Emperor's Reckoning

Set in another world, the rushing horses that were dragging a carriage could be heard before the preaching merchants were thrown left and right. With goods on display on the street, the market was nothing but bustling. Their smiling faces when they showed off their goods were calming to see. Not a single worry was there in the terrific atmosphere.

In the middle market, a statue made of bronze acted as the landmark. It was of a man proudly shown his chest against the sky with two of his hands turned to a fist. His gaze was unwavering and the inscription below told its name, The Benevolent Garuda.

Meanwhile, Ayumu was already standing in front of a door that was heavily guarded. The guards were having sour faces as they looked at the young lady before nodding. Standing at the opposite sides, eight guards opened the way for the young lady to enter. Her pink hair didn't flutter as each step was proven to be heavier the more closer she got to the door.

Her breath could touch the doorknob now. Placing her hands on the cold door give her a tingling feeling as her heart thumped. She braced herself with a single breath before her eyes turned sharp. Pushing the door open with both hands.

Seeing inside the room with a glance she closed her eyes as her heart got a bitter feeling. Her trembling hands slowly turned into a fist before she let it all out with an exhale. She opened her eyes and was greeted with one giant bed and the various items of what normally a noble's bedroom looks like.

Ornaments of expensive and statues of glory were in the room. Achievements symbol that proved his galore was still standing on the table of his office. However, all of that was meaningless in her eyes, for the man depicted in those little statues and paintings couldn't even open his eyes.

The world had come and pass, days had come and pass, but he still didn't wake up from the slumber. The physicians had given up completely on the case and everything that could be done had been done. His body was rotting albeit slowly due to his high cultivation level.

"Father... I did everything I could..." muttered Ayumu as she stood beside him. She wondered every day if he could hear what she was saying. Sharing her stories every night to his father felt like speaking to a wall that breathe. 

*Tap

Footsteps were heard before all of the eight guards furrowed their eyebrows. Taking a glance at the incoming figure they tightened their grip on their spears. Nothing was out of the ordinary, nothing was predetermined, yet once they took a gaze against that young man with a garment they had never seen before, their instinct to take flight was triggered.

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(Who is this guy?!)

(What a presence! He seems young too!)

(Impossible! This is comparable.. no, maybe even more dominating than sir Garuda!)

(Don't get cocky now!)

All of the eight of them, every single one of the guards conjoined their aura before directly attacking the young man with their surmounting pressure.

"Heh," the young man smirked.

(What?!) exclaimed the eight of them

"No matter where I go, they all seem to try and test me,"

Ayumu raised her eyebrows, "Stop it! All of you cannot compete with him!"

"W-What? Young miss?!"

"The man you're about to bully is the man that Treas wanted the most. If you think that you can adhere to that fact then you won't see your family by dawn."

(T-Treas?!)

(He is wanted?! Then... a bunch of experts will be after his head!)

(A man this young? Yet, I sense no worry within him. How can he be so nonchalant).

All of them immediately retracted their aura before bowing their heads as if greeting a godfather.

"We apologized and ask for your forgiveness."

Lyon smirked as he walked past them with his arms crossed. The golden clouds of his sarong were fluttering as two platinum rings in his ring finger reflected their palpitating faces. Disregarding their looks, he entered the room before furrowing his eyebrows.

"Ayumu, can you step outside for a while," asked Lyon.

"Huh? Why?"

"I-I want to concentrate," answered Lyon.

Ayumu furrowed her eyebrows as she noticed the slight stutter out of Lyon's words. (Why is he nervous?).

In the end, she nodded before went past him and whispered, "You're my only hope..."

Lyon smiled as she went on to the entrance before gently closed the door.

"Y-Young miss, are you certain to let him be alone with sir Garuda?"

"Yes," she nodded without turning around. Her hands were still on the doorknob and the guards noticed the tremble.

Their heart turned sour seeing the young lady was trying to act tough in front of them. Bearing the responsibility of the household she must hold her head high as her old man was. The benevolent, the brave, and the one that the people adore. The noble that finally fit the title. Her father had achieved what a true noble was all about, but fate had other plans. 

Though the people outside smiled at the surface, every time they took a glance against that mansion, their faces turned a bit sour before the mood was lamenting.

She turned around but her head was hung high. The guards could see the redness on her face and the slight glisten on her eyes. They dare not to comment and stood up straight before tapping the floor with the base of their spears. Her gaze was straightforward forward but it only took her one step before all the people including her in the hall, twitched.

"The change in the mana flow is absurd!" commented one of the guards before all of their gazes fell on the door.

Ayumu looked at the door with her hopes erupting high. She placed her hand on her chest to keep her heart thumping away from its rightful place. Her pink hair fluttered like she witnessed a resurrection of a god.

"So... you think that you will get away with this, parasite!" said Lyon as he appeared to hold Garuda's wrist with a smirk on his face.

As if his hand was guided by his instinct, his mana-infused fingers pushed the acute points of Garuda's meridians without a single doubt.

"Guha!" Garuda suddenly puked out a black clotted blood but his eyes were still closing. Staining the bed with the foul 

"Again!" shouted Lyon before he increased his pace.

Everything came naturally to him as if he had practiced this for decades or even centuries. He didn't even think at all, all knowledge that was needed was flowing inside his mind as a matter of course. 

Sun and Shen were watching from the sides at his finesse. 

"It still fascinates me," muttered Sun.

"Guha!" another patch of black clotted blood was puked out. The foul stench was permeating inside the room.

"She taught him well," muttered Shen.

"I can't imagine the books he got to put up to gain these skills."

"What are you talking about? The woman itself is a walking knowledge, don't you ever visit her sanctuary, not a single paper was there, it was all inside her head."

"Is that why she is still single despite being so beautiful?"

"She would rip out your tail if she heard that."

"Heh, thankfully we are nothing but corporeal bodies, but she... I bet she knew how to return us from to our true bodies."

"Of course she knew, she is the best of the best, as long as one's heart still have one last beat left, then death itself will get his ass kicked. Our case is nothing."

"Heh, the race that was on top of all avid races, or so that's what they say."

"Guha!" Garuda puked out one last time.

Lyon let out a gasping breath before his nose turned shrunk from the foul stench of the room. His chest heaved as a little bit of sweat appeared on his forehead. 

"One misstep and the parasites would be triggered and turned into a raged mode. Biting the meridian lines faster because of the sense of danger. No pills will work since they would suck it out like nutrients, thus why the alchemists or physicians see no effect on it. Them fools, actually making the parasites stronger than they should be, unnecessarily multiplying them too," muttered Lyon.

He looked at Garuda's breathing pace back to normal. 

(His meridians is already damaged too severely) he let out a sigh before pointing his hand to the sky. 

*Thump!

As if the world itself gave a pulse, Ayumu and the eight guards around her felt a massive apocalyptic change of mana in the air.

(Hah, we came into this world while disguising ourselves to avoid public eyes, and I didn't have time to enjoy the town, I need to finish this fast! Cecile is waiting after all, hehe a stroll in the market, this will be fun) thought Lyon as he made a perverted smile. Those physician experts would have died of rage if they could hear what he was thinking.

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Soon Ayumu saw a bright light escaping out of the corners and sides of the doors before it gradually dimmed down. They all held their breath before Lyon pulled the door open.

"Hah, *Ptui!" he spat on the carpet, "Oh my god! The foul stench could kill a rat!" said Lyon as he complained and walked forward, disregarding their gazes.

"Oh yeah, don't let anyone enter the room, only Ayumu is allowed, everyone else, I will kill them personally and you better hope the collateral damage is minimal," threatened Lyon.

Not a word was said except Lyon's complaint about the stench as he made his way through the hallway.

"J-Just like that?" muttered Ayumu in disbelief.