Hero of Darkness

10 DAYS LATER 

In one of the inner sections of the capital Arkensan was a massive villa surrounded by thousands of soldiers of the imperial clan, where a secret meeting was being held in a large hall that included some of the top figures of the empire. 

But suddenly, the entire room was covered in a pitch-black domain out of nowhere and all the attendees were pulled inside it out of nowhere. 

Shing!! 

An unbearably oppressive aura was exerted on these people… some of who were saints up to 2nd stage saints at best. 

But no one except one person managed to stay awake while everyone else fainted on the spot. 

A second stage saint Fireborne, who was not targeted by this aura pulled out a battleaxe and was ready to attack as he quickly understood that they were under attack. 

Click! 

But before he could move… a longblade-style sword appeared over his neck. 

Soon, multiple figures in red hoods and a black mask appeared in front of this fireborne who had bright red hair, two glowing red horns coming out from the back of his head and a humanoid physique. 

"You dare attack me, the first prince of the Vulcan empire?! Do you have a deathwish?!" exclaimed the first prince, Hector HoS Sigfreed in a furious voice. 

The hooded figure who had his blade over Hector's neck quickly pulled away his sword and kneeled as well. 

But before he could ask any questions… 

The figures in front of him quickly kneeled. 

"My apologies, imperial prince. Please know that we're from your side. 

We had to hijack this meeting because it was the perfect way to meet you without raising the suspicions of those who are monitoring you." spoke the person who was in the center of this group. 

From his voice, anyone could tell that it was an old person behind the mask. 

"This does not justify you breaking into my villa. Give me a reason why I shouldn't have all of you executed for this crime?" asked Hector in a grim tone. 

He was a second stage saint and around 35 years old. But his appearance was that of an experienced warrior. 

"Please listen to us, your highness. We're not your enemies. We're here to provide you with some important information. 

It could not wait so we had to make this abrupt move and use this method to isolate you from the outside world and warn you about an opportunity." spoke the old individual. 

"What kind of information?" asked Hector as he was instantly back in command. 

"An information… to take down the second imperial prince." said this old person behind the mask. 

Soon, they presented him with the information about what happened between Throk and the second prince two weeks ago. 

But the information was buried by the prince by having all the people sign a contract of secrecy. No one was an exception to this. But knowing it was a member of the imperial family, everyone kept their mouths shut even now. 

So other than Throk and the people who were present at that banquet… nobody else knew. 

"How did you find out about this then?" asked Hector. 

"There are many people who serve you, my prince. We just decided to show up today because time was of the essence and we had to start the first phase of the grand plan." responded the old person with a respectful tone towards the prince. 

"What grand plan?" asked Hector in a curious voice. 

"To make you the next emperor, my prince." 

"And why would you do that?" asked Hector without any surprise on his face. 

"You may be unaware of our existence, your highness. But there are too many people who support you from the Imperial clan as well as outside. 

In our eyes, you're a true fireborne and the only one with the qualities of an Emperor. Someone worthy to support and follow unlike that egomaniac second prince and the halfbreed princess." revealed the leader of the red-clothed intruders. 

"Just that we can't reveal our identity for your own safety. It will also risk you if anyone found that we were connected to you." he explained. 

"How can I trust you? You are all behind masks." he said in a commanding tone. 

"Well, if we were enemies… having you killed here when no one could interfere wouldn't be any problem for us." said this leader and soon, he started explaining the elaborate plan on how to take down the 2nd imperial prince and defame him to the point that he would be kicked out of the race to the throne and might even lose his identity as a member of the imperial family. 

"Think about it. Most importantly… it would make her highness, the first queen and your mother the happiest person." spoke this leader at the end of their conversation. 

As soon as those words reached his ears… the first prince was rooted on the spot. 

Kahn said those words and hit the nail. 

Because one thing they had gathered in the past 10 days by infiltrating their ranks, placing his assassins in hundreds of people around the first prince, as well as his mother's clan under Rathnaar's orders, led to them gaining crucial information about the first prince. 

That he didn't have a good relationship with his father, the current Emperor since childhood. And the emperor only married his mother to gain the support of their clan of firebornes, which was one of the 6 main clans. 

But years later, for some reason… he married another woman from another clan. And a couple of years later… he married a human woman, who was a princess of a friendly empire to maintain a good relationship with them. 

But later… he cut off all ties with his mother and then stopped talking with him as well since he was but a child. 

In those decades… his mother was the only one who cared for him. So now, she was the most important part of his life. 

He listened to everything she said and always sought her approval. So in conclusion… 

That the first prince was actually… 

The Momma's Boy.