Then the man moved.His arm snapped forward, and the knife flew out of his hand.The blade tore through the air with frightening speed, so fast and sharp that it seemed to drag the wind along with it. It came straight for Michael's head.The man was already smiling, to him, this was a perfect throw.A perfect hit, a clean finish.But just before the knife could reach him, Michael turned around and caught it.Just like that.He caught the knife with his bare hand.The attacker's smile died at once.His jaw dropped.“Huh?” he let out, his face twisting in shock. “How—”Before he could complete the word, the knife broke.It snapped inside Michael's hand as if it had been made of dry wood instead of metal.The sound of it was small, but in that moment, it felt louder than the blaring alarm.The man's jaw dropped even more, his eyes stretching wide in raw disbelief."What the hell is going on? Who is he?, how was he able to do that?"His mind could not catch up. It was still struggling to

Without wasting another second, Matthew was gone.He turned and dashed toward the stairs, his feet hitting the floor fast and hard, moving with urgency, driven by both fear and the strange excitement of what lay ahead of him. His figure disappeared quickly, swallowed by the chaos of flashing red lights and the still-screaming alarm as he pushed toward the upper floors.Brother James watched him go.And for a brief moment, something in him settled slightly.He exhaled.Matthew was on his way.Mr. Giovanni would hear about this soon.And Brother James knew one thing about Mr. Giovanni with absolute certainty. The man did not let things slide. He never had. Whatever was happening on this floor, whatever embarrassment was unfolding down here, it would not go unanswered once the boss became aware of it. Mr. Giovanni would respond, and he would respond in a way that would remind everyone why his name carried the weight it did.So Brother James told himself he had nothing to worry about.Not

Brother James started laughing.It was not a warm laugh.It was the kind of laugh that carried mockery in every note of it, sharp and dismissive, the laugh of a man who believed he still held something over the person standing in front of him."You don't actually know what you are getting yourself into," he said, shaking his head slowly as the laughter faded into a smirk. "It's not even featuring you. Just imagine. You are going to see the difference in power. You are going to see it clearly. You are going to find out that you are not worthy of anything here. That you are not capable of anything against what is waiting for you above. That is what you are going to see. And when it comes to brute strength, you are definitely—"Michael punched him in the chest.The movement was sudden and devastating, no warning, no wind up, no moment where Brother James could have seen it coming and braced himself. One second Michael was walking toward him, and the next his fist had driven straight into

Matthew did not waste another second.The words came out of him fast and urgent, tumbling over each other with the kind of desperation that only comes from a man who has seen something he cannot unsee."Someone just broke into the organization's warehouse," he said, his voice breathless and tight. "They broke in, and they are currently on the first floor. Brother James is injured. He is really injured, Brother Joshua. Badly. To the point where any delay, any more time wasted, and we are going to lose him. We need to go save Brother James immediately. Right now."He pressed his hands together, his knees still on the floor."Brother James told me himself before I ran up here. He confirmed it. And I can also confirm it with my own eyes from what I witnessed down there. The person who invaded this warehouse is at the second stage of the warrior realm."He paused just long enough to let that land."Please. We need to go save Brother James and resolve this situation quickly."The room went

Matthew bowed his head immediately."I am very, very sorry," he said, his voice low and genuinely contrite. "I am sorry for the manner in which I spoke. I know I spoke out of line. I spoke out of character entirely. I am extremely sorry, Brother Joshua."Joshua looked down at him for a moment.His expression did not soften."There is indeed something to be sorry for," he said, his voice still carrying the heat of what had just passed. "But it is not you who should be carrying all of it."He straightened up, his jaw tight."The person who literally opened his disgusting, stinking mouth and utered those words about Mr. Giovanni, that is the person who deserves to be sorry. That is the person who deserves consequences. That is the person whose tongue should be cut out of his mouth for daring to speak in that manner."He turned toward the staircase."He is on the first floor. And I am going down there myself, right now, to do exactly that."He did not wait for a response.He started walki