Chapter 30

Silence hung heavy after the shield girl's barrier flickered out, a tense stillness that pressed against their ears—until a low, guttural snarl shattered it, ripping through the gloom with the ferocity of a predator's call, reverberating off the cracked walls.

The blond man's face twisted in fury, his sharp blue eyes blazing with a hatred so fierce it seemed to ignite the very air around him, his gaze darting between Ryn, who stood defiant amidst the rubble, and the unconscious shield girl sprawled lifelessly across the cracked tiles, her silver hair fanned out like a broken halo.

"You… you'll regret that," he snarled, his voice a guttural rasp dripping with venom as his body trembled violently, muscles bulging and twisting beneath his skin in a grotesque symphony of flesh and rage, veins blackening and pulsing with dark energy that crackled like a storm on the verge of breaking loose.