The entire Imperial Palace fell into a deathly silence. Every gaze turned toward Axis, eyes wide with shock.
Even Kasha and the Lion El'Jonson wondered if their ears had deceived them. Had they heard correctly?
The Custodian Guards were the first to react. They immediately raised their power weapons, fixing Axis with hostile stares.
Even Caesar, who had escorted Axis here, joined them.
Though he had a decent personal rapport with Axis, if the Emperor's safety was at stake, there would be no hesitation. He knew he was no match for Axis, yet he would still charge in without pause.
Anyone who dared to insult the Emperor was an enemy of the Custodes. No one was exempt.
It was for this moment that the Custodian Guard existed.
"Axis, you fool, what are you saying?" The Lion had never imagined that the first thing Axis would do upon arriving at the Imperial Palace on Holy Terra was to challenge the Emperor himself.
Having spent over a month with Axis, he knew the man bore no ill will. This was pure lust for battle against a worthy opponent. But to set his sights on his father? That was absurd.
The Custodian Guard had already encircled Axis. At a single command from the Emperor, they would rush forward without fear of death.
Kasha, standing beside Axis, was so stunned she could not speak. Was he serious?
Before coming here, Axis had said he intended to challenge the Emperor. She had thought he was merely joking to relieve her nerves, and indeed it had eased her tension at the time.
But she had never expected him to be serious.
Axis, you bastard… you're going to give me a heart attack!
"Didn't you say, Your Majesty, that any request within reason would be granted? I wish to fight a strong opponent just once, so will you grant me this? A battle against you, one where we both go all out, is what I earn for" Axis said.
Whether I can transform to Super Saiyan Second Stage depends on you, old man.
"Hahahaha! That's amusing. Axis, you mean to say you want to fight me? You want to challenge me?" the Emperor laughed, his voice echoing through the hall.
He waved his hand, signaling the Custodians to stand down. It had been a long time since he had laughed like this.
The situation was simply too ridiculous.
In the material universe, he was invincible. No one could defeat him.
Only within the Warp did the Four Bastards pose a threat, and even then, should he unleash his full potential, abandon his mortal form, even the Chaos Gods might not stand against him.
In the material realm, even a mighty C'tan shard would fall before him.
"My greatest desire is to fight strong opponents. The stronger, the better. Primarchs are no longer my match, and Custodians or Astartes even less so. In the entire material universe, the only one left for me to face is you," Axis declared.
One way or another, he had to fight the Emperor.
This battle was critical to him.
"Are you certain, Axis? You have just annihilated the Rangda and rendered a service of immeasurable worth to the Imperium of Man. If you wish for a reward, I could grant you a whole Segmentum to rule. You could make any other request as well, so long as it does not harm mankind, I will agree," the Emperor said.
"What meaning would that have? Even ruling the entire Imperium would mean nothing to me. I only wish to fight you," Axis replied.
Saiyans had no love for power or politics.
The only things that stirred their hearts were becoming stronger and fighting.
Everything Axis did served these two goals, growing stronger in order to face greater foes, striving toward the form of the Super Saiyan God.
Comprehending divine power was for one purpose only, to battle the Chaos Gods. He sought nothing else.
Defeating the Chaos Gods and saving the material universe was not his concern.
Everything, absolutely everything, was for the sake of becoming stronger and defeating worthy opponents.
"My only request is that you fight me with your full strength. You must have been lonely for a long time, Your Majesty. Do you not wish to face someone who can truly match you, forcing you to give your all?"
Axis's body erupted in golden radiance, blazing like a raging fire. His hair stood on end, transforming into shimmering gold.
He poured every ounce of his fighting spirit toward the Emperor, a pure, untainted passion for battle, a will forged solely for combat.
Battle. Battle. Nothing but battle.
Come. Enjoy this fight.
Come face me, Emperor of Mankind.
In that moment, everyone in the palace felt the overwhelming surge of his fighting intent. It was the kind of aura that made one's blood boil, that made hearts race, that sent an electric tremor through the body until every vein burned.
The Lion El'Jonson's eyes turned crimson.
He found himself infected by Axis's will to fight, seized by the urge to seek out a mighty warrior and cross blades in brutal contest.
Though he carried himself as a man of culture and refinement, deep in his core, the Lion was a beast.
Damn it… damn it all! He could not defeat Axis now, and that reality burned like acid in his pride. He had to become stronger, much stronger.
At that moment, the Lion felt the wildness buried in his soul claw its way back to the surface.
The true lion had awakened.
He realized just how deeply he too craved battle, but Axis's eyes were fixed solely on the Emperor.
That stung him to the core.
Fine, Axis. You aim for the Emperor, but I will aim for you. From this moment on, you are my quarry.
The Custodian Guard, too, were swept up in the heat of Axis's spirit. Their bodies shook, not from fear, but from an excitement that words could barely contain. It was a battle-lust that gripped the very marrow.
This was Axis's intent made manifest.
He did not mean disrespect to the Emperor, nor had he ever entertained thoughts of betraying the Imperium. He simply wanted to fight the strongest being he could find.
Upon the throne, the Emperor of Mankind felt that fighting will, a will that could set any man's blood alight.
A faint, helpless smile touched his lips.
Axis reminded him of the martial artists of humanity's ancient days, before they had ever left Terra.
Warriors who sought only to challenge, to grow stronger, to face an opponent equal to—or greater than—themselves.
The Emperor slowly rose from his throne.
The motion alone seemed to make the palace tremble. A vast tide of psychic might rolled outward from his being.
His golden warplate shone brilliantly beneath the light of the Eternal Flame, his towering frame casting a shadow that blanketed half the hall.
And in that moment, the Emperor's own battle-lust surged forth.
As Axis had said, he had been unmatched for far too long. So long, in fact, he could barely recall the last time his blood had truly burned.
Was it the day he first set foot in the stars?
The day he slew the C'tan shard? Or the day he struck down a mighty Daemon Prince?
As the centuries passed, his psychic power had only grown. Long ago, he had been left with no equal.
"Very well, Axis," the Emperor said, his voice rolling like thunder through the chamber, heavy with fighting spirit.
"It has been an age since I met a warrior so pure. Perhaps this is the primal yearning of the human soul, every man is a warrior.
"From the moment a male is born, he is drawn to the staff, the spear, the sword. There is no boy, no man, who can truly refuse a straight length of wood or steel. Combat is written into our very genes.
"When we fight, our bodies flood with adrenaline. Our faces flush, our strength surges, pain becomes a stranger. And yes… I too desire to cross blades with you," the Emperor said.
Since the dawn of time, he had watched humanity's rise.
The history of mankind was a history of battle, fighting for women, for land, for survival, for food.
Civilization had only buried that truth.
Which man, in his heart, did not yearn to feel his fist slam into another's face?
From the moment mankind stepped out of Africa, they had driven seventy percent of mammalian species to extinction.
Humanity were the true war-fanatics.
The name Homo horribilis had not been earned lightly.
Axis's lips curled into a wild grin as his golden aura burned even brighter. The ground beneath his feet began to crack.
"That's more like it! Let us fight without restraint!"
"Your Majesty, this is too dangerous!" cried Valdor, Captain-General of the Custodian Guard, stepping forward.
"Stand down, Valdor," the Emperor ordered, his tone leaving no room for question. "This is a duel worthy of respect. This is a contest between warriors."
The Lion nodded in agreement. His own battle-lust had been stoked to roaring flame.
"Axis, you madman!" Valdor barked inside his mind, his mind was edged with disbelief.
He could scarcely believe the madness of it, that Axis had gone this far, and that the Emperor would match him in it.
If these two unleashed themselves here, Holy Terra itself might not survive.
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GUYS!!!! WE NEED MORE POWERSTONES!!!! its' 200ps per bonus chapter!!!