Selene's screams still haunted the estate after the night she was forced to slaughter her own subordinates. Veyra's chamber was her hell, a place where chains and blades sang together. Once, Selene would have cursed Lucius in defiance, but now her words were gone. Regret had drowned her voice.
Veyra leaned close, dragging the tip of her knife along Selene's shoulder. "Good little viper," she whispered, smiling with madness. "The Devil has burned your pride, but not enough. You will break further, until even fire feels like mercy."
Selene's breath trembled, but inside her heart a grim clarity formed. Betrayal had cost her everything. She had betrayed Lucius, her master, and in return she had lost her soldiers, her freedom, and her dignity. She knew now that even if she were to walk barefoot on thorns or through burning fire, she would never betray him again.
Her tears mingled with blood, falling silently as chains rattled. Selene closed her eyes and thought, Never again. Even if he cuts me to pieces, even if he burns me alive, I will not betray him again.
While Selene's torment swallowed her in darkness, another battlefield opened under the Devil's command. The courts of the city, shining in marble, became a theater for Adrian Vale. Unlike Veyra, he did not use blades. His tongue was sharper. His logic was venom.
The trial that morning seemed destined to condemn one of Lucius's men. Evidence was overwhelming, witnesses ready. But when Adrian stepped before the judge, the atmosphere changed. His words turned iron into smoke, twisting reason until it crumbled.
"Is survival a crime?" Adrian asked, his voice steady as stone. "If defending one's life is guilt, then every man here carries it. And who among you dares to judge survival?" Silence answered him, silence that he bent into victory.
By the time the gavel struck, the soldier walked free. The prosecutor's hands shook, the judge avoided his eyes, and whispers rippled across the hall. "The Devil's lawyer," they muttered. "He can turn blood into innocence."
Meanwhile, Enzo shadowed Darius in his first mission. A gang had refused Lucius's tax, and Darius gave only one command: "Leave no one breathing." Enzo's knife and gun delivered death, and by dawn the compound was ash. His hands trembled, but his eyes no longer held hesitation.
Darius looked at him with rare approval. "You are learning fast. Soon you will not just survive battles. You will end them."
Back at the estate, Lucius gathered his council. Adrian stood fresh from his courtroom victory, Darius with blood still on his boots, Marcus with the empire's wealth in order, and Veyra humming softly while Selene knelt at her feet in chains.
Lucius's crimson gaze swept them all. "Loyalty is the only coin that matters. Betray it, and you will beg for death. Be betrayed, and I will not punish you for another's weakness."
A man was dragged before them, accused of leaking secrets. The council braced for execution. But Lucius's smile widened as the truth was revealed: the man was betrayed by his own brother. Guards hauled the real traitor forward.
Lucius ordered the guilty executed at once. Blood stained the floor. The loyal man, though broken, was spared. Lucius placed a hand on his shoulder. "Your loyalty is your shield. Betrayal by another does not soil you."
The council exchanged wary glances. They feared him, but they respected him more. Lucius did not strike blindly. He punished with precision.
Adrian's lips curled into a smirk. "Our master is merciless to the faithless, yet merciful to the true. That is why no man can escape his shadow."
Darius crossed his arms, grunting. "And why betrayal among us is suicide."
Veyra giggled softly, tugging Selene's chain. "And those who return will crawl until their bones forget rebellion." Selene lowered her head, her voice trembling but firm for the first time. "I will never betray my master again. Even if the path is thorns and fire, I will walk it."
Lucius rose, his laughter filling the chamber like thunder. "Remember tonight. The Devil punishes with fire and rewards with shadow. Betray me, and you burn. Stay true, and you live."
But outside the estate, whispers grew louder. Politicians plotted, rivals schemed, and unseen enemies prepared a test bold enough to see if the Devil himself could bleed.