Emperor's Reckoning

The elites raised their eyebrows. They heard the steps before the top of her head was seen with a glimpse. Their eyes gradually opened wide as the reflection of their pupils revealed her face. The figure had arrived on the second floor with a sigh coming out of her mouth.

She looked around the room on the second floor from wall to wall. Her eyebrow naturally arched as she noticed a crack on one side of the wall, behind the receptionist desk. The lady that was supposed to be on standby was not there either.

"Why are all you guys so tense," shrugged the lady before she took a lazy stride toward the receptionist.

She looked down to see the lady that was on the shift had her eyes spinning around. The latter was surrounded by her assistants as they tend to her care. The blood that she coughed out had already been wiped clean but the fact won't escape the leader's sharp thought.

(With that cracked wall, it's natural that she would have coughed out some blood, hmm...) thought the leader. There was not a hint of fuming rage nor even the slightest excitement from her tone.

"Give her... hmm... I don't know (I suck at this)" thought the leader as the elites and the assistants had black lines over their head. Her easygoing nature was not fit to be a leader in this kind of organization but here she was. Every single one of them dare to comment against her and she would take it without making such a fuss over it, probably because of that side of her that people tend to like her.

However, everyone knew that their leader rarely laughed. They always saw that weak smile of her that she had always shown to people and those around her. Nobody inside the organization knew how many layers of emotion that she hid under that weak smile.

She had it all. A prestigious position, a good amount of money, and one hell of a community. At least that was what the people thought. They couldn't figure out what she was lacking in her life, except for the obvious one.

"It seems like they didn't mean any harm, else, she would have died... of course, I'm just assuming."

She stretched her neck slightly before sighing, "Alright..."

She went up toward the stairs that leading up to the third floor.

One tap of her foot made the cultivators above furrowed their eyebrows. The vice-leaders were a bit of surprise by the sudden sound but their stricken face soon turned into a face of smug.

However, the two didn't pay any mind as they smirked at the arrival of the one that they sought in this building.

"I never thought that you're actually outside, for once," said the one with the glasses

*Tap!

*Shatter!

She unconsciously made a harder step than usual and broke one of the stairs with her foot. The elites immediately stood up as their instinctive nature kicked in. Having their hands on their weapon without further notice, they were ready at the back and call of their leader's word.

"What's wrong? Leader?"

The figure was still standing and didn't answer the elite adventurer as if she didn't hear their words. Her blue eyes opened wide and her eyelids were struggling to make a blink. Her eyebrows furrowed before she left a wild gale.

*Break!

The stairs shattered as the elites immediately covered their face with their forearms from the incoming debris.

"W-What?!"

"What's gotten into her?!"

"Something big is going on!"

The half-giant with ashen hair furrowed his eyebrows as his eyes turned sharp whilst his partner let out a snort before a smile.

"Leader!" exclaimed the three of them at the same time. Their eyes were gleaming with pride as they looked up against her face. However, the latter seemed to heed no mind against the three of them.

Her eyes were staring in disbelief as she saw both of them. Her jaw was clenched before she swallowed a gulp that could be heard by naked ears.

The half-giant turned around before looking at her.

She had a peach complexion with not a hint of maturity was present. Her ears were covered with a cloak but one could see the shimmer of dark golden hair. Her figure was hidden under the garment that she wore but one could see the tight leggings before ending up in a pair of slippers on the bottom of her feet.

"I cannot believe it... you're here,' muttered the leader as her mouth slightly gape.

"Leader.... who are they?" asked one of the vice-leaders that gave the first strike just right after they opened the door.

"Old friends..." said the leader with a smile before she took a step back, "Oh-oh, congratulations!" she took a bow against the half-giant without hesitation.

"What?!"

The vice-leaders couldn't believe their eyes as they saw their leader taking a bow against one of the two.

"Guha!"

The sound of vomiting was heard before all of them turned around and saw Dunra struggling to stand up. Blood was trickling off of his mouth to his chin. His heavy breaths were concerning but those eyes didn't show any fear toward death. He put his hand on his chest while slightly console the pain (What a monster... not only is he big, he is incredibly fast, what a monster... my kunpeng art are famed for its speed but even with that short distance he flicked it off like nothing but a marble to play).

"Huh? Dunra, what happened to you?" asked the leader.

Dunra smiled, "Just a little get-to-know each other... nothing of your concern."

The leader squinted her eyes as she noticed the wall behind him cracked to an even greater catastrophe than the one below. Using the pattern, she could figure out that one man was responsible for it.

She took a glance against the half-giant with ashen hair before the latter let out a slight snort. She averted her glance back toward this vice-leader of her before asking, "You're still alive?"

Dunra and the rest of the vice leaders were surprised by her question. That was not the kind of question that a leader should ask her subordinate at all. Her words implying that she was on his side instead of them.

"Am I supposed to die here, leader? haha! Guha!" Dunra's laugh only led him to another puke of blood."

Despite the gruesome display of Dunra's condition, his leader seemed to be more surprised that the former was even breathing at all.

"Hmm, I mean, with your cultivation level, he could pinch your meridians to dust, and I'm not even overexaggerating it. I've seen it before firsthand."

"W-What... Guha!"

"Yeah, you probably should stop talking and get treatment right away... or don't... if you don't feel like it... (Why am I still indecisive?!)"

Dunra could only smile wryly as he heard her advice.

"What are you congratulating him for?" asked the one with the glasses.

"Eh? I-I mean, the fact that he is here, it means that he finally accepted the King's Order... right?"

"He didn't, it was erased."

"What?! What do you mean era—"

Her words stuck in her throat as her blue eyes opened wide. She felt a rush of cold running down her spine and her feet were locked in place.

"The King's Order magic is a special type of magic... only the original caster could erase it or put it on someone else... then... THEN!!!!"

Though her glance was against the two of them, the image that she saw was something else.

A silhouette that was adorned with some sort of fabric that was even more durable than any metal in the world. The lean figure had peaked the very physique of a cultivator could be. She could see the reflection of her young self on the golden earrings that he wore. His long black hair fluttered as his lips moved to one edge upward. With his arms crossed the man was standing against one thousand banners of different sides.

"Leader! Leader!"

A shout wake her up before she saw the receptionist lady on the lowest floor was coming at her before jumping and landing right next to her.

"I heard a loud crash! Listen, leader, I know love is a hard concept to digest for someone like you, but let it flow and let your heart decide who is the best!"

Other than the receptionist lady, the rest had black lines over their head. However, the leader's eyes caught a gleam on the rolled paper that was in her right hand.

*Clasped!

The receptionist lady was startled as her wrist was grabbed by the leader but the latter wasted no time before taking the rolled paper out of her hand.

She opened it up without giving a second thought. Veins immediately popped up on her foreheads as her eyes turned even sharper than an eagle.

*Boom!

The receptionist lady and the vice leaders were immediately blown back by the sudden mana burst that their leader let out. The cloak fluttered as the hoodie finally revealed her black sharp ears.

D-Duncan struggled to get up once more but the moment he saw his leader's face, he could only gawk in fear. (I- I never saw her like this before! She is... she is furious! The burst... it's only getting stronger and stronger!!)

"TREAS!!!"

The furious killing intent enveloped the entire world as everyone heard her shout before the top floor of the tower exploded.