Way of the Knights

---

"My deepest apologies, Young Lord. I should've monitored the situation closely I - "

"Don't sweat it." Raven interrupted before she could even finish her words. "I'm not mad or disappointed. What happened already happened. Instead of blaming them or yourself, we should just make do with what we have."

"However, Young Lord. Allowing some people to leave will significantly weaken our forces. I'm afraid that the upcoming battles against the other candidates will become more challenging. Are we seriously letting them go?"

"Kyrie you have to understand something." Raven stated as he continued walking at a brisk pace, touring the fortress. "Forcing people to lay down their lives for the sake of something good or bad will never be a good idea."

"Ancestor Zeus as well as his Brothers never forced anyone to fight alongside of them. They did so for the greater good. I would even venture that they couldn't care less whether they'll be sung as heroes or sinners. They just wanted to do what they think is right."

"The army is an army, not a bunch of slaves." Raven stated calmly. "If they want to serve me as their lord and fight by my side even after knowing the risks, then they are free to do so. If they won't, then I don't like to be unnecessary cruel and force them to lay down their lives for the sake of the greater good. At most, these people will just become unnecessary casualties or Converted Devils when the battle comes."

"I'd rather have warriors who will fight willingly even if their numbers aren't that great, rather than having an army of unwilling warriors who will end up being casualties or worse, Converted Devils that I'd have to deal with."

"Like I said, we'll make do with what we have. Few or many, with an army or without, doesn't make a difference to me."

Raven bold tone filled with absolute confidence about himself stunned Kyrie to speechlessness. She could help but feel her entire core shaken with this declaration. She was in awe and at the same time, Raven's pride was rubbing off to her. 

Kyrie had no idea where his confidence comes from however for some unknown reason, she could feel that his confidence aren't entirely baseless. 

In the end, Kyrie could only sigh and deal with the matters according to their order. At this point, she had placed her absolute faith in Raven and whatever comes out of this, she'll just face it as well. 

There's no turning back.

---

Raven toured the entirety of the Fortress. 

It was huge and very damaged yet even if such was the case, Raven didn't utter any kind of displeasure nor joy. He just looked at it impassively whilst his thoughts remain unclear. After his tour, Raven retreated to the personal quarters which was specifically designed for him. 

Beside him, no one else was allowed to enter this place without his permission. And despite the run-down appearance of the Fortress, this room remained intact and clean. 

The room was very simple. It has polished stone floor and walls. There is a large bed, a closet, a bed side table, a bathroom and a secret chamber where he could fit. 

Raven nodded softly upon seeing this place. He decided to spend the night here since there are still somethings that they needed to do in this fortress. 

When he woke up the next day, Raven did his morning rituals and ate a simple meal. By the time he exited his room, Kyrie was already waiting for him outside of his room. 

They exchanged some pleasantries before they began walking towards the Central Hall once again to see who decided to remain and who decided to leave amongst the soldiers. 

Way before he could even enter, he could already hear the sounds of argument going on, he could even feel the tense mood coming from the room. Raven's face remained stoic. They eventually arrived at the doors, Raven pushed it open using a hand. 

The doors emitted a loud creaking sound since it's made out of thick Profound Wrought Iron. This caught the attention of the arguing soldiers inside. They shut their mouths once they saw Raven and Kyrie calmly strolling ahead. 

To Raven's surprise, he saw that the moldy throne was now cleaned at least. And compared before, the disgusting smell of mixed body odors and ashes were now gone. Raven didn't show any changes on his face as he noticed all of this. He simply sat down on the throne and gazed at the soldiers who were visibly divided into two camps. 

The group on the left was visibly lesser compared to the group on the right. 

All of them stared at Raven. No one spoke which caused the entire atmosphere to be very tense. Raven could already see some clues judging by their expressions and how they looked at him. Nevertheless, he remained quiet. Causing this awkward and tense atmosphere to be prolonged. 

All of the soldiers were undoubtedly capable, else they wouldn't considered as specialized soldiers that's meant to be commanded by a Candidate of Zeus, and even if they were reduced at this state, they remained veterans and thus not meant to be underestimated. 

Nevertheless, all of this veterans felt very pressured upon meeting the gaze of Raven. This was quote surprising considering the fact that Raven wasn't deliberately making things difficult for them. He wasn't releasing his aura nor any ounce of killing intent. However, just his state alone was enough for them feel as if they were being eyed by a God Beast. 

The silence pervaded for several minutes until Raven abruptly straightened his back. This small action of his greatly startled the soldiers. Most of them jolted while others retreated. 

Kyrie who's watching all of this happened had an amused smile on her face. As expected of her Young Lord. Even his slightest actions could cause these battle-hardened warriors to be alarmed. 

"The current time is the same time that I gave you the ultimatum yesterday, which means a whole days had passed. According to the deadline I gave you, now's the time for you to decide whether you should leave or stay." Raven's sonorous voice echoed across the hall, causing the soldiers to visibly relax. 

And here they thought he was about to kill them all...

"Those who decided to stay, remain in this hall." Raven stated. "Those who wanted to leave, step forward and let me terminate your contracts."

Once he made this announcement, the people of the right unhesitatingly stepped forward. The group on the left scowled as they see this, even Kyrie couldn't help but snorting derisively. Nevertheless, nobody from the leaving group cared about what others think. 

Once they stepped forward, all of them kowtowed in front of Raven. One of them stepped further compared to the rest, this one was the spokesperson of this group. 

"On behalf of my Brothers, I thank the Lord for granting us a chance." The spokesperson knocked his head three times in succession. "Oh Merciful Lord, forgive us for retreating like this. We only hope to live in peace with our families and go back our hometowns. Please grant us this wish, OH Magnanimous Lord."

"Rise all of you." Raven ordered while waving his hand. The people who were kowtowing to him felt an irresistible force pulling them up and forcing them to stand. They were shocked but they didn't say anything. 

"You don't need to kowtow to me. I gave you this chance and you have made your choice. From now on, I'm no longer your Lord." 

Raven waved his hand once more, this time a surprising scene happened. From the bodies of the leafing group, a maroon orb came out. Everybody who saw this were shocked. How can they not be? Wasn't this orb the same orb that bound them to this life at the first place? 

This maroon orb is the Binding Contract of the soldiers. Now that Raven force it out of their bodies, it means that he will remain true to his words. 

"By my name and status as the 9th Chosen of Zeus. I, Vendrick Valorheart, order you to erase your memories about the important secrets pertaining to the Ancient Elysium Sect and hereby terminate your contracts. This order will be implemented now." 

*Weng!*

A powerful fluctuation was released by the maroon orbs. The leaving group of warriors all simultaneously lost consciousness. Everybody who remained awake saw how the maroon orb gradually lost it's brilliance and turned into dust particles which scattered by the wind. 

Raven then turned into Kyrie and passed a spatial ring to her. 

"Their final pay is in here. Get them out of the mountain for me, will you? And uh...be gentle with them, okay? Don't make their lives harder anymore." Raven requested with a peculiar expression on his face. 

Kyrie could only sigh in defeat and nod. With a wave of her hand, she disappeared along with the group of unconscious people on the ground. Once they left, only Raven and a few people remained on the Central Hall. 

"I'll address you formally as my men later, but first, let's get rid of some pesky neighbors...."