What do you plan to do? Declining her won't be easy." said Throk. 

"I have my ways. But first, I need to find out why she wants me. 

If I can't make her listen to reason… I know of a way that she won't force me to accept." he said in a calm tone. 

"Good luck then. But don't get dragged into their affairs. We have our things to worry about." reprimanded Throk and decided to take a nap out of routine. 

----------------

The next day, at the time of the evening… 

A group of people suddenly appeared on their company grounds. This group also included the semi-saint foxkin who delivered the message and they escorted Kahn to a flying ship that had landed a few kilometers away from the company building. 

After a few hours of travel, Kahn was led to a luxurious castle outside of the capital Arkensan that was situated near a natural waterfall. 

This pristine white-colored castle was filled with greenery and the surrounding area was filled with natural beauty, a perfect vacation spot to relax your mind and body. 

After he was escorted to the top floor of this 5 story tall castle that was comparable to his own in Aesir, the capital of Verlassen… he finally met the host. 

"I'm honored to meet your imperial highness again." spoke Kahn respectfully as he bowed and greeted Venessa, the third princess in the Vulcan empire tradition. 

Venessa wasn't donned in armor for the first time and was currently wearing a blue dress that highlighted her immense beauty, befitting of a princess. 

If there was any other man present here, he'd instantly fall for her just given her looks. But Kahn already had someone in his heart so even the alluring and kingdom-toppling beauty like Venessa couldn't make his heart flutter. 

Venessa too was surprised by his calm demeanor and to see that he wasn't completely transfixed on her at the very first sight. 

Venessa then signaled him to sit on a sofa across her while being escorted by two saints herself. One of which was a second-stage elven saint while the latter was a third-stage fireborne saint. 

"So did you think about it?" she asked as soon as Kahn sat comfortably on the sofa. 

"I apologize, your highness… but I have to decline." replied Kahn from the get-go with no concern or fear in his eyes. 

"Why? If you want, I'll pay you ten trillion annually. That amount of wealth… you'll be the richest human in the empire." she implored Kahn. 

"You see… Everyone around me is here for either the sake of joining my side or because they didn't have better options. 

Not everyone follows me because of my achievements, rather my claim to the throne. 

Even in my allies, there aren't many that I can trust fully or they truly want me to become the empress." spoke Venessa without holding back. 

[Good. She doesn't like beating around the bush or needs someone to tell her the truth.] thought Kahn. 

"You see… I need loyal retainers who truly want me to become my vassals and help me become empress." she explained the reason. 

This was exactly what she mentioned in the letter. That she wanted Kahn to join her side and officially pledge his loyalty to her. 

"But I'm a human. We're the hated kind in the empire and even with the new imperial decree, things are going to be the same. 

Even if this is a great opportunity for someone with no power or social standing like me… I can't understand your reasoning, your highness." said Kahn. 

"You're part human too, princess. You should already be aware of how it's going to affect your claim to the throne even if you're of the imperial blood." he continued with a serious tone. 

"I'm certain that imperial prince Hector will definitely use that in the future when the time is right." he said. 

BOOM!! 

The 3rd stage saint behind Venessa released his saint pressure with killing intent. Because Kahn just spoke casually about a grave matter of Venessa's claim to the throne. 

But before it could go on longer, Venessa signaled him to stop. 

"I'm aware. But there's one thing you should know… 

Although I'm part human… the Fireborne bloodline in me is far purer compared to my brothers." she said with a smirk. 

"How's that even possible?" asked Kahn with a baffled expression. 

"I don't know either. But I can use it many times better than them. 

Firebornes are actually descendants of an ancient species that once roamed the planet. We could access the bloodline to transform into a particular fire elemental monster at will. 

Although now… even my father can hardly do it for a day… among the three scions, I'm the only one who has managed to achieve the transformation to the full extent and can use it for one full hour. 

If Hector and I were to fight to death… I can easily overpower him despite being a first-stage saint while he's a second-stage saint." said Venessa pridefully. 

"Although I'm only a first-stage saint at this point…" 

Venessa spoke but then her eyes turned serious as she continued… 

"I'm fully capable of killing a 3rd stage saint myself."