The With-God's Devotion System

Chapter 2

Julian smiled, taking a step closer. "I came to celebrate. You did it, Susanna. You graduated. I brought you a gift." He reached into his pocket, his rough fingers touching the velvet box.

"Stop," Susanna hissed sharply. She stepped down from the platform, grabbing his arm tightly. Her fingernails dug into his suit jacket. "Are you crazy? Why are you dressed like that? You look like a beggar!"

Julian blinked, confused. "This is my best suit. I cleaned it."

"Your best suit is garbage!" she whispered angrily, pulling him toward a dark corner, away from the wealthy Mages. "I sent you an invitation so you could have a nice dinner at the back, away from everyone. I didn't tell you to walk up to me in front of the High Council!"

Julian felt a cold lump form in his stomach. The warm hope in his chest started to freeze. "Susanna... what are you talking about? I'm your boyfriend. I wanted to tell you how proud I am."

"Boyfriend?"

The word left her mouth like a dirty curse word.

Suddenly, the soft classical music stopped. A loud, sharp ringing sound echoed through the ballroom. Someone had tapped a spoon against a wine glass. But it wasn't just a tap—it was amplified by sound magic.

The crowd went completely silent. Everyone turned to look at the corner where Julian and Susanna stood.

A young man stepped out from the crowd. He was tall, with perfectly styled black hair and sharp, handsome features. He wore a stunning white suit lined with silver threads. 

As he walked, the air around him seemed to hum with immense power. Tiny sparks of blue lightning danced across his shoulders.

This was Darius Cage.

Darius was an A-Rank Sorcerer. He was the son of one of the richest families in Erlingland. He was everything Julian was not.

Darius smiled lazily as he walked up to Susanna. He didn't even look at Julian. He reached out and gently touched Susanna’s cheek.

"Is there a problem here, my love?" Darius asked in a smooth, confident voice.

Julian’s brain stopped working. “My love?”

He stared at Darius’s hand on Susanna’s face. He waited for Susanna to push the hand away. He waited for her to say, 'Don't touch me, I have a boyfriend.'

But Susanna didn't pull away. Instead, she leaned into Darius’s hand. She let out a heavy sigh and finally looked at Julian. There was no love in her eyes anymore. There was only pity, and deep, cold disgust.

"No problem, Darius," Susanna said loudly. Her voice was magically amplified now, carrying to every corner of the silent ballroom. "Just a minor pest who doesn't know his place."

Julian felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He couldn't breathe. "Susanna... what is this? Who is this?"

Susanna crossed her arms. "This is Darius Cage. He is an A-Rank Mage. He is my partner."

"Your partner?" Julian’s voice cracked. He felt the eyes of three hundred rich elites burning into his skin. "But... we are together. I paid for your classes. I worked in the mana-mines for three years so you could stand here!"

Gasps echoed through the room. The elites whispered to each other.

“A miner?”

“He paid for her? How embarrassing.”

“A dirty Null paid for a Mage's tuition?”

Susanna’s face turned bright red with embarrassment and fury. She hated her poor background. She had spent the last three years pretending she came from money. Julian had just exposed her secret to the entire school.

"Shut up!" Susanna shouted. She pointed a finger at his chest. A sharp blast of wind hit Julian, pushing him back two steps. "Don't you dare act like you are the hero of my story! You didn't help me, Julian. You used me!"

"Used you?" Julian asked, his voice shaking. He was completely confused. "How did I use you? I gave you everything!"

"You held me back!" she screamed, her voice echoing with wind magic. "I am an S-Rank potential Witch! I am destined to sit on the High Council! And you? You have zero mana! You are a Null! A broken, useless human being. Do you know how embarrassing it is to have a boyfriend who can't even light a candle with magic? Do you know how much the other girls laughed at me when they saw your dirty, scarred hands?"

Julian looked down at his rough hands. The hands that bled every day for her.

"You gave me money," Susanna sneered, "because you knew you were nothing. You wanted to buy a Mage so you could feel important. You are a parasite, Julian. You attached yourself to me so you could pretend you belonged in this world. Well, you don't. I am done letting you drag me down into the mud."

Tears pricked the corners of Julian’s eyes, but he refused to let them fall. His chest felt like it was tearing open. The pain was worse than any injury he had ever suffered in the dark mines. It was a deep, cutting betrayal. He had given her his youth, his health, and his whole heart. And she threw it away like trash.

"You..." Julian whispered, his voice trembling with a mix of extreme sadness and rising anger. "You took my life. You took my money. And now you stand there with him?"

Darius Cage finally looked at Julian. The handsome aristocrat let out a dry, cruel laugh.

"Oh, stop crying, you pathetic rat," Darius said smoothly. "Susanna is a rare gem. Gems do not belong in the mud. They belong in golden crowns. I can give her wealth, status, and powerful magical offspring. What can you give her? A rock from your dirty mine?"

Julian’s anger finally broke through his shock. He stepped forward, his fists tightly clenched. He didn't care that Darius was an A-Rank Mage. He didn't care about the rich crowd. He wanted to wipe that arrogant smile off Darius's face.

But before Julian could even raise his fist, Darius’s eyes flashed bright purple.

…

Present Time...

"Get on your knees!" Darius commanded.

And that was when the gravity magic hit Julian. The invisible weight crushed him down, forcing his knees onto the marble floor with that loud, sickening crack.

Julian gritted his teeth, groaning in pain. He tried to push himself up with his hands, but the magic was too heavy. It pinned him to the floor like a crushed insect.

Darius walked slowly toward him. The expensive white shoes stopped right in front of Julian's face.

"You see?" Darius said softly, his voice full of cruel amusement. "This is the difference between you and us. I don't even have to touch you to break you. You are weak. You are a biological mistake."