Chapter 269: Regret Ever Being Born

You wouldn’t want anything to happen to her, would you...??"

Raiden stared at his phone screen with an undisguised killing intent.

"Who are you??" His voice came out low and dangerous, stripped of every ounce of the warmth he’d shown Iris or Isadora.

There was a brief pause on the other end, followed by a familiar chuckle that made Raiden’s blood boil.

"How can you forget me so soon, Raiden? I’m hurt, really. I was by far your leader in Platoon Four. We spent months together, shared meals, fought beasts, saved each other’s lives. And this is how you greet an old friend?"

Raiden’s eyes narrowed.

"Bai Zheng."

"Ah, so you do remember. I was worried for a second there."

"You fucking bastard." Raiden’s voice dropped even lower, and the air around him seemed to grow heavier. "How dare you call me? After what you did? After everything?"

On the other end, Bai Zheng’s smile faded slightly. He had expected anger, but not this level of cold fury. Raiden had always been shameless and annoying, but he had never been scary. Not like this.

"There there, listen here little boy, that’s no way to speak to a—"

"No, you listen." Raiden cut him off, his voice rising with every word. "If any harm comes to Sylvia, any harm at all, I will find you. I will find every single person involved in this. And I will burn you all to the ground. Do you understand me? I will burn everything you love, everything you care about, everything you’ve ever built, until there’s nothing left but ash."

There was a long silence on the other end.

Then Bai Zheng sighed.

"Na, ah, ah. It doesn’t work that way, Raiden." His voice was calm now, almost gentle, which somehow made it worse. "You know how the stuff is. Your sister is in our hands. She really wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to her, would you? So if you really, really value her safety, you need to fulfil some of our demands."

Raiden’s jaw clenched so hard he could hear his teeth grinding.

"What demands?"

"Simple. First, you call off the lockdown. The entire city block needs to be cleared. No police, no military, no Solaris clan, no Stormwind family, nobody. You make them all withdraw, and you do it quietly. No announcements, no warnings, nothing that would tip anyone off."

"And second?"

"You come to us. Alone. No Terra Beasts, no backup hiding around the corner, no clever little tricks. Just you. And you do it now, if you want to see Sylvia in one piece."

Raiden was silent for a long moment.

The wind howled around him, and Woolie’s lightning crackled softly in his ears, but he barely noticed. His mind was racing, calculating, running through every possible scenario, every possible outcome.

Finally, he spoke.

"How can I trust you to uphold your end?"

Bai Zheng chuckled.

"You can’t. Not fully. But you can trust that we have no reason to hurt her if you cooperate. Hurting her would only make you more desperate, more dangerous. And frankly, none of us wants to deal with an even angrier version of you than the one we’re already dealing with."

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the only answer you’re going to get."

Raiden was quiet again.

Then, slowly, he spoke.

"Fine. I’ll do it. But if you hurt her, if you so much as scratch her, I will make you regret the day you were born."

"Glad we understand each other." Bai Zheng’s voice was almost cheerful now. "Oh, and Raiden? One more thing. Don’t inform Isadora or Yuna. Don’t inform anyone. If they find out, if they interfere, Sylvia pays the price. We’ll send you the location in a few minutes. Be there within the hour, alright?? Caio~"

The call ended.

Raiden stared at the phone in his hand, his knuckles white around it.

Then he shoved it into his pocket and turned to face the three Terra Beasts watching him with varying degrees of concern and anger.

"Woolie. Rose. Neva." His voice was quiet. Controlled. "I need you to do something for me."

"Woolie Woo?" Woolie tilted his head.

"I need you to stay hidden. They said I have to come alone, but I don’t trust those fucking bastards at all. Just... stay out of sight. Don’t interfere unless I say so. Understand?"

Woolie’s ears perked up.

"Woolie Woo!!" We’re still coming with you??

"Yeah. Just... quietly. From a distance. If things go bad, if they hurt Sylvia, if they try to trap me, then you three come in. But not before. Not unless I say so."

Rose’s eyes narrowed.

"Hiss..." And if they hurt you??

Raiden’s smile was thin. "Then you three do whatever you want. Remember, as soon as anything bad goes down, your first and only priority is saving Sylvia and getting her out of there. Then, and only then, we can fight with full force. Got it??"

That was all the permission they needed.

Woolie’s lightning flared, Rose’s body coiled tighter, and Neva’s eyes blazed.

"Sha Sha!!" Neva’s voice was fierce. We’ll be right behind you, Rai Rai~ Always.

Raiden nodded.

"Good. Now let’s move."

He messaged Isadora and Maple, asking them to call off their forces for now, saying it’s very, urgent, before sending one last message in the end.

"Trust me."

A few minutes later, his phone buzzed with a new notification.

An abandoned warehouse district on the far side of the city, near the old docks. Raiden memorised it instantly, then pocketed his phone and started walking.

He didn’t call Isadora; he didn’t call Yuna. He didn’t dare to call anyone. Even if there was a very minute chance of Sylvia getting hurt, he wasn’t willing to take the risk at all.

He just walked, alone, through the too-calm city, with his three Terra Beasts hidden somewhere behind him, following at a distance.

As he walked, his mind was quiet.

Every thought, every emotion, every scrap of fear and anger and desperation had been compressed into a single, sharp point.

Sylvia.

Get her back.

Make them pay.

He didn’t know who these people were. He didn’t know why they wanted him. He didn’t know what they were planning.

And he didn’t care.

All he knew was that they had taken his sister.

And for that, they were going to pay.

The warehouse district came into view after twenty minutes of walking, all rusted metal and broken windows and silence. Raiden’s steps didn’t slow. If anything, they got faster.

Somewhere behind him, hidden in the shadows, Woolie, Rose, and Neva followed.

And somewhere ahead, in one of those rusted warehouses, Sylvia was waiting.

Raiden’s jaw clenched.

’As soon as I get there,’ he thought, his eyes burning with a fire that matched the red flame brand he’d seen in Iris’s description, ’I’m going to make them regret ever being born.’

He kept walking.

The warehouse loomed ahead.

And Raiden Ashford walked straight toward it, alone, with nothing but his rage and the promise of violence keeping him company.

Behind him, hidden in the shadows, three pairs of eyes watched, waiting for this chance to bring hell.