Lyla's Resolve

-Cling! -Cling! -Clang!

The sword clattered on the ground and slid towards Clarence before stopping at his feet. He picked it up with his face twisting in fury.

"Who dares to hurt my son?"

His furious roar was cut off by a deafening sound as he saw a silhouette of a man flying towards them.

-Boom!

Raymond bent his knees and jumped towards Jasmine. With a flip in mid air, he came down to the centre of the gathering with an axe kick.

"I do!"

Cracks spread across the land as the Imperial Guards lost their footing. They scrambled to their feet with panic settling in. Just a simple landing had pushed them to the ground; this was not a simple man.

"Master, help! These people are bullying me!" Jasmine ran towards her master with haste and hid behind him.

The emperor who was standing behind and quietly observing the events unfold, finally spoke:

"Ray, we didn't know she was with you! Young lady, you have my apologies but I must ask this question. Why was the blood crystal following you? Or are we just mistaken and it has nothing to do with you?" Elmer asked curiously.

"Haha, you're partially right!" Raymond chuckled. "That crystal was indeed following her or more specifically someone who was hiding in her shadows."

"Lyla!" He called out.

A shadow appeared by his side which soon took the shape of a woman. Lyla stood confidently by his side. There was nothing to fear with him by her side. Lyla knew that and she didn't hold back from glaring at her father hatefully.

Her hands were trembling in anger. She couldn't wait to tear him to pieces. Raymond squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry, you will have your revenge today." Lyla was relieved to find that he wasn't angry with her for this mess.

"Lyla! Prepare yourself to die!" Cyril Denver snarled. How she had escaped from the slave collar he knew not. But it didn't matter, he was going to kill her and avenge his son's death.

*******

Rob had been serving the FireBorn empire as an Imperial Guardian for many decades. He was appointed by the previous emperor and had remained loyal to the throne ever since.

He took his role as the emperor's protector seriously and was never remiss in his duty. He had always stayed vigilant and aware of his surroundings to watch out for threats. He was an exemplary guardian, unlike Tim who had brought shame upon this sacred duty.

Observing and noting down any that would pose a threat to the emperor was his daily routine. As such, he had a sharp memory and would barely forget anything. He immediately recognised Lyla. She was one of very few who had managed to escape from him after trying to harm the emperor.

He had a hunch that it would be her when he had heard Commander Denver mentioning Heartsbane. If it wasn't for that accursed poison spirit he would have succeeded in apprehending her the first time. But he decided against informing the emperor about his findings, opting to be completely sure before doing it. Now, he was sure.

"Your Majesty, she is the one who made an attempt on your life," he informed the emperor. "The one who managed to escape from us by unleashing her poisonous spirit."

A thoughtful frown appeared on the emperor's face recalling the events of that night.

"What is the meaning of this, Ray?" Elmer's voice shook in suppressed anger. "You're aiding and abetting a criminal wanted by the empire! This is unforgivable!"

"What a joke!" Raymond snorted. "You have a duke who practises slavery! You're the one sheltering a criminal by giving him power and authority over your army! It's you who is aiding and abetting a criminal! Isn't slavery considered a heinous crime in the Continent?"

"Lies! Your Majesty, he has been bewitched by this snake!" Cyril defended. "She has him wrapped around her fingers!"

"Ray, you're accusing our empire's commander! Be mindful of what you're saying." Cyril had never seen the emperor talking with someone with this much patience before.

'Who is this young man? Why is he defending Lyla?'

"Do not be fooled by her appearance, young man," he said, trying to reason with Ray. "She is my daughter. I know her better than you do. She won't hesitate to end your life once she is done with you!"

"Step aside and let us carry out justice!"

"Cut the crap, Denver!" Raymond spat. "You're a good actor, I will give you that. I would've believed you if I hadn't known the truth."

"What do you mean?" Cyril asked, his face darkening. He would've already attacked this nobody if he hadn't seen the emperor being patient with him. After all, this guy was in the Martial Minor realm. Though he had managed to shake the ground with his strength, that wasn't anything impressive in the eyes of a Martial King such as himself.

"Haha, you still don't understand? Who do you think removed her slave collar, eh? Who do you think destroyed your manor?" Raymond jabbed his thumb into his chest as he smirked at the duke. "It was me, Ray!"

"You bastard, I will kill you!" Cyril's face fell at his words. "And what the heck are you talking about a slave collar? I know nothing about it!"

"Calm down, Cyril. He is trying to get a raise out of you," Elmer placed a hand on Cyril's shoulder and pulled him back from jumping at Ray. His eyes swept over the trio of Ray, Jasmine, and Lyla.

"You have my gratitude for saving my son but that does not mean you can act however you want! This is my domain! My words are the law here. If I say she is to be punished for sinning against the heavens then she is to be punished! No one is allowed to question my authority."

"I am the emperor! I make the rules here!" The emperor thundered as the scalding hot aura swept the ground making anyone below the Martial King realm buckle down in pressure. "She has sinned by murdering her kin in cold blood. Not to forget her attempt at assassinating me. Under the prosecution of the empire's law, I have judged her as the criminal!"

"Whoever dares to go against my judgement will be met with a harsh punishment!"

"Hmph, what a load of bullcrap!" Raymond was not in the least scared by the emperor's aura. "You are calling her a criminal without even hearing her side of the story. That says a lot about your judgemental capabilities."

"How dare you question His Majesty!" Clarence bellowed. He was itching to hack away at this man for attacking his son. "I will have your head for that!"

-Swing!

His hands blurred as he pounced on Ray swinging his sword with every intention to cut him into two.

Raymond's eyes sparkled as he saw the exquisite sword coming his way.

'Let's see if this works!'

Raymond had been wanting to test his mysterious pendant further. This was a perfect opportunity to test one of his theories. He effortlessly sidestepped to avoid the strike and grabbed the sword carefully. He didn't want to break it by applying too much force. He really liked the sword's design. Even though he wasn't fond of using it as a weapon, it was still cool enough to add to his collection.

After all, it was customary to get souvenirs to remember the places so that he could reminisce in the future.

With a thought, the sword disappeared into his pendant.

'It works!'

"Huh?" Clarence stumbled to maintain his balance and staggered forward. "Where is my ancestral sword? What did you do?"

"Seeing your pathetic sword skills, it must have gone back to your ancestors." Raymond quipped as he sent a kick towards Clarence.

"Aaargh!"

Clarence crossed his arms in front of his chest to defend himself but was sent flying with broken arms. His ribs creaked in pain as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Now you have done it, brat!" Cyril was gobsmacked, to say the least. He wasn't any stronger than Clarence. Now he understood why the emperor was entertaining this man. But he smirked looking at Clarence. "Attacking nobles is a crime punishable by law. You've kicked the emperor's brother-in-law, His Majesty will not let this slide!"

"Tch, why are you still whining about these shitty laws, when they are blatantly ignored by His Majesty himself?" Raymond rebuked.

"When has His Majesty ignored the laws? Don't spout nonsense!"

"Open your dog eyes and look at Lyla! Isn't she being called a criminal without being given a chance to defend herself? Isn't that blatant mockery and disrespect shown by His Majesty?" Raymond pointed out. "You know what? I shouldn't waste my time bickering with you! I should just flatten this city to the ground and be done with it!"

A deafening silence washed over the crowd as Raymond roared. His bone crushing aura leaked out unknowingly.

"Kuh…Uwack!"

Raymond smirked as he saw everyone falling to the ground and even the emperor was kneeling, trying hard to stand up.

"M-master, please…"

"Huh?" Raymond quickly shook himself awake and his aura vanished. "Sorry, Jasmine, Lyla." Both of his girls were struggling hard to breathe.

"Ray, you don't need to do anything! I will kill him myself!" Lyla managed to say as Raymond supported her to stand up.

"Let's end this farce, father!" She stared at the slowly recovering Cyril. "We both know who is in the wrong. Let gods be the judge of my innocence. I challenge you to a 'Duel of Death'. If you're man enough, take my life with your own hands."

She was determined to end the last vestiges of her miserable life so far. This was the man responsible for everything she had gone through. If she wanted to be worthy of her man, she had to prove herself by avenging her mother. Ray had already done his part by giving her freedom. It was now up to her to rewrite her destiny.