Emperor's Reckoning

Swallowed. The brave young man that rendered the First Hall of the Alchemy Union to a crumble of rubbles was being swallowed by the very eyes of the party.

"He... got swallowed," Mavis muttered, "We should do something! We might make it and get him out of that thing's stomach." His eyes opened wide in disbelief as he looked at Cecile by the side.

"Cecile!" Lumina turned before she saw Cecile shaking her head.

"He is not dead," said Cecile as she smiled. "In fact, maybe he now has a better chance of killing the grootslang."

Graham scoffed before he took a long calming breath through his nose. "This is now the best time to pluck that flower of yours."

"A-Are you serious?" Hilde muttered. "Lyon just got swallowed by that giant snake!"

"A grootslang," corrected Cherie.

"Who cares what it's called! We should help him! S-Somehow," said Hilde as she looked at Cecile who was adamant about her decision.

"H-How did you know that he is fine?" asked Mavis with a wry smile.

"He had faced a lot worse," answered Assid as he calmly continued.

Assid paid no mind as he skipped the hole that the grootslang made before Cecile followed, "Let's continue."

Lumina furrowed her brows but she leaped over the hole and followed them both. (It's too far from here, but, those banners are still there)

"Hey, do you think he will be alright?" asked Mavis toward Graham's back.

"He is," Graham answered, "Just like what he had just said, the young master had faced a lot worse than a crownless grootslang."

(A lot worse huh) thought Mavis before he jumped over the giant hole.

"Hmm," Nit frowned before he glanced over. The pair of mother and daughter was already out of his sight.

"If you're worried about them, don't," said Kesya as she nonchalantly hopped to the other side. "They're fine, that icy woman is not that weak, she should be able to sustain any incoming danger."

"But..."

"I think it would be best if you leave them both at their own," said Cherie. "The bond between them is quite complicated I hear, I believe to let nature take its course."

"You seem awfully wise," Hilde squinted her eyes.

"Oh, aren't I always?" Cherie smirked before she leaped over the giant hole.

(This irritating woman!) scoffed  Hilde before she followed suit.

Nit couldn't help but worried about the elder, however, there was little that he could do about their unique relationship. "I can only wish for the best."

...

"It's all dark," said Lyon.

"You're inside a grootslang stomach," said Sun as he laughed. "Is this a blessing or a curse?"

"Of course, it's both!" said Lyon before he stood up from the acidic pool. "This place smells like shit."

"Hahaha, how can it not? We are inside his guts!" said Sun as he laughed.

"This wouldn't happen if you use my power, honestly, what does this monkey do better that I can't?" said Shen.

"What's that?!"

"Are you deaf now, monkey?!"

"I'll pull your whisker out you fucking catfish! Then you'll be a fish with horns!"

"As if your little hand could—?! Son of a bitch! Let go!"

Lyon sighed as he slouched his shoulder. (The smell inside this place is awful, now they are fighting too, and four of my senses are being corrupted here).

"Hmm, though... It's weird that the grootslang stopped moving," said Lyon as he pondered.

"The beast ate you, and decide that it's the best time to digest its prime food," Bapho smiled.

"You mean the beast is taking a nap?" asked Lyon.

"You're still as bright as you were eons ago," Bapho smiled.

"Hehe~ Thanks, grandpa!" Lyon grinned. "Now then, I can run amok in this place as I please!"

Lyon jumped out of the acidic pool with his fists balled and his four golden tails sprung open. Every side of the slimy walls around him was his target and the grootslang couldn't defend itself from the inside. "Gahaha!" his laugh echoed.

"?!" The grootslang snapped its eyes open. The vertical slit of its pupils trembled as its body shook. The beast roared with a sharp pain spreading out its entire spectrum before it began to burrow into the cave again albeit in a random direction.

...

"The cave is beginning to shake again," said Mavis. "Is the grootslang returning?"

"Perhaps," answered Kesya with a grin, "Or maybe, it's feeling an acute pain from the inside."

"The inside?" Mavis raised his brows, "You mean, Lyon is wreaking havoc from the inside?"

"Most likely," said Graham.

"Every beast is mostly vulnerable if you fight it from the inside of its own body, especially the large ones like a grootslang," added Cecile. "It's pretty hunting basic."

(I'm pretty sure I never heard of that tip before) thought Nit as he gulped. (Who in the right mind would let oneself be swallowed willingly?). However he knew better not to question her method, after all, she belonged to the group that butchered a kunpeng flawlessly.

"T-The shake is getting more intense!" said Hilde as she gulped. (Damn it, I'm the princess of the Bolg Kingdom! Why do I have more fright than Cherie?!) thought Hilde as she looked at Cherie. "How are you so calm about all this?!"

"Hmm? I'm not," Cherie smiled. "It's just that, being extremely anxious would put an unnecessary burden on the entire party."

"Y-You're right," said Hilde as she gulped. (Does she inherit this attitude from her mother? Definitely).

"Oh look, here is the flower," said Cecile as she plucked it out of the wall. "Assid, count the petals."

"It's over one hundred, young miss," answered Assid calmly albeit the shaking passage.

"Woah, you already count it?" Mavis gaped, "That's amazing!"

"Yeah, he is quite smart," said Kesya as she nodded.

(A glimpse is all it took for him?) thought Lumina who was by the side. She peered at the flowers that were still in Cecile's hand and indeed, she counted more than a hundred.

"T-That's some cognitive level," muttered Cherie before a loud boom was heard as all of them looked over the area where Lyon was swallowed earlier.

The giant beast fell from the ceiling and crashed against the ground just beside the giant hole where it took Lyon by surprise.

"That's!" Mavis pointed out. "The grootslang!"

The grootslang was wiggling uncontrollably before it strugglingly lift up with absurd random bulges appearing from his stomach then deflating.

"Is that?" Lumina peered with her silver pupils squinting. "Lyon..?"

The random bulge slowly went up as the hood flared before it went to its throat.

*Ptui!

"What?!" Lyon was being spatted out from the grootslang giant jaws to his disbelief. "Are you kidding me!" He turned before putting his two legs against the wall and somersaulting his figure away from the charging beast.

Lyon landed on the ground with his two feet, "That snake could do that?!"

"Lyon, you, ugh!" Lumina's bright eyes only hover for a moment before she hid behind Cecile and then covered her nose.

"Damn, I smell horrible," said Lyon as he himself couldn't wait to plunge into the nearby stream. However, he knew the beast would come back.

"That's... Lyon?" Mavis had his eyes opened wide as he finally got a good look at him. (He has tails? No, wait, this is the power of a blessing right? What a tremendous aura! What is that armor he is wearing...).

"Heh," Lyon smirked.

"Hm?" Cecile noticed the confident smile of her husband before she said, "Nit, you better get a hold of every flower you can get.

"Huh?" Nit was slightly dazed. "What?"

"Pick up the flowers, or you'll be regretting it later," said Cecile as she smirked. "I know that smile."

"A-Alright," Nit nodded before he immediately gathered as much as he could.

"No, he is not going to is he?" asked Hilde as she gulped with her trembling pupils. "He is, isn't he."

"What? What are you talking about?" asked Cherie.

"This cave is done for," said Hilde.

"Wha?" Mavis raised his brows. "That's impossible... right?"

"Graham watched those two at the back, keep them safe but don't interfere with them," said Cecile. "Kesya, make a new passage to the sky! Now! We are exiting the cave."

"Sure thing!" Kesya jumped before she burrowed her way up like a machine.

"Good, let's get out of here, everyone!" She followed Kesya and jumped away before everyone else followed.

"What? Wait for me," said Nit who was just done collecting the quest's objective.

Mavis was lost in his reverie as he looked at Lyon with doubts in his mind.

"Young master Mavis!" called out Hilde from above.

"Tch!" he shook his head before he made the leap.

The sun immediately glared at his vision the moment he stepped outside. He covered his eyes with his hand. (Is this even necessary? Is he really going to destroy the entire cave?).

...

*Boom!

The grootslang came out and saw Lyon was waiting for it with his arms crossed.

"Heh..."

...

Mavis turned to Cecile before he asked, "Maybe we should he—Gahh?!"

A jarring golden curtain pierced the clouds above.

"What the..." Mavis's pupils shrunk as he saw the phenomenon right before his eyes.

"Devil Ape Art: Rumbling Heaven!"

Flurries of giant golden fists shot down from the golden curtains before the sea quaked and the land tremored. The land that they stood cracked open as the howl of disastrous debris fluttered their clothes and hindered their ability to even peer.

The grootslang glared its jaw open as it tried to chomp him with its sharp fangs. However, one golden fist broke through the ceiling above and struck its head just right before its breath reached Lyon's face.

The beast was relentlessly being pummeled down to a smudge without a chance of a cry. The cold-blooded beast was being mercilessly ceased into a pool of blood as not even the thick and dense tusks were spared—nor the island itself.