Tower of Heaven

The situation was overturned immediately.

Booooom!

A huge explosion cracked the marble stage and kicked up a storm of dust and smoke. The High Priest was separated from the Third Prince, and before he knew it, the crown was no longer in his hands.

"What is this?!" The Third Prince yelled angrily.

He waved his hands to clear the smoke. It didn't do much of anything, but the smoke did clear up on its own, revealing the ones who caused the sudden panic.

"What do you think you're doing without my permission?"

A voice cut through everything.

The panicked civilians immediately halted and turned to the stage. The ministers and vassals got up from their seats, growling, while the Third Prince fell back onto his rear and backed away.

"N-no way…" he muttered, gritting his teeth.

"Who let him out?! How did he get here?!"

Regardless of the answer, it was already too late to stop anything.

In his full glory, his body and mind healed back to their peak, was the Emperor himself, Kaladyn Von Ataraxia.

The citizens didn't know how to react in the slightest. Everything happened within a matter of days, after all. The Emperor's funeral had not even been scheduled yet, and here he was standing in front of them alive.

Wasn't he assassinated? Wasn't the Second Prince guilty? Then, why did the Emperor and the Second Prince arrive here together to stop the coronation?

Their minds were broken by the sudden influx of information, but to the people on the stage, they no longer mattered.

The Third Prince's own instincts that made him question everything were completely suppressed. The one controlling his body was the one who screamed.

There was no need to think about it or question anything.

"Kill him!"

The Emperor needed to die again so he could be returned to the Imperial Prison until the Soul-Searching Leeches arrived. The citizens' opinions no longer mattered.

There wasn't a single sane person remaining on the stage. Upon the Third Prince's order, everyone from the High Priest to the ministers revealed their killing intent.

"They are merely being controlled, yes?" The Emperor asked.

"Yes. Their conscious minds should still be hidden somewhere inside their bodies, as it has only been a few days at most since they were corrupted," Kade answered.

Kaladyn nodded.

"Go. Do your part. I will handle things here."

The entire capital was surrounded by the forces of the Dark Cult. As for those like Khan and his servants, they were not approaching. It seemed they had other matters to deal with while their subordinates took care of the Empire.

Atlas looked at the Emperor for a moment before running away and disappearing into the crowd. This time, he had to trust this body's father.

Kaladyn didn't stop to watch his son's retreat. His eyes remained trained on Klyde despite the approaching enemies around him.

"You…are you truly still inside?"

He asked desperately, trying to find any trace of his son.

However, the only response he received was a snarl and a glare from eyes so red they no longer looked human.

"Haa…"

Kaladyn sighed to himself.

"It will all become clear in due time."

For now, he had to put on a show.

"Dark Cult bastards…"

He raised his fists and allowed his aura to run free.

"Allow me to remind you why I am the Emperor of this grand nation!"

They called him the Sun. Perhaps it was a title given to all emperors, but for those in Ataraxia, it had a more literal meaning.

Kaladyn did not have a wood affinity to support his Wood Connection Physique. He instead had an affinity for the Dao of Fire.

The world told him when he was young that his body was most suitable for studying the arts of alchemy, but he rejected that fate. The Emperor had to be a symbol of power. He would develop himself into exactly that.

Now, after over a hundred years, he had become nothing short of a monster in the mortal world.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Golden flames surrounded Kaladyn's body. He slammed his fist out three times, sending three separate officials crashing into the surrounding walls.

"DARK CULT BASTARDS!"

He roared it this time so even those on the outskirts of the capital could hear him.

"ALL OF YOU WILL DIE TODAY!"

The golden flames of the empire, the symbol of the Emperor himself. The moment they manifested into reality, the common population regained their wits.

Their Emperor was back.

Which meant that everyone else on the stage was an enemy.

They knew that they didn't have the ability to help their Emperor in any meaningful way, so they did what they did best.

They grabbed everything they could find around them, from fruits to rocks to random equipment, and threw them at the people on the stage with all of their power.

It truly meant nothing. Enhanced by the power of the seed of darkness, the minions under the Third Prince's command could not feel pain.

However, their support meant the world to Kaladyn.

He had only been gone for some days, but his people mourned him greatly. They saw him return and felt emboldened enough to act against forces beyond their control.

'I cannot disappoint people who hold me in such high regard.'

His aura was bolstered even further. He charged at the enemies instead of waiting for them to approach him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He was able to easily take down the first three because they had only recently transformed, but as the officials that Klyde corrupted long ago appeared, it became more difficult.

A deep black and purple energy oozed out of their bodies and clashed against the pure golden energy of the Imperial Family. Those officials had been turned into beastly things with sharp teeth and claws that could tear through flesh like tofu.

Kaladyn took their attacks with his body and countered as best as he could, however, even he was restricted in some ways.

'I cannot allow that energy to reach the civilians.'

That was his utmost priority. He also couldn't kill anyone. These people were victims as well, after all.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Kaladyn used the hand-to-hand combat techniques of the empire, taking the force presented by his enemies and using it against them. The Holy Priest approached with his claws brandished, but his arm was swiftly grabbed and his own momentum was used to slam him into the ground.

Boom!

Kaladyn stomped on his back, knocking him unconscious. In the same movement, he turned his body to face the three new enemies coming towards him.

'Send as many as you want.' He thought as he raised his fists once more.

He would take as many as he needed to. As long as the people and the empire were protected, he was willing to do anything.

His fists turned into weapons of mass destruction.

No matter how strong they had become, it was all borrowed strength.

They could not hold a candle against someone who spent decades refining himself.

Under Klyde Von Ataraxia's horrified gaze, his own father plowed through everything he considered his strength.

As it found a crack in the inviolable web of darkness, light emerged and went from a spark to an explosion in a matter of seconds.

This time, the Dark Cult's plans would not come to fruition.

This time, the Empire would be saved.