He looked Derek dead in the eyes, no emotion in his face, only a quiet, unwavering promise of what was to come.“One…”He didn’t shout it. He whispered it. And somehow, that made it worse.“Two…”The sound echoed in the back of Derek’s mind, crawling under his skin.“Three…”Silence spread through the hall like a thick fog.“Four…”The old man tilted his head slightly, studying Derek like an insect he was about to crush.And just before the fifth word could slip from his lips, he added with a smirk that held no warmth—“If I reach five and you’re still standing there like a fool, I swear on everything that breathes, I will skin you alive for lying to my face.”Immediately, Derek looked up with fire in his eyes, the chains still around him barely restraining the heat that surged through his words. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t cower. Instead, he raised his chin slightly, defiantly, as if spitting in the face of fear itself.“Well,” he said, his voice strong and stubborn, “I don’t care. I

At that moment, upon seeing what just happened, the old man actually then stopped on his track. His steps halted mid-air as if the weight of what had just unfolded rooted him to the spot. His eyes narrowed, flickering with a brief moment of disbelief. He couldn't believe that Derek this boy, this so-called waste of space—had just sent one of his men flying with nothing more than a punch.Even though he knew that was one of his weakest men, what bothered him wasn’t the man’s weakness—it was the manner in which Derek actually did it. The sound of bones snapping, the blur of Derek’s movement, and the sheer impact that had sent the guard crashing into the wall, shattering two marble pillars like they were made of glass, left even the watching spectators in awe. It was brutal. It was precise. It was clean.The old man’s eyes didn’t leave Derek. His stare lingered, cold and calculating, as if reevaluating everything he thought he knew. Slowly, he nodded, almost as if acknowledging something

At that moment, when Derek actually heard what the man was saying, his expression didn’t change. Not even a twitch. Instead, he slowly tilted his neck to the right until a loud crack echoed, then tilted it to the left, cracking it again. A faint smile curved across his lips not out of confidence, but out of sheer will. He rolled his shoulders back and slowly raised one arm, then the other, loosening them as if warming up for a jog and not a deathmatch. His fingers clenched and unclenched, and then, raising both arms, he motioned toward himself and said boldly, “Well, I’m expecting your strongest attack. Give me everything you have.”The man’s lips curled into a nasty smirk. He said nothing in return. He simply cracked his knuckles, tilted his head once, and suddenly raised one hand into the air. With just a small motion of his fingers—like a secret signal—the energy around him suddenly shifted.A sharp wind sliced through the space between them.Then it happened.In a blink, his hand—

At that moment, before the guard—before the man—could even begin to process what had just happened, everything around him blurred into a terrifying flash of movement.Boom!Like a missile launching from the shadows, Derek’s fist tore through the space between them with such force that the very air cracked around it.The man’s body reacted before his mind did—his battle-hardened instincts flaring like fire alarms.Elbow up. Block. Survive.He didn’t even see the punch coming—he felt it. Felt it like a tidal wave about to crash into him.He had fought monsters before.He had stood toe to toe with beasts twice his size.But this… this was different, this wasn’t just strength, this was something else entirely.The moment Derek’s fist collided with his elbow, a thunderous shockwave exploded through the warehouse, and the man’s feet were lifted off the ground as if he were nothing but a ragdoll in the hands of a storm.His entire body went flying backward at an unnatural speed.Crack! He sl

Immediately, Jason glanced at the buzzing phone on the table again, his jaw tightening slightly as the screen lit up—Derek.“That’s Derek,” he finally muttered, his tone flat but with a trace of unease.Soma, who was now pacing slightly in the living room, rolled her eyes and reached for the phone without waiting for Jason to react. “Then let’s end this noise once and for all.”She swiped to answer, pressing the phone to her ear. “Jason is busy,” she said sharply, not even offering a proper greeting. “Why are you calling him by this hour? Can’t it wait till morning?”There was a moment of silence on the other end.But Derek—he immediately recognized Soma’s voice. The moment he heard her speak, his expression tensed. He couldn’t afford to explain the truth—not to her. He knew Soma far too well. The moment she found out Jason’s life might be in danger, everything would unravel. She would be furious, and more than that—she would stand in the way of what needed to be done.So he forced a