Emperor's Reckoning

One was a woman. Her long legs carried her swiftly and gracefully, her leggings hugging every curve of her toned muscles. Her blonde hair was braided into a circlet above her head, the braids intertwining like a serpent as they twisted and turned.

In her hand, she held a menacing scythe, the blade glinting ominously in the dim light. The size of the weapon was perfectly proportionate to her slender frame, and it seemed to radiate power and deadly intent.

She moved with fluid grace, her eyes scanning the entire town for any sign that had not yet been revealed. Her senses were heightened, her body poised for action as she landed her attention on the other two students.

The one beside him was a man with a robust figure, filling the air with a sense of arrogance. His neck was thicker than Rayus’s neck and a square jaw that was set permanently to a scowl. Every step he took seemed to be heavy and deliberately so.

He was the one that held Reinhard by the neck so casually but firmly. The latter’s feet were cycling to reach the ground but it was a meaningless effort.

“Hahaha, stop squirming around, you act like a bug,” said the man before laughing with cockiness.

“Let him go!” said Noah from the distance.

“Hahaha!” the man laughed, “Why don’t you come here and force me?”

.....

“Tch!” Noah knew he was no match against the man that stood towering. No, the entire city was in the clutch of these two from the moment they stepped inside. Their power far surpassed them all and the chances of all cultivators working together to take them both down were near null. They would rather live, and not risk dying to save a loud brat.

“Noah, go get teacher!” said Rayus.

“R-Right!” Noah quickly turned before his pupils shrunken. His goosebumps heightened across the bar of limitation before a sharp wave hit his back. His clothing was easily shredded and blood spewed out as his feet left the ground. “Gah!” he was sent rolling.

“Noah!” Rayus exclaimed.

“Not one more step,” said the woman as she pointed at Rayus with her scythe.

“Tch!” Rayus gritted his teeth, “Who are you two?!”

“Glad you asked,” said the man, “We are from the Burgeon Swan, the top management that is.”

The cultivators gasped as they heard the revelation.

( Crap! They came already! ) thought Rayus. “What do you want?”

“We are searching for the group that extinguished the camp nearby, and also Gamael’s head was unattached,” said the lady before she threw a head. The head rolled to the center of the city’s attention. It was Gamael’s severed head.

The cultivators gasped yet again. Gamael was one of the prominent figures in Burgeon Swan, however, his head rolled and the last expression that he gave was that of shock and horror.

“We want information for the one responsible for this, or we will have to purge this place,” said the woman.

“W-We have no idea! No idea!” said one of the cultivators with fear seeping his withering creased forehead. He hastily took steps backward before his fright peaked then made a run for it.

The lady snarled before she blinked from her spot.

All cultivators were caught off guard before a ripped flesh was heard. The cultivator that was running, was split in half from behind. The lady didn’t spare a glance as the corpse made its first thud against the ground. “Anyone else, trying to run?”

The cultivators were petrified by the sight. The death was brutally quick and efficient, none of them could catch her movement. Those long legs were not just for show, they thought.

Noah’s finger flinched. He was still alive despite the deep wound he suffered from the assault. ( Shit, my back burns! ) thought Noah as he gritted his teeth. He was disabled before he could reach the inn with his glance.

His ears suddenly perked up as his eyes widened. A shadow enveloped his body before he heard rustled clothes. “You alright?”

“Teacher!” Noah exclaimed whilst still under.

“Teacher!” Rayus exclaimed as well.

“Teacher?” The man furrowed his brows before smirking a grin, “Ahahaha, to think that we find a bonding between a student and a teacher, how touching, how touching— I take it that you are one of his students too?” he said to Reinhard whose face was paling.

The woman furrowed her brows and looked at Lyon who was squatting down. He seemed to not be accompanied by other people, but he was calm while in the sea of torrenting fear. She immediately spread her divine sense and caught Lyon rising his brows.

“Huh,” Lyon turned his head before finding the woman with a scythe in her hand. Blood was dripping as he breathed. He grinned as he stood up. He smirked looking at the woman.

“That’s pathetic,” said the woman. “A peak True God Cultivator, and I pity these students.”

“Hmm, did you say something, beauty?” asked Lyon.

“Oi!” the burly man called out.

“Huh?” Lyon raised his brows. “What do you want?”

“Look what I got,” said the burly man as he showed Reinhard and dangled him. Reinhard’s neck was hardly left visible from the grip.

“What you got?” asked Lyon.

“What?” the burly man raised his brows in confusion, “Is this not your student?”

“What?!” Lyon furrowed his brows as he squinted his eyes he barely noticed Reinhard’s face, “Oh shit, Reinhard, hahaha! You need to have blood on your face, you’re so pale I bet your mother won’t recognize you.”

Foam started to bubble up and seeped out of Reinhard’s closed lips. However, they didn’t know were it from the intensity of the choke or the intensity of the rage boiling inside of him.

“Are you sane?” the burly man furrowed his brows, “Don’t you realize the severity of this situation, I can send him off with a little pressure from my grip, like breaking a thin twig,” he said so menacingly. However, his threat was greeted with a yawn from the man that was supposed to be covered with anxiety.

“Yada, yada, yada,” said Lyon. “If you want to let go of him, then let go already, if you don’t then you don’t have to, that student of mine won’t die that easy.”

( I’m literally going to die that easy! ) thought Reinhard from his bulging eyes.

“Well, a demonstration then,” said the burly man.

“Oh, what’s this, why is Gamael’s head over here?” asked Lyon.

The woman furrowed her brows before she asked, “Did you know something? Spit it out.”

“Know what?” Lyon asked as he shrugged his shoulder as if he knew nothing.

“The Burgeon Swan camp near here, inside an illusion, had just been massacred by an unknown assailant,” said the woman, “If you know something about it, then he will let your student life, and I will spare the town from an unwanted massacre.”

“P-Please young man! If you know something, please tell them!” said one of the cultivators shaking in fear.

“Please young man, you could spell our safety!” said another,

“Please, young man!” said the cultivators in unison.

The people of Guh City were looking at him, yearning for everyday mundane life that was threatened. Some of them knew he was involved in the recent restaurant accident, but none of them knew enough that he was the actual perpetrator of things leading to this dire situation in the first place.

Lyon sighed, “Will you promise me that you will let Reinhard go?”

“Well, that would depend on your answer, teacher.”

“You won’t like the answer,” said Lyon.

“Huh?”

Lyon smirked, “For you see, the last person that this head saw...”

The woman with the scythe had her pupils shrunk to a dot. A scent of killing intent wafted around her like a sudden burst of flame. Her poised body was instinctively vigilant but she didn’t know where it came from.

“Is me,” said Lyon as he pointed at himself with a proud grin.

The city was silent as they heard what he just said like a giant bell tolling and snapping away their attention.

“...Wha? What? Hahahahaha!” the burly man laughed and slapped his thighs a few times. Tears riddled his eyes before he said, “Y-You got a comedian for a teacher? Hahaha, I wish my teacher was half good as yours.”

“She.... coming...” said Reinhard with veins bulging on his forehead but a smirk formed.

“Huh?” the burly man was still in the middle of his laughter.

The lady with the scythe had her eyes widened before she shouted with all her might, “Poger! Watch out! HE’S NOT ALONE!”

Poger’s eyes widened as he tried to peek behind him but was greeted with a sword hacking down his shoulder. Blood immediately spurted from the stump and painted Reinhard’s face with a patch. The city fell into silence before his howl of pain was heard after he stepped away.