Steel flashed through the darkness.
The first assassin lunged at Kael with twin blades.
Clang!
Kael blocked the strike and drove his elbow into the attacker's chest. The man crashed into a bookshelf, sending ancient records flying.
Across the room, Lucien moved like a shadow.
His daggers spun through the air.
Two assassins attacked together.
One swung a chain.
The other aimed a poisoned knife.
Lucien ducked under the chain, caught the knife hand, and flipped the attacker over his shoulder. Before the second assassin recovered, Lucien's dagger stopped just short of his throat.
"Tell me who sent you."
The assassin laughed.
"You'll find out... when the Ravens fall."
He bit down on a hidden poison capsule.
Within seconds, he was dead.
Lucien cursed under his breath.
"No witness."
Kael had already defeated the last two attackers.
The room fell silent again.
Then Kael noticed something strange.
One assassin wore the emblem of the Black Raven Guild beneath his cloak.
"...Our own guild?"
Lucien nodded grimly.
"I told you."
"The enemy isn't only outside."
Before they could investigate further, a small metallic object rolled across the floor.
Tick... Tick... Tick...
Kael's eyes widened.
"Bomb!"
He grabbed Lucien's arm.
"Run!"
A deafening explosion ripped through the archive.
The ancient chamber collapsed behind them as they escaped into another hidden tunnel.
Covered in dust, they finally stopped to catch their breath.
Lucien looked at Kael.
"You could've left me."
Kael looked away.
"It would've slowed me down to carry your corpse."
Lucien gave a faint smile.
"For someone who hates me... you keep saving my life."
Kael didn't answer.
For the first time, neither of them noticed that the distance between them had grown just a little smaller.
Far above the tunnels, the hooded mastermind watched the destruction on a monitor.
"Good..."
"They're starting to trust each other."
"Now it's time to reveal the first betrayal."
...................
The tunnel opened into an abandoned underground train station once used by the Guild decades ago.
The silence was broken by slow, deliberate footsteps.
A familiar figure emerged from the shadows.
"Kael."
Kael's grip tightened on his sword.
"...Commander Darius."
Darius was Kael's mentor—the man who had taught him how to fight after his parents died. Loyal, disciplined, and respected by every member of the Black Raven Guild.
Seeing him here should have been a relief.
Instead, Kael noticed something odd.
Darius was alone.
"You've been through enough," Darius said calmly. "Come with me. The Guild is waiting."
Lucien stepped forward.
"No."
Darius's eyes shifted to him.
"You don't trust me?"
Lucien replied quietly, "The assassins who attacked us wore Black Raven insignias. Someone inside the Guild ordered the attack."
For a brief moment, Darius smiled.
"You've always been clever."
Before Kael could react—
Bang!
A concealed pistol fired.
The bullet grazed Kael's shoulder.
"Darius...?"
Kael stared in disbelief.
His mentor lowered the smoking pistol.
"I'm sorry, Kael."
"But a new era cannot begin while the old bloodline still lives."
From the darkness, dozens of armed mercenaries surrounded the station.
Lucien pulled Kael behind a concrete pillar.
"You finally believe me?"
Kael clenched his jaw.
"...Yes."
The betrayal cut deeper than the bullet.
The man he had trusted for years had tried to kill him.
Darius raised his hand.
"Take them alive."
"If they resist..."
"Kill them."
Kael looked at Lucien.
"We can't win this head-on."
Lucien unfolded an old map he had taken from the archive.
"There should be an emergency exit beneath the tracks."
Kael nodded.
"Then we fight our way there."
As the mercenaries advanced, the two newlyweds stood side by side once more.
This time, not because of the marriage contract—
But because they had no one else left to trust.
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