Dust swirled around the shattered ruins of the acoustic weapons, kicked up by the shockwave of Jasper’s brutal assault. Heavy silence fell over the clearing, broken only by the crackle of lingering magical energy. Elias stood with his heart hammering against his ribs, his dirty-blonde hair plastered to his forehead by cold sweat. Across the ruined ground, their opponent slowly pushed himself up from the debris. Gold-trimmed armor gleamed in the dim light, identifying him as an agent of the High Arbiters. Yet, his posture was instantly familiar to both men. It was a rigid, unnatural posture, born from decades of sitting in an ergonomic office chair, staring at spreadsheets. He adjusted his golden gauntlets with a flick of his wrists, a gesture that perfectly mirrored how he used to adjust his French cuffs before a firing. "Look at you two," Kaelen sneered, his voice carrying that familiar, high-pitched nasal drone. "Still trying to dodge your responsibilities." Jasper took a heavy step forward, his massive frame casting a long, dark shadow over the broken stone. "Tanaka," Jasper growled, his voice dropping into a register that made the loose gravel on the ground vibrate. "You're supposed to be dead. We watched you have a heart attack at your desk two weeks before we kicked the bucket." "Reincarnation isn't just a privilege for lazy slackers who want a second chance," Kaelen replied, a cold smirk playing on his lips. "Those High Arbiters needed someone who understood your specific brand of insolence. They pulled my soul from the ether, offering me a managerial position I simply couldn't refuse." He stepped out of the dust, his golden eyes locking onto Elias with absolute contempt. "I must say, I am highly disappointed in your performance," Kaelen continued, crossing his arms over his chest. "When the Arbiters told me two S-tier anomalies had slipped through the system, I expected a challenge. Instead, I find my two most unproductive junior analysts." Elias felt a cold sweat break out across his neck, his hands beginning to tremble. Suddenly, the green grass and the blue sky of the fantasy realm seemed to fade away. He was back in Tokyo, trapped in that windowless, fluorescent-lit basement office on a rainy Tuesday night. Elias closed his eyes, unable to block out the sudden auditory hallucination of hundreds of mechanical keyboards clacking away. He remembered the smell of the cheap, microwaveable curry he ate alone at his desk while his screen glowed with an endless mountain of unapproved code. He remembered how his chest would tighten every time Tanaka cleared his throat behind him, the physical manifestation of chronic stress that eventually killed him. Those words had echoed in his head for years, driving him to work until his eyes bled, until his heart finally gave out at age thirty-four. "You are a drain on this company, Elias. You have no drive. You are easily replaceable." "You were always a disappointment, Elias," Kaelen said, his voice cutting through the memories like a scalpel. "Always overcomplicating simple tasks. Always overthinking. A high-potential asset wasted on a low-yield attitude." "Shut up," Elias whispered, his knuckles turning white as his hands clenched into tight fists. "And you, Jasper," Kaelen turned his arrogant gaze to the towering giant. "A brute with zero corporate synergy. You had the physical capacity to carry your team, but your attitude was completely toxic. Always complaining about boundaries. Always insisting on leaving at five o'clock." Jasper’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched violently in his cheek. Jasper too felt the weight of that invisible collar. He remembered the exact day his mother had been admitted to the hospital. He had stood before Tanaka’s desk, begging for three days of emergency leave, only to be told that his absence would disrupt the project's critical path. He had submitted to the threat, too terrified of losing his visa and his livelihood to fight back. Staring at the wall until the sun rose, he had spent his mother’s final hours debugging a broken database, a sacrifice that yielded nothing but a generic condolence email from HR. "We gave you our entire lives," Jasper said, his voice quiet, but vibrating with a terrifying, primal rage. "You gave what was required," Kaelen scoffed, waving a dismissive, armored hand. "And even then, you fell short. Look at yourselves now. You have been granted the power of gods. S-tier Light and Dark magic. The ability to conquer realms." He paused, letting out a sharp, mocking laugh that echoed through the ruined clearing. "And what do you do with it?" Kaelen spat. "You hide in backwater taverns. You waste your days drinking cheap dwarven ale and chasing local women. You have no ambition. No drive. No desire to climb the ladder." "We wanted to live," Elias said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion as the first sparks of pure, S-tier light began to crackle around his fingers. "Living is for those who earn it," Kaelen snapped back. "You two are nothing but slackers. Lazy, unproductive drains on the system. You were useless on Earth, and you are useless here." Those words hung in the air, heavy and poisonous, striking deep into the core wound both men carried—the absolute terror of being trapped, used, and discarded once again. "I worked eighty hours a week," Jasper muttered, his dark magic beginning to seep from his skin like black ink, pooling at his feet. "Unpaid," Elias added, his voice trembling slightly as the golden light around his hands grew brighter, harsher. "Because you were slow," Kaelen retorted, his smile widening. "A competent employee would have finished in forty. You were simply inefficient. And now, your probationary period in this world is officially over." He raised his hands, golden magic swirling around his fingers, forming sharp, divine spears. "As your supervisor, I am officially terminating your existence," Kaelen declared. "Consider this your final exit interview." Something inside Elias snapped, a sudden, violent rupture of his mental barriers. S-tier Light Magic inside him, usually kept under strict, logical control, suddenly roared to life like a starved beast. "Jasper," Elias said, his eyes completely washed out by a blinding, radioactive white glare. "I'm on it," Jasper growled. Before Kaelen could react, Jasper lunged forward with explosive speed. He didn't use a spell, relying instead on his massive, towering frame to cross the distance in a fraction of a second. Kaelen’s eyes widened in sudden panic as Jasper’s giant hand clamped around his throat, cutting off his speech. "What... how..." Kaelen choked, his armored boots dangling feet above the ground as Jasper lifted him effortlessly. "You talk too much, Tanaka," Jasper growled, his face twisted in absolute fury. Dark magic erupted from Jasper's palm, forming thick, heavy chains of pure shadows that wrapped around Kaelen's arms and legs, pinning them to his sides. He slammed the former manager onto the stone floor, pinning him down with his massive knee planted firmly on Kaelen's chest. "Let go of me!" Kaelen shrieked, his corporate composure completely vanishing into primal terror. "This is a violation of protocol! The Arbiters will destroy you!" Spitting in defiance, Jasper tightened his grip on Kaelen's throat. "Let them try," Jasper spat, his dark magic flaring to reinforce the chains, keeping the struggling manager pinned to the earth. Elias walked forward, his footsteps leaving scorched, smoking patches on the grass. Warping from the sheer intensity of the heat, the air around him rippled violently. This wasn't a holy, comforting light of a divine savior. It was the destructive, blinding glare of a nuclear reaction, crackling with raw, uncontrolled fury. "You think you can control us?" Elias asked, his voice layered with a terrifying resonance that shook the trees. "Elias, stop!" Kaelen whimpered, the golden light in his own eyes flickering as he felt the overwhelming heat approaching. "We can negotiate! I can get you a promotion! A higher standing in the divine hierarchy!" "We don't want a promotion," Elias said, standing directly over him. He raised his hand, his palm glowing with a light so bright it cast pitch-black shadows across the entire clearing. "We just wanted to drink our beer in peace," Jasper added, his grip tightening on Kaelen's neck, forcing his head back against the cold stone. "And you," Elias whispered, "are a terrible boss." He slammed his hand down onto Kaelen's chest. Blinding white light exploded from his palm, an absolute torrent of energy that tore through the air, vaporizing everything it touched. Kaelen’s golden armor began to melt, turning into liquid slag that hissed as it ran onto the stone. His screams of agony were drowned out by the deafening roar of the S-tier magic. Jasper held on, his own dark-magic-shielded arms smoking and cracking under the intense heat of Elias's light, but he didn't let go. He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain to ensure their tormentor couldn't wriggle free. "Burn," Jasper growled through his teeth. Kaelen’s flesh began to turn to ash, disintegrating under the relentless, concentrated beam of light. His legs vanished first, turning into fine grey dust that was instantly blown away by the rising heatwave. Then his torso began to dissolve, the divine energy keeping him alive failing against the raw, destructive power of an angry god. Jasper finally threw himself backward, rolling away as the final, violent pulse of Elias’s magic threatened to consume them both. A pillar of absolute white light shot straight up into the heavens, piercing through the clouds and illuminating the entire realm for miles. Slowly, the roar subsided, leaving only the crackle of scorched earth. Silence returned to the ruined clearing. Elias stood breathing heavily, his hands trembling as the blinding light faded back beneath his skin. Only a faint, translucent outline of Kaelen's upper body remained, a fading soul-form held together by the lingering strings of the Arbiters' magic. His face was half-dissolved, but a twisted, venomous grin managed to form on his spectral lips. Before dissolving, Kaelen sneers, 'You think you escaped the company? The Creator Gods own your souls, and the debt must be paid.'

Chapter 21: The Manager's Performance Review