The air trembled.

A surge of Force erupted across the hotel plaza, crackling through the night. Awakeners all around the Windsor convoy responded, energy flaring like sparks before a wildfire.

“You fucking dare?” Rosaline’s voice dropped to a deadly chill. “You think a few half-baked goons can shake us?”

She turned sharply. “Millers, Phoenix—anyone makes a move, kill them on the spot!”

Millers and Phoenix’s expressions turned grim, their usual carefree demeanor gone in an instant. They moved in, forming a tight circle around Axel.

“Alright,” Jamin spat, teeth bared. “You want it that way? Let’s fight!”

A decade ago, Jamin might’ve thought twice about the optics—about dragging the Windsor family into an open conflict with the military.

But ever since retirement, watching his family rise under Brooks’ leadership to become the ruling power of Mirabelle, something had shifted in him. Power made men bold. It also made them reckless.

Across the square, pressure mounted. The water in the hotel fountain rippled violently under the weight of clashing Force signatures. Millers’ summoned heavy weapons now hovered in the air like dormant beasts.

Phoenix, no longer the laid-back bruiser, flexed his bulging muscles as his skin crackled with kinetic energy. Beside him, Rosaline raised her hand—and dozens of razor-sharp icicles hovered, spinning slowly in the frigid air.

.....

Awakeners from all around Drakenfall were closing in.

“What the hell is happening?!”

“If they fight, this entire block’s gonna be rubble!”

“Is the military seriously about to go to war with the Windsor family?!”

People scrambled for cover. Some climbed to rooftops, others ducked into alleys. Among them, a man in his late thirties narrowed his eyes at the looming confrontation.

“Those people are heros,” he muttered.

“Troy, that’s Jamin out there!” another man whispered nervously.

Troy turned, fire in his eyes. “Mirabelle doesn’t belong to the Windsors. When the beast tide hit, who risked their lives to protect this city? They did.”

The man who’d questioned him fell silent, lowering his head with a conflicted expression.

“…It’s a shame. They’re outnumbered. One team can’t take on the whole Windsor force.”

The spark that would ignite everything was just waiting for oxygen.

Inside the plaza, Kaia’s voice buzzed in Axel’s mind through their link.

“Axel, when this blows up, the captain and Rosaline will try to create an opening. Your job is to run.”

"No. What are you going to do?”

“Rosaline said—don’t argue. Just go.”

At that moment, light flared.

One of the Windsor awakeners ignited into flame—an inferno that lit up the entire plaza like daylight. The explosion of Force was deafening.

With him in the lead, the Windsor troops surged forward.

Both sides charged, and the bystanders instantly retreated, putting hundreds of meters between themselves and the battlefield.

“Capture them within three minutes!” Jamin barked, already retreating behind the lines. He settled into a chair, brought by his men, watching coldly like a general awaiting victory.

But before the first blow could truly land—

Boom.

A single, thunderous snort echoed from the sky above.

“Hmph.”

It wasn’t loud. But it hit like a freight train.

Every mind present recoiled. It felt like a warhammer slamming into their skulls—buzzing, blinding pain. The flames snuffed out as if they had never existed. Windsor soldiers across the perimeter let out muffled groans, some falling to one knee as their Force was abruptly and utterly crushed.

Everything stilled.

“What the fuck was that?!”

Jamin’s pupils contracted sharply. His instincts screamed. That… wasn’t a Level-5 Awakener.

Seeing the slightly hunched figure in the long black coat step into the plaza, Vince and the others instantly perked up.

“Mr. Xander?!”

The old man stood there, cigarette dangling from his lips, wearing the plush-lined black coat of the Whisper Syndicate. Behind him, the violent surge of Force energy had completely vanished—snuffed out by Xander’s mere presence.

“Trying to take on the military, huh? You’ve got some balls,” Xander said coldly, scanning the crowd of Windsor troops with disdain.

Axel hadn’t even seen the moment Xander struck—but everyone from the Windsor side was groaning, stunned, or too afraid to move.

“Who the hell are you?” Jamin demanded.

“I’m Xander,” he replied with a faint smirk. “Leader of the Obsidian. Who the hell are you?”

Millers and Kaia let out relieved sighs behind him and gave each other discreet thumbs-ups.

Jamin’s face twisted with fury, but he raised his chin defiantly. “I’m Jamin Windsor. Military or not, he killed a member of my family. And that means he needs to die.”

Xander frowned. The sight of his team surrounded had already pissed him off, but hearing it was the Windsor family behind it?

That sent his blood boiling.

“What the hell happened?” he asked, his tone tight with anger.

Kaia stepped forward, frustration written all over her face. “Sir, Jude committed suicide in the detention center. We saw the body. Now this old bastard’s saying Axel murdered him.”

Xander’s eyes narrowed. “Bullshit,” he snapped. “Let me see who lay a hand on my people.”

The Windsor troops hesitated and were eying Xander warily. It felt like a giant had wrapped its fingers around their Force and squeezed.

Jamin clenched his fists, teeth grinding audibly. “This isn’t over..”

Xander didn’t even blink. “Go ahead. But if you don’t walk away right now, the only court you’ll be seeing is the afterlife. And I’ll report this straight to the Supreme Court”

That landed. Jamin’s men shifted uncomfortably.

His original plan had been simple—storm in, drag Axel out, make him confess under pressure, and pin the entire thing down clean. But now Axel was still standing, and he’d been the aggressor who attacked the military.

“…Mr. Jamin, what now?” one of his men asked nervously.

Before Jamin could answer, a new voice spoke up.

“Xander. Impressive as ever.”

A slender man in scale-textured brown armor strolled up to join Jamin.

Xander looked at him, squinting for a long moment, then grinned coldly. “Well, Brooks. I’ll never be as powerful as the Windsor family—isn’t that right?”

Whispers spread quickly through the Obsidian team.

That’s Brooks?!

The atmosphere shifted immediately. Vince and Rosaline moved instinctively, placing themselves subtly between Axel and Brooks.

Jamin let out a loud, triumphant laugh, striding confidently to stand beside the governor. “Brooks, you're finally here.”

Brooks, annoyed, just sighed. He hadn’t wanted to show up in person—but Jamin wouldn’t answer his calls.

“Funny,” Xander said, narrowing his eyes. “Some families think that they are above the law.”

Just as Jamin opened his mouth, Brooks raised a hand, signaling him to stay quiet.

Another man stepped into the circle—Felix.

“Mr. Xander,” Felix said with a polite smile. “That’s not entirely accurate.”

Axel’s eyes narrowed. There was something slippery, dangerous about Felix. More dangerous than Jamin. Much more.

“Oh?” Xander said casually. “Enlighten me.”

Felix cleared his throat and turned to the crowd.

“We’ve just received credible information that Jude Windsor did not commit suicide. He was murdered.”

“What—?!”

“Let me finish,” he said smoothly. “He was killed inside the detention center… by Axel.”

Jamin’s eyes lit up.. “Yes! That’s why I came to arrest him. I was acting on that intel.”

It was a neat trick. Felix had shifted the timeline—rewriting the story just enough to justify Jamin’s assault on the hotel.

“Now,” Felix said with a pleasant smile, “we just need Axel to take a Truth Pill and answer a few questions.”

He paused, then added in a tone sounded reasonable, “Of course, we would never frame an innocent man. Mr. Jamin may have acted rashly earlier, and we'll report that and request disciplinary action. But I think we can all understand the pain of losing a son.”

Compared to Jamin’s blunt force approach, Felix was far more dangerous. He wore diplomacy like armor—calculated, clean, and cold.

Jamin, meanwhile, was glowing with approval. He clapped Felix on the shoulder, grinning. “Smart. Really smart, guy. Ha!”

Felix’s jaw clenched slightly.