The Bookkeeper

Screams tore through the crowd and reverberated across the arena. Crimson painted the floor more than ever before as spectators murmured in confusion and fear.

The dark thoughts behind Noelle's blunt expression were unmistakable; this wasn't just combat, it was a massacre. She rained down strikes on her opponent even while clutching her gut, trying to stem her own bleeding.

With his elbow braced against his thigh and fist propping up his chin, Raiden sat contemplatively. An aether cigarette hung between his lips as he stared through Noelle's domain, seeing it now through his newfound gaze.

With each inhale, he felt the smoke spread through his spine. The mana he gradually infused into his eyes helped prevent the technique from overwhelming him, though his vision still blurred intermittently.

His own discomfort, however, was of little concern to him. What held his attention was the brutal fight transpiring between Noelle and her opponent.

He had hoped to witness emotions flickering from their chests, but regardless of what transpired—the devastating strikes Noelle delivered that sent waves of fear through the spectators, the opponent's pleas for help that gave voice to his desperation—neither combatant revealed anything. No crimson aura radiated from their forms.

Raiden watched with a calm expression. Only hours before, he had seen Noelle's emotions shifting around her form. Had it been a fluke? Or perhaps it wasn't emotion he'd witnessed at all, but rather some side effect of his altered sight?

His mind churned through racing thoughts as his golden eyes swept across every movement, from the fighters below to the crowd above. But the audience was so absorbed by the fight's raw intensity that they remained silent.

He leaned backward a bit, remembering. When his eyes had first detected that red sensation, he had felt it immediately—an instinctive recognition that required no explanation. But now there was nothing. So, how was that possible?

Then Raiden heard it: "Wolf wins!"

He let out a sigh, but a voice dragged his attention in an instant.

"I can defeat her… those petty tricks? Spare me your sympathy… what do you take me for?!" A voice boomed from the crowd, and Raiden felt it immediately. He smiled as he observed the man's emotions flickering in red, bleeding through his white aura.

"Could it be?" he whispered, eyes bright with sudden understanding.

The man's boast was clearly a lie, fueled by nothing but pride. Was it possible that he could only see emotions connected to deception?

He rubbed his forehead, that knowing smile still playing on his lips.

"Why do you look so happy?" Noelle asked. Raiden glanced over to find her torso wrapped in bandages, her bloodstained clothes exchanged for clean ones, while she held out part of her meal to him.

"Do you really want to know why?" Raiden reached out for the offered bread.

"No, I don't." Noelle dropped down beside him.

His expression darkened as he watched her carefully. No emotions flickered into view. If she hadn't wanted to know, why ask in the first place? Shouldn't that contradiction have appeared as a lie to his enhanced vision?

"That was my last fight in this arena," Noelle said, staring down at the ground. "I've been selected to join the Justice Armada."

She looked over at Raiden. "You have to fight for your own meals now."

Raiden's smile was wistful. "That was too fast…"

Noelle looked at him directly as she carefully lifted Ash from his shoulder. "I'm taking her with me. She deserves better than this life."

Raiden's hand found his chest. "That hurts my pride." He shifted closer, testing whether she might lie. "Did you mean it?"

"No, I didn't." No emotions manifested, nothing whatsoever. Her expression remained unreadable as she observed his awkward positioning. "I'd better go."

Rising to her feet, she threw Raiden three additional aether cigarettes. "Make sure to join us soon. We have bigger missions than this." She walked away without a backward glance, heading for the arena's exit.

Raiden felt perplexed, caught between possibilities. Either Noelle had been completely honest, or there were aspects of his Retinal Rift he had yet to discover.

Darkness was already settling over the arena, and the reluctant expressions on the other fighters' faces made it clear none of them wanted to compete. This was the perfect opportunity for him to make his mark as Raven.

He stood up and surveyed the crowd. Everyone was still talking about Noelle's fighter name, Wolf, while he remained unnoticed in her shadow.

"Time to test the lie detection for the night. Maybe I can bait a few people into challenging me tomorrow." A smirk crossed his face as he started moving through the crowd.

"The truly powerful don't view her as a threat, or she'd be dead already."

"That kid Jojo, I've heard about? He wouldn't have to exert himself against her."

Multiple conversations overlapped as people debated which fighters could overpower Noelle without effort. Among all the names being thrown around, 'Jojo' stood out to Raiden. If his memory was accurate, that was the kid who'd earned recognition as a hero in the desert regions.

Raiden focused on a scruffy man wearing a blue bandana that covered his red hair, encircled by people of the same rough demeanor.

"You really believe Jojo can defeat Wolf?" Raiden asked, wearing his most cheerful smile. But as soon as the group registered his presence, fear took hold, and they scrambled backward.

Raiden shook his head; he should have expected this. Being Noelle's only companion meant asking these weaklings anything would make them assume he was either looking to start trouble or gather information to report back.

He raised his hands in submission. "Don't worry, I mean no harm." But his words only seemed to make it worse. Terror spread across their faces, and before Raiden knew it, they were running away.

He scratched the back of his head in disappointment. The moment he turned, however, he instinctively leaped backward, stumbling on the stairs but managing to put distance between himself and the six men who had appeared.

Each one radiated a dark aura, clad in black with the Chaos Armada's menacing smile crest emblazoned on their clothes. Perhaps these were the ones the men from earlier had truly feared. However, what troubled Raiden wasn't their threatening appearance, but how he'd failed to notice them.

This wasn't the first time. He'd missed Zion's approach two days ago too. Was his danger sense dulling, or were these people simply that powerful?

Fear lodged in his throat as goosebumps rippled across his body.