The pair made good time on the carriage and not even half a day later, they arrived at the Dark Hall.
He did not resist the stares he received on the way and cooperatively let Purple drag him straight to the Command Hall.
As he stepped through the black gates, he arrived at the familiar darkness that obscure everything in sight. However, he clearly felt surrounded by nine Triple S rankers.
“Ten, including Purple Ghost.”
They differ in strength between Entry to Peak grade, but each of them gave off a presence more refined than their level.
Without saying, they are all prodigies that could challenge stronger existences than themselves.
With an almost utter lack of fear, Tommy spoke first, “The Snowdrifts claims the Dark Hall as its own. You will assist in the mission to overturn the Ku Kang Camp and help fool the Devilheart family.”
It became so quiet that even their breathing stilled.
A moment later, the Hall Master’s laughter rang through the Command Hall.
“HA HA HAH…”
A slow applause accompanied his mirth, but Tommy remained silent.
“Are you mistaking something?”
Tommy: “Are you the Hall Master?”
“I am.”
“Good. I’ve made no mistakes. You’ve heard my demands. Any questions?”
“Questions?” the Hall Master said in a tone of great annoyance. The Ghosts had never seen their leader this furious before.
Of course, it is also because the Hall Master is truly perturbed.
“Well, since you so politely asked, I do have a question.”
“Speak,” Tommy declared, causing the Hall Master’s eyebrows to raise a notch.
“Do you truly think that you have us in your palm after taking our Soul Slips?”
“Yes.”
It was a short and concise answer, and the Command Hall fell silent again.
The Hall Master felt something was off when he saw the display of confidence Tommy has.
A few Ghosts, however, were not as astute.
The Red Ghost was the first one to roar out, “You Fool! We are bound by loyalty to the throne. As long as we do not betray our vows, our Soul Slips would not activate. So what if you have the slips in your hands?”
Tommy nodded in agreement, then he asked, “How many of you had sworn loyalty to the Devilheart family?”
Hall Master & the Ghosts: “…..”
“And how many are sworn to the throne?”
Hall Master & the Ghosts: “…..”
Tommy: “My guess is, the leaders are sworn only to the throne. At least, if I’m in your place, I wouldn’t make a second Soul Slip swearing fealty to the Devilheart family.”
“At least, that’s what Kairos told me.”
Hall Master: “And your point?”
“The reason I am here is because Lord Kairos has shown mercy to you, giving you traitors a second chance.”
The Silver Ghost laughed at his words. As the strategist in their group, he had a thing or two to say, “Traitors? We had served the empire silently in the shadows for thousands of years. A child like you dare to question our loyalty?”
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Tommy nodded again as if in acknowledgement, and said, “We do recognise the Dark Hall’s value, and understand the difficulty of recent times. It is why I was sent to give you this one chance.”
Hall Master: “You speak as though you hold power over us.”
If their Soul Slips had been activated, they will know immediately. It will be an unbearable feeling of dread in the deepest recesses of their souls.
However, as it had not yet happened, the Hall Master was disconcerted by how Tommy to stay undisturbed while being surrounded by top level pugilists.
Tommy did not say anymore but took out a small crystal globe.
He activated a strange token and disappeared.
The powerful cultivators looked around in wonder. They could feel that he had truly vanished. It wasn’t teleportation nor any form of illusion or invisibility.
A fraction of a second later, before they had the time to take in a breath, Tommy reappeared while carrying an unconscious young girl of around thirteen years old.
She was beautiful to the eyes, and a calming air around her.
Hall Master & the Ghosts: “Princess Relestia?”
They had heard rumours of her being in the hands of the Snowdrifts. For the chance that it was true, the Devilheart family had launched all kinds of attacks in the shadows at the guild. They were truly astonished that he brought her highness out here in the middle of enemy territory.
Without say, their Soul Slips still remained inactive.
The one in control of the throne is the Devilheart family, and in their clutches is the Fifth Princess who has closer bloodline to throne. The princess is only second place.
The Red Ghost appeared almost instantly next to Relestia, and before Tommy could do anything, he had taken her into their midst.
He smirked at the young man who couldn’t even react to his speed.
However, Tommy wasn’t standing still either.
The Ghosts stared at the yellowed rolled-up paper that had appeared in his hands.
Tommy: “This is a letter from the Emperor, kept safely by Duke Yue.”
Saying so, he threw it into the Hall Master’s hands.
Of course, he could not tell where the ten of them are standing, because not only does the darkness cover his sight, it also confounds his other senses.
Unfortunately, such paltry barrier could not hide from his Soul Perception, and he accurately passed the message into the right hands.
When the Hall Master took a look at the letter, his face instantly paled.
“C…Crown Princess!”
The other Ghosts were disturbed by the huge uproar from their leader.
The Silver Ghost, barely retaining his composure quickly asked, “Hall Master, what does it say?”
“It reads that in the events where His Majesty the Emperor is absent, Crown Princess Relestia will act in succession of his will. Her royal highness will receive the full control over Saint Empire and all loyal citizens must obey her.”
The Ghosts turned pale.
They each felt something stir in their souls, and a strange dread overcome them.
“Traitors.”
They remembered the word that Tommy used to describe them.
Then, the young man repeated the words he first said, “The Snowdrifts claims the Dark Hall as its own. You will assist in the mission to overturn the Ku Kang Camp and help fool the Devilheart family.”
Loyalty.
It is the single most important creed in the Dark Hall.
A slight waver in conviction warrants a complete expulsion of the individual.
A high-level executive might suddenly disappear the next day, with all data, friends, contacts, associated with him, and even his identity completely removed.
Even if the person is the Hall Master, there will be no exception, because his left and right arms – the Gold Ghost and the Silver Ghost – are in fact there to keep him in check.
But there is one outlier in this system.
And that is when all the top leaders betrayed their creed at the same time; not only must it be complete, it must be simultaneous, otherwise the task to destroy the Dark Hall will only fall into someone else’s hands. Of course, there are other leaders, trainers, and spy captains that they still need to be ‘converted’ but it will be an easy task for the ten of them.
When the nine Ghosts and the Hall Master recognised Relestia as the Crown Princess and the true leader to their empire, they also realised their deeds so far had been traitorous.
Their Soul Slips in Kairos’ Time-Space ring immediately activated allowing him to destroy them at any time he wishes.
If he crushes the slips, not only will their deaths be excruciating, there will not be a speck of them left afterwards. Even their souls will be grounded into dust – eternal as souls are it will not be a pretty feeling.
The ten of them turned ghastly pale when they looked at the Crown Princess. She is still in slumber to seal up the devil that had invaded her body, but the letter from Galahad had mentioned the name of a guardian: Lord Kairos Astroire.
“It’s authentic,” the Hall Master breathed, as he appraised the letter using a secret technique to check for counterfeits.
The Ghosts looked helpless all at once.
Every action they had done in the Devilheart family’s command was betrayal.
The Soul Slip had a function that could prevent both perfidy and unintended betrayals.
Unfortunately, the basis that which the function is based upon, is what one considers a breach.
If someone believes that loyalty to the throne is loyalty to Emperor Galahad, then even when drunk, their Soul Slip will counteract attempts to pull out information from the person.
But, if someone believes that loyalty to the throne is towards whoever that is at the helm of Saint Empire, then what happened to the Dark Hall is understandable.
Their Soul Slips had not judged they were doing anything wrong, because their souls did not feel that they were traitors… until now.
The darkness faded away suddenly, revealing the grand Command Hall and ten people shrouded in robes of different colours surrounding him.