Hero of Darkness

The two beings who stood at the top of the hierarchy of the Zivot Empire aka the Emperor and the Abbot revealed their plan to blame the deaths of Hero's Party members on the notorious Hero of Darkness in order to cover up the incident that transpired inside the Immortal Dungeon. 

The secret well hidden since the past millennia was worth far more than the lives of their own people that loyally served them. 

And to keep it hidden, Hero of Darkness was the best excuse they could use to blame for the deaths. 

Currently, other than the emperor, the Abbot, their loyal servants, Ervalen and Myrienne were the only people who knew about their deaths. Even the families of the fallen had no idea about their demise. 

Myrienne had yet to arrive in the capital so they already told her to keep this matter secret and arrive covertly. 

"As for the group which is hunting the Hero of Darkness who could raise questions about the incident… 

We would create a site of the battle and fake a few scenarios which would make it seem like the Hero of Darkness and his forces wanted to kill you, the Hero of Life, they ambushed your party just like how it happened with Hero of Fire in the Vulcan empire. 

But luckily, two of you escaped while the rest died while defending to protect the future of the empire.

This would be our story and we will perfect every detail after Myrienne comes here." revealed the emperor with a persuasive tone. 

"All of them would be turned into virtuous warriors and their respective clans and families would be offered great compensation as well. 

Compared to the importance of the secret of that being, it's a very small price. 

And in the end… Hero of Darkness would be labeled as the enemy of the Elven Empire.

In simple words, we're killing two birds with one stone." iterated the Abbot. 

It looked like the duo had already predicted this outcome and prepared before Ervalen even started his expedition a couple of months ago. 

[So that's why they didn't announce anything to the people of Zivot Empire. Both of them are cold and ruthless, but the plan is indeed genius.] thought the Hero of Life. 

All 3 of them agreed upon things between themselves. And he wasn't even bothered about the sacrifice of his comrades. Not that he was heartless… but sometimes, to protect peace and stability, lying was the only option. 

As for Ervalen's next expedition to the Immortal Dungeon… They had both time and resources. 

And now, his only target was to breakthrough to 5th stage saint. 

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An hour later, Ervalen arrived at Eleanor's palace and told her what actually happened. 

Eleanor was heartbroken and terrified after hearing that everyone died. Her head spun around in shock and sadness. 

"Don't worry… your best friend Myrienne is still alive." he spoke with a smile. 

"What?! How? Didn't you say everyone died?" asked the princess haphazardly. 

"I made her leave before facing the dungeon boss. She should arrive in a couple of days." he replied in a caring voice. 

Only now did Eleanor let out a sigh of relief and recovered from the shock. 

Unbeknownst to Ervalen, he had inadvertently saved his romantic rival, the female elf who Eleanor was truly in love with. 

As the conversation continued, he explained what was about to happen from now on. 

Eleanor nodded in affirmation and complied. 

After Ervalen left and she was alone in her bedroom, Eleanor let out a devious smile and spoke… 

"Well done… my puppet." 

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Giving it another thought, the princess thought about the times when she actually started her plan 6 years ago when Ervalen was summoned to Vantrea. 

Ervalen died in his previous world but the God of Life already had his eyes on him to summon as his new Chosen Hero. 

All he did was revive him again and chose the divine abilities for Ervalen. Giving him a chance to restart his life in his original body. 

But when Ervalen was brought into Zivot Empire, his mental state was still full of loss and hatred. 

It took him months to even accept his new identity and role as a chosen Hero. 

This was when her father and uncle revealed their intentions. 

They planned to tie Ervalen to their family through marriage, using the excuse that he was half-elf so it was acceptable. But her position would still be the same and her brother, who went missing was still going to be the Emperor. 

But she would not accept such a fate. Thus, Eleanor started her plans to become the Empress of the Elven Empire using the Hero of Life. 

After making dozens of attempts and finally befriending Ervalen through numerous efforts, she learned many things about him. 

But she later deduced that Ervalen had Abandonment Issues. 

In his previous world, Ervalen's mother died protecting him and his best friend betrayed him for his throne. 

The woman he loved never actually cared for him and was also using him for her own gains, joining hands with his treacherous friend. 

This betrayal had broken his psyche from the inside, leaving a deep scar on his mind. 

Not everyone took life experience the same way. Ervalen ended up thinking that his life was bound to be filled with loneliness and he would never be truly loved by anyone. 

In the beginning, he was distrustful of everyone including her. But she patiently left hints and made him trust her after sharing many things regarding the empire and the matters related to Heroes and Gods. 

A broken person who had a tendency to blame themselves for not being enough, getting abandoned by others, and suffering heartbreak after heartbreak was prone to yearn for love and affection no matter how small it was. These type of people often lost their reasoning in the process. 

In their mind, anyone who showed them affection and sense of belonging would become the center of their world and their life. 

Only after 5 years, Eleanor successfully turned him into her chess piece by gaslighting him again and again, making him think that it was he who loved and wanted the princess, not the other way around. 

Over a year ago, Ervalen finally confessed to her after gathering all the courage he had. 

But 'unexpectedly', the beautiful and kind princess also said she loved and admired him equally. 

And finally, she deepened their relationship by manipulating the Hero slowly through their 'romantic relationship'. 

Now, Ervalen was nothing but a chess piece that would pave the way for her to achieve her goals. 

A pawn who danced on the tip of her finger.