Author: [writers hub]
The Keeper's cold grip on Zara's arm was unyielding, the needle's sharp point a chilling threat at her throat. Ragnar, caught between the instinct to move and the paralyzing fear of causing Zara harm, roared in frustration. Director Ahn and his Shadow Wolves continued to battle the remaining Keepers, but the fight was a desperate, bloody dance in the confined space.
"Release her!" Ragnar commanded, his voice a primal growl, laced with venom.
The Keeper merely chuckled, a dry, rasping sound. "Or what, Chairman? You will risk your valuable asset for a mere moment of defiance?"
Zara's mind, though still clouded by the truth serum, grasped the Keeper's true intention. They needed her alive, needed her knowledge, even if it was extracted by force. The needle was a threat to control, not to kill. She had to use that.
As the Keeper adjusted his grip, preparing to plunge the needle, Zara used the last vestiges of her strength. She didn't fight back, she went limp, sagging suddenly in his arms. The unexpected slackness threw him off balance for a split second. In that fleeting moment, she brought her knee up with all her might, aiming for his groin.
The Keeper gasped, his grip momentarily faltering. It was all Ragnar needed. He moved with a speed that defied human capability, a blur of dark tailored suit and raw power. He surged through the battling figures, a single, devastating punch connecting with the Keeper's jaw. The cloaked figure reeled, releasing Zara, who stumbled forward, catching herself on a jutting pipe.
Ragnar didn't stop. He seized the Keeper, slamming him against the rough stone wall, then delivered a series of brutal, calculated blows. The Keeper, disciplined as he was, couldn't withstand Ragnar's unleashed fury. He slumped, unconscious.
"Zara!" Ragnar was by her side instantly, his hands gripping her shoulders, his eyes scanning her frantically for injuries. His face, usually a mask of control, was etched with a raw, protective concern that pierced through the serum's haze.
"I'm… I'm fine," Zara rasped, her throat still feeling tight. The serum's effects were slowly beginning to recede, leaving behind a dull ache and a memory of agonizing betrayal.
The fight raged around them. Director Ahn, seeing Ragnar free and Zara safe, rallied his men with renewed vigor. The Shadow Wolves, now knowing their Chairman's primary concern was no longer in peril, fought with a savage intensity, pushing back against the Keepers. The ancient order, though disciplined, began to falter under the combined might of Ragnar's fury and his loyal forces.
Just as the tide seemed to turn, a chillingly calm voice cut through the melee. "Such a disappointment, Ragnar. Always resorting to brute force when subtlety is required."
Mae-Yeon appeared from the passage Zara had originally escaped from, her hanbok pristine, her silver hair immaculate. She surveyed the scene, her eyes narrowed, her lips curled into a faint, disdainful smile. Behind her, not more guards, but two figures in the Botermet family's oldest, most revered ceremonial robes – two of the 'traditional council' elders Zara had seen at the initial gathering, their faces grim, their eyes fixed on Ragnar.
"The deepfake may be momentarily disrupted," Mae-Yeon continued, her voice resonating with cold authority, "but the truth has already been planted. The syndicate knows your weakness, Ragnar. And now, thanks to your 'unwilling bride,' we know the location of the True Black Ledger." She gestured towards Zara with a dismissive wave. "A most informative distraction, wasn't she?"
Ragnar's eyes, blazing with fury, locked onto Mae-Yeon. "You will not have it. You will not desecrate our ancestors for your twisted vision of power."
"Oh, but we will," Mae-Yeon countered, her voice laced with chilling confidence. "The Keepers will ensure it. They are already in motion." She turned to the Keeper leader, who had regained consciousness and was being helped up by two others. "The Ledger is accessible. Go."
The Keeper leader nodded, his eyes meeting Mae-Yeon's with an understanding that transcended words. He gave a sharp, uncharacteristic whistle. From the depths of the sub-level, more cloaked figures emerged, not engaging in the fight, but moving swiftly, purposefully, towards a hidden passage at the far end of the chamber – a passage Zara now recognized from the journal as leading directly towards the ancestral grounds, and the shrine to the First Ancestor. They were abandoning the fight to go for the Ledger.
Ragnar saw it. His face hardened. "Director Ahn! Secure this area! Do not let Mae-Yeon escape!" He pushed Zara behind him, his body a shield. "Stay here."
Then, with a desperate, guttural cry, Ragnar turned and lunged not at Mae-Yeon, but towards the passage the Keepers were entering. He had to stop them from reaching the True Black Ledger. It was a race against time, a desperate gambit to protect the darkest secret of his family, leaving Zara behind in the chaotic sub-level as Mae-Yeon's chilling gaze locked onto her once more, promising a future of vengeance, and hinting that Ragnar's battle for the Ledger was only the beginning of a far more brutal war for the very soul of the Botermet empire.