Hero of Darkness

One by one, the advisor started giving the details of Kahn and Venessa's encounters that they managed to learn about through the insider in Venessa's camp. And how her body language is always gleeful as if she has unearthed a lot of mental pressure from her shoulders. 

Although, this seemed like an overstretched conclusion in the beginning… the more the emperor heard about their encounters, the more he started to worry. 

Because this was completely opposite to how Venessa had behaved in 30 years of her life so far. 

Havi was already aware of his daughter's upbringing. 

Ever since her mother died, Venessa eventually faced a lot of scrutiny from the clansmen and those from the two fireborne clans whose heiresses were married to the emperor. 

This made Venessa, an 8-year-old girl mature very quickly on her own and close her heart to the world in order to survive. 

Because if not for her being the Emperor's daughter… she would've died long ago. Yet, the young girl who had no one to rely on; not even her own father… learned the hard truth of the world even before she came of age. 

That in this world… power ruled everything! 

It wasn't just physical strength or political power. And neither was it only some pretentious influence or position of authority. 

Real power meant transcending above all these sectors and conquering them with an iron fist to the point where no one would even dare to look you right in the eyes or defy your orders. 

That became the definition of the Absolute Power for Venessa. 

The only thing she had ever since growing up was the Sigfreed family name and a small villa to live in where she received enough support from the imperial clan to live leisurely. 

However… when her step-brothers were growing up while being doted and loved by their families… Venessa grabbed her mother's sword, her only memento and chose to practice swordsmanship. 

The little girl in her died a long time ago. And now, only a woman who strived for power and determination to sit at the top remained. 

And hence, to see her smile freely and act happy after having relaxing conversations with Kahn after every time they met… made everyone including the emperor feel that it was not just any normal relationship but a… 

Connection of hearts. 

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Unbeknownst to everyone, Venessa had a different outlook on her association with Kahn. 

Because of her being a half-human and also losing all support from her mother's side after her death along with the emperor leaving Venessa alone to fend off for herself… She had put up a guard against everything. 

There were times when she let people in and became friends with them… only to find that they had ulterior motives and wanted to use her because of her heritage for their personal gain. 

She learned the hard way that once people do not see any merit in having a connection with you… they will abandon you as soon as they see a better alternative.

Hence, till this point… she never really had friends growing up or wholeheartedly trusted anyone because of her own goals. 

Many people gave credit to her bloodline being stronger compared to her brothers but no one knew how hard it was for Venessa to learn everything by herself. 

That when girls of her played house, she was struggling to lift a heavy sword. When they dreamed of being a princess and getting saved by a prince charming… Venessa's palms were full of callousness and her fingers bled as she practiced with her mother's sword. 

Many staked their future on her after seeing her potential and rise to strength in the past 10 years. But no one was there when she trained day and night, for months and then years.

The only thing she had to learn and perfect her skills were her mother's sword and a book that had her family's swordsmanship techniques. 

Just based on these two things… Venessa struggled, she stumbled and she got up, again and again to reach where she was now. 

She chose to defy this fate that was forced on her and now that she knew her mother was strategically killed by the other two prince's clans… the fire in her heart raged more intensely. 

Venessa was well aware that she was a hot-headed person because she had a controlling personality.

Not because she was a control freak but she grew up being vigilant about everything around her. Thus, once she set her mind to achieve something… she would not stop no matter what. 

However… there was this one human called Kahn Salvatore. 

Ever since she met him… he was the only person who never had any malicious intentions towards her and expected any form of gain from her. 

He even rejected her offer to join her side despite her pestering him a dozen times. 

And the more they interacted… the more indifference he showed towards her. 

Normally… everyone would gentle down their tone, bow their heads and treat her better than their own parents as soon as Venessa appeared in front of them… 

But in the case of this human… he treated her like she was a nuisance. 

Forget honorifics… Kahn didn't even call her with any titles and complained when she pulled him out of his training forcefully using her identity. 

While others, including her retainers, gave a sense of hidden intentions… Kahn was least interested in her life. 

In the beginning… it made her furious and filled her heart with hatred. 

Now, for some reason… he was the only person she felt relaxed and carefree around. 

Venessa also guessed a while ago through their interactions that Kahn didn't have any romantic feelings for her. 

Given her beauty… even the firebornes who hated humans desired her but this human… always looked like he had a yearning for someone else in his heart. 

Just in their previous meeting, she asked about it and Kahn told her that there was indeed someone in his life. But as things stood… they could not be together and had to strive towards their own goals. 

Him honestly expressing his feelings made Venessa trust Kahn even more and she too started telling him about her life once in a while. 

As their conversations got personal… Venessa found one thing common in her and Kahn. 

That both of them were Survivors. 

Although Kahn never went into details and only offered vague words… she understood that he had a past of his own and secrets he couldn't tell anyone.

And knowing how secretive he was… Venessa never tried to pry into his personal affairs. Just knowing that he had no ill intentions towards her was more than enough. 

Just like that… Venessa, for the first time in her life, had found a… Friend. 

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In the main throne hall of the emperor… a woman in green and white armor while having a sword strapped on her waist walked in towards the end of the hall. 

She had her gaze full of curiosity as she looked at the being who was seated on the throne… Havi Hos Sigfreed, her biological father and the reigning emperor. 

Schwoa!! 

A burgundy-red aura was emitted from his body and in an instant, it encapsulated the entire one kilometer long hall as the emperor gave an uneasy expression towards his daughter. 

Soon, everything around her including the pillars that supported the hall, the chairs, different seats and platforms and even the ceiling caught fire in a few seconds. 

However, Only the emperor and Venessa remained untouched while the rest of the hall became a pit of fire as the emperor used his Domain. 

Yet despite this method of asserting dominance that would've made others instantly cower in fear… Venessa had an indifferent expression. 

Her unbothered countenance piqued the Emperor's interests and he spoke in a grim voice. 

"Do you know why I called you here?" 

To the emperor's tyrannical voice that was enough to make anyone fear for their life… Venessa let out a sigh. 

"May I know why I have been summoned… Lord Father?" she asked, still treating this matter casually. 

Venessa had no respect for this fireborne seated on the other side. There was nothing fatherly he ever did for her. 

There was even a time when she hadn't met him face to face for over a decade when she was training on her own. 

Forget trying to console his grieving daughter after her mother's death… this father of hers never showed his face until she came of age and joined the military to gain experience and raise her strength. 

Only after becoming a commander and gaining the support of the generals did her father acknowledge her existence as his daughter. 

For others, he was their absolute ruler and a being only second to their god Hetrax… but for Venessa, he was a failure excuse of a father and a husband. 

"What is your relationship with Oakenshield's disciple?" he asked. 

Venessa suddenly had a surprised expression as this question did come out of nowhere. 

"Why does my relationship with anyone concern lord father?" she asked in return. 

To her subliminally defying words… Havi released some of his saint pressure… the aura of an 8th stage saint that was enough to crumble a mountain into small sand grains. 

"Whatever it is… stay away from him. You have an important part to play for the future of our empire. 

Getting mixed with someone of commoner birth must be avoided no matter what." he said to Venessa who was forced to kneel on the foot. 

And finally, he gave a warning in a grim voice. 

"Unless you want him to get killed."