Emperor's Reckoning

The adventurers below darted their eyes toward the exploding branches above. They all gawked as the thick branch crashed to the ground.

"W-What was that?"

"Did you see that golden light?"

The adventurers muttered among themselves as their eyes widened open at the sight.

"A golden knight with three banners on the back," Sakya gulped.

"He took that explosion straight to the face but not only he withstood it, but he also retaliated back," Farash furrowed her brows.

Lyon pulled back a few spaces before crossing his arms. His four majestic weightless golden tails were hovering freely and the three banners on his back were fluttering against his own aura rather than nature's wind. The indomitable bearing that he exuded sparked many awes, but the glance that he exuded was bone-chilling.

"Gah!" the beast shouted while clenching both arms and flaring its wings. The branches that coiled its limbs were broken off. Its red eyes were glaring at Lyon, whose chin was higher than it. "You're alive... unscathed," it gritted its teeth before noticing the tails behind Lyon.

"You want to kill me?" Lyon furrowed his brows.

"You and the rest below," said the beast as its voice echoed. "However, I never thought that a human as capable as you would exist on their side."

"Hm?" Lyon looked down and saw the sea of people looking at him back. ( What? Where am I? ) he glanced over the rest of them before his eyes widened. He saw Cecile was below as well, as well as the rest of the group before his heart skipped a beat as he saw a familiar woman. His pupils shrunk the moment he saw her face. The woman with silky black hair like no other, the woman with a master of the Void Art as Kesya kept reminding him so. "Selena..."

"W-Why is he turning his back on the enemy? Sakya muttered her question.

"Fool," the beast muttered behind Lyon before his sharp claws came thrusting toward his defenseless back.

However, the beast's smile didn't last as two of Lyon's golden tails coiled around its forearm before putting a hold against its massive force.

"What?!" the beast widened its eyes before he received a glare over the shoulder from the man himself.

Lyon's other tails sprung up altogether before sending its face a barrage of heavy whips. Each blow produced the crackling shot of a loud machine gun that sent shivers toward the adventurer's goosebumps below.

Their jaws hardly locked as their eyelids refused to skip even a second of a moment. The one beast that could send them to hell with one move was now being beaten up against the rooted wall. For every breath that they took, there were four loud claps each heavier than the mountain. All that coming from the seemingly weightless tail of Lyon.

"I-Is he even human?" Sakya muttered.

"I..." Farash's eyes looked at how Lyon kept his hands crossed as he reigned over the beast with his sharp eyes. Her blue lips quivered before she gulped her saliva down her throat so hard that Sakya had to turn her head.

"F-Farash, are you alright?"

"H-Huh?" Farash blinked her eyes. "I-I'm fine..."

"Hm," Sakya squinted her eyes before a loud boom darted hers and everyone's glance.

A flash of smoke was seen before it quickly dispersed and revealed a man-sized hole in the cage.

Lyon quickly turned around before launching himself in the direction where Zelena was standing. His Heaven'se Fury set gradually dispersed into bits of golden light before he landed right in front of Leviathan Party.

"Selena!" Lyon exclaimed to his own group's raised brows.

"?" Zelena raised her brows before she saw Lyon open his arms with a grin. Zelena frowned before she felt a sting on her ankle just by thinking about escaping his embrace. With arms and face full of warmth, Lyon embraced her ever so tightly.

"Aha, aha!" Lyon closed his eyes as he hugged her up.

Kesya giggled under her arms as she turned away from the scene. Leviathan party and the rest were stupefied by the development that they hardly made a blink. Assid turned his attention toward Cecile who shook her head with a smile and then rested her index finger on her lips. Assid nodded and understood the assignment immediately.

Zelena frowned and turned unsightly. She saw how happy Lyon was, the grins from ears to ears as he burrowed his head right under her chest. His laughter was purer than the art that she had in her arsenal. She let out a soft snort as she closed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Lyon... That's..." Luna called out.

"Huh?" Lyon put Zelena down before turning his head toward Luna. "Luna, this, well, this is Selena. Selena this is Luna. She is the person that gave me this ring in my hand, see!"

Lyon showed her the ring before he smiled and muttered. "You know, without her, this whole thing won't happen. I won't be alive that long in this crazy world."

"Hmm?" Lumina stepped forward with her brows furrowed. "Are you sure that you're alright?"

"What? I'm fine, what are you talking about?" Lyon raised his brows. "Though it's kind of weird, it seems like I have really long sleep for some reason."

"Ah, so that's what happened," Lumina blinked once before turning her body away.

"What? What happened?" Lyon raised his brows before they furrowed. His eyes sharpened before he turned. He looked up and stared at the sky before a dreadful wave succumbed the adventurers back to despair.

White Crow's pupils shrunk as he watched three silhouettes descend from the large hole that the first assault did.

"T-Three...."

"There are three of them...."

The adventurers were petrified by the sight.

"Three..." Sakya gulped.

"Tch!" Baiyun ( Are we done here?! ) thought Baiyun before his brows raised and darted his glance toward the man that had just outdone one of the three. He buried his fingers inside his palm as he wished for a miracle.

"That's a lovely cage you made for yourself mortal, I guess it suits just fine for your grave," the one in the middle said. It was the only one with a long tail behind its back.

"Hehehe, what's wrong, what took you so long? Look at all these worthless air suckers! Giahahaha! You're pathetic," The one on the left said with maniac laughter.

"Shut up!" said the one Lyon just beat up earlier before it turned toward the one with the tail. "You have some explaining to do! I have heard nothing about a strong mortal."

"A strong mortal? Heh," the middle one shrugged. "This is the best of the best of the Mortal World can offer, what makes you think that they are weak? So tell me, how many dies? I see no craters anywhere."

"None!"

"What?"

"They stopped my attack! However, that's not all, there is one mortal we should pulverize first."

The leader of the beast furrowed its brows. "Where?"

"That one," the beast pointed at the man that had his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"Huh?" the leader frowned before it snorted. "Ha, ahahaha! Are you trying to fool me? That mortal has a really low cultivation level, you're telling me that you lost against him."

"I did," the beast answered with a deep tone.

The beast's leader opened its mouth but didn't utter a word, "Hmm..."

It turned and saw the man in a different light than before. Its wing flared a little before its entire being disappeared from ordinary sight.

Every pair of eyes skipped their heartbeat before they found the beast already standing on the ground with its leathery wings unfurled.

"Heh, you maintain your smil—?!" its red eyes shrunk as its tail twitched. A silhouette larger than the man he targeted had already stepped in between them. The beast had to raise its head before finding Graham looking at it down with its stoic expression. ( A giant... no... he is too short to be one, a halfling? A halfing could follow my movement?! ).

"Leader!" the left one was about to jerk off its wings before a woman stood in front of her. ( Elf?! No... a halfling?! but... what is the other half?? A dark elf? Impossible! ).

Kesya raised her chin before her smile revealed that she was on the brink of frenzy.

"Tch! No choice the—?!" A cold shudder suddenly penetrated the last beast's thick hide before it saw someone walking casually in the air toward it with his hair slicked back and his middle finger adjusting his glasses to reveal the sharp deathly glance.

Three confronted three. The commanders under Lyon's rule were indomitable even when they were pinned against the dread that sucked up all of the adventurers, no, the mortal's hope.

The leader of the beast squinted its eyes as he darted its glance from Graham toward Lyon, who was the most confident out of the people that were standing behind his back.