The explosion lit the sky in a jagged pulse of red.
Leon's body smashed through reinforced glass, tumbling through the air before slamming into the pavement with a sickening crunch. Concrete cracked beneath him. Dust and debris scattered like shrapnel.
For one breathless moment, the world was quiet.
Then—chaos.
Civilians screamed and ran, some diving behind parked transports, others pulled back by emergency Hunter responders as mana barriers bloomed to life around the scene.
Captain Riven Darse shouted into his comm, "Civilian zone breached! Level five threat—non-engagement protocol. Lock down the block!"
A ripple in the air answered him.
Tobias Virell landed like an executioner. His boots cratered the asphalt. Streetlamps exploded from the pressure wave, vehicles flipped, and windows shattered across half the boulevard.
The rune-lined blades in his hands pulsed—still dripping with corrupted mana.
