"Well, look who put on a borrowed suit to play dress-up!" Julian Wensley stepped out from the main elevator bank, flanked by Vanessa and Meredith. His bandaged wrist was tucked into his jacket pocket, but his face twisted into an immediate, nasty sneer the moment his eyes landed on Evan. The marble lobby was quiet, filled with wealthy business owners and high-end shoppers walking between luxury storefronts. Julian’s loud, obnoxious voice echoed across the open space, instantly drawing the curious attention of several security guards and passing executives. Vanessa stopped dead in her tracks, her icy blue eyes narrowing as she scanned Evan from head to toe. She stared at his hand-tailored obsidian suit, his crisp white collar, and the immaculate shine of his leather shoes. To her, seeing her discarded ex-husband looking refined, wealthy, and composed was like a physical slap across the face. For three years, she had known him only in faded tracksuits, grease-stained aprons, and worn

The heavy glass doors of the Aetherius Grand Tower swung shut with a cold, definitive click. The building's security team shoved Damon, Vanessa, Julian, and Meredith onto the burning concrete sidewalk in plain view of dozens of staring pedestrians. The afternoon sun beat down relentlessly, making the humiliation burn even hotter against their red, sweating faces. Passersby pointed their phones at the disheveled group, whispering and laughing as the once-proud family stood stranded on the public curb. Damon Sharpe let out a furious, animalistic roar and slammed his clenched fist directly against the hood of his luxury sports sedan. The heavy impact left a noticeable dent in the polished metal, his knuckles bleeding as his diamond watch rattled against his wrist. "This is impossible! It is an absolute joke!" Damon snarled through gritted teeth, his face twisting into a manic, unhinged mask of pure rage. "There is no way on earth that broke, mana-less dog purchased a hundred-story skys

Evan stepped onto the elevated wooden stage, his dark shoes clicking firmly against the polished floorboards. The bright white studio lights followed his every move, illuminating the sharp lines of his face as the crowd watched in eager anticipation. Dozens of camera lenses zoomed in on him from the media pit, their flashes popping in rapid, blinding succession. Julian Wensley stood near the backstage curtain with his arms crossed over his chest, a wide, mocking smirk plastered across his bruised face. Damon Sharpe rested one hand casually against the silver casing of the Runic Converter, looking down at Evan as if he were a stray dog that had wandered onto a private golf course. Vanessa stood beside Damon in her floor-length white designer gown, her lips curved into a cold, triumphant sneer. "Well, don't just stand there in the dark, Evan," Damon mocked, his voice echoing loudly through the main stage speakers. "The reporters have their cameras ready, and the magistrates are waitin

Inside the grand study of the Sharpe Family Manor, the air was thick with the suffocating pressure of raw Earth-Mana. Heavy stone pillars groaned under the strain, and dust rained down from the ceiling as a furious aura filled every corner of the room. Councilman Raymond Sharpe stood behind his massive mahogany desk, his face dark with murderous rage. He was a veteran Tier-4 Earth Battle-Mage who had dominated the city's political landscape for over twenty years, and he had never suffered such a public humiliation in his entire life. With a sudden, violent roar, Councilman Sharpe slammed his heavy fist onto the solid wood. The impact echoed like a cannon shot through the manor, shattering the desk into splinters and sending a jagged crack ripping across the stone floor beneath his boots. Damon Sharpe sat slumped in a deep leather armchair opposite the shattered desk, shivering with pain and unbridled fury. Thick medical gauze wrapped the entire right side of his face, covering the s

Evan tightened his fingers around the black comms device, crushing the reinforced casing into a mangled ball of plastic and broken circuits. The high-pitched static shrieked once before cutting out completely into the cold mountain air. He tossed the useless scrap into the mud beside Kael’s trembling head without looking back. The crushing pressure slowly eased, allowing the freezing rain to fall normally across the jagged mountain pass once again. The twelve elite battle-mages lay sprawled across the three-foot crater, their broken armor smoking as they remained paralyzed in the mud. Evan stepped over the shattered pieces of Kael's broadswords, walking calmly toward the waiting black SUV. He pulled open the passenger door, shaking the cold rainwater from his dark hair before sliding into the heated leather seat. The heavy door closed with a firm, solid thud, completely shutting out the howling wind and the groans of the defeated mercenaries. Seraphina sat frozen behind the steering