## Liam's Perspective
My entire body shook with rage as I replayed the video of Isabelle. The sight of tubes connected to her arms, her precious blood being drained away like she was nothing but a resource... it tore through like nothing I'd ever felt before.
"Knight! Calm down!" The Man with the Mustache backed away from , genuine fear in his eyes.
I couldn't bla him. The energy radiating from my body was chaotic, destructive. My vision had tinted red. The temple's stone floor beneath my feet began to crack from the pressure of my aura.
"They're harvesting her," I snarled. "Like an animal."
Sofia, despite her burned face, approached cautiously. "Liam, we need a plan. We can't just—"
My phone rang again. Unknown number. I answered imdiately, hoping for more information about Isabelle.
"Who is this?" I demanded.
A broken sob ca through the speaker. "Knight... it's Harrison. Harrison Ashworth."
Isabelle's father. The man who had once looked at with such disdain.
"Mr. Ashworth," I said, my voice tight with barely controlled fury. "Did you send that video?"
"No," he choked out. "But I... I received one too. My daughter... my baby girl..."
His voice cracked, and for a mont, all I heard was his ragged breathing as he tried to compose himself.
"Where are you?" I asked.
"At my private residence. Not the main Ashworth estate. I've been... pushed out."
That caught my attention. "Explain."
Harrison's bitter laugh held no humor. "Corbin has completely taken over. He's aligned with the Veridia City Martial Guild now. I've been stripped of all authority within the family. My own security detail reports to him."
Sothing clicked in my mind. "You knew. You knew they would take Isabelle."
The silence that followed confird my suspicion.
"I tried to warn her," Harrison finally admitted. "But I was too weak. Too afraid to stand against my brother openly. And now..."
I could hear the self-loathing in his voice. It did nothing to diminish my anger.
"Where is she being held?"
"The Veridia City Martial Guild headquarters. In their research division," Harrison whispered. "It's supposed to be impenetrable."
"Nothing is impenetrable," I said flatly.
Harrison began to weep openly now. It was jarring to hear such a proud man reduced to this state.
"Knight, I was wrong about you. So wrong. I let family pride and old prejudices blind . I thought... I thought no one from your background could possibly be worthy of my daughter."
His words held no interest for now. All that mattered was Isabelle.
"I don't need your apologies," I cut him off. "I need information. Security details. Floor plans. Access codes."
"I don't have any of that," Harrison admitted. "Corbin made sure I was kept in the dark. But Knight... please..."
His voice broke again. When he continued, it was barely audible.
"Save her. Save my daughter. I have nothing left. No power, no influence. I can't protect her. But you... you're her only hope now."
The desperation in his voice was genuine. Harrison Ashworth, once one of the most powerful n in Veridia City, had been reduced to begging the man he'd despised.
"I'm going to get her back," I said, my resolve hardening into sothing cold and unbreakable. "And then I'm burning the Martial Guild to the ground."
"Do whatever you must," Harrison whispered. "Just bring my daughter ho."
I ended the call without another word.
The Man with the Mustache watched warily. "You're really going to attack the Martial Guild? Directly? That's suicide!"
"I don't care," I said simply.
"Knight, listen to reason," Sofia urged. "We need to get Eamon help first. Then we can gather allies, make a proper plan—"
"There's no ti," I cut her off, looking at Eamon's unconscious form. "But you're right about one thing. He needs imdiate dical attention."
I reached into my pocket and removed my Celestial Apothecary Guild Elder Token. The jade piece glead in the dim light of the temple. I handed it to The Man with the Mustache.
"Take this. It will grant you imdiate access to the Guild's dical facilities. Get Sofia and Eamon there as fast as possible."
He stared at the token in shock. "You're giving your Elder Token? Do you have any idea how valuable this is?"
"I trust you'll return it," I said, though in truth, I wasn't certain I'd be alive to reclaim it.
"What about you?" Sofia asked, though her eyes said she already knew my answer. u*p!dat-es.@
"I'm going to Veridia City. Now."
The Man with the Mustache stepped forward. "Knight, I have information about the Guild's defenses. About their formation arrays. If you'd just listen—"
I was already walking toward the exit. His words faded into background noise. Nothing mattered except getting to Isabelle.
"Knight!" he called after . "At least take this!"
He tossed sothing small and tallic. I caught it reflexively. A small copper coin, ancient and worn, with strange markings.
"It disrupts formation arrays," he explained quickly. "Might help you get inside."
I pocketed it without comnt and continued walking.
"We'll co as soon as Eamon is stable!" Sofia called after .
I didn't look back. They would be too late. This was my battle alone.
---
The journey to Veridia City passed in a blur. My mind replayed the video of Isabelle over and over, each viewing stoking my rage to new heights.
By dawn, I stood before the massive compound of the Veridia City Martial Guild. Its walls towered above the surrounding buildings, a symbol of their untouchable power.
Until today.
Guards patrolled the main entrance. Two approached as I walked directly toward the gate.
"Halt! State your business!" the first guard commanded.
I didn't slow my pace.
"This is restricted ground, civilian!" the second guard added, hand moving to his weapon.
I continued forward.
"I'm warning you—" the first guard reached for my shoulder.
My fist connected with his chest before he could touch . The impact sent him flying backward twenty feet. He crashed into the stone wall and slid to the ground, unmoving.
The second guard's eyes widened in shock. His hand trembled as he drew his sword.
"Y-you just attacked a Martial Guild officer! That's punishable by—"
"Death?" I finished for him. "Then we have sothing in common."
Fear flashed across his face as he finally sensed the murderous intent radiating from .
"W-who are you?" he stamred.
"My na is Liam Knight," I said, stepping past him toward the massive gates of the Martial Guild. "And I've co for Isabelle Ashworth."
I felt the oppressive weight of the Guild's defenses as I crossed the threshold. The air itself seed to resist my entry, heavy with the energy of ancient formations.
But nothing would stop now. Not guards, not formations, not the entire might of the Veridia City Martial Guild.
I was coming for Isabelle. And heaven help anyone who stood in my way.
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