Emperor's Reckoning

"Lyon..!!" Luna screamed as she rushed from the hill down toward the man that Graham now held with two hands. She halted as soon as she could reach his hair, "Is he alright?"

Graham shook his head, "I'm afraid not, the gaze of death from the Cockatrice is not something a child can play with."

"He is not a child," said Kesya. "But look! His chest is still heaving up and down."

Everyone noticed what Kesya pointed out but their worries were only slightly lessened.

Lumina immediately grab a hold of Lyon's lifeless hand and felt the slow pulse of his heart. She reached out to his eyes before closing the lids. "We need to let him rest for now."

"Rest? Do you think that's enough?" asked Luna.

"Of course not," said Lumina. "We still need to find a way to cure him."

"Such reckless fella," a silvery voice was heard.

Everyone turned their heads before seeing Cecile lovingly cherish his face. She gently massaged his forehead with her hand.

"Aren't you worried about him?" asked Kesya.

"Can you tell?" asked Assid coldly. "The Empress is devastated."

"Huh?" Kesya raised her brow before her eyes sharpened as she noticed a faint tremble in her finger.

Cecile closed her eyes before her glance turned sharp. "Pick up the Cockatrice head, Assid."

"Yes, Empress," Assid bowed before staring straight against the opened eyes of the Cockatrice. He paused a little before furrowing his brows. His hands turned into a fist before he shook his head after a second passed. He knelt and picked up the head and put it inside a bag he had prepared prior.

"But what happened?" asked Luna. "I thought that Cockatrice died already."

"His neck was severed but there was a window in which the beast was still alive. It was in that short window that master met the beast's powerful eyes," said Graham. "It was a rookie mistake."

"A rookie and a reckless one at that," said Cecile as she snorted a smile. "Luna is right, we need to find shelter and give him some rest. The shock from a Cockatrice is not something we can mess around... hmmm..."

"What is it?" asked Luna.

"Perhaps he can be healed with Mana Essence," said Cecile.

"I will move at once," said Assid. "I will make sure that master gets the Mana Essence."

"En, go do that," said Cecile. "Graham, I need your help to carry him for me."

"I understand, older sister," Graham nodded.

"Now then, what shall we do about entering the town again," Cecile pondered.

"Why can't we just enter like we normally would?" asked Luna.

"Sadly, we can't do that. Our beings are now an icon that has been recognized by a lot of people in town," said Lumina.

"We are really that famous now?"

"Maybe, but if we left an image as an enigma, might as well leave their thoughts as that," Cecile smiled. "Because the weak won't mess with us just because they were bored."

"But seeing Lyon being carried away, would undoubtedly bring more trouble than reducing it," said Luna as she nodded. "They would think that we are actually, beatable."

"Well we are, just not with them," said Kesya. "My finger is perhaps more powerful than nine of them together, and that's the pinky one!"

"Okay stop boasting yourself that high," Cecile said.

"How about if we do what Lyon did?" asked Lumina.

"What is that exactly?" asked Lumina.

"I think she meant that we took off our cloaks when we enter the city," said Luna.

"How about sneaking in?" asked Kesya as she pitched in her idea with a smile. "Aren't we needed to pay another entrance fee when we re-enter the city?"

"What?! That's absurd!" said Luna. "What kind of corrupted system are they running?!"

"Every system is corrupted if you see it from an angle that it is," said Cecile.

"Alright, let's not delve into corruption, the reckless man is dying," said Lumina as she rubbed Lyon's forehead.

"A djinn won't come out of there even if you rub it that hard you know," said Kesya with a chuckle.

"A djinn? You've met one before?" asked Lumina.

"Alright, let's not delve further into djinns, my husband is dying in his sleep," said Cecile with a smile and a raise of one of her brows.

"Hmph," Lumina furrowed her brows as she spared a sharp glance toward the auburn beauty.

( Master, you need to get up soon ) thought Graham as he sighed inwardly.

"Graham did you just sigh inwardly?" asked Kesya.

"No," said Graham before he walked in the direction of where the town was.

*Rauu!!!

A giant growl alerted Luna and made her look at her right and left, yet there was nothing in sight. "What was that?"

Graham, Assid, Kesya, and Cecile kept walking forward unhindered. The growl of the beast was repeated yet they didn't bat an eye as Graham walked in the frontmost. A giant gale soon crashed on the four and the rest before a beast revealed itself from the top of the hill.

A fatless beast with four legs. Its muscles were greatly refined and unnatural. It was crouching like a wolf but it had a pair of ashen horns protruding like that of an ox. The beast growled once more before revealing its sharp fangs. Its dark-violet eyes locked on the man sleeping in Graham's arms, with drools escaping out of its jaw.

"A Behemoth!" exclaimed Luna.

"A group of Behemoth," said Lumina as she furrowed her brows and sharpened her cold blood.

"A pack," Cecile smiled before ten more of the beast came out and adorned the horizon of the hills. They were all looking at the group with feisty eyes, some even chuckled at the sight.

"Wild dogs," muttered Assid before a flash of leap past him and fluttered his slick hair a bit.

"Giahahahaha!" Kesya laughed out loud as her hair dyed black. "Die die die!"

The beasts growled in excitement before coming at Kesya with their thighs contracting to the most optimum acceleration they could get.

"Since you want to die that badly, I will give you some death!" Kesya laughed eerily.

Graham kept walking forward even though he soon heard meat getting shredded, muscles getting turned apart, and the wails of the fearsome beasts.

"That's all, boring," said Kesya before she slapped the blood away from her hand. Her hair slowly returned to her original half then she sighed.

Assid immediately threw a bucket of water at her.

"Ah!" She immediately jumped out and screamed as she felt a jolt of cold right to her face. "Assid! What the hell!"

"You stink of blood, animal blood no less," said Assid. "You should keep your distance away from young master right this instance!"

"What?! I was doing this for him!" said Kesya.

"Still, you should be mindful about how you smell," said Assid. "Young master only deserves the best!"

"Are you... Do you... Do you really want me to kill you?" Kesya turned sharp as her hair turned black.

"It seems like you need to be taught how to behave around my emperor, fine, so be it, I have time to discipline you, Cursed Child," said Assid.

"That does it!" Kesya flared out her aura as her eyes turned purple.

....

"Hm?!" Di immediately jumped out of his room and looked through the window. He furrowed his brows. "What the... is it the Swarm?"

....

"Ngh?!" The White Perch froze and had his pupils shrunk to a dot. He greatly furrowed his brows before he went to the roof of the hall. He looked in the same direction Di did. "The Swarm...?"

...

Abaddon's brows twitched, "What the, what's going on."

"Huh? What are you talking ab—?!" Mona raised her brows before she felt a cold jolt striking her spine and pulling out her goosebumps.

...

"Ah?!" The entire guild and town soon experienced the same.

"Fuck a big one is coming!!"

"The Swarm! The Swarm!!"

The town panicked.

...

Assid furrowed his brows before he took out his glasses. The woman in front could kill a bird with a glance. He had no time to reserve. "Fine then, it's about time."

"What tremendous aura!" shouted Luna as her bloodline clashed with it.

"Tch! These monsters," Lumina furrowed her brows as her cloaks fluttered by the immense gale both of them were producing.

"I will give you five seconds to stop this," said Cecile.

"It's less than that, young miss," said Assid.

"She is talking to both of you," a colder voice immensely overcome their thoughts.

"Ngh?!" Both of them immediately felt a giant wave of presence crash against theirs as their eyes opened wide in disbelief. Their heart stopped beating for a fraction of a second before their brain realized they had to look at the source. Their brow raised to the ceiling as they saw Graham kneeling to a youth.

Lumina had her pupils shrunk.

"Ly...on...?" Luna muttered as she saw him standing straight.

"Heh," Lyon smirked before slowly crossing his arms and raising his chin a bit.