Emperor's Reckoning



The first thing Lyon saw the moment he entered the palace was the well-maintained beds of flowers. True to the name of their kingdoms, they were all roses with varieties.

Lyon smirked. "Shocking."

"Well this kingdom is called Broken Rose, so..." Noah shrugged. 

The king paused before turning around, realizing the group didn't follow him further. He saw the couple and the other three were mesmerizing the flower beds. He smiled and approached them by the side with hands behind his back. 

"Beautiful isn't it, so... peaceful," said King Cae, his weary eyes reflecting a butterfly hoping to the flower bud.

"Indeed, and I hope your pleasantries match your gardens," commented Lyon.

"Hahaha, absolutely," said the king. "Come, my servants have prepared a well adequate feast for all of us, I will make sure that none of you out of this palace hungry."

"Lead the way, your majesty," said Lyon.

The feast was ready in full throttle the moment they stepped into the dining hall of the palace. The chandelier was made out of shiny golden metal and the table was long made with thick wood whilst embroidered with the artistic touch of carving. There were plates over plates and jugs of wines were plentiful. The luxurious fragrance of inviting hunger wafted through the room.

The king sat at the head of the table whilst Lyon was sitting beside him with Selena by his side. Opposite of the latter was the three students who had their eyes glued to the food on the plates and Ifiz joined by standing right by the king.

Lyon leered at the wine and saw his grandfather already on the move. The former immediately made a light cough to distract the king. "So, King Cae, I believe that you don't live in this place alone?"

"I have a wife and a daughter," said King Cae with a warm smile. 

"Are they not joining our lunch?" asked Lyon as he picked up a glass of water whilst locking eye contact.

"I apologize but they are currently away in a mother-daughter bonding moment," the king smiled. "Perhaps they will return in the middle of our feast."

"I see," Lyon nodded. "Is your daughter married? Because I have these three bachelors, who need a constant spanking."

The three students' lips twitched hearing their teacher's words. 

The king laughed, "Hahaha, not only you're powerful, but you are a humorist! Oh my, you must be popular with the girls— Oh, er, please do excuse me, I didn't mean to say that in front of your wife."

Selena frowned before she picked up the knife and took her time cutting the meal. "He is really popular with the girls, the faeries, the goddess, you name it."

Lyon had his brows twitching hearing her sarcastic remark. He leered at the king and noticed him apologizing with the gesture of his palms touching each other.

"But we are not here to talk about my endeavor with the ladies," said Lyon. "Let us talk about what's so important about our meeting? Not to mention in haste as well."

The king nodded before drinking a glass of wine. "Ah, may I call you Lyon?"

Lyon nodded.

"Lyon, how well do you know about the Second Heaven?" asked King Cae.

"Not much," said Lyon. "It's just that this is five levels away from Paradise."

"Hahaha, I can take that you're really new here."

Lyon smiled in agreement. He looked around and said, "I see that the servants are kept away, and only you and Ifiz are here, must be something really important."

"Of course," the king answered right away. "This is about Second Heaven, and what will become of it."

"Well, well, you're the second old man trying to talk about this," said Lyon.

( Second old man... ) Ifiz smiled wryly. He didn't normally tolerate such disrespect, however, he knew better.

"Hahaha, I'm guessing not, may I know who was the first?"

"Old Gu," answered Lyon.

"The head of Nirvana School? Ah yes... I almost forgot that you are the new teacher there."

( Yeah, his identity as a teacher is quickly overshadowed by what he had achieved ) thought Rayus.

"Tell this old man, Lyon, do you seek control of Second Heaven?"

The question broke the calm atmosphere as the three students looked up from the food that was about to go into their mouths. Ifiz was carefully looking at Lyon's smallest gesture. Meanwhile, the latter's wife was eating nonchalantly as if the control of Second Heaven meant nothing but air.

Lyon looked at his palm with eyes of pondering. "Why would you think so?"

King Cae leaned back on his chair. He looked at Ifiz seeming to seek advice. With all the wisdom he accumulated he found himself lacking to respond with the weight of Second Heaven on the line. He sighed.

"I will have to be honest with you," said King Cae. "The key to controlling Second Heaven lies in Burgeon Swan."

The three students raised their brows before they heard their teacher's snort. 

"Heh, a group of bandits is in control of the Second Heaven?"

The king sighed, "To be exact, is not the group that poses danger per se, it's their leader, Drogan."

"You're afraid of a tattoo artist?" asked Lyon.

"A what?" the king and Ifiz raised their brows.

"A tat— never mind," said Lyon as he waved his hand, giving up to explain the foreign word.

The king and Ifiz looked at each other with a mix of confusion before returning their glance toward Lyon.

"Burgeon Swan might be bandits for some, but do you know who writes history books?" asked King Cae.

"The victors," Lyon answered.

"Precisely, the victors," King Cae nodded. "Drogan was once a famous hero of the land. His strength was incredible and rivaled that of Refl. Oh, I remember him when he was young, he achieved a lot but never seem to ever be satisfied. Only recently that I know, that he is setting his eyes on the whole Second Heaven, perhaps the Third as well."

Lyon smirked before looking at his three students. "What do you think?"

"Huh? Why are you asking us?" asked Noah.

Reinhard gulped, "It's probably going to be awesome if you have control over the entirety of Second Heaven."

"Rayus?" asked Lyon.

"I... I don't know," answered Rayus. "I don't think that you are even interested in it."

Selena put her fork down and reached for a nearby napkin. She wiped the grease on her lips before answering, "That's a good answer."

"Huh?" The king and Ifiz shared the same surprise before looking at Lyon crossing his arms and smirking.

"Yeah, that's right," said Lyon. "Controlling Second Heaven sounds like a pain, it's the kind of stuff you need to watch every day, I will happily pass that on to someone else, I mean, I don't even have any sentimental attachment to this realm."

"I-I see," the king said. "But you are planning to end Burgeon Swan, are you not? For... what?"

Lyon pointed at the three students, "For them to get their rightful justice... I guess."

"You... guess?" King Cae raised their brows.

"Our ex-teacher, Ferece, was the second-in-command in Burgeon Swan," said Noah. "He once set us up for a trap that resulted in my friend here having his meridians flawed."

The king raised his brows. "Ah, I've heard the stories before, such a scandal, I can't believe it's actually true."

"You're a nobleman, esteemed guest," said Ifiz as he gave him a salute.

"I know," Lyon nodded before the others had black lines over their heads.

"However, Lyon, you cannot expect not to be implicated after what you've done," said King Cae. 

"Meaning?" Lyon asked.

"There are other powers ready to gnaw at Burgeon Swan and gained their treasury, and of course, the secret of the runes," said the king before his voice turned heavy, "There are also people trying to protect Drogan, for if he died, the runes might as well died with him."

"Protect him?" Noah raised his brows as he looked at the king.

"Yes," the king nodded. "They might not protect the Burgeon Swan, but they will protect him."

The three students gulped. They now knew the true gravity of the situation. Drogan was not just the Burgeon Swan, but he was also the Second Heaven's key to a new threshold of power. His existence was too special to be left dead.

"Why are you all three so tensed?" asked Lyon as he looked at the three students. "You're target is that Ferece."

"Lyon, please forgive me if this comes out as an insult to you, but I don't think even you can face Second Heaven," said King Cae with his weary eyes sharpened. "Now, don't get me wrong, I believe that you can fight Drogan but sometimes quality can't overwhelm quantity."

"It's just Second Heaven," said Lyon as he casually resumed eating.

King Cae, Ifiz, and the three students were shocked by his nonchalant attitude as if, nothing could deter him, not even if a mountain decided to jump by itself.