The air was thick enough to choke. Jayden's aura raged like a storm contained within human flesh, suffocating, electric, primal. His golden eyes glowed through the mask, drilling into Felix with unflinching menace.

Felix staggered back a step despite himself, his grip instinctively loosening on Penelope's arm before pride forced him to tighten it again. His chest heaved under the invisible weight pressing down on him, yet still he bared his teeth, refusing to look weak before an audience.

"W-Who the hell are you?" Felix rasped, forcing his voice into something resembling authority, though it cracked at the edges. His eyes darted between Jayden's glowing gaze and the gathering crowd.

Jayden didn't answer. He simply advanced, each step slow, heavy, deliberate, like a predator closing in on prey.

"You dare posture before me?" Felix spat, trying to mask the tremor in his voice. "You don't even have the courage to show your face—hiding behind a mask like a coward."

The word 'mask' cut like a challenge.

Guests instinctively backed away, forming a wide circle around the confrontation. The gala music had long since died, leaving only the echo of Felix's ragged breath and Jayden's steady, ominous stride

Jayden stopped mid-step, tilting his head slowly, golden eyes burning through the slits. Then, with one deliberate movement, he reached up and slid the mask from his face.

The hall gasped as one.

A young man.. no, a boy, stood revealed. His features were sharp, striking, yet unmistakably youthful. No beard, no wrinkles, no hardened lines of age. He was barely past adolescence, maybe seventeen or eighteen. And yet the aura rolling off him was that of an apex predator.

The contrast was jarring. A teenager carrying the weight of a lord.

Felix's eyes widened. His mouth twitched, disbelief warring with outrage. "A… boy?!" He barked out a laugh, jagged and bitter. "This—this is what dares to challenge me? A child playing dress-up?!"

The guests erupted into whispers.

"A teenager…"

"Impossible, no one that young has that kind of aura."

"I can't believe this… Felix was humiliated by a child."

"Gods, look at his eyes…"

Jayden's golden irises glowed brighter under the chandeliers, cutting through every whisper like fire in the dark. His expression remained calm, detached, but there was steel in his voice as he spoke.

"Let. Her. Go." he said again, his voice was low and guttural, vibrating with restrained violence.

Penelope, still pinned by Felix's iron grip, felt the pulse of Jayden's aura press against her back like a shield. For the first time that night, her breath hitched.. not from fear of Felix, but from the terrifying realization of what Jayden truly was.

Felix snarled, trying to cover his faltering confidence. "You dare order me? Do you have any idea who I am?!" His aura flared wildly, crackling with violent energy as he tried to reassert dominance. The oppressive surge forced a few weaker guests to stumble backward, but it barely made a dent against Jayden's.

Jayden tilted his head slightly, his golden eyes narrowing, unblinking. His aura responded with a surge so fierce the chandeliers overhead quivered, wine glasses shattered on nearby tables, and the very air vibrated. Felix's flaring aura sputtered and broke apart like dust in a storm.

Beads of sweat trickled down Felix's temple. His fingers trembled where they gripped Penelope, though he tried to disguise it.

Jayden's voice dropped to a whisper, low and sharp as a blade against the throat. "Last chance, mate. Leave her alone." he muttered.

The words were simple, but the way he said them made Felix flinch, his pride cracking.

The silence was suffocating. Dozens of masked eyes were locked on them, whispers hissing like fire through dry grass.

Felix's pride screamed louder than reason. He refused to yield, refused to be humiliated by an ordinary boy. With a roar, he shoved Penelope aside and lunged at Jayden, his fist surging with energy.

The move was fast.. faster than most men could react. But not Jayden.

Jayden caught Felix's wrist mid-swing with one hand. The sound was sharp, a bone-snapping crack echoing across the hall as Felix's momentum was halted instantly. Felix's eyes went wide in disbelief, veins bulging in his neck as he tried to push forward, but Jayden didn't budge. He stood tall, calm, his grip unyielding.

A low growl rumbled from Jayden's throat. His free hand snapped forward, seizing Felix by the collar, and with terrifying ease he slammed him face-first into the nearest table.

BAM!

The impact was thunderous. The polished oak splintered beneath Felix's face, glasses and silverware scattering like rain. Guests screamed, some stumbling backward, others gasping with horrified fascination. Blood spattered across the white linen as Felix let out a strangled groan, his face crushed into the wreckage.

Jayden didn't stop.

He wrenched Felix back up, his golden eyes blazing with animal fury, then drove him down again.. this time into the marble floor.

CRASH!

The ground shuddered under the force. Felix's body twitched, his nose shattered, blood streaming freely. The once-proud son of Atlas's leader now lay sprawled and broken, his cheek pressed into the cold stone, utterly humiliated.

The hall was dead silent, the crowd frozen in disbelief. The only sound was Felix's ragged, wheezing breath.

Jayden loomed over him, one hand still gripping the back of his head, pressing him down into the floor like prey subdued beneath a predator's paw. His voice was low, guttural, reverberating with primal rage.

"I told you… let her go."

The silence stretched. No one dared move, no one dared speak.

Finally, Jayden released him, shoving Felix's bloodied face into the floor one last time before straightening. He towered over him, calm, collected, his golden eyes dimming slowly back to human.

Felix lay there for a long moment, groaning, before staggering to his knees. Blood smeared his face, his once-perfect tuxedo ruined. He glanced around the hall, seeing nothing but horrified stares, mocking whispers, some even stifled laughter.

"This is so hilarious. The son of the king defeated by a boy." a noble spoke up.

"I know right… Felix couldn't even touch him." another agreed.

"Wow! And I heard lord Felix was above level fifty. Does that mean this boy's level is even higher than that?"

The whispers stung Felix harder than the broken bones. His pride shattered under their eyes.

Jayden stood over him, unmasked, calm and deadly. He didn't have to say another word. The damage was done.

"You…" Felix hissed, his voice broken, trembling with rage. He pointed a trembling, bloodstained finger at Jayden. "You'll pay for this. Do you hear me? I'll make you regret this!"

Jayden said nothing. He didn't need to. His silence was louder than any threat.

Felix staggered to his feet, clutching his broken nose, and stumbled toward the exit. His once-proud stride was now a desperate scramble. As he shoved past the crowd, some laughed openly, others whispered behind their masks.

"Did you see that? Felix de Bree—flattened."

"By a boy. He's… just a boy!"

"No ordinary boy could unleash that kind of aura."

"Above level fifty, they say Felix is… and yet… he succumbed to this kid so easily."

"Who is he?"

The words swirled like wildfire. Fear, awe, curiosity.. all now circling around Jayden like moths to flame. He had become the center of every gaze, every whisper. Power and danger personified.

Penelope quickly stepped closer, her hand brushing Jayden's arm. Her smile was forced but her voice carried urgency. "Come. Let's go," she whispered. "Before this turns into more than just a spectacle."

Jayden finally blinked, dragging his golden eyes from the exit where Felix had vanished. He gave a small nod.

The crowd parted for them, not daring to obstruct their path. Some bowed slightly in instinctive respect, others merely watched in wary silence, their eyes burning holes into Jayden's being.

Once outside, the night air was cool, crisp, grounding. Penelope let out a long breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

Jayden moved toward the car, pulling the keys from his pocket without a word. He opened the driver's door, sliding in smoothly, his expression unreadable behind his indifferent expression.

Penelope hesitated for a moment, staring at him as if seeing him for the first time. Then she slipped into the passenger seat.

The engine roared to life. Jayden gripped the wheel, his eyes still faintly glowing in the dark. Without another word, he pressed down, and the car shot forward, streaking away from the gala into the night.

Behind them, whispers still lingered, carried in the wind.

The boy who humiliated Felix de Bree.

The boy with the golden eyes.

The boy who radiated the aura of a monster.

And though Felix had fled in shame, vowing revenge, none of the guests could shake the same chilling thought:

If this was what a teenager could do… what would he become when he was grown?

Jayden didn't probably know this but… he had attracted a lot of attention just that night alone.