Hero of Darkness

The emperor declared that it was going to be the time for the Imperial Punishment in front of the whole empire and the people present in the imperial court after all the proofs and testimonies were presented one by one regarding the second prince's crimes.

Initially, they had different plans with the hearing and saving Rogis since everything was only rumored before the grand trial.

But now… No way could they let such a cruel mass murderer stay as the prince or the emperor, the imperial clan, the firebornes and the entire imperial rule would become nothing but a joke.

And since the church and the dwarven race themselves were against them on this topic… there couldn't just bury the matter no matter what they did.

In a way… even the strongest person in the empire was now helpless.

[Look carefully, boy. The emperor has no other way to get out of this situation. And if he tried some twisted reasoning to save Rogis, he will be forever known as an incompetent ruler.

But if he indeed decides to punish the second prince…

It will set a precedence.] said Rathnaar.

"What kind of precedence?" asked Kahn with a curious expression.

[That even the imperial family is not above the laws of the empire or they can do whatever the hell they want.

They will no longer be averse to imperial punishment or will be able to massacre people on a whim.

And after this… they will not be the untouchable figures in the empire. This is going to place my restrictions on the current as well as future generations of the imperial family.] explained the peak saint.

"Well, let's see what the emperor says."

[They need a sacrifice to keep his reign intact. Rogis is now a disposable chess piece because he has been compromised.] replied Rathnaar.

Finally, the emperor decided to give his final verdict.

"35 years ago when I became the emperor of our great empire… I placed those restrictions on the human race to deter what happened in the past. In those times, there were simply too many people who died and had to prevent another such slaughter from happening again.

But those restrictions were only placed to avoid history repeating itself again and not to slaughter them like animals!

Looks like many people of our empire misunderstood my intentions back then and used that as an excuse to flame the cycle of hatred and take out their anger on innocents who had nothing to do with what their ancestors did." explained the emperor in a righteous tone.

[Hmph! What a hypocrite bastard. He abandoned his daughter after the third empress' death because she was half-human.

And now he's talking about fairness and unjust hatred towards humans?] thought the pope of the church of hetrax.

"The recent incidents have brought our attention to how greatly this has deranged the mentality of many people including the second prince.

And now, if we do not punish such heinous criminals… will we be ever able to raise our future generations with moral values that our great god Hetrax has instilled in us?" iterated the emperor as he turned to topic more about moral integrity instead of him being a failure as a father.

"So as the power and rights that I have as the reigning emperor of the Vulcan empire…

I hereby declare the Imperial Punishment." spoke the emperor in a serious tone.

"All the people associated with these acts, from the recent incident and even the ones that have happened in the past 5 years shall be arrested and brought for their trials.

All of them, regardless of their origins and race, will face imperial punishment when found guilty. And the punishment shall be in the form of execution." declared the emperor.

Gasp!

Billions of people were shocked after hearing this verdict. Because although it looked like it was the right decision… the parties involved were some of the top influential figures from across the empire.

Even the noble clans and the people from the church were too stunned to speak because it also involved the members of their elite groups and church.

If it was just these hundred or so people… they could accept the loss… but if the imperial punishment involved those who attended the parties in the past… the count was above 8 thousand.

In a way, the emperor was not only cutting his feet but also theirs.

[Ha! What a crafty bastard! He's not a fool at all.] spoke Rathnaar in an approving tone.

"What do you mean? Doesn't it look like he's destroying his own support as well?" asked Kahn in a suspicious tone.

[Yes. Because of Rogis, the imperial clan will be on the backfoot for some time. The church and the nobles from fireborne and dwarven races will get a chance to oppress the imperial clan for quite some time as well.

But although it looks like he is burning his own house… he is actually taking down everyone else with him and bringing them on the same level.

So at the end, he will still have an upper hand and more power than the other two.

That's what you call turning adversity into an opportunity.] praised Rathnaar.

"I see. He's intentionally increasing the losses to maintain his hierarchy till the end." said Kahn as he got the gist of everything.

[That's not all. Later, he will brand those criminals with several crimes they didn't even do and different ways to get rid of his own or the imperial clan's wrongdoings and use these idiots as a scapegoat.

One who is declared as a murderer can also be used to blame for the deaths of thousands he didn't kill.

And this empire is his playground… who is going to question him?] spoke Rathnaar.

"That son of bitch… he is truly farsighted." spoke Kahn as he understood the whole thing.

The emperor's eyes then settled on Rogis who was rooted on the spot as the punishment was just separately given to his allies… his own fate was yet to be decided upon.

"From now on, Rogis Hos Sigfreed has lost his position as part of the imperial family and the imperial clan.

Even if the entire imperial family were to die tomorrow, he will still have no claim to the throne.

He shall be jailed for the rest of his life in prison for his crimes.

Anyone aiding him in any way will be seen as committing high treason and will be publicly executed." declared the emperor in a tyrannical voice that trembled the entire court.

While the population of the empire was shocked, Kahn who was watching the broadcast had a troubled expression.

"Why the hell didn't he order the prince to be executed like the rest…" he said.

[Like hell they'll execute an imperial prince. If they did… means the imperial family will no longer be above everyone else in the empire.

This is as far as he will go.] explained Rathnaar.

"If not for the imperial blood running through your veins, you'd be dead too." spoke the emperor to Rogis in a threatening manner.

"But your majesty!" suddenly, an old and bald fireborne spoke and stood up from his seat among the ones from the fireborne clans.

This figure was actually the grandfather of Rogis from his mother's side. And beside him, was the second prince's mother who was weeping after the punishment was declared.

"The second prince is young and naive. There's no need to go as far as shunning him from the imperial clan." spoke the old man.

In reality, he had placed all his bets on Rogis becoming the crown prince and the next emperor. But with imperial punishment… his decades of plans were to go in vain in a single moment.

BOOM!!

The emperor released his saint pressure and instantly put this 6th stage saint fireborne ground.

"I refuse to believe that the Yorknaar Clan didn't have any hand in the second prince's crimes. Half of his entourage includes some of the members of your clan.

Do you want me to investigate?" asked the emperor in a tyrannical voice and instantly let the old man understand that if he tried to make a scene… he was coming for the entire clan.

"I declare that this case will be further investigated and all the guilty people will face the imperial punishment.

After seeing the severity of the situation… I am lifting all the restrictions and bans on the human race. They shall not be shunned no more." gave the emperor his decree.

Gasp!

Shock!

The entire empire was left flabbergasted after the new imperial decree was announced.

Because this just changed the fate of the entire human race out of a sudden.

[Ha ha ha!! What a smart guy.

He just stopped an uprising by all the humans in the empire.] said Rathnaar.

"Agreed. Unlike his children… the emperor is simply too crafty.

He already foresaw what was going to happen after the hearing ended.

Even if humans couldn't do anything in this empire even if they all joined hands… still, killing them in the name of purging the uprising would make the imperial rule just as cruel as Rogis.

In one sentence, he created a safe future for his reign. And now, no one can question his verdict." said Kahn as he understood what kind of aftermath was avoided by the emperor.

The emperor continued in a somber tone.

"The second prince will be sent into Pits of Gulag and spend the rest of his life in imprisonment." he gave his last punishment and this, the imperial trial officially ended.

"What now, master?" asked Ronin.

Kahn replied in a thoughtful voice as he looked at Hector and Venessa's faces on the broadcast screen.

"Now… we begin Phase Four."