Emperor's Reckoning

"BIG BROTHER!!!"

The cry made the young man's ears twitch before he turned around, "Ze—!!"

His eyebrows furrowed as his eyes turned sharp in an instant. His hands were down by the waist before he opened them.

"Pass Ivy to me!"

.

.

.

The world was silent for a moment as a caw of a crow passed by.

"Eh?!"

"Lyon?!"

Both of them were bewildered by his action and especially how his ten fingers creepily called for Ivy.

"We have no time for joke big brother! I can't feel my legs!" Zet cried out as he ran straight at him.

*Growl!

"Hm?" Lyon slightly looked up. "Oh..."

The size was definitely bigger than the three-horned ones. It was comparable to an elephant on earth but the speed far surpassed the former.

Trees were tumbling down behind Zet as he could feel the warm snort from the giant boar heating up his spine. His eyes opened wide as if death just licked his back. 

"Ah! Big brother!"

Zet made a leap of faith over Lyon but the two boars didn't halt their acceleration as a new prey standing right in their way.

"You think you are the only one with a horn?" Lyon smirked.

The hellboars opened their eyes wide but it was too late for them to stop.

Lyon's temples suddenly grow seven empowering horns against the sky. Unlike the Seven Calamity Goat, Bapho, his horns didn't form a star but rather served as his crown.

His eyes were vivid gray with horizontal slits as his pupils. The aura he exuded was far-reached even for the giant beasts that were coming from the front.

He buried his right fingers against the palm before the surrounding mana turned into a torrent in a blink of an eye.

Lyon leaped forward. "You boars eat anything right? Then eat this!" 

Lyon threw his fist right against the beast's toughest skin, its forehead.

*BooM!

The loud exploding sound occurred as soon as Zet landed on his two feet. He quickly turned around, "BI—?!"

Lyon landed on the ground before his arms crossed. "This one has a really tough skull, even that didn't break its entire bone, however."

The hellboar had its eyes rolled up before slowly swaying to the right then passed out while leaning against nearby trees.

"His hair changed..." Ivy muttered as already got up on her two feet. "It's silvery gray... like a phoenix's ash."

Zet gulped his saliva as he forgot that he was supposed to be catching his breath. (It only took him one punch...)

"So... do you want to hunt me too?" asked Lyon to the remaining four-horned hellboar.

The massive size between the two was incompatible different. One was a human the other was a beast that had aged for who knows how long. The size was the latter's valor and class.

There was nothing comparable between the two, yet the one that was supposed to be running away for its life didn't. Instead, he confidently challenged the last one with his arms crossed.

The other boar was struggling as it looked at its friend lost its consciousness in one shot against the forehead. The moment it averted its gaze back toward the human, it finally realized that the beast was not them all along.

"The power that I have within me, far surpassed those of ordinary cultivators," said Lyon. "You will never win."

People might think that he was crazy, talking to a beast for some sense, especially a dangerous beast that warded off the previous winners. 

The hooves took a step back.

Lyon noticed what it was doing as he smirked. "I know you understand me. The calamitic power that I hold spoke the same word in every language, whether it's beast, elven, or some made-up mumbo jumbo in the corner of the world."

The hellboar hesitated as its eyes were looking at the surrounding.

"GO!" an image flared behind Lyon's firm stature.

The powerful image immediately kicked its survival instinct. The four-horned hellboar didn't hesitate further as it turned around and gave a run for its life. 

"Heh," Lyon smirked before he turned around. "Ivy are you alright?!"

He immediately rushed forward before Zet answered, "I'm alright."

"What?"

"I'm alright."

"Oh, ok."

(That's it?! That's how you treat your fan?!)

Ivy turned around before she answered. "Thank you..."

She walked away before Lyon called out. "Where are you going?"

"The round is going to end in another hour, with the anomaly in the forest going on, it would be hard to find the young hellboars."

"Anomaly? What anomaly?" Lyon furrowed his eyebrows.

Ivy let out a slight sigh before she turned around. "This area was not supposed to be infested with three or even four-horned hellboars."

"This area? Wait a minute! We have a fucking map?! Are you kidding me?!" Lyon was bewildered as his mouth went slightly in disbelief.

"Y-Yeah, we kinda do, hehe," answered Zet.

"Don't 'Hehe' me!" Lyon grabbed Zet's collar even though they were not any. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"S-Sorry! You depart too soon for me to give it to you!" (I forgot it though).

"Heh, what's done is done," He let go of Zet from his grasp. He sighed as he squatted down, his eyes looked down heavy as he muttered. "Man, this is so boring."

Ivy snorted before she turned around.

"Wait, Ivy!"

Ivy turned around with her arms crossed. "What?"

(Heh, the privilege of a hero saving a damsel in distress) thought Lyon as he rubbed his chin.

"If you have nothing important to discuss then I will take my time elsewhere."

"Wait! I can offer you my horns." (Wait, that doesn't sound right, or is it?)

"Big brother you shouldn't!" said Zet as he shook his head. "The anomaly in the forest has forced the young hellboar to scatter to who knows here!"

"What do you mean?"

"With how scarce the resource is now, the competition would be crazily close! We need at least fifty to guarantee a pass!" (That was slightly exaggerating though).

"Fifty?"

"Yes, fifty!"

"Really? That low?"

"Wha?"

Zet gasped as Ivy furrowed her eyebrows. They watched Lyon reaching out for the little pouch before he gave it to him without care.

Zet caught the pouch with his right hand. He looked at the number on the pouch before his eyes opened wide.

"O-Over five hundred?!"

"What?!" Ivy lost her cool icy attitude before she took the pouch from Zet's hand. She furrowed her eyebrows, she blinked a few times, yet the number on the little pouch didn't change. "Over five hundred horns..."

She looked up against the aloof young man before she asked, "Lyon! How did you get this much?!"

Lyon let out a dejected sigh, "I'm just bored."

"B-Bored?" Ivy's mouth slightly twitched. "That doesn't explain a thing."

"I was bored," Lyon stood up as he let out a heavy breath before looking at Ivy with his lazy look. "I was bored to death in this forest so I decided to take a stroll. I just kill any hellboars that I see and before I know it, it was already five hundred and thirty-four."

(B-Bored... that's it?!) thought Zet as his mouth twitched. "Y-You know, big brother, the record ever existed, I mean the all-time record of the horns collecting, was one hundred and sixty-two."

Lyon raised both of his eyebrows. "Did I overdo it?"

"By three times over!" said Zet against this nonchalant big brother of his. "This is unprecedented."

"But the condition to win is stupid! Why would they make this a quantity thing, rather than their value? Each horn has different sizes according to the number and how old the hellboar was. Even if they have the same sum of horns, their size was different."

Lyon's words made sense to the two of them but Ivy replied.

"They do this because this tournament is for rookies, thus the explanation why they chose to use this method. Also, as well,  because they cannot hope for the rookies to be able to waste a four-horned beast in a single hit."

"Heh," Lyon's head suddenly got bigger as he crossed his arms. "That's true, but it is still stupid."

The sky gradually turned into a blazing twilight before the three of them raised their eyebrows.

"Quick! grab everything that you need!" shouted Lyon. "This round is ending."

Zet and Ivy nodded before they rummaged the small pouch. The number was decreasing and interchanging at a wild speed.

After a few minutes.

"Right, did you get what you need?" asked Lyon as he saw the first digit of three was two.

"Yes!"

Ivy nodded.

"Alright then let's return!" said Lyon as he nodded.

The two of them nodded in response before they each reached out for their Returning Jade Stone.

"Oh..." 

"Hmm? What's wrong?" asked Lyon. "You didn't lose yours, did you?"

A cold shiver ran Zet's spine before he looked at the two with shrunken pupils. "I've lost mine..."

(I shouldn't have said that...) thought Lyon.