Hero of Darkness

As the emperor cried while weeping tears of helplessness… the atmosphere of the room was filled with pain and suffering. At this moment when no one was watching him letting his sorrow out… Havi reminisced about the happenings of 38 years ago.

His father was the only child of the former empress who married a worthy fireborne warrior even though he didn't belong to any of the six fireborne clans.

And his father also followed the same tradition because no matter how loyal these clans were… in the end, they just needed an opportunity or an excuse to usurp the reigning emperor or an empress if they were not strong enough or didn't possess a scheming mind.

But one day, his father, who was a seventh stage saint himself, passed away out of the blue because of some sickness no one was aware of.

After that, Havi's elder brother Vili, who was also the crown prince at that time took command and became the new emperor. He was someone with great qualities of a ruler.

But as if the calamities had no end… His elder brother died in a skirmish against the Zivot empire, one that served God of Life and was ruled by the Elven race.

Back then, Havi was only 24 years old. A young lad who had no interest in politics or becoming an emperor.

He aspired to become the number one spearman in the empire and had been relentlessly training and roaming through the empire to improve his skills while hiding his real identity.

But after he heard of his brother and father's death… he had to return as the burden of the throne befell on his shoulders.

And at that time, everyone including the loyal fireborne clans, his relatives who were in the line of succession after him and some of the loyal aides of his father… all of them coveted the throne.

Because in their eyes, Havi lacked every single quality and was nothing but a useless and undeserving heir to handle such a great position and reign the empire. All of which was indeed true.

He was but an inexperienced and helpless young man who had different priorities and very few people he could trust. Back then, the only people he knew well were some people who had great talent but were nothing compared to top powers and influential figures… Throk Oakenshield being one of them.

Thus, after he rightfully ascended the throne… there were many people who had qualms about him becoming the emperor and tried to create problems one way or another.

And finally… Havi was forced to make a hard decision.

Before things escalated… he made a proposition to the six fireborne clans who held most of the power after the imperial clan.

That he would marry the heiresses of the two of the strongest fireborne clans.

This in a way… opened a new door for them at the same time.

Because even if these Fireborne clans served the throne; none of them were allied or saw an eye to eye. For them, their benefits came before others and even joining hands with other clans would eventually end up as a loss.

All of the leaders of the clans were aware that if their forces started a coup, not only would the other fireborne clans use that as an excuse to oppress them… and if things came to the worst situation… their entire clan of a hundred million people would be eradicated to set an example.

Everyone was a Villain but they liked to portray themselves as righteous Hero.

Also, there would be too much bloodshed with no guarantee of success and gaining control over the empire either.

The losses were not worth the hefty price.

But in this proposition by Havi… they at least had a chance to get their clan's heirs to compete for the throne with a full claim that couldn't be opposed in any aspect.

Thus, Havi married the two heiresses of the two of the strongest fireborne clans to stop their advances and avoid a calamity. A sacrifice he made to keep his family and its prestige intact.

To the fireborne clans… Havi was someone who could be oppressed easily in the future since he was only a 1st stage saint despite being the emperor. Thus, helping him solidify his rule also worked to their benefit.

And with their support, the Emperor managed to subjugate any potential rise of traitors and uprisings planned by those who wanted to benefit in times of crisis.

But while doing so… the elven empire saw that the Vulcan empire was currently unstable and started a full-scale invasion.

And the Vulcan empire with a shaky structure was having a hard time since not all the forces were unified and still, some people would rather let enemies create chaos in their empire and use it to dethrone Havi than save their motherland.

For power-hungry people… there were no morals or sense of responsibility towards their motherland.

Thus, Havi had to rely on one of the neighboring empires that had signed a treaty to help each other in times of need when his grandmother was the Empress of the empire.

But even so… they tried to back down from their previous agreement. So as a form of reassurance to hold an oath of support…

The emperor married their princess who was the second child of their emperor and her brother was the crown prince. In a way, this was a purely political alliance that would benefit the future of both empires.

This was already a very good deal in every way for them.

Thus, with another empire's military help and unified manpower… Havi managed to save the empire, stabilize it and soon he succeeded in bringing peace and order.

Using those times… he established himself firmly over the years and while everyone was looking down on him for being weak and always relying on others for help… he started his real plan.

To raise his strength quietly and become so strong that no one would ever dare look down on him or try to oppress him in any way.

The once naive prince was gone and this experience reformed him completely to make Havi understand the truth of being an emperor…

Heavy is the head that wears the Crown.