I Guard The Book That Slays Gods

"I could have won," Noelle muttered, her gaze falling to the floor. "They ambushed me and had me restrained before the duel even started." Despite everything, pride crept into her voice. "I still could have handled it myself, though."

Both Raiden and Ash stared at her briefly before dissolving into teasing laughter, hands pressed over their mouths. They knew her all too well.

The last place they wanted to rest was Lunar City due to their last encounter. So they spent every ounce of strength they had making sure to minimize their time there, forcing themselves to keep moving as they maneuvered through the Dark City.

The streets teemed with people in robes and turbans, none acknowledging their presence as they marched past them, their minds preoccupied by their duties. Not even a glance.

The air was unlike anything they'd felt in a long time, wonderfully cozy. A pleasant chill ran through Raiden's spine, his body tingling with familiarity.

He was expecting Ash's unusual appearance to trigger some kind of reaction, but no one cared. It was as if they had seen worse.

Noelle tilted her head toward the dark sky. "I don't know what's going on between you and Ash, but the two of you have to protect each other."

Raiden wore a startled expression, not anticipating such an abrupt change in character.

"And thank you, Raid." Noelle's eyes darted toward the sky while Raiden's darted to her, confused.

"What for?"

[Raid?] Ash asked, tilting her head upward, her eyes darting across their faces with a mocking smile. Her words drew Raiden's attention back to what Noelle had said, his expression shifting to confusion.

Noelle paused and turned to them. "Fuck off." She sighed as Raiden and Ash exchanged confused expressions. "I was trying to be good to you for a moment, and then you fucked it up."

Raiden gave her a lazy look, then sighed. "What was I expecting?" he muttered as they all began walking past the benches lined along the middle of the street, making their way out of there once more.

However, it wasn't long before they approached the shop where they had been captured. But as they neared, Raiden's eyes narrowed as he saw not only the men who had captured them weeks ago, but also sensed a familiar presence.

Not long after, two people emerged from the shop, covered in black robes with the portrait of a menacing smile etched across the fabric.

His expression darkened as he realized they were part of his armada. But something about them was off—they seemed familiar, yet he knew it could be anyone since they had their faces covered.

Still, as they approached, the two individuals turned their way and began walking toward them. Raiden began feeling uneasy. Were they sent to cross their path and attack them for killing the justice armadas? Was that something Captain Kimberly would even do after swearing her allegiance to him?

"These two again?" Noelle asked through gritted teeth, her fists clenched as her face twitched with anger.

She began quickening her pace to meet them, which made Raiden even more confused as he wondered if Noelle knew them.

The moment they closed in, Noelle didn't hesitate for a second before blurting out, "Let's have a rematch."

The two individuals paused for a moment, confidence radiating from their dark aura.

"I heard you became the vice captain of the justice armada," she said, her voice gentle and cold, but somehow familiar to Raiden. "But trust me, you still can't defeat me, wolf."

Noelle clenched her fists even tighter as Raiden was taken aback for a moment. "Snow?"

Both figures turned to Raiden. "Hey, Raven."

Raiden let out a sigh. "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same question," Snow replied. "I thought you were at the Apex Circle by now."

Raiden shrugged while Ash's eyes darted at their faces in confusion, and Noelle stayed silent, her anger deepening by the moment.

"Walking isn't all that easy."

"Why didn't you use the teleportation portal?"

Raiden blinked at her in confusion, disappointment already settling in that no one had told him about that.

"Clearly, Anya didn't tell you about it. I figured." She shook her head and slapped her forehead, then turned to the person behind her, getting a glimpse of Noelle's expression—her face had turned completely red.

"This is Ekko, the third lieutenant alongside you and Anya." Raiden raised an eyebrow as she gestured toward him. "And Ekko, meet Raven, the new lieutenant."

Raiden could only see his blue eyes through the robe, but somehow he remembered him very clearly.

"He's been on a mission in this area for a while now, so you two haven't had the opportunity to meet officially."

Raiden sneered. "He's the one who nearly killed me, wasn't he?"

Ekko smiled, the expression somehow visible even through his mask. "I'm surprised you remembered." He approached Raiden and shook his hand. "Welcome aboard, Raven."

While Raiden and Ekko stood there, Snow turned to Noelle. "If this duel is that important to you, then I will give it to you."

Noelle's anger worsened from her words alone as her golden aura began to fluctuate. "But not now. You need to get a little bit stronger to make this a fair fight."

Noelle growled with irritation. "Are you saying I'm weak?" Snow simply shook her head in disapproval.

"Don't pity me!" Noelle's voice cracked with frustration.

"Would you calm down and listen!" Ekko said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You and Captain Snow are literally the worst match."

"Have you forgotten what happened last time?"

Snow gestured for him to stop speaking.

Noelle's expression fell. "Third captain? I'm the vice captain, for fuck's sake."

Raiden stood watching in confusion, not knowing what caused all this commotion as he saw Ekko shake his head in disbelief.

"Rule Domain," Noelle muttered as her golden aura formed a sphere around them all, even trapping bystanders. They found themselves unable to escape the barrier, but Noelle was too consumed by rage to notice their presence.

"You are mine now!" Noelle's voice cracked with both excitement and anger.

Ekko sighed as he and Snow turned to Raiden. Snow tapped Raiden on the shoulder. "Just in case you meet my master, his name is Ling, the Deathsight." She and Ekko began casually walking out of the domain. "Tell him I'm waiting for him, Raven."

Raiden stared at them with obvious confusion. How were Snow and Ekko able to walk out of the domain so effortlessly? Normally, once Noelle's targets were trapped in her domain, they couldn't walk or speak. So, how was this possible?

Raiden turned to Noelle as her eyes flickered in disbelief and her feet trembled.

"Why?" she muttered as her domain deactivated, leaving the people around them even more confused.

Raiden stared at Noelle, understanding her frustration. He would have felt the same if he had worked so hard only to have his efforts dismissed.

Ash slipped away from Raiden and walked toward Noelle, taking hold of her black shirt and pulling it to get her attention.

"You can win against her, Noelle, just not today." Noelle crouched down beside her and pulled her into a tight hug.

Raiden stood there, his expression weary, wondering how Ash could speak such wise words. But what really weighed on him was Snow.

He never knew she was this strong—he'd suspected it after seeing the strength gap between her and Anya multiple times, but he never knew she could break Noelle's rules. So why was she only a third captain?

This made him wonder: how strong were the vice captain, Ling, and Captain Kimberly?

He tilted his head back to look at the sky. "If I cross paths with her master, Ling the Deathsight, can I win?" He muttered to himself.