"How do you like my gift?"

Ralph Da Ghoul, also known as Sheldon Umbra, smiled as he watched me from his throne. Hidden in the shadows, assassins and phantoms lurked, ready to bury their daggers in my back the moment he sent them a signal.

Beside me, Stella and Larson bristled, watching the shadows cautiously. They were accompanied by Billy Cantwell and Doug Dubinsky, the two Prowlers sniffing the air and relying on their preternatural senses to detect the concealed killers. Rounding them out was a vanguard of Larson's elite vampire knights.

Not far away, Eleanor stood, the marchioness insisting on following me to the lair of the League of Shadows. The strategist told me that her abilities would be needed and I believed her. She hadn't let me down so far, even if I still didn't trust her completely.

I wondered if there was anyone other than Stella who I could trust totally. Maybe Larson, maybe the four mages who were my friends – Chris, Wilson, Rose and Lance. Probably Kelvin the kobold too. And Silvia Winters, for sure. I had also come to trust the prowlers, particularly Billy Cantwell. But other than them, I knew many of my allies had their own agendas.

Not that I was traumatized by the betrayal of my former party to the point where I couldn't trust anyone ever again. I wasn't an edge lord. I wasn't going to pull the whole "I will never trust anyone again" nonsense, only to go around collecting a harem of beautiful girls and trusting them despite my earlier declarations. It wasn't as if I was a betrayed S-ranked adventurer or a healer hero or a forsaken hero with the ability to come back from the dead. Granted, many of those ended up brainwashing and enslaving the girls in their harems, but…yeah, that was a big no for me.

Honestly, I already knew that my fellow party members were sc.u.m, and so it didn't surprise me much when my former comrades backstabbed me. I should have seen the writing on the wall – all the signs were there.

Additionally, I had fought alongside soldiers and helped civilians who were honest, trustworthy and reliable. It wasn't as if my former party members were the only people in the world that I interacted with. I had been exposed to many nice people throughout my adventurers – my mentor and master being one of them (the guy who slew goblins). The knights and soldiers who risked their lives fighting against demonic hordes even though they didn't have Heroes fighting alongside them on a daily basis. The civilians who thanked me whenever I helped save their towns and cities.

The world was large and filled with many different people. Instead of thinking that the whole world couldn't be trusted just because a bunch of idiots – who I knew to be sc.u.m – betrayed me, I kept an open mind. This was reality, not a fictional place where the whole world conveniently turned against you and became villains just so you were justified in massacring them as part of a "dark," edgy tale of vengeance and violence.

That said, I knew Ralph Da Ghoul was among those people I clearly couldn't trust. More so than Eleanor. But the strategist had already proven herself.

"Gift?" I frowned. "You mean Alan Assam?"

"Yeah."

"Dude, you used me to get rid of him for you. You call that a gift? Besides, he was the one who delivered himself right to my doorstep. You didn't send him my way."

If anything, it was sheer luck that I happened to stumble upon Alan Assam when I reached the Wayne Manor.

"I could have killed him, but I let him live because I knew you would want the honors yourself." Ralph Da Ghoul shrugged innocently. I glared at him.

"Don't pretend I didn't just do you a favor by eliminating him for you."

"That is true," Ralph Da Ghoul admitted. "Alan Assam was my best pupil. He would have surpassed me eventually. If allowed to run free, he would return and destroy me. That much is certain. So I do owe you."

He then leaned back in his throne.

"Are you here to collect on that favor then, lord?"

"Yeah." I watched him warily. "I was hoping to secure the loyalty of the Shadow Legion. I was hoping you would join me."

"A tempting offer." Ralph Da Ghoul chuckled for a moment, and then he shook his head. "But no."

Beside me, Stella and Larson stiffened. The vampire knights tightened their grip on the handles of their weapons ever so slightly, but didn't draw them. The Prowlers bared their teeth, which were slowly lengthening to animalistic fangs.

Only Silvia Winters remained calm, coolly assessing the situation and not lifting even a single finger. She was truly an ice-cold beauty. Her mana remained as chilly as ever, but there was no fluctuation whatsoever, no signs of her preparing to cast a single spell.

I followed her example. Like I said, Silvia was one of the few I trusted completely. If she didn't think there was any danger that required her to cast any spells, then I believed her.

Sheldon Umbra/Ralph Da Ghoul appeared relaxed himself. He reclined in his throne, which was already a red flag in itself. It was a clear sign that he didn't respect my authority or consider me as the true Demonic Emperor.

After all, what kind of subordinate relaxed in his throne while his emperor stood before him? It was almost as if our roles were reversed.

Not that I expected him to subordinate himself to me. That was the whole reason why I was here to begin with. To subjugate his legion.

But first…

"…I see." I then turned away. "If so, then there is nothing more for us to discuss."

"Oh?" Ralph Da Ghoul leaned forward, and immediately shadow spikes burst from the ground to bar my way to the exit. "You think you can just come as you please, and leave as you please? Have you forgotten whose base this is?"

"Not at all, but you welcomed us as guests." I turned back to regard him coldly. "I even booked an appointment with you in advance. I had thought you a man of honor and treated you as such. Are you going back on decorum then?��

"Why wouldn't I? I am an assassin, after all." Ralph Da Ghoul chuckled. "And you delivered yourself right to my hands. I will not have a better chance than now to eliminate you."

He flicked a finger, and at that single signal, all of the assassins and phantoms sprang into life, lunging at my small retinue.

For a moment, I glanced at Silvia, and she nodded. Then I took a deep breath.

"So this is war."

Not that I had any doubts from the start. I already knew how this would turn out when I first stepped into the base of the League of Shadows. No, way before then.

My vampire knights drew their weapons, and the Prowlers transformed. They formed a tight circle to meet the assassins in combat, but for a second it seemed that they were too slow. The assassins were already upon us, their daggers scything downward and cutting through our weak spots.

Except that those obsidian blades sliced through…nothing.

"Hmm?"

Ralph Da Ghoul frowned when he saw the figures that were supposed to be me and my retinue flicker. Then they burst apart into millions of icy fragments, which peppered the astonished assassins like shrapnel. As well trained and equipped as they were, they didn't take much damage. But blood leaked from their wounds where the ice shards had ruthlessly cut them.

"An illusion? To think you would use such magic to confound our senses. Impressive." Ralph Da Ghoul guffawed and applauded the shattered doppelgangers. "I underestimated you. So you were smart enough to take precautions and avoid walking straight into a trap. No wonder the gods chose you to be the next Demonic Emperor."

"I am glad you are easily impressed," a figure that was supposed to represent me swirled about like a black fog, an intangible shape that took on a human-like silhouette. "I don't suppose this will change your mind?"

"No. I apologize, but my ambitions are far more than you can handle, lord. I have no intention of surrendering the throne over to you."

"I didn't think so." My flickering form studied him, and then a hint of a smile came over the illusion's face. "I do have one message for you, though."

"Oh? What is it?"

"From Shame and Shadow recast, in Black and Gold Reborn."

Ralph Da Ghoul raised an eyebrow, not comprehending. He evidently had not heard the quote before. I didn't expect him to. All I cared was raising a Black Legion powerful enough to drown the stars in fear and fury, to fill any rebels with so much dread they would never imagine standing before me again.

"The Angels of the Emperor are returned." My shadowy doppelganger's smile grew wider. "We are returned."

"You…!" Ralph Da Ghoul growled, surging forward as if to stab the intangible illusion before him. I didn't even give him the satisfaction. The figure that bore passing resemblance to me shattered and turned to dust, disappearing from sight. The master of assassins skidded to a stop, waving away the dust in frustration. He turned upon his subordinates. "What does that mean?"

The assassins exchanged glances before shrugging. Clearly none of them knew what was going on. None of them caught the references.

Right outside the lair of the League of Shadows and inside a command tent, I smirked and turned away to face my retinue.

"The message has been sent. War has been declared."

"…this is your plan?" Eleanor asked wryly, folding her arms. "Beguiling Sheldon Umbra with illusions, taunting him, and then leaving cryptic messages?"

"Our liege is too obsessed with a certain tabletop game that's set in the 41st millennium," Stella grumbled, burying her face in her hand. "And since when are you a Black Legion player? I know you play Thousand Sons, but that's not even your primary faction!"

"What's his primary faction?" Larson asked, confused.

"Imperial Knights. Followed by Imperial Guard."

"Hey! We are his Imperial Guard!" Larson declared proudly. Stella rolled her eyes before sighing in exasperation.

"That's not the point. Besides, the Imperial Guard just refers to the main human military for the Imperium, those not genetically enhanced. The poor grunts given mass produced weapons and flak armor, but forced to fight monstrosities beyond imagination."

"Who cares about that?!" Eleanor snapped. She turned to me. "What the hell was that all about?"

"Make no mistake," I declared. "War is coming. With all its glory…and all its horror. Miss Eleanor, your strategy awaits."

"Can you stop making weird references and be serious for once?" Stella begged.

"I'm always serious," I replied. Stella threw me a deadly glare, but I ignored her and continued. "I just thought it was worth a try. You know, to see if Ralph Da Ghoul changes his mind and decides to join me. But he didn't, so we'll proceed with the plan. Crush them."

"Understood."

Silvia Winters acknowledged my command, Owen Wolfe nodded and Stryker saluted. Lindley rubbed at his bare skull before bowing his head. The lich lord c.o.c.ked his head toward me.

"I'll send the zombies in after the first strike."

"We'll circle them with my prowlers to ensure they don't escape." Owen Wolfe was already on it.

"And we'll hunt the stragglers," Stryker promised, already heading toward his vampire troops. I grinned and followed Silvia out of the tent. Raising my head, I glanced at Ragios.

"You ready?"

"Whenever you are."

"Do it."

The dragon legion rose to the skies and unleashed their powerful spells, bombarding the lair of the League of Shadows and reducing it to dust. Inside, assassins and phantoms fell in scores, not knowing what had hit them.

"How?!" Right in the middle of the lair, Ralph Da Ghoul was watching his crumbling base in disbelief. "How did we not detect them coming?! Where did they come from?!"

Even though I wasn't supposed to hear him, I coincidentally quoted a dark Templar…an alien, to be more precise.

"From the shadows I come."