Chapter 19

It was already nighttime as the full moon shone across the trees. The sound of insects and animals could be heard in the distance. The Church's caravan had stopped to rest for the night before continuing in the morning.

In the biggest tent at the center of the camp, the messenger looked over to Nathan, "Is this newborn child really the cause of the Energy readings we got…?" He was also doubtful, because the more he inspected the child, the less he could find. There was no presence of Dark energy or a curse or anything at all, leaving The Emissaries baffled.

"Sir, perhaps The Pope will have the answer. Even if the child is not corrupted, we can always send him to be trained by our Knights. He seems pretty talented."

"Hmm… order the Guards to be on full alert. We have messed with members of The Royal Family. They might discover us and retaliate."

"Yes sir!"

***

In the woods near the Campsite

"Captain! We have scouted their Camp. Ten Crusaders and six Emissaries. The child is being held at the central tent." In the darkness of the shadows, 4 men dressed in black armor were hiding while looking over the camp.

"Well done. The three of us will move in and secure the child." The Captain turned to the fourth man, "After this operation is done, take the child and hide. The rest of us will act as decoys and keep their attention on us for as long as possible. It is our sworn duty to dedicate our lives to the prosperity of Darkness. May we meet again, Brothers…"

The four men looked very serious, and no one protested against their roles. Each person had an important role to play in the grand picture.

"By Darkness we were reborn, to Darkness we shall return!" They chanted unitedly before moving out.

***

Two Crusaders, dressed in light silver armor while looking very bored, were watching over the carriages, making sure they weren't damaged by any stray Magical Beast that might wander close or any other Human daring enough to approach a camp with the flag of The Church.

*Xiu* *Xiu*

Before they could even hear the noise, two arrows accurately impaled their necks, forbidding them from making any noise as they died silently.

The shadows stirred slightly and Three men emerged.

"Sabotage the carriages. No one leaves here alive…"

The Camp consisted of three tents, so each tent had two guards while the last two were standing guard by the entrance, as The Camp was surrounded by a makeshift fence.

The Emissaries slept soundly in their tents, as they were not used to the hardships of travel, making them feel greatly exhausted.

The shadows moved silently toward the central tent, as the darkness of the night and the swaying fire gave them the best cover. They smoothly entered the tent, only to find the messenger alone. The shadows rose from the ground and turned into a Dark Knight. He moved swiftly and covered the messengers mouth with his hand while plunging his dagger deep into his heart. The messenger couldn't even struggle as he bleed to death, only feeling the cold metallic surface of the armor as his soul dispersed.

The Captain also emerged from the shadow and moved over to the child and removed the spell that forced Nathan to sleep like it was a cheap scam. Nathan also woke up at that moment, but he couldn't see or hear much. His vision was blurry and his hearing was distinct. His senses weren't developed yet.

The moment The Captain looked into his eyes, he immediately dropped to one knee while putting his fist on the ground, and his two other subordinates followed the same.

"Greetings, Your Highness. We apologize for not being able to accompany you further. We are currently too weak to stand against them. Please! We beg of you! Save our Brothers and Sisters who are suffering in this world! You are our only hope…" The Captain turned to his subordinate, "Deliver His Highness and take position, we will wipe out this camp."

Although Nathan couldn't see or hear, he found out that he could actually hear The Captains voice in his head. Indeed, The Captain spoke to him using his [Telepathy] that allowed him to communicate with his subordinates when he couldn't talk with his mouth.

'I swear it on my name! Our Path will rise again! And all who dared look down on us will pay!' Nathan vowed in his heart. Till this point, the path of Darkness has only been hospitable to him. They granted him power and treated him like family, even going as far as risking their lives to save him, someone they didn't know. Of course, Nathan didn't know of the last act yet.

The subordinate quickly delivered him to the fourth man, "Take care of him with your life! He is the lifeline of our Path!"

"Understood. May Darkness guide you on your path." They shook hands for one last time, before the fourth man ran away with the child and the subordinate returned to his position.

The Captain and the other subordinate had already infiltrated one of the tents and killed off three Emissaries in their sleep. They suddenly jumped out from the tent, The captain decapitated the two guards in front of the tent with a single swing of his Axe, while his subordinate next to him threw two daggers that landed exactly on the heads of the two guards at the entrance of the camp. The Captain summoned a spear and hurled it at one of the guards in front of the central tent, which left a hole where his heart was supposed to be, while a spike made of darkness shot out of the ground behind him and impaled the other guard. Two arrows shot from darkness and silently killed the last two guards in front of the final tent.

The whole encounter was so swift and clean, as if it was done by a group of professional Assassins. The guards never even noticed how they died.

The Captain said, "Kill the last two Emissaries and burn the camp. We will split up here and each of us will go in one direction while leaving clues about our destination for them to find. Keep running for three months, after that, you may disappear and hide until I call for you. If you get caught, not a single word may leave your mouth!"

The two subordinates kneeled on one knee behind The Captain, "By Darkness we were reborn, to Darkness we shall return!"

***

The fourth man returned to the vicinity of The Capital City of Netherstar Kingdom, Netherstar City, while hiding his tracks, before he took off his armor and revealed himself. He was a man in his late 50s. His hair was completely white and his skin was wrinkled. He slowly approached the city with Nathan in his arms, before being smuggled in by the people he prepared beforehand.

He was lead to a rather busy part of the City where the hideout of one of the big shots of the underground world was located. He was respectfully led to the boss' room, before he was left alone with her, giving them privacy.

The boss was a mature beauty in her prime, her body was very seductive as she was endowed with very big assets. She sat on a couch as she looked curiously at the man with a child, " So, is this what you wish to use your favor on, Mister Morwag? I'm sure you know my favors are far more valuable than what you have currently asked from me.~"

The boss held a glass of red wine in her hand as she carefully studied Morwag's expression, yet he didn't give her any clues. That did little to disappoint her however.

"Miss Solina, I am certain of my actions. All I want is for you to protect this child's identity from leaking, while granting him a favorable environment to grow. I am growing old already. I can only place my hopes on the future generation. You, too, have a child. As a Mother, you must know that all a parent wants is to see their child succeed in life."

Miss Solina's eyes softened at the mention of her child, "Was it really worth it to risk everything to grab this child from The Church's hands? Your Brothers have left behind everything they had here and chose to reveal themselves. Who is this child?"

Morwag didn't get swayed by her words in the slightest, "Since you are his wife, I believe you have the right to know. We are bound by our sense of duty to protect The Path of Darkness and use everything in our disposal to help The Path prosper. He is one of the new chosen of Darkness."

"A CHOSEN!?" Miss Solina instantly stood up, almost spilling the wine in her hands. She now understood their actions.

She calmed herself and sat down again, "And since a Prince is born, The Twilight Guardians must heed his call… Haaaa, so that's why he didn't tell me anything, and you used a favor instead. All to keep me from stopping him…"

"Indeed, it is as you say. The new chosen are our only hope of protecting this Universe. The traitors are already destroying it bit by bit from the moment Darkness went into hiding and we lost connection with them, but The Chosen Ceremony was displayed to all members of Darkness. That means they also know of His Highness' existence and they will come for them…"