Lyon POV:

“My King, I cannot agree to this!”

I sat atop the stairs as Fii adamantly rejected my plan to go to the East.

“Fii, calm down.”

Azar, rank 3, opened one of his eyes before facing Fii. His skin was tanned a shade darker than Gunnar's, complimenting his spiky grey hair that was quite long. He had a well-built frame but wasn't much of a talker. Azar was several years older than Fii and also used to be a part of the former Resistance.

“We shouldn’t argue...”

I shifted my gaze to the 8th ranked Royal Guard, Ruby, who twiddled her thumbs. Despite her small stature, she had large eyes and two curly pigtails that reached down to her thighs. Her cheeks turned rosy red as she smiled at me shyly. The other Guards voiced their opinions on Fii's stance when her eyes suddenly flashed.

“All of you, be quiet.”

The room fell silent while Fii let out a deep breath.

“You need to understand that so many good Kings have died young throughout history, and I refuse to let our King join those who have already passed on.”

“Fii, I respect and admire your passion, but the king should go.”

Theodora, Rank 9, respectfully gave her opinion before dipping her head in Fii's direction. She was well-spoken, refined and polite. Those traits were reflected in the way she dressed and carried herself.

“...A blade can only be honed on the battlefield. A King can only develop through challenges... Spread your wings, my King.”

Gilbert, Rank 4, bowed his head while Kene, Rank 7, raised his hand to speak.

“Umm... The King beat Baekan who kinda was just about to reach Jikki right?... Why exactly do we need to worry?”

Fii's face contorted as she glared at him. He quickly lowered his hand and scratched the back of his head, avoiding eye contact with her.

“Why can’t you all see that they’re trying to stop his growth? They are scared because of the type of King he is! In times like these, it's our duty to protect him! Did you all forget that Blaze didn’t take ‘some’ KEDs, she took all of them!!”

Silence descended upon the room once more as the weight of Fii's words resonated with everyone present. After doing a clean sweep of the whole area several times, we never found any of the KEDs Baekan had stolen. In other words, we could only assume that Blaze escaped with the entire batch.

Everyone had seen the power Baekan obtained from using them, so it wasn’t a matter that could be treated trivially. Some of the Royal Guards lowered their heads while others glanced at me. I interlocked my fingers together as I opened my mouth.

“Fii, I am going.”

Her lip quivered, and her eyebrows curved inwards. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it in the end. She shifted her gaze to the ground while a few tears pooled at the sides of her eyes.

“I won’t let the East threaten us. I personally chose you all one by one, so don’t worry. Trust me.”

Their eyes lit up in unison as they bowed their heads.

“Yes, my King!!”

***

“A-are you sure about this?”

I stood on top of the thick dome walls while Ursula looked at me with concerned eyes. The winds blew harshly as my cloak flapped against its pressure. My gaze fell in the direction of the East, and my eyes narrowed.

“I am. Are the others on standby?”

“Yes, my King. I have informed them as instructed.”

“Thank you, Ursula.”

I tapped her shoulder lightly before turning my attention to Lissandra. She stood on the far right side of the wall, and once our eyes met, she tilted her head. Her cupid-shaped lips curved into a cute smile before parting as she beckoned me over with a finger.

“Come. Here.”

She opted to mouth those words, and I rolled my eyes; my lips forming a soft smile at her antics. She was the main instructor of the Range, so it was easy to get in contact with her whenever I needed to.

Rain fell from the dark clouds above while I stood beside Lissandra. We analyzed the intended trajectory, factoring in the wind and other elements.

“I’ll join up with you soon.”

Her soft lips pressed against my cheek before I observed her determined eyes. I nodded my head, launching myself high up into the sky as Lissandra took a deep breath.

‘Pantheon Style:...’

“Seung:...”

I descended rapidly as I arched my body forward. Ursula and the other Royal Guards paid close attention to us as Lissandra spun.

“Ghosting Huryeo.”

Yellow lines wrapped around the afterimages she left behind, and her foot vanished. It flickered into view, connecting squarely against the soles of my shoes. A burst of air expanded around us, pushing away all of the raindrops in the area as a shockwave rippled out.

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Lissandra’s hips tilted to the right, and I shot forward into the sky like a missile. The raindrops crashed against my face while my ascent continued to climb. Several additional shockwaves emanated from my body due to our combined technique.

It didn’t take long for the large barrier that reached high above the walls sectioning off the regions to come into view. I had visited the heart of the artifact, and now it was time to see if its will could recognize my own.

‘It all depends on this.’

My eyes narrowed while the distance between the barrier decreased rapidly.

‘...’

I stretched out my hand and clenched my teeth as the gap continued to close.

Seconds.

That would determine whether or not my arm would get blown off.

‘!’

Just as my fingers were about to touch the barrier, a small hole opened up, and I shot through it unharmed. I instantly let out a sigh of relief while I imagined what would have happened if I had touched or even tried to take some of the Silin from that Silin Mine.

‘Greed... Looks like I passed the test.’

I continued to soar through the sky, approaching the direction of District 1E at a steady pace. According to Ursula, all of the regions had their districts organized in the same way. That meant even though my vision was obstructed, I could still navigate to District 1E, which was in the north of Eastern Outer Astril.

A few minutes passed by, and my altitude finally began to decrease. I tore through the layers of dark clouds below, and by the time my vision cleared; I was greeted with a strange sight.

‘What happened here?’

I squinted my eyes, ignoring the downpour of rain while I examined the scene below. There were no other buildings in view apart from what looked like an extremely large mansion in the centre of an endless sea of black. I pondered over just what kind of person the Eastern Ruler was for District 1E to be in such a state.

Heavy rain smashed against my face as the acceleration of my descent abruptly increased. I streamlined my body, cutting through the air with little resistance, allowing the scene from earlier to become clearer.

‘How strange.’

I could barely make out the outline of a large water fountain situated in a rectangular, empty space in front of the mansion. I adjusted my direction while the world around me blurred. I twisted my body, spinning through the air as my feet crashed into the ground below. My cloak fluttered behind me, and I raised my head to survey the surroundings.

‘...It was a trap as expected.’

The sea of black that threatened to swallow this space whole were actually hooded members of the Organization. They wore black suits underneath their open raincoats. They glared at me with killing intent while inching forward now that their supposed prey had arrived.

*Clap, clap*

My gaze shifted to a man who wore a white suit. He stood at the top of the steps leading to the mansion and smirked. The sound of his claps echoed across the district.

“What an entrance. Do you have a teleporter? Or maybe someone who can turn you invisible and erase your presence? Either way, you managed to slip past the heavy guards I had waiting for you at the passageway.”

His dark emerald eyes shone as he ran his hand through his curly blond hair. I glanced at the Royal Guards who stood behind him, taking up all of the space along the raised entrance to the mansion. My gaze rested on a woman who wore a slit dress, revealing her long legs. Her lips were red with lipstick, and she shot me a wink before placing a hand on her hip.

“Blaze...”

The Eastern Ruler stepped in front of her, cutting off my intense glare. He slipped his hands into his pocket while we locked eyes.

“Don't ignore me, and don’t look at my woman.”

I cocked my head to the side, unfazed by the current situation I was in.

“I didn’t know you’d be happy with your woman serving another man.”

His eyebrows fell, and the veins around his mouth bulged. The encirclement responded to the change in his expression, drawing closer to me. The anger within his eyes subsided as his lips formed a slight smirk.

“No etiquette at all. You are just the child that I thought you’d be. However, they say you defeated Baekan, and so I hereby congratulate you on defeating the weakest among the four.”

He bowed his head mockingly while laughter filled the air. I maintained my composure externally, but internally I was taken aback.

‘Baekan was the weakest? Seriously?’

He could be bluffing in order to downplay my victory, or it could be the genuine truth. Either way, for him to talk down about Baekan so easily...

It was concerning.

I watched him wrap his arm around Blaze's waist while kissing her cheek. She blushed as he slapped her bum lightly before turning his attention back to me.

“So now that your life is literally in the palm of my hand, since you decided to play hero. Let’s have a little chat.”

He walked forward and snapped his fingers. I noticed a subtle shift in the cold air around me.

“I hear you refuse to sit on your new throne, why is that?”

The tone in his voice changed, and the smile on everyone’s face vanished. He peered down at me with scrutinizing eyes while waiting for my answer.

“I have no interest in sitting on a throne. I only came here today to verify one thing and one thing only: are you an enemy or not?”

He raised his hand, stopping the Royal Guards from moving as his eyes narrowed further. I ignored the intensity of their glare and focused solely on the Eastern Ruler in front of me.

“You disappoint me greatly.”

The rain bounced off the thin barrier of air that wrapped around his body. His expression contorted into one of utter disgust at my words. He took his other hand out of his pocket while I questioned him.

“...You have wiped out an entire district, reducing it to nothing but the ground I’m currently standing on. Is this how you rule?”

I watched him place a hand over his face. His head tilted towards the dark sky. The heavy rain continued to fall as his shoulders trembled.

“Pahahahaha!!!”

The motion gradually became more exaggerated as his laughter drowned out the sound of the rainfall. The faces of most of the Royal Guards went pale while Blaze simply smiled, satisfied with the direction the conversation was heading in.

“Hahaha... Child, do you even know why we are called Heavenly Kings?”

I narrowed my eyes at his question. The Eastern Ruler’s pupils dilated as he tilted his head up to the sky. He flung his arms out on either side like some sort of saviour before his gaze fell on me. A glint of light flashed through his dark emerald eyes, and the pressure in the area increased.

“It is because we are True Kings.”

“...”

I stared at him silently while recalling the debate I had with Baekan about what it meant to be a king.

“Just like Baekan, we all have our own agendas. Who would be satisfied with being confined to these four walls? The sky above is only a small part of the heavens, and a true King recognizes that. A true King has ambition, but you... You don’t have that. You’re satisfied with staying cooped up in your little hole for the rest of your life. You don’t deserve to have that throne.”

“Heh...”

A small chuckle left my mouth as his eyebrows crumpled together. He lowered his hands slowly and adjusted the tie on his suit.

“What’s so funny?”

The veins on the side of his forehead twitched as he peered down at me like an inferior being. He cocked his head to the side, and a small gust of wind emanated from his body.

“It’s nothing really. You’ve just made my life a lot easier, that’s all.”

Blaze glared at me with fiery eyes. She stretched out her hand, but the Eastern Ruler lightly tapped it away.

“Look at this little punk. I, Angus, Heavenly King of the East, Liberator of Districts, was only going to teach you a lesson. You know, beat you black and blue, cut off a few fingers, have you behead a few of your precious people, but... You just crossed the line.”

His green eyes darkened further. The Royal Guards behind him released a portion of their Ki, creating violent winds that pushed some of the hooded members backwards.

I faced them alone; the downpour of rain crashed against the ground with no signs of easing up. My eyes became as cold as the air, and I parted my lips.

“You should have stayed in your ‘little hole.’”

I stepped forward, ignoring the shadow that fell over his face. His mouth opened, but I was no longer interested in what he had to say.

“Pantheon Style: Ghosting Wave.”