Raid: The Blacksmith-Chapter 68: Be It An Ant Or A Dragon: Part Two

In the Reinhart Family Household, there situates a nice abundant little garden, the center of which acts as the site of a seating arrangement. An incredibly fancy sizeable table surrounded by four comfortable chairs. Two of these chairs are vacant. The other two?...

"It been quite a while, hasn’t it sister?"

"Not long enough in my view. But I guess it can’t be helped. The death of a direct family member of the Reinhardt Family isn’t something to be taken lightly, so of course it warrants the instant gathering of all other members."

"You say that...however He isn’t here."

"You know exactly why that’s the case. He’s a different breed. He has certain specific responsibilities we can only hope that one day, dad will trust us with as well."

"... Father... I wonder how he’s feeling right now."

"He just recently lost his youngest son. How do you think he’s feeling?"

"I pride myself in being able to read people’s emotions with despisable accuracy but even I can’t tell what goes on in that man’s head. He’s exactly the same as Him in that regard... Or should I say it’s the other way around?"

What is currently taking place is a conversation between two direct members of the Reinhardt Family. Zeke’s siblings. His older brother Zack, the strongest A-Rank Warrior in the Family as well as its fourth strongest member, and his even older sister Zen, who, as its third strongest member, is one of only three S-Rank Warriors in the Family. They’re seated on two of the four chairs that surround the table in between, directly facing each other. Behind them each, stands a pair of Warriors, their attendants and members of their respective parties. All four of Andrew’s children are leaders of their own parties, whose members mostly consist of children of the Vassal Families of the Reinhardt Family, and right now both Zack and Zen are accompanied by two of said-children of said-Vassal Families.

Of Zack’s attendants, there is Gemma Recivia, a B-Rank Tamer Class Warrior and Feckle Freys, a B-Rank Knight Class. And of Zen’s two attendants, there is Lidia Remona, an A-Rank Mage Class, and Diara Heart, an A-Rank Alchemist Class. The four attendants simply remain quite as their leaders continue to converse.

Their conversation, similar to every other conversation they’ve had before, is, as always, dull, dry and devoid of any familial bond. This is isn’t because they haven’t seen one another in multiple years but simply because... they just don’t like each other. Sure, there might be a certain level of respect... and acknowledgement at the fact that they belong to the same family, however, they don’t see that as a reason to be in each other’s good graces. As such, even though Zeke is now dead, they don’t mourn him the same way their father does, feeling almost indifferent, and seeing the entire situation as having one less obstacle to worry about in the ongoing battle for their father’s approval.

"To think he died by the hands of a measly F-Rank." Says Zack. His words carrying a tone of pure disappointment, not at Zeke specifically, but at what that means for the Reinhardt Family name.

"So it is true." Zen asks in a curious tone. She heard from various different sources, but didn’t look into it any further to confirm as it sounded too ridiculous to be true. A sadistic smile then forms on her face. This interests her. She has always found great solice in exploring the unknown. Ultimately anything that seems incomprehensible, and basically bathed in mystery will always catch her attention without fail.

As the smartest member of the Family, she always thrives to understand things other people would normally deem unexplainable. Now that she’s confirmed that it is true that Raid is in fact the one who killed Zeke, having heard it from Zack, whom she trusts has already done his research and would not utter such words so lightly without anything to back them up, she doesn’t make an effort to consider other possibilities as to how Raid was able to kill a Warrior of a higher Rank than him. Whether he may be falsifying his Rank, or if he has a high level Warrior backing him. None of that registers in her mind. To her, Raid is in fact an F-Rank, and did in fact kill Zeke along with his party on his own. Now she just needs to find out how he did it, and what other secrets he may potentially be hiding.

"The first and only F-Rank in history, ey? Interesting."

"Uh-oh... I know that look. What are you planning?"

"For now, nothing really." Zen quickly answers Zack. "I’ll just observe. Albeit closely, but that’s pretty much it. After all, I don’t even know how this Raid fella looks."

"Surprising, considering he’s the "hottest" thing among rookie Dungeon topics right now."

"I bet, but I want the first time I see him to be face to face. I won’t really get to truly enjoy this otherwise." Zen says with a sinister smirk, seated with her legs crossed while her chin rests on her raised right hand.

"You’re a freak, you know that?"

"So I’ve been told." She answers with a more genuine innocent looking smile. Her attentions behind it however, anything but.

*******

He sits the top of a hill made of rubble. In the center of what remains of a once proud and noble palace. A palace that used to be the safe haven of a strong and powerful Family. The Lotus Family. In the Philippines, at the top of a great mountain, the ruins of the palace lay surrounding him, painting an unrecognizable picture of what once was. As he sits, his hand holds a holographic tablet relaying a message to him.

"My brother has died." He says in response. "At the hands of someone claimed to be an F-Rank no less... If this were a joke, it’d be an incredibly mean one." He sighs. A hint of sadness in his voice. It’s faint. Almost unnoticeable. "If I had been just a little faster in completing my missions, then maybe..." He pauses. "No. There’s no help in thinking that way now. What’s done is done..."

As he laments the loss of his younger brother, faint sounds of squirming traverse through the air, as if someone is in pain. He looks to the direction they’re coming from. Moving his gaze over the uncountable dead bodies that lay on the ground surrounding him.

"Oh. You’re still alive? Did I go too easy on you?"

"Easy? This... to you... is easy?" Replies the person of which the squirming from before came from. He’s an old, long bearded man, clad in stereotypical Chinese royal clothing, or at least what remains of it anyway. He’s the Family Head of the Lotus Family, and he has just now witnessed a horror beyond anything he’d ever seen before. That is, the true strength of a single high level S-Rank. "Why? Just why... did you do this?" He asks, his voice low, as if whispering, not because he wants to, but because all strength has left his body to point that he can’t even muster up the energy needed to shout enough to be heard.

"Why? You ask? It’s simple really. My father just has no use for subordinates who can’t follow simple orders."

"’’Simple’’ orders? We weren’t your subordinates. We were partners, at least we thought so anyway. But your father... No. Your father’s a madman. Do you even know what he asked of us?"

"I do not, and frankly, I don’t need to." He says as he gets up from the pile of rubble, approaching the Lotus Family Head in the process. He then picks him up from the ground by his neck with one hand while his other hand still holds his tablet... and begins squeezing slowly. The Lotus Family Head struggles lazily and almost immediately runs out of air. And dies. His body drops boneless as He let’s go of it. His mission is now officially complete. The Lotus Family is no more.

Ten S-Ranks, one-hundred and fifty-two A-Ranks, three-hundred and eleven B-Ranks, three-hundred and eighty-one C-Ranks and two-hundred and fifteen D-Ranks have all died by this single man’s hands.

"I want to go back to Niger as soon as possible but... knowing father, he’ll have different plans for me, viewing this situation as "beneath my capabilities", while he’ll also want to take matters into his own hands. It’s not that I don’t trust my Family to deal with this matter accordingly. I just don’t like the idea of sitting tight after some no name kills my beloved brother. Be it an ant or a dragon. Anyone who tries to harm my Family will inevitably taste my wrath." He declares quietly. "Raid, huh? Pray that my father gets to you before I do, or you’ll curse the day you decided to lay your hands on my kin." The tablet in his hands instantly disappear as he says that. Up above, about a hundred thousand kilometres from where he stands, it floats quietly. He’s thrown it. He then elegantly moves his right hand to his left hip, unclipping a fancy looking pistol from his waist and waves said-hand upward, gun in tow. Without even looking at his target to aim, he pulls the trigger, and the tablet almost instantly shatters. Destroyed by a bullet roughly about the size of a baby’s thumb.

This is the most powerful member of the Reinhardt Family. The only person who’s stronger than even Andrew Reinhardt himself. He loves his family to no end, and cherishes it above all else. He’s the only one among Andrew’s kids, who truly cared about Zeke. And he cares similarly for his younger sister Zen, and other younger brother Zack as well. To him, the so called competition for their father’s approval is just light hearted banter between siblings. However, much like Andrew, he doesn’t know how to convey his love in any meaningful emotional manner, rather only through his actions. The high level S-Rank Soldier Class Warrior of the Reinhardt Family. His name... is Zane. Zane Reinhardt.