Instead of giving in to the pressure emitted by God of Darkness, Kahn broke free on his own, using the powers he acquired within the Linchpin of the Multiverse, and finally revealed his true cosmic form.
Yet, their argument didn’t just stop, but rather intensified even more than before. Neither side wanted to back down, so Kahn then started tallying his acplishments in front of the god of darkness, who suggested replacing Kahn with someone else since the original Kahn, aka the Martial Emperor, was no longer in the picture.
Following on, Kahn recounted everything he achieved on his own, something neither the divine abilities nor the blessings he received had a part to play in.
Whether it was starting a big business enterprise, underworld organizations, or mercenary guilds, going as far as being the emperor of a whole empire while also earning the acknowledgement of Deities of Blacksmithing and none other than the God of Space himself wanting to recruit him... Kahn left nothing behind.
One could say that his resume was way too strong and he was, in every sense, overqualified for this job.
It was a kind of counterattack that even God of Darkness himself wouldn’t be able to dismiss or look down on.
And finally, Kahn ended his rebuttals by saying that there was no one else like him.
******************
After Kahn was done explaining why he was still the best choice.... The previously furious God of Darkness had cooled off his mind after considering all the points the former mentioned.
However... God of Darkness’ tone turned icy cold as he scoffed...
"Ha! Are you under the impression that none of your predecessors achieved that kind of feat during their time?"
"The 2nd Hero of Darkness was not only a petent hero but a skilled businessman.
In a way, he revitalized the Abyss Empire’s merce and overall economy during the crisis. His action saved the empire from starvation. And he did that without using his divine abilities or the influence that came with his role as the Hero of Darkness." said the god.
"As a form of appreciation, they even married him to the 2nd princess and gave him far more honor than any other hero or heroine of darkness ever received.
He was loved and cherished by every single faction, whether the moners, the royalty, or the cult of darkborne. He had no enemies or anyone who intended him harm." revealed the god sternly.
"The 6th Heroine of Darkness, the one that even Rathnaar Whitclock acknowledged before being a Peak Saint, was close to being a Sage on her own. That’s how intelligent and hardworking she was.
The only reason she failed to reach that class was because of envy from the imperial family back then, who destroyed her research, fearing that her strength was beyond their control and would be detrimental to their authority.
In return, she wiped out the whole Imperial Family of that time.
Why do you think none of Kravel’s descendants are the ruling family in the hidden Abyss Empire now?" asked the God of Darkness in a condescending tone.
"The 4th Hero of Darkness, Darius Ashborne, was the strongest hero summoned of his time despite choosing to be an Assassin. He could even assassinate someone 3 ranks above him with a simple iron dagger." iterated God of Darkness, looking at Kahn mockingly.
"The 7th Hero of Darkness almost united the entire Abyss Empire under the Cult of Darkborne and was on the verge of being the Emperor. Until I had to stop him and divert his attention to the war with the Demon God.
His was a story filled with far more struggles than you. If not for the meddling by other empires in crucial times, he might as well have been able to kill the Demon God and end this whole thing," iterated the god with a grim tone.
"I will admit that you have acplished a lot of notable feats by yourself. But that does not make you anything special than the rest.
There are even Heroes of other Gods in the past, like the 6th Hero of Space, who even became the Emperor of the now-called Erdve Empire while reforming the nation. His descendants still rule it to this day.
That kind of legacy he left behind, while yours hasn’t even started yet." said the ruler of the abyss.
"pared to him, are you any better?" asked the god.
"Majority of your acplishments..." he spoke and paused before speaking in a pletely dismissive tone.
"They are irrelevant and unnecessary to my cause or your real purpose." he declared.
SILENCE!
Another moment of silence ensued as the God of Darkness made a striking counterargument that was in fact... also correct.
"So don’t act like you’re doing me any favor with your inconsequential merits.
All of it has no effect or advantages in our main crusade. So do not boast in front of me as if you’re some genius born once in a million years.
Even Mors, the Deity of Slaughter’s carnage, and Kravel, the War Deity’s crusade for world domination, were far more monumental in the history of vantrea to the point that all the Gods and Goddesses had to interfere directly.
So tell me, pared to them... how big a deal ’your’ acplishments are?" he asked Kahn in a domineering tone.
First, Kahn lectured God of Darkness, and now God of Darkness was lecturing Kahn.
In a sense, both were going at each other’s throats, not letting the other side get even the slightest upper hand in their confrontation.
But if one looked at their sides retrospectively... both of them were right.
******************
The confrontation was now at a standstill... both sides were unable to counterattack or make any extra arguments.
If anyone spoke and added more oil to the fire... things would escalate to the point that there was no turning back for either of them.
"Fine! Let’s just say that both of us are right in our own way.
But do you really think that now is the time to try and experiment with new things?" asked Kahn, still firm with his stance.
"What if, for some reason, the new person you choose turns out to be inpetent and instead ruins everything I’ve prepared for the Great War?" he asked Kahn with a voice full of conviction.
It was then, the god of death’s eyes glimmered with curiosity for the first time.
"Do tell me about these ’preparations’ of yours." said the god.
Kahn breathed out a sigh, and soon, he started recounting his recent experiences since the Conclave of Heroes.
Following the next 10 minutes, Kahn explained his future plans. Whether it was the Rakos Empire, the allies he made with the Erdve Empire, aka the Empire of Space. Then there was Romulus Lykaios and Maximus Gladius, the Hero of Nature.
The allegiance between him and Havi Hos Siegfreed, Venessa’s father, who now secretly sided with Kahn and would have the whole Vulkan Empire support his side when the right time came.
There was also the Misthios Mercenary Guild that had millions of capable fighters. And lastly... his plans to claim the entirety of the Abyss Empire, unify it, and then lead them into the Great War.
He even mentioned how his contract of familiarity tied him to Vildred, the former Lightning Dragon Emperor, and how he had Rathnaar’s core as well as the Tablet of Arcana.
Before... God of Darkness wasn’t convinced since he knew of Rathnaar’s involvement since the original timeline.
However... the fact that Vildred and Kahn were now master and disciple sparked even bigger curiosity in his mind because he saw great potential for the future war due to their bond.
Kahn even told God of Darkness how he became the disciple of Miyamoto Musashi.
"What? The 6th Hero of Space took you and one of your subordinates as his disciples?" asked the God of Darkness, slightly baffled.
Kahn then explained his training under the Sword Saint and how he also met and fought with the current Hero of Space, Sasakibe Ryuken.
And for the present times, he explained how he met Morrigan Morningstar and now had connections to the Cult of Darkborne.
However... in the middle of the final part, the God of Darkness suddenly became suspicious and curious.
His first question was...
"Who is this Argos Belmont?"
"What do you mean, who? Do you not know about his role?
He is now the official representative of yours, backing me up.
He is the sole reason why none of the empires or those inquisitors have dared to attack me openly yet.
He is also the reason why I was able to enter the Abyss Forest." asked Kahn in return instead.
"If he is doing such a great service for my cause... why haven’t I heard of him till now?" queried the ruler of the eternal abyss.
Kahn made a concerned countenance and gave a diplomatic answer.
"I’m going to be honest with you. He is probably the strongest Darkness element user among the saints in the whole world.
I have witnessed his power. He might be able to bee a Peak Saint in the future.
As for his identity... though he does not serve you directly, he is helping me because of a mission passed onto him." revealed Kahn
"Who did he receive the mission from? The Cult of Darkborne?" asked the god.
"No... he received it from his adoptive father." responded Kahn calmly.
"Who is the adoptive father of this vampire you call Argos Belmont?" questioned God of Darkness with great concern.
Kahn then took a big breath and responded calmly, knowing that God of Darkness was going to lose his mind over this...
"The 8th Hero of Darkness."
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