Emperor's Reckoning

Lyon's heart thumped. His pupils trembled. His fingers couldn't stop fidgeting. Every breath that he took was colder than the previous ones. The piece of an arm in his hand was paler than his own before a flash stuttering image replaced his vision.

She was standing right in front of him with hands on her waist. She was looking at him with a stern gaze before she turned and faced the tree that could be encircled by ten adults stretching their hands. She closed her eyes before her blonde hair whipped against the air as she moved a shadowy step forward. Her palm connected against the tree before all of the leaves was plucked from within.

Lyon stood there in awe before he found his body arched as if something was kicking his stomach. He looked at her smirking with her back facing him. His hands reached out as he screamed her name. The giant sphere collapsed on her.

He turned before he saw with a blur in his gaze, that a woman was throwing heavy punches, heavy kicks, and severe palm strikes as she was surrounded by over a thousand cloaked cultivators. Her breath became tremendously weighty, but her eyes were sharp as she kept on the momentum. The roar of a dragon accompanied her techniques and guided her art even as she took hit from them from time to time. No magic spell worked on her as she kept on bruising them. Occasionally she would steal a glance at him.

Lyon's head slightly tilted down with his fringe covering half of his face.

"Ly—" Sophia couldn't utterly call his name as her shoulder was slightly pulled by her cousin. She darted at her before the latter shook her head.

Parriot gulped as he looked at the youth in front of him. He had no choice as he took a step back seeing him like this. (What the fuck happened to you boy. What is that ominous aura coming out of you, what level has your cultivation level reached? Such a dreadful phase, what is your secret? Who are you...).

"How dare they..." Lyon gritted his teeth with his hissed of words before the ground shook. "HOW DARE THEY!"

Ashen horns formed a crown in his head before it vanished. His arms scally before it vanished. His hair turned a golden hue before it revert back. His aura peaked as the clouds above dispersed at sight rate. His hair flowed before his fringe opened his expression to the rest.

Parriot felt that his heart needed a rest from the high intensity. He found the savior glaring with veins in his temple. The man was furious. Parriot opened his lips but no word dared to come out and entered the savior's ears. He was fully consumed with rage before he felt his soul clenched. (S-SHit! Not this again!! It's even harder than before! What incarnation of killing intent is this!) he gritted his teeth before he noticed the sole source of such a cold chain.

"Get out of here, now!" Cecile pulled her cousin out of the way before she stepped forward. (This flare of killing intent, could it be? No, that's not it, it's not enough yet, but he is scraping the surface of his precious bloodline).

Cultivators inside the city started to tumble down one by one with their pupils vanished. The waterfall surrounding the city slowed as the sky gradually unfolded.

"The world shall see his magnificence once more," Kesya smirked, "and we will be his swords and shields as he severe the ancient fate of the Mortal World."

Graham crossed his arms as he basked in the coldness of his master's killing intent. He sharpened his eyes, "Master is going all out."

(Master?) Parriot said inwardly as he darted over to the tallest man in the area. (That giant just called him master? Wha-what's going on here!).

The atmosphere suddenly lightened up as Lyon's hair draped on his shoulders. He reached out to his breast pocket before a simple whistleblower was in sight.

"That's..." Cecile muttered as she looked at the whistleblower in his hand. "Yoji.."

"That whistleblower..." Kesya gulped. "He had met Yoji before us."

"Yoji, the driver," Assid adjusted his glasses.

"Tetragram Chariot," Graham frowned.

Lyon opened his lips as he took an audible deep breath from his nose.

...

Meanwhile at the archipelago continent where Lyon had met Lumina.

Inside the throne room, one king was sitting leisurely on the throne. He looked at the ceiling above with his hands behind his head.

The four mystifying horses snorted irregularly.

"Is my place not that clean for you?" Yoji commented with a smile. "I know it cannot be compared with your old stable, I hope that place is not dusty now that no one is tending it."

One of the horses snorted.

"But it's not bad right, I mean, who would put a chariot inside a throne room? No—?!" He caught the four horses raising their hind legs at the same time before the shimmer of the jewel on the carriage itself made him jump out of the throne. "The emperor is calling us!"

The four horses neighed as Yoji leaped and stand on the carriage. "Let's go!"

The moment their legs touched the ground the four moved in unison toward the wall of the throne room. Yoji's eyes were sharper than blades before he saw the space between the chariot and the wall cracked open like a glass. The chariot left with a boom that quaked the ocean surrounding the island.

...

Back at the Garuda Palace.

Cecile's ears twitched as she heard a long-lost familiar neigh.

"It's the Tetragram Chariot!" Kesya grinned.

(The what??) Parriot frowned before he felt his hound of neighs trampling down his soul. His eyes looked around but he couldn't tell where the neighs came from. "Where—?!" his eyes opened wide the moment he saw the space being pierced from the fourth dimension with a pair of horse's head leading the destruction before the rest of the chariot was revealed.

"At your service, Emperor Lyon," Yoji immediately knelt down with his eyes closed.

"Yoji," Lyon called.

Yoji opened his eyes and raised his brows. He didn't call him by his usual name. "I understand, Your Majesty," Yoji sharply answered. "Point me to the stars and I shall take you there, the Purgatory or Paradise as well, we shall trample them, just say the word, Emperor."

(He has no time for greeting us, huh) thought Kesya by the side.

"Half of my teacher's forearm has been severed," said Lyon solemnly.

Yoji's eyes immediately turned sharp as he saw the limb in Lyon's hand. Someone actually dare to hurt one of his loved ones, and the calm, the dead calm that the emperor was exuding was far more chilling than the coldest of ice. "They shall be massacred, Emperor."

Parriot gulped as they looked at them. he wanted to offer his opinion about the orcs, but the pressure that was permeating out from the group was nothing light.

"Cecile," Lyon called out.

"Yes," Cecile stood by his side with her hands in a fig leaves position.

"I must go," said Lyon solemnly.

"Yes," Cecile nodded as she looked over his husband's cold expression. The man was ready to butcher.

"Thank you," answered Lyon before he approached Parriot. "Tell me who did this."

Parriot almost dropped to his knee as he saw the laughing youth then had transformed into someone that he couldn't reach even at this short distance. "I-It's an orc, they are orcs."

"You sure it's an orc?"

"It's not just an orc, it was a swarm of them, a whole tribe," answered Parriot. "Jugen told me to pass this information to you."

"Jugen?!" Lyon raised his brows. "He is alive, right?"

Parriot nodded, "He managed to stay alive, but he was saddened by her sister's fate."

"I understand, thank you for telling me this, what is your name?" asked Lyon.

"I'm... Parriot."

Lyon raised his brows. "The shapeshifter?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, right, thank you," Lyon nodded before he turned.

"Your welcom—??" (Wait a minute, he remembered my name more than my face? That's like the opposite of Elaine!).

Lyon looked at the three generals.

"Oh, and," Parriot added, "The orcs are not alone, they are surely aided by another group. I don't know their name but they wore masks and oversized cloaks."

"It doesn't matter, they too shall end," answered Lyon before he darted back at his generals. "You three."

The three generals immediately knelt and addressed him accordingly.

"Your Majesty!"

"No survivors," said Lyon before he turned with his hands behind his back.

All three nodded before Lyon stepped up the chariot with Yoji by the side. "Cecile, I'm going to kill some orcs and some others, I'll be back."

"I know," Cecile smiled.

Lyon raised his arms as he darted a smile at the pair of women watching from their rooms. He waved before he saw them nodding. He turned before his eyes sharpened as his brows furrowed.