"They are attacking?"

As Enzo and the others moved alongside the Tyrants of the dark side, escorting toward the castle, shapes began to crawl out from alleys, rooftops, and broken streets. Strange creatures emerged without warning, twisted forms lunging at them with feral intent, striking again and again as if driven by instinct alone.

Each time a head rose, an axe followed.

The bull demon moved like an executioner, his weapon cleaving through flesh and bone with brutal efficiency. Bodies fell before they could even slow the procession, leaving a clear path through the chaos. No matter how many appeared, none were allowed to linger long enough to threaten the group.

"Yes, I had a feeling that was the case," Master Seth said, nodding slowly as his eyes traced the fallen remains.

The creatures that attacked were wrong. Their bodies were bloated, scarred, and riddled with sickness, their movements erratic and desperate. They resembled corrupted beasts far more than true denizens of the dark side. Which meant something unsettling.

At the very least, these tyrants were not corrupted.

The realization weighed heavily. In all their lives, none of them had encountered uncorrupted monsters living this deep within the city. The implications were vast, and none of them spoke as the thought settled in.

"Welcome."

The voice echoed as they finally arrived before a massive castle, its towering walls scarred by time and war. After carving through the surrounding city blocks, the gates groaned open. The nightmare horse entered first, followed by the bull demon and two other tyrant creatures. Master Seth stepped in behind them, with Enzo and Talos close at his side.

The moment they crossed the threshold, the remaining monsters dispersed. They flowed outward into the castle grounds, taking positions along walls and towers, forming a defensive perimeter with practiced ease.

"Before we go further, I would like to have a chat with the boy with the coffin. Privately."

Inside the castle, the bull demon spoke calmly. He turned without waiting for a response and began walking toward a corridor that opened onto a wide balcony overlooking the city ruins.

For a brief moment, the space was swallowed by an awkward silence.

Enzo glanced toward Master Seth, uncertainty flickering across his expression.

"It's fine," Master Seth said, his voice firm and deliberately loud. "He won't make any moves. And if he does, I'm right here. I have more than one demi god weapon in my hands."

The warning hung in the air, unmistakable.

"Hm."

Enzo nodded once. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and followed the bull demon toward the balcony, the coffin on his back seeming heavier with every step as shadows closed in around them.

When he reached the balcony, Enzo glanced through the corner of his eye at the towering creature beside him and let out a bitter smile. The night wind brushed past his face, carrying the distant scent of dust and old blood, while the ruined city stretched endlessly below.

"What is this about?" Enzo asked after a short pause.

He did not know why a being like this would single him out. Still, the earlier remark about the void coffin lingered in his mind. That treasure should have been unseen, unnoticed. Yet this demon had spoken of it with certainty.

"Your name is Enzo Malvaran?" the bull demon asked, slowing his steps until he came to a stop.

"Yes?" Enzo narrowed his eyes slightly, confusion tightening his brow. The sound of his own name felt strange coming from such a mouth.

"That's a strange name for a night creature," the bull demon said, nodding once as if filing the thought away. Then his voice grew heavier, more deliberate. "You fit the criteria for a particular opportunity here in the castle. But also for one in the villa behind it. As the guardian of this generation, I am obligated to inform you and allow you to choose which path you wish to pursue."

The words settled between them, weighty and final.

His big brother had already given approval for this. That much was clear from the certainty in his tone.

"The castle holds the legacy of the Shadow Clan," the demon continued. "The royalty of the night creatures. Within it lies a vast inheritance. Treasures. Techniques. Skills meant to raise one's combat power straight toward the demi god realm. The Lady herself traded greatly to leave this behind, all for the sake of elevating her kin."

As he spoke, Enzo felt a faint stirring in his chest.

Back in the library, that night creature had spoken of this same legacy. His voice had carried longing, regret, and something close to shame. Generations had tried and failed to claim it. Each attempt had ended in loss, until it became nothing more than a wound passed down through stories.

It had been his greatest regret.

That was why he had taught Enzo so much. Why he had poured knowledge into him without asking for anything in return. He had hoped, desperately, that Enzo would succeed where they all had failed. That he would reach the inheritance and finally lay that regret to rest.

Standing there now, with the ruined city beneath his feet and a demon offering him a choice that could shape his fate, Enzo felt the weight of that wish press down on him more heavily than the coffin on his back.

""As for the second," the bull demon continued, his voice lowering, "it is far more unique. Preserved for a particular person. Or for the one he himself chooses as a descendant."

Enzo's gaze sharpened.

"That person is the benefactor of our Lady. A night creature like yourself. A wielder of what rests upon your back, and a bearer of your sire name."

The demon turned his head slightly, heavy horns catching the faint light spilling from the balcony.

"I do not know whether you are that man, or merely his descendant. But you meet the criteria to face this trial. As for its reward," he paused, a rare uncertainty flickering through his eyes, "even I do not know what lies at its end. What I can say is this. It is tied to the very existence of this city."

The words hung in the air.

"You must choose now," the bull demon said at last. "Whichever path you take will become your destiny."

Silence followed. Thick, awkward, pressing in from all sides.

Enzo felt cornered. Not by force, but by weight. He had not been prepared for this. A decision like this was not something to be made lightly, not something to be decided in the span of a few breaths. Both paths carried consequences he could not yet see, and the information he had been given felt painfully incomplete.

"Is there anything else?" Enzo asked after a moment. "Anything I should know before deciding?"

The stakes were too high to gamble blindly.

"Oh. Yes." The bull demon blinked, as if only now recalling something important. He raised one massive hand, dark energy swirling as a scroll formed from thick, murky black substance. He unrolled it slowly and held it before Enzo.

The message was brief.

Fear is a dangerous thing.It does not only destroy you.It ruins the people around you.Whatever you do, do not let fear win.

As Enzo read the words, something inside him loosened. The tension in his chest eased, his racing thoughts settling into clarity. The noise faded, replaced by a quiet certainty.

"I'll take the one in the villa," Enzo said, nodding once. His voice was firm, steady, free of hesitation.

He understood now.

Victoria's words echoed in his mind. The stories she had told him, the lessons she had pressed into him night after night. The themes were the same. The warning. The resolve. The cost of fear, and the price of choice.

He recognized them instantly.

And he knew, without doubt, that this was the path meant for him.

"Good, then you must come with me. You won't see your friends till it's over, let them know and meet me here, your destinations are different" the bulk Deamon said dropping his axe to the floor as he calmly looked back.

There Seth still had his eyes focued on the two of them, but for some reason Enzo seemed to be very relaxed without a sense of danger at all.

Soon Enzo hand signed to him a few words that sank within his heart making him feel uneasy.

"I've received a much better opportunity, do not be worried, I will be with you soon. Not now but soon"

First Seth wanted to react then he calmed down and frowned.

What could he say? Was he going to stop enzo from seizing a better opportunity?

Then laid another question, what better opportunity laid within the city?

Could it be?

His gaze panned to the back of the castle where and inconspicuous villa stood, no grand structure, no extravagant designs, just pure white and simple grace.

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