An hour later.
In the mansion’s living room, a certain black sword sat stabbed dead center into the low coffee table like it owned the place.
It pulsed faintly with arrogant pride, its edge glinting beneath the chandelier’s warm light.
Seated in a circle—no, more like a suspicious semicircle, as if preparing for an intervention—was Raven’s entire rry band of chaos.
Clara sat closest to Raven’s left, a cup of tea in hand and a mildly amused smile playing on her lips.
Selena lounged at his right, legs crossed, sipping elegantly from a porcelain cup as if discussing political alliances, not a talking murder blade.
Siris had secured her place on Raven’s lap today, her petite body perfectly in place, her head right below Raven’s chin as she blinked wide-eyed and suspiciously quiet, waiting for the sword to say sothing stupid so she could stab it.
From the mont she had realized that the sword could stay with Raven more than she could, she had started seeing it as a competitor, not caring about its gender.
Heck, it didn’t even have a gender... yet.
Then there were the others.
Jessy leaned back in her chair, one brow raised and arms crossed.
Lia sat beside her, posture straight and regal, but her eyes kept flicking to Raven.
Every ti he didn’t look her way, she looked vaguely like she might duel soone over it.
Jake, as always, said nothing.
He was in the corner with a glass of water and the look of soone watching a very dumb opera.
Rufus sat beside him, nodding, like he, too, was an enigma because he had long decided to stay silent like Jake.
He thought that he would be respected like Jake if he did that. That was why he had been staying with Jake a lot these days.
That was until Alex leaned over and whispered loud enough for half the room to hear, "Hey, man, if you don’t say anything soon, people will start thinking you’re just enchanted furniture. Be careful. That’s how background characters are born."
Rufus blinked. "What? No, I—I’m just contemplative."
Alex nodded sagely. "And unmorable. You gotta ask yourself, bro, what do you actually do here?"
Rufus opened his mouth to answer.
"Wrong," Alex said imdiately, sipping orange juice he absolutely hadn’t asked permission to pour. "Think about it more."
Above Alex’s head, Nibbles the squirrel sat like a smug war general on a living throne, tiny paws folded, tail twitching as he peered at the sword with great suspicion. He squeaked once.
Alex translated. "He says the sword looks like it snacks on other swords."
Omnisect pulsed, voice echoing from the blade in his signature too-cool-for-this-world drawl.
"Ay, you got that right, rodent boss. I gotta eat my kind to grow. Ain’t proud of it. But I ain’t ashad, either. Survival’s sexy."
"...You’re so dramatic," Jessy muttered.
"Damn right. I co with the music," Omnisect replied. "It plays every ti I land a clean-cut. Boom—bass drop. Then silence. Just and the blood mist."
Clara, on Raven’s left, giggled, while Selena, on his right, shook her head.
"It’s no use trying to shit-talk with him. He’s got no sha," Raven inford others, his arms coiling around Siris, making her shift comfortably in his embrace.
"Noted," Jessy said before turning toward Omni. "Quick question. Are you cursed? Or, like, sentient and annoying by design?"
"Both," Raven said flatly before Omni could.
"Bruh, focus on your own ladies, will ya? You got a whole damn lineup and still can’t let spit ga at one girl without buttin’ in!"
Before anyone could even react to his words, Omni turned toward Jessy.
"I’m neither," Omnisect corrected. "I’m a relic cosmically in the screaming void of eternal entropy. Which is a poetic way of sayin’, I’m built different."
"...Built like an unpaid intern who never shuts up," Jessy replied dryly, finally realizing what kind of character this sword was.
Before Omni could give a heartbroken response, Siris raised her hand.
"Wait," Siris finally spoke, her tone dead serious. "If you are from the void... are you an orphan?"
The entire room went quiet.
Then Raven blinked. "What—"
Omnisect paused. Then he spoke to Raven. "...Man, I ain’t vibin’ with this girl. Sothin’ off about her, y’know? If it ever cos down to a vote on whether she sticks with the crew, you best believe I’m throwin’ my ’hell no’ first."
Siris’s expression turned cold as she took her bone dagger out.
Omni trembled in warning. "You wanna throw hands? Co on, then. I ain’t scared of you, not even a little. Let’s see what you got."
But before Siris could move, Raven’s arm, still around her, tightened a bit.
"Siris."
That was all he said, and Siris paused, pouting. "But it said that—"
"I know," Raven nodded, kissing her head. "I’m getting to him."
Then he turned toward Omni, staring at the sword with an expression that said, ’Really now?’
"You are fighting my woman."
"Man, she straight-up disrespectin’ —" Omni tried to defend himself, but Raven cut him off.
"And you thought I would side with you?"
Omni paused.
When he spoke, his voice was filled with emotions. "What ’bout our bro code, man?"
"I have a more important code called ’Love-your-woman code,’" Raven replied, and the sword, for the first ti, couldn’t find words to respond.
A silence settled in the hall as Siris smugly raised her nose, staring down at the sword.
Lia, however, cleared her throat, breaking the silence while trying to wrest control of the conversation.
"So. This sword, Omnisect," she said, addressing it like it was a diplomatic envoy, "how strong are you, truly? Do you possess elental enhancents, soul resonance, or—"
"I possess swagger, little queen," Omnisect interrupted. "And a little thing called dinsion-cutting potential. You ever sliced reality? It screams. Sweetest sound you’ll ever hear."
Lia blinked. "That’s... mildly horrifying."
Alex leaned forward. "Wait, wait. So if I hold you, can I slice, like, through... logic?"
"Kid, you couldn’t slice bread without asking for help," Omnisect replied kindly.
Rufus snorted. "Got ’em."
Everyone turned.
Rufus looked shocked. "Wait. Did I just—"
Alex gasped. "He broke his promise to Jake!"
"Mark this day," Jessy deadpanned. "Rufus couldn’t keep up with Jake’s training on being silent."
Rufus gritted his teeth. "I tried my best—"
"No, you tried to exist. You tried to act more like a character than the background furniture," Alex whispered again.
"I—!"
"Let it go," Jake said, his voice low and calm.
Everyone turned to Jake.
A beat passed.
"Whoa. He talked, too!" Alex clapped. "Guys, they’re evolving!"
Jessy finally cracked a grin. "Okay, but seriously, Raven—can we trust this thing?"
Omnisect sighed. "I’m right here, lady."
"I an it," Jessy said, not looking at the blade. "It talks like a wandering bard with a felony record. Are we sure it’s not cursed?"
"Curses are relative," Raven muttered.
"I heard that," Omnisect grumbled.
It was then that Clara spoke, lowering her teacup. "It’s bound to Raven by blood contract. It can’t betray him."
"I knew I could trust you, lady," Omni humd.
Selena steepled her fingers. "If it can’t betray Raven, then I don’t think we need to worry about it. Above all, from what I heard, he’s really strong."
"Thanks, Ice Queen," Omnisect replied. "And yeah, I’m indestructible, baby."
"My na is Selena," Selena corrected Omni, but the sword—
"Ice Queen sounds cooler."
"...Fair."
Nibbles squeaked again.
Alex interpreted, "He says, and I quote, ’This sword speaks too much. I’ve seen twigs with better self-control.’"
"Tell him," Omnisect said, "he looks like a mop soone enchanted."
Raven rubbed his temples. "Okay, we’re done here."
But no one moved.
Instead, Siris leaned forward seriously. "So, if the sword talks... can we feed it?"
When Siris saw Selena and Clara taking the sword’s side, her intelligent self realized what was going on.
They were both trying to get on the good side of the one being who would always stay by Raven’s side.
They all knew that Raven wasn’t the type to get swayed by others’ words, but still, wouldn’t it be in their best interest if that talking sword spoke well about them?
So, Siris was now trying to make up with the sword.
"...What?" Raven asked.
Siris blinked. "I made cookies. Can he eat?"
The sword pulsed, unbothered by the previous incident. "Depends. Are they chocolate chip?"
"Yes."
"...Then maybe."
Raven stood. "No. We’re not feeding the sword cookies."
"But—"
"No."
Everyone groaned in disappointnt.
Even Nibbles squeaked sadly.
Jessy muttered, "I hate that I kinda wanted to see that."
Omnisect purred smugly. "Aww, c’mon, Raven. Let have one. For morale."
Raven sighed and looked toward the ceiling again as if praying for divine assistance.
No help ca.
However, Selena, with a serious expression, then asked. "What do you think about the duel?"
"Ah, damn," Raven slapped his head. "I almost forgot that it was the topic we had gathered to talk about."
Everyone leaned in, curious about his thoughts as this duel was an official duel that the academy was witnessing.
This was the news Selena had brought to Raven before.
It was about an official duel.
The problem was that they still didn’t know who the other person was.
"Who do you think it is?" Clara asked, and Raven, with a sigh, leaned back.
"If my guess is correct, it’s the young leader of the berserkers guild from Zaraqt Kingdom."
Lia, Selena, Clara, Jessy, and Jake narrowed their eyes at those words.
All of them already knew about the young leader in their academy, so hearing Raven ntion them, made them think deeply about it.
Alex and Rufus, however, were busy in their world.
Alex was talking to Nibbles, poking Omni, while Rufus was fighting an existential crisis.
The first to speak was Selena. "Are you saying that because the academy is hiding the information from even you, who is a part of the Vaise family?"
"Yes," Raven nodded. "The only ones who can order information restriction over us are the royals."
Jessy’s eyes sharpened. "And if the royals are taking such a step then it must an that the request was from the person who had put up the challenge."
Clara added, "And if that person is authoritative enough to make the royals accept their request, then they are more than likely to be the young leader of one of the strongest guilds in the Zaraqt Kingdom."
"Yes," Raven closed his eyes, trying to recall any information on that person since, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t recall anything.
Even in the plot, they were an enigma. They were ntioned many tis but never shown in the story.
Heck, even their gender wasn’t revealed in the story.
Then one day, like every other character of Raven Tale, they vanished.
Squeak!
It is then that Nibbles, who, unlike Alex, was listening to their discussion, speaks, and Alex translates it for them.
"Nibbles says, ’You can’t be sure that it’s the young leader, right? It could be soone from other kingdoms. After all, there are people from every kingdom in this academy.’"
The mont those words are heard, everyone goes silent.
"He has a point," Jessy mutters, making others nod.
"I guess we won’t know until tomorrow, will we?" Raven sighed, hugging Siris as if she were a plush toy, and Siris didn’t hate it at all.
"I would say that you guys worry about tonight since that Old Man would be returning tonight to train you guys again."
Raven was talking about Crisaius, who had gone back to the Vaise’s main estate in the morning, promising to return by night and train them all.
""Ugh...""
There was a collective groan in the hall before everyone slumped into their seats, realizing their imminent fate.
Even the girls knew that they wouldn’t be spared since that crazy old man didn’t care about gender; he treated everyone the sa.
Above all, Crisaius’s last training session was still fresh in their minds.
"Why are you guys acting like that? It can’t be that bad."
It was Lia, and the mont she said that, everyone turned to her, their expressions’ blank before they sighed, too tired to even explain.
"You’ll know," Jessy muttered, shaking her head.
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