The night was too quiet. Almost unnaturally so.
In the headmaster's office, Victor Allucard stood at the window with one of his wives — the assassin, mistress of shadows. Her crimson eyes glowed faintly, awaiting his command.
"When the first arrow falls," Victor said calmly, "you will move the humans to their new school. Erase the wards on this dormitory. Make it look… natural. Coincidental."
His wife smirked. "So the Church believes their strike succeeded."
Victor's lips curved into a faint smile. "Exactly. Let them think they have cut off the serpent's head. Meanwhile, we shall watch which hatchlings bare their fangs."
The barrier around Xul Academy flared white as the first holy arrow tore through the sky and slammed into the magical dorms. The protective wards shattered like glass, releasing a thunderclap that echoed across the campus.
Chaos followed. Screams erupted, students running in every direction. Flames and divine light seared the ground as the Second Choir pressed forward.
Within the storm, Aiden shielded Selene instinctively, but pain ripped through his chest as another arrow grazed him. Blood stained his uniform. Selene tried to pull him back, but she was hit too — a spear of holy light slicing her shoulder, leaving her gasping.
Nearby, Lilith stood her ground, her strict composure shattering under the assault. None of the Church soldiers recognized her lineage — not as Victor's daughter, not as the demon goddess's child. To them, she was just another target. A blade struck her side, crimson soaking her gown as she fell to her knees.
"Lilith!" Aiden roared, forcing himself to move toward her. His body screamed in agony, but something else stirred deep inside him. Electricity sparked across his hands, wild and untrained. Lightning danced between his fingers, shocking the air — the same elemental power Selene wielded.
The ground quaked as divine and arcane clashed. Lucien was nowhere to be seen — whisked away by his mother before the fighting began. Victor had ensured the battlefield belonged to Aiden alone.
Above the chaos, hidden in the shadows of the rooftops, Ophis watched silently. Her crimson eyes tracked every movement, but she never lifted a hand to intervene.
When Aiden collapsed beside Selene, struggling to hold his unstable lightning, she finally appeared. Calm, composed, untouched by the carnage.
"You're dying," she said simply, her voice carrying like silk over the screams.
Aiden glared up at her, his chest heaving. "I don't… care. I'll protect them."
Ophis knelt before him, her gaze unwavering. "Then make a choice. My blood carries the Night King's legacy. Drink from me, and your strength will awaken. Without it, you will fall — and so will they."
Selene, bleeding and barely conscious, tried to protest. Lilith's eyes widened, realizing the meaning of Ophis's words.
Aiden's vision blurred as the ground trembled with another holy strike. His hand trembled between Selene's bloodied form, Lilith's wounded body… and Ophis's outstretched wrist.
The choice was his.
And with it — the fate of everyone.