Ash stood in front of the rear cargo bed of the tactical vehicle, his eyes on the iron cage on top of it.The elf woman was still sitting inside the cage, her green hair disheveled after her hoodie had been forcibly pulled back, but her expression didn't reflect someone who had just been caught. More like someone waiting for something boring to finish."Give my money back." Ash's voice was flat.The elf woman furrowed her brow. "I didn't take your money.""I can smell my wallet on you."The elf woman went quiet for a moment, her eyes blinking once. "What?" Her voice dropped half a tone. "Is your nose like a dog's?"Ash didn't answer, his hand going straight through the gap in the iron bars, reaching toward the inside of the cage. The elf woman stepped back two paces to the far side of the cage, just outside the reach of that hand.She exhaled shortly, then her hand went into her trouser pocket and pulled out a thin walle

Several officers stood in the building lobby when Jacker entered, their uniforms neat and their posture straight. They saluted the moment they saw him, a brief and practiced greeting, but Jacker walked past all of them without turning his head. The building corridor was long and bright. White lights were embedded flush into the ceiling, the walls were clean without excessive ornamentation, the floor reflected a faint shadow with every step of Jacker's shoes. A cold and efficient design, with no room for anything unnecessary. Jacker pressed the elevator button without stopping, stepped in when the doors opened, then stood still for the ride up. His room was on the highest floor. Spacious, with high ceilings and large glass windows facing the city. From there the entire district was visible, buildings packed tightly together, busy air lanes, a city that never stopped moving. Jacker did not look outside. He walked directly to a private room

Balton came out of the meeting room pulling up his trouser zipper. He stopped briefly in front of the door, adjusted his belt with a casual movement, then stepped into the mayor's office like someone who had just come out of a dining room.The man was tall and large. His shoulders nearly touched both sides of the door frame as he passed through it, his arms as thick as an adult's thigh, and his long black hair was left loose and untidy down his back.His way of walking was strange, his body swaying left and right with each step, like someone who had just finished drinking but was not drunk, simply carrying that large body in a way he found comfortable."Sorry about that, Mr. Mayor." Balton raised one hand toward the floor near the meeting room door without looking there. "I dirtied your floor. Have someone clean it later."Harven Dross sat behind his desk with both hands folded on top of it. Every muscle in his jaw appeared to be working hard, but

Nothing moved for a few seconds.Around 30 armed men on their flying boards, Jason with his hand half raised, Balton with his smile that had just changed shape, all of them stood still staring at the figure standing in the middle of that circle of boulders.Ash's skin was pale white like ash, and across its entire surface, from the back of his hands to his neck to his jaw, elongated cracks radiated red-orange light like embers forced out from beneath the earth.His mouth was pulled back in a snarl, sharp fangs visible, both eyebrows drawn together toward the center with eyes that blazed with fierce anger, glowing red.Among the dark trees at the edge of the boulders, Shiva who had already half entered the forest stopped walking. Her eyes opened wide, her breath caught.Ash moved.Not running, more like his body relocated, one step and he had already shot into the middle of the first group standing closest to him.His sha

The darkness of the forest moved.Not wind and not an animal, but something faster than both, leaping from one tree trunk to the next without sound proportionate to its speed.The red-orange light from the cracks in Ash's skin flickered between the gaps in the trees, appearing for a second then vanishing again before anyone could lock onto his position.Two hovering boards that had lost their riders were still swaying among the tree roots when panic began erupting in every direction."Where is he! Where!" A man spun his board left then right, its light sweeping tree trunks without finding anything, then something struck his board from above and he fell spinning into the bushes below.Shots fired from three different directions, uncontrolled, punching through tree trunks and some hitting the boards of people on the other side. Someone screamed, their board lurched then slammed into a large tree trunk in front of them with a loud crash, the rider thrown and hitting the ground hard."Cea