I Guard The Book That Slays Gods

It took Raiden almost forever to calm his rage, and though it never fully disappeared, when it finally settled, he found himself wanting to suggest they head to the palace and get back home.

Their passage through the palace was surprisingly smooth. The guards never questioned their motives, and the king never requested their presence. It was as if everything had been arranged for them in advance—perhaps by Princess Alora.

The moment they returned to the mansion, Ash had already fallen asleep in Noelle's arms, and she immediately hurried to her room. Meanwhile, Raiden, with Levi by his side, made sluggish movements, his body leaning from side to side in both fatigue and frustration as he made his way to the living room.

When they reached the living room, Alora sat on a sofa positioned to face the door, sipping a cup of coffee.

Raiden barely registered her presence as he gradually made his way to the sofa opposite the grand staircase and sank into it. All that filled his mind was sleep.

"You look spent," Alora said, placing a cup down.

Raiden didn't say a word, just leaned into his seat, and before long, his eyes were gently drifting closed.

Levi, however, took the seat opposite Alora and began massaging his neck before adjusting his ponytail.

"Don't mind him," he replied, settling back into his seat. "We encountered someone quite formidable."

Alora remained calm with her expression unreadable, unlike the energetic demeanor she always displayed around Raiden.

"The mysterious girl?" she asked, turning slightly toward Raiden, who remained in his slumber.

Levi shook his head. "No, this was something more sinister. The FIRMO." He smirked and leaned his head back.

"It's funny—I worked for them all this time, but never got to know they had such powerful people."

Alora rested her chin on her hand. "Interesting… and why are you still alive?"

Levi shrugged and stood up. He couldn't tell her they weren't FIRMO's main target at that moment, and he was obviously cautious about Alora's perceptive abilities.

With an awkward expression and sweat beginning to form on his forehead, he clearly wanted to avoid any situation where he might slip up and reveal something to her.

"I can't tell you why, but I'm glad I am alive," he said and began leaving the room, waving at Alora over his shoulder.

Alora watched him leave, her white hair spilling over the back of the sofa. She reached for her coffee cup and took a sip.

"Something isn't right," she muttered to herself. She remained seated for a brief moment before finally rising to her feet and walking out of the hall.

Raiden would have wanted his slumber to last forever, even though he had no specific dream worth remembering. But perhaps in that endless sleep, he wouldn't have had to worry about why the FIRMO posed a threat to Ash or obsess over his hatred for his new enemy.

Before long, morning had arrived. Raiden gently rubbed his eyes with his hands braced against his thighs.

His thoughts paced back and forth as he struggled to push their encounter from the night before out of his mind. Those eyes, and the voices they seemed to speak—he just couldn't let go.

FIRMO was already his enemy, but to know someone of such caliber was among their ranks made him want to destroy them more. Yet he knew his rage and thirst for revenge would likely amount to nothing if he didn't understand what had truly happened that night.

The presence they'd encountered was definitely too powerful for just one person, yet even though they were four against their opponents, only one enemy seemed to possess such a commanding presence.

He ran his hand through his hair aggressively. He needed to close the strength gap before anything else, because if the others were all as strong as the white-haired guy, they were in serious trouble.

Just as he sat there, lost in thought, he saw Noelle and Ash descending the stairs with MK behind them. The wound on Ash's forehead had completely healed, but she still didn't look happy at all.

He began to wonder if she looked that way because he hadn't attacked when he had the opportunity. He knew he should have, especially seeing Ash struggling on the floor to get back up, but at the same time, he knew he couldn't have won.

He clenched his fist with growing frustration as he began to remember the kind of fear Ash had overcome just to attack, but he had cowered.

Once they came down, Raiden gestured toward Ash to come to him, and she moved into his arms with her eyes cast downward.

Before he could speak with Ash, however, Noelle spoke up, her hands trembling where they rested on her waist.

"We need to tell the others how strong the FIRMO really is," she said with her voice cracking.

Raiden concentrated on her trembling condition, wondering what was causing her distress. If he could remember correctly, her domain had been effortlessly destroyed the moment she'd activated it, overwhelmed by her opponent's strength alone—but he could tell that wasn't the only reason she appeared so terrified.

She clenched her fist. "These people have my mother, and if I can't even hold my domain in their presence, then I have failed already." Her words carried determination, but her trembling voice betrayed her fear.

Raiden smirked and gently patted Ash's head. "Can we talk after this?" Ash turned to him and nodded firmly.

His thoughts from minutes ago had been about growing stronger, and if she held the same conviction, then it was worth pursuing.

"Why don't you gather everyone and tell them?" Raiden suggested. The moment he spoke, Noelle didn't need to say anything—MK was already heading down the corridors to find everyone.

Noelle couldn't find peace even with Raiden's agreement to have them all get stronger. She drew an aether cigarette from her pocket and began smoking instantly.

Seeing her intensely serious expression, Raiden felt the urge to ease the tension. This wasn't just for her, but also to calm his own churning thoughts.

"You never run out of aethers, do you?" Raiden said sarcastically with a smile, but his words seemed to barely register with her.

Her eyes stared into the distance, obviously lost in her own world. Raiden began to grasp the burden she had been trying to suppress all this time. Her mother's plight clearly devastated her, but bound by duty, she had to pretend it didn't.

They understood each other at this moment. Each carried private reasons for wanting FIRMO's destruction, elevating their guardianship of the Devourer books beyond mere responsibility into something intensely personal.

Failure wasn't an option.