Hero of Darkness

Chapter 1149: The Secret Mentor

Stunned! Flabbergasted! Discombobulated!

The words your ears have missed for a long time while reading this novel were used again.

The reason is that out of nowhere, Argos suddenly hits Kahn’s face with a metaphorical hammer, revealing that Allister Mor Vandereich is actually his disciple.

"What?! What nonsense is that?!

Lord Argos... someone of your stature shouldn’t be making jokes like this." said Kahn, brushing this revelation as a mere jest by the Revenant Sovereign.

"Hahaha! That is indeed surprising to hear. One would easily fall for such a lie if they didn’t know you." said Rathnaar openly.

His voice now clearly rang in everyone’s ears, puzzling the most about the origin.

"Wait... Is that who I think it is?" asked Allister, the four-hundred-year-old vampire.

"Yes, it is I... Rathnaar Whitlock, the First Emperor!" declared the peak saint grandly, his voice echoing in the entire massive hallway that was as big as a colosseum.

Stunned!

The sudden appearance of the First Emperor shocked everyone attending the assembly to their core.

"I wondered who the ingrets were that killed my descendants? Now I’ve seen all 3 of them.

And yet... I feel disappointed. Not in you but my lineage that died to weaklings like you." said Rathnaar firmly.

Just the voice alone sent shivers in everyone’s spines and gave them goosebumps even though none could see Rathnaar.

And his tone dictated that even the 3 peak 7th-stage saints of the Rakos Empires were nothing but mere ants in his opinion.

"Wait, we can discuss that later. Let me ask this first..." spoke Kahn as he interjected midway.

"You’re not joking, right?" he questioned as he looked at Argos intently.

In response, the vampire lord spoke with a calm but hesitant voice...

"Do you think I would make such a useless joke after coming so far just to aid you take over this empire?

Even I just found out that one of my disciples, whom I assumed dead centuries ago, was actually the very person you assigned me to subdue."

Argos maintained his regal tone but by his expression, everyone could tell that he was just as surprised as them to see Allister here.

"How? How does it make any sense?

He’s known to be more than 400 years old, and you, Lord Argos... are close to 250 years old at most." said Kahn, visibly curious after subsiding his confusion.

"Yes, yes. The faction leader of the Purebloods is a very renowned figure of the empire whose existence has been influential for the past 3 centuries.

How could you be the master of someone so elderly like him?" questioned Kassandra, as she was the most knowledged about the history of factions in the Rakos Empire among their entourage.

After the incessant barrage of questions, the vampire king decided to divulge the truth in its entirety...

"I became his master when I was only 100 years old.

But we didn’t meet here or in the Belmont Kingdom.

Our fates crossed paths when he was already a 4th-stage saint and I had just ascended to 1st-stage saint rank." cited Argos.

"That would be 150 years ago when I met the master."

This time, it was Allister who revealed the information.

His gaze was filled with respect and vehemence for the vampire standing by his side.

"You young-ins might not know this, but 400 years ago... Vampires were being hunted in the Rakos Empire.

It was due to a failed resurgence attempt and because my ancestors had caused a massive genocide in the name of declaring vampires as the most supreme race of the empire.

But after the attempt was thwarted by the imperial family... most of the vampire clans were subjugated and put to death via public executions.

That was the era I was born into." explained Allister as he recounted a dark Chapter in the history of the Rakos Empire.

"Oh, no wonder I felt like I heard the name Vandereich!"

Suddenly, Rathnaar spoke again as if a distant memory was awakened from its slumber.

"It was during the 6th emperor’s reign. I remember him complaining about you leeches for weeks in the Chamber of Exaltation. As a matter of fact...

It was I who suggested purging all of you vampires from the empire."

Him admitting thing unknown truth behind the events of the past added even more fear in the minds of those who were present in this ginormous hallway.

"Yes... Our Vandereich clan is one of the only 2 clans that survived those times.

I myself trained to become a saint in seclusion until I was 250 years old.

However... I had hit my limit back then as a saint and decided to go on a pilgrimage to broaden my horizons while hiding my true identity.

It was during my journey that I came across master." revealed the 7th-stage saint.

Everyone then looked at Argos, their expectant gazes looking into his entire existence.

"Then?..." asked Kahn.

"Well, given the once-in-a-millennium genius I am..." spoke the sovereign.

Soon, Argos told everyone a tale of honor, friendship, glory, and defying fate, which was irrelevant to the ongoing plot.

And in the end, despite him being 3 ranks below and 150 years younger compared to Allister, the latter let go of his pride and officially became Argos’ disciple.

"Thanks to master and his teachings about bloodlines, I broke past my bloodline’s limit after returning to the Rakos Empire and even became a 7th-stage saint.

But unfortunately, I could never leave the Rakos Empire to find my master again." said the old vampire with a yearning countenance.

"It wouldn’t have helped. I traveled across many empires throughout my life, until I established the Belmont Kingdom close to 50 years ago after becoming a 9th-stage saint.

I never expected to see my disciple becoming one of the 3 strongest saints of this empire." said Argos with a nostalgic expression.

Kahn, Vildred, and Kassandra heard the whole story with poker faces.

[What the hell is this?! How does this storyline even fit in the current arc?

Is the author out of all the ideas because he didn’t write a storyboard this time?] wondered Kahn with an exasperated countenance.

"It doesn’t matter." he spoke in a grim tone.

"I apologize in advance, Lord Argos.

He may have ties with you in the past but he did screw up my life and I still hold a grudge.

Out of my respect for your help so far... I won’t force him like the rest." he declared in a collected by vengeful voice.

"But it doesn’t change the fact that he did try to kill me." said Kahn while glaring at the vampire faction leader.

"No! We never planned to kill you. We were just planning to take out the first emperor’s soul from your body.

And during that process... we were going to use a secret art to turn you into a vampire of our clan." revealed Allister.

"What?!" shouted Kahn in disbelief.

Only those who had a good memory would remember Allister and Ismatrazel having this conversation about turning Kahn into a vampire after he was done delivering the Tablet of Arcana way long ago in the third arc.

"There exists a way that could turn a human into a pureblood vampire?" asked Kahn with a stunned expression.

"Of course there is. The one who created that secret art..." spoke Allister and looked at a certain someone.

Averting Kahn’s eyes was a tall vampire in black and emerald armor, who apologetically spoke...

"Yes, it was me."