## Liam''s Perspective
The tension in the hall was thick enough to cut with a de. My deration hung in the air like a death sentence. Every face showed either shock or outrage. I didn''t care. I meant every word.
From the corner of my eye, I spotted Mariana Valerius, the Pavilion Master of the Celestial Apothecary Guild. She stood calmly amid the chaos, watching me with those knowing eyes. Unlike the others, her expression held no judgment—only support.
"Mr. Knight." Her voice carried across the hall as she approached. "Quite an entrance you''ve made."
"Pavilion Master." I nodded respectfully. "I didn''t expect to see you here."
She smiled thinly. "I go where matters of interest unfold. Today, that happens to be here."
Her presence was reassuring. Though I was surrounded by enemies, I wasn''tpletely alone. The Celestial Apothecary Guild''s support meant something, even in this nest of vipers.
"You should reconsider your approach," she whispered, now standing beside me. "There are Martial Masters present. Even a Martial Marquis."
I clenched my fists. "I can''t back down. Not now."
She sighed. "I expected as much. Just know the Guild stands with you, but we can only do so much against these families united."
Before I could respond, the hall doors swung open. The music began—the wedding march. My heart stopped.
Isabelle appeared in the doorway, a vision in white. Her wedding gown was borate, adorned with pearls and diamonds that caught the light with every step. A delicate veil obscured her face, but I could feel her presence, sense her spirit even across the room.
She was breathtaking. And she was being led to her prison.
"Isabelle..." Her name escaped my lips like a prayer.
Everything else faded away—the hostile crowd, the armed guards, even Mariana''s cautionary words. Nothing mattered except reaching her.
I surged forward, pushing past stunned guests. "Isabelle!"
Guards immediately moved to intercept. I knocked the first two aside with casual swings. The third managed tond a punch to my ribs before I sent him flying into a decorative pir.
"Stop him!" Corbin Ashworth''s voice boomed across the hall.
More guards rushed toward me from all sides. I fought through them, golden energy pulsing around my fists. Bodies dropped around me as I carved a path toward Isabelle.
Then a powerful force mmed into my chest, sending me crashing into a table. Crystal sses shattered beneath my back as I struggled to breathe.
A tall man in formal attire approached, hands glowing with dense spiritual energy. Alonzo White—the Martial Marquis Mariana had warned me about.
"That''s quite enough disruption," he said calmly, adjusting his cufflinks. "Know your ce, boy."
I pushed myself up, ignoring the shards of ss cutting into my palms. "My ce is with her."
Alonzo moved faster than I could track. One moment he was ten paces away, the next his fist connected with my sternum. The blow felt like being hit by a truck. I crashed backward again, blood spraying from my mouth.
"Pathetic," Alonzo sighed. "I expected more from someone who''s caused so much trouble."
I struggled to rise, but his foot pressed down on my chest, pinning me to the floor. The pressure was immense—I could feel my ribs threatening to crack.
"Finish him!" Dashiell shouted from the altar. "Break his limbs!"
Chapter source: My Virtual Library Empire (*).
The crowd jeered their agreement. They wanted blood—my blood. The humiliation of the upstart who dared challenge their world.
Alonzo increased the pressure. My vision started to darken at the edges. I fought against unconsciousness, desperately trying to channel my energy.
"This is the consequence of overstepping," Alonzo said. "You never stood a chance against—"
"ENOUGH!"
The voice cut through the hall like a de—crystal clear andmanding. The pressure on my chest suddenly vanished.
Through blurry vision, I saw a white figure moving swiftly across the hall. Isabelle. She''d torn away her veil, revealing a face flushed with fury.
She strode directly to Alonzo White, her wedding dress trailing behind her like battle armor.
"How dare you." Her voice was ice.
Alonzo bowed slightly. "Miss Ashworth, I was merely—"
CRACK!
The sound of her hand striking his face echoed through the silent hall. Gasps erupted from the crowd.
"Miss Ashworth!" Alonzo touched his reddening cheek, shock evident in his eyes. "I was following orders to—"
CRACK!
A second p, harder than the first, rocked his head to the side.
"Release him. Now." Each word dropped like a stone.
The Martial Marquis hesitated, ncing toward Corbin and Roderick for direction. Both men stood frozen in shock.
"I said NOW!" Isabelle''s voice carried a power I''d never heard before.
Reluctantly, Alonzo White stepped away from me. I pushed myself up onto my elbows, coughing blood onto the pristine marble floor.
The entire hall had fallen deathly silent. No one moved. No one spoke. They watched in stunned disbelief as Isabelle Ashworth, the bride, knelt beside me in her wedding gown.
Her hands were gentle as she helped me sit up. The fury that had transformed her face moments ago melted away, reced by a tenderness that made my heart ache.
"You''re hurt," she whispered, wiping blood from my lip with her thumb.
"Worth it," I managed to say. "Had to stop this wedding."
She shook her head, a smile spreading across her face like sunrise after a long night. "Always so dramatic."
"Always worth fighting for," I countered.
She helped me to my feet, standing beside me before the stunned audience. Her white gown was now stained with my blood, but she didn''t seem to care.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Corbin Ashworth finally found his voice, storming toward us. "Isabelle, get back to the altar immediately!"
Isabelle didn''t even look at him. Her eyes remained fixed on mine, warm and determined.
"Liam Knight," she said, her voice carrying clearly across the hall, "how are you?"
Those simple words, spoken with such genuine care while surrounded by our enemies, struck me deeper than any deration of love could have. In that moment, I knew. No matter what forces aligned against us, we would face them together.