Emperor's Reckoning

One could see the dangling chandeliers that were set adjacently to one another from the roof. The door was closed shut. The restaurant had been reserved for the young master.

They all knew who the 'young master' the half-giant was referring to. There was only but one young man that dared enough to kick the prince out like that.

"Damn, he is savage."

"Prince Raul is a prince, but the savage didn't even bat his hands."

"Not only that but all of them were blown outside, even those that the Pala Kingdom had recruited."

One could only imagine the power that was exerted to kick the prince and the other powerful cultivators outside. However, the truth lies inside the restaurant.

"W-What just happened?!" said Prince Raul before he got up after a few struggles. His eyebrows twitched immediately the moment he stood straight. Something heavy was weighing down his chest, breathing suddenly became privatized.

He immediately touched his chest with his bare hand. He noticed that not a single fabric from his clothing was brittle but the sinking feeling of his chest was surreal. He was drenched in a cold sweat, unbeknownst.

The weaker ones started getting up themselves, but they didn't have the same sensation as he was having.

"What just happened?" muttered Prince Raul as the pain subside with each passing second. He was startled by Lyon's arrogant word that he couldn't see what the ashen-haired man did.

Prince Raul made a harsh swallow. His eyes were trembling as his knees slightly bent. (That man is the same man that was outside the arena where Rupert confronted the unruly mortal).

"Hah... Hah... Hah..." He was panting as he stared at the ground he was standing.

"Prince!"

"?" Raul raised his eyebrows before he glance at the one shouting his title.

It was a pair of men with the insignia of Pala Kingdom embroidered on their sleek clothes. They had no weapon on their waist but the bearing that they were exuding caused the onlookers to shiver their spines.

"It's you guys," said Raul.

"Are you alright, Prince Raul?" asked one of the two men.

"I am," nodded Raul though there was still a hint of brown hue on his cheek. "Where are the other three elites?"

The onlookers immediately caught on by Raul's words, as well as the group he brought with him.

Folcre furrowed his eyebrows (These two are from the Elite Five? No wonder, their presence is really exhilarating!) he gulped.

"Those two are from the Elite Five?!"

"No wonder..."

The Elite Five from the Pala Kingdom consisted of five elite cultivators that were tasked with guarding the king. Their training was said to be arduous and mysterious at the same time. No neighboring kingdoms had ever caught any information leak about them. Their presence was made for secrecy and only rarely did they present themselves in public.

The five figures had protected the king for countless years, even before Prince Raul was born. Their skills were unmatched, and so did their loyalty to the Pala Kingdom.

"Why are they showing themselves now?" asked the onlookers as they looked at the table.

"They have rarely shown themselves in public... oh... you don't think that."

"Maybe," said the onlooker as he and the others took a glance at the restaurant.

Their presence right now could only mean one thing. They were going to take care of the unruly young mortal.

They all shared the same opinions but they refrained to speak further. Adding oil to a blazing fire was not necessary. The Pala Kingdom and the other three great kingdoms were virtually humiliated in the second round by the young man from the Mortal World. There was no telling how deep the animosity that was formed from then on.

The youth's position was not the best. He may break records in the first and second round, but he also had made offense toward the four kingdoms.

The two of them bowed, "They are at the presence of the king."

"I see," said Raul. "Then, why are you here?"

The question warranted a slight pause, a moment of silence. The onlookers had their opinions set but they still need to verify it from the two of them.

"We are here to escort you back," said one of the two men.

The onlookers let out a sigh.

"However, it seems like someone is trying to die," the other flared out his killing intent.

The onlookers immediately gasped. They looked at one of them turning around and was facing the restaurant.

One of the elite took a step forward before widening his feet as wide as his shoulder. His back was straight as his chest was tightened.

"The ones inside the restaurant, GET OUT HERE!"

The mantra immediately traversed through the thin gap of the window before reaching inside.

His voice echoed as Afurnae stood silent. No sound coming out from the restaurant, no sound coming out from outside either. The dead silence was creeping but there was no movement to be felt.

*Thump!

*Thump!

The cultivator furrowed his eyebrows. He glanced right and left before returning to the closed door. His smirk was gone with the wind.

Prince Raul furrowed his eyebrows before he gulped. His instinct slowly but surely told him to flee right at this second. His cold sweat already ran down his cheek to his jaw. The suspense was killing him inside. He never thought that having no reaction would be severely more frightening than one.

The fear of the unknown. The air felt like it was whispering death.

The other elite cultivator immediately covered the prince.

They knew the mantra either worked too well or didn't work at all, from the silence, it seemed like it was leaning toward the latter.

*Gulp!

The young man swallowed his food before his eyes narrowed. He leaned forward, pressing both elbows on the table. Clasping his hands he put his chin on top of his knuckles. His eyes turned sharp as he looked at the door. He was silent, his aloof and easy-going bearing was no more.

Nobody spoke a word. Lumina was looking at him whilst Cecile helplessly smiled. It was one of that rare moments where Lyon didn't shed a joke.

Kesya had blings for her eyes. (How long have I yearned to see that expression of yours... Emperor, the face that hurt many fairies).

The sound of stir fry was heard from the kitchen. Assid didn't use his glasses for the heat created unnecessary fog to the glass. His face was all-time serious as he cooked, but his lips turned a grin as he occasionally try to peek at his young master's expression. Meanwhile, the owner of the restaurant had already passed out from the mantra attack.

(He might be at the end of his adolescent years, but he is still him, the emperor then, the emperor now, and the emperor to come!) thought Assid.

The situation suddenly turned tense, neither side make a move. The only separation was the wall and the door.

Lyon closed his eyes before he took an audible breath from his nose. He opened his mouth.

"What is this clamor about?"

Prince Raul raised his eyebrows before he noticed a woman coming in with the bearing of a ruler. His eyes opened wide before he greeted her, "Aunt Wanda..."

The beauty was the queen of Sverine, the person that Lyon deemed more dangerous than her own kingdom.

"What is this about, Raul?" asked Wanda as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Ah, this is..." said Raul nervously. He won't be able to show himself if he were to explain what had happened.

"Queen Sverine," the elite cultivator that was standing at the frontmost greeted her. "An unfortunate event befalls the prince, I am here to make the person inside this restaurant amend his mistake."

"Unfortunate?" Wanda muttered. "You, you are wearing the insignia of the Pala Kingdom but your cultivation level surpassed Hezar. You are one of the Elite Five, aren't you?"

The elite raised his eyebrows in surprise. Whether it was intuition or not he realized how dangerous the woman was.

Cherie was following closely behind her mother before she let out a remark, "Raul, you have dirt on your cheek."

"Kh?!" Raul furrowed his eyebrows before he quickly wiped the dirt off.

*Boom!

Time suddenly slowed down as their eyes saw the door explode out.

(Shit!) The elite cultivator leered toward the door before a hand grabbed his entire face. He was at the mercy of gravity before the ground eat his figure as the hand slammed him down.

*Boom!

Craters were instantly made as the ashen hair fluttered.

"By the order of Emperor Torga... Die."

Graham's eyebrows furrowed before the head exploded into a fountain of blood.

Everyone froze as the blood splattered all over the place. One splat was even at the same spot as the dirt that was on Raul's cheek.

The latter's pupils shrunk before he caught the sharp glance from the man on the second floor.