Hero of Darkness

In front of Kahn, stood two men who were two to three years older than him in age. Yet the encounter he had with these two extremely talented and well-versed warriors was the reason he quickly recognized these two familiar faces. 

Elijah, the Druid and Niklaus, the dual swordsman were the two individuals Kahn had teamed up and fought alongside in the fifth round of the Emperor's Chosen competition. 

And now, both the brothers had suddenly appeared out of the blue in the main headquarters of the House Stark. 

"I see that you remember my grandsons, my lord." spoke commander Stark. 

"Wait.. Grandsons? They're your grandsons?" asked Kahn with a surprised tone. 

"Now that explains it. Both of them were peak grandmasters so I already thought they belonged to some big clan. But to see that they're part of your house.." spoke Kahn as he regained his composure. 

"Yes, my lord. Serving our motherland and its people was the main reason why both of us participated in the competition in the first place. 

In hopes that we could win it and get the full support from the government and change Verlassen for the better." explained Elijah, the older brother and the Druid out of the duo. 

"I see. So that was the case. Well, you two can get up." spoke Kahn as he understood why these two young prodigies had participated in the competition where he met them. 

However, both the grandmasters shook their heads in refusal. 

"Please, my lord. Allow us to serve right under you. We both pledge our loyalty and allegiance to you. Not as part of our house but as individuals." spoke Niklaus, the younger brother who was bigger in size and had a dual swordsman profession. 

Kahn was baffled again with their request and asked in a curious tone.. 

"Why? I have done nothing else to prove myself as a competent sovereign of this land yet. So why do you want to serve as my people?" 

"Well, it's because… it's because." before Elijah could continue.. commander Stark intervened. 

"It's hard for them to express so let me tell you instead." he said and suddenly his expression turned serious. 

"Because the idea you proposed just now was also done by a member of our clan nearly a decade ago. And the one to do that was my own son.. And their father." spoke the old commander and suddenly, the entire atmosphere in the room turned somber. 

A deathly silence ensued and Kahn wondered if something was amiss. 

"You said 'was'…" spoke Kahn in a solemn tone. 

"Yes. My son wasn't a warrior like us. He was a scholar and studied law. And he was also the public prosecutor of Winterberg when he was alive. 

What you proposed was something he also did to the government for years. To give more power to people and the oppression by the powerful. He was very persistent and eventually, many people had shown their support to him. 

It was when he had gone to the capital Aesir and proposed legislation to the High Court a decade ago." spoke the old man and the in the following moments, his voice was filled with grief. 

"A few days later.. We heard the news. 

That my son died while coming back from the capital in a monster attack. 

The authorities said he was attacked on his way back. But from what we found… the circumstances of his death were… questionable." spoke the old swordsman. 

Only now did Kahn understand the complete picture after hearing the story. 

"Even now, we don't know who did it. But they made it look like the work of monsters. 

No law and authority stood on our side and closed the case off very quickly." spoke the commander. 

Kahn gave a nod and understood why both the brothers suddenly asked to serve directly under him out of a sudden. 

Him proposing the plan that was coincidentally similar to the commander's son was what made them swear their loyalty to him without thinking twice. 

As for Elijah and Niklaus… in their eyes, Kahn shared the same ideology as their deceased father who was murdered in cold blood for speaking and fighting for the common people. 

Even using Law as means to represent and voice their side led to that man's death because he was fighting against a corrupted system that was controlled by those who leeched off on the blood and tears of the weak. 

[What the fuck man… the more I see it.. The more I feel like getting dragged into a war. 

I only wanted to set my footing here and grow my strength comfortably. But now.. Looks like I'll be forced into that whole Warrior of Justice thing again. 

What if there's even more blood of the innocents on my hands because I provoked the weak to fight against the elites of the society?] thought and cursed Kahn. 

He already knew the consequences of inciting people against the powerful as he once did in Flavot city while playing the Judge, Jury and Executioner as Azrael. 

The aftermath was hundreds of people dying as a revolt against the noble clans who had committed many acts of oppression and crimes against the common folks. 

At that time, he was swayed by his emotions while avenging the children of old man Albestros. But the Kahn of now was able to see his faults back in the day. 

He took action without caring about the impact on society. In his own mission of finding inner peace… his act of public execution of the last clan heir led many people who were untrained, unorganized and unequipped to fight against the top brasses. And the results were clear to see. 

[No! I am not that fool anymore. At least in this place.. I have full control and I'm no longer weak.] thought Kahn and looked back at both the kneeling brothers. 

"If you want to prove yourself useful.. Then I have a perfect opportunity for both of you." he said. 

"What is it, my lord?" asked both the brothers in unison.

"Ronin." spoke Kahn and suddenly out of his shadow, Ronin appeared in front of all of them. 

Even Commander Stark was surprised because despite being a semi-saint himself, he didn't even sense the assassin hidden in Kahn's shadow. 

"A peak grandmaster?" Elijah and Niklaus were baffled by this revelation. 

Because after a semi-saint, only a peak grandmaster was considered the strongest person in Verlassen. Yet Kahn was carrying one in his shadow nonchalantly. 

"If you want to prove yourself useful… complete this task I'm giving you." spoke Kahn and continued in a domineering tone. 

Ronin then took out a book filled with names and handed it to Elijah as Kahn conveyed his command. 

"Find the locations of all of their headquarters."