CHAPTER 28: A FATHER'S FURY

The moment they stepped onto the school grounds, a sharp tension sliced through the air like a knife.

Principal Anthony halted abruptly, his eyes narrowing toward a figure standing imposingly near the main building.

Mark Williamson.

Even without his intimidating presence, the name alone commanded fear. But in person—broad-shouldered, power exuding from every motion, dressed in a sleek, custom suit—Mark looked every bit the man who now ruled One-Star City's underworld.

Principal Anthony's brows furrowed.

"Mark? You—what are you doing here?" His voice was tight, measured, but tinged with apprehension.

Mark's gaze swung toward the principal, hard and unrelenting.

"Oh, now you're going to pretend?" he sneered.

"Pretend you don't know anything about what happened? My son is in a hospital bed, and you're expecting me to just let the one who did this walk free?"

His voice was a growl, deep and venomous, each word laced with simmering fury.

Principal Anthony squared his shoulders.

"I admit," he said slowly, "your voice has changed a lot from the days when you had to beg for years to get your son admitted here."

A dangerous glint flared in Mark's eyes.

"That was the past, you fool," he hissed.

"Now I'm the biggest don in this city. And you? You don't even have the spine to raise your voice in front of me anymore."

The air grew thick, heavy with impending violence.

Then it happened.

A soft red glow pulsed from Mark's chest, the unmistakable flicker of a Neuro-Core device. Calmly, deliberately, he reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a compact, metallic disk. The moment his fingers touched it, the red glow surged, radiating power like heat from a furnace.

In a heartbeat, the energy collected beneath him. Light condensed, twisted, and formed—until it solidified into a fearsome creature.

A beast.

A massive bird-like entity materialized beside him, its eyes gleaming with predatory awareness. Its wings were stubby, not meant for long flight, but its body was built like a tank. Most terrifying of all was its thick, jagged beak—designed not to hunt… but to kill.

Luna gasped. Even Dr. Thomas took an instinctive step back.

"That thing…" John murmured.

He had read about beasts like this—ground-based aerial monsters bred for combat, not speed. Their beaks could punch through reinforced armor. A single strike could leave a creature convulsing on the ground—or worse.

Mark didn't flinch. His voice dropped, cold and sharp.

"I don't think you should try to stop me, Principal Anthony," he said.

"It would be a shame to kill someone like you. Just get out of my way."

He took a step forward.

"Because whoever hurt my son… will not leave this school alive today."

The beast at his side let out a low, guttural screech—less like a bird and more like a warning siren.

John stood still, watching the exchange unfold with a strange, numbed detachment. The reality of the situation gripped him, yet it felt distant—like watching a storm crash through a world he hadn't meant to enter.

But he had entered it.

And now he stood at the center of it.