CHAPTER 45: MESSAGE TO THE KINGDOM 2

Raiden stared directly at Levi, disappointment creeping in. How exactly would handing over the book help their case when they already believed he worked with the assassins?

"We won’t necessarily give them the book," Levi said. He walked toward Raiden, placed his hand on his shoulder, and smirked. "We tell them the truth, and if they want it, they come for it."

Raiden stared into Levi’s eyes for a moment, his mind spinning as he reconsidered what Levi was saying.

Telling the truth, huh?—he thought as he reached for his jaw. He then smirked; it wasn’t a bad idea at all. He could simply lie by speaking the truth, a truth he was certain the elders wouldn’t want to hear.

However, his expression darkened in an instant. "How exactly are we going to speak with them?" He raised an eyebrow. "We’re trapped, remember?"

Levi smirked and reached into his pocket, removing two stones: red and blue. "Well, I took the initiative to get us some recorder stones."

Raiden smirked and collected the stones from his hand, analyzed them, and gave them back to him. "Prepare the pensieve for the recording at the training room." He rested his hand on the door handle. "I will be getting the others."

Raiden opened the door, and opposite Levi’s room was Freya’s. He closed the door behind him and took a deep breath. With Freya being such a notorious traitor in her kingdom, and also being in this pretty bad situation, was getting her up for the recording a good idea?

He stood just before her door and pondered this for quite a while before he finally shook his head to get himself together. Whether Levi’s suggestion became successful or not, the kingdom was bound to send people there, and when they did find her, his situation was bound to worsen in that regard.

So he took a few steps forward and knocked on the door. With a low and soured tone, she asked Raiden to come in. Her room was no different from the previous rooms, but just like everyone else except Levi, she lacked a mirror.

Just a little glance to his right revealed Freya. She lay on the bed, covering herself with a blanket, and the sorrow in her eyes said it all—she had been crying because of Free’s death.

Raiden remained motionless beside the door for a moment, having no idea how to approach Freya in her situation. A direct command would be rude to her, and he wasn’t one to mistreat their servants.

"Leo believes he could bring Free back to life," he blurted, but Freya barely seemed motivated—she was already aware of that.

"I’d urge you to put your trust in him, if not him, me." Freya tilted slightly toward Raiden as he walked to her. "I’d do anything possible to make sure you get your familiar back."

He crouched beside her bed and stared directly into her dark eyes, her black hair scattered across the pillow. "But for now, I want you to do something for me, and after that, we will all do everything to bring Free back to life."

Freya remained silent for a moment, then gave a firm nod while Raiden gave her a soft smile. "I’d like you to meet me in the training room. Can you?"

She gestured positively, and with that, while still wearing a smile, he rose to his feet and left the room. Just at the door, he turned to his left to see Soul and Speed returning from the living room.

In an instant, Soul rushed toward him and wrapped him in a hug, causing Raiden’s face to turn crimson—his discomfort with emotions was visible even from afar.

"Thank you," Soul said as she pulled back from the hug, still struggling to keep eye contact.

Raiden immediately felt puzzled by her appreciation. If she hadn’t voluntarily formed a contract with Raiden, they would have all been killed by Seth. So what was she talking about? Was she not aware of what she had done?

Speed soon closed in on them. "I know she formed a contract with you without your consent." They both bowed their heads. "We are sorry about that."

Raiden let out a sigh of relief. "Don’t worry about that... you guys should follow me."

He said and turned to his right, making his way into the training room. "How did she do it, though? I never knew someone could force a contract."

"She was initially a blue crest bearer before Mack experimented on her, turning her black." They finally neared the training room.

"And since we get to keep our previous abilities after turning corrupt, she can still form contracts."

Raiden tilted slightly toward them, thinking to himself how interesting that was. Even though unfair, those who turned corrupt still kept their previous abilities, but that wasn’t something he was particularly interested in.

The moment they entered the room, Leo and Levi stood before a mirror, its surface covered in water as they waited for Raiden and the others to finally break the red stone against its surface and begin the recording.

However, barely a minute after Raiden and the others entered, Freya joined them, prompting Leo to break the red stone and spread it across the watery mirror screen. As the powdered stone began to spread, spin a little, and finally stop, it turned the entire screen red—the pensieve.

"Levi couldn’t get a high-quality stone, so this would probably last less than five minutes," Leo said, and Raiden gave him a nod.

To play it safe, Raiden had to summarize everything there was to say in four minutes; otherwise, once the time limit was up, the recording wouldn’t be transferable, meaning they would be back to square one.

He took a deep breath and gestured for everyone to stand behind him, clearing his throat as they positioned themselves before the mirror.

"This is a message to King Hannes, the six elders, and the entirety of Persia. This is Raiden Night, the bookkeeper, and behind me are my subordinates." He smirked.

"And together, we are the Guardians of Ashes whom you’ve come to despise."

Raiden adjusted his broken hand properly before the mirror. "Unfortunately, I can’t be at my very best at the moment due to this injury. My hand is completely broken." He smirked once more and stared directly into the red screen.

"And do you want to know how I got this injury? I’m sure you do."

He turned back and gestured at Freya. "This is Freya, a very devoted companion of mine, and as you can see, she is brutally injured and, worse, sad because her familiar was slaughtered before her."

He then gestured at Levi. "This is Levi, the one you so believe is an enemy, and that makes us enemies to the kingdom."

He lifted Levi’s shirt, showing the bandages wrapped around his stomach. "And as you can see, this traitor nearly died protecting the book."

He then gestured to Leo, who had bandages across his nose and fingers and a few bruises on his neck. "Leo Odin—safe to say, the only person here you people are most likely to trust—and yet see him. This was after his sacrifice to protect the book."

"And finally, Soul and Speed," he said, his tone tinged with excitement as he emphasized Speed’s mask. "These two are the product of corruption and inhumanity within the kingdom."

"By the influence of the elders, Captain Kai, and the Dawnbringers, these two had not only suffered but were tortured to the brink of death."

He walked to the mirror once more, staring directly with his ice-cold expression. "And guess what—the same people whom those in power permitted to do such torture to Speed and Soul were the same people who did this to each one of us."

Raiden walked a little closer, his tone dropping. "And do you know what? This wasn’t to save the kingdom, but rather to kill me, steal the book, brand themselves saviors, and claim the bookkeeper’s duties for the Dawnbringers."

He took a deep breath. "The Guardians of Ashes are respectfully putting their lives on the line for this kingdom and the entire world, but if you want pride and hypocrisy to be your guide, then..."

He wore a soft and cunning smile. "Come for the book. I give you my word, no blood will be shed. Just come for what you bastards desperately need—what you would risk the fate of the world for."

And with that, he bowed his head, and so did the others. Leo walked closer, shattered the remaining blue stone, and poured it on the mirror as it began to spin.

"Deliver to the Royal Palace of the kingdom of Persia," Leo said, and the screen instantly stopped spinning, turning into a reflective mirror once again.

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