A faint electrical sound began filling the ruined silence of the courthouse.
It started softly.
Almost like distant thunder crawling across the sky.
Then the energy grew stronger.
Crackling.
Violent.
Purple sparks flickered along the broken marble floor where the servant's body still lay. The air itself felt unstable, vibrating with an unnatural pressure that did not belong to the courtroom.
Rehman stood near the judge's desk, eyes fixed on the entrance.
The laughter had stopped.
Now only footsteps echoed through the hall.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
The air thickened with every movement.
And then—
BOOM.
The courthouse doors slammed shut behind the figure entering the room.
The sound echoed like an explosion.
A tall silhouette slowly emerged from the shadows.
Then the lightning illuminated him.
Rehman's eyes narrowed.
The man standing in the center of the courtroom looked nothing like the generals Harun had described earlier.
He was enormous.
Nearly eight feet tall.
His body was built like solid iron, muscles stretching across his frame with unnatural density. Thick copper wires were wrapped tightly around his arms, running along his forearms like metallic veins.
More wires coiled around his neck and head, forming a strange crown of twisted metal that pulsed with faint electric energy.
Small sparks crackled along the wires every few seconds.
He wore nothing but a pair of dark black pants, his upper body completely exposed.
Electricity flowed across his skin.
The man tilted his head slightly as he looked around the courtroom.
"Oh?"
His voice was deep.
Slow.
Almost amused.
"I thought I sensed the vessel here."
His glowing eyes landed on Rehman.
"…But all I see is an old man."
Rehman remained still.
But his mind was already racing.
He sensed the vessel…
Then a sudden realization struck him.
That boy…
Harun.
He must be the vessel.
Rehman clenched his fists.
Anwar slowly stepped forward.
Electric sparks danced along the marble floor with every step.
"Well," he said casually.
"If the vessel isn't here…"
His voice grew colder.
"…then maybe I should simply destroy this place."
The air grew heavier.
Rehman's Dravillian stone flared beneath his skin.
Invisible pressure erupted across the courtroom.
"May his power be disabled."
The words echoed through the hall like a command carved into reality itself.
Anwar stopped walking.
Rehman's power spread instantly.
Inside this courtroom…
His authority was absolute.
Rehman's voice turned sharp.
"You may be Gautam's right hand."
His eyes glowed faintly.
"But inside this court…"
"…my power rules."
For a moment nothing happened.
Then Anwar smiled.
"Oh?"
His head tilted slightly.
"Is that so?"
The next second—
The scene shifted outside the courthouse.
A faint purple light appeared above the massive stone building.
The sky darkened.
Energy gathered.
Then—
BOOOOOOM.
A violent explosion tore through the structure.
The entire courthouse shattered.
Stone walls collapsed outward.
Massive pillars cracked and fell.
The roof disintegrated into a storm of debris.
Dust exploded into the sky like a volcanic eruption.
Within seconds—
The courthouse of Bhouldera was completely destroyed.
Far away in the streets of the town—
Harun suddenly stopped walking.
His chest tightened.
"…What?"
A strange feeling crawled through his body.
It wasn't pain.
It was something worse.
Pressure.
An overwhelming killing intent spreading through the air like poison.
Harun looked around instinctively.
The atmosphere had changed.
Even the wind felt wrong.
"Why does the air feel so heavy all of a sudden…?"
Aqsa looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
Harun didn't answer.
Instead his eyes narrowed.
This feeling…
His instincts were screaming.
Danger.
Extreme danger.
And then—
He felt it.
A resonance.
Cold.
Sharp.
Filled with murderous intent.
Harun's expression hardened.
"…Someone's here."
Before Aqsa could respond—
A tall figure appeared at the end of the street.
Walking calmly toward them.
Behind him stood another figure.
Masked.
Silent.
Harun's eyes narrowed immediately.
He recognized that presence.
"…Wait."
He focused harder.
"…Is that…?"
Realization struck instantly.
"…Khaizar?"
The masked man stopped several meters away.
Harun let out a quiet breath.
"Well… that was fast."
He cracked his neck slightly.
"So it already started."
Khaizar didn't answer.
Instead his arm moved.
A crimson wire shot forward through the air like a spear.
Harun's body reacted instantly.
He dodged sideways.
The wire sliced past his shoulder and embedded itself into the stone wall behind him.
Harun landed smoothly.
"…That was close."
He rolled his shoulder once.
Then the Dravillian stone in his right shoulder flared.
White light erupted outward.
But this time something else followed it.
Dark fibres.
Thin black strands spread across his body like living veins, crawling over his skin as they wrapped around his arms and torso.
The white light concentrated around his forearm.
Black fibres threaded through it like shadows woven into light.
Harun raised his arm slowly.
"Well then…"
His eyes locked onto Khaizar.
"Since you came back…"
"you might as well answer a few questions."
He lifted two fingers.
White light compressed between them.
The energy shrank rapidly into a tiny glowing point.
Then
He flicked his hand forward.
"Light Sea Pin."
The compressed beam shot forward like a bullet.
Khaizar reacted instantly.
Crimson wires burst outward from his arm, wrapping around the incoming attack.
The moment the energy collided.
BOOOOM.
A violent explosion erupted between them.
Dust filled the street.
Harun lowered his hand slightly.
"Seriously?"
He looked mildly annoyed.
"Why did you come straight to me this time?"
His eyes narrowed.
"There isn't even a vessel here."
The dust cleared slowly.
Khaizar stood untouched.
His masked face tilted slightly.
"Shut up."
His voice came out distorted.
Creepy.
Cold.
"When you die…"
"…you'll understand."
Harun sighed.
"…Oh."
He rolled his shoulders.
"Alright then."
The white light around his arm intensified.
Black fibres spread across his veins like living shadows.
"Guess we're doing this again."
Harun suddenly vanished.
He launched himself straight toward Khaizar.
And the battle began.
Khaizar stood quietly in the middle of the shattered street, the crimson wires around his body slowly twisting through the air like living serpents. For a moment he simply observed Harun, as if studying him rather than attacking.
Then the masked man tilted his head slightly.
"Oh… so you want to fight seriously now."
His voice carried an amused tone beneath the mask.
"Then I suppose I should stop playing around."
The crimson wires around his arms suddenly began vibrating.
The air around him distorted.
"Crimson Grading Charge."
The moment the words left his mouth, a violent surge of red energy erupted around his body. The crimson wires exploded outward and began spinning rapidly, forming a swirling vortex around him. It looked like a whirlpool made of razor-sharp threads.
The spinning vortex grew wider.
Stronger.
And from inside that crimson storm—
Tendrils emerged.
Dozens of them.
Long, flexible strands of razor-sharp wire that shot outward in every direction like hunting predators.
Harun's eyes widened slightly.
"Woah…"
The first tendril lunged straight toward his chest.
Harun instantly moved.
His body twisted sideways as he dodged the strike by a few centimeters. The wire slammed into the ground behind him, slicing through the stone street like butter.
But the next attack came immediately.
Another tendril.
Then another.
Then five more.
They attacked from every direction.
Harun's instincts kicked in.
He jumped backward, spun sideways, ducked under one attack and kicked off the ground to avoid another. The wires chased him relentlessly, slashing through the air with terrifying speed.
Dust exploded around his feet as he continued dodging.
Every movement had to be precise.
One mistake.
And those wires would slice straight through him.
Harun managed to avoid every strike.
Every single one.
Except one.
Behind him.
A tendril curved through the air silently.
Harun never saw it coming.
The crimson wire shot straight toward the back of his neck.
But the moment it reached striking distance.
His body moved on its own.
The black fibers across his veins tightened instantly.
His arm jerked upward without conscious thought.
The wire struck his glowing forearm instead.
CLANG.
The impact threw sparks across the street.
Harun blinked.
But he didn't waste time.
The Dravillian stone in his shoulder flared violently.
White light surged down his arm.
Harun swung his arm forward.
"Heavenly Slash."
A thin line of pure light shot forward like a razor cutting through the air. The attack was incredibly sharp, compressing destructive energy into a narrow beam designed to slice anything in its path.
The glowing slash tore through the crimson vortex.
But Khaizar didn't even move.
A single tendril twisted in front of him.
The crimson wire clashed with the attack.
CRACK.
The light shattered.
The beam dispersed into fragments before reaching him.
Harun clicked his tongue.
"Seriously?"
Before he could react further
The crimson vortex suddenly expanded.
Wires shot outward and slammed into the ground around Harun from every direction.
Then they curved inward.
Forming a dome.
A prison.
"Blood Web Cage."
Harun froze.
Hundreds of crimson wires surrounded him instantly, forming a tightly woven cage that sealed every possible escape route.
He looked around.
"Ah."
Harun scratched the side of his head awkwardly.
"Well."
"I guess I'm trapped."
The wires slowly began tightening.
The cage shrank.
Closer.
Closer.
"Okay… okay… think."
Harun muttered under his breath.
"Think, idiot."
He raised two fingers.
White light condensed between them.
"Light Sea Pin."
The compressed beam launched forward like a bullet.
But the moment it touched the crimson wires.
The energy bounced back.
The reflected attack slammed directly into Harun's chest.
BOOM.
The explosion threw him backward into the cage wall.
Pain shot through his body.
Khaizar's laughter echoed through the street.
"Huh."
"Fool."
Outside the cage, Aqsa shouted desperately.
"Big bro!"
Khaizar's masked face slowly turned toward her.
For a brief moment
Something strange happened.
A faint resonance spread through the air.
Khaizar froze.
The crimson wires around him stopped moving.
"Oh."
His voice lowered.
"So that's it."
He stared at Aqsa.
Inside his mind a realization formed.
So this is the one…
This is why I was sent here.
Harun was still recovering from the blast when suddenly
White light erupted around his body.
"Photon Burst."
A blinding flash exploded outward from the center of the cage.
The light detonated like a miniature star.
The crimson wires shattered instantly.
Fragments of broken wire scattered across the street as the cage collapsed.
Khaizar's head snapped back toward Harun.
But he reacted immediately.
"Crimson Guillotine."
Two massive wires shot forward from opposite directions.
They crossed in the air like execution blades.
Harun barely saw them in time.
He jumped backward instinctively.
One wire missed his neck by a hair's width.
But the second
Sliced across his left shoulder.
Blood splashed into the air.
Harun stumbled back.
"Shhh."
He grabbed his shoulder, teeth clenched.
"That hurts."
The wound wasn't deep enough to cripple him, but it burned badly.
Harun looked up at Khaizar.
"Man."
"You weren't this annoying before."
Khaizar smirked beneath the mask.
"That wasn't me."
His wires slowly lifted from the ground again.
"That was only my clone."
Harun sighed.
"Yeah that explains a lot."
The next moment his eyes sharpened.
White light exploded around his arm again.
"Let's try something else."
Harun swung his arm forward.
"Heavenly Slash Rend."
A wider arc of light ripped through the air toward Khaizar.
Before the attack even finished
Harun launched another technique.
"Heavenly Sever."
A shockwave of light burst outward.
And immediately after that
"Light Sea Pin."
Three attacks launched in rapid succession.
The street shook from the chain of attacks rushing toward Khaizar.
But the masked man didn't panic.
Crimson wires wrapped tightly around his body.
"Crimson Shield."
The wires formed a rotating barrier.
Harun's attacks slammed into it one after another.
Explosions filled the street.
Light and crimson energy collided violently.
Then.
Silence.
The shield dissolved.
Khaizar stood there untouched.
Harun blinked.
"…You're kidding."
But before he could react—
Pain suddenly exploded across his body.
A thin cut appeared on his arm.
Then another.
Then another.
Then ten more.
Blood sprayed into the air.
Harun staggered backward.
"What—"
Another cut opened across his chest.
Then one across his leg.
Then another across his face.
Dozens of wounds appeared across his body in rapid succession.
Harun's eyes widened in confusion.
He hadn't even seen the attacks.
More cuts opened.
Again..
.
.
And again.
And again.
Blood began dripping onto the street.
Harun looked around desperately.
"What the hell is happening?"
He hadn't seen Khaizar move.
He hadn't seen any wires attack.
But his body was being sliced apart piece by piece.
And he had no idea how.