Bijia's vision was still adorned by the rising black smoke from the portal's location. The air was thick with the smell of ozone and something burnt. She took a few steps back toward the carriage, her metal-clawed hands subconsciously wringing the dark wand.
"We need to get to the inn. Fast," she urged, her purring voice now tight with anxiety.
Brok nodded, his boisterous laughter gone. He was all business. "Hop in!"
Bijia jumped inside the carriage, her black robes settling. Inside, she leaned toward the driver's window. "Brok... do you think Lungard and the others...?"
"I have no idea," Brok shook his head, his voice a low rumble. "Considering that explosion... that wasn't a Giga Slash. That was something... else. Something big came out of that portal."
"How about infighting?" Bijia asked, her mind racing. "The 'Black Portal' loot is said to be legendary. Maybe Tampo and the archer tried to..."
"I doubt that," Brok grunted, snapping the reins. The giant, elegant "chicken-beast" squawked and began to pull the carriage. "They want to mess with Lungard? And his guild? Not a chance."
Bijia sighed and leaned back into the plush seat. "You're right." She looked at the ceiling of the carriage, her gaze distant. Even though her heaving chest was low, her fingers were restless, tapping a frantic rhythm on her wand. She tried grounding herself, but to no avail.
The words of the [Unregistered] brats... their father taking revenge... it lingered in her mind. And that explosion... it felt like a bad omen.
THUD... thud... skitter-roll...
Brok raised his brows as a shadow just bypassed him, something heavy went overhead, and a loud thud was heard a couple of times, like a skipping stone. The massive, chicken-like beast pulling the carriage was alerted. It flared its wings, shrieked, and reared up.
"Tch! Calm down, boy!" Brok roared, pulling hard on the reins.
"What's wrong?!" Bijia shouted from inside, her hand flying to her hip.
"I don't know, something just... flew past me. Let me take a look," Brok said, his voice heavy. He got down from the driver's seat. He approached the 'thing' that had landed in the bushes just ahead of them on the road.
"Ngh!?"
His goosebumps rose higher than heaven. His pores shriveled as his heart began banging against his eardrums. He knew what it was that had flown overhead.
In fact, it was... a literal... head.
He gulped. His massive, calloused hands trembled as he reached down and turned the chopped head toward him.
"L-Lungard!"
"What's the matter?!" Bijia quickly got out from the carriage, her black robes rustling. She followed Brok's frozen gaze.
Then she stumped. Breath left her lungs as quick as snow in summer. Her heart weighed twice. Her metal claws trembled.
Lungard. Their strongest. The Level 90 Knight. His head... severed.
"I-It was not infighting..." Bijia took a few steps back in horror, her mind finally putting the pieces together. The [Giga Slash]. The explosion. The head. "It was something else. The party... the multi-party... they must have been—!"
Her ears twitched. A sound. Walking.
She turned around in reflex, her purple eyes wide. There, at the end of the long, narrow road, a figure was walking toward them.
A naked man. And raw emotion. He was devilishly handsome, and he shared the facial traits of the three young men she had just kidnapped. As if they were the "fruit," and this one... this one was ripe.
"Step back, Bijia!" Brok roared, his fear instantly replaced by a warrior's adrenaline. He summoned his morning star. 'Shit! This is a narrow road! And it's still a few forests away from the guild!'
Lyon was on their eyes all the time, yet as he walked... he conquered several steps. One step... then he vanished.
"To the side!" Brok yelled, swinging his morning star.
But Lyon wasn't there. Their eyes couldn't keep up. As he got close to Brok, he disappeared.
Stunning the both of them.
Then... the sound of the carriage's curtain fluttering open was heard from behind them.
Brok and Bijia looked over to see the carriage had a new passenger. They could only see his back. A glowing, golden tattoo that spelled Almighty Ox was menacing enough, not to mention the new, amber horns and the single earring.
This is... without a shadow of doubt... their father.What... is... that... 'Almighty Ox'? What does that mean? thought Bijia, her mind racing.
Lyon knelt down. He was surrounded by the bodies of his sons. He touched their wrists, one by one. He wasn't looking for a pulse; he was looking for the torrent of Ley, their meridian system, their Cultivation.
His face darkened. Destroyed. Broken. Empty.
...They're still alive. At least.
He sighed, a single breath of pure, fatherly relief. Watching the three of them—Lexel, Seleron, Myda—still having their chests heaving up and down, it washed away the worst of his anxiety. He smiled. But only for a moment.
"Earth Splitter!"
A giant axe, wielded by the massive Brok, drove down like it was splitting lumber, aimed directly at Lyon's naked, kneeling back.
The axe connected. The entire carriage was destroyed, exploding into a shower of splinters.
Bijia had a wide, cruel smile. It connected! Brok's 'Earth Splitter'! Not many could withstand that skill and come out alive! At least they would need the intensive care of a High Priest to be functioning again, especially from that angle!
"Heh," Brok smiled, his arms vibrating from the impact. He was catching his breath. "Die, you bastard, di—?!"
A hand reached out from the smoke. It enveloped his face. Through the cracks of the fingers, he saw those amber eyes.
"Even though I cannot exert my full power here," Lyon stood up, the splinters of the carriage falling harmlessly off his shoulders. He lifted Brok—a man who weighed hundreds of pounds in his armor—by his face, with one arm. "I'm confident enough to have the power to change your world's map."
"?!" Bijia couldn't close her mouth. Her jaw was slacked, locked. This was the first time she had ever seen someone like Brok... being manhandled.
"MHmHm!!" Brok struggled, his muffled screams filling the air. He flipped his axe with his free hand and thrust it down toward Lyon's shoulder.
CLANK!
To his dismay, the axe bounced off like it was a toy.
Shit! Shit shit shit shit! I'm going to die! Bijia thought. Her mind raced. Flee? No. He's too fast. Fight? I'm a 'Warlock', not a 'Warrior'...! Wait... She remembered Lexel. She remembered the carriage conversation. She gulped.
"H-Hey, mister," she gulped, her hands moving to her armor. She unbuckled it. The black armor dropped with a heavy thud, revealing her bare body. Her skin was fair, and with all the right curves. She covered her breasts with her arms, acting shyly.
Brok, still in Lyon's grip, grabbed Lyon's arm with both hands, trying to pry it open. Lyon, annoyed, furrowed his brows. He tightened his grip. A sound like a melon cracking echoed. He broke the man's skull with one movement.
Bijia flinched as she saw Brok die that way. He's... a man. He's... naked. He must... She prepared her lines. The naked man was approaching her, a now-naked woman.
"I-I heard what the boys said," she stammered, her voice shaking, but she forced the seduction. "You have... a lot of... w-wives..." "Perhaps... I... I wouldn't be so dare to be your wife... but... perhaps... if you spare me... I can warm your bed... every... single ... time you want me to."
She slowly, agonizingly slowly, released her arms, revealing her assets—the ones that many wanted to conquer, especially the recently deceased Brok.
Lyon grabbed a hold of one of her breasts.
I knew it. She thought, a tiny, triumphant smile in her mind. He's a man. They're all the same. "P-Please... not so rough..."
"I am a perverted man," Lyon said, his voice a low growl. The golden "Almighty Ox" tattoo on his back began to fade. "And the three boys shared this gene of mine. But..."
"Hm?" Bijia raised her brows.
Then... her pupils strangled. She saw his eyes change. The amber vanished, replaced by a glowing, terrifying RED. His hair faded from black to blood-red. And a new name, a new tattoo, emerged on his back in burning, red lines:
'Red-Eyed Tiger'
"You think I don't have honor?" he pulled her breast, hard, bringing her off her feet. The momentum of the Three Worlds, a power she could not comprehend, condensed in his left fist.
"N-No, wai—" That was her last word.
The entire forest collapsed. The earth trembled upon impact. The ground cracked, and the trees—for miles—lost all their leaves in a single, violent shake. Dust rose up to the sky, and the shockwave washed over the rest of the neighboring forests, and beyond.
...
In a neighboring village, a [Lv 15] guard was guarding the gate. He yawned. "Haiz, what a slow day today," said the young guard.
BOOOOOOM...
The shockwave hit him. His hair fluttered. His eyelids flapped. He was pushed down on his ass by the sheer force of the wind. He stared, in utter confusion, as he and the entire village all watched in the same direction—at a "sun" that had just "set" in the middle of the forest.
...
Lyon stood alone, under the sky, and on top of a freshly created crater that spanned toward the way back. Bijia's remains were nowhere to be seen, probably in the specks of dust that now adorned the battlefield.