Emperor's Reckoning

A lone caravan was being pulled by a pair of horses. The cantering claps of their hooves striking against the ground provided the ambiance they never knew they wanted. The moon was at its highest peak but the sky provided very few stars for the night.

Assid and Graham were at the coach seat, with the former controlling the reign. So far as Assid's eyes could see, there was not a living soul present. Endless meadows and calming wind accompanied them. No other passing caravan, no other passing adventurers, just pure nature breezing against his face.

Assid looked over his shoulder to find piles of giant boxes and the sleeping women. However, one was sitting at the very back looking at the past roads that they traveled.

"Young master, are you feeling well?" asked Assid.

"En," Lyon answered.

"Alright, we should be at the gate of the world by just about dawn, so you might want to have your eyes closed since you're facing the east."

"En," Lyon nodded.

Assid nodded before he turned his head toward the road.

Graham, whose arms were crossed, had a slight grunt before he opened his eyes.

"You know master has his hands tied and his mouth shut, right?" asked Graham.

"I know," Assid sighed. "He is one of a kind."

"He is true to himself, well most of the time," Graham made a weak smile.

"His actions though, condone the wrath of women and fairies all over the world, yet miraculously, he got more women than one might think," Assid snorted a smile. "I want to say his charismatic face has anything to do with it, but perhaps it's because of what you said, he is true of himself, well at least most of the time."

"That's his charm I guess, some called him a hero, some called him a villain, but he hardly gives a damn," said Graham.

Graham looked at the less glamorous sky before he closed his eyes and let the moon bask on his face.

---

The great break of dawn soon shimmered against Lyon's closed eyelids. They fluttered a bit before Lyon turned to the other side and clapped his lips.

The women slowly woke up and opened their eyelids. Kesya yawned and stretched her arms up high before Lumina yawned as well. The cold juvenile wind of the day made them slightly shiver from the toes up.

"Good morning everyone," said Cecile with a smile.

"You're up early," said Lumina.

"It's just a habit from the old glory days," Cecile smirked.

"I don't think he shared their trait," said Lumina as she darted over before her eyes sharpened. Her eyebrows furrowed before she squinted.

"What's wrong?" asked Luna before she gasped at the state of what Lyon was in.

"Heh, I told you it won't work," Kesya shrugged. "It only buys you some time."

"Can you ladies keep it down, I want to snuggle a little bit," said Lyon before he turned once more only to be greeted with the rays of the sun. "Tch!" he reached his hand out to pull a lever and shut the curtain of the caravan.

"Did you help untie him?" asked Cecile toward those at the coach seat.

"No, young miss, young master clearly can get out of that predicament himself," said Assid.

"I'm just checking," Cecile chuckled.

"You're not going to ask Graham?" asked Lumina.

"He won't do a thing that makes me mad," Cecile smiled. "Besides, it's a normal rope, he could just rip it open if he wanted to."

( Oh right, I could do that ) said Lyon inwardly as he squinted his eyes to a close.

"Young miss, there are a couple of people guarding the gate," said Assid. "Should I dispose of them?"

"Huh?" Cecile peeked over and saw two guards standing at the gates. "Are they really a pair of guards or are they just playing dress-up?"

"They smell like criminals," Kesya grinned. "Perhaps they are with the settlement we just butcher."

( That's a weird sense of smell ) thought Lyon as he could hardly sleep anymore.

"What shall I do, Young Miss?" asked Assid.

"Play the part, they did nothing to us, we don't need to kill them," said Cecile as she shook her head. "We are clad in cloaks, but they ought to recognize the caravan and the horses, let's hear what they have to say first."

Assid nodded.

"H-Halt!" said one of the guards. "Is that caravan yours?"

( Bingo ) thought Lyon as he sighed. "Too easy."

"Yes," answered Graham. "This is our caravan and we are delivering goods for this address."

Assid gave out the receipt of the order to one of the guards.

"Hmm?" one of the guards furrowed his brows as he looked at them before taking it off of Assid's hand.

He read the receipt while the other ones crossed their arms with suspicious written all over the latter's face.

"Woah, this is legit," said the guard who read the receipt.

"Really? Let me see," said the other one.

The two of them confirmed each other and looked for something odd in the crooks and crannies of the paper. However, they found none of that, especially with the stamp on it.

The two guards smiled and looked over the caravan.

"Well why don't you say so?" one of the guards added, "However, I never seen you before, clad in cloaks and all that."

"You must be new recruits then," said the other one. "The Hydra Guild is something else son, you'll prosper there, hahaha!"

"Aren't you going to check for the goods?" asked Assid to Lyon's eyes snapped open.

( What the hell is he saying?! ).

"Nah, It's good business after all," said one of the guards before he gave back the receipt. "We have a monthly basis of income from your boss."

"I see," said Assid. "This is the first time we are taking the route, any advice?"

The guard took an audible inhale. "Well, I have none, but you need to follow the map, on exactly that path and used the powder all over the caravan to dispel wandering monsters."

"The powder won't work on stronger monsters though, they just eat you alive if you found them," added one of the guards.

"What happened if we found those large monsters?" asked Assid.

"Then it's just bad luck," said one of the guards before they both chuckled.

"So it's a gamble."

"Great risk, great reward, it's all balance out," said one of the guards with a smile. "Fair warning though, even the plants are dangerous there, so might want to watch your steps."

"Thanks for your advice," said Assid.

"Also, don't mess with the other cultivators or adventurers you find on the path. Those are people are crazy in the head and muscle, it's almost lawless there."

"I will keep that in mind, thank you," said Assid.

"And don't do anything stupid either, Hydra Guild might have a name, but not that strong of a name in the Dark Continent."

"You seem to know a lot about the Dark Continent," said Graham.

"Haha, I'm guarding this gate for god knows how long, I've heard bells and whistles from others before you," said one of the guards.

"Alright then, that would be all, don't want you guys to be late for the delivering the goods. We don't want a bad name on our record," the guard smiled before both of them made way for them.

Graham and Assid nodded before the pair of horses went through the calm vortex.

A strong gust of wind immediately crashed against the caravan as the horses neighed. The curtains at the back of the caravans wildly fluttered.

"What the..." Lyon got up and rubbed his eyes.

"We are in the Dark Continent, young master," said Assid. "This is where Empress Selena currently lives."

"What? What is so dark about this? It's a wide meadow!" said Lyon as he peeked his head outside, between Graham and Assid.

"Well, the dark part is because of the monsters you see and can't see," Cecile chuckled. "It's my favorite hunting spot."

"For maniacs," Kesya grinned.

"The monsters here yielded a lot of precious materials that Alchemy Union hardly possessed," said Cecile. "This is a lot more fun than just picking something up from a bird's nest."

"I don't see any monsters here," Lyon furrowed his brows. "And where is Myriad Devil!"

"Calm down," said Cecile as she sighed. "The Dark Continent is the largest continent in the Mortal World."

"Really?" Lumina raised her brows.

Kesya nodded, "Many hidden treasures reside here, many great monsters, many... err.. things."

"But this is really calming," said Luna before she furrowed her brows and saw a beast running toward them. "I-Is that thing running to us, dangerous?"

"Not really, it's kind of hare, but you just wait," said Cecile. "Three, two, one..."

A bigger beast leaped out from behind and caught the beast hare with its giant claw. Ripping apart its head before gnawing at it.

"Damn..." said Lyon to the shriek of Luna. "Alright, that's a grand welcome to the Dark Continent, I guess."