Hero of Darkness

The vampire king had a confused reaction to this information. Only ten seconds after did he show a completely befuddled expression as his eyes widened. 

"He has Rathnaar Whitlock's soul?!" clamored Argos in disbelief.

Havi didn't hurry and basked in the vampire sovereign's dumbfounded expression. 

"Yes. I figured it out the moment I met him. 

Although they tried to hide it, I managed to sense it because our empire had great enmity with the Rakos Empire before the imperial family was overthrown. We know the Whitlock Family's soul signature. 

Even as a half-soul… a Peak Saint's soul is on a different level. 

And the only Peak Saint in the world in the past 2 thousand years was their founding emperor, Rathnaar Whitlock. 

A chosen Hero with 2 Divine Keys who also has a Peak Saint's soul bound to him. 

Don't you think that makes him more precious than any other hero of this generation?" asked Havi with a slight smirk. 

Even the 9th stage saint was left speechless for a few minutes. 

"If he has Rathnaar Whitlock's half-soul bound to him… it means he has the rumored Tablet of Arcana. The legends say it's one of the 6 creations left by Demi-Gods. 

Rathnaar Whitlock used it to become a Peak Saint and now, he may be able to become one too. 

This… this changes things. 

There is still hope for him." said Argos and took a deep breath. 

"Although Rathnaar Whitlock died during his attempt, he certainly knew about the conditions to even call for the Tribulation of Ascension. 

You're a 9th stage saint yourself but even you can't become a Peak Saint in your entire lifetime. 

I'm sure someone like him wouldn't just die without making sure that he returns to the world of the living. 

So it's highly possible that there's another half-soul which holds that secret to becoming a Demi-God." revealed Havi, giving Argos another reason to protect Kahn. 

But the next moment… 

"Ha ha ha!! Ha ha ha!! 

This is amazing!" shouted and laughed Argos maniacally. 

"Alright then, I should still give it a try. It's better than having useless hope." said Argos as he was fully convinced by Havi. 

[Sorry, kid. But this is all I can do for you right now. Rest is up to your fate.] thought Havi. 

Instead of getting threatened or being forced to give up on Kahn, not only did Havi protect his own empire but also got a powerful backer for Venessa since he was going to die soon and the Vulcan empire would be unprotected. 

He also managed to avert the Revenant Sovereign's decision to kill Kahn and turned him on the latter's side instead. 

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

Soon, both the parties made a soul-oath, similar to how Kahn and Rathnaar made the pact back in the Verlassen fiefdom. 

All the conditions of their agreement were mutually beneficial to them. And if either party breaks the oath, they'd die on the spot as their souls would explode. 

There was no room for loopholes such as ordering someone else to do the job or purposely orchestrating things to go back on their deal. 

Havi then shared a few of his memories and everything he knew about Kahn. 

"So he goes by Kahn Salvatore… his subordinates are also unique. 

Especially that variant Basilisk and the variant Fenrir with Gravity Law. 

Alright… let's take care of things here first. 

We have to send your forces away. This battlefield needs to be increased to an even bigger scale. 

As for the Hero of Fire's divine key… only that member of the Fireborne imperial clan will have a way to track him.

But it won't work unless he's at least 1 thousand kilometers close to Kahn." said Argos. 

"What member?" asked Havi as it was the first time he heard about it. 

"Your Grandmother's uncle, the 2nd prince of that time. 

He was there when the 8th Hero of Darkness killed the 7th Heroine of Fire. 

Based on my information… They were lovers." revealed the vampire saint. 

"What nonsense is that? I would've known about it if one of my ancestors was part of that group." said Havi, completely doubtful of this claim by Argos. 

"After her death, he swore vengeance on the 8th Hero of Darkness. 

But after finding that the 8th Hero died, he joined that group to kill the new chosen one.

Unlike the rest of your family, he chose to not utilize his bloodline to rise in ranks. He left the Vulcan empire and soon, news of his death spread among all the empires." explained the vampire king as he let out a deep sigh. 

"That entire group is made of people who were involved with the previous generation of summoned heroes one way or another. 

Some were emotionally attached, some were the members of the Hero's Party of those heroes back then while some owed those chosen heroes a life and death debt. 

All in all, majority of them are the survivors of that great battle and all of them have deep hatred and vendetta against the both 8th Hero and God of Darkness. 

All of them also took part in the destruction of the Abyss Empire back then. 

This Kahn Salvatore… he's just a victim of the war and ancient rivalry he played no part in." said Argos as he revealed another inside information. 

"Soon, all the empires will reveal his existence and God of Darkness. Your Vulcan Empire has to be the first to do it. 

All empires afflicted with God's will vilify him and that group must have been brought together again. 

If I'm not wrong, they'll arrive in 2 days." stated the vampire king. 

"How do you know all of this? Their identities and abilities have been kept secret from the past 300 years. Is your source even trustworthy?" asked Havi with a skeptical gaze. 

"That's what I do. I drink and I know things." joked Argos, trying to change the topic. 

Havi then told Argos about the treason by the Church of Hetrax and what narrative they had to prepare. 

"Arshhh… why can't these Churches and Cults be satisfied? This has happened too many times in history already. Sometimes it's the Heroes who betrayed the empires and led these coups themselves." said Argos in annoyance. 

Soon, both of them discussed a meticulous plan that would completely erase Kahn's tracks. 

"You have to spread the news to all the empires. 

That the new Hero of Darkness has two 7th stage saints as his powerful supporters. 

They're the ones who killed the Pope as well." commended the vampire king. 

"And where would I get those two individuals? If you can track someone's auras and bloodlines… they will be able to do so too." queried Havi. 

"And that's where I come in. 

I can create world energy signatures with a particular element that will resemble two 7th stage saints. 

And given the nature of that element… even those people will be under the impression that Kahn has supporters from the ancient Cult of Darkborne. 

"The Darkborne? Weren't they wiped out of existence during the fall of the Abyss Empire?" questioned Havi with a somber voice. 

"Ha ha! Let's not share all the secrets in our first meeting." chuckled Argos.

"But even so… can you really do that?" queried Havi again. 

"Of course, I can. After all…" responded Argos casually. 

SHING!! 

The next second, the entire 50 kilometers radius intently froze and everything including trees, smoke and crumbling sand stopped moving under a pitch black aura that spread and covered everything like the water of the deep sea. 

This pressure was so terrifying even made Havi, an 8th stage saint shudder in fear as he sensed the element of reality used by Argos while the latter continued with a devilish smirk. 

"I'm the strongest Darkness element user in the world."