A few years before the Azori kingdom conquered the West and became an empire, Emperor Ethar roamed the West looking for competent allies who could carry his kingdom to greater heights. 

On his journey, he met a young Ariel, a genius swordsman hermit. Naturally, he wanted Ariel for himself.

"Join me, let's build my empire together." Emperor Ethar offered.

"No." Ariel declined. He had become a hermit because he arrogantly thought he was the strongest in the world. He felt like there was no need to swing his sword for someone else's cause.

...

*Tang* this was the sound of Ariel's longsword as it dropped to the ground. He had lost a duel to Ethar. The shock that came with losing made Ariel conscious of the saying 'frog in a well'. Convinced that he could fight stronger enemies and grow if he followed Ethar, Ariel swore to become Ethar's sword but...

"I will obey your commands unconditionally but you must promise me a one-time chance to go against your will." Ariel requested.

"You have my word." Ethar surprisingly accepted Ariel's demand, it proved just how much talent he had seen in Ariel.

Present time...

Never did Ethar think his promise would come back to bite him, as it was doing right now.

If he, the Emperor accepted Ariel's request and didn't crucify this Miracle Worker, it would not only loosen the noble's faith in his authority, but his subjects would see view him as the Emperor who went against the gods. The religious beliefs of the people couldn't be thrown away.

The Emperor was old and weak so he couldn't afford a situation that could possibly divide his Empire and undermine his authority. So he made a choice.

"Subdue him!" the Emperor commanded.

Marquise Toviya came forward in response to his Emperor's will.

Marquise Toviya was a smart and strong man loyal only to the royal family. He had already figured out the situation and he wasn't going to let Ariel have his way. He may not be able to kill him but he believed he could hold on till the Capital's army arrived, besides he wasn't alone.

He took a battle-ready stance as he gently approached Ariel. 

"Do wish to anger God?" Marquise Toviya asked while moving.

From generation to generation, throughout the history of the Poshi Continent, it was common knowledge that the existence of Miracle Workers caused God to punish the world. The Ancestors who feared what they couldn't control established this altered truth.

Toviya was well aware that the Empire couldn't simply ignore Miracle Workers since the people truly believed this 'common knowledge'. There was no limit to what a man could do for his faith.

Ariel who had been intently analyzing Marquise Toviya's movement made the first move. To protect his life's saver and best friend's son, he decided it was better to take the life of everyone in the room.

*Clang*

Ariel's longsword clashed with Toviya's sword. The impact caused a sting to flow throughout Toviya's body and he was barely hanging on as he felt his wrist losing strength. A single sword clash almost pushed him back.

'What a monster' Toviya thought to himself. 

They clashed a few more times while performing simple sword strikes. Ariel would pressure him with his strong swing and Toviya would respond by gliding or partying the attack in the opposite direction. It was like a repeating circle but it was clear to anyone that Ariel was pushing Toviya back. Soon, their swords made contact again and they were in a bind. 

Ariel who had inhuman control over his muscles directed power to his toes so he could have a firm footing as he pressured Toviya to his knees but 

At lightning speed a sudden piercing attack aimed at Ariel's skull gave Toviya space to breathe as Ariel was forced to raise his sword and parry the attack, thereby freeing Toviya.

The sudden attack was by Earl Netan, a man popularly known for his rapier-based techniques. He was backed up by two other knights. It was now four against one but they felt no shame about teaming up against him as the person they were facing was not human.

Ariel calmed his mind and analyzed the situation in a split second. There were about twenty-seven nobles who could swing a sword and sixteen knights half of which were royal guards. They weren't an immediate threat as they were either protecting the Royal family or the defenseless nobles.

'The real threat is the army that is probably on their way here.' Ariel thought to himself. He had to end everyone here as fast as possible.

He took a deep breath, twirled his sword, and cracked his neck. This basic warmup sent chills down his enemy's spine. The royal guard was particularly scared as they, who had once fought by his side knew what was coming.

Indeed...they should shiver.

Ariel stomped his feet on the ground causing the concrete to crack and shake. This temporary quake made his enemies lose their footing for about 6 seconds, unfortunately for them, it was more than enough time for Ariel. He dashed towards Toviya, cut off his arm, took a knee to his guts, and rendered him immobile.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Toviya screamed in agony. Ariel mercifully pierced through his head and ended his pain.

'Three more.' Ariel said to himself.

A knight who had recovered his footing early attempted to slash Areil but he only ended up taking a swing at the air. Surprised, he directed his gaze downward and the crouched Ariel was the last thing he saw as Ariel thrust his sword into the knight's jaw, blood gushed out, and dyed Ariel's face red. 

'Two more.'

Ariel pulled out his sword, grabbed the knight's waist dagger, and threw it toward the second knight's forehead. It was an instant kill.

'One more.'

He shoved the first knight's body and grabbed the knight's sword. He was now wielding two swords.

Netan, who had been following the rapid battle couldn't help but cower in fear. This fear cost him his life as he couldn't respond to Areil's downward slash that sliced his body in half.

'Restart.'

The immediate threats were all dead now so he restarted his kill count and set his sights on the nobles who were being protected by their knights.

He moved like lighting to a corner of the room and massacred the nobles along with their knights. By this time, his whole body had been dyed red. He was like a demon as he held a noble's severed head in one hand and pointed his longsword toward the throne with the other. 

"Fourteen more." Ariel said with a heavy breath, he was slowly getting tired.

The knight's sword he wielded earlier had snapped so he was back to his one sword style. As they witnessed Ariel's rampage, the brave nobles, and knights who had moved to protect the Emperor earlier were now no more than timid children holding a sword.

"Spare me!!" A noble shouted as he got on fell to his knees and lowered his body enough for his lips to kiss the cracked concrete.

"I promise to serve you as the new Empe-" He couldn't complete his sentence as his head no longer had a body. Ariel had moved with inhuman speed and beheaded him without even listening to his plea. 

His decapitated head rolled toward the nobles and knights, the head had a surprised expression. The bloody sight filled their minds with trepidation as they all dread their deaths. Their racing pants, sweaty palms, and nervous expressions said it all. 

'Life was no longer an option, the major aristocrats of the Azori Empire were going to be purged today.'

Their grip loosened.

The crowned prince noticed this and mustered up the courage to stand and speak.

"You need not fear as the army will be here soon.....On the royal family's name, I promise my sister's hand in marriage to whoever stalls the rampage of that madman. And to  whoever brings his head..." The Crowned prince paused and exchanged glances at Ariel and his father.

"...I promise the throne!" the crowned prince shouted at the top of his voice.

The Emperor's expression was dark as he heard the words of his son while the noble's and knights' expressions brightened. It was absurd that they, a pussycat could think of going against Ariel, a tiger. Such a situation was only possible because of their greed.

The crowned prince was very well-tuned to human greed and as a competent monarch, he knew how to take advantage of it. He just had to get them to think.

'If I am going to die anyway, why not die trying? Who knows, I could be an emperor.'

They were enough witnesses and the crown prince made a promise on the royal family's name so they naturally had no cause to doubt him. It was their foolishness.

"OOOOOOOOOO!!" The nobles and Knights tightened their grip on their weapons as they rushed toward Ariel.

His first opponent, filled with energy, raised his sword high and tried to slash at Ariel, this was a mistake, he was incredibly slow and got his body sliced in half. His second opponent took decent swings at Ariel but Ariel easily parried them, struck his wrist with his palm to render him unarmed, and finished him off with a lethal thrust to his heart. His third opponent wielded a massive war axe as he tried to slash Ariel with simple but heavy strikes, Ariel skillfully avoided his attacks with simple upper body movement and let his opponent run out of breath and reveal a gap. As anticipated, his opponent revealed a monetary gap and Ariel didn't miss it. He cut at his body multiple times, grabbed him by the neck, and thrust his sword into his thick and firm body.

The fourth opponent...the fifth....sixth...seventh...in the blink of an eye, the only people left in the throne room were now the emperor, crown prince, and Ariel. Everyone else lay dead on the ground.

Ariel had taken a few cuts and slashes in the fight but it wasn't enough to bring this man to his knees.

*Cough* *Cough* the emperor coughed as he drew his sword ready to defend himself against the walking calamity. 

The smell of blood grew thick in the room making it difficult to breathe but this wasn't going to stop Ethar T. Simon II, the one who conquered the West, the one who built an empire, the one who ravaged battlefields, the absolute authority, the......

Ariel beheaded the Emperor.