Hero of Darkness

After Kahn in his Atreus form and Rolakan were the only two people left inside this 2-kilometer radius legendary barrier… a horrific scenario emerged in front of everyone's eyes.

Soon, Kahn started using his claws to shred Rolakan's serpentine skin and pucked out his hexagonal scales one by one.

"No, don't… AHHHHH!!!" the snakekin wriggled and screamed loudly.

As Kahn started peeling off the skin from his face, chest and arms, the wolfkin's legs also stomped and crushed the bones in Rolakan's hips and the long tail that came out of his waist.

"ARRRGHHH!!! STOP!!!" wailed the snakekin in excruciating pain again but instead of showing empathy…

Bang!

Kahn quickly punched and broke his ribcage.

"That's just the appetizer. Here's the main dish." spoke Atreus in a ghastly tone and his eyes glowed yellow.

Lucid Reality was activated and Rolakan found his surrounding changing into a terrifying hellish atmosphere thousands of Rolakan, his exact replicas, were tortured in various ways.

Some were fried in massive woks filled with oil, some had their innards pulled out, and some were slashed and hacked into multiple pieces by Atreus using nothing but his wolven claws.

"Got any preferences?" asked Kahn with a wicked smile, appearing as if he was the lord of this version of hell.

Right then…

BOOM!!!

A massive explosion happened over the barrier as the remaining saints attacked the barrier to help Rolakan.

"Gughhh! Guggghhh!!"

Rolakan was on the verge of fainting due to sheer pain.

"Oh no, not so soon. The meal just started."

Kahn then summoned and used high-grade regeneration, stamina and vitality potions so that Rolakan would recover quickly… all so that Kahn could shatter his bones, skin his flesh and then rip apart his limbs from time to time.

Rolakan was screaming and crying, pleading for mercy as Kahn was enjoying torturing him.

The rest of the members of the party attacked the legendary rank barrier with all their might but their collective strength was barely making a difference.

And even with their collective forces, it would take at least 4 hours for this barrier to deplete its world energy completely.

Maximus, who observed the horrifying scene from a distance, was deeply unsettled by the brutality unfolding before his eyes.

Overwhelmed by his concern, he reached out to Atreus through a telepathic connection, seeking an explanation for the extreme measures being taken.

[Atreus…] Maximus spoke empathetically.

[I witnessed your unforgiving and ruthless nature during the Elysium Tribal Tourney, particularly towards your enemies and those who dared to disrespect you.

But in this instance, are you not taking it too far?

Is it truly necessary to subject Rolakan to such torment simply to assert your dominance over the others?]

However, Kahn's response resonated with a stern and resolute tone as he addressed Maximus's concerns.

[I'm doing what you should have done years ago when this party was formed.

You might not know about their deeds since you have been under surveillance all these years and no one actively informs you about the affairs behind the shadows.

Just know that what I'm doing… they had it coming.] he spoke in a composed voice.

Why would Kahn suddenly provoke the members of the Hero's Party on the very first day of his annotation?

It was because he was simply giving them a reality check.

As he observed Rolakan writhing in excruciating pain, his screams piercing the air, Kahn reflected on the fact that what Rolakan was currently experiencing was merely a fraction of the pain and suffering he himself had once inflicted upon innocent individuals in the past. It served as a stark reminder of the depths of agony he had once subjected others to.

2 weeks ago, Kahn received details on all the members of the Hero's Party before he officially joined.

Svana, the feline assassin of the group had caused an accident due to her mistake during a mission, causing an entire village and its population to lose their homes due to a poisonous curse caused by a legendary rank monster's corpse.

Like an idiot, instead of luring it away, she fought it near a village and the corpse of the monster released toxic fumes that gushed out of its body and spread across the village.

As a result, hundreds of people died and those who survived developed an illness similar to Blood Cancer. Also, many of them, including newborn infants, the elderly and children had their bodies deformed due to mutation and side effects of the curse that the monster's corpse released.

The Imperial authorities buried the matter and even to this day, many of the survivors were imprisoned in experiment labs and facilities somewhere across the empire for the alchemists and mages to create cure and perform experiment on their bodies like lab rats.

The single punch that knocked her out with dozens of broken bones was actually Kahn showing her mercy since he couldn't kill her.

As for Rolakan, this guy was even more deplorable.

3 years ago, a snakekin mage was assigned the responsibility of overseeing and temporarily acting as the protector of a town, which was thriving due to the sighting of mountains with rare ore mines, promising to boost the empire's economy.

The mines employed nearly 600 workers, providing them with much-needed jobs and contributing to the town's prosperity. These mines were abundant in mana ores, with some sections even containing S-rank ores.

However, this irresponsible mage neglected his duty as the town's guardian and instead ventured deep into the mines.

In these mana-rich depths, the delicate flow of mana required careful handling, something any sensible mage would understand. Unfortunately, this snakekin mage threw caution to the wind and recklessly tested his magic spells for his own amusement.

The consequences were devastating. The sudden surge in mana condensation caused by his uncontrolled and unfiltered magic usage triggered a cataclysm.

The mines erupted in a series of explosions, shattering the connected tunnels and reservoirs of mana ores. This disastrous chain reaction not only resulted in the tragic deaths of every single worker in the mines but also caused the neighboring mountains, linked by underground passages, to erupt uncontrollably.

The humongous debris flew in the sky and where did it land?

On the town.

In an unimaginable turn of events, a meteor shower of destruction rained down upon the unsuspecting residents, leaving chaos and devastation in its wake. The majority of the townspeople perished in this unforeseen calamity, caught off guard by a disaster of such magnitude.

All of it happened just because Rolakan forgot to follow the Safety Protocol due to his curiosity and excitement.

Obviously, Rolakan being a saint and a mage, used this very legendary rank barrier to protect himself and survived without a single injury.

Following this harrowing incident, the responsibility of the cleanup fell upon one of the 12 Tribes, much like Kahn as Atreus, and Dorian had acted as the cleanup crew for Conan just a few months ago.

The negligence displayed by Rolakan had unfathomable consequences, leading to the tragic deaths of over a thousand individuals.

Astonishingly, despite the magnitude of his actions, no one ever held him accountable for the immense loss of life and the irreversible damage caused solely because he was part of the Hero's Party.

But at this very moment, Kahn was torturing Rolakan under that very legendary rank magic barrier that once protected his life, acting as his cage and aiding Kahn who tortured him.

In a way, Kahn was simply exercising what people called as Asian Parenting on earth.

You fuck up big time and cause irrecoverable consequences… You get the beating of a lifetime.

That was the ancient way of the Asians when it came to raising their children. And it actually worked in raising responsible men and women in their cultures.

The only thing Kahn was missing at this point was a sandal and a leather belt, otherwise, it would be perfect.

Now… Why was Kahn suddenly playing a hero here by acting like a Warrior of Justice?

The current Kahn always expected the worst in people and his days of playing a righteous hero were long gone.

Due to his experience in the past few years, he had long abandoned his aspirations of being a savior, becoming a cynic who anticipated the worst in people even if they were weak and poor.

However, in this particular situation, he found himself playing the role of a divine punisher due to a personal request from his Master, the Heavenly King of Fire.

Romulus, being in a position of authority within the empire, faced limitations in officially punishing those responsible for their crimes.

Understanding the need for justice to prevail, Romulus turned to Kahn, his trusted disciple, and bestowed upon him the responsibility of meting out justice on his behalf after the latter was forced to join the Hero's Party.

It was a significant task for Kahn, one that went against his disillusioned nature and his skepticism towards the inherent goodness of people.

Yet, driven by loyalty and a sense of duty to his Master, he reluctantly agreed to take on the role of the divine punisher.

As for the rest of the members…

Kahn never made exceptions or showed mercy to those who deserved his wrath.