Emperor's Reckoning

"Treas!" Parriot exclaimed as soon as he arrived at Mabia. His sharp gaze immediately fell against the building that was famed for auctioning rare and exotic items from all corners of the world.

Parriot immediately turned into a human form as soon as he was about to land and immediately caught the awe and curiosity of the onlookers in the city. They had witnessed something bizarre before, but not as bizarre as what he had just done right before their very eyes.

"I need to see the manager here!" shouted Parriot.

"Hey! No need to shout!" said the guards with furrowed brows. "If you want to meet the manager, then you should make an appointment beforehand!"

"This is an emergency! I came here for something important!"

"What could be so important? Are you trying to kidnap our manager?" asked one of the guards. "You better watch your mouth around here, vagabond!"

"Tch! Shut up and tell me where he is! This is regarding Lyon! Do you want to die?!"

"...."

Everyone was silent upon hearing his rage. There was no indication from his popped veins that he was joking. The name that was shaking the Mortal World, again and again, had once more been spoken out. The weight of his name was heavier than an entire continent. One word out of his mouth might as well be a reality. The moon shall become the sun and the sun shall become the moon all according to his will alone.

"What's wrong?" a woman rushed out from the back of the lobby. "I've heard that you mentioned his name, it would be a grave sin if you lie."

"I know very well as much as you do if I lie in front of him, in fact, who in this world dares lie to him now?" Parriot frowned.

"Lyon is my brother-in-law, so give me the words, I shall testify if it's really regarding him," the woman crossed her arms. "My name is Sophia Treas Alrude."

"I see, Sophia, I need to go to Garuda City and meet him personally."

"Didn't I tell you just now? I need to know why."

Parriot's eyes turned sharp as he solemnly said, "Nostria is under attack."

"What?!" Sophia had her eyes opened wide. "Are you serious? When did it happen?!"

"Just now, and it's over with our defeat."

Sophia couldn't believe her ears. Nostria was a well-established kingdom, especially after Lyon's illustrious journey and extravagant prestige. "Nobody should even have the guts to offend him," she muttered.

"The orcs, the orcs are attacking Nostria, however, their target was not the kingdom, it was someone that Lyon knew well."

"Who..."

Parriot showed her the butchered forearm that was wrapped with a cloth. "A woman called Karina."

(That blonde woman?!) Sophia had her pupils shrunk as her shoulders tensed. She remembered quite vividly how she was left on the battlefield but still fend on her own to protect Lyon. She opened the wrapped cloth hidden from the eyes of the onlookers before her heart thumped wildly. Now, that same person that could fend a thousand cultivators had lost half of an arm to a vile creature that never crossed her mind.

"Now you understand how grave the matter is, we don't have much time," said Parriot. "Every second that went by is precious enough."

Sophia nodded nervously with her clenched jaw. "Granted, we will both go to Garuda City."

The onlookers were surprised but Parriot couldn't even savor the expression of the idiots around him as his hand was filled with a single Returning Jade Stone. Both of them nodded before they crushed it at the same time.

Striking light of jade zipped through the sky with the cultivators below using their hands as visors to look above. The circumstance had changed, what the man said was most likely true based on Sophia's answer. The matter was true regarding Lyon. He was about to make another appearance once more.

...

In Garuda City.

Lyon sighed with his back against the headboard of the bed. He crossed his arms with the smell of fragrance soup permeating the area. He slowly put his leg over the other as he leered a smile at the auburn-haired woman sitting by the window.

"You know, Cecile."

"Hm?" Cecile raised her brows but didn't turn. She closed her eyes as she felt the breeze from the city.

"I think that maybe, next time, you know, you could have, you know," Lyon repeatedly pushed his index fingers against one another.

"What is it?"

"Well, cook something else?" Lyon smiled wryly. "Why did you make me eat the whole pot...?"

"Oh?" Cecile turned as she smiled, "I thought you liked it, that's why I cook more."

"That's... well the first time have been amazing, but to keep on eating them is not something so healthy."

"You talking about healthy?" Cecile raised one brow. "Your stomach could probably digest a kirin's horn, what kind of food makes you unhealthy?"

"That's a joke, right?" Lyon asked but she merely chuckled as a response.

"Tell me, Lyon, what do you think about the state of the world today?" asked Cecile as she turned and had her arms crossed like him.

"Huh, that's really out of the blue," Lyon furrowed his brows.

"Do you like the world that you have traveled in?" asked Cecile. "So far, how do you like it?"

"Hmm," Lyon smiled wryly as he scratched his cheek, "I never thought about it at all to be honest, hehe."

"That's so you," Cecile smiled.

"Why are you asking me this?" Lyon raised his brows.

"Nothing serious," Cecile looked over the window.

"Hmm, is that so?" Lyon got up from the bed before he approached her ears. "You, you're not pregnant, are you?"

Cecile slowly had her eyes opened wide as her pupils moved to meet his. She had to open her crossed arms with her lips slowly gaping at the word she heard directly.

"Well... are you?" Lyon slightly pulled his face as he blinked twice with his brows pushed upward.

"Th! Hahaha," Cecile couldn't help but choked before she laughed after seeing his worried expression. "W-What's this, why are you so scared that I might get pregnant?"

"I-I'm not scared!" Lyon takes a step back. "But do you know how young I am? I'm still nineteen."

"Twenty,"

"Yeah, probably twenty," Lyon nodded in agreement, "But that's not it, this world is not ready for another Lyon, or two, or three, or twenty-five."

"Twenty-five?" Cecile raised one of her brows.

"It's just a random number, don't think too much about it," Lyon waved his hand with a smile before the corner of his gaze caught a jade shimmer. "Huh?"

"Hmm?" Cecile followed where he was looking and her pupils immediately reflected a pair of jade lights zipping through the sky and was aiming at the garden inside Garuda City.

Lyon calmly stood by his wife before he saw the pair of lights dissipate. "Hey, that's your cousin and a guy. What is she doing here?"

Cecile noticed the wrapped cloth that was in Sophia's hand before her brows furrowed. "I think something bad happened and somehow, we are involved."

"Woah, straight out of the bat, huh," Lyon pushed his lips together as he nodded with his brows raised. "Maybe not, c'mon let's meet them," he smiled and caught Cecile's hand.

Cecile smiled as she resigned to his force albeit her feelings still hold true. There was something ominous about the wrapped cloth that her cousin held in her hands. However, speculating from afar would do nothing but adorned anxiety with a gold cloak.

"Lyon!!!" Parriot didn't hold back as he shout right from the garden.

"Kh?!"

His soul was immediately choked as his knees crashed against the soft dirt. His mouth was gaping for breaths as the blue sky slowly turned red horrid and his eyelids refused to blink. He didn't even feel a skip of his heartbeat before he could feel the pulse of his own veins. (W-What the hell is going on?!) thought Parriot before he noticed he was kneeling before three humongous figures that he couldn't even hope to compare against their toes.

"Alright, you call my name, what did I do?" asked Lyon as he came with his hand scratching the back of his head.

"Lyon!" Sophia called out, "Please release him! We have something grave to tell you."

"Huh?" Lyon waved his hand before his three generals immediately lifted up their presence. "Something grave?" Lyon added before he heard the man coughing for breath whilst softly massaging his neck.

"Lyon it's me! Parriot!"

"Who?" Lyon raised his brows.

"K-Karina she has been captured!"

"What?!" Lyon shouted before he lift up Parriot by the collar and glared, "You better not mess around!"

"He is not," Cecile answered before Lyon turned.

"Here," Cecile pushed the cloth that seemed to wrap something inside it, against his chest.

The contact made a small thud before Lyon hugged it with one hand. He frowned. He immediately undo the wrap right before their very eyes before his pupils shrunk and trembled at the sight. No breath was pulled.