The Bookkeeper-Chapter 62: Counterpart

Raiden felt gentle nudgings and something soft brushing against his face. He began opening his eyes and abruptly sat upright, startling Ash, who tumbled onto the bed.

He frantically patted himself down, checking for wounds from the battle, but relief flooded through him as he broke into a smile—he was alive and unharmed.

[Papa...] Ash’s voice echoed in his head as he turned to her.

"Oh, it was you who woke me up." He said softly, reaching out to gently stroke her scales.

However, his expression darkened in an instant. He reached for his neck once more and began feeling around it, but the only thing there was his necklace.

Still, he wondered how he was alive—he couldn’t remember anything after he passed out from suffocation during his fight with old man Jasper.

Did someone rush in to save him? But even through the confusion, he smiled as he recalled the battle.

From the beginning, Jasper had intended to finish the fight before Raiden could even strike. Thinking about it made him burst into laughter, his heart filled with excitement. The old man had scattered his chains across the battlefield, probably the moment he arrived.

If it weren’t for the wager Raiden raised, it wouldn’t have been a fight at all. And Raiden got the message perfectly—Jasper wanted him to understand what it meant to be a killer without resorting to excessive violence.

Just as he sat there laughing at the memories and patting Ash, Levi walked in and leaned against the wall. His shirt hung slightly loose as he ran his hand through his ponytail.

Raiden stopped laughing and turned to him. "How’s everyone?"

He smirked. "Speed is doing perfectly fine, but as for Freya... you really don’t want to know."

Raiden paused for a moment, wondering why Levi would say that, but if he thought not knowing was for the best, then he wasn’t going to push it. He shrugged and let out a sigh.

"Did that man really escape? And how did you save me?"

Levi raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What do you mean?" The expression on Raiden’s face alone was enough to tell him what he needed to know. He shook his head in disbelief.

"You killed the old man... I just finished burning their bodies."

Raiden’s eyes widened in confusion. He killed them? How? As he pondered this, Ash nudged him with a smile, and that’s when he remembered—he smiled back.

Ash’s heart had given him strength in despair and triggered a berserk mode. So if he had won, it was probably because of that berserk state.

"You and this world never cease to amaze me," he muttered with a smile and placed Ash on his shoulder as he rose to his feet.

He headed to the washroom to clean himself up a bit while Levi remained in his position. "You still haven’t told me a thing about yourself... master."

Raiden sighed the moment Levi brought up that topic. He didn’t know why Levi was so invested in his life, but whether for better or worse, he wasn’t going to tell him anything.

The moment he returned from the washroom, Levi stood at the entrance with a cocky smile. Undeniably mysterious.

"Where are the others?" Raiden asked as he walked past him, heading out of the room.

The moment he stepped outside, before Levi could respond, he saw Soul downstairs sitting on a sofa as her overwhelming dark aura reached the ceiling.

He paused and stared at her for a moment. Soul Condemn,—he thought as he gazed at Soul.

All Raiden had was a fraction of Soul’s ability—Soul Condemn—and yet his strikes had become more impactful than he had imagined. But Soul, who had the actual ability and could evolve with it, was mostly consumed by fear. He smiled.

Just like he had promised during the battle, he was going to put aside the uneasiness he felt around her and help her overcome that fear. As a matter of fact, it would most likely deepen their bond as master and servant.

He began making his way downstairs with Levi right behind him. The moment Soul spotted him, she hurried toward Raiden and wrapped him in a hug. Raiden’s face turned crimson as he began to feel uneasy.

"Thank you..." Soul said, her voice cracking.

Raiden swallowed nervously. "Oh, really... it was nothing," he said awkwardly with a smile.

Soul pulled back from the hug, and Raiden’s expression returned to normal. He took her hand and descended the stairs into the living room. The moment they did, he bent slightly toward her.

"Look into my eyes," Raiden said as Soul’s golden eyes locked directly onto his gray ones.

"I want you to fight by my side...

Before Raiden could utter another word, he felt his danger detection activate and immediately stood upright, turning toward the corridor on his right.

"Oh... she’s coming," Levi said and began taking a few steps backward.

Raiden remained confused as they all turned toward the corridor. Who was coming? The danger seemed to be getting closer and closer, so he gestured for Soul to stand behind him, and she did.

He tilted his head toward Levi to see him on the third floor, leaning against the rails with a smile.

Before he could turn back to the corridor, Ash leaped off Raiden’s shoulder onto the sofa, yawned, and settled down on it. Unbothered by everything transpiring.

The next thing Raiden felt was a strike to his cheek that sent him crashing to the ground. He clutched his face and turned toward the direction the strike came from, enraged. But the moment he saw who it was, his expression shifted.

"Freya?!" he asked, confused.

But Freya stood before him, panting heavily with fury in her eyes and bandages wrapped around her head.

She rushed toward Raiden and struck again, but Raiden easily avoided it. Another strike followed, which he dodged as well. Still, he was confused, unable to understand what exactly was going on, but with the anger in Freya’s heart, there was no way he could get her to speak freely.

"I order you to stop!" Freya instantly commanded, her face twisted with anger, clearly not acting of her own will.

Raiden had seen her this way before, but that’s when his eyes widened in realization. The concussion she had suffered during her fight with Axel had made her recover her memories—now she was furious that Raiden had manipulated her into forming a contract with him.

Raiden began laughing. "I didn’t lie to you, you know?"

Freya gritted her teeth. "You may have control over my body, but not my mind and soul... I will kill you."

Raiden laughed even harder. He turned to Soul and bent down beside her once more.

"We’ll talk later, okay?" he said and patted her on the head.

Soul gave him a gentle nod.

At that moment, Raiden ordered Freya to follow him, and without her consent, her body began moving behind Raiden.

"You killed my servant, you brat, nearly killed me, and manipulated me into signing a contract with you," she said angrily. "Coward."

Raiden said nothing; he simply smiled and walked into Freya’s room. There, he ordered her to take a seat, and he leaned against the wall.

He knew the day Freya would recover her memories was bound to come. Though he wasn’t expecting it this soon, he already knew what to do.

"You are just like me, aren’t you?" Freya’s blue aura fluctuated with anger, and he could see it all too well, but he had to speak.

"You want to get stronger, perhaps for something similar to mine."

"You don’t know a thing about me."

Raiden raised his hands in submission. "Yes, I don’t... but the smile on your face when we formed the contract, the moment you turned seven, said it all."

Raiden’s expression darkened. "I don’t want to be a master; well, I don’t want anyone to serve me solely because of a contract."

He smiled once more. "And I’m sure if you do remember your recent memories, you’ll have a reason or two to serve me."

Freya narrowed her eyes as her aura finally remained calm, and Raiden knew he was on the right track.

"We can achieve everything together, and unless necessary—you already know—I do not issue commands."

Freya was a formidable ally—making an enemy of her would be very bad for Raiden, so even though she was his servant, he had to remain calm and collected around her.

"I don’t want to work for anyone; I just want to get stronger," Freya said with her sharp tone.

Raiden smiled and locked eyes with Freya. He didn’t have to talk anymore; Freya already knew Raiden could help with that.

"Okay, but never call me your slave," Freya narrowed her eyes. "Or I will kill you."

Raiden raised his hands in submission. "Alright, you are free."

He turned to the door, and his hand rested on the handle. "What if I call you Free, then?"

Freya sneered.

Raiden giggled. "You are free to move, Free," he said and left the room.

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