The elevator continued its slow ascent toward the highest levels of the Knights Guild headquarters, carrying Miles deeper into the heart of enemy territory while the city lights gradually disappeared beneath him. Through the transparent glass panel positioned at the rear of the elevator, he could see countless illuminated buildings stretching across the horizon like a sea of stars, but his attention remained elsewhere. Every passing second only reinforced the same thought. Mia. The image of his younger sister sitting helplessly in the hands of the Wilson Family repeatedly surfaced within his mind, each appearance making the cold fury simmering beneath his calm exterior grow stronger. The only reason the building around him remained standing was because he still didn't know where they were keeping her. If he had known her location, this entire charade would have been unnecessary. The Wilson Family wanted him to come willingly. They wanted him isolated. They wanted him surrounde

By this point, the interrogation room looked less like a place meant for questioning and more like the aftermath of a violent battlefield, with destruction stretching from one end of the chamber to the other. Large cracks snaked across the reinforced concrete walls, some reaching all the way to the ceiling, while shattered chunks of stone lay scattered across the floor like the remains of a demolished building. The heavy steel table that had once occupied the center of the room no longer resembled furniture, having been reduced to a grotesquely twisted heap of mangled metal that had been hurled into a corner after serving as the target of impacts powerful enough to warp solid steel. Dust hung thickly in the air, refusing to settle, while the fluorescent lights overhead flickered sporadically as the repeated shockwaves coursed through the room's battered electrical system. Standing calmly amidst the devastation was Duren. The massive A-Rank hunter appeared completely at ease wi

The moment Duren reached out to seize Miles by the collar again, the atmosphere inside the ruined interrogation room changed so abruptly that even the veteran A-Rank hunter instinctively hesitated.Until now, every exchange between them had followed the same pattern. Duren attacked. Miles endured. Duren laughed. Miles remained silent.That pattern ended in an instant.Duren's fingers had barely touched the front of Miles's torn shirt when Miles' hand shot forward with blinding speed and closed around the larger man's wrist. The grip wasn't particularly dramatic, nor did it appear forceful from the outside, yet the moment their hands connected, Duren felt as though an enormous steel vice had clamped around his arm. No matter how much strength he exerted, his wrist refused to move another inch, while the confidence that had filled his face moments earlier gradually gave way to confusion."What...?"The single word never had a chance to leave his mouth.Miles slowly raised his head, reve

The devastated corridor fell into an eerie silence as dust slowly drifted through the air, settling over the shattered marble floor and the remains of collapsed walls.Emergency lights flashed relentlessly, bathing the ruined hallway in alternating crimson and white while the shrill wail of the evacuation alarm echoed throughout the Knights Guild headquarters. Every pair of eyes was fixed on the motionless figure of Duren lying inside the crater several meters away. The once-proud captain of the Special Raid Team, a veteran A-Rank hunter whom countless junior hunters admired and respected, had been defeated so completely that the sight before them seemed almost impossible to comprehend.For several long seconds, nobody moved.The hunters who had rushed to reinforce Duren found themselves rooted to the spot, their expressions frozen somewhere between disbelief and fear. They had expected to arrive in time to assist their captain in subduing an intruder, not to witness one of the str

Several kilometers away from the devastated headquarters of the Knights Guild, the Wilson Mansion stood in complete tranquility.The sprawling estate, illuminated by rows of elegant garden lights, remained blissfully unaware of the catastrophe unfolding across the city.Servants quietly attended to their nightly duties while security personnel patrolled the grounds with practiced discipline, and inside the mansion's grand study, Darius Wilson sat behind an enormous mahogany desk reviewing documents related to several upcoming Demon Rift expeditions.As the Guildmaster of the Knights Guild and patriarch of the Wilson Family, very little within the city escaped his notice. His influence extended far beyond hunting, reaching into construction, finance, and local politics, making the Wilson name synonymous with power throughout the region. Few people possessed the courage to oppose him openly, and even fewer would dare provoke the guild that stood behind his family's authority.A sharp