Hero of Darkness

Chapter 1169: Back to the Beginning

After Kahn had settled matters of concern, a new arrival appeared in the throne hall. Putting a conclusion on their stay in the Rakos Empire for now.

In front of him stood Morrigan Morningstar, a 7th-stage saint and a succubus saint. Her lustrous black hair, two black horns on the head, the partly revealing red dress, along with skulls on her belt, as well as the black raven-like wings on the back, added to her beautiful visage.

Maybe it was the natural feminine charm emanated by Morrigan since she was a succubus... she was very pleasant to the eyes. Unfortunately, every single person present here was either too powerful to be swayed by them or simply didn’t care.

"Have you prepared High Priestess?" asked Kahn, preparing himself to leave.

"Yes, my lord." responded Morrigan.

However... even if the male gender present in this hall had no problem, the same couldn’t be said for someone else.

Out of nowhere, Kahn received a telepathic message.

[Who is she?] asked Kassandra.

Kahn then explained Morrigan’s role as the High Priestess of Cult of Darknborne and how as the Hero of Darkness, he was also the official Cult Leader.

[But why is she dressed like that? And are you telling me that she will be like your personal secretary or something in the future?] asked Kassandra, her voice suddenly turning jarring.

[Yes, something like that.] Kahn replied, a bit confused.

Kassandra, while still seated on her chair, gave him a cold and deathly stare.

[Oh, so that’s why you didn’t want me to come with you to the Abyss Forest. So you could spend time with her, right?] she asked with a sinister tone while having a benign smile on her face.

Suddenly, a shiver ran down Kahn’s spine...

[No, no! That’s not why. She’s required to activate the altar and perform the Divine Key Awakening ritual.] Kahn explained haphazardly as his heart stopped for a moment.

[I see, there better not be anything else... or I will summon a deity to beat you to death, do you understand?] said Kassandra with maintaining a charming smile but threatening Kahn secretly.

[Honey, why are you worried about something like that? There’s nobody else for me but you.] responded Kahn, trying to calm her down.

[Women know women... You wouldn’t understand.] replied Kassandra, clenching her fist while still giving a side-eye to Kahn.

Their conversation carried on secretly until a flying warship arrived in front of the imperial palace.

******************

The next morning, the suns set in the sky over a particular city as the day-to-day life of the common-folk carried on.

This city in particular was different than the ones around the capital of the empire. Because this one thrived on materials and resources farmed from the dozen dungeons around it.

Schoom!

A royal flying ship, shaped like a stingray fish, arrived over the skies of this city. Its shadow turned multiple buildings dark despite the high altitude, given how big it was.

"What is that? Are we under attack?!" questioned one of the soldiers guarding the city walls.

This was the very soldier that a particular someone had bribed to allow Kahn to enter this city over 6 years ago.

"Look at the flag, idiot! It’s someone from the Imperial Rule. They must have come to visit the magistrate or the commander of the military.

We are in the peak harvesting week, remember?" replied the other guard standing beside him.

Kahn and his entourage had arrived at the southern border of the Rakos Empire, where the entry to the Abyss Forest was.

After a few minutes had passed, Kahn had arrived in a secluded area outside the city.

The ship didn’t even land and hovered in the sky over the west side of the city, while the saints abording it had flown down.

This was Kahn’s starting point in this world of Vantrea... the Flavot City.

******************

They all descended and met 3 people waiting for them.

One was Albestros, who had already arrived yesterday morning as per Kahn’s instructions.

Beside him was a duo of father and son.

The father had a long, burly white beard and shoulder-length hair. The son, on the other hand dark brown hair while maintaining a scholarly appearance.

"It’s been a while." said Kahn with a hint of nostalgia.

Thud!

Thud!

Both of them quickly kneeled and shouted loudly...

"We greet, his Imperial Majesty!"

The duo in front of Kahn was none other than Nikola and Elanev.

Back when he had just started his journey in the world of Vantrea... he came across a group of people being attacked by bandits.

Only the long-time readers would remember that Kahn saved those people by ambushing the bandits and gave an Oscar-winning performance.

Later, he accepted their help to settle down in the Flavot city, became an adventurer, and even did business with them.

Before he departed the city with Albestros over two months later, he bade farewell to both of them.

And after 6 years, fate had brought them together once again.

"Rise, sir Nikola and sir Elanev." spoke Kahn.

"We’re not worthy of such respect, your majesty. We’re just small merchants." said Nikola as he stood up.

Kahn could tell that the old man had aged a lot. He was close to 70 years old already, and his face had far too many wrinkles than before.

His son Elanev had grown a beard.

"No need to be so formal. Although our acquaintance was short, I still consider both of you as people I’m close to." replied Kahn calmly.

"It was our fortune to know you. We didn’t have the insight to see that the man who saved our lives all those years ago was the chosen heir and our new emperor.

We were simply short-sighted." responded Elanev.

"What are you talking about. Even I wouldn’t be here had you not lent me money to buy all that equipment so I could become an adventurer." recounted Kahn.

He still remembered everything clearly. Kahn had used Elanev’s name to buy gear that followed the Badass Protagonist Rule No. 3.

It was the sword he bought from their shop that later tied him to Albestros.

The father and son duo had a much deeper connection despite not having seen each other for over 6 years.

"Looks like you’re still managing this place." said Kahn.

"Yes, we have. Even after your supposed death 5 years ago... we haven’t ignored it." replied Nicola as they looked at the tree behind them.

Behind them was a full-grown tree that had light blue leaves. The entire place was serene and contained a lot of natural beauty.

And under that tree, was a tombstone raised, carved with the name... Jessica Artwinger.

******************

Kahn and Albestros stood in front of the tombstone, reminiscing with a quiet yet solemn gaze.

"Sorry, it took us a while to visit you again." said Albestros.

"Looks like you’ve been good since the last time I saw you. Resting under a beautiful tree while enjoying the fresh air during the day and dazzling stars during the night.

Many people would envy you at this point." said Kahn while showing a contented smile.

"Who was she to you?" asked Kassandra, who stood behind with the rest of the entourage.

"She was no one. But at the same time... she was an innocent victim of my carelessness." said Kahn.

Kahn then mentioned what happened back then.

How he met Nikola, Elanev and Jessica the first time.

How his greed had made him rob a ring from the corpse of a member of the Scarlet Lion guild.

This led to Jessica’s death as the guild members tortured her since she was the only survivor, all so they could find Kahn, to get revenge because they assumed that Kahn was the one who killed their members.

"Just because I saved her life twice... this girl did not snitch on me and endured till the moment they killed her.

Coming here after 6 years has a meaning for me." he iterated with a gloomy tone.

Albestros also mentioned his connection to Jessica, how she was friends with his late daughter, and how the latter helped him secretly when the noble clans had shunned him.

"I couldn’t protect my children, and I couldn’t even save the girl who kept me alive.

When I learned Kahn avenged her death... I knew that our fates were tied since that day." explained Albestros, his voice turning heavy.

Kahn, on the other hand, sighed and spoke...

"I was a foolish, hot-headed young man who was drunk on his rising strength.

My actions caused her death. And I was so overwhelmed by my guilt for the first time in my life that I ended up massacring an entire guild.

I even partly blamed Nikola and Elanev back then due to my rage.

But I realized later that I was just deflecting responsibility for the consequences of my actions." explained Kahn.

"Now that I’m in the role of protecting billions of lives... I do not want to make any mistakes like I did in the past.

So no innocent bystander like her ever gets caught in the crossfire because of my decisions." said Kahn, explaining the reason behind his visit.

[This kid has a good heart and character indeed.

People often forget about these kinds of memories and experiences.

Many people choose to forget something like this to move on or because they couldn’t admit their fault or want to own their actions.] thought Argos to himself.

Kahn and Albestros bade farewell after they paid their respects to Jessica Artwinger.

******************

Finally, Argos summoned the invisible Bran Castle and gave all his saint followers particular instructions.

"Farewell for now, everyone. We will return when the time is right." said Kahn, and looked at the vast forest ahead of them.

He bade Kassandra, Albestros, Nikola, and Elanev farewell as their group of saints flew towards the endless forest.

From here on, it was just Kahn, Rathnaar, Vildred, Argos, and Morrigan embarking on a dangerous journey.

To the Abyss Forest... the very beginning of Kahn’s new life.

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------------END OF ARC/VOLUME 8--------------

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