Chapter 45: The Ravens' Feast and the Blood Account
The dawn mist cleared over Big Ben's square to reveal a scene London would not forget for centuries. Blood had dried upon the stones, while Edward Ferguson stood in the center of the battlefield, looking at the men who knelt under Toula's paralyzing gaze. Edward wasn't merely seeking a military victory; he was laying the foundation for his new kingdom.
Edward pointed his stained sword at one of the surviving gang leaders who had betrayed Silas, speaking in a calm tone that pierced the silence like a blade: "Treachery in my world is not cured with apologies; it is amputated like a rotten limb. Who among you can give me a single reason to keep his head upon his shoulders?"
A heavy silence followed, before Toula stepped down from his throne of corpses with silent strides, leaning toward Edward and whispering: "Master, death for these men is a mercy they do not deserve. True power lies in letting them live to be your messengers of fear in every alley of this city."
Edward gave a cold smile and ordered his men to brand the "Ferguson" mark on the survivors' faces and exile them, so the world would see the fate of those who touch his family. At that moment, Silas appeared from afar, leaning on a wooden crutch, accompanied by Lillian, who had insisted on coming. Her eyes were filled with awe as she looked at Edward; he was no longer the young man she knew, but seemed as though an ancient, dark spirit had inhabited his body.
Lillian approached Edward, holding an old paper she had found in a secret compartment in the library during his absence. She said in a trembling voice: "Edward... I found the rest. Your grandfather's will wasn't just warning of the Devil; it said that 'Toula' is not just a servant, but the 'Creditor' who will wait for the price of every drop of blood you spill in his name."
Edward looked at Toula, who watched the scene with eternal coldness, his pocket watch ticking as if counting down to something momentous. Edward realized then that his victory tonight was not the end of the war, but the first installment of the "Blood Debt" that would cost him more than he imagined.
Edward turned to Lillian, took the paper from her, then looked at Big Ben, which had suddenly started ticking again, and said: "The Barclay family is watching us now from their gilded windows... tell them that the Ravens' Feast has begun, and their turn on the list has come.