Adrian lost patience.

His fire rose higher around both fists while the flames turned from orange to white-hot. The temperature spiked so fast that nearby car windows began cracking from thermal stress.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

People retreated farther down the street while still filming from behind whatever cover they could find. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The influencer’s voice came through his livestream shaky and breathless. "He’s—holy shit, the fire’s getting hotter. Everyone move back!"

Adrian prepared an attack strong enough to cripple James or possibly kill him if it landed clean.

Even the crowd could feel this was different from the earlier punches because the air itself distorted from the heat while Adrian’s flames condensed into a concentrated point around his right fist.

James was too hurt to dodge properly.

He tried to move, but his broken ribs made breathing painful and his burned shoulder wouldn’t respond fast enough.

Adrian’s voice was furious and dangerous. "If you won’t talk standing, you’ll talk broken."

James braced himself while raising his sword defensively even though he knew it wouldn’t be enough.

The attack began.

Before Adrian’s fire-charged fist could connect, the flames collapsed.

Not faded.

Collapsed.

The air above the street became heavy while invisible weight pressed down on everything within twenty meters. Adrian’s white-hot flames flattened and shrank around his fist until they were barely visible.

A TRB Enforcement Captain appeared between them.

He was older, maybe mid-fifties, with gray hair and calm eyes that had seen worse fights than this. His uniform was dark blue with silver enforcement badges on the shoulders.

His power was gravity suppression.

The whole area felt like it was being pushed down by an invisible hand while even breathing became slightly harder.

Adrian tried to pull his arm back, but his fist wouldn’t move because the gravity around it had increased to the point where lifting his arm felt like lifting a car.

The captain grabbed Adrian’s wrist before forcing it down to his side without visible effort.

"That’s enough."

His voice was calm and professional.

Adrian glared at him while fire still flickered weakly around his trapped hand, but he didn’t attack because the captain’s power clearly outmatched his.

The captain looked at James too.

James was wounded, bloodied, and barely standing while leaning on his sword for support.

The captain’s expression didn’t change. "Both of you are under arrest for public Challenger combat, property destruction, use of dangerous abilities in a civilian zone, and endangering civilians."

James tried to speak. "He attacked first—"

The captain cut him off. "The footage will decide that. Not you."

Two more TRB agents appeared from vehicles that had just arrived. They moved quickly while pulling out anti-skill cuffs designed to suppress a Challenger’s abilities.

The cuffs clicked shut around Adrian’s wrists.

Then around James’s.

[COMBAT ABILITIES SUPPRESSED]

[MANA ACCESS: BLOCKED]

[SKILL ACTIVATION: DISABLED]

James felt his connection to his necromancy cut off immediately while the cuffs drained his mana access.

Both James and Adrian were led toward separate TRB vehicles in front of everyone still watching.

Adrian’s face was furious, but he didn’t fight the captain because doing so would only make things worse.

James was too hurt to resist even if he wanted to.

The livestream caught everything while the viewer count continued climbing.

[LIVE STREAM: 921,330 VIEWERS]

@TowerNews: TRB finally arrived

@GlobalWatch: They arrested both of them

@WitnessAccount: Adrian started it though

@IrishNews: James looks badly hurt

@ChallengerFeed: That officer shut Adrian down like nothing

@DublinLocal: Who is that TRB captain?

@TowerGlobal: This is going everywhere

Amelia watched James being taken away while blood dripped from his split lip and his clothes were burned and torn.

She wanted to say something, but her voice wouldn’t come out.

James glanced at her briefly while being led past.

That glance showed he saw her and knew she was alive.

Then he was gone.

The street was left damaged with broken glass, burned pavement, destroyed cars, a collapsed lounge wall, and people still filming from behind cover while emergency sirens approached in the distance.

The public scandal was already out of control.

Hours later, James sat in a TRB holding room.

His face was bruised with a split lip and swollen cheek. His ribs were wrapped tightly enough to keep them stable. His shoulder had been treated with burn gel to stop the damage from worsening, but the injury still throbbed with dull pain.

Outside the Tower, injuries didn’t heal instantly like they did inside.

James’s tone was quiet and guarded when the TRB officer questioned him.

The officer had the livestream footage pulled up on a tablet along with witness statements and Amelia’s medical report documenting second-degree burns around her neck.

"Adrian Ganner attacked you first?"

"Yes."

"He burned Ms. Hartley’s neck before threatening the room?"

"Yes."

"You summoned undead skeletons in a public civilian area?"

"To protect people from his fire."

The officer made notes without looking up. "You used combat-class abilities outside Tower jurisdiction."

James said nothing because there was no defense for that.

"You’re being charged with unauthorized use of Challenger abilities in a civilian zone and contributing to property damage totaling approximately €127,000. Self-defense reduces the severity, but it doesn’t erase the violation."

James accepted the fine without arguing.

He didn’t mention Derek.

He didn’t mention Dock 7.

He didn’t mention Roman.

He only said Adrian attacked him and he defended himself.

The officer told him the fine would be €15,000 plus restitution payments for the damaged property.

James nodded once.

TRB decided not to hold either James or Adrian for long because the situation was politically sensitive and already public.

No civilians had died.

Amelia and multiple witnesses confirmed Adrian started the confrontation.

The livestream footage showed Adrian burning Amelia’s neck, threatening the room, attacking James first, and throwing fire near civilians while James’s skeletons blocked flames and kept people away from the fight.

James was still fined because he used combat abilities in public and damaged property during the fight, but his actions were treated mostly as self-defense.

Adrian received the heavier fine because he initiated the violence, threatened civilians, injured Amelia, caused major property damage, and escalated the fight with increasingly dangerous attacks.

Ganner Corp lawyers arrived within two hours.

James’s uncle used his influence to push for a controlled settlement instead of prolonged detention. TRB accepted heavy fines, property compensation, medical compensation for Amelia, and public warnings instead of holding both men longer.

TRB agreed because keeping two Ganners locked up would turn the matter into a bigger political fight between Ganner Corp, TRB, and the guild world that nobody wanted.

The fines were paid.

The charges were processed.

Both men were released before midnight.

James walked out of the TRB building slowly while his face was still wounded and his movements were stiff from the broken ribs.

His uncle was waiting outside beside a black car with tinted windows.

Adrian wasn’t beside him because Ganner Corp handled Adrian separately with different lawyers and different vehicles.

James’s uncle looked at James’s face before speaking with fake concern that sounded practiced and polite. "James. We should talk."

James didn’t answer while walking past him toward the street.

His uncle followed. "The situation became ugly. Family matters should not be handled in public." He paused. "I helped settle this before it became worse."

James stopped for half a second, but he didn’t look grateful.

His uncle continued, "You are still a Ganner, James. That means something."

James looked at him once.

His expression was cold.

Then he turned away and kept walking down the empty street while ignoring the car waiting behind him.

"James," his uncle called again.

James kept walking.