Hero of Darkness

In front of thousands of people present on the arena-like grounds and the normal populace across Aurelius city heard his proclamation. And as a result… millions of people turned dead silent.

Everyone was shocked since none of them expected this sudden revelation.

Even the 5th stage saintess aka Romulus' wife had her eyes wide open in bewilderment as if this was the first time hearing about this matter as well.

Atreus aka Kahn on the other end had an astonished expression.

[What the fuck is a Shadow Disciple?] he wondered.

Romulus then revealed a tyrannical aura as he openly declared in a majestic voice.

"Atreus will be participating in the Elysium Tribal Tourney next year as the official representative of the Fenrirborne Tribe." he announced with a prideful tone.

[The what tribe now?!] Kahn's blue glowing eyes widened again, filled with confusion.

He had no idea what the hell was happening here.

But soon, he noticed conflicting responses from all the people present among the soldiers and high-ranking officials who stood on the sides.

Some people almost gave a look filled with pity for Atreus.

But Romulus' children, his wife and some other wolfkins who seemed to be from the same clan as him seemed envious of Atreus.

A formal introduction ceremony was officiated where Atreus Bellator aka the new Shadow Disciple introduced himself to the masses and received loud cheers and roars in response to commemorate his arrival.

After a feast, the ceremony finished and everyone went their own way.

At night, Romulus and Atreus were together in a wide hall that was no different than a war strategy room, enough to hold a meeting between hundreds of high-ranking officers and even had a War Table with the map of the entire Elysium carved on a wide wooden table.

"What's a Shadow Disciple?" asked Atreus in a stern voice.

"In the Nadur Empire… We have a tradition." replied Romulus.

"Unlike many empires, we are one of the few who emphasize greatly on strength of a warrior." his voice turned serious.

"Unlike the Vulcan or Zivot Empire… Our rulers are never decided on Royal or Imperial lineage but the strongest person becomes the Emperor or the Empress.

It doesn't matter which family line, bloodline, background or social standing one belongs to. Here, only the one with Absolute Power will reign supreme." the wolfkin revealed a stoic expression.

"And to contend for the throne… We have an ancient custom.

And that tradition is called…" said the 7th stage saint in a confident demeanor.

"The Trial by Combat."

Kahn didn't have time to gather information about the Nadur Empire since he arrived so naturally, he had no idea about the cultural practices of the Beast Empire.

"If you have an unresolvable dispute or you want to settle a deep grudge…

There will be a way to settle them.

And that's the Trial by Combat." he revealed.

"The winner is the right one and the loser is the wrong regardless of the truth and what actually happened." his grim voice resounded throughout the entire hall.

"Our current Empress is an 8th stage Saintess.

She acquired the throne from the previous emperor using the rules of duellum as per the ancient laws." he explained in a somber voice.

"And what happens to the loser?" asked Atreus.

"There's only one outcome.

Winner is the one who is left standing.

And the loser… Dies." iterated the red wolfkin.

"I see. But what does it have to do with me being a shadow disciple?" he queried with an anxious expression as if having a sense of foreboding.

"There are 4 Heavenly Kings in the empire.

All of us are 7th-stage saints; I could be said to be one of the strongest ones among them.

But even I have to follow the ancient traditions.

One of them is the Tribal Tourney." this time, his expression turned a bit mischievous.

"In the empire that decides the fate of someone's life and billions of citizens based on strength and power…

We also allocate many things such as resources, tenders, trading rights, mining rights, businesses and many other things using the Trial by Combat that's held between various Tribes across the empire.

And for these exact trials by combat… Every tribe leader takes 2 disciples." the wolfkin leaned on a massive red throne.

"One is the official disciple who will become their successor and succeed their master's position as the future leader.

Here… We don't care about one's own kin to choose them as our inheritors.

For example… Since I'm also a leader of my tribe; my position would be given to my official successor also called the Official Disciple.

And that person could be anyone." he explained with a benign smile.

"From my children, someone with family ties or even a random person from the street could become my official disciple as soon as they show great promise and surpass everyone else among their peers of the same generation in terms of strength, combat techniques and skills.

They're nurtured to inherit everything from the master to lead the tribe." he ended his explanation for the first case.

"And then there's the Shadow Disciple.

They are the ones secretly chosen and trained by the tribe leaders, unknown to everyone but them.

Their only purpose is to fight in the Tribal Tourney."

Atreus then asked in a curious voice…

"Then why did your children seem unhappy with me becoming the Shadow Disciple?"

The wolfkin chuckled and replied…

"Because if the Shadow Disciple wins the tourney, then he will become the official successor even if there was already an official disciple.

That's the reward our tradition allows.

Also, it's seen as an honor to fight for the future of the tribe since all Shadow Disciples are seen as the best fighters of that tribe's young generation." said Romulus.

"But if they don't possess enough strength… Their fate is to die in the tournament." he said with a devilish smile.

Kahn was suddenly perplexed…

[Son of bitch!] he cursed in his mind.

"So you basically made me your suicide warrior?" he questioned with his expression turning gloomy.

"Ha ha ha ha!

Ha ha ha ha!"

Romulus burst out and started laughing hysterically.

"Did you think I was going to give you some amazing, carefree, well-protected type of background?" he questioned with a provoking tone.

"Why would I do that when I'm forced to take you under my wing?

Besides, this type of setting makes things… Fun." he spoke with a shameless grin.

[This fucking bastard!]

At this moment, Kahn was barely able to hold his anger with an incredulous countenance.

His frowned with a contorted expression while his heart was filled with bitterness as he wanted to lunge and beat the shit out of Romulus.

If his situation could be explained using an analogy...

What would you be if you were attached to another object by an inclined plane wrapped helically around an axis?

The only answer was that Kahn was simply…

Screwed.