Hero of Darkness

In front of Kahn, stood Szayel Mor Vandereich, the clan heir of the most prestigious and leading clan of the pureblood faction. It had been nearly 7 months since Kahn last met Szayel in the capital Rathna before the Emperor's Chosen competition started.

And behind him, was Vivian Mor Vandereich, his elder stepsister who once conspired to kill the vampire heir and also Kahn for thwarting their plans.

After Szayel's death, Vivian was supposed to become the only heir of her clan and then succeed her father and become the clan leader in the upcoming future.

She had the support of clan council members who were unhappy with her grandfather & father's leadership because they two were not extremists and didn't share the doctrine of Vampires ruling over the empire and achieving supremacy.

Rather, they wanted to maintain balance and ensure their species and their clan's survival because there was a time that they nearly went extinct in the Rakos Empire because of the rampant bloodbath caused by those who shared such supremacist beliefs four hundred years ago.

But because of Kahn, all of their plans turned to failure. And later, her father, Ismaetrazel Mor Vandereich used Kahn as bait to find the traitors in their clan and the entire Pureblood faction.

Kahn had learned quite a few harsh lessons because of his involvement with the Vandereich clan but after he won the Emperor's Chosen competition, he had cut off all ties with the Pureblood faction.

If not for the Blood-bind contract he made with Allister Mor Vandereich, the faction leader of the Pureblood faction who was also Szayel & Vivian's grandfather… he'd still be at odds with them.

However, his relationship with Szayel was never affected since both of them were used as chess pieces by the faction regardless of their origin. Kahn even had a hearty talk with Szayel when he invited the latter for a dinner in his Wayne Manor.

And both of them decided that night, that they'd never be used by others again. On the same night, Szayel also reached a resolution that he'd no longer stay as a spoiled rich brat but gain strength to the point where no one would treat him as a sacrificial lamb.

The last time they met was when Szayel gave Kahn the Recommendation Token that was sent by his father. And now, he appeared in front of Kahn with a confident demeanor.

After Kahn gestured with his right hand, the vampire heir sat on the closest one of the luxurious chairs on the right side. And behind him, stood Vivian, who was clad in their clan's signature armor like a professional bodyguard.

She had gone through the core-binding ritual as the punishment for betraying the clan and the faction. Which now made her a slave to Szayel. And her life was tied to his own. A cruel fate that was delivered by her own grandfather for betraying their clan and joining hands with the Demi-Human faction back then.

Kahn noticed that Vivian's eyes were now more lifeless than before. If not for her breathing movements, she'd look nothing but a statue to the onlookers.

"Congratulations." said Kahn as he noticed a change about Szayel.

"Thank you." spoke Szayel and slightly bowed his head.

"So how does it feel after breaking through the Grandmaster Rank after 2 decades of delay?" asked Kahn.

"I'm more surprised than you are. I guess there was some sort of psychological barrier that never allowed me to become a grandmaster.

If not for the whole incident with us back then… I wouldn't have been able to surpass my limits.

I think my own will to become stronger played a part in it." he said.

"Well, good that now you're keen on becoming powerful for your own sake than doing it out of obligation." said Kahn and gave a gentle smile.

After being looked down on and even conspired against by the people who practically raised him… Szayel had seen the reality of how even your flesh and blood will kill you for power and authority.

And now, he craved it not to live up to someone's expectations or any obligation as the clan heir… but for his ambitions and inner hunger for strength.

----------------

After an hour of chat and catching up with their current lives and circumstances… Szayel finally got to the task.

"Here's the reason why I came here." spoke Szayel and the next moment, an intrinsically patterned golden envelope came out of his space ring.

Ronin suddenly appeared out of thin air and took the letter.

Kahn opened the letter and read its context. But there was an expression of a surprise after he was finished.

The letter included…

'There is only one month left. You need to start preparing.

Szayel will give you a map. Use it to reach the entrance of that region.

The others have already started preparing and everyone has only 10 days window to enter and exit. Otherwise, you will be stuck in that place till your last moments.

The map will only help in entering the final barrier. As for what's inside or what you need to do to accomplish the task, is all up to you.'

Kahn was relieved to finally get the gist of the deal.

Previously, all he was told was that he needed to enter a particular region of the empire where only a semi-saint under the age of 50 could enter.

And those who entered once and came back could never enter there again.

On top of it… there were no records of what lay inside. So all the factions were looking for the strongest semi-saints of the younger generation with fighting capabilities.

This was also the reason why Kahn agreed to do the job. Because the rewards he demanded were simply too amazing and would save Kahn years of hard work and unnecessary trouble.

Kahn then received the map from Szayel and continued reading.

'The map has the structure of the inner two layers of the forbidden region.

And your main task is to search and retrieve the…'

Kahn then read the last line of the letter with a befuddled expression.

'Tablet of Arcana.'