EMPEROR'S RECKONING

Chapter 276: Three Hours Ago

Three hours ago.

Lyon was resting on the bed inside one of the rooms that the guild provided for him. His eyes were very vividly irritated as inaudible shouts kept coming from outside the hall. He let out a sigh before he sat by the bed. Though the room was not as luxurious as the place where he first transferred into this cultivation world, at least it was more than a prisoner.

He shook his head, "I can't believe that old man, I mean, father-in-law decided to sleep by the beach. What would his daughter say then, 'you let my father sleep on the sand while you are on a comfy bed?!'"

He smirked before he rubbed his chin, "Though, I really wonder what kind of woman his daughter is, must be remarkable to be born with a rare physique."

"Oh oh oh! She must be taller than me! Huehuehuehue!" His sinister laugh reverberated inside his room but the neverending dispute from outside made it silent.

He furrowed his eyebrows, "They are really loud, what the hell are they doing?"

He opened the door before he muttered, "Let's go grandpas, let's see what's going on."

The light shone brightly as the sun just started its early shift and with the broken double door, there was nothing stopping it from partly illuminating the room. The rays put Lyon to cover his eyes with his hand before he walked closer to the exit of the hall. The voices were getting clearer and clearer before he was presented with something unbelievable.

One girl was being tied in the middle, attached to a post. The demi-humans surround her as they shouted out their opinions.

"Tuey! Tell me it's a lie!" said one of her companions, "Tell me that you didn't kill Dhaos!"

The girl had her head hung down the entire time. She wanted to deny it but the surging memories had stopped. Only the wails of the death screaming inside her mind. She knew she didn't do it on purpose but it was by her hands, her mouth did the giant die.

Her mouth quivered but no words were said. Only tears dropped to the ground.

Her companions had his pupils shrunken as he saw the tears soaking a tiny part of the paving. His voice turned hoarse but he couldn't utter a word. The disappointment made him lose all hope as he let down his arms. He turned around before letting the people shouted out their scorns.

"Traitor!"

"You are a human slave! Killer!"

One female adult demi-human was shaking her head as she planted her hand on her cheek in disbelief, "She was so small, so innocent, how could she do this!? A devil pretending to be a saint!"

"What a tragic fate, born as an orphan, died as a traitor, was the family inside the guild... not enough?" said another.

Lyon furrowed his eyebrows before he pulled one demi-human from the farthest of the circle and dragged him to an alley.

"Tell me what's going on," muttered Lyon as his killing intent choked his soul.

The eyes that were as deep as the galaxy itself was staring down at him as if the abyss was crying for the end of the world.

"S-s-she confessed everything, to her best friend. Apparently, she killed one of her companion's little brothers when they embarked on a quest."

Lyon retracted his killing intent but the demi-human already passed out and slumped to the ground unconscious. He furrowed his eyebrows as things just got more complicated than they seemed to be.

"I THINK OF YOU AS MY OWN SISTER! HOW COULD YOU!" said one of the demi-human before Lyon took a peak.

She was a demi-human, looked like a half-elf as her ears were not as pointy as the vice-captain of the guild but it was more or less the same as Jugen. Her hair was long blonde as it draped around the shoulder but her eyes were black, unlike the real elves.

Her arms were shaking as she held a stone on her slim hands.

"LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME TUEY!" shouted the demi-human.

Only then did Tuey managed to look up and faced her best friend. She saw her tears were running down her cheeks but the way she gazed at her was a mix of hatred and disappointment. The friendship they had, as real as it can be.

The leader of the guild was greeting his teeth as veins popped up on his forehead before Lyon tugged him from the side, "Aren't you going to stop them?"

"Though we only knew for a brief moment, you should already know that I would if I could!"

Lyon crossed his arms, "Then, what's stopping you?"

"It's the rules, what she committed was a forgivable sin only by death!"

Lyon furrowed his eyebrows before he one-handedly grabbed his collar and dragged his eyes below him, "I already told you that she is INNOCENT!"

The killing intent was massive and controlled. Only the leader wolfman felt the pressure that could kill an infant just by a thought.

"E-even still, they still died by her hands, the rule of the guild is absolute. This-this island is supported by the guild..."

Lyon let go of his hand before he muttered, "Was."

The leader wolfman was catching his breaths as if he was one centimeter away from being pulled by death. He took a glance at Lyon's back as he muttered, "Huh?"

With smiles that couldn't even get any wider, she looked at her best friend with tears. She constantly blamed herself for being weak. She blamed herself for being useless. She had committed unforgivable sins. In these last three days, she was trying to kill herself but she knew that her death would mean nothing. At least, this way, her best friend would find solace in completing her hatred.

The half-elf gripped the piece of rock tightly before a flash of her brother's face appeared in her mind. She opened her mixed emotions eyes and swung the rock as hard as she could at Tuey.

The rock flew under everyone's watchful eyes. Time seemed to slow down before Tuey's eyes as she spoke to herself (I'm sorry for being too weak, I'm just a novice healer... but thank you... thank you for being... my friend).

"Well, it's not really my style to let a blossoming girl cry."

The voice made Tuey's pupils shrunken as a finger casually smacked the rock to the ground.

"Trash!" shouted Lyon as he crossed his arms. His eyes turned sharp as he looked at the demi-humans in contempt.

"You are all shits! Heck, even shits are better than you guys!"

"What did you—"

Before one of the demi-human could say anything further, his teeth already sunken in by the punch that appeared out of nowhere. His body instantly flew and hit the nearby wall.

Lyon crossed his arms, "Accept it, you are all trash. and I'm not even talking about your cultivation!"

Lyon turned around before he approached Tuey's best friend who instantly had cold feet.

"No-no-no..."

Lyon disregarded her cry as he grabbed her by the collar. He looked at her death far before she could as he said, "You know the truth of the matter, that wolf guy already told you..."

"All of you, ALL OF YOU KNOW THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER! Yet, you are all blinded by false vengeance! The satisfactory of weaklings!"

The onlookers didn't even dare to say anything now since the young man talking was the same man who took out their strongest in one single hit. They could only look down and held their fury.

"What? You are going to say something? Do you hate it when a human is stronger than you? No? Then KNEEL!"

The embodiment of pressure was like the whole sky falling down on their island as their kneecaps immediately broken as it hit the paving way. They cried as they wailed in pain, children or adults there was no exception, every single one of them was kneeling.

The guild leader and his cocky elf were also kneeling but the latter noticed something terrifying as he looked at the nearby lamp.

He gulped his saliva as he muttered, "It's melting... the orb... it's melting."

"The punishment of killing its own member is death. It's a pretty noble rule," said Lyon before he continued, "However, rules are just rules, they are not perfect and never will. What is the punishment for torturing an innocent?! Tell me! Leader!"

The leader wolfman had his arms trembled before he let his head down as his lips quivered, "N-nothing..."

"Then tell me, leader! IS BEING WEAK...A SIN?!"

The people were stunned by his question. They were all blaming Tuey for the murders that she 'committed', wasn't it all because she was weak, because she was fooled?

The leader couldn't answer as he knew if he were to say yes then it was his weakness as a leader that led to the tragedy and if he said no, then why did he let things escalate until this point.

Lyon spat on the ground in contempt, "Pathetic."

He looked at the half-elf who had given up struggling to break free.

"Are you, Tuey's best friend?"

The girl was afraid of Lyon as she nervously nodded. She could tell that if he willed it so, he could do anything he wanted to do. No bounds on the world nor bounds in heaven could shackle the young man that could decide fate as he wishes.

"Tuey killed your little brother."

The girl nodded once more.

"Then listen..."

Lyon stood silent... the island was silent... but one small voice was getting clearer and clearer.

"...ergo"

The girl raised her eyebrows.

"L...go..."

Soon the sound was clear in her ears, "Let her go..."

Her eyes immediately soaked once more as she took a look at the woman who was tied to a pole behind Lyon. Her face was already down, her figure was battered, but her lips were moving. She kept on repeating the lines, "Let.. her go...please..."

Her face turned red hue as a streak of tears ran down her cheeks.

"Now tell me... even in this situation, she still cares about you... will that kind of person, truly kill your brother?"

Her lips quivered as her breaths felt dry. Lyon let go of his grip before the girl fell on her knees. She didn't care about the pain as she rushed toward her best friend frantically. She placed her hands on Tuey's cheeks as she repeatedly apologized, "Sorry! Sorry! Tuey!"

She held her up only to see that Tuey already lost her consciousness but, she kept muttering the same line over and over again.

Lyon stood away as he watched them both.

"I hope you guys, learned your lesson..." said Lyon to the inhabitants of the island before he continued, "The only reason I didn't destroy your whole island was that I knew you guys are important to her. How did I know? Did she even deny one thing, did she even insult you guys back during your sick trial? Not even once. You turned your anger on an innocent person instead of the one controlling her."

They were all gulping their saliva as their heart knew that the young man who everyone was kneeling to could destroy the whole island, sinking it with the sea. There was no doubt in their heart that he could pull off such a feat.

Lyon disregarded their expressions as he walked toward the leader of the guild.

"Who does this flag belonged to... Tell me the location," said Lyon as he handed out the flag he retrieved from the ship he destroyed.

The leader wolfman opened his eyes wide before he gulped and ask, "W-what are you going to do with that information?"

Lyon smirked as he crossed his arm, "Of course, what else I'm going to do there."

His eyes turned sharp as he continued, "I'm going to kill them."

The leader wolfman looked at the deep eyes that Lyon showed. There was not a hint of nervousness apparent in that sharp gaze. He pointed out in a direction before he said, "There is an island kingdom of the humans in that way, the Andro Kingdom. You can reach it in a day and one night by boat if the wind supports you."

Lyon smirked before he turned around. His footsteps were loudly clear as he approached Tuey and her best friend. He grabbed the pole before pulling it out of the ground effortlessly under inhabitants' watchful eyes before throwing it away to the side. His mouth grinned as he grabbed the rope that bound Tuey.

"Divine Spell: Healing Light."

A black magic brand immediately encircled Tuey's waist before it split into two, a half was going up the other was going down. The bruises on her face and body immediately recovered in an instant as her consciousness snapped back to reality.

The old man who was watching from afar gulped, "Impossible, I thought he only learned basic healing magic, but if he were able to evoke a divine level spell... That means, he got the light attribute too! Damn... I'm starting to think if my daughter worthy of him now!"

"Let's go Tuey!" shouted Lyon as he grabbed her on his shoulder before he floated in the air.

"Eh? Wha what?" said Tuey who noticed her vision to the ground was getting wider and wider.

"Someone is trying to frame me and you... it is only right if we kill them," said Lyon Torga as mana gathered around him like a torrent.

"W-what?... Wha?!"

"Don't worry, you are a healer, right? Then I'm the killer," said Lyon as his eyes turned sharp, "after all, heal and kill rhymes."

*boom

The both of them blasted away from the spot to the direction that the guild leader had pointed out, leaving a deafening noise for below.