[Levi POV - An hour ago - Engagement Ceremony Hall]
The grand hall shimmered with crystal chandeliers and carefully polished marble floors, the chatter of guests blending into a refined hum. I stood among them, the weight of my father's expectant gaze heavy on my back as the engagement ceremony proceeded.
And then…
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
My phone erupted into a loud, shrill alarm, slicing through the room like a knife. Heads turned. Every gaze in the room landed on me.
I didn't move at first, eyes fixed on my phone screen.
My stomach dropped. Haruka.
The tracker embedded in Haruka's bracelet was sending a distress signal. Something was wrong. It was only supposed to go off if the signal was disrupted, if he was forcibly taken, or…
I clenched the phone tighter.
Across the room, my father stepped forward, his expression ice-cold.
"Turn that off," he hissed. "You're embarrassing us. The ceremony…"
But I didn't hear the rest. I was already walking away.
"Levi." His voice sharpened, commanding. "Get back here."
I didn't stop. I didn't even glance at my shoulder.
Haruka was in danger.
And I don't give a damn about this farce of an engagement.
By the time I reached the car and slammed the door shut, my fingers were already dialling before the engine finished roaring to life.
"Pick up. Come on, Ray."
The line clicked.
"Levi…"
"What the hell is happening?!" I snapped. "And where the hell are you?! I thought you were supposed to guard him 24/7!"
"I know. I know." Ray said quickly, his voice tense. "I had to fly back to Milan. Urgent family matters. That's why I asked Charles to stay at the Auclair main estate. The security there is practically airtight. Walls, sensors, armed guards, and I even asked my men to guard him too. I thought he'd be safe."
"Then how the fuck did someone get to him?"
Ray's voice dropped an octave. "He left. There's a passage underneath the east wing. His private library. Hidden behind one of the original bookcases. Not even in the latest blueprints. And I didn't even know it existed."
I gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Of course he did…" I hissed under my breath. "Goddamn stubborn idiot."
Ray took a breath before continuing. "I believe he wanted to fight for you too at last. But ended up getting kidnapped."
I didn't respond. I could feel my heart ache.
"The tracker still works. He's not far from Paris." Ray continued.
I glanced at the tracker again. Still moving. Still traceable. Good.
I'm glad he's wearing the bracelet.
"Call the police," I ordered, already speeding past the city limits. "And just in case… call the ambulance too. Be ready."
"I'll get it done. I've sent my men also." Ray said. "And Levi?"
"What?"
"Bring him back."
I didn't respond.
I ended the call and tossed the phone aside.
For a moment, the world went quiet except for the hum of the engine and the distant growl of thunder somewhere over the horizon.
I looked at the screen again.
Still moving… but time was slipping away.
"It'll take at least forty minutes to get to Haruka's last known location," I muttered, glancing at the estimated time of arrival flashing in red.
"But where they're taking him…" I shook my head, gripping the wheel harder. "...we do know, but it's taking too long to arrive there."
My foot slammed on the accelerator.
I just need to get there before Claude does something he can't undo.
//SKIP//
[40 Minutes Later - Claude's Estate]
The GPS led me through winding forest roads, deeper into nowhere. I expected a warehouse. Maybe a bunker. Something covert.
But as the trees thinned, I slowed down. My brows furrowed.
A mansion?
I killed the headlights and pulled the car to the edge of the hill. Below me stood a sprawling, modernised chateau wrapped in stone walls and security fences. Floodlights humming, surveillance cameras sweeping the grounds.
Claude brought Haruka here?
I gritted my teeth.
I revved the engine once, and then I floored it.
The wrought-iron main gate came into view. Locked. Two guards standing inside, confused by the approaching roar.
Too late.
CRASH!
The car smashed through the gates like paper. Metal bent. Sparks flew. The guards dived out of the way, cursing.
I didn't stop.
Tires screeched in the middle of the courtyard. Doors to the mansion burst. Footsteps thundered.
One by one, Claude's men poured out. Fully armed with knives, batons and guns.
I stepped out of the car slowly. Alone. Unarmed. I closed the door behind me with a casual click and started walking.
Someone shouted, "That's Levi Ackerman!"
Good. Let them know.
They surrounded me like wolves.
And I didn't even stop walking.
The first man lunged. I ducked low, grabbing his arm and slamming his face into my knee. His body crumpled instantly.
Then chaos.
One after another. Two at once. Five from the side. I barely blinked.
My fist crashed into one's jaw. I spun, elbowing another behind me. A baton came swinging, I caught it mid-air and drove it into the attacker's ribs with a sickening crack.
I didn't need a weapon. I can take down these weaklings with my fist alone.
One tried to tackle me. Mistake.
I flipped him over my shoulder, slamming his back against the pavement. Another charged in, and I grabbed his collar and headbutted him hard. He dropped like deadweight.
Fifteen.
Twenty.
The next wave hesitated.
By the time I was about to charge, a sound of the car' engine entering the courtyard stopped me, and I looked behind. Around 10 men in black suits with sunglasses stepped out. They must be Ray's men.
"Hah. About time. I'll leave these weaklings here to you guys."
Without wasting time, I stormed up the stairs towards the front door of the estate. It burst open before I could touch it. More guards inside.
They didn't even get a chance to speak.
I dived forward.
My fist struck a man's sternum, flooring him. I rolled off his collapse, sweeping another's legs and landing a sharp kick to his head. Another came from behind, and I slammed him into the wall.
The hallway was narrow and dimly lit, and it worked in my favour. I used walls to flip, rebound, and disarm. Their numbers meant nothing.
Thirty-five. Thirty-eight.
Someone tried to lock the next door.
I kicked it clean off its hinges.
Then I was inside the main corridor. I could feel it now. I was close.
I ducked, spun, jabbed, crushed a nose beneath my palm, and kneed another so hard he coughed blood. One reached for a taser, but I twisted his wrist and drove it into him instead.
He collapsed. Twitching.
I didn't slow down. Boots echoing down the marble floor, heart hammering not from exertion but from fury.
The corridor turned left. I took it.
That door at the end. That's where he is. My pace quickened.
Two more guards blocked the way. I didn't slow. I shoulder-checked one so hard he flew into the wall. The second raised a knife. I grabbed his wrist and twisted until he dropped it, then finished him with two brutal punches to the ribs.
And finally… I reached the door.
Voices behind it. Laughter. Claude.
My hand curled around the handle.
And then…
BANG!
The door crashed open with a thunderous slam, the sound ricocheting off the walls like a gunshot.
Claude flinched.
The smirk on his face froze. His eyes widened.
"Levi?" He breathed, stunned. As if he's seeing a ghost.
I stepped into the room. My shirt and hands are stained with blood. None of it is mine.
My eyes locked onto Haruka.
Tied to the chair. Ungaged. Unharmed. Thank God.
His eyes widened when he saw me, lips parting as if he couldn't believe it.
"Levi," he whispered.
My voice came cold. Quiet. Lethal.
"How dare you lay a hand on him."
Claude backed a step, then straightened, swallowing the initial panic as he tried to sneer.
"Impressive." He said thinly. "But this ends here. Take him down!"
Four men move.
Claude's last guards. Bigger. Fully armed. Desperate.
They rushed me at once.
I didn't wait. I met them halfway.
The first went down with a knee to the gut and an elbow to the temple. He didn't even groan, just collapsed.
The second swung a baton.
I caught his wrist mid-swing, twisted hard and slammed his face into the wall. Blood sprayed. He slid down, unconscious.
The third tried to stab me with a blade.
I ducked, swept his leg, and pinned him to the floor with a precise strike next.
The fourth one is pointing a gun, hesitating.
Too late.
I grabbed the gun in his hand and tossed it away.
I grabbed him by the collar and threw him across the room. His body hit the bookshelf with a loud crash, and he didn't get back up.
The entire room fell into a thick silence.
Only Claude and I remained.
I looked at him.
"Your turn."
His breath quickened, his confidence wavered, but he still put on a mask.
"Still the same brute," Claude sneered, stepping back, slowly loosening his cuffs. "No weapon. No strategy. Just fists. Do you really think you'll win?"
"You talked too much." I said.
And then I lunged.
Claude dodged, barely, trying to land a sucker punch, but I blocked it easily, retaliating with a crushing blow to his ribs. He stumbled back, gasping, but stayed on his feet.
He reached for a hidden blade at his belt.
I kicked it out of his hand before he even cleared the sheath.
We circled each other.
He moved like a trained fighter, precise and aggressive.
But he wasn't a soldier.
And he wasn't me.
He landed a hit on my site, but it only made me angrier.
I surged forward, driving him back with a flurry of punches. One to the chest. One to the jaw. One clean across the face that sent him reeling.
"Still not enough," Claude spat, wiping blood from his mouth. "You're fighting because you think he's yours? He's not. He never was."
I slammed him into the wall before he could take another breath.
My forearm pressed against his throat.
"Say his name one more time," I growled low in his ear, "and I'll make sure you never speak again."
Claude struggled, but I didn't move. I didn't blink.
"Jealous?" He gasped. "That I got to touch what you…"
I punched him. Hard.
His head snapped sideways, blood trailing from his lips.
I let him drop.
He fell to the floor, coughing, barely conscious.
I stood over him and spoke with a dark voice.
"You lost the moment you touched him."
I punched him again and again, hard but not hard enough to kill him. I wanted him dead, but I didn't want to kill him. Not yet. And killing people is not my way.
Then I turned away from the broken man on the floor and rushed towards Haruka.
I dropped to my knees in front of him, hands trembling slightly as I reached for the ropes to untie him.
"Are you hurt?" I asked, voice low but steady.
Haruka shook his head, his voice barely audible. "Levi…why are you here? What about your…engagement?"
I froze for half a second. Then I looked up, straight into his eyes.
"You…hah, seriously." I exhaled, a soft, bitter smile curving on my lips.
"That stupid engagement doesn't matter to me anymore. Only you matter." I gently cupped his face, "and you read the letter, didn't you? You're the only one I've ever wanted to fight for."
[Haruka POV]
Levi gently knelt in front of me, gently cupping my face. His lips curled into a faint smile, one filled with warmth I hadn't seen in so long. "And you read the letter, didn't you? You're the only one I've ever wanted to fight for."
But before I could say anything back, I saw it. Claude raises a gun behind his back.
"Levi, look out!"
"No!" Levi shouted, lunging forward in a split second to shield me.
The shot rang out.
A searing pain exploded in Levi's chest.
"LEVI!" I caught him as he collapsed against me, blood seeping through the front of his shirt, warm and terrifying.
He looked up at me with dazed eyes, lips twitching into a faint smile. "I told you, didn't I…? I'll protect you… with my life."
And then his eyes fluttered closed. His body went limp in my arms.
"No. No, no, no—Levi!"
TO BE CONTINUED!!!