Emperor's Reckoning

The First Prince and Second Prince were astounded by the revelation. This was the old man they used to bully out of boredom. Yoji, the man who singlehandedly made the Cefralin Empire.

"Impossible!" shouted Second Prince before he continued, "You were poisoned, you were supposed to die of old age!!"

"Now tell me, is that how a son should say when their father was actually granted a miracle? I think not," answered Yoji with disdain.

"How did you survive? We made sure no physician nor alchemists check on you. Even then, the cure is not even founded yet." asked the First Prince.

"There is no poison in this world that doesn't have a cure," sneered Yoji.

"Hahaha!"

The two princes and the empress turned their focus against the young man behind Yoji who was laughing unperturbed. 

"Poison? Please, you think you can fool me?" Lyon shook his head.

Lyon put his index finger up before muttered a word, "Parasite."

"Any worthwhile physician would now just by the rhythm of his pulse and the rhythm of his meridians that a parasite was eating away his cultivation line," explained Lyon.

"This parasite is small but it has no formidable enemy inside Little Yoji's body, thus it was capable of staying there for a long time. However, with how great his cultivation level was, it would take an eternity for it to completely annihilate his entire meridian system. Thus, the power of many came into play."

Yoji furrowed his eyebrows as he crossed his arms, "Ghuaisha, you fed me those parasites and I can't even fathom since when did you put it inside my food."

"Tch," the empress's mouth twitched before she finally flew above.

Yoji's face turned sour as he saw the beautiful face of the woman whom he called wife once in his lifetime.

"What did I lack, Ghuaisha," asked Yoji.

As soon as Ghuaisha opened her mouth Lyon interjected, "You're asking the wrong question Little Yoji!"

Yoji was startled as he raised his eyebrows before turning around. Though the enemy was right in front of him, they wouldn't dare to do anything rash like attacking him from behind, especially with those four stallions that killed an entire army. "Your Majesty..."

He looked at the young man that was exuding a bearing that something a royalty couldn't even hope of achieving by normal means. However, the words that came out of his mouth brought raising eyebrows for the princes and the empress themselves.

(Your... Majesty? Why did Yoji call him your majesty?) thought the empress. The young man was indeed potentially the most dangerous one she ever met. Just with a cultivation that didn't even break through to Godhood, he managed to do something impossible.

(A powerful emperor like him actually called that young frivolous guy... Your Majesty?) Thought the First Prince. He wondered the identity behind this young man that seemed to not have a care for the world around him. Acting the way he wanted to act without considering anything at all. Even when facing such a grand army, he didn't even flinch nor did he showed a hint of a racing heartbeat.

"Don't ask her what you are lacking, the one who is truly lacking is she herself!" said Lyon as his eyes turned sharp, "Little Yoji... go wild."

Yoji grinned, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

*Bzzt

The two princes opened their eyes wide as they saw how Yoji brutally disappeared right before their very eyes. (W-what! Where did he—).

The empress had her pupils shrunken as her eyes opened wide. The reflection of a fist was right before her gaze before it slowly pressing her beautiful nose and pushing her cheeks outward. The veins behind Yoji's arms lit up before he dragged the punch downward.

"Die!" shouted Yoji before he gave the final push.

*swoosh!

The empress's figure fell headfirst like a bullet that was shot downward. Her face destroyed the deck before continuing down and broke the entire four-layered decks. The ship was broken into two before the masts hit the sea.

"Hah...." The princes watched in disbelief as the huge ship capsized. 

Lyon smirked as he crossed his arms. Never did he thought that Little Yoji would do something like what he would have done.

Yoji looked at the ripples on the sea before he turned around and faced the two glaring princes. 

"Let me tell you, though revenge is not my forte, I've learned from the best before," said Yoji with a smile as he taunted them with a finger, "Come here."

"Don't get cocky! You will pay for what you did to my mother!" shouted the Second Prince and the First Prince as they plunged forward together.

"And you will pay for what you and your mother did to me!" shouted Yoji before quickly kicked the Second Prince's face right in his jaw.

"Little brothe—" the First Prince didn't even finish his word before he raised his eyebrows as an incoming fist was right before his very eyes. He quickly took a step back before crossing his arms between them.

*crack

The ulna and radius bone in both of his forearms snapped the moment it came into contact with Yoji's fist.

"Kh! Don't get co—" suddenly another fist sunk in his gut to the point that his back bent inward. Blood was puked out with a cough before his head was pulled downward and crashed onto Yoji's knee. His consciousness immediately wanted to flee and his focus was blurred as he faced the sky.

Yoji furrowed his eyebrows before he leaned his neck to the right. A fist was a whisper away from hitting his head before he grabbed it with his right hand. 

"What! Impossible!" shouted the Second Prince with his slightly dislocated jaw.

Yoji smirked before he pulled the hand and raised his elbow toward the Second Prince's incoming face. Lyon could hear a crack the moment they came in to contact. The Second Prince's chest was vulnerable and opened wide from the loss of consciousness before Yoji embedded his fist right toward the heart. It exploded, the ribs were like a toothpick before the heart exploded and ruined the other organs.

His lifeless figure fell to the sea before Yoji turned around and looked at the empress already standing by her only remaining son.

"Are you happy now?" asked the empress.

Yoji put down his fist before he furrowed his eyebrows. He closed his eyes as he slightly shook his head.

"No," he muttered, "Vengeance does not bring one's happiness."

"Then let's stop this, with your original power, we would have been wiped out by now but with your current power, you can't defeat the three of us together. I'm giving you a chance, for old time sake," said the empress.

"Heh," Yoji chuckled to the empress's grimaced face, "You really thought you could talk me out of this one. Do you realize who you are to me right now?"

The empress shook her head, "If only we had shared the same vision, things wouldn't escalate to this point."

"You hated the demi-humans more than you love me, Ghuaisha."

"WHY DO YOU CARE FOR SUCH LOWER RACE ANYWAY! WHY WOULD YOU LOOK AT THEM THE SAME AS US HUMANS?!" shouted the empress.

"If only you showed me this side of yours much much earlier, from the point that we met, you hid it very well," said Yoji with regret coloring his tone.

Lyon raised his eyebrows, "Hmm?"

"He is coming, there is nothing that you can do anymore Yoji," said Ghuaisha as a look of pity she was given.

"Vengeance does not bring happiness Ghuaisha, that is very true," Yoji buried his fingers as his eyes turned sharp. There was not a shred of mercy behind those pupils. 

His figure blurred before time seemed to slow down. 'I'm going to need an empress' an echo of memories rang inside his mind as a whisk of tears came out from the edge of his eye.

"STAY YOUR HAND!" an unfamiliar voice was heard.

"CONTINUE!" shouted Lyon.

"What?!" the one who shouted felt an incredible pressure that hindered his movement.

*splurt

The First Prince could only dart his glance against his mother before his pupils shrunk. Youji's hand penetrated through her heart as he hugged the woman whose eyes were opened wide in disbelief. Her mouth was gaping as she was in the embrace of both the man and death at the same time. Thick blood was dripping out of his fingers into the sea before he let her go.

*splurt

A fountain of blood sprayed toward Yoji's figure but he didn't blink nor he was getting away and let them landed on him. He looked at Ghuaisha who fell to the sea with her eyes wide open staring at him all the way before splashing. The woman that had tormented him so was finally dead by his hand. 

Yoji closed his eyes before taking a deep breath. It hurt him both physically and mentally for the past years that felt like an eternity and finally it's going to reach its end soon.

"Now then, it's time to close the chapter," said Yoji as he faced the man who was glaring at him.