Emperor's Reckoning

"Nghh!!" the Seraphim Cultivator was making a loud grunt as his body was tied up with a chain. His eyes were glaring with rage and he breathe with every inch of his hatred. He could taste the dirt through his nose as his body wiggled like a worm. However, no matter how much he struggled, he was only futilely wasting his own energy.

"You're making a mistake! A deadly mistake!" shouted the Seraphim.

Graham raised one of his brows before snapping the Seraphim's spine with a stomp.

"GaahH!!" The Seraph screamed from the pain as his pupils went in and out of light, yet it was his pride that shattered the most. He was a being from paradise, a place that not a single mortal could reach without some very special happenstance. He was heralded as the angel, the symbol of good, at least for the beings under the Seventh Heaven, Paradise.

( How is this possible!! How can I lose to a mortal?! Not to mention a damn halfling! ) thought the Seraph as his brows tried to pop his glabella.

"Just because you can heal your wounds, doesn't make you have the right to speak," said Graham before noticing Lyon and the rest of the group coming back.

"Welcome back, master," Graham greeted.

"Damn, you really just tied him up like a robber caught red-handed," Lyon chuckled before he approached the Seraph Cultivator, "You have ears yet you never listened. You fly high up and the sky, and you hear nothing but the wind. A shame, I thought that we could be friends, you and I."

"You bastard!"

"Who me?" Lyon pointed at himself with a fool's look.

"All of you!"

"Heh, no need to shout, you look pathetic for a being coming from the great 'Paradise'."

"You will regret this!"

Lyon's face turned flat after he heard his words. He sighed before scratching the base of his follicles. "You know, as much as I hate you, I'm more disappointed in the fact that your words are so generic."

"What?"

"Nevermind," Lyon waved his hand. "Don't keep squirming like that, you look like a worm, and that's even worse than a mortal right? At least for your standard."

"Alright Lyon, that's enough, stop bullying him," said Cecile with a chuckle. "He is still important for our grand goal."

"Yeah, I know," Lyon shrugged before his brows raised, "What grand goal?"

"You will have to find that out yourself," Cecile smiled.

"Stop belittling darling, War Maiden," Selena frowned.

"Woah, woah, alright, let's not escalate things," said Lyon as he quickly and slightly massaged Selena's cold shoulder. "We already have this moment just a minute ago."

Selena smiled before sharing her eyes with Cecile still.

Lyon gulped ( I see myself in a heap of trouble in near future here, the two of them don't seem to get along well, what did my past self do to maintain them? ).

"What are we going to do with him?" asked Zelena.

"His identity is too special to let go, Paradise might bite," said Lumina as she shook her head. "This is troublesome."

"Well that depends," said Lyon courting everyone's attention.

"Lyon, you have an idea?" Rui the Moon Hare had her eyes gleaming.

"No, but imagine the shame that this guy will bear," said Lyon with a smirk and everyone's frown. He looked down on the Seraphim Cultivator before raising his chin. He squatted down just enough so that the latter could see his whole expression.

"Whatever you're doing, you are only delaying your death," the Seraphim smirked back.

"Hehe, don't act so tough," said Lyon before he showed his teeth with a grin. "What do you think would happen if they find out that you, a Seraphim Cultivator, got like what, one, two, six featherless wings that couldn't even flap, was beaten half to death by a mere mortal from the Mortal World."

The Seraphim Cultivator had his pupils shrunk. Lyon was right. The best case scenario was that he escaped from the current predicament, however, once he got back from Paradise looking like he was robbed, would he still be respected in Paradise after they found out the truth of the matter? He was beaten and borderline dying all from the actions taken by a group of mortal cultivators in the Mortal World.

"That's right," Lyon continued, "You think that you have the world, however, you are now not in a position where you can return either, can't you? After all, Paradise's perfect image must be kept at all costs, not the smallest smear shall be on there, especially not from the guy that's guarding a big seal."

"That's bullshit!" answered the Seraphim Cultivator.

"Heh, I don't think you understand," Lyon got up from his squat. His glance darkened as he looked at the Seraphim Cultivator. "The one that's delaying death is us, however, it's not for our lives; it's yours."

The Seraphim Cultivator had his pupils shrunk to a dot and trembled with the emotion he had never thought would emerge from gazing at a mortal. His pride sank as no matter how much he willed it; he couldn't urge a new one.

"W-What are you..." he muttered.

"A mortal," Lyon smirked leaving the latter's vision, before stretching his back with a push of his hands. "Alright! Now that we're done here; I think it's time to go back to Myriad Devil... hmm... where is that lady?"

Lyon squinted his eyes and looked around but find nobody that reached his description. He frowned before saying, "Cecile, do you know where is that Water Guild's leader at? I can't seem to find any traces of her; did she bail midway?"

Cecile chuckled, "Why don't you ask Miss Void over here," she said, with her right eye winking and her thumb pointing at Selena.

Selena snorted, "Don't pretend that you didn't know what was that all about," she said, with her eyes sneering at Cecile.

"Seems like something bloody happened," Lyon said, with a gulp before following a twitch of his lips.

"I cut her limbs," said Selena with a flat tone. Her cold words still brought shivers toward the other ladies.

"Oof," Kesya uttered before clicking her tongue. She shook her head before saying, "She just have to go and took a chance, didn't she?"

Lyon gulped as he looked at Selena's blue innocent eyes. She was the Void Empress, the master of emptiness.

"Heh," Lyon made a wry smile, "Is she dead?"

"No," Selena answered coldly.

"Alright, as long as she is not dead," said Lyon before making a sigh of relief.

"Not yet."

"Of course," Lyon made a defeated smile. He shook his head before raising one of his brows, "Do you know where Assid went?"

"I'm here, emperor."

Lyon immediately had his goosebumps rose as he felt an instant presence lurking with a shot of bolt against his heart. He sighed whilst rubbing his chest, "I should have learned."

"Is something the matter, emperor?" Assid kept his knee on the ground, not daring to raise his chin.

"Nothing," Lyon answered before further asking, "Where were you?"

"I was escorting Farash back to Myriad Devils, of course with a subtle touch and not raised question marks amongst the masses," explained Assid.

"Oh? How was she?" asked Lyon.

"You seem to be overly attached to her; did she poison your mind already?" Selena frowned.

"What? No no no no!" said Lyon, with his hands showing both of their palms. "I'm just wondering that's all!"

Cecile chuckled before saying, "Calm down Selena; he is not poisoned or anything; it's just the way he is."

Selena sighed, "Darling, you have to control your urges, if you can't just tell me."

"Woah," Lyon gulped.

"Selena!" Zelena exclaimed, with her arms straight down and hands making fists. Her face was blushing a red hue across. She had never expected her twin would say something so vulgar right in the open. ( How can she be this difference in the presence of her husband?! This is absurd! ) thought Zelena as she branded Lyon as a bad influence.

"What?" Selena crossed her arms with a flat tone. "What do you want?"

"You can't say something so vulgar like that in public!" Zelena voiced her opinion.

"This is a matter of a wife and a husband, you still have a lot to learn in life," said Selena without any added tone.

"W-What?! We are the same age!" shouted Zelena.

Cecile clapped her hands once before courting all of their attention. "Alright, that's enough."

"We should focus on the matter at hand besides, Lyon wants your favor, remember?" asked Cecile.

"I forgot," answered Selena before her eyes turned gleaming the moment she darted her glance toward her husband, "What was it again?"

"Eh?" Lyon blinked twice before he sighed, "Let's talk about it at the inn in Myriad Devil, besides, I feel mentally exhausted."

"He is right, we should rest," said Rui.

All of the ladies immediately put out their best behaviors the moment the Moon Hare spoke.