Hero of Darkness

After Ervalen was killed by the Dungeon Boss in mere seconds without even getting a chance to protect himself... this incident ended his journey inside the Immortal Dungeon. 

Blergh! 

The remaining body or should we call as the remaining Ervalen threw up a lot of blood as he retched, suffering immense pain at the same time. 

At this moment, 3 different colored orbs covered in archaic formations passed into the center of his body at the speed of light. 

"Dammit!! The divine abilities I left with that body returned! 

I have failed my mission." he spoke with a regretful and infuriated tone as his eyes turned blood red from rage. 

Unlike Kahn's doppelgangers… Ervalen could create real copies of himself who also possessed the same rank as him and had methods that allowed him to impart a set of his own divine abilities to a particular copy. 

In Kahn's case, none of his doppelgangers could use the Divine Abilities, the Blessings given by War Deity and the Deities of Blacksmithing or even the bloodline abilities like his main body. But this was not the case for Ervalen Baslaark, the Hero whose abilities were chosen by the God of Life himself. 

And every time Ervalen died, he could exchange life force and resurrect himself using the spare copy. 

However, in case all the copies died, the information and memories experienced by that Ervalen would go back to the main body. 

And this wasn't the end of it either.

As long as even one copy remained, the divine abilities as well as all the memories could be passed to it, making that one into 'real' Ervalen. 

This made him basically unkillable unless all Ervalen were standing at one place and killed together. 

However, these were just 2 of his divine abilities. The rest were chosen to make it impossible to kill by overcoming that flaw as well. 

This was why nobody who knew of his secrets believed that Hero of Life could be killed. 

At the present moment, Ervalen used his healing abilities while processing the set of information that just appeared in his mind. 

"What the hell!!" he shouted in disbelief as soon as he processed the memories from the copy that died on the final floor. 

His entire countenance was that of a terrified man who had given into despair and forsaken life. 

Only after a few minutes did he manage to return to reality as sweat dripped from his entire body and chin. 

"Why didn't the emperor tell me anything about it?" he asked himself, completely confused. 

In an hour, he requested for an urgent council with both the Emperor and the Abbot who resided in their respective palaces. 

"How can that thing exist in a dungeon?

It shouldn't be possible for a supreme dungeon to create that creature." he spoke in front of the two monarchs of Zivot Empire in a heavily secured chamber. 

"Did you see it with your own eyes?" asked the Emperor with an expectant gaze. 

"Of course, I did. Only because one of my divine abilities allowed me to retrieve my memories." spoke Ervalen and explained what he saw on the last floor. 

Both the Emperor Class High Elves were taken aback slightly. 

"Brother… it's weaker compared to the time when our Grandfather reigned over this empire. But it's still very resentful." said the Abbot. 

Then his gaze turned to Ervalen as he iterated… 

"To tell you the truth. You're not the only Hero of Life who reached the final floor. 

The imperial family had spread the rumor that no one was able to cross the 81st floor to keep its existence a secret. That 'creature'... You know what will happen if the whole empire learned about it." he spoke in a stern voice. 

The 8th stage saint rank emperor then cut in. 

"But there was one big problem. 

Nobody, not even the Hero of Life from those times ever managed to come back alive. 

Except for your predecessor, the two Hero of Life that came before also died after reaching that floor." he explained. 

"But can such a powerful creature be contained there? 

It's not really the dungeon boss is it?" asked the short and white-haired hero. 

"That monstrous being didn't even use 5% of its strength but killed me, a 4th stage saint in a blink of an eye." spoke Ervalen, revealing a devastated and frightened expression. 

"What do you think is the source of those dungeons in Alfheim? 

Its power has been consumed and drained over a thousand years now to create those dungeons. 

If the normal people or the nearby empires found out… they would all attack the Zivot Empire to take control over that being." 

That's why we hid the truth. Otherwise… there would be no Zivot Empire in existence." explained the Emperor sternly. 

"But now that you know… you have a higher chance to prepare and succeed." said the Abbot in a joyous tone. 

"I… I do not have the confidence anymore. 

Besides, everyone else is dead. Only I know what exists there. No one would come with me to die." he said in an exhausted tone. 

Through his memories, he already knew how hard it was to even reach there. Even his body with 3 divine abilities at his disposal barely managed to do it. 

To his defeated countenance, the Abbot replied in a warm tone. 

"Ervalen, you're different from all of your predecessors. That's why we offered you the deal that was never even considered for any chosen Hero, not even the 4th Hero of Life, Bjorn Ragnarsson. 

If you manage to control it, you'll not only be our family and marry the princess, which goes against our ancestral laws… but you will also be able to wield an unimaginable power that would decide the fate of our empire in the upcoming war against the Demon God." 

Next, the emperor spoke with an amicable smile. 

"The Immortal Dungeon will open next year again. You always have the opportunity to try. We will provide you with whatever you need." 

"I can't. 

Not unless I become a 5th stage saint first. 

I need at least 5 more years to create more bodies and try again." he spoke, partially declining the command.

Both the monarchs had a gloomy faces after hearing this response. But they were patient enough to let it slide. 

"And what about my comrades?" he asked. 

The Emperor and the Abbot had heard about what happened. 

Ervalen was once a King who had led the Uprising and also overthrew the previous rule. He led powerful people during his rise to power and journey to become the King. 

But now that his subordinates were dead, there were bound to be repercussions within the top High Elf classes.

The reason?... 

It wasn't even a glorified war with other empires but a dungeon expedition that even the public knew about. Their deaths couldn't be covered so easily and the Hero's Party would be a laughingstock for not only the empire but the entire world. 

His capabilities to lead as a chosen Hero would also be questioned by the people if that happened. 

Just then, the emperor spoke calmly. 

"We have a way to justify their deaths. 

We purposely held important information and now we are going to use it to our advantage." 

"You mean…" Ervalen's eyes widened as he could already think of the best way to get out of this predicament because of his past life experience. 

"Yes. We will declare it to the entire Zivot Empire and change the narrative of the truth by blaming their deaths on…" revealed the emperor and declared their intentions. 

"Hero of Darkness."