Emperor's Reckoning

Lyon and Ayumu kept walking further away from the battlefield that the Wind Fist and Heaven's Son shared. With the loud battle that could only be heard in a minuscule scale and the trembling was not severe, Lyon halted his steps and let out a big sigh.

"Ha~"

He slowly crouched down before gently put Sylviana down and let her lean on a nearby tree. 

"Ayumu," he muttered.

Ayumu raised her eyebrows before she asked, "What's wrong? Is she sick?"

"No, but, why is she still here, I thought that if you beat someone, you will get kicked out of this plane. Well, that's what I learned from observation and doing it."

"Ah... well... to be honest, she was not even on the list of 100 that should be participating in the Throne. I don't know how she got here, but I reckon that she was not doing the Crown closing ceremony."

Lyon creased his eyebrows, "Crown closing ceremony?"

"Yeah, Crown closing ceremony, why are you so... no...NO... NO WAY!"

Lyon pinched his ching with his thumb as he contemplated and looked down, "I'm pretty sure I heard nothing of the sort."

After the battle of the Crown and being declared the winner. Lyon was out of his consciousness before he woke up on a bed in a luxurious inn. Realizing that he needed more strength to protect his loved ones and more to come, he decided to embrace the next realm became a Divine Realm cultivator without embracing the halved realm since he had experienced death. With the supply of the purest mana this world could offer, he managed to peak the realm in a single night without a hassle. One thing led to another, then he made love with Luna before going to Abyss Tower after a failed attempt of assassination.

"I don't recall any ceremony, wait, was there even a ceremony, to begin with?"

"Of course there is! You should be adorned with a crown in which will recognize you and allowed you to enter the competition for the Throne! That will activate the safety measure for us and keep us alive."

Lyon blinked twice as he lost for words before he tried to mutter something, "Oh.."

"Don't 'oh'. Please, I can't believe you two."

Ayumu slightly massaged her glabella as she creased her eyebrows. Though the young man in front of him was amazing enough to cripple the huge ashen bell, it would seem that he too had some flaw in certain departments. 

"So like, is that a bad thing?"

Lyon asked while he shrugged his shoulder. There was not a single worry on his face as Ayumu squinted her eyes. She couldn't believe how relaxed he was despite the grievous situation both of them were in. 

"You and Sylvi have a chance of dying here, for real!"

Ayumu put her hands on her waist as she tried to reprimand the topless young man who just glanced over to the sky with not a single hint of worry. (Honestly, how calm could someone get?! I doubt even that Wind Fist would stand so idly without a care for the world) thought Ayumu before she let out a big sigh.

"Hmm, do you ever wonder why Throne was held in another plane instead of just good old arena?"

Lyon casually asked a question that made Ayumu opened her mouth. There were words stuck on her throat but her mind was rejecting her own self to letting them out. (Why... I, never thought of it that way).

She slowly closed the gaps between her lips as she turned around and contemplated his question. (Why was it necessary that we must go to this place? Traditions? What was the point of traditions? To prove who is the best in the generation? Maybe it's because the combat between the winners would inevitably destroy the whole arena? Hmm... That's a weak reason considering the unimaginable wealth that Treas hold in their famous treasury).

"I guess, you don't know huh," Lyon chuckled before he suddenly took a naughty wink in a certain direction. He smirked with his hands behind his head to the one that observed him for a while.

A familiar floating eye that he had once seen before was watching him once more but this time it was hidden and almost blend in with its surrounding nature. It took a special kind of ability to be able to discern it with its almost camouflaged ability, however, all magic had a trace. Especially that Lyon right now was in his Devil Ape form, he was pretty sensitive about mana though not as good as the True Dragon's nose, it was quite enhanced than a regular human. 

"Oh my, I've been found out, twice."

The lady had her purple lips pointed upward. She felt a little surprised that she was discovered despite the additional effort she put in to sneakily observe her new favorite person. Though the slight jolt only made her smile, there was no point in hiding the eye anymore. (He does not seem to be hostile and angry that someone is watching him, curious).

Lyon saw the floating eye getting out of its hiding before gradually approaching the three of them. There was not an eerie feeling produced in his mind as he would if he watched a horror movie. Ayumu raised her eyebrows before she turned around and opened her eyes wide seeing the floating eye.

"Madoka...er...Madoku?"

Noticing that Lyon was beside her, she almost misspelled her name on a habit. Lyon slightly creased his eyebrows as he took a glance at Garuda's Daughter that smiled wryly with her cute dimpling cheeks. (How can you spell your own friend's name wrong?) thought Lyon.

"Madoku, why are you observing us? Just come out!"

However, despite the shout from Ayumu's cheerful call, the eye calmly approached the three of them before stopping. It blinked without any voice coming out.

"Madoku, haha, sorry about the other day, there was a misunderstanding!"

Lyon chuckled with his arms crossed but the latter didn't answer.

Ayumu suddenly felt a sudden chill before her eyes opened wide. Her goosebumps rose as cold crept up her spine in a split second. Her brain was too fast as an image of a powerful figure, a woman appeared inside her mind. The words slightly stuck on her throat.

"Kh..."

"Huh?"

Lyon took a glance at Ayumu whose face was sweating profusely all of a sudden. He slightly creased his eyebrows before looking back at the eye. 

"Let me guess, you are not Madoku aren't you?" Lyon smirked.

The fact that he got it right and still had his calm was amazing but Ayumu knew whose the one behind the floating eye if it's not Madoku. A scary figure that could be said more amazing than Kaiju Loh.

"Step back Lyon! You're right, the one observing us right now is not Madoku, it's someone that even she looked up to!"

"Oh don't spoil the fun Garuda's Daughter, I know your father is ill right now."

The more mature voice was heard as Lyon instantly took a smile. From the voice alone he could already picture what the lady was like behind the scene. However, Ayumu took a different reaction as she looked down with her eyes opened wide.

"It's you, you make him bedridden! You—"

"Don't misunderstand," the cold chilling voice instantly made the famous Ayumu stopped her lips from moving.

"You were not there when it happened and your father had never woke up from his coma since, so he never tells you what exactly is happening to him. If I explain it to you, you won't take it since the only ones that survive the expedition were only me and your father! You should be thankful for how the pure blood of Garuda fused inside your veins, that man is as sturdy as he is protective. You're just jealous that I'm the only one coming out unscathed."

Ayumu gritted her teeth as she looked down. She buried her fingers deep inside her palm as blood started pouring out of it.

"Phew..."

Lyon whistled before he let out a chuckle under the intense atmosphere between the two. It was obvious that they had a few reconciles that need to be solved.

"That's pretty sharp and deep, lady. You didn't hold back and just gorged her heart, huh."

He chuckled before his small figure stood beside Ayumu whose face was bitter as she looked down. The latter opened her eyes wide as she felt a small hand was going around her waist before pulling her close to the monkey-like being. 

(L-Lyon?!) Ayumu was surprised by his sudden action before she saw his smile.

"Oh my how assertive," her voice changed from deep cold to warmth, "Not as sharp as those little fists of yours that could destroy an ancient. Want to know something interesting? The girl you are holding with one arm right now..." The lady smiled with anticipation before she muttered.

"She is looking for Golden Wise Tree to seek a cure for his father."

Lyon immediately opened his eyes wide as he froze.