The sun was slowly rising from the east, casting soft rays that glowed on Raiden and his comrades, alongside Alora and June, who held her violin in her hand.
Before them were the knights led by Freya, all awaiting the assassins as over a hundred of them sprinted through the forest, heading their way while yelling out to boost their morale.
"So the war waged against the Kingdom of Aurelia was a lie, after all," Alora said, standing confidently beside Raiden.
Raiden said nothing in return. He simply gazed at the forest, hoping to find stronger opponents among them. Sothing about the attack didn’t sit right with him. The strategy was too simple for people who supposedly wanted such powerful books.
His eyes darted through them but found no worthy opponent. Unless the strongest were behind the army, the only strong people he could see were number 7s, with the rest being eights and, worse, nines.
Before long, the assassins reached the field, and the mont they stepped into the clearing, Freya signaled the knights to charge. They t midway and began fighting.
Raiden’s expression was dim as he reached for the necklace around his neck, ensuring he still had the key.
After a brief mont, he turned to Speed behind him. "I want you to join the fight, Speed, but don’t fight to your fullest."
Speed gave him a firm nod, and the next thing he knew, Speed was gone. His eyes moved slightly toward Soul. "You stay with , Soul."
He turned back to the war. "Sothing isn’t right..." he muttered.
"You can feel it too?" Alora asked as she wore a soft smile.
Raiden barely registered her question. Regardless of what the assassins had planned, it would be unwise to leave the house unguarded. But he also couldn’t leave the knights, Freya, and Speed to handle them alone.
Despite their strength, they were bound to be overwheld by the assassins—from his perspective, seeing how they still ran into the open, it was as if there was no end to them.
He let out a deep sigh, knowing at that point he had to set his pride aside and involve Alora and June so they could minimize the risk and tighten both their offense and defense.
He turned to his left. "I want you to join them too, June."
June’s expression darkened as she turned to him, her starlit eyes locking directly with Raiden’s gray ones.
"What do you an by that?"
Raiden exhaled softly. "Can you just join them? We need stronger people out there—Freya and Speed won’t be enough."
June gave him a lazy look, leaned forward, and glanced at Alora, who simply smiled at her, which was enough to make her smile.
"Make sure you don’t die before I get to kill you, bookkeeper," June said with a smirk and headed toward the battle.
"What do you have for , ’Bookkeeper’?" Alora asked sarcastically.
Raiden’s eyes traced the movents of his comrades within the crowd. Speed was barely noticeable, his incredible speed making only the aftermath of his strikes visible, while Freya effortlessly burned the assassins to a crisp with nacing laughter. Still, the assassins just kept coming.
After a brief mont, his mind registered Alora’s question as he abruptly turned to her. "Oh yeah."
He brushed his hand through his dark hair. "You’re with —we keep watch so no one gets near the book."
She smiled. "I never knew I was that important to you."
Despite her sarcastic persona, Raiden indeed needed her. As the Dreamwalker, she could easily manipulate whoever managed to get their hands on the book, though that didn’t an Raiden would fall for her mind manipulation. He barely paid attention to her after his response.
The mont he turned to the war before him, he could see Speed’s speed slowing and Freya’s nacing expression turning more grim. They were tired.
Most of the knights lay lifeless on the ground while so still stood fighting, but the wounds on their bodies and the sheer despair on their faces spoke volus.
The only one among them who still had plenty of energy was June. Her violin rested on her shoulder while she played, sending blades of sound waves to split them in two before they could get near her. But with her fingers pressing firmly on the strings for sharper chords, they were bound to bleed in no ti.
Raiden needed to think of sothing. He glanced back to see Soul standing calmly behind him, her eyes fixated on the war as well, but he couldn’t ask her to join the fight.
He didn’t fully trust Alora since he couldn’t tell how far her ability could reach, even though he needed her. anwhile, Soul’s ability Soul Condemn would be needed in case of an ambush, as well as her overwhelming aura.
And still, the assassins just kept increasing in size. They had grown to over six hundred, and with people of the sa rank joining, this wasn’t going well.
He stood there snapping his fingers as he pondered, his heart racing as he desperately searched for a solution. Should he let Soul join them so he could handle everything alone? Or perhaps send Alora instead?
The thoughts sward his mind, but he was certain sothing was wrong. With both assassin and dragon instincts, it wouldn’t be wise to ignore his intuition.
Before long, what he feared beca reality. Alora’s hands began hurting as she gritted her teeth in agony, her notes going off-key. So of the guards managed to run past her, heading in their direction.
Raiden knew it would be best to handle them himself while letting the others rest. He had to trust his ability, heart of dragon. However, before he could step forward, Alora gestured for him to stop.
She smiled at him while Raiden’s eyes darted to hers in confusion. "You have to trust the Sound Weaver."
Her smile grew softer and calr as she turned to June. "She hates seeming weak before her rivals."
Raiden also turned to her, his expression still perplexed. June dropped the violin and, with clenched teeth, clapped her hands, sending a sharp blade of sound that split all the assassins in two.
Raiden’s mouth was slightly parted as he watched, startled. But June winked at him with a smile before turning to the enemies before her. She clapped, and four assassins dropped to the floor.
Even the sound of her steps seed to be a weapon. When enemies fell or strikes landed, she turned those sounds into weapons too.
Raiden felt his mouth go dry, the pieces finally clicking into place. No wonder they were known as the kingdom’s Stars.
"The instrunt isn’t necessary for her magic, but she enjoys using them—says they make her strikes hit harder." Alora’s tone carried clear respect.
Everything seed under control, though Raiden knew fatigue would catch up to her soon enough. But then his danger sense exploded with warning, a shrill alert that made his pulse spike.
He triggered Gaze Beyond instantly, his sight piercing through the forest depths. What he saw made his blood run cold: three people moving through the trees, each one surrounded by an ominous grey aura.
All three sported stylish black outfits and dark hair, though each had their own distinct feature: one bore a red ’FIRMO’ banner, another bristled with piercings, and the third maintained a sharp, clean-cut look. They shared the sa arrogant smirk as they advanced, trailed by over a hundred assassins who carried an enormous red banner emblazoned with ’FIRMO’ in bold ink.
Raiden’s throat went dry again, but then euphoria flooded through him, that familiar psychopathic grin spreading across his face.
"They’re finally here."
Alora’s smirk was knowing. "So this was ant to exhaust us first."
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