The Bookkeeper-Chapter 59: The Jasper Attack

Raiden and his comrades stood before the house’s entrance, watching as three men and a woman approached. Leading them was an elderly man—probably in his late sixties—with long white facial hair and a white beard tied back in a ponytail. Despite his aged appearance, his yellow aura radiated strength that contradicted his years.

He was flanked by a bald, muscular man with a golden aura on his right and a young man roughly a year or two older than Raiden, grey-haired with his aura radiating gold. Behind them all walked a young girl, about fifteen years old with dark hair, her aura radiating white.

The old man’s eyes held sheer intensity—he clearly wasn’t someone to kid with—but he also carried a calm demeanor. The young girl, however, was the most hyper among them, jumping from side to side as they approached.

To match the sorrow they were about to let out, they all wore black suits, the pitch-dark fabric reflecting their expressions perfectly while displaying the number seven on their crests.

"Shit..." Speed muttered as he pulled Soul into his arms. "That’s the Jasper family—the head and all his children."

Levi raised an eyebrow. "I wasn’t expecting them to come this early."

Raiden sighed as aura began coursing through him, a twisted smile forcing its way onto his lips. "Were you expecting an invitation to fight?"

His grin deepened. "They want us to kill them."

Raiden’s words hung in the air for a brief moment as Levi narrowed his eyes for a better look while Soul continued to hide behind Speed.

"The girl... I’ve seen her before." Levi immediately turned invisible. "She’s a psycho and their supporter as well."

Raiden’s expression darkened. He turned backward, and Levi was no more. "You want to take care of it?"

"Yes... she blesses them with luck, so with her they can never lose."

Raiden’s expression grew even darker. He had heard of white crest bearers possessing many different kinds of support magic, but a supporter with the blessing of luck?

That changed everything, making him feel uneasy about facing the Jasper family as a whole. He didn’t believe in luck, but this world had been quite tricky with things he’d never believed in.

Before long, the Jasper family closed in, and Raiden adjusted himself, pulling himself together. He began taking a few steps forward. The fear within him caused his body to twitch with excitement, a twisted smile playing on his lips.

Once they were close enough, they paused. The old man simply stared at Raiden’s devilish face with his calm expression, while the men flanking him wore furious expressions that were somehow distinctively calm. The young girl treated the danger like an act. She moved from side to side with unmistakable happiness.

However, before he could utter a word, there was a tap on his shoulder. His expression shifted as he turned. It was Speed, clutching Soul’s hand very tightly, but she seemed very scared, her eyes darting to the floor, lost in thought.

"This is my fight... I don’t care if you are my master." Speed narrowed his eyes, his furious expression visible even through his mask. "They are mine... I should have done this a long time ago."

Raiden glanced at him as he turned to the Jasper family. He didn’t mind who faced them first as long as they won against them, but he couldn’t understand Speed. He doubted they were there to satisfy Speed’s ego. They just wanted revenge.

Still, he knew it would be best to allow Speed to do as he pleased, so he gladly stepped back, allowing him to take the vanguard.

"You murderers... after all you’ve put us through, you still want revenge?" Speed clenched his fist, his voice thick with undeniable pain. "Aren’t you ashamed?"

They all stood motionless. The old man’s hands rested on his back, his waist slightly bent, remaining cocky as they stared at them with disgust. Meanwhile, the girl seemed to be whispering something into their ears, growing happier after each person.

"I think you are mistaken about our presence for something different, kid," the old man said, his voice echoing with age and maturity. "I am Jasper, the leader of the Jasper family."

He tilted slightly to his right toward the bald man. "This is my first child, Perfect." He turned to his left. "This is Axel, and the little girl you see is Becky, my youngest child."

Their names seemed to irritate Speed even more as he clenched his fist even tighter, while Raiden stood behind with narrowed eyes, waiting for what the man had to say.

"Don’t be too eager to speak, kid. We simply want to ensure you can deliver your final message... end the conversation."

Raiden’s eyes widened as he began to smile with attraction and fondness, peering behind Speed to get a better glimpse of his angel. His father had always told him that killing was a form of communication—to kill blindly meant such a person didn’t understand the act of being an assassin.

To find someone who understood the conversation of killing was a treasure greater than gold. With such individuals, even a single strike meant something and spoke volumes.

"You won’t touch anyone here... you all die by my hands, you monsters," Speed said, gesturing for them to come at him.

Old man Jasper simply shook his head in disbelief. "Which one of you killed my sons—Seth and Mack?"

Raiden peered once more, his body filled with excitement as his body twitched repeatedly. "I killed Seth." His voice was etched with thrills.

"But Mack’s killer isn’t here at the moment."

"I see..." Jasper gestured to his children. "You can kill whoever you want, but leave Seth’s killer to me."

Perfect and Axel began smiling as Perfect approached Speed. Speed turned to Soul and crouched beside her. "Don’t worry, Soul, I’ll make sure the Jasper family never hurts us again."

Raiden was happy about getting to fight Jasper—for the first time in a long time, he could fight someone he could communicate with through strikes. But a glance at Soul made his expression grow dark.

This wasn’t the first time she had been this way, lifeless. She had stared into nothingness just like this during his fight with Seth. Soul was just like him... she couldn’t fight anyone in the Jasper family.

"I will take Axel." Freya’s words cut through Raiden’s daze, and he turned to her, giving her a nod as she began approaching Axel.

Raiden let out a sigh and walked forward, taking Soul’s hand. "Take care of that bald bastard, Speed... Win. I will be keeping Soul safe for you."

Speed tilted his head toward Raiden, his golden eyes filled with gratitude. He gave him a gentle nod, and Raiden carried Soul in his arms and headed back to the entrance.

The moment he got there, he turned to see Axel standing cockily before Freya, who remained calm, while Speed and Perfect faced each other, staring directly into each other’s eyes.

Raiden smirked, knowing what was about to transpire would be sensational.

"I am Raiden, the bookkeeper and leader of the Guardian of Ashes." He gestured to his left. "This is Speed, and the one to my right is Freya."

Then he gestured toward Soul, who stood partially dead before him. "And this girl here is the product of your family’s work, Soul. And in her honor, I will kill you."

Raiden’s expression shifted into a twisted smile. "But how about we watch the fight between our comrades first... then we fight without any distraction."

Raiden didn’t want to put Soul in danger. Despite not being comfortable with her fragile nature as a seventeen-year-old, he wasn’t going to let her become a coward before stronger foes like he had. He wanted to protect her and help her overcome her trauma.

The man remained silent for a while, then glanced to his left at his daughter, Becky, who was lost in her unusual daze, simply playing with the wind. "I agree."

Raiden wore a twisted smirk, "But that might be boring, wouldn’t it?... what about we wager?"

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