Of course, Brandon had known the entire ti. The mont he had t Ivan, a sense of recognition had washed over him.
It was for that reason, why Brandon had barely interacted with him.
Most probably, he was instructed to keep a close eye on Belle, and allow the circumstances to flow naturally.
Circumstances regarding Belle's death.
He was strong. He should've been able to hold the Wraith back for a bit, just enough for Belle and the rest of the Imperial Army to retreat safely.
However, he pretended to freeze and allowed the Wraith to kill Belle.
"P-Primordials? The hell are you—"
"I have it here."
Brandon held up a recording device.
"Ciel's last words before she—"
Tzz—
At that mont, bolts of electricity surged within Ivan, and he disappeared from Brandon's peripheral vision, his fist appearing before him.
Caught off guard, Brandon took the full brunt of his attack, straight to the jaw, and staggered several ters back.
But he held onto the recording device tightly.
It was his assurance.
Massaging his jaw, Brandon spat out blood to the side, saring the floor with the red liquid.
Ptui!
"That hurts."
"So it was you. I don't believe you were able to kill her. But you must've done sothing."
Lightning began surging within Ivan once again, preparing for another attack.
However, he soon paused as Brandon held his hand up.
"Wait, hear out for a second."
"Then where is she?"
"Let play the recording."
At Brandon's words, Ivan relaxed his muscles, fully canceling his attack.
Then, he opened his mouth.
"Play it."
Click—
Brandon did just that. Ciel's familiar voice echoed from the recording device shortly after.
That entire night, Brandon had prepared a recording device, just in case Ciel blurts out important information.
However, he hadn't expected that conclusion.
Her death.
—From now on, all of you will follow one man, and one man only….
Brandon Locke.
—I hope all of you respect my decisions. If you believe this recording has been altered, you are all free to inspect it.
—But if you truly respect as your Leader, then my disappearance should be enough to tell you of my whereabouts.
There is no whereabouts.
Ciel was dead.
That was the truth of the matter.
—Listen to him, for he is the man I've deed appropriate for the position of First Seat. A seat that has been open for a long ti. A seat that not even , the Leader, had taken for myself.
—That's right. The First Seat had always been rightfully his.
—If you can't accept it. You're all free to leave the group. I will not hold any of you against it. You're all free to choose of your own volition.
—But I beg all of you. Please support him. He is on my side, as well as yours.
Click.
The recording ended there.
Brandon looked at Ivan closely. Ivan had a look of shock on his face as he clenched his fist.
"Like she said, if you don't believe , then you can check if the recording is—"
"I believe you."
"Oh?"
"That sounded like sothing Ciel would say. There's no way anyone can replicate her tone."
"Is that so?"
Ivan raised his head, eting Brandon's gaze.
Thump!
All of a sudden, Ivan took a knee and opened his mouth shortly after.
"What do you wish for to do?"
That was fast.
But it was good. Thankfully, it all worked out in the end.
"Just like what I did, I need you to inform the other seats of this matter. If they decide to leave, let them. I don't need people who won't follow . But for the ones who are willing to accept as the new Leader, bring all of them to this location."
Clicking his phone, Brandon sent a ssage to Ivan.
Ivan scanned his phone, then raised his head once again.
"Understood, Sir Brandon."
"Not Brandon, call …."
Brandon pinched his chin, pondering for a brief second. Shortly after, the na rolled off his tongue.
"Blank."
***
After the eting with Ivan, Brandon realized he had ti.
8:00 PM.
If they were still in the rented training facility, Brandon decided to stop by to check.
Boom—! Booooom——!
And it seed like they were, as sparks of magic resounded outside the training facility where Brandon stood. Hearing the sound of explosions, it must've been Reinhard.
Brandon approached the entrance and clicked the button right next to the door.
Ding!
Waiting for a while, the entrance slid open like an elevator.
"Oh, you're here."
It was Amy.
"Co in, co in. You ca at the right ti. Raven and Reinhard are sparring at the mont."
"Oh?"
Brandon's curiosity piqued. The main reason why he had co in the first place was to see how strong the others had gotten.
Brandon entered the room led by Amy. Arriving at where the seats were located, Brandon sat down.
"Hello."
Rachel, who sat beside him, nodded her head, greeting him.
"Hey."
"Spar with , Brandon."
Claire's voice rang from beside him.
"We haven't sparred in a long ti. I'm curious how well I can fare against you."
Brandon leaned back and breathed the air in.
"Huuu…."
Shortly after, his lips parted open as he went on to say,
"Sure."
***
Bang!
Seeing Reinhard bolt from his position, fire cascading in the air around him, Raven's figure blurred like a shadow, appearing right before the rushing Reinhard.
Thrusting his dagger forward, Reinhard was able to react fast enough as he kicked his feet forward, coming to an abrupt stop. Clasping his hands together and twisting them, the space around him exploded like a fiery inferno.
Boom—!
"Cough! Cough…!"
Raven leapt back and coughed.
The past year, Reinhard had gotten really strong. His flas packed more firepower than before, and his battle senses seed to be on par with his.
However, Raven had a trump card up his sleeve.
[Reflection]
Swinging his dagger, the flas around Reinhard scattered, and his familiar figure registered in Raven's peripheral vision.
Raven kicked the ground in an instant, then ca to an abrupt stop mid–flight. Gathering his mana, Raven's figure blurred once again and appeared behind Reinhard.
Reinhard's head quickly flicked, his eyes seed to glow blue at the mont, completely imrsed in the fight, and twisted his body. His palms exploded at that mont, right before it t Raven's dagger.
Since [Reflection] was sort of an activation skill instead of a permanent buffer, Raven couldn't cut off the mana flow of his flas. Leaping back, Raven took a breath.
"Haah… Haaa…."
The two continued their exchange shortly after. The entire facility echoed with the sound of explosions, the ground shaking spontaneously.
At the end of it, Reinhard laid on the ground.
It was Raven's win, but he knew that wouldn't have been the case if he didn't have [Reflection].
Clearly, Reinhard was bridging the gap between them.
Raven clenched his fist in frustration.
He had been training endlessly for a long ti. Yet regardless, he felt his growth stagnate.
Followed by the thought of his humiliating defeat against Brandon, Raven clenched his fist even tighter, his nails dug deep in his palms.
Reaching out for Reinhard, Raven offered his hand.
"Thanks."
Reinhard stood up, supported by Raven. Their clothes were sared with ashes. Dusting off the ash, Raven turned his head to look at the audience area.
There, he could see; Rachel, Sarah, Cyrus, Claire, and….
"Brandon?"
Brandon was here.
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