"I'm the only one with a voice, huh?" His elbows hit the table, hands coming up to rub his forehead. "This might not be hell after all—could be there's more to this whole thing than I thought."
"I'll go back regardless… got to gather every bit of strength and magic I can find." His fist clenched and trembled slightly, betraying the truth that before that could happen, he would need to defeat Levi—someone stronger than him.
Three days of training and endless questions; was he really the only one who could think freely? It only showed him there was something enormous at work, something he'd been oblivious to.
Still, this remained his personal hell. Never avenging his brother would be the deepest wound anyone could give him. He refused to carry that burden.
Raiden snatched the handbook off the desk, thumbing through to the final page. Something had caught his eye, likely the reason Levi handed it to him in the first place.
The book read in Noorian: ''To contract a human is a feat in any blue crest bearer's catalog, however, only a few can manage this feat. It rather falls under luck and hard work.''
"This only works with mutual agreement on a binding contract. It could mean Number 0 serving Number 9, the contract shows no bias either way. However, the summoner needs sufficient mana to burn the seal of contract."
Raiden ran his hand through his hair while reading. He'd already tried to burn one of the seals without success, which meant his last resort was pushing his training to the limit.
[You have to get stronger, papa.]
Ash broke through Raiden's thoughts. He looked over at her, smiled warmly, and ruffled her hair before standing up. Sword in hand, he ran through his usual ritual and started training.
He wanted to get stronger to take down Levi, sure, but ignoring advice from someone as cute as Ash would be stupid. Most of her words centered on him getting stronger, which meant she was clued into something he wasn't. Too much of anything only becomes a problem when you don't know how to use it.
He kept cutting through the air at full strength, adding muscle to what he'd already developed. When sunrise finally came, he ended with his meditation routine.
[ALERT]
[CURRENT STATUS: NUMBER 9: LEVEL- 65/100 XP.
MANA CONTROL: 60
MANA POOL: 70/ 5000
PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 120
STAMINA: 110
AURA: 15
SKILL PROFICIENCY: ACTIVE 1
—Swordsmanship: 30%
FAMILIAR TRUST: 92%
—Linked Familiar: WHITE DRAGON
CONTRACTS: ACTIVE 1.
—Name: [ASH]
—Bond Type: Sealed Pact.
NEW ABILITIES: LOCKED.]
"Can I really defeat him?"—he shook his head, shaking off the uncertainty.
Over the past few days, guards and Aeris had been delivering messages, his mother wanted to meet with him. He'd ignored them for a while, but the requests never stopped. Whenever Yara visited, Raiden was always too busy training.
''At least just a day…'' she said.
Not wanting that 'imposter' label thrown at him again, Raiden had to go. But before heading out, he picked up a seal from the training room and attempted to channel mana into it. No blood was needed this time, but the infusion felt like hauling triple his body weight.
Before long, he made it home, his face slick with sweat, and had to shield his eyes from how bright their place was.
Yara was seated in the living room and immediately moved toward Raiden with excitement, patting Ash while he stayed unaffected by her lively mood. But once Raiden sat down, Yara's expression grew dark.
She let out a sigh, eyes growing fierce—exactly like the look Jack's mother used to pin him with. That unforgiving expression that could make anyone's pulse quicken.
"I've gone along with this charade long enough.'' Raiden's eyes widened as he stared back at her, his heart racing faster with each second as he shook internally. ''This change of yours is drastic—practically unheard of.''
"What do you mean?"
Her stare turned even more penetrating. ''I know the kind of toll a brush with death takes on someone.''
Raiden nodded stiffly, throat working nervously, while Ash simply fled; she could sense what was coming.
"This experience has turned you into someone I don't even recognize…'' She let the words hang for a moment. ''That's why I think we should stop protecting the book."
Relief coursed through Raiden's body as he held back the impulse to yell, his lips flickering with barely contained emotion. But he had to stand firm and keep playing Raiden.
He wore a look of dim disbelief and disappointment. ''What do you mean, Mother?''
Yara leaned forward, her face softening. ''We should let this be someone else's problem for once!''
The pain and frustration were clear in her voice. ''I do not want to lose you too.'' Tears began streaming down her face as she tried to wipe them away. ''You've changed, Raiden… you don't come home anymore, and all you care about is protecting that damn book.''
Jack was never one to get wrapped up in these emotions because showing anything like this to his mother, Jane, would bring punishments beyond his understanding. But Raiden pulled her into a hug.
''Don't worry, Mother. I'll be okay.''
''No, you won't.'' She pushed out of the hug and rose to her feet. Raiden wore genuine confusion now. ''Look around, everyone is gone! They are all dead.''
She paused, taking a deep breath to clear away years of bottled grief. ''The only survivors are those who abandoned the Night name completely… your own cousins won't even claim it anymore.''
Her exhaustion was obvious and her words rang true, but Raiden viewed the bookkeeper position as an advantage. If he played it right, it could be his ticket back to his world, something he refused to abandon. Trade a high-class noble life for being a commoner? His parents hadn't raised him to give up treasures like that.
He took a deep breath, expression turning dark as he rose. ''No, Mother…'' He locked eyes with her like a wounded lion defending his pride, voice becoming cold and intimidating. ''This is the Night family's duty and no one else's. I won't give it up for anyone, not even you.''
Ash stayed on the floor, her head whipping from side to side as she looked between them, confused.
His voice turned even more menacing. ''You can leave and abandon the name if you want… but I won't.''
Yara remained before him, her gaze flickering through the tears, visibly robbed of words.
Raiden stood there for a moment, shook his head, and left the room without giving her a chance to speak. She made no move to stop him, just stood frozen as he vanished from her sight completely.
As soon as Raiden left, relief washed over his face in a wide grin. He fished the seal from his pocket and picked up where he'd left off with training.
He viewed the confrontation as the ideal opportunity to drive Yara away. With her out of the picture, he wouldn't need to watch his back anymore, and given what he'd said, he was certain she'd go. Besides, he might end up enslaved by their enemies within days.
Just a few steps into his walk back, he halted. ''Whoa, I think it's working, Ash." The seal showed the first signs of burning along its edges. Maybe a relieved, focused mind was the key.
[ALERT]
[SUCCESSFUL MANA USAGE]
[+20 XP]
[CURRENT STATUS: NUMBER 9: LEVEL- 85/100 XP.]