Emperor's Reckoning



At that moment, a profound and excruciating pain surged through the bandits' bodies. It was as if their very souls were being twisted and scorched from within. Agonizing wails filled the air, a chorus of suffering that echoed throughout the surroundings.

Unbeknownst to the bandits, Lyon's clap had unleashed a dark power, an infernal force that consumed their essence. Black flames erupted from their bodies, licking at their flesh and enveloping them in an eerie aura. The flames danced with an unholy light, casting a sinister glow across the scene.

The bandits thrashed and writhed, their bodies contorting in anguish as the black fire consumed them. Their desperate screams mingled with the crackling of the flames, creating a cacophony of terror that pierced the descending day.

As the black flames consumed their bodies, the bandits writhed in agony, their voices distorted by pain. Amidst their torment, fragmented words and pleas escaped their lips, a cacophony of desperate cries.

One bandit's voice choked with anguish as he pleaded, "No! Please... Make it... make it stop!"

Another bandit's desperate words filled the air, tinged with fear and regret, "What... What have we done? Mercy, I beg of you!"

The third voice, filled with rage and bitterness, strained through the searing agony, "Curse you, Lyon! We... we'll haunt you even... even in death!"

Amidst the chorus of suffering, The fourth voice trembled with a mix of fear and desperation, "I... I never signed up for this! It... it was all Drogan's plan!"

Another voice, filled with a flicker of remorse, pierced through the chaos, "Forgive us! We... we were just... just following orders!"

Their words mingled together in a cacophony of pain and regret, their voices echoing through the inferno. But their pleas remained unanswered, drowned out by the crackling of the flames and the consuming darkness.

As the black fire devoured their very essence, their voices faded, leaving behind only the anguished echoes of their final moments. The bandits, a short while ago filled with a gleaming promise from their leader, were reduced to charred remnants of their former selves.

Lyon stood amidst the chaos, his gaze steady and resolute. His actions were a swift and merciless judgment upon those who had challenged the life of his loved ones. With each bandit engulfed in the black fire, Lyon sought to purge the land of their wicked presence, leaving behind only ashes and the echoes of their torment.

In the eerie silence that followed, the aftermath of their torment lay before Lyon. The smoldering remains of the bandits served as a haunting reminder to those who forgot his past identity. 

Ferece's form emerged from the dissipating smoke, his face etched with disbelief and profound fear. His eyes widened as he took in the scene before him, the remnants of what was once a formidable force now reduced to mere ashes. His hand trembled as it tightly clutched his chest, his heart pounding with a mixture of astonishment and dread.

He locked eyes with Lyon, his gaze a reflection of the swirling emotions within him. The magnitude of Lyon's power unleashed in a single resounding clap, had decimated their entire accumulated ranks. Ferece struggled to find the words to articulate the weight of this swift and overwhelming destruction.

In the midst of the charred remains, Ferece realized the true extent of Lyon's strength and the magnitude of his purpose. The bandits, once an accumulation of members under Ferece's leadership, were now nothing more than ashes scattered to the wind. The realization sank deep into Ferece's core, filling him with a profound sense of awe and trepidation.

As he stood before Lyon, Ferece couldn't help but question the nature of this man before him. How could a single individual possess such power, capable of obliterating their entire force with a mere clap? The encounter left Ferece contemplating the boundaries of his own understanding and the true depths of Lyon's abilities, and this was the principal of Nirvana School chose to replace him. Even his wicked mind couldn't help but be straightened.

Lyon frowned as he looked at Ferece before he remembered who he was. He crossed his arms and raised his chin. "Your life is not fated to end by my hand, move!"

Three more names emerged on his back before his fist sunk perfectly into Ferece's abdomens. The latter's body arched as his feet left the soil before Lyon grabbed his hair and threw him out into the forest with a power throw.

"Knowing that I have the ability to peak at the future and you still dare to lay your feet on my soil? Furthermore..." Drogan's calmness at seeing the ashes was the epitome of the one who used to be a hero alongside Refl. 

"Burgeon Swan is cooked," said Lyon as he furrowed his brows. "And you're next in line."

"Burgeon Swan lives as long as I live," said Drogan as he entered his battle stance. ( If I can capture him, then his wife shouldn't be able to make a move against me ). He flicked his finger and summon a Ruby Summoning Stone.

Drogan smirked as he caught Lyon's gaze on the stone. "I suppose you know what this is, even Mortal World has one, this one over here, is to summon Niamh, the man I sent to capture your loved ones in the Mortal World."

Drogan taunted his arm before breaking the stone into smithereens. He summoned Niamh right before the battle started, bringing Lyon's eyes sharpened.

---

Meanwhile in the Mortal World. A red light was zipping through the sky like a bolt.

"As if you can run away," Kesya's voice entered the scene before she swiftly overtake the red bolt and stood a few distances away, ready on the reaching end with a sinister grin etched on her face.

"Kesya," a supple lips of Auburn uttered her name softly.

Kesya's brows raised and her eyes widened. She stood with her head hung down as she let the red bolt pass her.

The woman facing the sky through the window of her room smiled seeing Kesya able to overcome her natural instinct that was built over relentless years, over mountainous corpses.

"Empress, is it enough?" asked Assid from the other side of the table with his knee planted on the floor.

"It is enough, he can do the rest," said Cecile before she revealed herself with a smirk.

The red bolt was free to go, going toward where it was called. Below the trajectory, was Graham leaning on a wall with his head hung down and arms crossed. He leered at the passing bolt above him before pursuing his peace of sleep once more.

---

Back in Second Heaven.

"I don't know where the devil you got your abilities from, what mystical beast blessed you is called, but it ends now!"

Both made the first step together and they leaped simultaneously at each other. However, Lyon was swifter than their first encounter.

"I can see you," said Drogan inwardly as he made the perfect counter. "Swan Art: Burgeon."

The runes on his body lit a holy glow as he found himself in a trance, mana tracing from his wounded soul toward his limbs in a rapid manner before he swiftly blasted Lyon away with a push of his palm.

Lyon was pushed back several steps but he suffered no wounds as he stood back up. The quick rebound was a testament to his steel body. 

"You think you can swap away my dream that easy?" asked Drogan as both eyes emanated a radiant light.

"You're seeing the future right now, right?" asked Lyon. "One second, two seconds, maybe more..."

"Don't waste it, my child," said Rui the moon hare as his complexion turned bronze once more.

"Let me show you how narrow that you can see," said Lyon as he once more summoned forth the support from the other three blessings.

"Hehe," Drogan smirked. "Big words for someone that hardly lands a hit! Those exaggerations will be your fall!"

"Huh?!" Drogan's eyes widened before he saw Lyon vanish right before his very eyes. No sound, no soil bounced up, nothing. 

Drogan, relying on his ability to glimpse into the future, prepared himself for the imminent clash. His senses heightened, and his muscles tensed, ready to counter Lyon's every move. 

"There you are!" Drogan confidently said as he threw a fist toward his right. ( He will appear... now! ) lo and behold Lyon's figure had his eyes opened wide.

"My win," muttered Drogan as he delivered a massive blow aimed at Lyon's brain. However, the moment his knuckles touched his skin, his face contorted. ( It went through... GAH?! AFTERIMAGE?!).

His goosebumps were not able to raise in time as Lyon was already below Drogan's fist, with his eyes brimming of killing intent. He swiftly made a roundhouse, filled with the intensity of Moon Hare's blessing his kick sunk into Drogan's navel.

At the moment of impact, Drogan could hear his bones internally shaking before he was propelled away with a gush of blood bursting out of his mouth.