I an unknown part of the continent–

"Master." A black-dressed man entered a dark room and kneeled on a knee.

A few seconds later, a voice came from the other side of the room.

It was a man with an indifferent expression.

He was staring fixedly at an experimental tube in front of him, observing each little change on the black heart floating inside.

"What is it? Did something happen?" The man asked.

"Yes." The man kneeling on the ground nodded. "Some of the seeds we planted have sprouted. Unfortunately, the results were not as good as we expected."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

"Understood." The black-dressed man kneeling on the ground nodded. He then started to report the situation.

"We were unsuccessful in the beastmen countries. When the plan was about to start, the saintess of Moonlight Glow appeared suddenly and eliminated all the men we had stationed there. n.o.body survived. Moreover, she grasped some of our communication channels, so we were forced to sever them to not expose more of our plans."

The man in front of the tube nodded indifferently. "How unlucky. That plan had a high chance to succeed… Well, failing is normal if that troublesome fox and her adherents are involved. What else?"

"We failed in the Kingdom of Alterna too." The black-dressed man continued his report. "According to the news I received, the rebellion we incited was quelled by the general princess. It was not even one percent as effective as we expected."

"... The general princess." The other man sighed. "Well, I was not expecting much from our plan in the Kingdom of Alterna. Their foundations are too solid to be shaken by something like this… It doesn't matter. We just need to try again. For now, ask our men there to keep a low profile."

"I understand." Replied the black-dressed man. "The last report is about Diadel Duchy... We succeeded there."

This time, the man in front of the tube could not help but turn around.

"… So Ryzen succeeded." He said slightly surprised. "Well, he had planned this for a long time."

"True. At the last minute, the Church of Fate and Moonlight Glow intervened, but they were unable to change the situation. Everything developed as we expected."

"I see... Okay, you can go. Oh, right, what about the sacrifices I asked for?"

"… They will be arriving soon."

"That is good. Their talents will be useful for my plans. Also, recently I confirmed the existance of a new valuable sample. Now I think about it, he was coincidentally in Diadel Duchy. He should have a special power related to destruction. Find him and bring him to me."

"I will, master."

With these words, the man kneeling on the ground disappeared on the shadows and left.

After the black-dressed man was gone, the other man continued looking at the black heart. Only when he was sure the situation with the heart was not going to change in the next five minutes, he moved his gaze away and walked towards a table nearby.

In the table, a two-meters long map of the continent was spread.

The map contained the name of each country, region, and city; plus information about the forces inhabiting it. Surprisingly, it included even the most hidden forces that the churches and royal families kept hidden.

A white chess piece was standing in each country or region, simbolizing the current status of the man's plans. However, two places had different colored chess pieces.

The Exiled Lands.

The Demon Empire.

In both places, the white chess piece had been replaced by a pitch-black and ominous chess piece.

After the man finished observing the map, he extended his left hand. He then took away the white piece in Diadel Duchy and used his right hand to replace it with a black piece.

Strangely, the number '0' was tattooed in the back of the man's right hand.

"Soon." The man muttered. "Soon."

Shaking his head, he returned in front of the tube containing the black heart and continued observing it.

For an instant, though, his gaze seemed to pierce s.p.a.ce, arriving at a room in Diadel Duchy.

There, the new duke was looking at himself in the mirror.

He was half-naked, with only his pants on, revealing the powerful muscles in his upper body.

"Do you know, father?" The new duke, Ryzen, spoke to himself. "Since the start, you were just a chess piece."

With a small laugh, Ryzen walked towards a box nearby.

When he opened it, a disgusting black-creature appeared in front of him.

The creature trashed fiercely against the box, but the seals on it meant the creature could not break it no matter how much it struggled.

"Finally, you have been completed." Ryzen smiled with a gaze full of desire. He then extended his hand and grabbed the creature.

The creature struggled, but its strength was incomparable to the demiG.o.d. Moreover, for some reason, it could not use its ability to absorb energy.

"So many lives, just for a little creature like you to mature."

Ryzen laughed again. But this time, his laugh was filled with greed. Greed for the terrifying power this creature could give him.

Then, he brought the creature to his chest.

As though the creature had discovered something incredibly enticing, it bit his chest, opening a hole almost instantly and burrowing in it.

"Ugh!" Ryzen grunted, but he endured the pain without showing it in his face. The pain that could make a normal human faint was nothing to the demiG.o.d.

Eventually, the creature finished entering his body, and Ryzen smiled in excitement.

n.o.body, not even Bloed, Charise, or the church of sun G.o.d, realized that Ryzen never killed the creature in the duke's chest and instead had stolen it.

n.o.body, not even the church of the sun G.o.d, realized that Ryzen was the true mastermind behind the entire incident. Even the church of the sun G.o.d was just a p.a.w.n in his plan.

And n.o.body, not even the G.o.ds themselves, knew of the tattoo with the number '16' engraved in Ryzen's chest.

...

P4TRE0N: patr-eon.com/aidnovels