Hero of Darkness

2 Days Later at the capital Eletnall.

At the central region of the capital, the Emperor and the Abbot were sitting quietly in the throne hall.

Just like before, the two Thrones at the top were occupied but this time, there was another individual kneeling in front of them at the bottom of the stairs.

"You may now speak, Iskamir." spoke Nievan Triscal Insalor Venric, the 8th stage emperor of Zivot Empire in a domineering voice.

This blonde-haired elf with bright white skin and the aura of a 6th stage saint spoke in an obedient voice.

"Thank you for granting me this audience, your Majesty." spoke this elf.

This individual was none other than the elf from the mysterious group tasked with hunting the new Hero of Darkness.

"Leave the pleasantries aside, nephew.

What is your progress in finding the Hero of Darkness?" asked Maeral Sez Insalor Venric, Abbot of the Monastery of Life.

By lineage, Iskamir Vegar Insalor Venric was one of the members of the imperial clan and also their family relative.

"Lord Uncles, we did make some progress.

He's not in the Vulcan empire. Previously, we tracked him to the nearby empires but found that it was just a decoy.

Now… we're certain that he's either in Rakos Empire or in ours." he reported.

"But everyone is too cautious around each other. There's no guarantee that everyone won't turn on each other as soon as we catch him." he added to his report.

"So what do you know about him?" asked the emperor.

"We investigated the site of the battle between him and Hero of Fire.

He indeed has two 7th stage saints with darkness element as his aide like the Emperor of Vulcan Empire informed us." he revealed while still bowing his head.

"I thought the Cult of Darkborne was eradicated. But it seems like there are still descendants of the cult who still wish to use him to reestablish the Abyss Empire." spoke the young elf.

"Of course, how can the cult that existed for more than 10 thousand years get wiped out so easily?

Even with the fall of the Abyss Empire, there were bound to be few secret branches left in other empires.

I'm surprised that they found Hero of Darkness first before anyone else." said the Abbot with a stern voice.

"Iskamir, You must make sure that he falls into our hands. He is too precious to let go after he absorbed the Hero of Fire's Divine Key." commended the emperor and the next moment, a bright green orb appeared in front of the 6th stage high elf saint.

"This…" spoke the elf with great surprise.

Soon, the orb lost its luster and a jade pendant appeared, floating slowly in the air.

"Yes, this is the former Hero of Life's pendant. You already know that this was one of his most useful life-saving artifacts." said the emperor.

"With each use, you will lose 30 levels. But you will be transported out of the danger zone and get teleported to 1000 kilometers away.

Use it wisely and only after you capture the Hero of Darkness." revealed the Emperor.

"We allowed you to join that group 300 years ago because we know he was like a big brother to you until the 8th Hero of Darkness killed him and all the other members of your Hero's Party…

But you shouldn't forget that although your revenge is necessary, you must bring the Divine Keys for the current Hero of Life." spoke the Abbot in an authoritative tone.

"Once Ervalen absorbs both divine keys… he will become a 6th stage saint. His soul and body would also transform.

You know the aftereffects of absorbing another Hero's core, don't you?" asked the emperor.

"Yes… not only can they get partial ownership of the divine weapon, but they can also fuse both their original divine weapon with the new one since their bodies also gain affinity of the other Hero's element.

Once the hero breaks through the 5th stage saint, they will be able to perform that feat and become even more powerful.

This was rumored to be one of the reasons why the 8th Hero of Darkness caused that massacre." replied Iskamir as he clenched his fists tightly, his eyes turning bloodshot.

Iskamir was the only survivor of the previous generation's Hero's Party and had witnessed the massacre of all his friends and teammates. The previous Hero was a kind individual and he greatly admired him.

But after that massacre and losing all the people who were close to him… Revenge became the only goal in Iskamir's life.

He gave up on his claim or any right to the contendership to the throne despite being in the line of succession only after the Emperor's son, to join the group that was formed to hunt the 8th Hero of Darkness at that time.

He also partook in the destruction and massacre of billions of people of the Abyss Empire in heat of rage 300 years ago while he was only a 4th stage saint.

"After all… they can establish a domain of their own. The more elements it has, the more powerful that domain will be." spoke Iskamir.

"Correct.

This cannot be achieved by any beings in the world other than the Heroes if they absorb other Divine Keys." revealed the Abbot as he nodded approvingly.

"Your majesty…

If Ervalen gets the divine keys… not only will he gain Hero of Fire's absolute control on fire and Hero of Darkness' control of the darkness element…

He will also gain the Dimensional Domain." spoke Iskamir as he revealed intriguing news.

"What is this Dimensional Domain?" asked the old Abbot.

"My lords… so far, we know for certain that one of the Divine Abilities he chose is the Dimensional Law.

This was confirmed by the saint from Empire of Space as well.

And not only that…

He has received 2 enlightenments in Space Law." informed the elf.

To this revelation, both the emperor and abbot were shocked.

"2 Enlightenments in one of the strongest and hardest laws to master?

All on his own and without a Saint in Space Law as his teacher?

What kind of talented freak is this summoned hero?" the emperor couldn't help but be astonished by this news.

"As per my information, even the current Hero of Space has received only 1 enlightenment in Space Law despite being mentored by top experts of Erdve Empire." added Iskamir.

"His growth is too astounding. He should already be a 2nd stage saint after absorbing the Divine Key, Flamescion.

This can't do." spoke the Abbot with a wary tone.

"So tell us, what do you need?" he asked curiously.

"As per the pact our clan made with other empires… we need authority and access to search for his traces in our empire.

If he is indeed in Zivot Empire, then we're sure to find him within a year by working together.

All the empires have ways to track him using artifacts and formations we acquired while destroying Abyss Empire.

But they are restricted by range. Thus, we need unimpeded access to all the regions and people to aid us in the investigation while keeping these matters secret." he stated.

"Then you and that group shall have it.

Let's hope he's here and not in Rakos. Otherwise, things will become unfavorable." spoke the Emperor without a second thought.

The early bird gets the worm.

Any delay and they'd lose the advantage.

What if Hero of Darkness was in some other empire?

Then they'd be restricted and couldn't use many plans and means to capture him for themselves.

After a few discussions, Iskamir left the throne hall.

Soon, the brothers started talking between themselves.

"The time is coming close. After 2 months…

Ervalen and Hero's Party will have to go to that dungeon." spoke the emperor.

To his words, the Abbot replied confidently.

"This time, I believe we will definitely succeed."

On the southern end of the Zivot Empire, inside Alfheim…

Kahn held a meeting with his group in their main headquarters building.

"Our growth is fast. We earned 2 trillion itikar in just 7 months.

And our main goal to earn 80 million SS Rank cores is also close to being achieved.

All of that thanks to the Blacksmithing company and our partnership with Trismegistus Alchemy Enterprise." revealed Kahn to his subordinates.

"Yes, we wouldn't have managed to achieve all of this while only being a mercenary guild." spoke and nodded Ceril.

"So what's our next plan?" asked Blackwall.

"There is no next plan. We have perfectly settled ourselves in the Elven Empire.

Each year, we can also go and collect Resources from the Rakos Empire.

Given our numbers and resources at hand along with the Chamber of Exaltation…

All of us can at least rank up easily once a year for the next 5 years." declared Kahn with a satisfied expression.

"After that… our demand would greatly increase.

But by then… we will be strong enough to make big moves and do things on a bigger scale.

We just have to be patient." he iterated calmly.

"So it leaves only with our expansion." spoke Omega in a doubtful tone.

"Yes, the only question remains about how we are going to expand our numbers and reach from here.

Blatantly hiring would send a message that we're desperate for expansion to everyone else." said Jugram as he folded his arms.

"I have an idea." spoke Kahn.

"We will simply use a strategy.

It's the thirsty man who goes to the Well.

Not the other way around. Here, we are the Well." stated Kahn with an evil grin.

"We need to exploit that fact in our favor." spoke Kahn and gave a command.

"Announce this to the whole Alfheim.

We're creating a safe haven for all the mercenaries and all their families.

Regardless of their job, profession and origin, everyone is welcomed to join.

From now on… Misthios won't be just a mercenary guild." said Kahn as he revealed a very big move that would greatly affect their future.

"It will be a Sanctuary."