Emperor's Reckoning



Lyon Torga. The name resonated through the crowd. Every hush and every gaze was laid upon him. He didn't lift his finger, but his name and presence were enough to buy their attention. 

"A human..." Sylas muttered. The elf captain with his striking blonde hair smirked. "This will be entertaining, and comedic." He giggled.

( What are you doing?! ) thought Alaric as his eyes widened with pupils trembling.

Linnea with her golden locks draped on her shoulder, caught Alaric's sudden movement and got her brows furrowing. She darted her glance toward the human man standing ever so confidently as if no blade could trouble him. She squinted as she tried to make sense of the political move that might be hiding behind his action.

"Let the tournament proceed!" The king's voice boomed across the arena, cutting through the tension like a blade. His eyes, golden and fierce like a lion's, swept over the crowd before settling on the contestants below.

"As ruler of Felidora, I welcome you all to this grand event. May your strengths be tested, your skills showcased, and your honor upheld. This tournament is not just a display of martial prowess, but a celebration of unity among our people."

With a dignified nod, the king signaled for the tournament to begin, his presence commanding respect and attention from all. The cheers of the crowd rose once more, carrying with them a sense of excitement and anticipation for the battles that were about to unfold.

With a visible swallow, the announcer collected himself and nodded. "Apologies for the interruption. Let us proceed with the tournament and celebrate the talents of our contestants!"

Under the excitement, Lyon joined in line with the rest. One glance was enough for him to know that there were more than fifty, but he yawned at the thought of counting them. 

"Now, the first round will begin, RIGHT WHERE YOU STAND!" said the announcer with a grin. Some of the contestants were puzzled, especially those who never watched the Felidora Tournament before. However, the crowd cheered as the three knights jumped down from their seats.

Each of them was indomitable, each of them dignified. 

"We will have to weed you out," said Sylas the elf. 

"This test is about your soul endurance, We three will exude our presence and you should try your utmost best to endure them for as long as you can," said Alaric.

"Only the top ten may proceed to the next round," said Linnea who stood the tallest amongst them. "Those who failed, leave." Her gaze penetrated all and the wave of her presence crashed onto the entire contestants.

Those caught by surprise immediately seek balance with their feet.

"B-Begin!" the announcer shouted.

Sylas shook his head, he glanced over at Alaric gesturing that they should join her. 

"Don't interrupt," said Linnea as she leered over them before crossing her arms as she darted her glance back to the contestants.

"A-Amazing..." one of the crowd gulped. "We can barely see her aura exploding, they must be going through hell down there."

"We are watching from quite a distance, but really there is no denying the golden daughter of the king, incredible," said one of the crowd.

"I can rest assured that Captain Linnea will succeed the throne, but holy, this is something else, talk about raw power!" said another.

"Tch!" Karina had her shoulders loading a mountain. Every inch of nature seemed to want to push her down to the ground, to submit. However, back in her homeland, her brother, her father, and the people who gave her the title 'Golden Demoness', all respected her, and idolized her, and it was enough fuel for her to grit her teeth as she faced the lioness with taut muscles.

"The soul, is the hallmark of the cultivator, You might grindstone with your hands, but without a strong soul, you are nothing," said Linnea as one demi-human dropped on his knee before his entire body followed.

"One down!" said the announcer as he pointed out at the passed-out cultivator, "And... it wasn't the human..." his voice trailing off.

The crowd was stunned as their gazes followed the announcer's finger. It wasn't the human, it wasn't Lyon Torga, but another contestant instead. Then their eyes began the search amongst the forty-nine contestants left.

Lyon was there, standing aloof as he watched the other struggle to breathe properly. He could count the amount of sweat emerging from their foreheads, but he yawned at the tenth count.

"T-That human... he... is fine?" said one of the crowd before they saw another three contestants dropping on their knees before their bodies followed.

The king himself had his piercing gaze scanned along the contestants before pausing at the glance of the only human below. 

"Phew, that Lyon Torga is quite capable," said Sylas.

"Y-Yeah," Alaric responded as his gaze didn't leave Lyon for a single second. ( The tremendous aura of the golden daughter of Felidora, yet, he looks so bored, perhaps... he really is... ).

"Hmm?" Linnea noticed the attention shifted toward one body. She frowned at how leisurely Lyon was compared to the rest. "Let's take it up a notch," she murmured as her aura burst out, dampening the atmosphere with a whisper of the roar of a mystical lion.

Ten to twenty instantly dropped, but the man who was making the headlines in their minds still stood.

"Oi, Oi, are you serious?" the crowd shared the sentiments.

"L-Look, Captain Linnea is approaching the human," said one of the crowd.

Linnea walked around with her hands swinging. Her bearing was not a fault as the commander, the captain of the prestigious knight of Felidora. Her lithe body approached Lyon who was drowsy.

"It has been a long time since a human is capable of making it this far," said Linnea.

"H-Huh?" Lyon turned his head before he smiled seeing the beauty, "Y-Yes."

Linnea was puzzled for a moment and the aura lightened for an instant before she resumed her focus.

"You share the same name as the favorite legend amongst the humans, do you have any hidden intention?" asked Linnea as she further intensified her aura.

Lyon was bare and got the strongest direct contact than the other contestants, yet as the others fell he didn't flatter nor flustered. "Are you interrogating me?"

"No, it's just a question," said Linnea without shaking her head.

"I see, well, my intention is to heal my very good friend by winning the king's favor," said Lyon before smiling.

"Noble cause... but you humans are not famous for it," said Linnea. "You want riches, fame, resources, am I right?"

"Well, if you give me, I would take it, but if you ask me what I want, that's the wrong answer," said Lyon as he smiled.

"I can sniff a lie," said Linnea as she put her aura to her maximum capacity, rendering those incapable and unsuitable instantly on their knees, even Karina was one leg away from her body hitting the ground.

"Do I need to?" Lyon said before his eyes sharpened. His own aura burst in an instant repelling Linnea's like a hot knife through butter. 

Her eyes widened like a whip, his aura lashed out and her golden locks fluttered. For a split second, she saw his smirk before all the contestants broke down and lay on the ground.

"And the first round is over!!"

Linnea was in disbelief with her lips gaped under the roar of the crowd. She glanced down and saw Lyon on the floor giving her a mischievous smile.

Meanwhile, on the other end, Kesya also gave the same smile before giggling by herself.